Takeoff for Winnipeg in 3 hours!

The best part is, I haven't even started packing! I am still doing laundry and tidying up. This is unusual for me because usually by this time I am already packed and ready to go. If not I have a list (yes, I am a list person) with everything should bring. I have neither now. I am really happy though because exams are over and I'm starting my two week break! Not only that, I'd ordered Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows from Amazon.ca and I was a bit afraid that I wouldn't get it in time. But today I picked it up from the post office (I don't know how to unmirror the image with my web cam). Now I'll have Harry Potter to read on the plane, I'm also going to bring my crocheting things and my driving book (gonna take the test to get my L when I come back). So I'll have enough things to keep me busy on the plane (if not I'll listen to my music on my iPod).
So the exams went well. I know I got 92% on my orthopedic treatment oral practical... AND I PASSED A&P!!!!!! Woo Hoo! I am so happy about that one! Anyways as for systemics I am sure I passed those exams as well. I finished up my schedule for next term and it looks like I'll be able to work. Before I fly off I am going to e-mail my resume to a few places.
Last night, Eric and I went to our first Salsa dance :) The Empire Landmark Hotel is putting on salsa nights every Friday night and last night was opening night. So yesterday we went for the two hours of lessons prior to the dance and then we danced a little. We danced a little because 1. I had eaten a pound of cherries with my friend Maggie prior to going and was feeling quite sick 2. There were too many people on the dance floor and I was tired of getting kicked and bumped into. We still had a great time though! Jarome and Christal (friends of Eric's) met up with us and though they had never salsaed before, they gave it a try and it looked as if they had a good time as well!
Well I best start packing! If I have a chance to write while in the Peg, I will. Though I might be too busy swatting mosquitoes :)

Weird...

Usually after 15 hours of studying, I am so anxious I need to do some serious deep breathing to calm myself enough to sleep. Perhaps it's because I listened to my own advice... as a "stress buster" at work I suggest to my clients that every 30 minutes to an hour, they stretch a little (this can be done while still sitting at the computer) and take some deep breaths.
It's now 10:30 and I could keep studying. I think it's time to take a break though. I still feel strangely confidant about my A&P exam. 90% is almost looking achievable... Maybe it's the lack of sleep, I don't know. But it's strange.
I haven't studied for my other exams... and that could be cause for worry... but not tonight.

Soy cheese is like cat nip...

I've just found this out. I decided to be brave and try the soy cheddar cheese... now with my sensitivity to dairy, I've had to find replacements and this is one of them. I made myself some mac and cheese (creative, I know but quick and easy so I can get back to studying) and while I was eating it... my cat, Minette was pawing at me, climbing on me and mewing!
She'll usually make "puppy eyes" when someone is eating and sometimes she'll paw at your arm but it's always in a sweet, really cute way. Not this time though! I was like her jungle gym and she was on a quest for the ultimate cat treat. It was so weird. Finally I had to eat standing and put up with her trying to climb my leg (thank god she has no claws).
OK lunch break over, back to studying.

Me are tired.... no more studying!

You know it's time to take a break when you answer the phone and you can't even make a proper sentence. So far I've been going from 7:30am until now (7:55pm). It's the last push before exams. I've been mainly focusing on A&P because I need to get 90% to pass that bad boy. Normally this would be discouraging but for some reason, I am feeling quite positive about it (maybe it's because I am tired, I don't know).
On friday, I was to speak with the dean. As I was looking for him, I ran into the assistant dean (who is also my A&P teacher) and she told me that I wasn't doing so well in A&P, which I knew about because I keep track of my marks... anyways I didn't take offence or anything like that because I know she's helping us stay on the ball. I explained to her what I wanted to do, with retaking A&P 300 and she agreed that it would be a good idea but I should see how I do on my final exam. When I met with the dean, he told me not to worry about A&P 300 because in A&P 500 or 600, I forget, there's going to be an A&P review class to get us ready for boards. So if I am unclear on some things... I can get clear then. This had me rather upset because I didn't want added pressure. I guess I had my heart set on redoing A&P 300. I figured worse comes to worse, I can "try my best" on my final and if I happen to fail it, then I'll redo A&P 300.
But after a really good weekend, I thought about my little A&P situation and figured... what do I have to lose? I should really try to pass this exam and then if I pass and move onto A&P 400... Great :) if I don't pass... it's ok too because I don't mind redoing A&P. So it looks like I am in a win win situation. It's amazing what a change of attitude will do!
Tomorrow I have an other full day of studying... then on wednesday, there's an A&P review, a naturopathic appointment, a half day of studying (if I am feeling ready for my thursday exams, I will go to the Symphony of fire, or what ever it's called these days). Then on thursday I have my Systemic treatment oral practical and an orthopedic treatment written and oral practical. I also have salsa dancing lessons with Eric (which is going really well :) we've been practicing and he's also been teaching me some swing steps). Friday afternoon I have my A&P exam, so that means that I have the morning to do some last minute studying. A&P is my last exam so after that it's party time... well pack and get ready to fly off to Winnipeg the following day.
This week will go by quickly.

Solution?

Possibly... After talking to Mum last night and having an other damn good cry... she helped me see that even if I were to fail my finals coming up it wouldn't be such a bad thing. I've gone part time, therefore I have room for error now. If I don't understand the material, maybe it'll take a bit more time for it to sink in. This made me feel much better. I didn't think about it too much last night because I was too emotionally exhausted and couldn't be bothered to think.
Today, while in A&P class, I found out that they are switching A&P classes around. So in level 300, they will do the integumentary, respiratory and reproductive systems (instead of the integumentary, respiratory and endocrine systems, like we did), then in level 500, they will be doing the endocrine system (while we would have done reproductive then).
What does this mean to me? Well I'm failing A&P right now because I havn't bothered to give a fuck about studying for anything this term (amazed that I've gotten this far... but I have), therefore if I had to redo it... it would be great! The endocrine system is complicated as fuck because it's about hormones and where are the hormones found? Everywhere in the body... and what better way to learn it then to lean the systems where these hormones are found, learn a bit about the hormones and then, when all the systems leaning is done learn about the endocrine system and learn the hormones more in detail! I think she school realized that this would make more sense, that is why they've changed it... so yeah. Tomorrow I meet with the dean to see if next term I can take A&P 300, PD 400, Systemic Pathology 300 (which I failed and have to do again...), Pharmacology 300, NeuroPathology 300 and Sport treatment 300. I wouldn't do as many 400 courses as I would have liked but I think I didn't realize how lost I was in the program. Yep I hardly studied for anything in level 300... this is a problem because I don't know as much as I should... and though I am getting by now. It will bite me in the ass later. Hopefully after a break and then easing back into it, I'll be able to get back on it and do well as I was before I hit this rather large bump in the road. Anyways things seem to be working out... we'll just have to wait and see what the dean has to say about it tomorrow.
Until then, I am going to study for my systemic treatment written final which is tomorrow... I am not overly concerned about that one because I am going in with 82%. I also have an oral practical for that class next week which is worth 30% of my mark.

Love is just another four letter word...

It feels like I am chasing my tail

If I had a tail... mind you the coccyx could be a tail... sorta kinda maybe. I don't know what's up with me today I'm so freaking down it's really kinda stupid. Over what, I don't know. I just am. I should be happy... I woke up with Eric by my side this morning, 11 more sleeps until my trip to winnipeg, I have a loving family and cat, I've got an education... maybe that's my problem. It's an education in something I am not particularly interested in.
Quite a few people have been telling me that if I am not interested, then maybe I should quit and do something else. Well there's one problem... I'm a stubborn piece of work and I won't quit. I also think being an RMT will be beneficial (then again my sanity might be beneficial as well... but it could also be over rated). Then again maybe I am just convincing myself that being an RMT will be beneficial because I don't know what I'd do if I dropped out. Oh ouch dropped out... that stings. Fuck I don't know! I just want to cry about it but I can't seem to cry. Plus it's stupid to cry.
Maybe I should go for a walk with mum tonight... spend some quality mother daughter time while the guys are out having a guys night out (which Eric is going to as well... which is totally cute because none of my other bf's have ever gone to guys night out with my dad and bro and uncle.). Maybe.

Camping and other things

Well the weekend has come and gone and now all that is left is good memories of the past. Initially I had hoped to go to Folk fest on Saturday and Sunday then study Monday and Tuesday. But it was Heavy D's birthday so we went camping instead. Saturday after clinic, Darla and I went to pick up Jerry and Eric and we headed over to Chilliwack Lake (well near there).
After a long short drive (short km wise but long when you have to pee the entire way) we stopped at Darla's place where we met Dar's parents and picked up a few more camping chairs. Then after a quick stop at the liquor store, we headed to the camp site. We drove by a few people who were camped by the side of the road and I've got to stay, I was hoping we wouldn't be doing the same. I was thrilled when we turned down a dirt road and made our way to the end of the road where we stopped to camp. It was so beautiful! I can't even begin to describe it because I know I won't do it justice.
After setting up camp, we made our way down to the river where we ventured and chilled for a while. Coming back from the river was good fun because it was quite dark and it made it quite entertaining when a branch would brush my face or something like that (I am really jumpy...). The rest of the evening was good fun... however I got too drunk too fast and ended up having to go to bed early.
The next morning Eric and I walked around... we wanted to go towards the river but though we did make it to the river, we weren't where we were the night before. We sat on this rock that overlooked the river and... well I actually preferred our new found spot. We saw some white water rafters and we decided that we'd have to give that a try sometime this summer (Darla and Jerry, who were by the river as well but at the original spot, saw them too and came to the same conclusion, so that'll be an other adventure). I heard some chirping that sounded like a chipmunk but it turned out to be a humming bird. It stayed near us for quite a while (I thought it was because our hair looked like a nest so it was contemplating how to nest on our heads) and it was really pretty to watch. It spent a lot of time perched on branches around us... this was something that neither of us had seen before.
After our walk it was time to set down and head home. I am pretty sure we'll go back.
Monday was uneventful... I cleaned, massaged, studied and that was about it. Eric came by in the evening and we were supposed to wash his car... but we didn't. He surprised me with flowers though and that was REALLY sweet! They're red gerber daisies... I don't know if he knew that they were one of my fave flowers and that red is my fave colour but they are gorgeous :) When Dad asked him what the occasion was, he said it was because it was Monday :) Anyways as you can tell about all the smileys... I'm still beaming. I'm so lucky to have Eric. He's such an amazing guy. OK enough gushing, time to study.

I now know what side is my better side...

It's my back side! I just saw it on TV a few minutes ago... how did I know it was mine? Well it was from the Underwear Affair and I was wearing the Thunder Panties panties :) So now my back side has been in numerous photos, a brochure (yep it made it in this year's Underwear Affair brochure) and on a TV show :) I am so proud.

It's the little things that make me happy...

Anxiousness...

It's so weird, I've been on the verge of an anxiety attack in my last three A&P classes and a few other classes. It seems like every time I come to school my anxiety shoots up and I can't make it go away until I leave school. Seems like a convenient excuse not to be in class but the thing is it's really really inconvenient! Blah!

2nd day of "gentle cleanse"

So today is day number 2 of Dr. Dawson's Gentle Cleanse and though it's a bit difficult not having any dairy or wheat... it's not that bad. Sure my regular diet takes a bit of editing but so far so good.
I must be feeling nervous about it or something like that because last night I dreamt that I was eating wheat and everyone was telling me to stop. Of course I didn't listen and my naturopath showed up dressed like the "nutrition police" and gave me shit for eating wheat.
Oh well... today I am going to Capers to pick up some things that I actually can eat. Also being I'm going to Uncle Steve and Auntie Marcy's for a BBQ I am going to have to bring what I can have.
Anyways it should be worth it in the long run... I've got a hunch that I am either allergic or have a sensitivity to either dairy or wheat (probably more so the wheat after a little experiment that I did). So we'll see how things go.
In other news: Minette was being freaking cute again this morning and this time I managed to have a camera near me... every morning she sits in front of her water dish and just looks at it. I've tried changing the water, adding more water but nothing really seems to work. Maybe she's trying to figure out how the water stays in (being her glass is clear because over the years she's developed an allergic reaction to plastic). I don't know but it sure is really cute!

Photos of the Affair

Pamela, Darla, Shira, Chera, Adam and I dressing down and gearing up.









Back row from left to right: Donna, Pamela, Gillian, Janelle, Adam, Chera, Mum, Shira, Susan.
Front: Darla and Maggie.







Our better sides.
Back: Pamela, Donna, Adam, Chera, Shira, Susan.
Front: Gillian, Janelle, Darla, Marggie, Mum.










Mum with her two girls.











The runners: Darla, Shira, Susan, Pamela (Chera was somewhere else...)









The walkers: Gillian, Donna, Adam, Mum, Maggie and I (am behind the camera).

The Affair of the year!

Well the Underwear Affair 2007 has come and gone... Saturday July 7th we ran and walked in the streets of Vancouver parading our white underwear clad bodies with pride. The final count for team members was 11: Chera, Gillian, Susan, Pamela, Darla, Adam, Shira, Donna, Marguerite, Mum, and I. We all looked darn good in our uniform :) And though Adam was the only guy on the team, Dad and Eric were there to support us and take pictures.
With all of my other charity fund raiser things, they always seemed to happen when my parents were out of town and my boyfriend was working. So it was a real treat to have not only my parents but my boyfriend, Eric, there as well supporting me. That made the day even more special!
All in all this year's event was much more fun (had a better turn out) then last year! And yes, as you may have guessed, we're doing it all again next year! So if you'd like to join us (only $10 right now instead of $25) or donate check out our team page.
Again a HUGE thank you to everyone who donated and supported me throughout all of this! Without you I couldn't have done it!

Sunny Day chasin the clouds away...

Funny how songs from your childhood still play over in your mind when you're an adult... :) Anyways ya can't go wrong with Sesame street.
The weather has been absolutely fantastic! For the past three days we've had clear blue sky (well a few wisps of clouds, nothing serious) and about 25 to 30 degree weather. This was perfect for my cousin's visit yesterday!
We met up around 3pm and I missed the second half of Orthopedic treatment (-1% for me tsk tsk). We then walked to the beach, stopping at Capers to pick up a few things for snack and dinner. We had such a lazy afternoon by the pool, it was fantastic! It was bizarre though because I started a cold yesterday and I just couldn't get over the oddness of laying on the beach and having sniffles. But sick or not, it was so nice to get to catch up with Michelle... I miss having her around.We made our way home but stopped by the Cupcake shop on Denman... now how cute is that shop? I mean it's ridiculously expensive for a cupcake but it's the novelty of going to a cupcake store that has JUST cupcakes and nothing else. Plus it's so pink and girly it's awesome!
We stopped by HMV to pick up the Cirque du Soleil Varekai DVD. Luckily we got the last one. Our plan was to watch Varekai because last year Michelle and I went to see it live. We made it through 1/2 of the DVD (not even) and we decided it was time for bed.
Well it's sad but Michelle is already gone :( Maybe I'll get to catch up with her on Sunday before she heads back to the Peg.
Tomorrow's going to be a good day because it's finally the day of the Underwear Affair. Our team, The Thunder Panties, has done an outstanding job at fundraising! We've reached our goal of $7 000. We're also going to look damn good in our uniforms! I'll have pics of those on Sunday.

Bonus Questions: It's all about being creative

Well last week we had a quiz in Systemic Treatment and the bonus question was the following:
Why are ocean tides so low and so high around the full moon?
My answer to this:
Because the moon is bright and with the brightness it causes an increase in activity of the animals in the ocean causing a large increase in the difference between high and low tides. It's as if the ocean is dancing in the moonlight.

Though my answer was completely wrong, I got my bonus mark! It just goes to show that sometimes you are rewarded for your creativity. Too bad I don't get rewarded for my creativity in multiple choice questions :)

Tomorrow I have a systemic treatment mid quarter exam and a orthopedic treatment quiz... so hopefully I'll be able to come up with something right. Lately I've been having trouble keeping up my grades... I guess that 90% this term won't happen... as long as I pass with 75% now I am happy.

Michelle is coming over tomorrow! I am so psyched!

Perfection...

Well almost perfection... There's nothing better then crocheting, listening to good music and singing along. I know that sounds majorly corny but it's the simple things like that, that make me happy. And right now I am feeling at ease and at peace... quite the change from this afternoon. Soon I am going to dig up my old note pads and read the short stories / random writing that I did in grade 12 and after.
I pulled out my short story that I wrote in grade 12 earlier this week and read it over again. I was still impressed at my writing talent (though the story was a lot mushier then I remembered) however I think the story needs a bit of work. Anyways it's good to read old writing. I don't write that much anymore and really, I should. This blog is fun, but I want to start writing creatively again. We'll see if I can find the time.

Exes...

It's funny that this happened so close together... but yesterday, Eric and I were talking about exes and what being an ex means.
Today I got an e-mail from Paul, asking to me he was a friend or just an ex. So I told him that he's a friend and an ex. An ex is not a bad thing. Somehow it's gotten a bad reputation but I don't think it should have. When I talk about him, I say that he's "Paul, my ex" and that's not because I want people to know that we're no longer together, but rather that he was and still is someone special.
If I were to say just "Paul" then one wouldn't know the difference between Paul and Aaron. Paul was/is someone that is very important in my life, and Aaron was and will always be just a friend (though still important, I never was as close with him and shares as much with him as I did will Paul). Therefore, "Paul, my ex" works better. Plus an ex is someone that I hold in high respect and are actually intimidating (not my exes but other people that I care for's exes) because they are someone that someone I care for has bothered to spend part of their life with and I respect that very much.

HAPPY CANADA DAY!

So the BBQ was cancelled due to crappy weather... anyways that is what the weather man said "100% chance of rain with periods of heavy rain"... we decided there's no point in having a BBQ. Because we cancelled it, it was sunny and warm. Oops. So some people were disappointed but it was a lot less stress for me. And as selfish as it sounds... right now I don't really care about pleasing other people.
My Canada day was pretty good :) My morning was quite laid back. Eric, Joe, Jerry, Darla and I managed to get up and get food at around noonish. Then we headed to the beach and here I discovered that I was absolutely horrible at throwing a frisbee. Back in high school I was able to throw around a frisbee and was actually pretty good at it. But yesterday! Woah I almost took out a few kids and instead of throwing straight was throwing more at a 90 degree angle. It was funny at first but after about half an hour the ego was starting to deflate. After what seemed like an hour I was so frustrated but I kept trying. Poor Eric was so tired from running in every possible direction that we couldn't keep playing. Oh well. My goal for this summer is to learn to throw a frisbee straight and then throw and catch (which I can do fine at) 5 times in a row.
After frisbee, we went to the market, grabbed things for dinner, walked back to kits beach, went home, had a nap then Jerry and Darla came over for a BBQ then we went and saw the fireworks from North Van. Nice simple Canada day with friends :) nothing gets better then that.
Today won't be as much fun. I'm currently working on getting some laundry done, then I'm going to have a nap and then study. I am so stoked because this week, Michelle is coming to Vancouver for a conference! I won't be able to see her much but Thursday I'll hang out with her and MAYBE Sunday if she has time. I sure miss hanging out with her! So I am really looking froward to her visit!