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My master’s thesis will be on the relationship between stress and life satisfaction in occupational therapy graduate students.

Here’s our recruitment flyer.  (No need to respond, we’re only taking San Jose State OT students!)

(Update: I’m pretty sure I found an interviewee, thanks!)

Looking for 85 year-old interviewee
I am looking to interview a person that is at least 85 years old and in well health for one of my Occupational Therapy Master’s program classes at San Jose State University. Do you know someone I might speak to?

The interview will take an hour or two and focus on the breadth of the interviewee’s life thus far. When I say “well health”, I generally mean that they are not having a current serious medical complication.

I believe the interview and the followup could be valuable and enjoyable for both interviewee and interviewer. The interview I did last semester for another project was very enjoyable for all!

All discussions will be held with strict confidentiality.

My classmate Sarah is seriously considering running off with the circus for her Occupational Therapy international fieldwork experience! She’ll be joining a group called CircusAID. The program is being developed as a branch of Holistic Circus Therapy that worked with Syrian, Afghani, and Iraqi refugees in Lesvos, Greece, where thousands of refugees were arriving by boat almost daily, experiencing occupational deprivation.

Read more about what CircusAID will be doing:
http://wanderlust.com/journal/a-circus-act-that-serves-a-smile-to-refugees/

Last Academic Semester. I’m writing this from the BART train. Today begins my last academic semester at San Jose State University, studying for my Master’s of Occupational Therapy degree. This summer and fall I’ll be doing fieldwork. Then in January I’ll take the NBCOT. Passing that, I’ll be an Occupational Therapist!

Last semester was rough. The stress of the program, lack of sleep, very long hours, and isolation took it’s toll on me and my family. I feel like I’m ducking into a long, dark tunnel for another four months. Please wish us well.

My resolve to complete my OT Master’s degree has been reinforced. This week I received a grant from the  Viola Palmer Memorial Scholarship.

Here is an edited snippet from my Thank you letter:

Grad school takes a lot of focus and I’ve got a lot of things going on in my life: a beautiful 8 month old baby, a new wife, some medical conditions that go along with aging,  and a 5 hr daily commute.

The money is important for paying bills but  the idea that a stranger would help me get through grad school is revitalizing. It speaks to your confidence in this path and faith in my success. There are times when I am low on confidence and faith; you restore me. Thank you.

Hey, this is starting to look real!
Here’s a flyer for one of our community programs.

My backpack is juuuust right.

Classmate Nathan Nam and I weigh my backpack as part of the San Jose State University Occupational Therapy Department’s
Backpack Awareness Day!

I am looking to interview a person with Parkinson’s disease that is between 40 and 65 years old for one of my Occupational Therapy Master’s program classes at San Jose State University. Any help you could give in finding an interviewee would be greatly appreciated. The interview will take maybe twenty minutes to an hour and focus is on how Parkinson’s affects their daily life. I believe the interview and the followup could be valuable for everyone involved.

All discussions will be held with the same confidentiality as any medical professional. You can contact me here.

Dr. Adolf Meyer meets Dr. Herbert Hall

We gave presentations in History of OT class. I presented a speech written by my classmates and I as Dr. Adolf Meyer, one of the foundational inspirations of OT in America. My classmate Casey presented as Dr. Herbert Hall. We all rocked.

Thanks to my brother-in-law Jeff for the 1920’s suit. It looked gooooood!

Here’s my current commute:

• Drive to North Berkeley Bart 11 minutes and park. $2.50/day
• Train BART to Fremont, 50 minute ride, $8 round trip
• Bus VTA 181 express to downtown San Jose, 40 minute ride, $0.00 with my SJSU pass ($8 round trip w/o)
• Walk 10 minute to class

It usually takes 2 hours, 30 minutes door to door.

The train/bus runs every 15 minutes like clockwork all day.
I always get a seat on the train, almost always a seat on the bus (the folks coming on the train from San Francisco sometimes have to stand)
I usually get about an hour of work done on the train with my laptop tethered to the internet on my phone. And I usually get just a bit carsick on the bus. :-(