Life with Jenn & Bonzai

And the internship begins

2009-08-15T19:13:00.000-07:00

I have been an intern for exactly 2 week s now and it's been a great start. Of course all the initial orientations and training are a little boring but you gotta go through it, unfortunately I still have another site that I haven't started at yet, so I will have to do it all again soon. The good thing with not starting the other site yet, is that it has provided me the opportunity to work everyday at my other site which has been helpful and has made me feel more comfortable there right away. I have already been to the county jail twice in order to conduct 1370 evaluations, which are basically evaluations on people who are possibly incompetent to stand trial. I love it and have never done them before so it's definitely a new experience. Going to the jail is quite an experience and something to get used to but I know I picked the right field for myself because being inside the jail in the infirmary didn't really phase me, I actually enjoyed it!! Everybody has been super nice and helpful, like the office staff and our supervisors. The other 3 interns are really nice and I'm looking forward to getting to know them and working with them over the next year. Bonzai and I have pretty much got a good routine down, so I'm glad there hasn't been any problems with the transition. I do feel bad when I leave him in the morning because he's just cooped up in the apartment by himself all day but I do come home at lunch and I'm pretty sure he sleeps the entire time I'm gone, so I guess he's not that deprived!

This weekend is the first weekend in awhile that Bonzai and I have actually stayed in Bakersfield so it's been nice to get things organized and cleaned up around the apartment. Last weekend we went to Fresno and then back to my dad's since Vinny had a race near my dad's house. Friday night we got into Fresno and Bonzai had a play date with his buddy, Ozzy, a french bulldog. Then on Saturday, Vinny and I took Bonzai on his first trip to PetSmart, wow, did he enjoy that. He barked at the dogs in the doggie day care and every other dog he came in contact with. He also was super excited when any of the employees came up to pet him. He was pretty spoiled that day, he got 3 new toys and 2 packs of bones, treats at the checkout and then he got to hang out at Starbucks! The good thing is that we were actually able to get Bonzai into his harness, even though it took 3 of us to do it!! But since then I have had no luck with Bonzai letting me get his harness on him for his nightly walks. The next step for him is obedience school!

Recap of the last 2 weeks

2009-07-28T18:28:00.000-07:00

After I got Bonzai I did a search on the internet to see if there were any dog clubs in Bakersfield that I could join since I had heard about different dog breed groups in Fresno. Well I found one, so myself and Bonzai are apart of a Pug Group in Bakersfield!!! Laugh if you would like I know that it sounds kinda crazy but I thought that it would be a great way to meet people and to also find out about all the good dog spots (vets, groomers, kennels, etc). Bonzai and I have lived in Bako less than a month and already he has been to a meetup at the small dog park (where he was surrounded by 24 other pugs) and a pug pool party!!! He is by far the smallest and youngest at this point!! All the pugs are so cute, kinda plump and their owners couldn't have been any nicer!!

Bonzai isn't that good at doing the doggie paddle yet, but he likes taking over the raft!

And when he's over the pool, he's over it!!

I took a few road trips over the last few weeks the first one being down south to spend time with my old roommate and to go to Disneyland for free on my birthday!! Then I just went this last weekend to camp on the beach in Pismo with some friends to celebrate a friend's birthday. Not to mention the 3 hour drives I have done to go home for things that got left behind in the move. I have had to do some paperwork, drug tests, and other stuff to prepare for my internship which luckily starts Monday woohoo!! I'm so excited to start working because I have been extremely lazy lately and unproductive. I'm definitely a schedule type of person and prefer to be on a schedule most of the time otherwise I just keep putting things off. Other than that I am enjoying life in Bako so far and eager to start work and get a paycheck!!

An official resident of Bako

2009-07-08T11:55:00.000-07:00

I finally made the move to Bakersfield as of July 5. The 3 hours of driving and unloading the Uhaul at 4pm in the sweltering heat was such a joy. Thankfully I had my mom there to help me unpack and decorate my new place and I had Bonzai there to entertain me and be a pest. He did not enjoy being put in his crate while we unloaded the Uhaul and he let me know by barking and howling (his new thing). I already felt as if I was going to be evicted my first day there due to my usually well behaved pup. As you can see from the pics Bonzai was quite a help in the unpacking process by climbing on top or into boxes and inside of cupboards!!

I actually really like my apartment, I mean it's no Dominion Courtyard Villa like in Fresno, but it's a decent size, in a nice area and close to pretty much everything I need. I have had to adjust to taking Bonzai outside on a leash everytime he needs to take care of business especially since I have had the luxury of just opening the sliding door into the backyard for him! I only got to spend two days at the apartment before heading back north to Modesto to bring my mom back but I'm actually looking forward to going back and enjoying having my own place, even if it is in Bakersfield!!

I'm back in the 209

2009-03-24T20:29:00.000-07:00

After a long and exhausting weekend of moving I am officially living with my dad back in the 209. Let's just say that moving is one of the most tedious and annoying things a person can do. I honestly should be a professional at moving since I have moved 7 times in the last 8 years but clearly I'm not since this moving process turned into a nightmare. I really didn't think I had that much stuff, but then when I started to pack stuff it was as though it was never going to end. Towards the end I just wanted to throw things away just so that I didn't have to pack anymore and worry about making room in a vehicle for the stuff. So obviously by this point cleaning my apartment became one of the last things I wanted to do since I knew that I still had tons of work to do at my new residence like unpacking and making room for all of my stuff. To make matters worse I have to go through the moving process again in 3 months!!! Hopefully the move to Bakersfield will go smoother since it will have to be done at one time and I don't really plan on unpacking too much while I'm at my dads, just the essentials.

Okay, so now that I am done venting and throwing myself a pity party, hehe, I can mention the good news. I think I have found a pug puppy and hopefully will be able to bring him home on Friday!!! I'm so excited but feel so unprepared because I haven't bought any puppy supplies yet, even though I have been shopping online for everything I will need and comparing prices at all the different stores. The good thing is that I'm on spring break this week so that I have the time to get myself organized at my dad's and shop for the puppy. The bad thing is that with everything I have to do my break is going to fly by and I still have to do some schoolwork unfortunately. On another good note, after almost two months of not having a laptop since mine decided to completely stop working, FedEx showed up today with my brand new laptop! So far I love it but getting the wireless internet configured, and putting the programs I need on it are kind of a hassle but once it's done it should be all good.

So now I have no reason not to keep my blog updated!! And hopefully pics of the puppy soon!

March is flying by

2009-03-15T13:57:00.000-07:00

So this month is super busy for me. I have class 3 weekends in a row which is never fun but one more weekend to go after today and I will be done with classes forever (hopefully!)! The class I'm in currently is extremely boring but we are in a computer lab so pretty much the whole class is doing everything else but pay attention. I actually am sick of the computer at this point because I was browsing the internet for about 7 hours yesterday!!

St. Patrick's Day is one of my favorite holidays and for the last two years I have celebrated by participating with some friends in a Pub Crawl in Sacramento. It's always a lot of fun and unfortunately because of my class schedule I won't be able to go this year, which is pretty depressing since I have yet to finish the pub crawl....I almost did last year, I made it to bar 18 out of 21 but then had to head back to the hotel and pass out after puking in the bushes outside of the HardRock Cafe!!!

On top of having class on the weekends I am also rushing to move out of my apartment and get my stuff to my dad's house before the 23rd, so thankfully my mom is bringing my sister to help me pack up all the little stuff this week and she is going to become the maid too, and help me clean up that place once my stuff is moved out! Hopefully the move goes smoothly and then it's on to searching for a pug puppy and maybe a quick trip to Florida for spring break to visit my aunt, uncle and adorable cousin.

The wait is finally over!

2009-02-24T10:05:00.000-08:00

The last 3 months of my life have been consumed with waiting to find out where I would get an internship and at last the wait is over.... I'm moving to Bakersfield! I'm not super excited about moving to Bakersfield but it's only for a year and I am sooo grateful that I got an internship site and that it pays!!! It's only 2 hours from Fresno, and 4 hours from my family so it could have been a lot worse like across the country but fortunately it's not. I'm also excited to finally have my own place and because I will be all by myself I'm finally going to get the puppy I have been wanting, a little fawn pug named Bonzai! I feel like I am crashing from an intense anxiety high that I have had for the last few months, so I am alleviated, excited and mentally tired. My life is going to be a little crazy and full of commuting for awhile since I don't start my internship until August and my lease is up at the end of March, I will be moving back home with my dad April-mid July to save some money. So that means I will need to commute back to Fresno 3 or 4 days a week for work until the end of May, but I would rather spend a little bit more in gas then rent, utilities, etc. Well I feel like I am about to start the next chapter in my life and I am soooo close to finishing this whole professional student process that I just feel like the next year of my life is going to fly right by! Oh I almost forget the other bonus of my soon to be new residence...I will be closer to Disneyland!!

My relationship with religion

2009-01-27T14:56:00.000-08:00

I like to think of myself as a fairly intelligent young woman however, when it comes to the topic of religion I am pretty much clueless. My parents were both raised Catholic but they never imposed these beliefs on me growing up. I did attend Catacism (bascially bible study for children) but I unfortunately did not make it to 1st Communion, I was a Catacism dropout by the young age of 7. Needless to say that was the end of my ties with religion. Although I have attended church with my grandma and mom for the various holidays, marriages or funerals, I myself have never thought about attending church until recently. I have gone back and forth with my thoughts and beliefs on whether or not I believe in God but I think that I have finally come to the conclusion that I do believe. So, I decided to go to church last Sunday with my friend Ashley, to just check it out.
The church is based on Christian beliefs and is pretty casual, much different from the masses in a Catholic church that I had been accustomed to growing up, but very similar to the church that my mom has been attending. The first 15-30 minutes of church was music which was cool but that is when my mind goes crazy with thoughts like "can they tell I'm new here cuz I'm sure I stick out", "why are these people raising their hands up to the sky", "I don't understand this song", and on and on. But then the pastor started the sermon and I loved it, although the topic was a continuation on a series he had been doing on how to be a loving and spiritual husband, he was very entertaining and engaging. The pastor incorporated various passages from the Bible but did it in a way that was easy to understand and made sense. He also used real life examples that were funny and very true of most people. All in all it was a good experience and I'm glad I went but I definitely left church with a ton of questions, poor Ashley! I feel that I struggle with religion because I am in a field that is based on science, research, and facts whereas religion is faith and belief which is difficult for me to comprehend since I am a person who always want to know why things are the way they are. My intentions are not to become a "holy roller" but to become knowledgeable on a topic that is completely foreign to me and to figure out my own beliefs. Religion is a topic that commonly comes up with my clients, which also makes me feel that I need to have a better grasp in order to help or understand my clients better. Well I guess this will be my insightful, serious and indepth post for this month!!

Really Eagles?!

2009-01-18T15:57:00.001-08:00

I just finished watching my team the Eagles lose to the Cardinals in the NFC Championships, what a disappointment. I mean really could Philly have shown up to the game and least try to play defense against Fitzgerald in the first half?! And what about the crappy kicker Akers missing a field goal and a PAT!! That guy needs to be fired after choking like that during a big game. I was happy to see Philly get fired up and make some big plays and put some points on the board in the 3rd but to just let it all slip away in the 4th was pretty frustrating. I'm rooting for the Ravens now!!

Internship interviews

2009-01-18T15:44:00.000-08:00

So I have finished my internship interviews and now have to wait until February 20 to find out if I was matched with either one of the sites I went to. Because I have absolutely no patience whatsoever, this is the most annoying experience ever!! I interviewed at Valley State Prison for Women in Chowchilla and at first I thought that I would not do well working with an all female population but after meeting some of the staff and talking with the current interns, I really want to go there. It would also be nice because then I could live in Fresno and just commute to Chowchilla, but overall the training and experience available there sounds very appealing and exciting to me. However I'm not so sure about my interview because I felt like I just rambled on and didn't really answer their questions but at least I had them laughing at times!! Also, they have to remember me because I was the unlucky girl who did not get gate clearance because of the system being down and so the interview panel had to come up to the front admin building to interview me, and at that point I had been the only person to not have gate clearance. Anyways, my hour interview was shortened down to 30 minutes, which could be viewed as a good thing but I felt that I was speed talking and not making much sense! Oh well. Last Friday, I headed down to good ole' Bakersfield and interviewed there. I have to be honest that I'm not the biggest fan of Bakersfield but if I have to live there for a year for an internship that's better than not having an internship at all. So now I just wait and see what happens and where I will be spending the next year of my life!

Quarter Life Crisis??

2008-08-12T19:48:00.000-07:00

Since my last post (3 months ago!) a lot has been going on. I finished my thesis (yea!!), started working out of town 3 days a week with sex offenders, and turned 25!! Let's just start with the best subject my birthday! So usually I am looking forward to my birthday and thinking about the next theme party I want to have...but not this year. I don't know what it was but this year I just didn't make a big deal out of my birthday. It wasn't the fact that I was turning 25 because really getting older doesn't bother me but I guess the fact that my birthday was on a Monday just did not scream out fun to me or maybe I was just going thru a quarter life crisis who knows. But that doesn't mean that I didn't have a wonderful 25th birthday. Megan setup a surprise gourmet dinner for me with friends and got me the most amazing gift ever...a Kitchen-Aid Standing Mixer!! It's one of the best gifts I've ever gotten and I LOVE it. For those of you who are not into cooking or baking you cannot fully understand the love one can have towards this amazing kitchen appliance but let me tell you it's fabulous!! I also recieved a great gift from Vinny that again just goes to show that he really does listen to me when I'm talking about the things I like and I never know what to expect from him but it's always wonderful and thoughtful. And let's not forget the ice cream maker I got from my mom, again another amazing kitchen appliance that all should have. Let's just say the ice cream maker has been making some fantastic and fattening ice cream. Cookie dough was the first one and it was amazing, next came rocky road again delicious and just today cookies and cream has hit the freezer.

Okay enough about my awesome birthday, let's get to the present. Over the weekend I traveled up north with Vinny to my dad's house so that he could be closer to his race on Saturday near Patterson. He did amazing and got 2nd then we traveled down to SoCal because he raced in Irvine on Sunday. Well, we took the I5 and of course we got hungry when we were traveling thru Kettlemen City so we stopped. Unfortunately we stopped at a nasty restaurant and had a horrible meal (which we did not even eat). Our choices were fast food restaurants and one diner so we chose the diner..big mistake. Nothing tasted fresh and there were flies all over that were driving me crazy. Back on the road and of course we hit a little bit of traffic once we got to LA but other than that it was a smooth ride. Our hotel was actually in Santa Ana and it was pretty ghetto but hey we were only there less than 12 hours so for the price can't complain. But the place was pretty run down and looked like it was being used for low income housing as well so you can imagine some of the peeps not to mention the fact that there was a party going on in the building next to the hotel that was blaring Mexican music. I was looking forward to Sunday morning because I talked Vinny into going to breakfast at Knott's Berry Farm at Mrs. Knott's Chicken Dinner restaurant. Their breakfast is good and you get tons of food, I mean every meal comes with Biscuits and Gravy, I'm not a huge fan of biscuits and gravy but their's is great!! I apologize for all the food talk but I am a foody. So in Irvine Vinny raced for almost 4.5 hours/ 120 miles and got 13th. He's pretty crazy! I sat there reading a book from my new favorite person Anthony Bourdain. I love how the guy just says what he thinks without any inhibition. I also had the nerve-wracking job of feeding Vinny and another cyclist water bottles when they passed by the feedzone...ahhh scary at first but not too bad after 6 laps! Well we got back to Fresno around 1am and so I pretty much started my Monday off tired and more tired. So I'm sure I did great therapy with my clients! Well I think that's a lot for now but hopefully I can stay more consistent so that I don't have to write these epic catch up blogs!!!

I'm the worst blogger ever!

2008-04-01T17:26:00.000-07:00

So clearly I was completely lazy during the month of March because there was plenty to write about such as the Pub Crawl and Easter but I decided hey let's just wait til April to post again and then write an epic blog. Brief review of March, basically St. Patty's is one of the best holidays to celebrate and every year Megan and I head up to Sac to celebrate with the 5 Hundy Crew for the ultimate pub crawl. It started at 2pm and you drink a beer per bar, so how I ended up wasted and puking outside of Hard Rock at 10pm is just ridiculous to me! Needless to say I did not make it to the end but I still did 18 out of 21 not too bad! Now on to the super early Easter this year. Well, this was the first time I spent a holiday completely with Vinny and his family. Craziness!! We went up to Auberry to have lunch with his dad's side and then back to Fresno for dinner at his mom's. It actually turned out to be a nice Easter even though I felt bad for not going home. I also made dessert for Easter at his mom's house and everybody enjoyed it so that was good. I guess I'm a keeper!! Or at least I like to tell myself that! Over the weekend I traveled with Vinny and his family down south to San Dimas (which I had never heard of before) for 3-days of cycling. I had a good time, I was able to finish 2 books while Vinny was racing so I felt pretty productive. Vinny's grandpa provided the entertainment, he's one of the funniest people I've met with his blunt one liners. Now after spending a day back home at my dad's I'm back in Fresno at work for 2 days then off to Disneyland for a conference. My spring break started yesterday so clearly working just for the few hours a day I do work absolutely sucks, and pretty much I'm gonna need another spring break just to recover from all my traveling within a two week period. Well, that's pretty much everything that's going down in my life right now. I'm just counting down the days till I'm done at the drug rehab and on to my next clientale of menaces to society!!

I'm such a slacker!!

2008-02-12T19:03:00.000-08:00

To make Brianne happy I will blog everyday :) it will be like a Seinfeld episode everyday because my blog will be about nothing, absolutely nothing. So let me begin with how my day went on this beautiful Tuesday in February. I began my day at 4am since that is when Vinny woke me up and usually I run in Fig Garden on Tuesday's at 5:30a with some ladies from my triathlon club but when I checked the message board the ladies both had posted that they weren't gonna make it this morning....so needless to say I didn't run and then felt guilty all day long about it. I mean I stayed up until 5 going over my stat's homework and checking some stuff on the internet, I even changed into my running clothes but then I laid down to read something and it was lights out for me until 6:45a. So off to my stat's class at 8am, I love the professor but let's get real here stat's & I aren't the best of friends it makes me feel dumb every Tuesday morning!! Back to my apartment for a chit-chat fest with Megan and a quick Target run. Then it was back to my apartment for the good stuff. I spent two hours of my life making cupcakes and homemade frosting!! Even though I ate like 1000 calories within 2 cupcakes how could I pass up a red velvet cupcake with cream cheese frosting and I'm the chef so I have to make sure they are edible for others..right?. Oh and did I forget to mention that I completely tanked on going to my practicum site (great one more thing for me to feel guilty about) but I'm gonna blame this one on Vinny cuz he's the one who talked me into tanking so that I could try a Hungry Howie's pizza with him. But of course I ended up not liking it, what can you do, it was a $5.99 pizza. Then I finished off the day watching The Biggest Loser. I swear that show gets me everytime because the people are such nice people but just really obese. I especially love the fact that I sit my ass on the couch and watch people lose weight and workout hard as I am thinking in my head "I should really go to the gym"! Crazy. So basically that was my day pretty much a day of nothing.

Of course I'm not ready for school...

2008-01-23T21:48:00.000-08:00

Originally I thought I would be blogging like everyday...but then you get home and just want to chill out or are busy doing stuff or just plain don't want to do it. Don't get me wrong I have plenty to write about ask my roommate Megan because she has to listen to all my stories and shenanegans (sp?) on a daily basis. So this Tuesday school started bright and early at 8 am (of course I was 5 minutes late) with good ole' multivariate statistics..woo hoo!! This morning I spent at least an hour of my time trying to figure out what would be the cheapest sites to buy my textbooks from.To me spring semester always seems to fly by and I tend to do better in spring but I'm not so sure about this spring since I am behind on my thesis and basically need to catch up by Monday!! I would love to say that I have confidence in myself to acheive this task but anymore I am really questioning my ability, especially since in the last year I have come to dread school and just want to be done and working in my field. Okay, okay enough about the mental rollercoaster involved with grad school! On to other big news for the week..I have bangs now! I've made this huge change in my appearance due to my easily bored attitude and now I am suffering the consequences because I hate it!! But you know what it's only hair and it will grow out so I just need to deal and look like a 5 year old for awhile!! I'm too tired to write anymore...till next time!!

I want to be a blogger too!

2008-01-13T14:30:00.000-08:00

As I was reading other people's blog I was thinking to myself "this is so neat" so needless to say I've decided to start my own. At first I was thinking what could I possibly right about on a blog. I mean my life at times seems pretty boring, basically consisting of grad school and practicum (work that I do not get paid for). But then when I really thought about it I actually have a really fun and entertaining life for the most part. Grad school alone is a non-stop rollercoaster that I am so ready to be off but I only have a little bit longer to go. Practicum is unbelievable because of all the different people I meet on a daily basis. Then there are all the fun times with my friends and wildness that goes on there. Crazyness with Megan within the walls of our apartment and sometimes we even it talk it publicly so beware! And of course time with Vinny is always interesting! At this moment right now I am watching the playoff game Giants vs. Cowboys with Megan, Mark and Vinny, clearly I am rooting for the Giants because I cannot stand the Cowboys. And since the Colts lost this morning I am really hoping one of the teams I picked will win today!! Well this is the start of my blog and I'm sure there will be tons more because I tend to be a talker so I am sure there will be plenty of random thoughts to share.