Student Blog
Life Hacks

Me vs. the Gym ⟩
January 30, 2012, by Floyd

Life Hacks

So this is it. It’s time to get back into a regular exercise routine. I used to be very active and go to the gym regularly; however, [insert excuses here]. No more excuses, it’s time to get back to it.

I am not going to do the “gym thing” because I am not willing to shell out the monetary funds to support something I can do on my own for free. I think the only reason why I am writing this blog because it will motivate me to follow-through with my commitment. For my sake, let’s hope that it will bloom into fruition. I would love to do something like P-90X but I have no one in my house! There I go again with my excuses . . .

Let’s see . . . I can do push-ups and sit-ups on my yoga mat at home. My room is really cluttered so I would have to do some organization and kill two birds with one stone (clean my room and exercise, yay!). Plank exercises are good right? Maybe some of those will be good. Oh, I can throw in some free weights! This way, I can watch TV and do some lifting. Ok, I know myself. I know if I put too much on my plate, I will not do it. So maybe just the free weights for now. Then throwing in some push-ups and so on.

Now what to do with scheduling this exercise in. I think 3 times a week is a good start. Hey, it’s better than the nothing I’m doing now.

That’s me down there . . . the T-REX!

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Penny the Kitten ⟩
January 25, 2012, by Alix

Life Hacks

Last week we adopted a new kitten! Her name is Penny. She’s extremely adorable. She’s also completely fearless, which makes her the opposite of our other cat, Jimmy. (He is afraid of anything bigger than a bottle cap and/or anything that moves.) We read a lot of horror stories about two cats living in the same household and hating each other, so we were nervous about how Penny and Jimmy would get along. But I am happy to report that they are best friends already. They follow each other around all day long and play hide-and-seek. The only problem happens when Penny tries to play with Jimmy’s favorite toy, a fuzzy plush tick (yes, a tick), which he would protect with his life. Here’s a picture of Penny in her favorite little house. Welcome to the family, Penny.

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Happy Holidays ⟩
December 22, 2011, by Kimberly

Life Hacks

We hope you’ve enjoyed all the blogging this semester. The Ambassadors will be signing off until January 9th so we can enjoy a break from school and work. Hope you are finding time to relax as well. Just in case you need a few hints, here are some of our favorite OT strategies to relax and unwind. Whether the holidays allow you to do that or bring more stress on, these should help. So enjoy and we will be back in the New Year!!!

Reduce Your Stress
Breathe (simple, yet essential)
Be thankful
Work out
See an old friend
Write in a journal
Play with a pet
Use this
Get creative in how you do something
Have fun and laugh
Drink green or chamomile tea (it calms you down and is good for you)

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Occupation Renewal ⟩
October 4, 2011, by Floyd

Life Hacks

I used to be in cross country in high school and started to do less running when I went to college. During my undergrad, I ran the track once or twice a week. But after I graduated and started my career, I stopped running for leisure. Now that I am in graduate school, I do no more than walk to class from my car in the parking lot. So I decided that I should get back into it after so many years. I did not want to start at it alone so I coerced my friends to run with me during the annual Run for Diabetes. My friends and I even raised over two thousand dollars and participated in the run on a sunny Saturday afternoon.

Even though I felt sore and tired the day after the run, it feels satisfying to have accomplished it. Whether or not it is all in my mind, I can already feel the benefits from the run. Elizabeth June Yerxa researched on life satisfaction of people living with severe disabilities and illustrated that by learning about how people develop into occupational beings, we can help people increase their well-being. Being able to participate my occupation of running, I am able to do something I love while improving on my overall health. Unlike exercise, I do not find running as a chore or duty in order to support of health and well-being. Running is an occupation that supports my interest and indirectly promotes my life and work balance.

I thought I lost all my interest in running but it has been hidden within me and needing to be ignited by the start of the activity. It was a great feeling to be running again. It has been so many years since I ran; it was somewhat like I was doing it for a first time. I did have some endurance difficulty since I did not properly train for the run, but like riding a bike, I got back into it steadily. Running may not be a novel occupation to me, but I have not been doing it for many years and I have been curious in participating in this occupation again. Also, I never participated in the Run for Diabetes, which came to a great surprise and I hope to do it again next year.

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Procrastination . . . I Mean Occupation! ⟩
September 30, 2011, by Alix

Life Hacks School/Life Balance

I’m pretty busy this semester, so when distractions come up throughout the week, I ignore them. For about five minutes. Then I move through stage two of the procrastination phase, mostly involving profound guilt, shame, and self-beratement. Finally, I give in. For example, I am in the middle of planning my wedding. As some of you probably know, a person could literally fill 60 hours a week with wedding planning. There are always details to iron out, vendors to contact, and logistics to agonize over. (Especially since our wedding is taking place in a field, under a tree, with no infrastructure or electrical outlets.) Plus, the internet contains a seeminly endless supply of wedding blogs, all filled with pictures of perfectly executed events and reasons that you should be panicking about yours. And this is in addition to the wedding magazines that arrive practically daily at my front door. I find myself wondering what kind of dessert to serve, and then spending three hours “researching” the (very complex and elusive) answer. But then the other day I had a brilliant realization: Maybe this isn’t procrastination. Maybe it’s an occupation! Maybe planning my wedding is one of my leisure occupations! And being in OT school, I of all people should know that health requires a balance of work, rest, and leisure. So, in reality, I should be proud of myself. Right?

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