Sunday Social: Dream Job

Sunday Social!!! This week may just be my favorite topic so far.


1. What is your dream job?

     Oh, a pastry chef! Or a chef! Or a sous chef....nah, forget that. I would love to be able to make money by spending time in the kitchen. You can see some of my cookies here, here, and here. Oh, and here!

2. If you had just won the lottery and didn't need to work for money, what would you do with your time?

    I would bake! And I think I would still work. I love being able to help kiddos and their families. I love my job. I would be a little lost without it and I would feel incomplete! I heart ears. 

3. When you were a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?

    You spunky showkids, I was gonna be a STAR on Broadway! That was my longest lasting career plan. I fell in love with the stage around 6th grade, started private voice lessons in 7th grade, have an undergrad in Fine Arts and while I passed stage design I can't build you a model scene that involves stairs to save my life. I miss being on the stage at times even now. I don't sing as much as I used to. I haven't lost myself in a role in years. It's a bit sad.

4. What piece career advice would you give to someone just starting out in your field?

     Do everything you can to avoid student loans, because the fact of the matter is we do not make enough to offset what a doctorate costs. It's a fact, no matter what student loan officers will tell you! I guess that's really just good advice for anyone. Um...audiology advice. Be committed to your patients. Be present when you are at work, despite what else is going on in your life or home. Don't half-ass it because the only people that suffer are your patients.

5. Biggest Pet Peeves either in life or in blogging or at work

    Hold on to your hats! Talking around an issue - just say it already! If you can't communicate directly then I have a really hard time knowing what the heck you have a problem with. Overflowing trash cans. People leaving common spaces dirty or not put away for the next person. Being so preoccupied with self that things aren't ready for others. Icing that doesn't come out to the color or consistency it should be. 

Although my number one pet peeve would be bass. Yes, bass as in boom boom boom. If I am in a building and you are driving past, my breastbone and ossicles (or ear bones) should not be resonating. I know that it's job security for myself because you are losing your hearing by being an idiot, but it's that vibration in my bones that drives me bonkers!

6. Biggest Fears

    Being inadequate. Not walking in the Word. Losing DH before we're old and gray and die hand in hand because anything else is unthinkable. Being too self absorbed to see the hurt around me. Not reaching out enough to those who need a hand. Getting fat - it's true, even if it's such a selfish thing...oh wait, that's a self absorbed thing...Dang. 




Next week's questions, which actually make this set my second favorite because I adore Fall:

1. What is your favorite Fall activity?

2. Do you follow a football team? if so which one and why?

3. What is something fun about Fall in your area?

4. Fav Fall outfit staples?

5. Thing you are looking forward to most about this coming Fall season?

6. Favorite Fall holiday? Traditions?

See A Professional

I spent time last week at my profession's national convention. Audiology's a pretty small world and the things that impact one of us tend to impact all of us. The direction that our leadership take us in or that we take our leadership in affects each of us. There is a constant debate about ethics and best practices and patient care and insurance and payment and test batteries.

There are a lot of misconceptions about what I do. No, I am not an ENT. Yes, I am just as important and maybe more so if you have a hearing loss. No, I don't just turn on the computer and let the test run. No, I can't write you a prescription. Yes, I had to have many years of education to do my job well. Yes, my title is Doctor. No, I do not just push a button to set your hearing aids. No, you should not put Q-Tips in your ears. Yes, I care about your kid's ears more than I probably should.

So here's my soapbox


(Credit to drownmybooks.blogspot.com for the picture)

What our profession comes down to is that we care. That's why we do what we do. We should be giving you the best possible service when you are with us. We don't know all the answers, but we'll strive to find the answer. We will fit you in for earmold impressions, tubing changes, broken battery doors, a feared change in hearing, possible ear infection, when you show up early or late for your appointment. We will sit with you while you absorb the news that your sweet child has a hearing loss that will never get better but might get worse, while you wrap your head around the fact that you don't hear as well and need some help, while you tell us that you hear just fine; everyone else is mumbling, while you take in what we're saying between the lines when your kiddo is pretending to have a hearing loss and we've given them a gracious way out of it. We will work with insurance companies, charitable organizations, our own billing departments to get you what you need at the least amount of cost possible because we know that you haven't planned to lose your hearing or for a pair of hearing aids for your child.

In return we would ask a few things. This is a relationship after all, isn't it? Please see "Us" for hearing aids and hearing tests. "Us" being the licensed audiologists who have a masters or doctorate after our name. "Us" being those that are legally obligated to have you pay because a "free" hearing test is illegal. "Us" being those that understand how hearing aids work and know how best to use the software to give you the closest approximation to normal hearing as possible. "Us" being those that explain why you may not be able to walk into an office and walk out with hearing devices that you will regret. In a nutshell, "Us" not being those who are a hearing aid dispenser. Yes, you can be a licensed audiologist and a hearing aid dispenser. But not all hearing aid dispensers are licensed audiologists. U"s" being those who will not treat you via a hearing screening on line and then sell you a hearing aid off the internet, preying on the economic crisis we are in to provide shoddy care and a poorly fit product.

If you have heart issues, you go to a cardiologist. If you have stomach issues, you go to a gastroenterologist. If you have kidney problems, you go to a nephrologist. If you have eye problems you go to the optometrist or opthamologist. You don't go see a guy who couldn't make it in med school or didn't even try, shrug your shoulders, and think "He's probably good enough".

So please, if you have hearing or balance problems, go see one of "Us". A licensed audiologist.




Thanks, Shell, for allowing me to pour my heart out

Back in the Game

I've been away. Sorry. I was in Boston for our annual audiology convention. There will be at least one thought provoking post on things I think everyone should know. But in the meantime, here is a picture extravaganza, or a Humpty-Dumpty as Stef at iffyinklings calls it, of my time in Boston.

Just prior to Boston was my birthday. I am officially headed into my mid-30's. DH sent me my favorite flowers at work and bought me a Ninja blender, which I LOVE. I'm an appliances kind of woman. He also made me a very sweet gift that will remain unnamed.

Boston with my best friend and two very good friends! Great food, good beer, sore feet, sessions and CEUs, an exhausted brain, motivation to change things, a huge expo hall and views from Top of the Hub.

The convention center, one half of the expo hall and the giraffe genie...who did not make Charlie a real giraffe despite my rubbing his belly. Stupid giraffe genie. And check out how bulky I look in multiple layers!

Views of the city including Fenway and proof that I am not always photogenic!

My BFF with the boots that saved my life. I planned incredibly poorly for this convention and only took Target flats and Nine West heels. My feet hurt by the second day and my knees hurt by the third day. Limping ensued. Thanks D for the lovely furry lined spacious boots!

Our last night was spent at Faneuil Hall, eating the best clam chowder I've ever had, a Sam Adams seasonal and pictures with Norm.

And what would a morning trip to the airport be without breakfast? Yes, all those blackboards is the menu. And those would be my pancakes.

I love visiting Beantown. I especially love the people I get to see when I go there. I also love coming home.

Working for the Man

If you think that I'm referring to the pediatric hospital I work for, you would be mistaken. If you think it's the credit card companies, you would be mistaken. If you think for my car loan company, you would be mistaken.

If, however, you think of student loans, then you have hit the dubious jackpot!

I'd like to tell you a very long story in as little time as possible. Once upon a time, I was blessed to go to undergrad at an in-state school, where tuition was cheap and the education was good. Blessed, you ask? Yes, to have parents who said the first 4 years were on them.  Cheap, you ask? $3,224 per year per the IUP 1996-1997 Undergraduate Catalogue. Today tuition is $6,240.

I'm not good with math or financial foresight, as you will find out through this post. But I know that is an increase over 15 years. Do I begrudge universities to increase their tuition to keep up with rising costs? Not at all as long as tuition is affordable. Not justified costs, but affordable. And I'm not talking affordable to the upper class; affordable for children of middle class parents who make just enough to not qualify for assistance, for children who have single parents striving to do all they can and make ends meet, affordable for those who live paycheck to paycheck. Most importantly, affordable in ways that do not require students to go into large amounts of debt for a "good" education.

Fast forward to myself deciding to go to grad school. I had to do a post baccalaureate year due to an undergrad that had nothing to do with ears or the sciences. Then I had to finish 4 years of full-time grad school. In a sense, that was not a choice. Our field had made the decision to phase out the Masters programs and created a clinical Doctorate. Could I have chosen to not pursue my dream and settled for a different related field? Sure, but settling has never been my strong suit. And, after all, I live in America where you can be whatever you want to be. I wish I had known the cost to be whatever I wanted to be. Would it have changed my mind? Nope. But maybe I would have done things differently.

I went to an in-state private university for my post-bac and graduate work. No, there was not a state school option. The school I chose allowed me to live at my childhood home for the first few years thus allowing me to be rent-free a little longer. Our class schedule was year round. So three semesters...at a total cost of $23,208 in 2005. Tuition for the current year? $30,432.  That's if I actually understood the rules of what a semester is plus per semester. Oh, and don't forget to factor in that there is no such thing as a full time job when you're in the science field and cannot work 40 hours around a class and clinic schedule. I was lucky and did have 2 different part time jobs over the course of my studies, but barely made enough to cover gas and parking.

Are you thinking "Get to the point!"? I will. The cost of tuition, books, what the universities look at as the total amount of money you may need to survive on for rent and, oh I don't know, maybe food? That all equals up to a six figure student loan debt for five years of graduate studies with interest. And there were still semesters that I was broke by the end and barely holding on until my next student loan refund check came through.

You read that debt statement correctly. Six figures. And with a co-signer they would have given me more....knowing what my general projected income was. Now you might be thinking, but surely if your field required a doctorate then your salary is commiserate. So this could just be a budget issue Miss Awn has. Um, I wish. Budgets are the least of my worries. No, our field's employers don't seem to see the necessity of matching pay to what we put into our education. This isn't a generation of audiologists being greedy (although I'm sure those people are out there) and this isn't to say that none of us are actually make pretty good money (because those people are also out there). But the vast majority are facing debilitating debt and the very difficult juggling act of paying a monthly student loan bill in the literal thousands along with rent, utilities, food and gas.

How does that happen? Tuition rates are skyrocketing. Your general american can no longer afford to send their children to college without loans being involved. Federal loans are the better choice over private loans, but are harder to procure overall. Not hard, but harder than private loans. Often whatever gap the federal loan leaves is being filled by private lenders. Private loans cannot be consolidated with federal loans, their rates are higher (depending upon circumstances), and they are not subject to the same payback plans as federal loans. Basically they have you by the nose and it hurts. A lot. Especially when you don't know these things until you're in hock without a lot of wiggle room.

With the amount I pay per month to be debt free in 25 years, I could be putting money back into an ailing economy. A house payment plus utilities. Credit cards paid off within a year (I don't use these at all, so this is not a source of on-going debt growth). A car with no car payment. A savings. Frivolous things like shopping for something other than groceries. Vacations. A weekend trip home to see my family instead of twice a year trips. Getting new running shoes before my feet and knees hurt. Clothes shopping....the last time I bought a pair of jeans was 2008.

I don't know your story or how student loans might affect you daily. But if you have them, finally someone out there is trying to do something about it and talking about the very real economic consequences of loans. Use the link below. Read up and please sign the petition if you agree with H.R. 1470's points and provisions. Pass it on to anyone else that you know that went to college or parents of teenagers who will be going to college. The chances that they did not have to/continue to have student debt/are informed of student loan minutia is slim. Start a conversation that could help someone else make smart decisions regarding college and the financial options for paying for an education.

http://signon.org/sign/support-the-student-loan?source=s.em.cr&r_by=3267730&mailing_id=2695

I Get Mad

Now according to our 9th grade English teacher Mr. Burns, only dogs become mad. People become angry. But you know what, I get mad! I have been tossing this post around in my head for over a week now. I know that I have to be careful about how much detail I give when talking about anything work related. I don't want to end up in HIPPA jail!

So what is it that frustrates me? Parents. Yes, you parents frustrate me. Make me mad. Drive me to distraction. Cause me to want to pull my hair out. Don't get me wrong, I have a definite handful of parents who I adore and love and respect. Unfortunately the remainder of my parents need some help to get to where they need to be. And even that is ok. At least this second group want to get to a good place to advocate for their child and to complete all the thousands of tasks that they need to get done for their child to excel. But the third group is the group that I want to shake.

Honestly. Want to smack in the forehead like that old V8 commercial. Want to shut up long enough to hear what their child is saying, both out loud and in between the lines.

These are the parents who belittle their children, who don't see the importance of making sure their child wears their hearing aids no matter what, who try bribery and wheedling to get their child to be compliant, who take no responsibility for themselves, for the circumstances of their lives, or for the lack of follow-through with their child's medical care.

I cried last week because a teenage boy was open enough to tell me that he doesn't want to wear his hearing aids because of the girls. This kid is a big hulking football playing boy who is like every other teenager in that he doesn't want to be different. It breaks my heart that he wants to be accepted so badly...that's what high school is like for most people. I tried to be empathetic and rational, to tell him what I would tell any teenager....if someone doesn't like you because of a physical attribute or characteristic then they are not worth your time and heart. That high school sucks. But it's a short time of life and then it's done. That you don't have to let those few years determine whether you rise above or get stuck sinking.

This family, like many others, didn't listen to a word that their child said. It was an opportunity to reach out, to be empathetic to the child. Instead it got turned around to look at how that child upset me. Wow. Thankfully, this kiddo and I are on the same wave length and I truly believe he understands what I'm saying. Being a teenager, that doesn't mean that he believes that I know what I'm talking about but I don't doubt that he knows I truly want to help however I can in the role that I am in.

So, parents, I will not try to tell you which parenting theory to hold to. I don't have kids yet. But I will tell you this. Be the parent. Don't let your child run the appointment with me and then be upset that we didn't get any information. Don't belittle your child in front of me. Or when I am not there. Don't threaten your child with consequences that are either unsupported, cannot be enforced, or that involve me in any way. Finally, don't make your child feel worse than they already do by laughing at their responses or dismissing their fears and concerns as inconsequential.

Because children learn by example. Who do you want your child to emulate? Who do you want your child to be like when they are grown?

Thanks Shell for letting me pour my heart out for the first time...

Today Is Not My Day

It is cold and rainy. It is dark way too early today. My throat feels like a cheese grater ran down it. I can't go running. My Facebook is all screwed up and duplicating the home page. I didn't have all the answers for a patient today. My hot tea is now lukewarm.

Bah.

On the other hand, DH is bringing me chili from Wendy's. I was pushed out the office door allowed to leave work early since I have a fever. I have on comfortable pants and fuzzy socks. And at one time, I spent this moment with my mom...which totally made it my day.

Linking up with Make Me Laugh Monday...a day late. Hey, it wasn't my day.

The Quest

I feel like I'm on a one woman crusade to find time to blog, vacation, clean, run, do laundry, play with my new toy from Christmas, prepare for anniversaries, work, sleep and eat.

I'll try to break it down:
Christmas - it was amazing! DH was blessed by me, his one true love, with a gift of jumping out of a perfectly good airplane. Yep, I paid for him to skydive on a date of his choosing. Since day one of meeting one another he has waxed poetic about free falling through the stratosphere. To put it lightly, he was stunned! I was equally stunned at my gift....a new Kindle! My trusty kindle was a hand me down and was literally first generation. It was one step up from a person following me around and turning the pages of a book. I loved it but had no idea what I was missing! Words with friends without an iPhone? Yes please!

Vacation - DH and I traveled to Yankeeland and spent the better part of a week with my family and friends. It was amazing and a balm to my heart. I love living here in the Deep South and totally appreciate that I didn't even need a coat this afternoon, but I miss my first home. It was so sweet to see how DH and my family got to know each other and find more out about each other.

Cleaning, laundry, sleeping and eating are pretty self explanatory.

Running - Runner Girl and I have barely ran since the marathon. Sad, sad, sad. I feel jiggly. No lie. I feel like a big fat blob. I think this year is harder than ever at the holidays because I've been so good about eating the right way (still having treats) but this Christmas has been rough.

Work - This has been a really tough week for me. Since last Friday I have seen 4 patients with hearing loss of varying degrees. Sometimes what we do hits a little harder than other times, and this week is one of them. Thank heavens I'm off until next week. I know that it's important for families to know what is happening with their kids, but occasionally I wish I could tell them "Just come back next week. Enjoy this last holiday or this last weekend. Because in the next 5 minutes your world will change forever."

Anniversaries - DH and I are celebrating our 1 year anniversary this weekend. I thank God every day for giving me a man that I had no idea I could ever deserve. A man who loves me for exactly who I am, not who I can be or who he wishes I were. I am blessed to love him and be loved by him.

Thank you for following this little blog this past year. I hope that I can continue to entertain and amaze (c'mon, we all know you're AMAZED every time you stop by) throughout 2012.

What's Up, Buttercup?

Just a short glimpse into my life this past week:

I have the cleanest ear canals that at least one audiology student has ever seen.

I looked into 4 different sets of ears today, 2 of which I really wish I hadn't. Weird things, friends, weird things.

DH and I embarked on a new eating plan...not so much a diet, but a better way of eating. All I know is I now NEED ice cream. Sigh.

It sucks when someone you love isn't able to move forward the way they want and deserve to.

When it's 100 degrees outside five miles feels like ten. And that's walking.

The next time I go to the movies I will take small pieces of paper that have area ENTs and audiologists on them to pass out to those people who must not be able to hear... in surround sound...that is insanely loud. Because they ask the person next to them, and invariably sitting behind me, "What did she say" after approximately every other line of dialogue.

A fit of the giggles at 9:30 at night is contagious to whoever may be around you.

There are seriously cute 2nd birthday cookies on the horizon.


What have y'all learned in the last week?

It Looks Worse Than It Is, Mom, I Promise

Let me just say, I love having visitors!  I enjoy the anticipation of someone coming to see me, of picking them up at the airport (especially DFW since you can sit curbside for about an hour before anyone checks to see if you plan on blowing up the joint. Try that at Pittsburgh, just try.) I love the weird disjointed conversation that people tend to have when they've just seen each other in a while, even when they're family. Then the whirlwind of spending time together, eating out, enjoying the otherwise normal view, watching really funny movies, and late nights. The return to the airport (we're Departing, D, not arriving!) is bittersweet.  Even more so when it takes three attempts to find the airport from two miles away...but I digress.

Little Sis came to see me and other family for the last week.  For those of you who are thinking "She has a little sister?", let me explain. Little Sis is 7 years younger, our moms are besties and we've known each other since she was born.  I have literally known her her entire life, including all things sugar bowl, doughnut and ice cream related. She spent the better part of last year as an Au Pair in Paris and has only recently come back to the States. We always have a good time, even when we're apart.  Skype was a huge lifesaver this past year.  Anyway, she came for a week and we got to play in Ft Worth.

One of the most amazing moments of the trip was when Little Sis was opening a bottle of bubbles. The cork was much flatter than a regular champagne cork so we decided to uncork it like a wine bottle. As Little Sis is slowly and carefully uncorking the bottle the top of the neck shears off and we're left with an open bottle but via an epic fail. It was a clean break, so we just shrugged and poured some stars.

One of the things that is a must when someone comes to visit is a trip out for a really great margarita. Now, moms, we did eat....a lot. I just didn't take any pictures of said sustenance, except for the great french toast. So please know we were safe and full of food!

Joe T's is the quintessential "see and be seen" spot in Ft. Worth.  It's easy to see why....

We attempted to go to a place called "The Usual" which is a prohibition style bar. They weren't open during the day - guess that's part of the reason it's a prohibition style place - so we traveled on down Magnolia to The Yucatan Taco Stand. Great drinks, pretty good food.

Little Sis is getting excited for The Flying Saucer! This is the CSI shot of the bunch.  Can you find the photographer?

A little Breckenridge Vanilla Porter rounded out the day. The Rangers were on and kicking some Yankee butt, the crowd was all riled up and we were relaxed.

And finally, a shot that could only warm an audiologist's heart.  We made Little Sis some earmold impressions so she can get fancy-pants earphones for her iPod.

What's that I hear? A grackle?

I haven't asked any of my family members whether they approve of me using their names, likenesses, etc in this very public forum, so until a future time to be determined, we'll continue on with slightly amusing and annoying acronyms and nicknames.

Lil' B texted me today to ask "What does it mean when it sounds like you have a noisy bird in your ear?" I suppose it's a good thing that I can both answer and laugh at such questions. We spent some quality time on the phone discussing the possibilities. He made my job much harder by not having done any of the following:

• had the urge to try out a salt lick,


• drank approximately three pots of coffee,


• had a headache so massive that he ingested an unworldly amount of acetaminophen,


• and had avoided all manner of head injury while playing some puck.

I finally hit home with allergies and it became clear that while I have a Dr. in my title, I don't always appear to be one. Maybe they should think about making it a 5 year program to weed out the likes of me.

P.S. If it had been a grackle, his question would have been more aptly worded as such "What does it mean when it sounds like you have a band of monkeys hopped up on crack in your ear?" I'm pretty sure I would have called Western Psych to just go get him instead of answering him.