Feel the noise...

Vancouver is buzzing with Canuck excitement! It's no surprise... we're in round two after sweeping the St. Louis Blues away. We blew game one of round two out of the water with a 5-3 win against the Blackhawks.

What's on Vancouver's mind?

24 Hour Newspaper: What's on your mind?
Dear Calgary Flames: Thanks for softening up the Chicago Blackhawks for us, much appreciated. I'm sorry that you guys got knocked out of the playoffs, but for what it's worth I feel it wasn't your fault. The thing is that you worked very hard, but you were missing one very key component to playoff success: TALENT. Don't worry about the fact that you couldn't beat up on a bunch of young Chicago kids, we got it covered for you.
T.J. Chase, Surrey

Metro News: Testing Vancouver's knowledge
Of the 20 people interviewed on Robson Street:
Able to name three Canucks players: 19
Able to name three B.C. party leaders: 1
Plans to watch the NHL series: 17
Plans to vote: 14
Knows the date of the next Canucks game: 15
Knows the date of the Provincial election: 6

... Clearly it's playoff season! GO CANUCKS!

EEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!

I just emptied my locker that I've been using for the past two and a half years while at Utopia Academy. It's funny how such a little thing can seem so huge! I've been beaming ever since! Holy damn this is starting to feel real.

Flip Flops

Have been my best investment yet. I've only ever owned two pairs* in all my life time and I've worn them until they turn to dust. The first pair I bought in Hawaii on my way to Australia 5 years ago (dear God! I can't believe it's been that long!). I pretty much backpacked (and hiked) Australia with those flip flops! They were great! I bought my last pair 3 years ago when I went to Hawaii with Paul. After wearing them all summer long the leather started to peel off the foam. The two summers that followed I crazy glued them back together. They looked pretty crappy but they were SO comfortable! While I was in Hawaii last year I looked for a new pair and didn't find anything that could be both casual and dressy(ish). Finally I've decided to throw them out (I haven't had the heart to throw out the pair that I backpacked around Australia with...)!
I'll have to go find some new flip flops because on June 18th I am heading back to Hawaii! I know, I know I said I wouldn't go back, at least not for the next little while but it's just so tempting! Last week, Maja and I were sitting on a patio, enjoying a beer when we decided that we must head back to Hawaii! Two days later we managed to convince Darla to join us and we had our tickets booked :) We have yet to convince Pam! We land on Oahu and then we'll either go to Maui or an other island. We have yet to decide.

*ok, three but one is my swimming flip flops and I don't wear those out. Those are only to keep the foot fungus on the pool deck and not between my toes.

Picture was taken last year in the back of Frank's truck when cruising around Oahu. And yes, we're going to meet up with Frank again! We're looking forward to it!! :)

MLD Therapy 1

Hooray! So I passed manual lymph drainage therapy 1 yesterday! This was a continuing education course that I decided to take while I was still in school. I really enjoyed manual lymph drainage and was wowed at the effects that it had when I used it in clinical practice. Seeing the value in the work that I was doing, I decided to further my education in it. Why did I decide to tackle this in my last 4 weeks at school? Well, that's a good question :P
It made sense to take it while the information was still fresh (I took the basic course in January 2009). I also figured that if I took it later, I would be working, therefore I would have to take time off work (which means disappointed clients and no income). The course is usually held in Victoria which would mean I would have to pay for my own accommodation, food and all that jazz. So financially it made sense. The instructor teaching the course, Koby Blanchfield, was my instructor for Basic MLD and I really liked her teacher style and the whack load of patience she had for all of us rookies. Anyways because I knew that my learning style worked with her teaching style that was also an influencing factor.
Anyways I am darned proud of myself for having completed the course. It's a finicky technique because there is a specific sequence with a specific amount of repetitions and a specific stroke direction with a pressure and release phase. So it takes a while to perfect. Luckily we were just 4 in the course so Koby watched us like a hawk! She's amazing at what she does too. I mean I knew this but when I was doing part of my practical examination on her, she told me to make the movement with my arms and less with my wrists (I was working on her face and she had her eyes closed... so this was amazing to me!).
Well I am darn glad that I took that and now that I've had a good night sleep I feel like I can tackle the world again. Tomorrow is the start of our last week of instruction at Utopia Academy! Next week are our final exams. It's all very exciting but I just want this over and done with. During this time I'll also be working on a business plan so it'll be even more of a fine balance of time management. I've dropped swimming because I just don't have the time right now. I might start biking to school as part of my exercise (this way I am multi-tasking...) so that should help to clear my mind. Anyways it's just two more weeks then I won't have to be wracked by gilt every time I am not studying.

Practicing on Pillows

Anytime I meet someone new and they find out that I go to school for massage therapy they volunteer their bodies for practice... yet on the days when you actually need them, they're busy. Pleh! So I am practicing manual lymph drainage on my pillow. My pillow is so well lymph drained right now it's impressive :)
I feel like a self conscious teenager practicing my kissing on a pillow.
The exam is on Sunday. I am nervous yet confident. Ok... Nervous. ACK!

The Immune System (A Musical Interpretation)

For all the bio nerds out there, this one's for you! And yeah, this is what I do in my spare time. I'm SSSOOO cool!

how I roll

Busy taking a continuing education course... found out I am constantly in a sympathetic state (fight or flight state) that's a bad thing! Should probably take er easy. 3 more weeks!

Eeepp!

We finally got our dates for our board exams. The written is on September 2nd. Eeep!

On the plus side... 18 school days left until I graduate!

Case Study

Ugh! Lately I've had the attention span of a gnat and the drive of a dust bunny. That makes studying pretty damn challenging. Never mind tackling the mammoth case study I have yet to write. To solve this I've decided to haul myself to the UBC study hall. Here, I know no one and I don't have access to the internet (except now I do cuz Dawson gave it to me after 4 hours straight of writing my case study) so it's the perfect place to study. There's also very good looking people that study here too so it makes for nice, easy on the eyes, distractions. So far this approach works! I've successfully completed 1/4 of my case study! I am now taking a quick break before tackling it again and then meeting Matt at his place for pizza and sleeps (Matt is a friend, I sleep on his couch, don't be gettin ideas!). He lives near UBC which is AWESOME because it saves me trecking all the way home. I think it's time for a break now though I can't form cohesive thoughts. I think my fbook status sums up my state quite nicely:

4 hours later. Still at UBC. Sore ass. Hungry tummy. Have to pee but no one to watch my things. Case study 1/4 done. I can has PJ's and food plz?

Happiness is a pair of Betsey Johnson shoes :)

Especially on sale! My swimming buddy was late so I decided to browse a couple of shops. Jane, from SugarBox, always has Betsey Johnson purses and I've always liked the style. Maja cruised the Betsey Johnson store in Maui... oblivious to what Betsey Johnson was, I went to Quicksilver instead. Today I made up for that missed Betsey Johnson time. I spent an hour and a half in the store trying on SO MANY DRESSES! The gentleman helping me out was totally awesome! He was so good at picking out dresses and shoes that matched and I just played along. It was so much fun!I tried on a pair of shoes and fell in love with them! I didn't bother looking at the price because... well they're Betsey Johnson shoes! The salesman noticed that I kept the shoes on while I tried on different dresses (even if they didn't match) and told me that they were on sale... for $117! Uhh yeah so I bought them! I didn't buy any of the dresses because they were all over $400. I also just bought a dress!

Anyways, the images that are on this blog are the two dresses that I would have bought if I wanted to spend $1000 on dresses.
I never thought shoes could bring such happiness! Then again today was a perfect day! I went for brunch with a friend, went tanning, shopped, went swimming, had sushi and then went home in time to watch Cirque du Soleil and the hockey game. Oh, my friend also spotted Jason Priestley next to Tiffany & Co. I was too busy looking at a sweet collector car when my friend whispered excitedly "Hey that's that dude from 90210"... talk about role reversal. :)

Cleansing all done :)

Except I am going to do part one now :) This means no booze or junk food and limiting wheat and dairy. I think I can swing that! Apparently this is a good weight loss program too. I am down to 147 (was at 154 when I started). This means I fit into the dress that I ordered online.
At the beginning of my cleanse it came in (had it ordered online, custome made... in China!) and I was pretty bummed because it fit... but I couldn't breathe. Ok so it didn't fit :P They had also gotten the colours confused (the ribbon was light purple and the dress was dark purple, not the other way around... which works great for winter but not for spring/summer which is when I'll be wearing the dress). It was also too long so it looked like I had nubby legs. HAWT! I think not. I just didn't feel sexy in it. Pleh! Anyways I set it aside during my cleanse (mostly because I didn't want to deal with the damn thing) and figured I should tackle it again when I wasn't frustrated with it.
A week later, I tried it on again and it fit! I could breathe... which was good! I then set out to buy shoes. Found some cheepies for $40 that match quite well. I then brought my dress to get it hemmed and to turn the neckline into a sweetheart neckline as opposed to the straight kind (makes me look a little less boxy up top... hooray broad shoulders). That cost me an extra $60. So in total I spent $200 on this outfit which is pretty good considering that the designer version of this dress was $400, with alterations it would have been an other $200 (I have a funny shape - teenie waist and big baby bearing hips... so I usually don't fit in a specific size) plus shoes... So in essence I've saved myself $440 bucks.
Anyways there will be photos soon. The wedding is next weekend! I am totally stoked for it. It's going to be absolutely beautiful. I can't wait! It's also going to be on the Sunshine Coast so it's going to be a welcome get away.

First blog entry about cleanse.

Speedos

They have a bad reputation. Over the past week or so I've come to appreciate Speedos. Before I was quite indifferent about them because I grew up with my Dad wearing a Speedo when we went to the beach or pool. When I was a teenager I found this embarrassing. My brother and I tried to do something about it by buying Dad a nice pair of cool board shorts (brand name and all... as if Dad would have cared :P ). He liked them. He even wore them to the beach. But wore his Speedo underneath and would remove his board shorts before he got in the water. Ah I love my Dad :) He's so awesome! I am kind of glad he didn't conform to what his kids wanted. I think it showed strength and just to be happy with who you are and what you have. Anyways I am a little off topic here...
Speedos! Yes. They are good. Especially at the aquatic centre under the Burrard bridge (where I have been swimming every other day). There are a lot of good looking men swimming laps in their Speedos and I appreciate that :) I also appreciate the not so good looking men in Speedos but in a different way. It means that they're comfortable with who they are and that in itself is something to be admired.
Sure it was a little bit of a shock when I was swimming behind a Speedo clad gentleman who was doing the beast stroke. Not wanting to run into him, I looked up in mid kick (legs spread) and saw some hairy balls. How this happened I do not know. I didn't think balls could hang out of Speedos like that. Then again I don't have balls so I wouldn't know. I also couldn't test this theory. So, what's the lesson here? Men, tuck in your boys when wearing a Speedo. Your fellow swimmer does not want to see your genitalia*.

*GenitaliA LOL plz don't show me your genitals... it's just a funny song.

A nudge in the right direction

I'm all giddy now :P I just got a call from Paula Jasper, a RMT who works in the maternity ward and with complicated births (also the one who taught an intro class to massage when I was in grade 11, which was part of what sparked all of this).
A couple of months ago, I was at Liam's (hairdresser) salon and met a lady who worked in the maternity ward at Women's Hospital. She suggested that I volunteer there. Initially I was intimidated by the idea but heck! a lot intimidates me initially but then I just go for it. And so I told her I would be interested. She gave me her card, I called her a couple of weeks later. She referred me to Paula, the one who is more familiar with massage in the maternity ward. I left Paula a message about volunteering there and didn't get a response. Paula is an ultra busy RMT and new mommy so I kind of figured that if there wasn't an opportunity available that I wouldn't get a call back.
Until tonight! There still isn't an opportunity but she's conducting a research study of the effects of massage on pregnant ladies... I think it's while they're in labour too. Which is super ultra cool! She offered that I could shadow her if I wanted! I just about peed myself. Ok, not really. But it's a very exciting prospect! We both agreed that we should wait until I am finished school before I do any shadowing. Focus on my upcoming graduation. Good idea.
Anyways it's been the nudge that I need. Over the past month or so I've been quite unenthused about school. I am loving all of the clinical time we're getting but the class time is quite trying. It's so exhausting that by the time I get home the last thing I want to do is touch anything school related. We'll see what the next couple of weeks bring. 6 weeks go to and I'll be all finished! Time is going to fly!

Cleanse day 8

Well this has been a really nice cleanse. It's been a breeze except for day 5 :) I am starting to wonder if I can keep this going past 10 days. I am sure I am lacking certain nutrients but I am really liking this. I have so much more time in a day because I am not cooking. I spend an hour to an hour and a half making juice in the morning and then I am set for the rest of the day. I do miss swimming though. I haven't been since Sunday because I find that I am way too low on energy for the rest of the day after I swim. I would normally go today but being I have a mid term on Friday, I want to spend the rest of today (well after my clinic shift) reviewing the last little tid bits and I don't want to be flat on my back exhausted.
I've finally hit my stride with making really yummy juices. Despite some vegetables being really good for you... they taste like shite in the juicer. So I've given up on those. My favorite juice has been pineapple, papaya, mango, peach, ginger and apple. An other favorite has been carrot, ginger, orange (or grapefruit depending on what I have) and apple or pear.
On Sunday I'll be going to the Naam for my first dinner meal. I haven't figure out an ultra healthy breakfast or lunch that doesn't include dairy or wheat (being those have been completely cut out I kind of want to stay on that path... at least until Monday :P). Anyways it's been good. I am kind of curious to see whether I've lost any weight during all of this.