Walking the dogs

Tonight, Ramy, Rebecca, Paddington, Sydney, and I went for a walk around the neighborhoods on our hill. Rebecca is delighted to be able to walk the dogs. Sydney is a bit much for her (Sydney is a bit much for anyone, actually, as the dog is determined that she is going to lead, even if you choke her in the process). Fortunately, Paddy is a bit more Rebecca's speed. Nonetheless, Ramy held Paddy's leash in the middle, just in case he should take off. But Rebecca loves walking with the dogs. She gets beside herself with excitement, and she enjoys telling the dog when to "go" and then will say "whoa!" when he starts getting a bit fast for her.

I interviewed at the Los Angeles Ambulatory Care VA today in downtown L.A. The interview itself went really well, I think. However, the parking lot adjacent to the hospital being closed caused me to take a little 30 minute tour of downtown L.A. to find parking. Then when I got out of the interview, all the streets around the area had been closed down, and they weren't allowing pedestrian traffic through. The reason was that there was a bomb threat and a suspicious package...

(Yikes! We just had a little earthquake!) Anyway...

So, in order to get to the parking structure in which I was parked two blocks away, I had to walk three blocks up, then three blocks over, then two blocks back down. In heels. Luckily, they were pretty comfortable heels, but nonetheless, not ideal. But fortunately, I had plenty of time and nowhere I had to be, and it was a nice day, so it wasn't too bad. The $13.20 for parking for the three hours I was there was a bit harder to stomach, however. I liked the site. They have really good training opportunities, including the ability to do neuropsych stuff without solely doing nothing but neuropsych. They have a really great specialty training in PTSD, as well as an advanced couples and family therapy program and a satellite clinic in East L.A. that has a lot of a community mental health feel. The staff seemed to be really nice and congenial, and they definitely have state of the art facilities. The VA is allegedly going to be going on a hiring spree for psychologists over the next three years or so, and they often hire from within, so it would be a good place for me. It's not going to be topping my list, much because of the commute into L.A., but I'd definitely be happy to spend a year there.

Tomorrow, I'll be interviewing at another VA, this time in Loma Linda. It's Ramy's day off, so he will be here with Rebecca, and who knows what exciting things they'll get into!