I started tutoring a 43 yr old male this week. He reads at about a second grade level.
It still amazes me that there are so many adults out there that were pushed through school or never made it through school.
That is all changing, one person at a time. And it is a wonderful feeling to be able to help someone how to read and write.
This first week we did a little "get to know you" stuff.
One of the reasons he wants to learn to read is to advance in his job. He wants to get his Class A drivers license. He will also need to learn a manual at work and test on that. This of course is down the road. There are smaller goals to reach first. He wants to be able to read to his 4 yr. old niece. And there are many other things that he wants to be able to read.
We start small and build our way up.
The bottom line is, he gets to improve himself and I get to feel good about myself.
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Saturday, February 23, 2008
It's been since December!
It's been since the beginning of December since I've sat down to let everyone know what's been going on. Partially because it's just the same old stuff.
Robert is still in CT and doesn't understand what I try to tell him. I'm still trying to get him to understand how I feel about all of this and he can't seem to see past it. I see an email or snail mail going to him shortly spelling it out clearly to him. This way he can't stop me and try to tell me I don't understand or I'm trying to control things. If he wants me to control things, I could and he would really see the difference. Ok - that's the Readers Digest version.
Work is as busy and crazy as ever. I could work 24 x 7 and still have work to do. I know, job security but some days I feel like my head is spinning (and it's not from being dizzy when I stand up). Most of the people on our team work on one system and sometimes special projects. I happen to work on all 4 systems, special projects and do anything else they toss at me including helping other areas. Now where is the justice in this? Sometimes it doesn't pay to be good at what you do.
Most of you don't know that I took training to become a Literacy Tutor. I just received my first student and we start on Monday. My student is a 43 year old male who wants to learn to read. He can read some but not that much. I'm excited to be doing this. I'm sure I'm just as nervous as he is. I'll try to keep everyone updated, at least weekly, on how this goes.
And in case anyone is wondering why I've decided to do this:
1) my therapist has been pushing me to get out of the house and with some health issues (more to follow) this was something I could do and not worry about them.
2) it is something I can do to help others.
My original thought was to do something to help children but I thought I would start with adults who would be more cooperative.
Health issues -
the main health issue that has kept me from doing a whole lot, mainly exercising, is my Blood Pressure. It has a tendency to go from being in the normal range to going high to going way too low. I didn't want to be out anywhere and have my BP drop low and have someone call 911 on me. I am not, I repeat NOT going to the emergency room because my BP dropped.
I went for a Tilt Table Test last week. Now that is an interesting and very boring test. If you've never heard of it, they strap you on a table, "stand" you up to an 80 degree angle and leave you there for 30 minutes. They are trying to get you to pass out. If you don't (and I didn't), they put a nitro tablet under your tounge to make you more sensitive to the test and you get to stay in that position for another 15 minutes. Well I didn't pass out - so I passed the test. But I did get extremely tired and cold. That's how I get when my BP goes very low.
My doctor did change my BP med and I'm doing better but my BP still drops. The only thing is, it's not on the list of meds through my insurance - so we'll have to talk about when I go for my physical in a couple of weeks.
I am going to see a nutritionist on 3/18. There are somedays it's just too hard to figure out what to eat, except maybe a piece of card board. I need to watch the fats, carbs, cholesterol and the sugar. I am hoping the nutritionist can help me set up some meal plans and substitutions I can use. Yes, I'm a picky eater and if I eat something more than a couple of times a week, I don't want to eat it again for a few weeks.
The week of March 17th, my daughter, Becky will be coming down to visit during her spring break. She doesn't know it yet but I do have some doctor appts that week and I'll be tutoring on Monday and Tues. But, we'll still have plenty of time to go out and do things.
I think that about catches me up. I'll try to do better, especially since I'll start to tutor and I want to keep a log of how it goes and this is a good place to do that.
Oh yeah, and when I attempt to quit smoking again - I will want to try and log that progress here as well.
Robert is still in CT and doesn't understand what I try to tell him. I'm still trying to get him to understand how I feel about all of this and he can't seem to see past it. I see an email or snail mail going to him shortly spelling it out clearly to him. This way he can't stop me and try to tell me I don't understand or I'm trying to control things. If he wants me to control things, I could and he would really see the difference. Ok - that's the Readers Digest version.
Work is as busy and crazy as ever. I could work 24 x 7 and still have work to do. I know, job security but some days I feel like my head is spinning (and it's not from being dizzy when I stand up). Most of the people on our team work on one system and sometimes special projects. I happen to work on all 4 systems, special projects and do anything else they toss at me including helping other areas. Now where is the justice in this? Sometimes it doesn't pay to be good at what you do.
Most of you don't know that I took training to become a Literacy Tutor. I just received my first student and we start on Monday. My student is a 43 year old male who wants to learn to read. He can read some but not that much. I'm excited to be doing this. I'm sure I'm just as nervous as he is. I'll try to keep everyone updated, at least weekly, on how this goes.
And in case anyone is wondering why I've decided to do this:
1) my therapist has been pushing me to get out of the house and with some health issues (more to follow) this was something I could do and not worry about them.
2) it is something I can do to help others.
My original thought was to do something to help children but I thought I would start with adults who would be more cooperative.
Health issues -
the main health issue that has kept me from doing a whole lot, mainly exercising, is my Blood Pressure. It has a tendency to go from being in the normal range to going high to going way too low. I didn't want to be out anywhere and have my BP drop low and have someone call 911 on me. I am not, I repeat NOT going to the emergency room because my BP dropped.
I went for a Tilt Table Test last week. Now that is an interesting and very boring test. If you've never heard of it, they strap you on a table, "stand" you up to an 80 degree angle and leave you there for 30 minutes. They are trying to get you to pass out. If you don't (and I didn't), they put a nitro tablet under your tounge to make you more sensitive to the test and you get to stay in that position for another 15 minutes. Well I didn't pass out - so I passed the test. But I did get extremely tired and cold. That's how I get when my BP goes very low.
My doctor did change my BP med and I'm doing better but my BP still drops. The only thing is, it's not on the list of meds through my insurance - so we'll have to talk about when I go for my physical in a couple of weeks.
I am going to see a nutritionist on 3/18. There are somedays it's just too hard to figure out what to eat, except maybe a piece of card board. I need to watch the fats, carbs, cholesterol and the sugar. I am hoping the nutritionist can help me set up some meal plans and substitutions I can use. Yes, I'm a picky eater and if I eat something more than a couple of times a week, I don't want to eat it again for a few weeks.
The week of March 17th, my daughter, Becky will be coming down to visit during her spring break. She doesn't know it yet but I do have some doctor appts that week and I'll be tutoring on Monday and Tues. But, we'll still have plenty of time to go out and do things.
I think that about catches me up. I'll try to do better, especially since I'll start to tutor and I want to keep a log of how it goes and this is a good place to do that.
Oh yeah, and when I attempt to quit smoking again - I will want to try and log that progress here as well.
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