This past Sunday, I got to help out with two birthday parties - one for a 3-year old and another for a 5-year old.  I shadowed and helped out at the first one, and then the coordinator supervised me for the second one.  It was pretty easy. It was a lot of fun actually except for the downpour that happened all day. Good thing the birthdays weren't a bust, and all their guests attended.  The kids were cute too.  I even got a $20 tip which was really unexpected, but I gladly took it. I'm looking forward to the next time I help out.  It turns out that after training, I can just be at the site by myself - setting up, making sure the clients are taken care of, and clean up.  Unfortunately, all the extra stuff - booking, talking to clients, ordering and purchasing items, etc all happen during the weekdays when I'm not available.  Because of that, I've decided to apply for another event planning internship I found recently that could give me more hours on the weekends. So I'll see how that works out.

Before you read this, just know that when you get down towards the end of this blog entry, it's going to be gross.  So, prepare yourself:

I sprained my left ankle about two weeks ago when I was practicing for a lion dance performance. We had about an hour or so before we went on, so my partner and I did a run through of the performance. We don't normally practice on carpet, but we had to that moment.  I was wearing my lion paws. I believe when I came down from a jump, my paw caught on the rug, and my ankle went in a direction that shouldn't have. It was painful when it first happened, but I could still walk on it. I just felt soreness.  I walked around and even did a few jumps. My teammates encouraged me to keep it iced, wrapped, and elevated before we went on. I got worried since after my break, my ankle didn't feel strong, but still, I forged forward and did the performance. I didn't feel the actual pain during the performance until I had to do a roll in the lion.  You see, when you do the roll, you go down on your left leg/foot first (where my sprain was located). So I basically landed on the sprain probably making it worse. Good thing the roll happened at the end of the routine or I wouldn't have been able to continue the performance.  I went to the doctor the next day and found out that I had micro tears in my ankle.  I was on crutches for a day and then wore a brace.  It seemed like it was healing especially since I was walking around with no problems! This past Friday, my mother decided to play Dr. Wan.  She knew my ankle wasn't feeling 100% yet so she decided to use this Chinese medicine called Zheng Gu Shui.  It's supposed to reach into the bone and make it stronger.  She put it on before I went to bed, so she covered it with gauze and and an ace bandage so it wouldn't get all over the bed.  That night, I felt a stinging or burning sensation on my ankle, but my mother said that was a good sign because the pain was coming out (hah!). The next morning when my mother took off the bandage, my skin had turned to a dark brown and even black color. Over the course of the day, the section where she applied the medicine became a HUGE blister.  It was gross. It really looked alien to me.  It eventually popped and the dead skin fell off.  It became hard to walk on it because of how painful it was. My whole foot was swollen too.  My parents didn't know what happened since they've used the medicine before with positive results.  The only difference was that they never covered the medicine up like they did with my ankle.  Roger wanted to know more about this Zheng Gu Shui. On the medicine box, it states "Don't cover tightly".  However, after some research online, you're not supposed to cover it at all or it can result in.... a chemical burn. I went to the doctor the next day, and she told me that I had a 2nd degree chemical burn on my ankle. She gave me some bactrim as a precaution just in case it gets infected and suggested that I take a few days off from work. Thinking back, I realize that the stinging/burning sensation I was feeling the night the medicine was on my ankle was the actual burning of my skin. It's quite painful, but I've taken two days off from work.  Swelling has gone down, and I'm feeling much better.  I should be able to go to school tomorrow.  I could probably sue Zheng Gu Shui.

If you recall from a previous post, I'm seriously thinking about pursuing a career in event planning.  I like weddings and all, but I realize I'm interested in event planning in general.  So, guess what? I am the new Rentals and Private Events Intern at Zoo New England! Who ever thought I would work at the zoo? I'm quite excited to get this much needed experience.  It's an unpaid internship on the weekends, but it's exactly what I'm looking for. I'll get to assist the Rentals and Private Events department with developing, marketing, and organizing private and special events. I'll assist in set-up of parties and private events, booking, invoicing, direct mailings, expanding programs, researching potential sponsors, and general office responsibilities. I may start as early as this weekend. Apparently, there's this huge sweet 16 birthday party on Saturday at the zoo! I'll be sure to update you on my internship experiences! YaY!