Well as usual I’ve been too busy living life to sit down and write about living life!
Spring flew by and with it I finished up helping teach First Responder and almost immediately got on a plane with my guy and flew to the east coast for a much needed holiday. After a week in and around Halifax, Nova Scotia, and PEI we headed to Boston and spent the rest of our time perusing Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, and even made it to New York City. Conveniently we ended up with a red convertible Camaro for the entire three weeks, and came back still liking each other after spending close to a month travelling together. Truthfully, I wouldn’t have wanted to go with anyone else. Even after coming back to a very sad looking bank account, it was agreed that no money is ever wasted on travel and experience.
We covered all the typical things.. seeing the tattoo in Halifax, visiting Lunenberg, Peggy’s Cove (where we had an amazing picnic), Anne of Green Gables in PEI, Boston for July 4th, the Cheers bar, the Newport Mansions (my favourite), Times Square, taking the subway (interesting stories stemmed from that), seeing a Burlesque show, seeing a Broadway show, going to Harvard and Columbia, walking around Manhatten until all hours… finding some amazing food at all hours in NYC.. etc, etc. I even dragged us to a hunter jumper show in Massachusetts..because it wouldn’t be a holiday with me without something horsey.
This trip really affirmed for me that there will be a lot of travel in the next year or so for me. I really noticed throughout how unattached I was to Winnipeg as “home”. I found myself travelling with the person I tend to want to spend most of my time with at home, and able to communicate with my other loved ones quite easily throughout the trip. Today’s technology does have it’s perks. Coming back to Winnipeg was both a comfortable constant and now more then blatantly unchanging. This little expedition kick started my drive for more.
Good thing I’ve already been planning!
The rest of my summer consists of getting myself back into shape. After 3 weeks of brewery tours, beer tasting, and lots of good food… I’m in need of a little self-bootcamp. I’ve gone back to a clean diet, 80% free of white/processed starches and full of fresh vegetables, fruits, and lean protein. I’ve made a goal to only shop at farmer’s markets for the rest of the summer and fall. One thing we have lots of here.
The next week or so I’m busy working medical for the hunter jumper shows in the city… very odd to be not showing, but nice to still be involved. I have just over 100hrs left of interning to do in field and clinic, and plan to be finishing up those internships by September. August will bring the start of the studying process for the CATA exam in November. I came home from our trip and started a new position at a medical supply company doing sales, brace fitting, and promotions. It’s still a very new position, and coming from minimal experience in sales or retail I’m excited to develop some new skills in a relevant setting to my training.
Developing “Katmah Training” has been an ongoing process. I am forever learning promotional techniques and management styles as I try and grow my client base. July-August in Manitoba is hard as everyone is either in full competition mode or away at the lake, but I’ve continued writing for Heels Down and continue to get my name out in other ways. Being a familiar face on the circuit as the medical response I hope will help as well. I’ve also begun offering online consults, training, and video/photo assessments as a way to work with people who are out of town, province or country. This will come in handy I think in the next year or so.
In May I was honoured to receive CATA’s Student Leadership Award, which was a nice way to end my school year. This is an award voted on by my University and recognised by the national athletic therapy association. It was presented at the national conference in Halifax, conveniently three weeks before I was there on holidays.
Amongst studying, working, and mentally preparing for CATA, my to-do list also includes preparing CVs and emails to send to potential Graduate programs. I have two in mind that I’d like to approach, and am leaning towards starting next fall or winter. Seeing as I’m already missing the “back to school” feeling… might as well use that mentality while it lasts!
I think that’s all my news for the moment… maybe I’ll come up with something more interesting to write about soon! Enjoy the heat everyone!
We’re always given what we need.. isn’t that the way things shake out?
The last week or so I struggled a bit with my old friend impatience. After a busy couple months of seeing and experiencing my business and professional image develop and blossom seemingly non-stop, things stayed consistent. Consistently great I have to say. April and May I was booked every weekend here or there doing clinics and work shops for facilities, and busy with one on one clients outside of my other shift work. As invigorating as it was seeing all that growth, when things get consistent.. I start to get bored. Not in a bad way, but the impatience crept in again. My mind had time to start craving the next step. More. Always more.
This is a staple of my personality. I live for constant improvement, learning, and change.
This past long weekend (conveniently the first show weekend of the outdoor season here too), I found myself with 4 solid days off. Off shift work. Off clients. Off teaching. It was great. I got to spend time with the guy and old friends. I got to sleep until 1pm two days in a row and not be bothered about it. It provided the perfect opportunity for me to start thinking about what I wasn’t doing yet. There is always a “yet”. Come the start of the regular week, I was full on craving for new and exciting things. Feeling already bored with what I had just started.
Luckily, I’ve done a fair amount of personal development this year so far.. and I recognised this in myself. While acknowledging the impatience didn’t make it disappear, it did calm the fire slightly. I realise now looking back that sometimes my cases of burn-out were probably self-induced cases of letting the impatience and unending desire for more right now take over. Patience, gratitude, reflection have been my themes this year… and they are fantastic lessons to bring into motion for preventing that desire from turning into an unquenchable agitation with the pace of the Universe.
On Tuesday I all of a sudden had the drive to plant some plants. Which, if you know me, is soooooooo out of the norm. But, since I’m learning more and more to trust my intuition.. I went out and bought some little things, a bag of soil, and some cute containers. I came home, got my hands dirty, and planted some mint, rosemary, and a series of succulents. I’ve always had a thing for succulents. Probably because I know I can’t kill them easily.
The simple act of planting those plants immediately settled me. I found myself sitting on the floor of my parking garage slowly designing where I wanted my succulents sitting and centring everything in each container.
The next day after a a great workout, and then a long afternoon of tutoring anatomy, I headed out to meet and work with one of my long time clients on her horse. I’ve been so in depth with my consulting work with riders and loving it that I haven’t A) had time to miss my own riding or B) thought that I did miss it. I ride Felix here and there, but the deep seated drive for my own riding hasn’t been around lately and I haven’t been worried about that. If I’ve missed anything lately it’s been the time spent with Lauren and Megg at the barn chatting and riding together. I do honestly miss the feeling of community there was at M&C’s barn with those ladies. While we three stay in touch, Megg is off pursuing her dreams in France and soon UC Berkeley for a PHd. and Lauren is as busy as I am most of the time. When I got to my client’s barn I got that same sense of community, and while watching and working with her on her horse, and the others around riding, I rediscovered the challenge and passion for my consulting work that I thought I was losing the last few weeks. I got my edge back for my work. I also felt a stirring of the riding bug deep down. I met a horse at that facility that stole my heart a little.. and it awakened the desire to get on. I came home from that evening feeling so revived and fulfilled.
My hard working client and Moe.
As I’m assisting a long time prof with First Responder again this year, I am getting the chance to continue my ongoing review of AT coursework preparing for November’s Certification exams. On Tuesday I was informed that I’d be teaching Thursday’s lecture/lab on boarding and wound care.. as well as reviewing a quiz the class had written, solo as the prof was away… It was a ohhhhkay here we go moment for me. The class came and I got my way through teaching boarding techniques just fine.. but it’s the first time I’ve gotten to lead a class alone and been the sole one responsible for their education. It was quite the experience and definitely reaffirmed not only my own abilities but my desire to be in this field. Just when I was starting to get anxious and impatient. Just in time.
Today I noticed my succulents had grown new bits (blooms? extensions? pods?). It was the perfect symbolism for how I feel after the last couple days. There is always growth and new things happening.. just not always so drastic as to be seen by the impatient eye. It’s sometimes enough just to slow down enough to listen to all those little worries, anxieties, and impatient thoughts zooming around… sometimes if you listen you’ll be provided with a solution to those feelings. Maybe it’s planting some plants. Maybe it’s cleaning and organising your apartment. Maybe it’s reaching out and touching base with some old friends. We are always provided with the tools.. often not easily noticed tools or solutions.. but life always gets us where we need to be at just the right time.
It’s been another busy few weeks. With this being the first spring term in a few years I’m not taking courses, I obviously decided to TA one. Outside of that and a few tutoring clients, Katmah Training has been keeping me hopping. Most weekends this month have been booked with clinics and workshops at various barns, and during the week I split my time between one on one clients and working for the same real estate agent I worked for last summer- right now football also gets thrown into the mix every afternoon. Looking forward I’ve been booking into June and July for clinics already, and I’ve signed on to be medical coverage for the MHJA shows through the summer. Just when I thought I was taking a break from the show circuit!
This week football spring training ends with a grand finale where we travel to Yorkton, SK for a few exhibition games. This will be my first time travelling with a team, and I’m glad it’s with a team I’m very established with.
After that I’m looking forward to a full weekend off. Actually. I strategically have been refusing to book anything for this weekend that is work related or business related. It’ll be my one weekend off in quite a while, and for quite a while. While I absolutely love all the teaching and educating I”m getting to do with my business, it is absolutely exhausting. This weekend of nothing important is all I’m looking forward to right now!
In other fun news, I did a interview for Athletic Therapy Connection recently and the podcast has come out. Click here to check it out! In it I talk about my experiences at UWinnipeg, my perspectives on AT and all my hopes and dreams (or just the Rebuilding the Equestrian project).
The time is nearing. A time I thought would never get here. I’ve finished off my last true semester as an Undergrad, and with only a few hours left in my final practicum I’m getting so close to officially finishing my BSc.
The last month or so has been filled with promoting myself, being invited to and running workshops and clinics for riders, working with individual clients, doing some seminars for myself, and basically not acting like a student anymore.
I’ve been loving every second of it. My skills grow leaps and bounds with every client I work with. Promoting myself is even getting easier, and as my name gets out there more and more, I have to do less self-promotion and more just honing in on what each client wants/needs.
A few things in the last while have popped up for me when it comes to stepping into the “real world”. University does a great job not babysitting students (hopefully, anyway), bolstering and encouraging the transition from high school to more the “real world”.. it does still provide a very comfortable student friendly environment. Throughout my degree, while I was challenged in so many ways and grew both my academic ability as well as a person.. being an individual without the label of “student’ offers a whole new realm of challenges.
I’ve mentioned before the intimidation of growing your own business as a young professional, which I am still over-coming to a certain extent. As I prepare to step out with now official letters behind my name.. it’s both excitement and terror. My comfort zone is ending come September, where it’ll be the first fall of not returning to courses like I’ve been doing for the last 18 or so years. The impending certification exams in November are of little comfort.
As my student association’s co-pres, I’ve been busy the last bit planning our annual grad dinner. With it approaching fast this Friday, it’s been crunch time. And as I work on my speech, I find myself thinking not so much about all the facts and textbook science I’ve absorbed over the last 4-5years, but more of the characteristics I’ve developed. Starting the degree to where I am now, I can safely say I’ve surprised myself every step of the way. While doing a presentation this past weekend for the MB Podiatry Association on posture and preventative exercise– I found myself thinking about how growing up and becoming a professional has a lot to do with reading the crowd, and yourself, and reacting appropriately.
As a student, you generally have quite a few guidelines to follow as your progress along the degree pathway. Yes, University does an excellent job of teaching critical thinking skills- but it doesn’t completely leave you on your own with most things. From assignment rubrics, prof expectations, and formats to follow- you know what lines to stay within to succeed. Not much about real life is like that. Yes, there are certain things that are clearly the correct way to take- but for the most part, especially in my business, I have found myself bending and adapting to where my clients are at, and what they want/need. Every client is going to be slightly different, and react differently to everything you throw at them. This skill is especially valuable when standing in a room with a bunch of podiatrists at 3pm when they are all half asleep… knowing when to change your presentations tactics to a more movement and interactive based presentation is key!
Looking at where I was 5 years ago as I graduated high-school, I feel many of the same feelings. Apprehension of the transition, excitement, naivety, dread, gratitude for making it… But I also feel much more prepared to step out into the world. Also much more excited. Leaving the cocoon of high-school and leaving the tree of University are much different things in some ways. I am leaving undergrad life with practical experience and direction towards my ambitions, but also the self-awareness ability to read myself as I progress into my future one day at a time. As you know if you’ve been a follower of this blog, impatience is one of my strong traits- especially when it comes to my own future. I find myself now seeing how all those little “one day at a time” lessons add up to create the present, the future I once desired.. even when I didn’t know what I was headed towards. This doesn’t make me any less impatient, but sometimes I think the impatience is what drives me forwards.
With all that being said, I gotta get back to my grad speech! Until next time!
See the attached post for some highlights from the clinic I was apart of this weekend.
The entire time I found myself spewing out words and ideas that I honestly didn’t know were even in my head. Coaching riders through their postural issues came more naturally then breath for me it seemed- and even though this was the first official clinic I’ve done.. it felt like something I’d done many times before. From the first rider onto the last I learned so much, and as you’ll see in the post built some valuable skills for future events just like this. Sometimes it really hits me how far I’ve progressed personally from even a year ago to now. While I was getting these ideas rolling a year ago, I wouldn’t have been ready to do something like I did yesterday. The things I learned through my Rebuilding thesis and working with clients through that and just in the clinic and on the field as a therapist have joined to make a wonderful partnership with my experiences as a rider myself. I am really excited to see how all these things keep building!
My last post was a bit dreary, and I’m going to blame that on mono brain. While I’m still feeling some effects of this annoying virus, I’m starting to feel a bit more like myself.
Through the end of February and early March I was so focused on finishing my thesis, and then getting my first seminar organized that nothing else really held any room in my head. That being other promotions and following up on other ways to progress me and my business. Yes my paper and first presentation I realize were two very big steps for me. But they kind of ate my attention alive for a bit and combined with mono the last few weeks I took a needed rest from pretty much every aspect of everything.
I also found myself, through finishing and simultaneously launching, Rebuilding the Equestrian getting impatient. I’m always impatient but I’ve been working hard this year on relaxing that impatience. While that impatience is a huge factor in driving my ambition, it also can affect my logicality (is that a word?). Through the excitement of seeing a project I’ve been indirectly building for my entire degree, and finally getting to present it to other people and seeing their excitement build too… I now just want to be done and certified and doing my thing. However, I still have months to go before I get that piece of paper saying I have a official Kinesiology degree, and then a few more months until I get the first chance to take my AT certification exam. Lines get blurred when you’re already walking in the world you want to be in.
Now, yes.. It’s only months.. I’ve spent years getting here.. So what’s a few more months?
Sometimes, especially with twenty something brain, months seem like years. When you are growing and evolving so much in such short periods (seriously I feel like I’ve learned and grown so much in even just the last 2 months).. You just want to be at the next step already. Jumping through the necessary hoops is just that, necessary.. But it sure seems tedious. I have gotten the “do it right the first time speech” many times, and it only seems to be sinking in now. I have a deep desire to excel at this chosen passion and share it with anyone who will listen.. And the official papers and degrees is must in today’s world. I’m doing all I can to get all the experience I can get to better myself in every way possible in the meantime. I can find peace in that. I’ve been finding people are constantly surprised that I’m not done and attempting the next certification or already taken the exam more and more, which I’ll take as a good sign.. But it definitely adds to the impatience.
I’ve also been going a bit stir crazy the last few weeks, more so now that I’ve started feeling a bit more normal, without having my workouts and yoga. Now that my spleen has stopped feeling like it’s going to explode I’ve been slowing trying to get moving a bit. But it’s slow. A walk around the neighbourhood this weekend near killed me, and dancing at a friends wedding was exhausting. I’m definitely not 100% quite yet!
I am however starting to get back into a groove with promotional work, and I’m getting ready for my first full-day clinic at the end of the month. This will involve both a short theory based seminar and then one on one work with riders. I’m hoping to do some more of these over the summer.
My amazing mother has been in Africa for the last 6 weeks excelling at her career and passion, and this has definitely inspired me to start looking into how I can take my projects and skills to other places, while also gaining some valuable experience for myself. There is no better way to learn and expand then going to somewhere new.
Outside of my own business building- I’ve also been busy keeping KSA organized, my most pressing project there is getting our grad dinner up and running. Classes are easy thankfully and require little energy. And now that the weather is getting tolerable I’m hoping to get Felix into spring training.. Get my own riding fix.
Football had their first event this week and spring camp is beginning, with a tournament in Saskatchewan planned. That will add to my schedule again but I am very excited to be back with my team for another season. It feels like home going back to them, this year as the head trainer, and as always reminds me why I love what I do. This week I had the pleasure of meeting with our national association’s accreditation board as they came out to review our program- and they even interviewed my coaches and expressed at how much they liked the system we have atMurdock between the ATs, coaches, players, and school. I love that I was lucky enough to get involved with this team when I first started in the field. My experience with them has been nothing but positive and I hope to continue with them for a few more seasons yet.
In a few weeks I’ll be done my humanities lectures, and then all that’s left is my practical course which runs until August. It’s going to be quite an adjustment to not be at the university as much, although the between TA-inc, tutoring, and finding excuses to go and consult with profs about my own work.. I’m still there quite a bit.
As always I am full of gratitude for all those in my life.. Especially those who talk me down when my impatience gets the better of me!
I’ve been maintaining my promise to keep a low-key schedule this year so far, but that apparently has no affect on my writing habits!
February flew by in a flurry of preparation for March. Between one midterm that was probably the easiest thing I’ve ever done, hockey finishing up, and keeping up with my two clinic shifts a week.. school is going pretty smoothly. I’ve never experienced this kind of schedule before, that being one that is pretty relaxed, so it’s been an interesting adjustment.
I spent majority of my time finishing my research project, “Rebuilding the Equestrian”, putting it together into one giant thesis, and then nitpicking on the fine details for 5 days straight. As an undergrad doing what could have easily been a Masters thesis, I got a really good taste for what my future may be if I continue down this route. I have to say, I loved doing the actual hands on research and getting my ideas in motion… the nitty gritty compiling tests and writing up cases part was a little bit tough. I definitely underestimated how much energy that part of things would take up. However, I got it done and submitted it to the national athletic therapy association’s writing award on time. The gist of this thesis was based around me taking riders who had a history of chronic pain (predominantly low back pain) through and 8-week postural re-correction (or rebuilding) program. I did a combination of a review of the current literature and a overview of a few of my own case studies.
While most of February was spent on that, the next big project was prepping my first seminar on the “Rebuilding the Equestrian” project for Dressage Winnipeg. Basically as soon as I hit submit on the thesis, I switched over to turning my ideas into a understandable, ordered presentation. Again.. not always as easy as you’d think. My brain is a series of squiqqles and ever-changing ideas. Slowing that down enough to get a 2 hr presentation with the right amount of information incorporated was a challenge. I’ve done quite a bit of one-on-one work now with riders, but presenting to a group this past weekend was a first for me.
March started with my thesis submission and then this presentation. Conveniently coordinated with the onset of what I now know is a mono infection. Which made this past week more then horrible. Endless fatigue and flu-like symptoms combined with getting a 2 hr presentation ready to fly is beautiful. Thankfully I got it done and managed to get it out of my mouth in half-decent form, even though I didn’t have a voice by the time Saturday rolled around and it took me an hour to get the projector to work. But as my mother said (typed, from Africa), there would be something wrong with the Universe if my first seminar went easily.
Now that I have those two things over and done with, I can switch my focus back to… rest… until this mono thing chills out. I’m finally at the point where I can do about 5 or 6 hrs a day without headaches and horrendous fatigue (that’s if I get a minimum of 12hrs of sleep the night before..). Which is definite progress from last week where I felt like what the walking dead looks like 24/7. I’m looking forward to the end of the month where I’m doing a clinic for the Western Dressage association, built again around Rebuilding the Equestrian. I’ve gotten some great feedback from this first seminar, and can’t wait to continue preaching my preach. Hopefully my voice returns sooner rather then later.
The Memoir Project 