The Venue of Vultures

How is it that finish lines can feel so hollow? I was driving home from my exam, the last surge of adrenaline from writing was long gone and had been replaced by the anticipated nausea. I was expecting to feel jubilant. Relieved. Excited. It's strange how coming to the end of a long road can be so anticlimactic.
There have been times in my life where I have felt the pull of endless possibility in many directions so it is a sensation I am already familiar with.

In my minds eye I feel see myself running in a canyon, it's hot and rugged and my head is down to follow the rust colored contours. Running, running, running and then suddenly the ground opens up beneath my feet and I am flying through the air.
So far I have always landed on my feet, but at this juncture I have no idea where that might be. This next year is wide open for me.

So this chapter is closed.

The stage, predominately the basement of the central academic building. Often empty, save for a few random people (who also know where the electrical outlets are) playing video games or watching youtube. During the day the large picture windows let you see what you're missing. By night, there is no way to shift your weight to make those fixed plastic chairs comfortable. And generally, around this time the night cleaning crews arrive, and with them the cue to head home.

My last night of studying in CAB.

A major player and ultimate ally here at the university, Raj. This man met me almost every morning and every afternoon, for a total of 3-4h a day to tutor me through the wonderful world of organic chemistry. For the last 6 weeks I've robbed him of his opportunity to sleep in, and any opportunity to eat dinner outside the bowels of the chem building. Raj--you ROCK!




And now for the best part. The last act, the celebration! I was sitting in the students union building a few days ago when I looked up and saw Paul. A good friend and former partner in truancy, vandalism, and general adolescent skulduggery. I haven't seen him since we graduated from high school. It was strange looking at him and seeing a man's face superimposed on the image of my 17 year old version of him. As Friday was his last exam for his most recent degree and my last exam in year of pre req hell, we thought it fitting that we ring in the New Reality together. And as an added bonus, his roommate Jaison was also a friend from high school who I'd often hoped I would connect with again someday.

So we ate, we drank, and were merry.
There really is a special connection that we carry with people who have been in our lives during the tumultuous and wondrous time which is our coming of age. I generally shudder at any thought of high school or the people that I was forced into spending it with, so it was amazing to spend an evening reacquainting a couple of dear friends who had been red balloons in a gray landscape.

So for now, I am free of the venue of med-hopeful vultures. Free to spend time with the important people in my life, time in my kitchen, and time on the trails. And for all of that, I am happy.

The, Like, Doctors of Like, Tomorrow, Like...

The title is probably all that is needed. But I'll elaborate anyway. I just spent the last 3h in a chem lab making estriadol. It was a pretty simple procedure since we were given the estrone needed to do so. But during the lab the two girls who I share the bench isle with became unbearable to me.

One said "thank God there are so many idiots in this class asking stupid questions". Whenever any student did ask a question the two of them would exchange eye rolls or snorts of superiority. That is, of course, between the compulsive checking and texting on their pink razor phones. Maybe they are day traders and premeds, so maybe I shouldn't judge.

Yet Brittney #1 thought it was HILARIOUS that she kept spilling her hexane all over the bench. Hexane stinks, its highly flammable, and extremely volatile which meant I was praying all afternoon (in a hexane vapor cloud) her bunsen burner wouldn't set me and the bench alight.

I didn't think it was hilarious. Nor do I enjoy the fact that one of these girls will likely be doing my moms knee replacement surgery in 10 years. It is such a whack system that forces people to become these uber-achieving-competitive-petty-sociopaths to get INTO medicine, then expects them to suddenly develop a compassionate, patient, and understanding personality of good doctors (whatever that means). And don't give me the "if they are surgeons they don't need to have good bedside manner" because that is a cop out and a load of bull.

Surgeons don't work in a vacuum so why should the rest of us be expected to play nice and be professional and they get off the hook?

But I digress. The bottom line is, after being surrounded by the medical/dental hopefuls for the past year I have developed some major doubts as to the quality of the masses attempting to become doctors. It's scary folks. There is an upside though. I have a nearly photographic memory for faces. And believe me, I have been amassing a composite of wannabeMD's, which, if I ever see them in the hospital, I will hit-the-floor-running-with-my-IV-pole-trailing-behind. Because really, I've seen how they handle things like H2S04 gas and I find it worrisome that some day they'll be making life and death decisions for us all. I must say though, I do wish I could be there the day they realize that sometimes medicine means putting your finger in someones bum.

Go Long---May Long!

I forgot about this picture. John and I ended up lost, wandering the streets of Geneva like a couple of oafs after a fabulous dinner at a restaurant Hank recommended. But before we ended up an hour and a half in the wrong direction from our hotel, we stumbled upon this park where many chess games were underfoot (literally) among an interesting cross section of Genevians (Genevioans?). There were toothless old dudes, hipsters, punks, yuppies, huppies, nerds, and goths all claiming their little piece of painted concrete.

I was entertained as we walked around and John shredded every players strategy, mumbled about their inferior chess playing abilities, scoffed at their moves, and guffawed about slow and painful endings to games that had such "obvious check mates". Thats my man. Chess snob number one.

Enter, Edmonton.

After our beautiful little Swiss getaway the reality of Edmonton hit like a ton of bricks. Or should I say, a ton of pavement?


Right now I am spending roughly 2-3h a day in traffic. Not just the 'getting from A to B is a long way off' kind of traffic, but the 'inching along in construction zones' kind. The worst kind. Also, the two main veins that empty into the heart of the university are under construction. So there is no way to avoid it. It is heinous. My calculations have shown roughly 30+ hours in the car in the past 2 weeks. Life is just too damn short for that kind of nonsense if you ask me. No wonder coronary artery disease is directly correlated to how far one has to commute!


So last weekend I got in the car again. But this time I drove to Red Deer. And got to see my beautiful little niece and nephews.

The reward was certainly worth the trip.

This is Rachel, she's 6 which means she still is young enough to think she has a cool auntie. I like hanging out with her, a lot.

This is my bro Shandy. He's pictured here, in his happy place, i.e his garage where he is assembling a replica AC Cobra.


His plan is to be finished by fall so he can drive Rachel to her first day of grade one in it.
I asked if he'd maybe make another one for me so I could have it for my first day of MD school, to which he made some smart-assed remark about "well...at the rate you're going...".

"Have I been looking at the directions upside down the whole time? Hmmmm


Speaking of boys and toys. Here is my brother in law's new toy. He's pretty pumped. Though I am sad he didn't get the insane zodiac with the roll bars. That boat looked waaaay more fun!



So Davey took us out for a day of fishing. We were absentmindedly enjoying our V8 juices and the sun when suddenly the weather turned on us and lightening started showing itself in the north. So we hot-footed it back to the trucks to wait for the storm to pass. Good thing, for as soon as we were ensconced in our vehicles a crazy hail storm decided to hit us full throttle.


In about 20 mins the wild storm had passed and we had bluebird sky again.


Here is 'Little Man' eying his catch with some trepidation. Who knew one could catch such brilliantly colored fish in the 7 foot depths of an Alberta lake?? Sorry Verena, no macros of that guy.



So now I am back in the big smoke. Doing my fair bit of couch surfing. It has been great catching up with some friends that I haven't seen in years. I am tired of living out of a duffel bag though. The past year in Kelowna with John and I having to go back and forth on weekends, trying to keep track of my coat/toothbrush/footwear was tiring and it just seems to continue. When I leave my moms place in the morning I have to make a couple of trips, my car is full of textbooks (in case I have a spare minute to MCAT cram), an emergency supply of powerbar meal replacement drinks, spare runners, running clothes, some cans of tuna, change of clothes and shoes in case I end up going out for dinner, breakfast/lunch/coffee/tea/snacks, computer, ipod, camera, and their various charging and downloading devices. Really, it's ridiculous. Last week I slept at four different locations. Turns out all I need to add to my Mary-Poppins-Bag of a car is my fan and a pillow and I am set.

I wrote the above posting a couple of weeks ago but due to some issues with my tags (?) it wouldn't publish. I have since started the next o chem class and my schedule looks like this now:

0600h: wake
0730h-1000h: meet tutor at university after eating breakfast in car
1000h-1230h: class
1230h-1330h: study for daily lab exam/eat lunch/finish lab write up/pre-lab
1330h-1630h: make like duck in lab for 3h (scrambling around but trying to look calm on the surface)
1630h-1830h: run, eat, start lab write up, pre-lab, stare at wall, drool, fantasize about being a kept woman/winning lottery
1830h-2030h: meet with tutor (again!)
2030h-0030h: study, study, study...
0030h-0040h: read
0040h-0600h: sleep

So please forgive the lag in postings until after this is all over.

One...last...pre req!

This just in...got an A in organic chem 261!

Woot!

Three weeks to go and I will be freed from the 7th circle of pre requisite hell that I have been living in for the past year!

Double Woot!

Everything Turn Turn Turn

A few final shots from our Swiss trip. John and I biked up a very sketchy road to burn off some cheese. I couldn't decide, as we ascended the windy mountain road if I'd rather be hit by a car or go tumbling down the steep embankment. Luckily I never had to make the choice.
A couple of photos from our last night in town, where we took Hank out for dinner at a medieval castle.

This is our "band" shot. I don't think we look aloof enough.

Hanks town. Not bad eh?

John chowing on some Peter Rabbit with a large wooden spoon. Mmmmm...rabbit.

And now I am back in E-town. It's like groundhog year here. I am here for another round of organic chem. Yes, the very same from last year, well, with a twist. Last year the course was a first year organic class, now it is a second year course and the students are expected to have a year of inorganic under their belts. So it is a bit more challenging, but so far nothing compared to the Dr.N boot camp a la chemistry that I just finished at UBC. To the non-chem folks I know I am just rambling in a "wah wah wah wah" voice so I'll stop.

E-town is so weird. There are overpasses where there never used to be, the entire city seems to be under construction, and rush hour appears to be more like rush-12 hour. I went to the Sugar Bowl the other day to grab lunch. In the good old days I knew every server and half the clientèle. Now it is seems all the prototypes (the chain smoking post doc, the tortured photographer, the drummer from that band) are represented but they are all strangers.

My secret washroom in the Varscona Hotel (where one can go for a pee break when shopping) now has an electric lock on it for hotel guests--guess it wasn't so secret after all. The trick was to walk into the lobby like you owned the place, then no one questioned your intentions.

The only constant seems to be the homeless man with the stutter who sells "Our Voice" on the corner of 82 Ave and 104 St. I bought a paper from him. Relieved to finally see a familiar face, someone to orient myself with. Oh that and the uber trendy suspender and skinny-legged-jeans wearing staff at Gravity Pope where I, for traditions sake only, went and picked up a new pair of Fluevogs. Heck, they were on sale, and it was my early birthday present to self.

So UBC c'est fini. My marks proved to be pleasing. Managed to score honors for the year, which is sweet--is that the beckon of a medical school I hear in the distance? I hope so...I guess all those hours sitting in a plastic lawn chair for the past 8 months paid off. Now I just have to wail on the MCAT and these last two courses and...7-10 more years of school--here I come!!!

Life is good. I hate crawling along in traffic. It reminds me of why I live in a town where I can walk everywhere I could want to go in 45 mins or less.

Back to the books I go.

Decompression Day 1

Leading up to D-day (the chem final) mostly involved me sleeping (3-4h a night) in my clothes, eating in a study carol, and trying to do as many practice questions as possible--there was little time to pack in Kelowna or get ready for my Swiss adventure.

Chem came and went. It was a tough final. I had to fight the urge to have an anxiety attack when I got to the question which asked us to derive a fourth order equation half life. Also during the exam I almost fell into the the downward spiral of self doubt and fear which usually goes like this:

-I am going to fail this exam...

-I am going to have to take this class over again...

-What was I thinking taking a year off and trying to do science classes...

-I am an idiot...

-I have no more savings...

-I am never getting into med school...

-Clearly I am not smart enough to compete against all the brainiacks that are getting in...

-I should be wearing a dunce cap...

-What am I going to to with my life now that I am in debt and never going to med school...

-I should have studied longer/harder/better...

-I should just hand it in and leave now...save the marker the time...

STOP! This is dangerous for me because the self doubt downward spiral only leads to bad things and rash decisions. It's like the event horizon of negative self talk which I seem to precariously tread near these days.

So my time ran out and I handed it in, feeling like the year could not have ended on more of a down note. Down. Way down.

At least it is over I suppose.

Then it was mad packing at Casa Del Sullivan in K-town. Having forgotten my suitcases in Revy I was grabbing random articles (oranges, underwear, toothbrushes, cue cards, espresso machines, soy milk) and tossing them in plastic bags then jamming it in my car. Raced home to meet up with Erin and John (friends from the USA who were staying at our pad), had a glass of wine with Verena, Rob, and Sylvia, lamented the no go on the French immersion program, started unpacking the chaos de Kelowna and then started packing for Edmonton and Switzerland 'til 0130h.

I woke Wednesday at 0600h. Finished packing. Hit the road. Thought that I was ahead of the game then realized somewhere around Golden that there is a time change and I am actually an hour behind schedule.

Drove 130 km/hr the rest of the way and got there in ok time.

Flights, unremarkable. All luggage arrived with me (better than when we went to Morocco and it took a week for my gear to show up). So I was grateful for that.

Since I had no Swiss francs or change I had to schlepp my skis and luggage by hand to the train station. By this point, even though I am fluent in French I was struggling to communicate due to the lack of sleep for over 24 hours. My brain was definitely on delay.

Arrived at Hennke's around 1700h. Enjoyed my first raclette grill. Wow. Who knew one could eat so many calories in one meal??

Some of you may recall Henkke and John's penchant for white wine and club soda last year during the heat wave? Well, they have assured me that now they have moved onto a much more manly beverage...beer mixed with sparkling grapefruit juice...

Obviously there is nothing homo erotic going on here hey Henkke??


Mmmm...cheese...pickles...bread...meat...happy place...and not a textbook in sight!

Two Down...

One to go...

Physics final was today. Hard to gauge how I did exactly since it was mostly long answer, but I think I did pretty well.

I was expecting myself to run out of the gymnasium doing cartwheels and kissing strangers over the fact that I am DONE with PHYSICS! Well..to a certain degree...I still have to study it for the MCAT but in terms of course work...that chapter is closed. DONE!

But there were no cartwheels, no whoops of joy, no sexual harassment of strangers. Just the grim realization that I have the chem final looming. And that one freaks me out. I gotta say.

The thing that gets me is the math. It is so irritating. I understand the concepts, heck, I even enjoy most of it, find it interesting. But with inorganic there is so much picky math and it is there that I lose sooooo many marks. Too many decimals, missing a zero, getting a sign backwards, small stupid stuff. ARgh! It frustrates me to no end. Because there is nothing worse than putting so much effort and time into something and getting mediocre (read: non-med school achieving) grades.

Plus the fact that I nearly have a panic attack now every time I sit down to write a chem exam for the above reasons.

Okay, enough blathering, I must study.

Wish me luck! Tuesday at 0900h the guillotine falls...

One Down...

Today was my bio final.

That means one down, 2 to go for UBC-O.

I think it is pretty cool how I actually feel physically lighter after each final! Really, when one of the metaphorical weights is lifted it is perceptible.

I would love to stay and listen to the riveting conversation about how many calories are in a HALLS but it's time to retire to the quiet study hall and write a practice physics final.

Thanks for all the great blog-versations.

Another Friday Night in Paradise

Even though John and I have been dating for over a year and a half the home fires are still burning. We still like to get crazy on Friday nights when we haven't seen each other in days....as seen here...John is deriving Snell's Law and I am tracing some optic rays. Sigh. Cuddling and refractive indexes, we're so romantic! If that isn't love, I don't know what is...

Isn't he cute when he concentrates??

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...

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.

Hitting the Wall

(Back by popular demand I reposted this...I just had some second thoughts about sounding like the biggest whiner in the world but evidently people like reading that sort of stuff!)

It's official. Going to Switzerland between end of winter session and the start of spring session at U of A. It's going to be a whirlwind 10 day trip, bookended by moving out of Kelowna the day I finish exams and starting organic chem the day after I return. But I figured, what the hell? I've never been to the Alps and am stoked for some--you guessed it---spring ski touring at a slightly higher elevation than I am used to...oh and the wine at the huts ought to be a nice treat as well. With my adventura points the flight only cost 169 bucks...hell, I'd spend more than that on a pair of ski pants...wait...I just did.

But as I was saying...I am hitting the wall here in K-town. The recent round of midterms and "on hold" application to MD school has just appeared to kick me while I am down. I am not sure how I can put this delicately...um...I HATE SCHOOL. Well, not 'school' in general, because if I did, I wouldn't be signing up for another 7-10 years of the stuff but I hate the 'jumping through hoops' phenomenon of school right now. And the hoops at this juncture (physics, MCAT, etc) are just so soul sucking that most of the time I can't decide between lying in the fetal position on the floor or sitting in my car in the underground parkade staring straight ahead and listening to the Doobie Brothers.

And now it is 1900h which means I have wasted 2h of precious study time faffing on the computer, which makes me feel guilty, which leads to the downward negative thought spiral which you are now reading.

I just wish I could know that I wasn't doing this all for nothing.
The week off was supposed to recharge my batteries and get me ready to finish this semester. Instead I returned to my abode and classes feeling more despondent than ever, thinking about all the things I value in life and how those things are all compromised while I am here, studying MAGNETS for crying out loud.
Vent vent vent. I know, the world's smallest violin is playing my heart bleeds for you.
Well, what is a friggin' on line journal if you can't say what you really want to from time to time?

5 comments:

Henkka said...

Yowza, you are also coming!! Were you going to save it as a surprise or tell me as well? ;-)

WELLLCCCOOME to CH in the spring!!! Yes, spring touring with good wine and cheese will all be here! We are actually getting a bit of fresh snow now, it has been sunny for almost 3 weeks in a row. Jiihaa!

February 27, 2008 11:26 AM

Ryan said...

Henkka, you forgot the 'd' on the end of jiha...Or are you declaring a Jiha(d) on the snow this spring?

February 27, 2008 12:34 PM

Henkka said...

haha :). that's the Finnish way to spell yehaaw (or however you spell it :). I like the spring snow and the couloirs are in skiable condition early this year!

February 27, 2008 12:40 PM

Albinoblackbear said...

Way to go Ryan, now my blog is going to be flagged by CSIS and the FBI...jackass...hahahah

February 27, 2008 2:38 PM

Henkka said...

isn't that special, you will get a lot more traffic on your blog and some guys with dark suits and sunnies are waiting in your apartment one day when you come home ;-)

February 28, 2008 12:11 PM

The Waiting Continues...

February 20, 2008

Ms. Albino Blackbear
Box 1234
Shovelstoke, BC TOS OEO
CANADA

Dear Ms. Blackbear:

The Admissions Committee has completed a preliminary review of your application and based upon this evaluation we believe that in order to give your application fair consideration we must request that you submit your transcript for courses taking in the Spring of “08.

I look forward to receiving your transcript. In the interim, your application will be put on “hold” status. If we do not hear from you within six months, we will assume that you are no longer interested in attending SABA University School of Medicine.


Thank you in advance for your attention to this matter.


Sincerely,

Robert L. Sickletein, Ph.D.
Director of Admissions


Translation: "lets see how you do when you finish organic chem this spring..."

Seems like life is all about 'earning the turns' these days.

Kickin' Ass and Takin'...

Wait a minute...It is my ass that is getting kicked.

Yeah, 30% on chem quiz! Woot!

Discount Jim's School of Medicine/Pawn Shop in Leduc AB here I come!!!

OH YEAH BABY

93% on Biology midterm! Woot!

Thats me baby.

"I'd Rather Be Sleeping"

I need a bumper sticker that says that.

4 more "sleeps" until reading week.

And by "sleeps" I mean periods of darkness when the rest of the world sleeps where I am propping my eyes open with toothpics until the wee hours of the morning and then getting up again in the wee hours of the morning as I prepare for my chem midterm (physics is today).

Ahh, "to sleep, to sleep, perchance to dream"....

Have I mentioned I am sleep deprived? At least when I was like this up North I was gettin' paid yo!

Wagon Falling and Other Adventures

I have noted that some despondency may have crept into my entries of late so I feel I need to highlight some of the good things that happened which helped me get through another week away from the powder, the pals, and the partner.

Amber (bio study buddy) picked me up and we were heading to *Bucks to enjoy another power session of flash cards and physiology when she informed me that she had brought along an activity for us to do for stress relief when we were done. I was suspicious as the woman is 5 months pregnant so it obviously wasn't a bottle of wine.

Turns out it was magic paint, iron-on rhinestones, and iron-on printer paper for us to BLING up our lab coats. Thus elevating us to epic-ultra-nerdy-weird-adult-learner status.

I came up with the pun- phrase and she with the design and we tricked out our lab coats to an impressive degree (more photos to follow). Dust off your old organic chem texts if you can't figure it out...


We made an extra one for our equally-fond-of-nerdy-chem-jokes prof, which, apparently he liked so much he put it up on the overhead during Friday's class.

Sadly I missed being outed as the uber-nerd as I was already happily diving head first off the cleanse wagon in Revelstoke.

It was hard not to speed the entire way home, I was looking so forward to seeing my Revy family that the drive made me feel like an impatient 5 year old.

Had a fantastic few days at home which included a delicious happy-steak dinner at Ann Marie et Ryan's, some botched cast-iron brownies, and spicy Zinfandel--what was it's name again?

Friday was studying and then a cheese fest of truffle preccorino, winemakers, and cave aged gruyere with plenty of vino, Cava, and port while we tucked into several episodes of "Sex in the City". Maybe we can't relate to the shoe shopping and the clubbing in New York, but some of the themes were close to our hearts---missing our dear friends, finding love, trying to make babies, invalid in-laws. Much much needed time with the girls and laughter. John and James even joined in for some of the episodes, both of them armed with stiff scotches, mind you.

Saturday was the 2nd Annual Revelstoke Robbie Burns Night.
Well, I am going to wait until Verena sends me some photos from that night before I expand, as the old adage of "a picture says a thousand words" is soo true.

The next day I unwillingly crawled to the kitchen table to study a bit more despite the 10cm of fresh snow and sunshine out there.

It had better friggin' snow next winter I tell ya.

G'night for now. Thank you world for another great week.

A Perfect Day

I woke up Friday morning a bit earlier than usual to give myself a few minutes to have a leisurely breakfast whilst reviewing some chemistry, my quiz was at 0830h.

It was a beautiful morning, which the photo of course doesn't do justice, but at least you can get a glimpse of the pink clouds and the snowy hills.

Friday turned out to be not such a great day, despite it's calm beginnings. In fact Friday was pretty much crap. I bombed my chem exam, which I had actually spent quite a while preparing for, and then physics class was both over my head and frustrating.

Ann Marie, Tobin, and Ryan stopped in on their way home from Penticton, which was a nice break from the downward spiral of school/self-loathing. Seeing them reminded me of how much I miss being home in Revy, surrounded by the people and places I love. These classes and the upcoming MCAT only seem to become more and more ridiculous to me as hurdles to go through to get into medicine. Why do I want to do that to myself anyway? I already have a degree and a well paying job that is flexible and challenging....isn't that what most people strive for? And if I got hit by a runaway ice cream truck tomorrow, would I die thinking--'thank goodness I learned about Coulombs Law and spent my savings on pre-requisites and rent in Kelowna?' Doubtful.

So I toyed with the idea of quitting. I did some calculations...how much tuition would I get back? Is it too late to sell my books back to the bookstore? Will I lose my damage deposit here if I leave before April? But I knew it was pointless. I have to stick it out. And somehow I have to make the best of doing physics and chemistry labs, memorizing things I will never use again, and learning obscure concepts that will likely never come in handy in the middle of a night shift in emerg somewhere when someone presents to me their sick child.

I couldn't sleep Friday night. I was up until almost 5am lying there, as usual (I am an on-again, off-again insomniac who appears to be on the on-again side of things) thinking about what I should do with my life. Right now, being a bobcat driver in Revy seems like a much more attractive offer than spending the next 8 months preparing for the MCAT. That way I could see John every day, enjoy my days off instead of worrying about practice problems and reading I should be doing, and I could sleep in my own bed, far far away from the tanning booths of Kelowna.

But then Saturday rolled around, and it was a perfect day.

John came back from Vancouver. So he was at the airport first thing. Both of us were bagged (he from drinking rum with Pete the night before--and me from not having slept) but we stayed up and managed to push through the desire to sleep for the rest of the day.

We did some physics together, which was hugely helpful, and actually kind of fun. We figured out how the theoretical experiment I had to perform would in fact result in a major electrical disaster, involving my incineration by lightening due to a styrofoam ball coated in metal flying though the air at 1/10 the speed of light. Thankfully it was a theoretical experiment. I did some studying, John did some putzing.

Then we went to the kitchen store and John proceeded to shower me with completely undeserved gifts...a beautiful, brand spanking new, sparkling, gorgeous Global fillet knife that could cut a man's heart out with a couple of flicks and then create a still-beating serving of paper thin slices for anyone around who cared to try it. Oh, chicken bone stock and pork roasts here I come.

We then went to my other favorite culinary theme-park--Valoroso Foods. John picked up a selection of cheeses, prosciutto, and spicy marinated eggplant. I got my favorite Fleur De Sel that I am almost out of.

Then our meal at Waterfront Wines. The restaurant we both love here in K-town. Enjoying each other and salmon wrapped prosciutto, leek and arctic char soup, and for desert the creme brulee (of course) and a yummmmmy croissant bread pudding with chocolate sauce and roasted hazelnuts....and a bit of Botrytis affected dessert wine from Quails Gate.

For second dessert we went to Future Shop for necessities like ink-jet cartridges, Sex in the City (the final season), and season 3 of The Office.

A stop at the great wine store on Dilworth resulted in a mini bottle of Champagne (and a stock up on red Zin, just in case there is a world wide shortage on the horizon).

I couldn't think of a more perfect day. All my favorite haunts, with my favorite person, and coming home with all sorts of treats. It was the universe balancing out Friday in a large way, I suppose.

You know you have found your soul mate when you can have fun together, whether it is doing physics homework or drinking Champagne and watching Sex in the City. And in both cases, he doesn't care that you are wearing sweat pants.

isn't she a beaut?

Pre/Post Finals Photos

Thought I would post a few pics from the beginning of December...gotta document when the man makes pumpkin Gnocchi from scratch, tossed in a delicious butter sage sauce. Finished it off with an amazing cheesecake (note said cake in left corner). I think the most hilarious part of it all was when he so casually said , "I have to call Mike for a recipe". Like he's always calling people for recipes.

Note the blue steel pose.

Tobin was initially skeptical but then tucked right in. You know it's good when you get the approval of an infant, I mean, if they don't like it, they just throw it at you. It's pretty clear.

One of many great snowfalls in December. Apparently John and Verena are crazed with delight...

John being bombarded by the massive flakes, barely able to stand under their great weight.

And of course, the inevitable morning after.

Gotta love the upside-down berry cones.

And now, alas. My tiny universe for the next several months, revealed. I think my butt has already grooved the chair this semester. Note snazzy new study-mug a la Ann Marie Pottery Collection...