Page One; Elephants

Chapter One is Orientation; Page one well..that's today! I thought I'd be able to sleep like a baby before this all began but I suppose that "first day" feeling never truly leaves you. Waking up earlier than planned, I made some coffee and got on the exercise bike (my mom let me take her retro "Tunturi" bike to my apartment!) to work out some stress. The morning was really relaxing and the drive wasn't bad until my GPS took me to a dentist office instead of the CMU Saginaw center but it all worked out in the end. Orientation was easy enough today. Names, intros, what are we doing, and understanding that we might feel like we're trying to catch a waterfall using a dixie cup throughout this "stressful and challenging" time. I think that's a funny analogy and honestly? I'm not that scared yet. I start my internship with five weeks of food service and I think I'm going to like that a lot. I'll be at the Aleda E. Lutz VA Medical Center in Saginaw and they sound like a really great group of people to work with. In all honesty, I do not have a lot of experience working with or even talking with veterans. Not that they are not humans and patients like the rest of us, but I'm interested to hear their stories and see what that is all like. It will be an experience that's for sure. I won't fill this post with the rest of my schedule as it'll pop up as needed. I'm bummed that the pool outside my apartment is closed for cleaning! I was ready to go jump in and wash away the day! I'll just have to relax in the AC and watch an episode of Criminal Minds instead. Then it's homework time :) So what else for today? Ben and I discovered fake owls posted in the CMU Saginaw Center parking lot. We determined they were definitely video cameras that we call "Owl Cams." Probably more expensive since they're owls and probably don't work as well. Another lesson? If you think about or just assume what someone is thinking all the time, you're only damning yourself, wasting your time and ignoring the big fat elephant in the room. Elephants will just get bigger and bigger and the more you try to ignore them or block them, well, the more likely they are to break shit. My advice? Stop ignoring the elephants in the room and in your life. You're not doing anyone, including yourself, any favors. In my opinion, people assume way too many things about others. What they think, how they feel and what their future ideas and plans are. I don't agree that assuming always makes an "ass out of you and me." So stop blocking out the obvious and start focusing on your feelings and doing the right things. Your elephant's not going anywhere till you do. For you extra enjoyment; http://www.nydailynews.com/jillian-michaels-returns-biggest-loser-14th-season-reality-competition-feature-teens-time-article-1.1151559#bmb=1