Sunday, March 27, 2011

Hi

I just wanted to say hello to those of you reading the blog from South Korea, China, Australia and many other places. i'm not qite sure of the interest, but if you ever want to interact, leave a comment.

Posting is getting a bit tougher

I would like to get on here more often, but have been very busy.  Here's a little info about y last several weeks.

Golf season is trying to come back.   I have gone out 3 times, even though only one time was during good weather in regards to temperature.  I have become aware of some new kinks in my golf game.  Whereas I formerly had difficulty with a slice, I have somehow developed a snap hook at times.  That is a miserable problem that I hope to fix very quickly.

My wife has been ill for several weeks and we continue to look for answers and solutions.  We have several appointments.  On the other hand, besides the TMJ issue, I have been very healthy.

I'll try to get to the blog more often.  I continue to hope to return to Europe, possibly teaching for a month in Ireland which will enable me to visit France, and Ambialet, I hope.

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

A trip to the denist

Anyone that really knows me very well also knows that I an intense phobia of the denist.  Now I go for my check-ups every six months and have done well for some time, but Iwent todat with a great deal of trepidation.  You see, for the last several days I have had a strange discomfort back by my right side molar.  I was terrified that there was a cavity or something, although there was no pain, just that discomfort.  What I found out was kind of a good news, bad news situation.  The good news is that the tooth is fine, the bad news is that I may have TMJ.
The denist asked if I had struck my head or jaw.  I said I didn't think so, but on way home, I realized that I had struck my head and jaw pretty severely when I had my concussion.  So I am expected to see an ortodonist in the near future and hope to fix this soon.
Wish me luck!

Cincinnati Conference

Three students, Sue Black and I went to the BPD conference in Cinci.  Sue and I were session chairs and the students attended as volunteers and were able to go to the same sessions as Sue and I, or to a student conference. 

The conference was a very good experience.  In the US there are requirements for social work educators to meet the standards set by CSWE for there curriculum.  These have been changed recently from objective measures to practice behaviors and competencies.  This has caused a great deal of consternation for the directors of programs, and therefore much of the conference was related the the change over and what programs have experienced and how they intrepet what is needed to meeet and show compliance with the standards.  After being in Cinci, I have no doubt that most have no idea what is beng expected by CSWE.  Everyone had something different to say.  Most have heard different things from CSWE and when we asked their reps, they were not congruent in their responses.  This leads to a great deal of unnecessary anxiety.

The activities were good at the conference as well.  There was an outstanding dance band on Friday night.  There had also been a reception Thursday night sponsored by USC.  They were introducing some computer generated programming that seemed very interesting.  They also served drinks at the reception.  Now anyone that has attended a conference at a Hilton will tell you that drinks are quite expensive.  So when a reception offers free drinks, individuals seem to take great advantage, and we were no exception.  Lets just say that we were not thirsty the whole night.

The trip was very good.