Oh boy... here we go. Thanks.

Well, what do I say? It's been a while since I've been up here blogging, and a lot has passed.

First, let me explain my absence. In December I graduated from that great loan-driven institution known as ACTCM. At that point I buried myself in a pile of books and tried to digest everthing I learned in 4 years of TCM school. February 13, I went through the institutionalized hazing known as the Califonia Acupuncture License Exam, and spent 3.5 tortuous weeks waiting for the results. Last Friday they arrived -- I passed! Woo Hoo. Now I have the right to pay for a license and become an official acupunk!

Today, I renewed my CAN membership and updated from the Student level to the Practitioner level. Yep, I now have a title.

I promised Skip that once I finished the exam I would start posting on the front page again. So here I am, a few months absent, a week past my official turn, and I'm not sure what I have to say. Except thanks.

A big thanks to Lisa, Skip, Lupine, Ann and all the other people of CAN. In the past few days since I became legit, I've realized what a blessed resource and community we have here.

Thanks to the forums, I have a complete business plan to dismantle and reassemble, the CA 101 Guide, information on where to buy chairs, how much space we need, how to market, how to communicate, how to get malpractice insurance without giving more money to Marilyn Allen, how to treat peripheral neuropathy, what to do with patients with strong body odor, etc, etc, etc. In other words, at my fingertips I have access to the combined experiences of hundreds of acupunks.

Recently, when I talk to my fellow grads, I can hear the panic starting to settle in. They are suddenly realizing that they graduated with no idea of how to run a clinic. They can pass a test, but can they open a practice? If I hadn't had the fortune to discover CAN a year ago, I would be in the same boat. Thanks.

I have two wonderful business partners who are going through this with me. If we didn't have the model presented by WCA and CAN to draw us together, we probably would have not realized our shared viewpoints, and would be floundering around, each trying to go out on our own. Thanks.

I live in San Francisco, one of the most TCM saturated centers in the USA. If I didn't have CAN, I'd look at all of these other acupunks, and seeth with envy and fear. Thanks to CAN, I see a community. Thanks.

So much more to say thank you for.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.