The Anti-Stress: Yoga

We had to defend our business plan on Friday in front of a committee. It went pretty well!  Fortunately, we were given a list of a few of the questions that we were going to be asked, so we were able to answer most of the questions fairly well.  Now that we have the hard part out of the way, we still have to do a presentation to the staff.  That won't happen for another two weeks though...

As for my panini presentation, it got postponed due to scheduling problems!  I'm pretty disappointed because this means I will have to do this presentation in a week and a half, in addition to the business plan presentation, which is when I am supposed to be focusing on my research concentration. Oh well!

Due to all this preparation for presentations, you can imagine that I'm a bit stressed.  But during my concentration, when I have a set schedule (finally!) from 7-3:30 every day for six weeks, I'm hoping to do something that I've neglected to do since I've started this internship. I'm going to make an effort to take better care of myself.  Me and one of my fellow interns, Kate, have been going to an amazing (life-changing!) yoga class. Let me first say that before this, I was completely new to yoga. But only a few classes in, and I'm in love!  I can't explain how one week's worth of stress can leave my body in only an hour and a half. But it does. And it's great.  I know that I'm only a beginner and that I can't really do any of the positions correctly the first time, but I love the fact that I found something else that I'm interested in.  I have no money to go to the gym, so these $5 drop-in yoga classes will have to suffice. And if the weather warms up soon, I hope to start running 2-3 times a week.  Also, I'm trying my best to start eating healthier.  Of all things, this is what I should be practicing more often than not, but I don't!  I hate to use it as an excuse but I have so little money that I do find it hard to eat better.  I know, I know.  You can still eat healthy on a small budget, but seriously, when I have to buy groceries for two people on my insanely limited budget, it doesn't work too well.  But now that Justin and I are in a bit of a better financial situation, I'm hoping to eat a lot better.  I got groceries this weekend and was sure to start buying some healthier options.  I'm starting to realize that I really don't want to look back on this internship and think about how I was so stressed and uptight the whole time. Life is too short for that, and I should know that seeing the terrible things that I do on a daily basis should be a constant reminder of this.

The End of Sleeping In and Panini Taste Testing

I've been working on the business plan with my amazing group members for three weeks straight.  I'm exhausted, but at the same time, I'm so proud of all of our work!  I can honestly say that I've never enjoyed group work as much as I did while working with the group that I was in.  Our project was to design an online nutrition counseling service that would allow clients to receive nutrition advice via email, phone, webcam, etc.  Technology is all about convenience and this is what our project was about.  The name of our program was mySPOON (My Supportive, Personalized Online Outpatient Nutrition.) I won't bore you with all of the details, but this week we will be presenting our business plan to "investors."  I'm expecting to be drilled on a lot of things. But I'm just trying to remember the best advice that I ever got during my thesis defense and that is, "there is no reason to not be confident, you and you alone know your project better than anyone else in the room."

Meanwhile, I'm back in retail, getting ready to present my all of panini research and creations at the end of the week.  These are the 12 new paninis that I came up with:

1. Roast beef, Swiss cheese, Peppers and Onions on French bread
2. Ham & Provolone Cheese, Pineapple w/ brown sugar on French bread
3. Peanut butter, Banana, Honey, Cinnamon on White or Wheat Bread
4. Ham & Cream Cheese on Raisin Bread
5. Ham and Swiss cheese on Rye Bread
6. Corned Beef, Pastrami, Swiss cheese on Rye Bread
7. Chicken, Bacon, Ranch on French bread
8. Turkey, Bacon, Swiss Cheese, Chipotle Mayo on Wheat Bread
9. Mega Melt: American, Swiss, Provolone, and Cheddar Cheese on White or Wheat Bread
10. BLT and Cheese on White or Wheat Bread
11. Sesame Chicken Wrap
12. Grilled Chicken, Roasted Red Pepper, Shredded Mozzarella, Spinach in Low-Carb Tortilla

I got my "finalized" schedule for the internship and I was overcome with a feeling of achievement. I really don't have that many rotations left and I'm so amazed at how much that I've already done so far. All that I have left is:

• Research (6 weeks)
• Patient Food Services (4 weeks)
• School Food Service (1 week)
• Health Centers (3 weeks)
• Pediatrics (2 weeks)
• Production (4 weeks)
• Staff Relief (6 weeks)

That means 3 more presentations and I'm ding dong done!

I don't have much more news, other than 1 month from today I will officially be headed home for my Spring Break!  Very excited!

Happy Valentine's Day!