Chris-mas Time Is Here - A

I'm currently putting off both studying and going to bed. Rather than play a round of online poker, I thought I'd update you on the past few days.

My youngest and biggest brother Chris came out for a visit, doing a road trip from Montreal out to Halifax, staying with me for a few days before jetting off to New York for the rest of his trip. Sure, I cleaned the place up before he got in, but it was nice having a visitor who appreciates the (ahem) relaxed standards of a host who's been living la vida bachelor for the last few months. Sadly, his visit coincided with some very low clouds, heavy humidity, and torrential rain at times, but what he lacked in sightseeing opportunities we made up for with geekiness. Of all the times for my subwoofer to develop issues, I figure waiting for an electrical engineer to arrive has to be one of the best times.

So, after dragging Chris to some classes on Wednesday, he came to the gym with me to watch the dodgeball playoffs. After my team got eliminated, we stayed for the championship games and the entertainment value was immense. One team had 4 players to the others' 1, and that one player caught a ball to make it 3 to 1. He then threw out the next player, then picked a target on the other side, and just kept throwing, missing, collecting his rebound off the wall, and throwing again. His target got tired of near misses, and changed places with his teammate. The guy with a cannon for an arm followed him and threw him out, making it 1 on 1. Sure enough, Mr. Cannon threw out the other player and completed the come from behind in the tie-breaking game to win the championship. Truly an epic end to a night of playoffs with some unique events, including a girl trying to dodge a ball with her face, 3 times! You might think she'd learn after the first 2 times not to do it again, but at least we got a laugh out of it..and she was fine.

We did class again on Thursday, then started exploring local pubs and parks before putting on our Canucks jerseys and watching the game, starting at 11pm and ending at 2am (although I went to bed at 1) - Friday was a sleep-in day for both of us (yay for no classes!). Thursday night we also did a steak and lobster dinner, to properly welcome him to Halifax. We visited Point Pleasant Park and Sir Sanford Fleming Park, Pier 21, and Jentronics electronic supply store (for subwoofer parts). Just the right combination of geekery and touristiness.

Far be it from me to forget to acknowledge the early Christmas present he brought, from Chris and Ben & Julia - an HP netbook! This little beauty will very much save my sanity in Public class, save me the hassle of typing up my handwritten notes, and make it easier to study outside the house. I've been looking forward to something like this happening for about a month now, and to have it arrive before finals is huge. Thanks again guys!

Sadly Chris had to jet before I could show him the Farmer's Market or other touristy things to do here, but we did get to the Gardens, Citadel and the boardwalk as well before the rain arrived. It was wonderful having family out here for a change and I look forward to the next visitor to my adopted city, hopefully arriving when I have adequate time to devote, when the weather's more hospitable, and without rushed travel plans. For a city with so much character and so many pubs, it's a shame not to be able to explore it more fully.

Now, last time I promised better pictures of the torch, so here's some of Rohan's pictures and some from the Great Halifax Brother Visit of 2009. Until next time, keep your stick on the ice.

A.


Kid Crosby and the torch

The wonders of a great camera..



Us on a grey day at Point Pleasant Park - there's actually a busy port and whole 'nother part of the city behind us..


He's got his jersey and his Tim's, it's game time!


To everyone not named "Racheal" - of course the place always looks like this!
(To Racheal - don't let this get your hopes too high come exam time..)

It's Here! - A

Who has thick glasses, a Canada toque, and got to see Sidney Crosby carry the Olympic torch mere metres away?



This guy!
(What, can't you tell that's my excited/happy face?)

I got to take some time to get outside today to watch the Olympic torch relay pass through town. And by through town, I mean, a stone's throw from the law building, right in front of the Children's Hospital, then again on the main shopping street (Spring Garden) and again in front of the Citadel. It was quite the procession - sponsor trucks and police to clear the road, some hype vehicles with drums and dancers (but no mascots), then a press vehicle with some camera guy looking out the back to film the whole thing, with assorted police and escorts for the torchbearer. The torchbearer only went a couple hundred metres before handing off to the next person - and apparently handing off meant touching his torch to the next person's to pass on the flame.

A few of us (Alison, Bryan, Shannon & I) trailed it for part of the way before breaking for pizza, then met up with other 1Ls on Citadel Hill to watch Sidney run it. The crowd was thickest at the end of the day's route, where Sidney would be the 2nd-last carrier. The guy had more security than the Prime Minister, in the form of 8 Olypmic escorts and a bunch of motorbike and foot cops. Never mind an army of press cameras to catch every step of the way. The crowd was excited everywhere - it's clearly Canada's Olympics now, and everyone's hyped. Not a protester to be found, and the police were quick, courteous, and efficient in keeping things safe and clear. One of them, stopping traffic after the torch went by, reminded us of the Christmas Parade this weekend. Oy. Christmas. Yeah, Racheal? I know you've got some unpacking to do when you get here, would you mind seeing to decorations as well? I'm going to be...preoccupied.

Anyway, we got to Citadel Hill, having found out where Sidney would be running his route. Then we found out he was actually standing in the crowd at the next intersection down, and the race was on to get a good vantage point for him to receive the flame from a kid in a wheelchair. I got lots of pictures, a few of them good, but some of my classmates had much better equipment and got spectacular closeups with their lenses. But the atmosphere was electric, I tried to concentrate on photographs but it was just infectious, like in Vancouver at playoff time. When Sidney finally got the flame and started his run the ovation was incredible. And I was just up the hill, running along, trying not to break my ankle and not mess up all my shots. Closest I got to him? Probably 5 or 6 metres at the intersection. But on the whole, so totally worth it. The route ended at the Barrington Grand Parade, where the cenotaph still had the Remembrance wreaths on it, and a big crowd and party atmosphere. If this excitement is anything like what's coming to Metro Vancouver in a couple months, brace yourselves people, it'll be nothing you've ever seen.



(I told you, it was hard to get great shots - the Kid felt like jogging so it was a challenge. If I get copies of the other guys' shots I'll put some up.)

I'd better head off to dodgeball now, and start drafting a script for Pith & Substance before the Christmas Parade - all of a sudden it sounds like I have a life! Believe me, I don't.

Back to the grindstone,
A.

The Egg in Challenger Deep - A

Those last 2 posts and lessons in counting (us law-talking-types aren't so good with numbers) are brought to you by my better half and long-absent wife, Racheal. Remember her, from the beginning of this blog? Give her a hand, she's back and gearing up for some major excitement. Halifax is waiting, dear. Show them what you've got!

Back in my world as a law student, this has been an interesting week. Wednesday was Remembrance Day, which was awesome for a couple reasons. First, Alison and I went to the ceremony at the Grand Parade (see picture below). That meant honouring our veterans and getting some face time with one of my closest Halifax friends, which was great. It was a cool day but not frigid, and unlike last year in Vancouver, not pouring rain for 6 hours straight. Also unlike Vancouver, the crowd was invited/allowed to lay their poppies at the cenotaph - somewhat suitably, mine wound up in an accessible wreath (see other picture below). It also meant no class that day, which greatly lightened the readings I had to do for the week. I've been putting off condensing all my sundry notes into the bare essentials in advance of exam time, but am trying to do so this weekend - with the extra time that not reading supposedly gives me. Wednesday was also rough because I had no motivation, a silent house all to myself, and was tied to the computer with no Racheal. That's when it hit me that it's been 3 months apart and things got a bit difficult. So far I've managed the pressure of law school on my own all right (hence the titular riddle - use the Google if you must), but I've never had to be this independent before and I've apparently got a few adjustments I need to do. Thankfully Alison provided some perspective and got me laughing and I was not only re-balanced but able to type up more notes.





I've come to re-evaluate my methods, of doing all my work on the computer at home after taking notes by hand in class. In the interest of being more social and efficient, I'm going to start doing more work in the library or student lounge. Ideally, I'll get my hands on a laptop (or netbook?) soon and will be able to take notes digitally and save myself the time of transcribing them, leaving me more room to get out of the cave here and enjoy Halifax and my classmates (added bonus - this'll give me more time at home able to pay attention to Racheal rather than hide from her). I've been pushing too hard on academic matters and have let my sense of balance deteriorate a little too much, especially in advance of December exams.

I also took advantage of the chance to go learn squash with Scott and Angela - fun but ow. My arm is a lot heavier now! And not just heavier, but slower to type and a lot less legible, if you can imagine that. Friday night was also a trivia competition with the Dal Engineers - sorry Chris, but they were talking smack and needed to be taken down a peg or ten. In fairness, though, it's not like they had nearly as many girls on their teams. You'd think such practical types would be better at organising a timely, efficient, and fair competition, but that seemed to be beyond them. Due to the structure of the event we law students don't consider the determination of winner/loser to be any sort of binding, and are either going to lodge protests or better yet, host a rematch on our turf and our terms. Suffice it to say the law students were well-represented and possessed on the whole a better-rounded knowledge of the trivia topics than the engineers.

Much as I'd love to write more, I've already taken up enough of your time and still have much more condensing to do - or, failing that, getting the house ready for Chris' visit and Racheal's eventual arrival. Or, failing both, putting on a hockey game or something and doing more readings. Such is the life of a law student I guess, the fun never ends!

Cheers,
A.

Fast Forward . . . The Final Countdown - R

Now that you have some idea of what the past few months have held for me, here is a glance at what the next few will look like:

41 - days until I start my new job as an RN at the Halifax Infirmary on 4.1 - their Vascular/General Surgery and IMCU ward. It sounds like it will be a good fit, maybe not my ideal position (that would have been at IWK in Paediatric Emergency) but definitely a good start. The ward apparently sees a lot of the trauma patients from the ER after they have left the OR and is a step-down from the ICU/CCU. Similar to what I have been doing at VGH on their Acute Medicine Unit but more surgical than medical patients. The biggest plus (outside the fact that it is in Halifax) will be my 15 minute commute . . . walking that is! Sure beats 45min-1h15min at VGH!


35 - days until I leave for Halifax (5 weeks, or 1.25 months) and can settle in to our apartment and finish the unpacking that Aaron has not yet had time to do!

29 - days until the end of my nursing program at BCIT . . . it has been 3 years and 3 months since I started and finally the end is in sight!


14 - more 12h shifts in the Emergency Department at Burnaby Hospital - I have been enjoying it immensely, and am thankful for a wonderful preceptor who is helping me with my independent practice and supporting me as I learn the ER ropes! However, I will say that the H1N1 pandemic has really been a frustration . . . seriously people it is JUST the flu . . . stay home unless you can't control your temperature with Acetaminophen or are having difficulty breathing!


3 - more journals . . . and then I plan on never writing anything more about self-reflection, vision, leadership or critical thinking . . . ever again!

2 - more evaluations (midterm and final) for my preceptorship . . . then I hope to never again look at the CRNBC practice standards in so great detail.


1 - final group presentation and then I will leave PowerPoint presentations to those who choose beautiful pictures, cheery music and inspirational messages . . .

So yes, I am almost done with schooling (at least for now) after 26 years of being at the mercy of a teacher/professor/instructor's schedule and subjective marking (because it is always subjective even when it tries to be objective). Soon I will become even more familiar with the pros and cons of self-scheduling and shift work . . . but at least they will be paying me rather than the other way around. So here's to reuniting with loved ones, making new friends and getting back in the BLACK (red as a colour is highly overrated . . .)!

Racheal

Looking Back - R

As you may have noticed, I have not been a very prolific blogger for the past few months . . . not because I have been procrastinating as you may have thought . . . more because my life has been a series of not-so-interesting events and I have not wanted to bore you all. However, I think it may be fitting now, to take a quick look back at what exactly I have been up to . . . so here goes:

10 - the number of job/position applications I have sent out to recruiters and hospitals in Halifax which has led me to diagnose myself with some sort of ulnar nerve palsy


9 - the number of Saturday mornings I have spent on the side of the rugby pitch ensuring that the Burnaby Lake Premier women are in peak form to trounce their opponents and I am on hand to deal with injuries as they occur

8 - the unforgiving number of weeks I spent in my Public Health practicum attempting to look busy despite a lack of actual nursing work to do

7 - the final number of shifts I completed at VGH on the Acute Medicine Unit - all-in-all a great experience, wonderful staff and a wide variety of acute-chronic patients

6 - the actual number of terms (levels) I have completed thus far in my Nursing Degree since Level 1 way back in August 2006 - it has gone by pretty quickly and I have learned a lot . . . but I am so ready to be done!

5 - the number of wonderful days that I spent in early October at the Easter Seals Camp in Brackendale with the kids from Canuck Place Children's Hospice

4 - the number of Martens' kids (minus Aaron in Halifax) that made it home to Langley for Thanksgiving dinner . . . however thanks to Skype Aaron was able to join in on the festivities and conversation and thanks to Julia's prowess with a camera he even made it into the family photo!

3 - the number of times I have been able to make it out to watch my younger sister play volleyball in the Lower Mainland and have been able to spend some time with the Penrose family!

2 - well actually 2.5 - the number of months I have spent away from my husband and best friend . . .

1 - well again it's really 1.5 - the number of months to go before I return to Halifax and Aaron and I are reunited at long last


So that's what I have been up to . . . not exactly David Letterman's top 10 but it will have to do for now.

Racheal