Soooooo close!

Monday was standard in terms of classes. Then we had our last soccer game of the regular season. Based off what we saw in warm-up, they were a good team. We knew going in that we had already made the playoffs. A win would only affect our ranking where if we won we'd play this team in the first round and if we lost we'd play the faculty team. It was super close with each team having their chances. For the most part, we kept them to the outside, while on the other side of the pitch we had good scoring chances but no finish. By the end of the first half we were down 1-0. Early in the 2nd, we had a good rush that resulted in a hand ball in their box. There was a lengthy period of denying who was actually the goalkeeper and what kind of kick we would be awarded. It was obvious to us that it a penalty kick was due, but to them they had substituted who was goalie in middle of play. Substitutions are willy nilly in this league. Usually you wait for a stoppage in play, but you can also sub as if it were a hockey player jumping off the bench. The ref is a player from another team in the league so rules aren't tightly adhered to nor thoroughly known. Finally after much discussion, a PK was awarded and we tied it up 1-1. I was pretty gassed and probably spent half the game on the sidelines so I wasn't able to hear much of the discussion. I knew it was getting a bit heated and hoped that we were keeping it relatively cool. After that, we played it tight with chances back and forth for the rest of the half until the last minute when they got an odd-man rush and netted their second goal. It was a hard fought game and I was more than pleased with our effort. Hopefully we'll keep it up and keep the faculty on Saturday.

Tuesday, class as per usual, then studying, then I met up with Ali, Erin, Alexis, Rachel, and Molly for a practice simulation session. It was helpful and I feel better prepared for the practical in a couple weeks. After that I had dinner with Erin at Tomato's. Got to chat  about home and life in general. Then back to C5 to FB message back and forth about how much our musical tastes are similar and then of course we had to study.

Wednesday, I woke up feeling cold. I haven't needed to use the fan in probably over a month now. It's been nice, but now I'm getting cold. Luckily, Steve left behind a blanket, so after waking up, I brought it out of the closet and lay it over a chair to air it out. Then off to class for a day full of BioChem. Lunch with Harper who hooked me up with some Halloween fun size packs of swedish fish and sour patch kids that his parents sent over. Then I had lab demo where I realized I forgot to bring closed-toed shoes. I borrowed Ali's and rediscovered how small my feet are. It's around this part where I really feel guilty about what we're doing to our cadavers. I absolutely appreciate their contribution and it's definitely furthering our learning, but man, I feel awful knowing we cut your shwing shwong and balls in half. Back to C5 to study 'til 7 when the Canadian Student Society met with our admissions advisors for the standard Q & A session that they have every semester. It's a great opportunity to get yourself known to the reps who can try to get you rotations in Canada. They're really helpful and personable. They've been able to secure a track program for Saskatchewan residents. A track program is where you can do all your core rotations in one hospital. We have a few of those in the states but Saskatchewan is the only one in Canada available to us for now. If only I lived in Saskatchewan, eh? Hahaha yeah right...they don't even have an NHL team (not that that matters right now). They said that right now we're part of a very exciting generation of medicine because we'll finish med school on the cusp of Obamacare coming in and baby boomers retiring. The need for family doctors is already high, but it'll skyrocket by the time we're ready to practice. All we really have to focus on right now is keeping our grades up.

Thursday, I used the blanket and slept through the night which is something I haven't done in a while. If only the night afforded me more hours. Oh well, up after sleeping through three snoozes, quick change, take the tapazole, brush the teeth, and head to class. After the first hour, I grabbed oatmeal from the Healthy Shack. Mmmmm so hearty and delicious. Finished lectures, lunch with Harper, chatted with Ali, Alexis, and Rachel as they were fundraising for Salybia, back to C5 to study...errrr take a much needed nap. Hadn't needed to in probably over a month, but it was inevitable. Piled up the hoodie on the table, put my arms up for extra cushion, and napped for ...not so sure. It was around 3 when I woke up. Right side of my face was numb, arms were tingly and I had the pattern of my hoody zipper and the "Edge" from my ThinkPad Edge laptop embedded into my forearm. Opted to head to the bathroom to splash some water on my face and who should exit the bathroom as I walked in, but Rachel. "Good morning!" We chatted a bit and it ended with her letting me know that the right side of my face did look a bit red. When I looked closely in the mirror, there were indents from the ribs in my hoody on my cheek. Either I was out for a while or gravity just works that much harder when you're sleeping. Back to crank it out at C5 'til 7 when I went for dinner with Malini, Dimal, and Jerome at Schwarma King. Ali and Erin were there and were eventually joined by other classmates including Rachel and Alexis. I'm assuming they were having some sort of Thanksgiving gathering. Ali asked if we were having our family Thanksgiving dinner that night and I told her we were on Friday. I also liked how she referred to it as "family dinner".

Friday marked the last day of PBL/SGL!! Halleluiah, thank you baby Jesus! Done and done, never again, until I get pimped by an attending when it actually matters...*sigh*. Nonetheless, it was good to be done with it at Ross. Janos and I grabbed lunch and groceries from IGA.
I studied for a couple hours at C5 before heading over to Candyce's to help prep for Thanksgiving dinner. Janos had already seasoned the bird (who we named Ted) and was getting started on his next dish. Candyce was working on a casserole and then we peeled some hard-boiled eggs for deviled egg appies. I headed home to shower and change and then showed up around 6:15 and everybody was there. The whole gang, the crew, the family. Huzzah!! For a Dominican Thanksgiving, we kicked ass (sorry Caroline)! There was mac n' cheese, a Russian/Persian salad, mashed potatoes, a cheese broccoli and rice casserole, garlic bread, biscuits, cranberry sauce, gravy, corn, and of course Ted the turkey. There were 9 of us and we were stuffed and barely made a dent in all the food. We sat around the table and each shared what we were thankful for (in predictable fashion) but it was so awesome to hear how thankful we were for each other - acknowledging our differences and dysfunction, but our concerted ability to make it work. It was nothing short of awesome. Awesome was achieved when dessert was served. Harper made pistachio ambrosia salad, two pumpkin pies, and to pecan pies FROM SCRATCH!!! Janos made gulab jamun, which was insanely delicious. We picked the right men for our family, that's for sure. It definitely makes me miss Indian food. Oh palak paneer, how I long for you. Mind blowingly awesome arrived when all the men got up and started cleaning.

That's right, they're cleaning

The only downside to all this was that I missed out on the RCF Thanksgiving/Christmas program. I was initially supposed to play piano for a girl but due to illness it was cancelled leaving me to fully commit to family dinner. Unfortunately, I missed out on Christina singing O Holy Night while Judith performed a ballet number worthy of the SYTYCD stage. She did jumps and spins on point in succession and all kinds of crazy stuff (If only I knew the French words, I wouldn't sound like such an idiot). Luckily, it was recorded so I got to see it.

Saturday was a jam-packed day. No yoga for a month now. I participated in a workshop put on by MSA that took us through all the different physical examination tasks we could be tested on in our practical: blood pressure, thyroid exam, EOM, pupil reflexes, visual acuity, visual fields, extremity reflexes. It was really helpful. After that, a quick lunch, then studying, then worship practice, then soccer for our playoff game against the faculty team. Rachel and Alexis came out to watch and cheer us on. Alexis graced me with an extremely long hug as we positioned ourselves strategically to block the sun out of Rachel's eyes. Then we heard the familiar voice of Ali heckling us for our enduring embrace. Jealous much? The hug eventually ended as I started to get her hair in my mouth and, you know, I needed to play soccer. We won handily, which was unexpected. Headed home, showered, went to small group where we watched a DVD called "The Star of Bethlehem". It was pretty awesome. Then I ate dinner with Esther, studied more at C5 before clocking out around 11.

Sunday morning up and at 'em. Ate breakfast, packed up my stuff, and headed to the CAC for practice. This would be the last time of the semester leading. A little less than a month ago, a first semester, Diane, requested that I play "Jesus Paid it All" and I told her that if no other leader did it, I would the next time I was on. Well fast forward four Sundays and the song was still up for grabs. Anybody from NDEFC knows that that's one of our bread and butter songs (easily Alyse's go-to song, and yes, all leaders have one*). We're consistently able to rock it out whenever we want, regardless of who's playing what. I was pretty stoked, but also anxious given that I'd have to teach the musicians their parts because for whatever tragic reason, hymns (revamped or not) aren't well known here, and since we're all in med school, we don't have time to thoroughly listen to the youtube videos I send out. For those who aren't familiar with the song, it's well known for its musical interlude which peaks throughout. Without it, the song is alright, but a bit flat. With it, the song overflows with power and great dynamics. The upside is that I can describe things fairly well to any musician so that they know exactly what to play and how to play it. We spent a good chunk of time perfecting it and I was completely satisfied with our effort. It's always enjoyable to put more energy into the musicality of things than going with the bare minimum. As a leader and musician, you enjoy the opportunity to serve all the more, and it doesn't hurt when you get a giant hug afterward for remembering a request (as if I'd forget).

After lunch, I had dessert with Christina (fruit and a cookie) at a picnic table. We chatted about family and what it was like growing up with various challenges. I was able to ask some fairly personal questions and get some awesome honest answers. Good time well spent. Studied in C5, and then headed to Jenner to play in the semi-finals round of playoffs. Ali hurt her ankle pretty bad on Saturday and would sit out and support us instead. Rain started pouring as soon as the game started but resolved itself fairly quickly. We played the same team we lost to on Monday. Solid D and some finished chances had us with a 3-2 win in the end. It's official, The Humble Hitters are in the finals for the first time. Tough thing is that we have practicals and minis early next week. So unless we're all super prepared and studied up, we might find ourselves a bit shorthanded on Saturday. I still haven't decided if I'm playing. Home to shower, back to C5 to study, then headed to Malini's to get her fan (to replace my broken fan), home to drop it off, then back to campus to heat up my Thanksgiving leftovers and scarf them down while enjoying the company of Diane. We enjoyed getting to know each other and then headed back to our study spots. Just outside C5, I ran into Courtney and we caught up on things. Talked about the Behavioural practical as they haven't been informed about it yet. It's really easy, but not knowing that it's easy would be pretty annoying I imagine. Sent her some info and then carried on with my studies 'til 11:30 when it was time to go home.

Monday classes didn't start til 10 which is all kinds of awesome. Just two lectures, lunch, then the last lab session ever! So happy about that. I was committed to burning my scrubs because there's no way I'd wear those around patients smelling like formaldehyde, but Chelsea was eager at the thought of taking them off my hands. So they'll go to her, and maybe other generations of med students, and then hopefully they'll be burned.

Oh man, we're at less than 2.5 weeks! Histo and Anatomy practical on Monday, Mini 3 on Tuesday, Clinical Skills Practical Thursday, Final on the next Tuesday, fly out early Wednesday, arrive home at 1am Thursday. SOOOO CLOSE!!!!

*in my mind, Tim's is "Be My Guide", Stew's is "Almighty God", and mine was "The Love of God" - they're all songs that are almost exclusively done by only that one leader. I'd be interested to know what Mackie's is.

Creeping the Petty Pace

We are now in the final block of the semester - Reproductive System and Integument. Huzzah (apparently Americans don't say "huzzah", for shame!) The countdown is now at less than a month and you have no idea how much I'm looking forward to being home. No idea. So many reasons, so many great wonderful beautiful reasons, so many people. My heart races when I think about seeing, hugging, and hearing all of you. I assume you smell wonderful too, but it'd be odd to say my heart races at the thought of your scent. Also, I'm not a cannibal despite my nasty biting habit.

While there's plenty to look forward to, there's plenty of work to be done. I've finally accepted the fact that my body is stressed. Emotionally, I think I'm coping as best as I can, but I looked at my bathroom floor after returning home from the mini and it was covered in hair. More than the usual amount and I always put the hair caught in my brush into the garbage. Further to that, during half time at Tuesday's soccer game, I found myself shaking as I filled my water bottle. My heart was fine and I didn't feel light-headed, but my muscles were fatiguing an insane amount for just holding a bottle and pressing a lever down. I also started cramping up as I was sitting in C5 to study. Getting more of those night cramps where I wake up suddenly because my calf is seizing too. My body is apparently very tense even though I feel calm. Perhaps it's the anticipation of heading home, or just months of rigorous studying, or I subconsciously want ridiculously sculpted muscles. I don't know. Since classes have started this week, I've opted out of first class for an extra hour of sleep instead. Alarm always goes off at the usual time, but it just gets turned off and I'm up an hour later. Hoping to get a good chunk of hours over the weekend so that I can start going to class at 8 again.

Tuesday, I slept in but showed up for the 9 o'clock lecture. There were maybe 20 of us in class. That usually happens the day after a mini. Definitely a tough day to focus, buckle down, and learn new stuff. But man, Tuesday was an awesome day. I caught up with an old childhood friend over Facebook. No doubt, that was the highlight of my day and really set the tone for the rest of it. Later on, we had a soccer game against MSA (Muslim Student Association). They're really good and whipped us last semester. I'm guessing they were either shorthanded or missing their star players or something, because it was a complete role reversal. We were organized, had solid D and backchecking from the forwards, and finished the majority of our chances. Ali scored at least once and James got one too (that I assisted on). Most of our team showed up too, so we were well rested. A downside to playing in a Caribbean climate with men is that you find yourself covered in their sweat after various challenges are made. It's instinct to put your arm up against a defender as you're trying to pass them and I've gotten used to it, but because our game was in the middle of the afternoon in the hot sun, I definitely found myself looking at my shirt and seeing wet streaks that I know weren't from me. Clothes were definitely thrown in the hamper after that game.

Wednesday was a standard day of classes. We had demo and then lab where we dissected the anal triangle. That's right folks, we're onto the fun stuff now. To be fair, our group didn't have it so bad. One of the other lab groups had to clear the GI tract. I heard it was quite the poop fest. Needless to say, with the start of the Reproduction unit, I've seen plenty of bajingos and peepers (pulling an Elliot Reid for our younger readers, I haven't covered the rules on these terms with Caroline yet). Fun stuff. My lab team is a fun crew. We joke a lot and keep things light, but this dissection was probably our worst. We were the last table to leave. I was the reader, but it doesn't do much good if our dissectors don't know where they are or what they're looking for. It was frustrating, but eventually we were done. FYI, I can't wait to burn my scrubs after this semester. No matter how many times they get laundered, they still smell like formaldehyde. For dinner, a few of us gathered at Tomato's to have a "surprise" birthday dinner for our classmate and friend Adam. After dinner, cake, chatting, and being bit by mosquitoes, I headed back to C5 to study.

Thursday was a pretty good day of classes. I had a late go out of the house so I skipped out on breakfast and grabbed oatmeal from the shack that has the tofu. Let's call them the nutritious shack. Good hearty portion of oatmeal for only $3 EC which is essentially a loonie (for my Canadian compadres). Our last lecturer is French and man oh man, he is awesome to listen to. Always gets me in a giddy mood. All he has to say is "carrier" and I let out a little giggle. He's a genetics prof so he says it a lot. He puts so much emphasis into the word and then goes back to his quieter talking voice for the rest of the sentence. Genny and I were desperately trying to contain our laughter, along with those in front and behind us. After lunch, the exam key was posted and I did the math. The good news is I'm consistent, the bad news is this isn't the consistency I wanted. I know it was a harder mini than before and that most of the class didn't do well, but I really wanted to do better than a 72%. So one more block left and I'm determined to break the 80's on the mini. I know I don't need to and that 72% isn't bad, but I just really want to.

Friday I made sure I got up on time because my laundry was being picked up at 7am and you can't sleep if your linens are in the hamper. Two classes of genetics and "parts" followed by PBL. One more session left and I cannot wait. Despite having a large proportion of Canadians and friends in the group, we constantly find ourselves on the losing end in terms of time well spent. That's honestly the most frustrating part for me.

Studied up, then headed home around 6:30 to await my clean laundry. Finally after 8, sorted my clean laundry, made the bed, then headed out for dinner to celebrate Zhen's birthday with Kat, Candyce, and other classmates. Kat got some wicked awesome gifts for Zhen despite the poor selection at James Store. After dinner we headed to Zhen's apartment building where we had delicious cheesecake from Tomato's, and chatted. Around 11:30, the gang decided to head out and I opted to skip out on the inebriation and headed home. Still tired as heck and I needed to get that under control to survive the semester

Woke up Saturday at 7am courtesy of the baby goat the neighbours have in their back yard. He was just crying and crying. I don't know what they did, but they must have wanted to sleep more like myself. The goat stopped crying, I put my eye mask on and slept for another 2.5 hours. Got up and organized my binder (full of notes...not women) and cleaned up a bit. Then ate breakfast, did my devotional, washed the dishes, changed, and headed to C5 to get crackin on some emails. They'd been building up and then there were other details to sort out with classmates like Thanksgiving dinner and simulation practices. I've been going back and forth with an incoming student as part of the Ross Ambassador program. Answering questions about living costs, weather, textbooks, and gym equipment. I couldn't address the latter since my gym is the great outdoors. Then I skyped with Deen and by Skyped I mean, saw her for maybe 4 minutes then lost connection, then couldn't re-connect to the internet for 20 minutes. Headed to a different building and experienced the same thing. Restarted the computer, no success. Shut down the computer, no success. Grabbed my smartphone, connected to the mobile network, downloaded and installed Skype, then spent the next 30 minutes in broken conversations of dropped calls, finally found the "sweet spot" and had a good hour-long talk with a very patient friend. We caught up on all kinds of stuff and it felt awesome to be able to talk about anything and everything. You underestimate the comfort in hearing her laugh or just her intonation, and all the while you see your school friends walking by and greet them with smiles, waves, head nods, an arm embrace (because hugging isn't feasible while on a call and/or in passing). I could have stayed in that sweet spot all day, but studying needed to be done and there was an Operation Christmas Child party to prepare for on her end.

That conversation made me realize that I'm getting to a point where some interactions here just become down right exhausting. Again, it's probably due to my intense desire to be home, but it's also due to the fact that we all need to go home and have a break from each other. I know early on back in first semester I expressed my absolute disdain for drama and my lack of patience and grace for it. While I've been working on my patience, my attitude hasn't changed very much. Lately I find myself utterly dumbfounded at the tomfoolery that we subject ourselves to or worse, that we propagate. I don't get it. I don't understand why we initiate it, propel it, deal with it, need it. It's completely unnecessary and yet it's so pervasive, almost inescapable as if you're trapped on an island (wait a second...)

The thing is that it's not like I'm so much more aware or more adult or more mature. We all know it's happening and we even address it and sometimes that helps. At least we can admit that it's nonsense. But there's still a large proportion of people that make me wonder if they realize how much time and energy they're wasting on meaningless things. Why complain about something, if you're not going to acknowledge that you have the ability to avoid or even end the issue? It's like complaining that your arm's sore from holding a door open that no one's walking through. You're just standing there, serving no purpose, expending energy, complaining. Complete foolishness! Drama's not worth having, let alone hanging on to. Look around, smarten up, and let go.
 
The silver lining to all this is that I'm appreciating the small things in the day. The little effortless warm fuzzies I get to enjoy on a daily basis. Like the interactions I have with the ladies at the shacks. Or the smiling head nod I get from Courtney when she comes into C5 to set up her study space. Or when I lean back in my chair to take a deep breath and stretch and say hi to Kat behind me at the same time. Or the sweet silence and stars that mesmerize me during the walk home. But without a doubt, the one thing I cherish the most is the hour I spend at home before class, or yoga, or church - eating my cereal, reading my daily devotional, looking at (sometimes holding) the family picture of the Deutschs on the breakfast table, and praying for those here and back at home. In all that lies my sustenance, my passion, my motivation, my purpose. It is my constant reminder of what is important and worth while. It's the wake up call that tells me "Don't waste My time" and informs me of what is wasteful and what isn't. Without that hour, I'm the cynic that struts and frets. Without that hour, my life is "a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing."

You know you're tired when you spell it "stomack"

Who needs reality TV when you have Fox News? Tuesday night, or rather, the wee hours of Wednesday morning proved to be the most entertaining programming on air. I'm talking about the US Election of course. In case you weren't aware, Fox News is the most Republican leaning media outlet who start their own stories and maintain it as fact within their closed circuit media circles (without proper fact checking, and subsequently denying statements made by authoritative organizations to disprove their stories). While for the most part, it's frustrating to endure (like the audition episodes of American Idol), Tuesday night/Wednesday morning made it all worth while. They had to face the fact that Obama got to 270 in the Electoral College and admitted on-air that he was the re-elected President...save for one disgruntled employee, Karl Rove, who insisted that Fox rescind their statement because Ohio could magically turn into a red state. Cue awkward dead air at the Fox front desk where they're now confronted by their own staff on their own admission of naming Obama as winner of the election. This starts a series of events that only affirms their shoddy news casting. Co-host, Megyn leaves the front desk to walk backstage (analogous to watching Bambi walk for the first time in heels), through a myriad of hallways, making odd "fill the air" comments with "The room is really far away...too close (to the camera man in her face)...Oh look there's so-and-so...Decided to show up to work today, huh?...and this is where we usually lose audio...and here we are in the decision room where all our math guys are. Can you tell me if Karl is right? Is Ohio still up for grabs?"

Math Nerd 1: "Karl is wrong"
Math Nerd 2: "I agree with Math Nerd 1"
Megyn: "Well there you have it, Bret"
Bret (Male co-host, @ front desk with Karl beside him frantically doing equations in a tiff): "Uhhh well I have Karl here and he's got more to say. Maybe we could have an interview with them and sort this out????"
Megyn: "Sure. Let's do that"
Bret: "...Ok...uhhh...I guess we'll go to commercial now?"

And boom goes the dynamite. 

It was like watching a train wreck or rather a snake eating itself. I watched Fox News implode and it was all very satisfying. Very reminiscent of the whole "every kingdom divided against itself will be ruined" idea. Being Canadian and having amazing cognizant Canadian friends back at home relishing in this moment made all of it more enjoyable. Reading Donald Trump's tweets was just gravy. I stayed up to hear Romney's tasteful and short concession speech but knew that if I waited 'til Obama's speech, I wouldn't get to sleep 'til close to 3am, and we all know how much I love sleep. So the TV was turned off and I was out like a light seconds later.

Wednesday morning arrived and I was definitely not ready to wake up, but I needed to. So I snoozed twice, showered, grabbed a Cliff Bar, and headed to class in the rain. Classes went well and I made sure not to bring up politics with Genny during break. I know our conversation would have gone fine, but there's no saying how anybody else eavesdropping might feel. Genny's from Ohio and admittedly, because of her, I have put more effort into getting to know what Ohio's known for other than for the Buckeye. In the past month, the best find I discovered on good ol' Wiki was that Mansfield (the city she's from) was where the Klondike bar was created. It was news to her. As election time drew near, I learned about Ohio being a major swing state, or rather THE major swing state. Both candidates poured funds into campaigning there. In the last couple weeks, Romney made the huge mistake of running ads that claimed Chrysler-Jeep was moving its operations to China, when in fact they were staying and expanding in Ohio and Michigan. That, among other Romney gaffes, combined with the auto bailout Obama put forth (two of Ohio's biggest employers are from the auto industry), likely played into Ohio being a blue state for a second consecutive election. The longest Ohio has committed to one party was for three election terms - truly a swing state. Nonetheless, I was pretty excited for her. Canada's electoral system is so different that you don't feel particularly special about your province determining the outcome, because it doesn't. In this case, there was no doubt that whoever got Ohio, would likely win. That makes things very interesting and if I was from Ohio, I'd take some pride in that. It's like being an Independent in the House of Commons and all of a sudden your vote means so much more.

You'd have to wait 'til the weekend to discover that Florida was done counting and officially named a blue state giving Obama a 332 to 206 victory over Romney. Florida's been under much scrutiny for their electoral process for years. Remember the hanging chad fiasco and recount during the Bush vs. Gore election? I wouldn't say this election was no different. I would say this one was worse for Florida. With fewer days and hours available for early voting, Floridians had to wait in line for hours to vote. I've read that the wait time was averaging upwards around 4 hours. Granted the ballot was particularly long for this election, but still Gov. Rick Scott dropped the ball and failed to address the constant requests to expand voting sites and early voting hours to accommodate people wanting to vote (what a foreign concept). It's not like these requests were new or arose during this election. These requests have accrued over years and nothing has been done (well not nothing, remember they reduced days/hours for voting). Needless to say, Floridians are pissed. But kudos to those who endured the hours of waiting so that you could fulfill your civic duty. Much respect!
Lunch with Ali and Erin (two Californians) definitely focused on politics. They had a bunch of other Propositions to vote on for this election. One was to increasing penalties for human trafficking and sex slavery (though the increases seem like they should be standard, makes me wonder what they were before). While the Prop passed, nearly 1.5 million Californians voted against the initiative. Interesting...In other news, Erin brought me a bag of peach rings from her weekend visit back home. She had asked me what she could bring back for me and I thought about it and said "Fuzzy Peaches or Cherry Blasters or Swedish Berries" and I got a confused look in return. I'm thinking, I'll need to bring those back so that she'll know what I'm talking about and taste the awesome-ness of what I would hope is not just a Canadian candy. Nonetheless, I've got a bag of peach rings in my apartment waiting to be consumed after the mini. I was given a gift certificate for a massage for my birthday and I think I'll use that up next weekend (in between yoga and skyping or soccer or worship practice or small group...or maybe I need to free up my Saturdays). 

Thursday was another one of classes, then studying. Had dinner with Kat at Tomato's and then more studying. Friday we didn't have class so I slept in 'til PBL. After PBL, ate lunch with Erin, studied a bit, went to lab demo with Ali and Rachel, then studied some more, dinner with Kat, Janos, and Candyce, then a group study session in the large learning lab. Malini joined us later on as well. I lasted 'til just past midnight and walked home with Candyce. We talked about just getting through this semester and getting home. I really need the break and emotional recharge. It's definitely not about eating the food, or getting the clothes, and all those little things that make life easier. It's about the people that make life worth it. That's really all there is to it. While it does feel like school is flying by, it still feels like I've been away from home for almost 8 months.

Saturday, I slept in and opted out of yoga for the second week in a row since Candyce and I encountered the unconscious local, who is alive by the way. I saw her at work the other day. Had breakfast then headed to campus to start studying earlier than I usually do. Lots of work to do. Lots to study and digest. Skyped with the parents outside C5 while giving smiles and head nods to those walking by and swatting bugs away. Then back to C5 to tackle more work. Headed to Subway to grab dinner, ate it in the CAC, then headed back to C5. Upon my arrival, I ran into Courtney and we caught up on things. She'll be running for class rep in the SGA elections so that's kind of exciting. Rachel's running for our class rep as well (she's got my vote). Near the end of our conversation, Ali came by. Introductions were made, because I'm trying to be more purposeful about that. I figure awesome people should get to know other awesome people, but for whatever reason, I've had many conversations where a friend's walked up and waited for the conversation to end and then I talk with them alone. It's silly, I know. I think it's just a bad habit of assuming that neither person cares to know the other. But given that we're all going to this med school and are bound to pass by each other on multiple occasions, introductions might as well be made so that at least some good head nods can be given in the future. After some more chatting, Courtney excused herself back into C5 leaving Ali and I to have a good chat. Then we entered C5 and rocked it out 'til midnight before heading home.

Woke up at 9:15 Sunday, showered, took my Tapazole, then headed out the door. RCF provided breakfast. I think they're trying to do that once a month. I approve. Service was standard as was lunch. I was scheduled to play bass next week, but Colonel asked me to play guitar instead as the original guitarist has a broken arm. I was fine with it, but a part of me really wanted to play bass. It's been a while since I've played. Some people think it's boring but I don't think those people have ever played bass. It's an instrument where you can be super basic or practice some creativity. You're not required to keep rhythm like drums or lead the melody like guitar or piano. You literally get to have fun within loose boundaries. You can accent the melody by running along a harmony line, change up the dynamics with different patterns, play anywhere you want on the fret board (within reason), aww man, it's awesome. Bass can either be noticeable for bad reasons, unnoticeable for good reasons, or noticeable for good reasons. I try to find a balance between the latter two. But hey, I love guitar so I'm going to have fun either way this weekend.

Because the 4ths had their mini on Monday as well, ours was moved from 8am to 1pm. Meaning I got to sleep in and to some studying before. While I felt more prepared, I also feel that minis are getting harder. BioChem and Physio likely tore me to shreds. We'll have to wait and see, but I'm guessing that I won't be breaking into the 80's with this one. After the mini, even though it was the middle of the afternoon, the crew carried on with tradition and ate at Tomato's. Then I headed home, showered, and now I'm finishing off this post. Sooo tired. So ready to be home. Just 1 month. One more mini, three practicals, and one final. That's what's separating now and then.

I've been meaning to tell you this for a while, but keeping forgetting. So I'll throw it out randomly right now. This is the best place to star gaze. The sky is often clear and there are so few lights on the island that the stars really stand out. I can see more of Orion than just his belt and hands. There's a bunch of stars that you can see that you can't see back at home. It's super beautiful and this past week, I often found myself veering off the path while walking home because I was so fixated on the stars. Rheanne and Hannah, you guys would love it here. I'm sure others would too, but you two stick out to me. I wish I had a camera that could do justice to the display I get every night. I wish you could see what I see.

Anyways, this is another long one that just needs to end. Hope you have a great week!

Make Like a Rhinocerus

I know I left you midday again with the last post and with less resolve. So here's the rest. The soccer went well because the other team never showed up. So we scrimmaged with each other (because the full roster showed up for the first time) in the rain and scorching hot sun, then I took off to the CAC for worship practice. It's probably been about 8 months since I've played the drums. It is like riding a bike, but a rusty bike. I got through practice and definitely looked forward to having another practice Sunday when everything's plugged in and I don't feel so loud. After practice, I headed home to quickly shower and then went to the Loys for small group where, if you recall, I was scheduled to speak. At first there was a pretty small crowd which was nice but then by the end of the last song, more people entered and all of a sudden there were about 20 of us in total. I should say that I kept most of my interactions to a minimum during soccer and practice with hopes of avoiding any calamities of some sort, but this would be impossible to avoid. Soon enough, the song was done and I was up. I started with "Before, I get into things-" and then Christina let out a little squeal of excitement because she didn't know I was speaking and evidently really likes the idea. Then of course, there's all those 1sts from the Mixer. So pressure was palpable and I was freaking out in my head. I prayed for God to speak through me because at this point, anything of me has not worked out well for the past 24 hours. I went on with the talk and while I was touching on a few points, I was stressing the inevitability of trials and disappointments, and I really couldn't talk about that without talking about my last 24 hours. I shared about the Friday night of bad decisions, the morning of bad yoga, unconscious locals with no way of helping, and the bad news of someone losing a loved one. I told them, I didn't want to go out to soccer, practice or here, but I knew that if I did I'd just be crippling myself and giving in to ridiculous and false thoughts. I persevered and nothing bad happened and hopefully, they got something out of my rambling. Well, after that there was a bunch of great discussion and questions and encouragement that really helped put the past 24 hours in perspective. Again, I'm lucky when it comes to people. They were responsive, genuine, and open, and you know in my books, that's a win. After we talked, we prayed for each other, and then I had dinner with Judith, Christina, and Tiffany. I stole a couple hours of studying and then headed home. Went to bed, got a text informing me about an earthquake in BC, frantically turned on my computer and the TV. Scanned CTV, CBC, and Global's websites for info. Looked up where Masset was (because I suck at geography), contacted the only person I knew in the general area to make sure she was ok, got a pretty immediate response that all was well and assurance that tsunami's aren't an issue because Prince Rupert is well protected. Breathed a sigh of relief as I was worried that the sucky 24 hour run was extending itself, then went back to bed.
 
Good stuff that happened on Saturday include two friends of mine getting married. Not to each other. One I grew up with in church. The other, I lived and went to Haiti with. Amanda was my partner in crime when Therese and Erin and both moved away. We had fun together in Sunday School through to youth group with input from awesome people like Jen (her older sister), Angie, and Krista. We had it good and enjoyed those years. After graduating and growing up, we didn't see each other as much, but it was always a pleasure to see her when I did. So happy and excited for her and Phuong. I met Mindy when Deen and I went on our Westcoast road trip. Shortly after that we were living (with Deen, Hannah, and other guest stars) and serving in Haiti together. Collectively we were the Dunbar girls who enjoyed DQ runs, couch cuddles, jam sessions, bonfires at the beach, board games, hockey games, and food. Mindy's a sweet, gentle Albertan-Japanese nurse with a sincere heart for her family back home and other individuals that leaves little to be desired. It was no surprise that she was amazing and any guy would be lucky to be with her. It was a surprise when we met Evan who was Caucasian, fluent in Korean, and (let's be honest here) blessed in the looks department. Both were quite the catch and evidently caught each other. It's disappointing that I couldn't be around to witness either marriage, but I've made peace with it (plus there's Facebook) and can't wait to hear how life is for them in December.

Sunday morning I'm up at 6:30 because the sun's out already. Put on the mask to get the remaining 1:30 left on the alarm. Up, breakfast, off to the CAC to set up, and play the drums with much more confidence and skill than the day before. Service went well, lunch was normal, left grandma a happy birthday message (I keep forgetting that I'm her outgoing message on the machine, it catches me by surprise) then called the grandparents to check up on health and wellness there. Grandpa's back home now and is on a 3days/week dialysis rotation. His swelling has gone down and hopefully, if he keeps up his exercises, diet, and gets used to the rigors of dialysis, then he'll be in a healthier state. Then it was time to hit up C5 for some studying.

It's been easily 4 days since I've last worked on this post and I don't know what to tell you. Classes, studying, lab, demos, simulation, SP interview, a certain someone threw off mine and Genny's groove by sitting right next to us and fidgeting incessantly (this occurred for consecutive days), fan broke, took apart said fan to see how it works (lots of copper wire), sleeping alright without fan, but tired, so very tired. On the non-school, non-Dominican front there was Sandy (why yi yi yi). She's been destructive to the Northeast coast (and even affecting inland states like Ohio). Ross' head office is in New Jersey and has been closed due to lack of power for the majority of the week. Our storage servers were out of commission as well. There's also the fact that a good chunk of the student body is from Eastern USA, especially NJ and New York. Tough times for students here worried about family, tougher times for those still dealing with the flood waters. Of course with the election just days away, it makes me wonder how many people will take the time to vote if they're homeless, struggling to access the necessities of life, or less dire (but in this case, more important) without ID. I would think that for most, civic duty comes second to personal survival and security. So we'll see what happens. If you'd like to help out, please make a financial contribution to the Red Cross. Money is far more effective than sending used clothes and canned goods at this time. While I know that it may be our natural impulse to give out of our excess of clothes and food, it burdens natural disaster response organizations like the Red Cross as they'd have to sort through all of it and then re-distribute it. That's not time or personnel they can afford right now. Funds will allow them to get what they need, where they need it, now. So head over to http://www.redcross.ca/donate.asp (for Canadians - my major demographic) and make your donation. For my American counterparts, financial and blood donations will be the most helpful. When things settle a bit, and the situation becomes less of an emergency, that's when you can send material donations, or even better, go there yourself and physically help. And hey, I'm sure you could make a vacation out of it and help out their economy at the same time. Go to Breezy Point to help with a rebuild project, then hit up the city to catch a Broadway show, do some shopping, go to a museum.

Thursday, Erin headed home for the long weekend (Monday's a holiday in Dominica). Ali and I saw her off before a taxi took her to the airport. Very jealous. Ali and I both stayed for the August break, so the emotional countdown to home is very much the same for both of us.

Friday was tiring. I should have slept in and skipped on the only two hours of lecture, but I didn't. Cranky Kirsten then headed for another frustrating session of SGL where it seemed we couldn't listen to each other and had to repeat our words multiple times. Janos and I headed back to C5 where we'd see if Ali would like to eat lunch with us. As we neared the classroom, who should walk out and meet us, but the wonderful Ali. It's fun when you find yourself on the same wavelength without having to say anything. Ate lunch, studied up 'til 5:45 then headed to the Culture Show with Harper and Janos. Lots of dancing (Bollywood, Bangra, Arab, North Indian, Belly Dancing, Hula, and Gangnam style by one of our professors), lots of singing (mostly good despite one awkward performance), one spoken word piece (which was insanely awesome), and skateboarding video. Of course there was one piece that stuck out and that was one finger dance piece by the wife of one of our professors. I didn't know what to expect when I heard the words "finger dance". Then I saw this women being assisted to a desk set up centre stage. Her assisted gait made it easy to understand why it'd be a finger dance. She spoke of her love for her family, her husband, and Ross students and staff. She spoke of hope and believing that anything was possible, that while she couldn't dance with her feet, she could with her hand. With that Il Divo & Celine Dion's "I Believe in You" started playing and her index and middle finger glided on the surface of the desk as a figure skater would on ice. While it may be easy to get bored with seeing someone draw invisible circles and squiggles on a desk with one or two fingers, we were completely mesmerized. It was inspirational, moving, and definitely made me cry as I sat in the second row staring at a women smiling while her hand gracefully moved through the air. I wasn't the only person that cried. We were all in the moment together.

The show was just shy of 3 hours in duration ended close to 9. Harper and I hadn't had dinner yet so we went to The Usual Spot. Janos had already eaten and needed to meet up with other crew members to pregame for Splash Bash. After dinner, Harper and I headed to RCF's alternate event which consisted of games and karaoke. We played a few rounds of Uno. The room was rather loud and overstimulating. I felt like baby Paige, who'd have to have her car seat turned around in a room full of people to avoid crying (I imagine she's past that stage and I can't wait to see her in December). So Harper and I headed up to the 3rd floor to watch TV and chat. Then at 11:45 the CAC closed and we headed home. Splash Bash takes place just down the hill from my apartment. So sleep wasn't really an option with all the music. I plugged in the TV and began to watch some SNL on VH1's channel. Will Ferrell hosted the first episode and then Mick Jagger hosted the second. It was close to 2am and the music was going strong. I turned off the TV and closed my eyes and then I woke up at 10. I guess I was tired enough to sleep through pounding bass. I'll keep that in mind next time.

Saturday, I went about my day as leisurely as possible. No yoga, just sleep, and breakfast. Skyped with the parents. Mom got an iPad. I guffawed at the thought until she left to get it and held it up to the web cam. 

Mom - "I got it with Save-on-More points!"
Kirsten - "Ok, this makes sense now. Do you know how to turn it on?"
Mom - "No, but look at this pretty case I got for it!"
Kirsten - "Of course"

Oh Ava Yip. One of a kind, you are. Have fun exploring the world of Apps (that's short for "Applications").

They seem to be settling into the Vancouver life alright. Checking out various eateries with their unique style and authentic tastes. Whatever mood you're in, Vancouver's got your palate covered. See a play, a concert, an orchestra, a game, a movie in an old theatre or a new theatre, walk or bike the Sea Wall in Stanley Park, go dragon boating by Science World, shop on Robson St, explore the Public Market at Granville Island (buy some fresh pasta - I recommend trying the apple and brie tortellini)...man, I love Vancouver.

After lunch, I hit up C5 'til 3:30 when I had to go practice for the Night of Worship that RCF was co-hosting with the Catholic Student Association and New Light Ministries. We're rotating through 3 drummers and it just so happened that out of all the songs they were practicing, they only went over one of the songs I was drumming for. I missed out on soccer and apparently missed out on a "freaking awesome goal" scored by Ali. After practice, I snuck in an hour of studying then headed for small group then back to C5 'til 11.

Sunday morning, up early to head to practice the songs we didn't go over the day before. Once again, I was left waiting and ended up Facebook chatting Ali, Kurtis, and my wonderful O-Chem professor from Kwantlen. It was nice to catch up with them all. Eventually I got too into it and found myself multitasking with drumming and chatting. Thankfully there were enough pauses within the practice that I could keep it up for a good while. Then service started, more practicing ensued afterward, then lunch, then studying 'til 5 when there'd be the full run through and then showtime at 7. The event takes place outdoors on the Subway deck. Lots of people and lots of singing. Good times. After tearing down the deck and bringing everything back to store in the CAC, I headed back to C5 (sticky with sweat) to grab a few more hours of studying 'til 11:45.

Monday's a holiday for Dominica. Independence Day. Then three days of class, no class on Friday, then the mini next Monday. And then I'll be one month away from home. I'm going to keep my head down and plow through this. Home is the destination and I'm charging towards it.