AMG Kills It!

Yesterday the Gills came to town for the 1/2 marathon race which was today. We had a great Teddy Bear Picnic here at the study pad, and as you can see Tobin was carb loading with us...

Then hiding in the bathroom...

Then going through the self loathing period after eating all those carbs, and obsessing about his weight...they start so young these days...

It was a beautifully perfect race day, the sun shining and no wind to speak of. A bit chilly first thing but it made for ideal temperature for a long run.

Here's AM in her ninja running suit rippin' up the pavement!

And here is yours truly being a jackass.

So the results are in and Mrs. Gill got second place!!! She rocked it and beat the winning time from last year even. John thinks that whoever came first must be a "tranny". Jury is still out on that one. You can see the relief on my face for having crossed the finish line. I was very pleased with my finish, though now the speed work has to start for the next one...ughhh. A year ago I would have never thought I'd ever run a race, or even be able to finish a 1/2 marathon. I rocked my physics midterm too (90%!) which is another accomplishment that would have seemed impossible to me a year ago. Those two things happening in one week have shown me that life is indeed full of strange and wonderful surprises.

Tobin giving me the thumbs up!

BC Girl

Today as I drove out of Revy at 0630h hoping to get to K-Town on time for my (LAST!!! as in, last one of my life until the END OF TIME) inorganic chem lab, I had to chuckle at the weather and road report that crackled over my radio. About 1.5km out of Revy CBC becomes static but before it died this morning I was able to hear about the avalanche warnings, the falling ice, the falling rock, the slippery sections, the visibility, the precipitation...the weather systems over the Monashee, Selkirk, Columbia, Coastal, and Caribou mountains. All the while I was nodding along, the ramble is like a mantra in the morning. And then it struck me. It was a true BC moment.

There I was, driving with my winter tires on at the end of March, in swirling hypnotic snow. I was wearing several layers because with each hundred kilometers the climate would require I peel another layer off for exit. I whizzed by the "Do Not Stop-Rocks Falling" signs, along the windy curves hugging Sicamous, and the final divide near Vernon. By that time the desert landscape had taken over and I was comfortable in my t-shirt.

I remember the startling simplicity of the Edmonton area forecast in the mornings: how cold it was, if there was a wind chill, and the precipitation. That was it. No ranges, no avalanches, no falling rocks, no freezing points. Just traffic and weather.

And I smiled. I like being a BC girl. I doubt I could go back to those old weather reports. I like the wild and unpredictable mountains. Except I suppose, when I am driving through them...

Raffi Said it Right

For some reason this morning while I was brushing my teeth this old Raffi song came into my head,

"All I really need is a song in my heart,
Food in my belly
And love in my family."

I think I may have to make it my new mantra. It's pretty simple but I think he nails it. It isn't cheezy either and was a great message for my little 5 year old mind. Because when it really comes down to it, Maslow would agree...those are the most important things...ok, maybe I would change the lyric slightly:

"All I really need is (good) song in my heart,
delicious home-made organic food in my belly
and love in my friends and family".

Because I've had Celine Dion songs in my head, and that just makes for a really BAD day. I think the food thing goes without saying, and essentially my friends are as important as my family.

Is there good children's music anymore? What happened to Sharon, Lois and Bram? Raffi? Mr. Dressup, Mr Rogers? Is it all just kid MTV and Teletubbies now? Perhaps it is another indication of the downfall of our civilization...

The Race is On

As a thought provoking soap opera proclaims daily, "as sands in the hourglass, these are the days of our lives"... and it's true. Though I don't have an evil twin who is recently back from the dead to marry my ex-husband (who turned out to be my fathers illegitimate brother from another mother) and really nothing else in my life rings true to the mind-numbing antics on afternoon television...as the end of the semester nears I feel like time speeds up to a frenetic pace, like those last few grains in the hourglass.

Maybe that is not the best analogy, its more like the weeks are a subway train going by in front of my eyes and once the train has passed I can't remember details or events, just a blur and noise. And I think, "my God, has another week just passed?"

There are 15 days of classes left for this semester, and if one were to ask, "but who's counting?" one would hear a resounding "I AM!!!!" from this corner of the room. My time is K-town is coming to a close. In fact, with much glee I brought home to the 'Stoke my first round of belongings last weekend.

Well, I won't get nostalgic yet around another life and residence change, but that post is a-commin' I am sure.

For now I am focusing on my new happy place. Running. Last weekend AMG and I ran 21kms together. She's training for the Boston marathon, I (was) training for nothing but was curious to see if I could do it. And heck! I did! Well, AMG had to slow her pace, but it was a great feeling to have that sense of accomplishment. I did something that two months ago I couldn't have done.

So today I registered for the Campus to Campus Half Marathon.

I think the endorphins continued to circulate for a few days, clouding my judgement because the race is in 12 days and I haven't been specifically training..but I guess one has to start somewhere.

It is starting to feel real. This leg of my journey is almost complete. One physics lab, two chem labs, and three finals left here before I am Alberta bound for the spring.

Last year at this time I was in Cambridge Bay packing heat (literally, I brought my hair dryer with me to work each day to de-ice my lock at home in the -50 degree weather). Now here I am training for a 1/2 marathon and worrying about my chem midterm. Amazing how life can change in wild and unimaginable ways. I certainly didn't think I would ever be here.

So the race is on, in every sense of the word. As winter '08 draws to a close, the hammer comes down on all my classes, and I amp up for the race I hear a faint drum roll in the distance...just gotta be able to sprint across this finish line...

Me and My Tibias--Stressed Together

Even I was getting tired of seeing my boring posts for the last week. The reality is though, things are pretty boring here on the home front. Last night I did get out to play music with the lads, which was good but I have to say my mojo seems to be in low these days. Another break in the boredom was John's brief visit on his way home from Vangroovy. We had a most excellent meal at Waterfront Wines--pork roast and organic veggies and the sable fish with celery root and scalloped potatoes. Yum...

The last two weeks have been frustrating for me as I was just amping up my running routine when I got totally crippled by a set of shin splints, or as they are now called, "medial tibial stress syndrome". It really really really brought me down. I saw a sport med doc and a physiotherapist so now I am in the cue for some orthotics and have had to take the last 10 days off from running. The MD gave me some anti-inflammatory cream (vioxx but in cream form) for my legs and it seems to help.

I realized how little I have been listening to my body lately. I felt those pains coming on a few weeks ago so my answer was to take 800mg of advil about 20mins before each run. BAD IDEA. I know. Its just soooo tempting. But I see that it really is not a healthy way of having feedback with your body when you're doing strenuous exercise, and I think I paid the price. I was able to run twice this week and it was okay, so I think I am getting back on the wagon---but I won't make my distance goal this month. Sigh.

I guess it is a good lesson though, pain is an important self preservation mechanism. People who have congenital insensitivity disorder with anhidrosis (CIDA) have a shorter life expectancy than those who don't. Their joints wear out because they can't feel when they are stressing them, they eat food that burns them, they'll break bones and never know. Take home message, pain is telling you something, listen to it.

So how does that relate to the PAIN I am in right now with regard to my physics midterm on Monday? The mental anquish must be telling me something--that I should stop doing physics, forget about med school and start working full time at Tim Hortons making breakfast bagels how they are meant to be made.

Okay maybe you shouldn't modify your behaviour with regard to all sources of pain...

Oops...I almost did it again!

I was about to write a snarky commentary on the noise level in the library and the fact that complete strangers in my classes seem to want to disclose their grades to me (what is that about anyway?? like I care what Jim Bob got on his chem exam...as if it affects my life one iota)...okay clearly I do need to vent on this for a second...

It is a strange phenomenon that I have yet to figure out, but on a fairly regular basis people ask me what classes I am taking or what I am studying and I wrack my brain with how to answer that.

Scenario 1

Me: "science classes"

Them: "good for you!" in a really patronizing 'women-are-finally-getting-into-science-way' and they look at me with that 'wow-it-must-be-hard-being-a-mature-student-and-going-back-with-no-clue-of-where-your-life-is-taking-you' look, which I abhor.

Scenario 2

Me: I am taking pre requisites for medical school and to preparing for the MCAT exam.

Them: (always--without exception) "It's really hard to get into med school! What are your grades? What is your GPA? The MCAT is realllllly hard".

Okay, at this point I fight the bile in my throat and the urge to respond with an uber sarcastic

-"Really?? I thought (insert med school/MCAT here) was like, super, like easy to like get into/write! OH MY GOD! I am sooo glad I talked to you about this!"

or my other reflexive response

-"I'm sorry, who are you? Do I know you? Why are you asking me my GPA? Are you on the selection committee for Med School X? Since when were my grades your business? Are you trying to suss out the competition or just deflate my dreams?"

Or my personal favorite response which always comes from others who are also planning to go to med school--

"Really? Me too! My GPA is (insert high GPA here), I have been on (insert token volunteer trips abroad here) and have been volunteering at the hospital for (insert X number of years here), my dad is a (insert medical specialty here) and I have been doing research in (insert bio related research here)."

To which I am usually speechless because I am still stunned by the fact that people seem to feel the need to divulge their resume/transcript/volunteer work to me, again, like I care. The key word here is care. The things I care about are, my family, my health, my friends, my patients. Strangely the amount of blankets you brought to the LRT station in the cold snap of 2003 does not fall into any of those categories.

So sometimes to divert the line of questioning from the get go I say something like

Me: I am taking chemistry.

Them: (the ever original) "so you want to spend your life in a lab?"

Me: (inside voice) If it means being sheltered from crass people like yourself, yes.

Me: (outside voice because now I feel defensive) Well actually I want to go into medicine and I need the courses.

Me: (inside voice) SHIT! cover blown! Retreat! RETREAT!!

Them: see scenario 2.

Twice, and only twice has the response (other than from my friends) varied from above script. I know that for sure because both times caught me sooooo off guard that they will forever stand out in my memory.

Once at GMCC the information desk when I was asking where a class was and the woman asked me why I was taking physics and chemistry...I told her...

Her response:

"WOW! Good for you! That is great! We need more female doctors. Good luck to you! Don't lose sight of your goal".

Me: Faint with shock lying on floor staring around trying to figure out when I slipped into an alternate universe.

and just the other day...from a friends wife...again a very positive and supportive response...

It was nice. It was what I needed that day. I was starting to lose any hope that someday I could have a conversation about school that didn't make me want to gouge out my eyes.

Is it just that people lack tact? Manners? Boundaries?

When I ran this post by John he told me it was very "pre-med like" so I guess the joke is on me. I am just as obnoxious as the rest of them...funny that eh? Isn't there some saying about what we hate most in others is what we hate most in ourselves....gonna have to mull on that one a while I think...

Spring is Springing

The last few days have certainly felt like spring. I have been having deja vu from last fall when I'd wake up in the sweltering heat due to the fact that my completely windowed south facing wall gets barraged by the sun from the second it pops over the horizon.

The noticeably longer days and mild temps here in K-town have given me a bit of hope...soon winter, ergo winter semester, will be over. I've been running a fair bit to keep the insomnia and SAD syndrome at bay. Running has been my treat/healthy procrastination activity. I can't believe I just put the words "running" and "treat" in the same sentence---usually the pair would have been more in the context of "I am running to buy a treat". But really, lost toe nails, tight IT bands, gouges in neighboring toes from adjacent nails, shin splints, medial tibial stress, be DAMNED! At least I can sleep at night and I am lessening the number of "underground parking lot" moments as I like to call them. I ran about 100kms last month and my goal is 120kms this month. We'll see.

I recently discovered a fun blog called The Long Road to Medical School which to most people would be a major bore I am sure. But I had to laugh when I saw the name. It certainly would be a more appropriate name for my blog than "ohtanninbound". When I made this blog last January I was really getting into wine (I mean in an educational sort of way not in a high functioning alcoholic sort of way). And at the time I envisioned this blog as a way for me to keep a journal of things I was learning about wine and tastings, food I'd discovered or made, maybe throw the odd cheese or beer tasting in there. Yeah, not so much. I think the only mentions of alcohol so far on the blog have been "I got drunk last night" or "I am not drinking on this cleanse".

The 'Long Road' blog has been good for me though, because obviously I can relate to that statement. And I enjoy her humor and insight. Plus it gives me a little extra reminder of what I am doing all this for...I'll feel like quitting physics so I'll go to her page and read about how she got to assist in the OR that day, or about how she knew her stuff on rounds, or whatever and it makes me go, yeah, I want to be here. I want to do this.

It was tough yesterday though I will admit. It was a gorgeous 7 degrees and I couldn't help but think that I enjoyed last Saturdays views

only slightly more than this Saturday's views...

Sigh. Hoop #238985 here I come.
Back at it, from the well sweat/teared on desk of A. Blackbear.