WorkAbility IV

...if it isn't one thing, it's another...

2010-03-08T16:52:00.000-08:00

(tangent- the title of this post reminds me of a pillow that my step-mom has, reading "If it's not one thing, it's your mother"....quite true at times...but not the case today.)

I've been having a bit of a week. I went to get my hearing checked last week (and if you've met me, you probably know that I can not hear very well) to find that my hearing is in mostly normal ranges except for mild to moderate hearing loss in the upper pitches of my right ear....which doesn't seem like a big deal, but it turns out that asymmetrical hearing loss isn't a good thing to have. The Ear Nose and Throat doc ordered an MRI to rule out a tumor in my Internal Auditory Canal. Funtimes, right?

To add to that, I have a bad habit of not telling doctors important pieces of information. For instance, I had a hernia for at least 3 years before I told a doctor and had it promptly repaired. In this case, I neglected to tell the doctor (and actually met with him today to discuss the matter) that I have terrible balance but used to have great motor skills and climb all over the place as a kid, I have pretty severe adhd, I hallucinate sporadically, I'm always tired....all good things....and his response was that it is "all more reason for me to get an mri as soon as possible."

After battling with my health insurance (story of my life....I love how difficult they make things once they actually need to pay for services), I scheduled the mri. I will be going in tomorrow morning at 8am to an imaging center in Oakland. Bean will be going with me, which I appreciate SO MUCH because it is EARLY and far away and he has a midterm that day.....good friends are a good thing.

So, I've been kind of out of it, anxious...I just want to get this over with and sorted out....and once I get a clean mri, then I can get to work with evaluative testing to figure out what's up with my brain.

I'll let you know what happens.

Best always,

Morgan

Look at this cool gizmo!

2010-03-08T16:38:00.000-08:00

So, I'm a bit of a tech nerd.....I love me some gadgets, gizmos and doo-hickies...and this one is pretty cool!

It is called the Emotiv EPOC headset, and it uses EEG electrodes and a gyroscope to track your brainwaves and head motions....not only is a ridiculously cool toy to mess around with or to do research with, it seems like it will have endless applications for folks with disabilities who have trouble using pre-existing technological interfaces......I'm pretty stoked.

Check out the article on wired.com HERE .

Hope you're keeping afloat amidst the miderms,

Morgan

Hey WAIVers, here's the scoop on a fantastic recruiting program!

2010-01-29T11:25:00.000-08:00

EntryPoint, a program that is mainly geared towards the science-types with disabilities (http://ehrweb.aaas.org/entrypoint/) was here on Monday the 25th and gave us some marvelous pointers that we wanted to share:

1. They've got a lot of brand spanking new internships and jobs that have nothing to do with science. And you don't have to be a current student - you can be a "fresh out".
2. The recruiter gave us interview tips for an interview and/or job fair:

For the Job Fair:

Before getting in a line, stand by the table ostensibly to gather flyer information -but listen to some of the questions that others are being asked. Then get in line. Craft your responses and questions for them while you are waiting in line.
Ask about 'affinity' groups if you are interested in the types of recruiting they do - "what's your affinity with disability?" or "do you have diversity recruiting programs?"

Clearly put on your resume (in your objective) if you are looking for permanent full time, part time or internships. The recruiters will separate the resumes into piles - you want to be sure yours will be in the right one!
Add your relevant coursework
Talk about your relevant projects, use buzzwords like "team"

For Interviews:
Be prepared for behavioral interview questions. Re: your disability: explain it. Translate what your disability means "I'll bet you're wondering how I can do the job" - and explain how you can. Describe your projects, what you can do, etc. This is especially good for those of us with visible disabilities that people might be wondering/making judgments about.

The recruiter is Jean Morrell and she's fabulous. If you'd like to be connected with her, tap at me (meriah@berkeley.ed) and I'll connect you.

school, week 2.

2010-01-28T00:56:00.000-08:00

A week and a half into the semester and I already have a lot of work. I miss when classes took weeks to get going and there wasn't any work for at least 2 weeks while teachers sorted everything out...ah, High School and its inefficiencies. I just found out that I have to add another class to my schedule to graduate. Thanks History of Art Department! At least I get to take a post-1800 course instead of a pre-1800 one. But the only one that (kinda) fits into my schedule is 20th century British Art, which I am not all that interested in...well, we'll see. I'm going for the first time tomorrow. Ugh. I will be ending my college career with 19 units. ewwww.

As you all know, I live in a co-op, which means I share chores. I am a cook and I cooked tonight. It is a lot of fun, but it is really tiring and can get stressful when you realize that one of the ovens doesn't work when you are trying to bake meat/fake meat balls. It all turned out well though. We are working on getting a brand new stove and I can't wait for it to arrive!

Now I am off to bed. I have a really interesting class on Medieval relics in the morning. I just discovered the wonders of my house's juicer and made myself some orange/blood orange/grapefruit juice for the morning, mmm now the morning seems a bit less awful.*

Good night and have a great rest of the week!!

-Bean

(*I am not much of a morning person, especially when I have to get up "early." i.e. 8am)

Second day of school

2010-01-20T14:51:00.000-08:00

School started!

It is the second day of school and so far so good! Tuesdays I have class from 9:30-4pm with NO BREAKS! ewww. But I only have one class on Monday and Wednesday and no class on Fridays!! I am actually excited for this semester which I haven't been for a few semesters, so it is nice to get to finish off my degree with good classes. At the same time, I can't wait to graduate!!

Welcome Back!!

2010-01-13T22:33:00.001-08:00

Hello all!

Welcome back from break! I hope that you all had a wonderful rest :).

I had a good and pretty relaxing break, but as always, it was not long enough. I am glad to be back though and am excited to be graduating in May. I have been in Berkeley all break and really enjoy the quiet that comes when the students go home for break. I got to stay in a house and dog sit for a few weeks and pretend to be an adult, which was a lot of fun.

This past week, a good friend has been visiting from New Orleans. It was really great to see him, I went to New Orleans a few months ago to visit him and another friend, but he hadn’t been here for nearly a year! I had a great time catching up and got to go down to Santa Cruz and see some mutual friends, which was a much-needed break from Berkeley.

On Friday I am going to an opening party at the SF MOMA and am super excited! I get to dress up fancy and see beautiful art and be surrounded by people who love art!

I’m packing as much as possible into these last few days of break as I will be super busy this semester trying to graduate, prepare (or try to) for life post-graduation and working with you lovely folks!

Bean

End O' Semester!

2009-12-17T14:44:00.000-08:00

I just finished the semester! I can’t believe that I will be done with college in one semester; it has been an amazing 5 years. Yeeeah, this is my 5th year. I started out as a Molecular and Cellular Bio major, bad idea. But for the past 3 years I have been an art history major and have been enjoying school a lot more. This semester, however, I wasn’t too excited about any of my classes. Hopefully I’ll be able to get into the classes I want next semester and more of them won’t get cancelled. So many art history courses have been cancelled for next semester that I already will have to take one course in summer school in order to graduate, they cancelled a class I need to graduate!

Oh well. Now I have a month off to relax and re-group. For the first few weeks I will be house sitting and taking care of a wonderful dog. I’m really looking forward to relaxing, walking the dog, attempting to train him, and taking baths in their amazing tub. For the most part, this will be a really relaxing break. I have to go to 2 Christmas celebrations with my family and my cousin is in town that I have not seen in 6+ years. It will be an interesting holiday, but it always is with my family…

Happy Holidays and I hope you all get to relax and sleep in this break!

-Bean

2009-12-03T12:01:00.000-08:00

I am currently in the thick of planning for Special Dinner at my co-op. Special Dinner is a semesterly feast! I am kitchen manager at my house and have to order all the food as well as organize the cooks. Today I am running around town buying food from halibut to cocoa powder. I will spend the next two days in the kitchen, cooking, cutting and making sure that everything goes smoothly. On top of helping to organize this, I am making at least two dishes, as I said, I am a foodie. I am making a tofurky and grilled portabella mushroom burgers with homemade rolls.

School is going pretty well, my finals are not until the last days of final so, naturally, I will spend dead week procrastinating and relaxing before diving back into studying. I am so excited for this semester to be over. But I still can’t believe that I only have one more then I am done…

-Bean

Hello!

2009-11-23T10:23:00.001-08:00

Hello! I am Bean, the new WAIV peer advisor. I am a 5^th year History of Art major focusing in contemporary art and street art. I was born and raised in the Bay Area and know most of the good places to eat, I am a total foodie! I haven’t traveled much but I count India and New Orleans among my favorite destinations. My father is from Bombay (Mumbai) and we still have a lot of family there. I got to go visit them when I was 17 and it was an amazing, life-changing experience. My hobbies include cooking, art making and writing, adventures around the city and relaxing with friends.

I am excited to get to know all of you and help you along your path to employment!

Penguins in Sweaters?

2009-11-23T03:52:00.000-08:00

So, Meriah was telling me that she wants to see more funny pictures in the blog, so that you have something to break up text and monotony. I said "like penguins in sweaters?" "Exactly!" she replied. ...so here they are, in all their glory.

The semester is winding down, finals are rushing up, and the holidays are almost upon us. This is a very exciting, very stressful time of year. Remember to breathe and relax more often that a UC Berkeley courseload tends to allow. Don't fret, cut yourself some slack, and don't lose too much sleep/hair over the coming weeks. It'll be okay.

Personally, I've had a messy semester. Between personal issues, academic issues, and my-brain-never-works-like-I-want-it-to issues, I haven't had much of an emotional break. To help myself out, I decided to withdraw for the rest of the semester...something that would have seemed scary to me at one point, but was surprisingly painless. I realized that I needed a break, I talked with my disability counselor, I went to L&S, I withdrew painlessly, and immediately I felt an enormous relief. I think that the next four weeks before break will be just what I need to jump into Spring semester with a good head on my shoulders.

So, yeah. Respect yourself in the coming weeks, take breaks when you need them, don't get burned out, remember that it is okay to step down if necessary, *breathe*, and try to remember the silly penguins in sweaters and laugh.

-Morgan

(on the note of taking breaks, Bean and I are working on some sort of event in the next couple weeks...maybe a movie night...so that we can all just hang out for a little while and relax...we'll let you know when we have more solid plans.)

First order of business

2009-09-25T17:53:00.000-07:00

We have a really cool event coming up, I recommend that you come. Here are the specifics:

6th Annual WAIV Mentoring Night- October 8th

Where: DSRP – Cheney Hall

When: 08 Oct, 6-8pm

What is it? A fabulous opportunity to connect with professionals in the field – and with each other.

Keynote: Our very own Paul Hippolitus, Director of DSP

RSVP IS REQUIRED- BY OCT 6th!- due to space considerations: To RSVP, contact Patrick Civello at: civello@berkeley.edu; 643-8492.

Disability –related accommodation requests to Patrick by 03 Oct.

First Post!

2009-09-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

Here we are...post number one. Clean, fresh blog. Are you ready?

First of all, introductions are probably in order: This blog is run by the UC Berkeley WorkAbility IV Team (Meriah, Patrick, and Morgan). The WAIV program is under the supervision of the Disabled Students' Program and its purpose is simply connecting students with jobs. WAIV was formerly known as Cal Transitions and supervised by the Career Center, but we decided to do a little restructuring. We work with a variety of programs, such as the California Department of Rehabilitation, to ensure that our students have the resources that they need to succeed. It is definitely cool work....we believe that we have the best jobs on campus, but don't tell anyone (they may get jealous).

This is going to be a space for us to be a little more personal, voice our opinions, share our experiences....we work to build community and trust, which we can't do if we aren't open and honest.

This is also a space for updates related to the program, current events, disability related material, or other cool things that strike us as worth posting.

This is a space by disability for disability. On that note, we may be sharing our personal stories, trials, and successes related to disability. ...personally, I've spent the last four weeks completely unmedicated (for ADHD), without notetakers in any of my classes (because of a computer error), and beyond frustrated with my complete lack of focus....now, after a trip to the pharmacy, I'm being medicated for the first time in a while and dealing with ups, downs, peaks, crashes, dosing, scheduling, and a hell of a lot of patience....this can be a space to acknowledge that a lot of disability concerns 'works in progress', with successes and setbacks...and a space to relate to one another and give some comfort (it can also be a space to get angry because psychiatrists aren't always good at calling you back).

If you haven't been able to tell, this is a pretty open forum. It is a lot of things...but, above all, it is for YOU.

Much love,

Morgan