Rejoice!

I try to aggregate what I'm learning into one pithy post, usually, but sometimes it's easier, and perhaps more beneficial, to simply post the source.

If you are one of my two or three readers, enjoy.

kyle

http://www.marshillchurch.org/media/trial/trial-and-jesus

Hiking...in January

Christmas!

My first quarter of doctoral school is finished! It went quite well, actually. In fact, I would go so far as to say it has been one of my most favorite quarters ever. I did not work this quarter and was able to focus singularly on my classes. This singular focus afforded me the opportunity to really digest the concepts presented to me and enabled me to spend enough time on my assignments to produce not only good work, but work that meant something to me and that I could be proud of. I have written many papers that do not reflect exactly my thoughts or feelings on a topic but that earned sufficient grades. This quarter I wrote papers that earned sufficient grades AND reflected much of my internal processing and struggles. I feel extremely fortunate to have had the opportunity to attend school in this manner, and it certainly wouldn't be possible without the support of my wife and our families. I am incredibly grateful for everyone who has come underneath us financially, relationally, emotionally, spiritually, and all other ways possible--our survival in this transition depended heartily on the family and community surrounding us.

Next quarter the class schedule looks like this: Psychometrics, ANOVA (research class #2), Clinical Foundations II (focusing on the Cognitive-Behavioral approach), and my first theology class, Old Testament Writings. It should be similar to this quarter in terms of course load in that the number of units is the same--14 units. I believe I will be able to avoid taking 16 until sometime in my second year, which is nice. Fourteen is certainly enough. In regards to research, I have been very fortunate to join a study looking at vocal quality of therapists in facilitating softening moments in Emotion-Focused Couples Therapy. It has been a fantastic project to be a part of and I am having a blast getting to know the research process a bit more intimately. This is something my MFT program did not emphasize, so the novelty of it amplifies the excitement, I'm sure.

On a more fun note, I was recommended a book by a friend that I met here at Fuller. He majored in Literature in undergrad and when I mentioned to him that I always like to have a fiction book of some sort going, he suggested I read MIDNIGHT'S CHILDREN by Salman Rushdie. I am only about 50 pages in, but so far the writing is incredible and the story intriguing. I'm not usually drawn to stories set in india or the middle east for some reason, but this one has held my attention. Apparently it won the Booker of Booker awards, which means a bunch of literature experts rated it the best book of the best books of the past 25 years. If you are into ratings and such that might get you excited.

Also, I had a birthday and am now 26 years old. We played put-put and ate ice cream, which is exactly the way a 26 year old should celebrate.

I think that is it for now. Here is a picture of our Christmas tree.

Kyle

Week 8

Gosh, it is hard to capture the last few months in a single post, but at the same time I'm struggling to collect my thoughts. I suppose updates are always an easy place to start. Lahela now has two jobs. She continues to work at Floor Time with Families with Children with Autism and tomorrow (wednesday) will meet with her first client at Claremont Counseling and Support Center. It is quite a privilege for her to work at a private practice, she will certainly gain an unbelievable amount of experience in that context. As for me, well, classes are going quite well. I am taking five classes: Intro to Integration (of theology and psychology), clinical foundations, ethics, Introduction to Regression (statistics), and Development across the lifespan. So far I am earning A's in all of my classes, though I've learned grades really mean very little at this point. As one of my professors would have it, "unless you want to teach at Harvard or Yale, nobody will care about your GPA when you graduate." I possess little desire to teach at either of those schools, or really others of equal caliber, so I'm feeling quite good about A's and B's at this point. (in my program C's are failing). In regards to work, I am not employed at the moment. 24 Hour Fitness ended up coming back to me a month or so after they declined my application to ask if I would come on in preparation for the New Year. I declined, gladly, for in reflecting on their treatment of my inquiry into a position there the first time around, I realized it might not be the best place to work. On top of the bitter residue left by the initial application process, I decided to concern myself with finding a position that fit best my ambitions for the future. These ambitions include mainly clinical work, teaching opportunities by means of adjunct positions or TA work, or research activities. While I am in hot pursuit in nearly all three arenas, no concrete (meaning they want to pay me money) positions have materialized just yet. Church is fantastic, friends are wonderful, but we still miss our Seattle church and our Seattle friends. It has been a tough transition, but a good one.

More later,

kyle

Putting together the pieces of our lives...

We're here! Lahela and I made it to pasadena, through my friend's wedding, into our apartment, and into a 1/2 time job (lahela) and it hasn't even been a month yet! Perhaps the hardest part of settling in here, besides the gargantuan task of establishing a new community in our new home, is finding jobs. I attempted to transfer from 24 hour fitness in queen anne to 24 hour fitness in pasadena and, while they strung me along for a good 3 weeks, they decided they weren't looking to hire any part-time trainers right now. In the midst of that fiasco I was almost offered a job training at a private studio in town with another fuller student in my program. We met through my faculty advisor and he seemed to think it would be advantageous to work with another fuller student but they hired a different guy that same day we met and before I even had a chance to send in a resume. I also applied to another gym in town through craig's list, but haven't heard back. Lahela, on the other hand, found out about a great job through some friends at fuller that allows her to work with children with autism and their families. Once she can secure a supervisor her hours will count towards earning her license. The only drawback is that the job is part-time rather than full time. she expects to fill in her other hours with work at someone's private practice. That is an ambition that is still "in-progress". In the midst of all this job hunting, Lahela and I have been able to attend a movie screening (which earned us 3 free movie tickets each), a couple of dogers games (they are fantastically better than the mariners, but I remain true to my seattle team and their 30 games under .500 record), and discovered a lovely frozen yogurt shop that allows you to fill your own cup and pour your own toppings and then charges you by weight. All in all it's been about as wonderful as it can be. We really miss our seattle friends and community and certainly our families, but we have found a nice church and some friends in the fuller community that I think will enrich our lives down here and hopefully, into whom we can invest.

For your pleasure, some pictures have been posted so you can check out our new digs and capture a glimpse of the LA smoggy skyline.

Christine, thanks for your note, I think you are possibly the only one reading this--and for you it is certainly worth it. I hope you are well and that you've been able to soak up as much as the seattle sun as possible before cloudy fall and winter begin their incessant creep.

kyle

Little old lady from pasadena...

This blog grew out of a trip Lahela and I took to China almost exactly one year ago. Through it we were able to update our family and friends on the adventures of traveling to a foreign country, post pictures, and tell bad jokes. Upon our return from China and as we settled back into Seattle life, I began to realize the blog had lost its main purpose. In seattle we were close to many of our family and friends and they had little need to scour the internet for details on our lives. In light of this I neglected to post anything of real value for quite some time. In fact, a large majority of you are probably surprised to find that Lahela and I even have a blog. Well, as of yesterday, I believe this blog has found its purpose once again. Lahela and I have begun our move to Pasadena, CA--about a thousand miles away from the Northwest and the people we love who live there. In september I will be starting classes at Fuller Theological Seminary in an effort to earn my degree in Clinical Psychology (emphasis in Marriage and Family Therapy). Lahela is looking for a job in the MFT field to begin accruing hours towards liscensure. If you are interested in either of these adventures, or in any of the others in which we will surely find ourselves immersed in the chaos of the Southern California bubble, this is your Isaacson INFO hotspot. That's right folks, you won't find us on CNN or NBC or KING 5 or FOX. It is Kyleandlahela.blogspot.com or nothing. Your exclusive portal into the lives of two of Pasadena's newest residents. Perhaps not the most famous, glamorous, or otherwise noteworthy residents, but new residents nonetheless. Das ist alles fur now.

kyle

11 and counting

Comiserating is far more overrated than just about anything else I can think of. Let me tell you why. When you comiserate every one around you is having a difficult time, as well. And while it can feel lonely to be the only one with problems amongst a gathering of folks with no problems, the fact of the matter is, granted those people care about you, you are surrounded by a bunch of people with enough energy to care for you in the ways you've grown unable to care for yourself. So eleven and counting...that is how many hours I slept last night, and I did it all on the encouragement of my beautiful, thoughtful, and intuitive wife. Eleven and counting and today is the best day I have had in a long time. If being sick means that I have to sleep eleven hours and counting, then I hope I'm not well for a long time. Even the sun fought its way through an overcrowded sky today. How's that for comiseration?!

If you're having a similarly difficult time, don't comiserate, instead watch these videos. It'll be way better.

sleep, sleep, sleep!