Today's Special--Come Join in the Fun!

Yes, I know it was a cheesy kids show, "Today's Special" but for some reason when I sat down to write this entry the theme song from it popped into my head. I figured it fits. Anyone who knows me knows that I am always looking for a reason to celebrate---hence why there is almost always a bottle of bubbly in my fridge---wait--or maybe that is just because I am always looking for a reason to drink---ohhhh---well Champagne doesn't count, does it?

Anyway, as I was saying, I am always looking for a reason to celebrate, searching for those fleeting moments which you can't help but say to yourself--"It is good to be alive!" and embracing them, shining a light on them, and saying 'thanks' to whatever or whomever orchestrated it.



Today, I am celebrating some new found kindred spirits here in Kelowna. A crazy long-reaching chain of events involving the arctic circle, kayaking, Whistler, medical school entrance exams, and a woman named Saakje, led me to this group of fine folks here in Kelowna to whom I owe the awakening of the sleeping musician in me.

I have just been relishing in these big epic jams which always inspire me after a not-so-inspiring week of being surrounded by ruthless overachievers and lazy disrespectful underachievers.

Sleep be dammed, let the music fly!

A toast to the gang that continually make me smile here in K-Town.

Hunter Gatherer Family Members

So my 9 year old nephew Taylor sent this email to my mom. I was pretty stoked when I read it at how thoughtful it was so I wanted to share it. Also, it was keeping wiht the latest "dead" theme (see Verena's blog). And I have to admit, I was feeling the inner Albertan in me wanting to showcase his talent.


Dear Granmary,

I wanted to let you know that I shot my first deer at "Poacher Joe's" (uncle Dave's property), today . We stayed in our hunting tent last night and first thing this morning we walked through the woods to a spot where we could over look a field. Then Mr Sharpe (Stu) saw two big white tail does run in to a block of woods (Cabin Wood) across the field from where Daddy and I were hiding. Mr Sharpe and Bruno radioed us and told us they would walk through Cabin Wood and push the deer towards us. The plan worked great and sure enough the two deer broke out of the woods across from us and ran straight towards us. Daddy had already given me the 30-30 lever action so I was ready when they came. At first I was aiming at the front deer but then the second one stopped about 75m away so I changed targets and shot the deer. It dropped its head down and ran away from us then went down. At first Dad thought I had hit it in the neck but when we saw it the bullet had entered near the left front shoulder and exited the right chest.

I felt great and sad at the same time , but after that I felt OK.

A very exciting day.

I love you
From Taylor

So not jealous afterall...

After seeing the photos from the ski day at the Gorge I realized I hadn't missed out at all. All that time spent working on chem and physics wasn't for not. I mean, look...they were obviously having a crap time...

Ray Lamontagne Trouble

This is possibly the most mesmerizing live version of an acoustic song I have ever seen. Mr. Lamontagne is brilliant. 'Nuff said.

Jealous? Why would I be jealous?

When the sun is shining and everyone around me got up early with the frantic excitement of a day of skiing ahead. Coffee's are hastily prepared, skins, peeps, helmets, boots, poles, skis are gathered up in a flurry and are clunked out to the car. Silence descends upon the house and I grudgingly pad my way upstairs, suiting myself up and psyching myself up for a day of studying in the attic.

It's not FOMO (fear of missing out) it is pure MO.

Why would I be jealous when all my friends are skiing fresh pow and I am learning :

"Predict the relative boiling points of propane, C3H8 , and dimethyl ether, CH3OCH3"

Well, let me tall ya...

Both molecules have 26 electrons and are expected to have nearly the same polarizability.Propane is essentially a nonpolar molecule (μ = 0.084 D), because of the low polarity of C−H bonds. Dimethyl ether has a Lewis structure similar to H2O, with two methyl groups, CH3, replacing two H atoms. The molecular shape is angular around the O atom, and the molecule is polar (μ = 1.30 D). In this case, the dipole-dipole interaction is the determining factor, because the London interactions are expected to be similar. The boiling point of dimethyl ether is expected to be greater than that of propane. The actual boiling temperatures are −25°C for dimethyl ether and −42°C for propane.

Who needs skiing when you've got dipole moments?

Because really, I can see the direct correlation between this and me becoming a good doctor. I mean, if I had a dollar for every time dipole moments came up in the emerg department! Whew! I'd be a rich woman....

Traveling Meatballs

Alice asked me to put this recipe on my blog. I think I made them for Anna as well when she came to stay so I am calling them "Traveling Meatballs".

1 kg package of ground meat (can be turkey, chicken, or beef--I find organic ground chicken is the best)
2 jalapenos
1 white onion minced
2 eggs
1 zucchini grated
1 handful of grated cheese (Gruyere, Feta, or Parmesan all work)
2 cloves minced garlic
1 handful of cornmeal

Mix all ingredients together, add more cornmeal if it is too wet. Add salt and pepper to taste. Make into balls, place on a parchment sheet lined baking tray.

Bake at 350 degrees until browned and no longer pink inside (about 30 minutes). Turn after about 15 minutes.

Serve with spaghetti, homemade tomato sauce, and love, to someone who is coming or going. Or to someone who doesn't know if they are coming or going.

(I also freeze the individual balls in ziplocks to heat up on nights when I am traveling toward my physics textbook and have no time to cook).

Just Passing Through

Well the last month or so has certainly been busy here across the street from the Kelowna Airport.

My homesickness has been tempered with visits from family and friends recently, starting with an overnighter from Anna Brown on her way to southern USA for a climbing adventure. She came with some tomatoes which were turned into a yummy tomato sauce. Saakje came and went a couple times in there too---I think--it was a blur of duffel bags, curly hair and wine but I am pretty sure she was here. She did leave behind some mandarin oranges and rice crackers which provides more evidence of her stay.

Then Carlos, Ruby, Sylvia, and Rob came through on their way to Cuba via Montreal. Carlos is below doing his shark impersonation. We enjoyed lots of Halloween candy and Ruby and I got some cuddles in, which is always nice. I inherited some oranges from them as well, and I think a turnip. Hmmmm. What to do with a turnip...



After that I had my mother here for 5 days, which was great--though we never made it to Revelstoke this time around. We had a pretty mellow time, which I think she enjoyed, compared to the 3 weeks I spent with her this summer whilst taking organic chemistry. She came with Bernard Callebaut chocolate, homemade cranberry jelly, and shopping money. The chocolate was certainly welcome though not as healthy as some of the other foodstuffs I've acquired from the traveling Revelstokians.

Alice also came through on her way to Thunder Bay which was lovely. We went to Waterfront Wines and had delicious dessert while cutting out photos of princesses and horses with "unicorn hats on" for a collage she plans to do with her niece. She didn't arrive with random perishables but she did let me fondle her new Siren skis for a while.

Since my mom wasn't so keen on the lack of good pillows, sheets, and the lone spare towel she sprung for aforementioned items. So let it be known that now when you come through there will also be fluffy towels, snazzy sheets, and new pillows (with a mint on them) waiting for you. Feel free to bring salvaged refrigerator food--it makes me feel like I am doing my own Iron Chef Kelowna with the secret ingredients hidden in various backpacks.

Well If You Put It That Way....

I am in the midst of studying for my medical microbiology midterm (which is tomorrow) and I came across this description of why women have higher incidents of urinary tract infections when they are sexually active:

"Urinogenital Tract:
Microbes gaining entry via urinogenital tract can spread easily from one part of tract to another (the tract is a continuum)
Vagina:
Particularly vulnerable in sexually active females due to repeated introduction of contaminated (sometimes pathogen-bearing) foreign object (penis)." Medical Mircobiology 3rd ed. Mims et al. 2006.

Bet you never thought of it that way before....here is a little E.coli as an example of what that contaminated (sometimes pathogen bearing) penis can bring into a woman's life.

Dodgy Boat

Dodgy Boat
Originally uploaded by albinoblackbear.

I just finished a book about tuberculosis and it's far reaching ramifications on the Inuit people and culture. The book was mostly set in Rankin Inlet, where I spent this last July, and some aspects of the story were so familiar it gave me goosebumps.

It has me looking though my northern photos from this summer, thinking about my last trip up to Baffin Island at the end of August.

Such a huge part of my life in the past two years has essentially been living, or coming and going, from the North. I think sometimes I can't speak of it because it is such a foreign and misunderstood part of myself that I don't know where to begin. Tonight though I will fall asleep thinking of what I will say next about it, and hope I do it justice.

Erin Steps Out

So I finally went "out" for the first time since moving to Kelowna! It was really great to crawl out of my sweatpants and dust off the gluten-free cracker crumbs and head out into the real world where people socialize on Friday nights.



Too bad you can't see how much fun we were having with the mints and diet brown pop!

We then carried our dwindling troop in for the final touches on the pumpkin carving where Nicole displayed her affinity for power tools and Craig allowed us all to see that he missed his calling as a plastic surgeon.





I couldn't decide which one was the most creative of the bunch...



This one is a Geologist (is that a GPS?)



I think this one is a geology student...note garbage in the 'vomit'. I like that element of realism with this representation...I often find trash in my puke.