Training, days 13 and 14

So my formal training with Jim is now completed. I have enjoyed the experience, and it's certainly bitter sweet to be graduating tomorrow!
Yesterday, we went into San Francisco for one final city adventure. We went to peer 39 and Jim did a fabulous job at ignoring the sea lions! He looked at them, but decided that they weren't anything special after a while. After that I had lunch with my instructor at In-N-out, which is this burger place here in California which makes a good quick burger. After that, we took the mini van back to campus and had some great conversation on the way. I have really enjoyed working with everyone here, especially the instructors and Todd, my class supervisor. His wisdom and training experience have really been invaluable to me and he's worked with me pretty extensively on Jim's distraction issues. I really feel that he, more than anyone, has given me the tools to successfully control Jim in situations which cause him to be very excitable.
In the afternoon, I worked with Todd in downtown San Rafael. We worked on Jim's excitement level when people come and greet me. Todd was so funny when he imitated an excited woman, put on a high pitched voice and said, "Oh my god! Olivia! It is so wonderful to see you!" This got Jim totally excited and we had to do some corrections to calm him down. He responded well to the corrections, and I really feel that I can manage his distraction level with out any issues. I also talked to my other puppy raiser last night, and we discussed some of the tools she'd used to calm him down, so that was very helpful. It was awesome to talk to her and I'm so glad that both of my raisers want contact with me, and that they're coming to graduation tomorrow.
Today, we went to Muir Woods in the morning, and I worked with Todd and Angie to get some more practice with Jim's distractions in the afternoon. It was really neat to be able to work with Angie for a bit, Todd called her and told her to get really excited to see me, so she did, and Jim was excited, but Angie and Todd both said I used good handling and controled him just fine. After one correction he was able to keep his position and did what he was told. I was pleased!
Muir Woods was beautiful, it was great working on the trail and just being with nature. I have some pictures on my iPhone, and I hope they came out. When I get honme, I would like someone to go through my phone and pick out the good photos of my experiences here.
This afternoon, I also found out that National Geographic wants to interview me for a speecial they're doing on working dogs. They're going to be on campus filming graduation tomorrow and afterwards, they'll interview me about my experience getting Jim, they'll also interview my raisers about their experiences raising him. It should be a lot of fun. They could only pick one student from class to interview, and I was so honored that they chose me! Thre are so many great people here, and I feel that any of the nine of us could do a great job, but Todd, apparently, picked me out along with the marketing department. I also found out that someone in Maryland who made a generous donation to GDB wanted to sponcer a guide dog team from the Washington area. This basically means that her money went to some of the cost of training Jim for me. I am very greatful to her, and other people like her, who have contributed funds to give us these wonderful dogs.
This isn't a pitch for GDB, well, OK, it kind of is, but if you're insterested in giving money visit their website at
http://www.guidedogs.com
I am ready for bed, but I wanted to be sure that I posted and let you all know what's been going on here. Thank you for following me on this training journey with Jim. I will do my best to post tomorrow night after graduation! I'll also let you know how things are going once I get home!