Go Twins!

I was able to go to the Twins game on Saturday afternoon versus the Kansas City Royals. My friend Jamie invited me to join him and two of his brother-in-laws and another person, and we were able to sit in a suite. Here's the view from our suite! Unfortunately, the Twins lost that game, but they still have a chance at winning their division and making the playoffs with a little help from the Tigers. Go Twins!

Update

My first two weeks of practicum/internships are in the books, and it has been going well. I am slowly getting some more contact with the students at DeLaSalle, with a few Senior interviews (college planning check-ins) scheduled for later this week. I've had a few more opportunities to work with the students at my Alternative site (Lincoln International), when I helped give classroom presentations on a career interest inventory. I've enjoyed working with the Somali and Latino populations at Lincoln.

I have also lined up another Elementary site, Gatewood, in Hopkins. I will be there 1 day a week, beginning this Thursday. And I have a lead on a potential Middle school practicum in Hopkins (one of the better school districts), hopefully starting there sometime in November.

Day One

Day one of my internship at DeLaSalle went really well yesterday! I have my own desk and computer (no access to it yet), and my very own name tag made by our Guidance Office student aid (I'll try to get a picture of it up soon). For the first few weeks, I will mainly be doing administrative tasks such as filing ACT/SAT test results, but after that they plan on getting me more involved in the counseling aspects, after I become more comfortable in that setting. The day really flew by and I was quite surprised to see that it was over so fast! I enjoyed talking with the other Guidance Counselors, and even getting to have some contact with some of the students.

On a rather disappointing note, my Elementary site backed out on me at the last minute. The School Counselor that I would be observing emailed me to say that because her position is partially-funded through a U of M grant, that they can only take on internship students from the U of M. So now I will have to try to locate another Elementary site - please pray that the process goes smoothly and quickly.

Remember...

Memorials at the Pentagon, and eventually at the World Trade Tower site:

New Adventure

Well, only 6 more days until I will be interning full-time in the school system! I pretty much have all of my sites lined up, with the exception of a middle school. They haven't gotten back to me in over a month, but are probably quite busy with the school year beginning. I will be splitting my time between DeLaSalle high 3 days a week, Lincoln International high (alternative) 1 day a week, and Anne Sullivan elementary 1 day a week. I will probably be at Hidden Oaks middle later on this Fall.

This coming Friday is also my last day at Target! For that matter, it is my last day receiving a paycheck for quite awhile! I will be living off of student loans for the next 6-8 months while I complete my required internship hours and my final Masters paper. It's been awhile since I didn't have a job, so I am trying to look at the experience as an "adventure," and will try to enjoy the time as much as I can. Hopefully next Fall I will be gainfully employed as a Licensed School Counselor.

I cannot wait until Monday!

Quote II

During this time of politics, I think the following quote sums it all up:

"Those who stand for nothing fall for anything."
- Alexander Hamilton

Fair Thoughts

I really enjoyed the State Fair this year! I went early Friday morning, and rode the bus from Southdale Mall, which saved me the expense of parking and the hassle of driving. I wandered around for a bit before settling on my first food of the day at 8:30 - a corn dog! I then quickly moved over to the cheese curd booth to partake in their goodness! I met up with James and Amy and their kids, and we walked around the Fair together for a few hours. We branched off after awhile, and I managed to get my last item of food for the day, a fresh strawberry shake from the dairy barn. I was going to share some cookies with James and Amy, and enjoy a lot of milk for only a buck, but their kids are not fond of chocolate chip cookies and I didn't want to eat a whole bucket by myself. Well, actually I did want to, but I decided against it! I will just have to wait until next year to enjoy them.

I was also able to spend time yesterday in one of my favorite spots in Minnesota - Stillwater. My friend Lisa was going to spend the day their because her husband Eric had to work, so I managed to join her for the day. It was a really fun time. Afterwards, we met up with Eric, and Jamie, Gretchen and the girls for a BBQ in a Bloomington park. It was a fun way to end the holiday weekend!