After the rush...

Daffydil has just finished and so has my Metabolism and Nutrition exam. I am now much more aware of bowel movements, diarrhea and stomach cramps than ever before. It is pretty fascinating stuff.

Daffydil was amazing. I loved it and I encourage anyone who can get involved with a musical production to do so. It is just fantastic. I am also now inspired to look into pursuing music once more. Perhaps Jazz? I would like to learn to improvise also. I am currently playing my ukulele more frequently in an attempt to keep music alive in our apartment.

It has been a while since I have last wrote, but to be honest I don't think very much has changed. I am actually writing this from a computer in the delivery ward of Women's College hospital. I am shadowing an Obs/Gyn specialist in an attempt to see if this is a specialty for me. So far it has been very uneventful. I guess that is what happens on the weekends. I have been here for 3.5 hours going on to 4 hours with very very little to do. I hope things pick up soon.

Justine and I are also in the midst of designing the interior of our new apartment. I didn't realize how much went into planning the look of a room. From color of the walls, to what kind of couch we want, there is a lot to think about. I have to admit though that I have not been very involved in the whole planning process really. Justine has taken care of most of that aspect. But I am very excited nonetheless. I think I will miss living near a residential area (which was very very ideal for jogging), but being close to China town and a lot of my friends is definitely an upside. I also want a piano very badly. I will look into this further.

March break is coming up fast! What shall I do with my days of freedom?

If I had 48 hours a day...

If I had 48 hours a day, I would

1) work at Second Cup or Starbucks
2) work at Pita Pit or Subway
3) teach english pronunciation classes
4) volunteer with the Toronto school board
5) spend time with Justine
6) Build relationships with the good people around me

It is odd because above are many of the initiatives I plan to start this year or next, with just the 24 hours a day that I have (and don't forget the things I am already involved in!). Am I being too ambitious? Funny how it actually doesn't register with me that I still have school to worry about and that time is a rare and cherished commodity. I think "sacrifice" is just not in my vocabulary. I refuse to give up these goals. I just don't accept that these projects won't get started due to a lack of time.

What would you do with 48 hours?

A budding research-clinician?

I went into the lab today. For those of you who do not know, I am now an employee of the University Health Network and I will be doing lab research for the next 12 months.

I am working with a Neurosurgeon named Dr. Fehlings and he is quite the character. I don't think I have ever come across someone who exudes so much confidence and pride in his work. Not a meeting goes by where he doesn't mention the fine caliber of his lab and his lab workers. I guess having a lab that is recognized by the Christopher Reeve's Foundation will do that to a person.

Regardless, I came into this research project quite hesitantly. The reasons for this are because I didn't know if I had the time to commit to a year long research placement, and I didn't even know if research was for me. In truth, I still don't know. But I must admit that whenever I am in the lab, I get excited. I get excited about the possibilities and I get excited about the work itself. I wonder what this means? Perhaps I am destined to be a clinician-scientist after all?

It also dawned on me just how valuable my past lab experiences have been. I worked in both Dr. Tsang and Dr. Wynne-Edwards' labs and I find myself recalling a lot of the skills I had picked up at those places. I also never fully appreciated them as role models in my life. I am not sure if they will ever see this posting, but I want to thank them here and now for their support and training. I really feel very strongly that their incredibly positive contributions to my life need to be made known. If not for them, for me.

My first Toronto birthday party!

I was invited to a birthday party just last weekend. It was a lot of fun! My friend Anthony was celebrating his 24th birthday and no doubt he did it in style.

We first went out for dinner at a Korean restaurant. I had the famed Bulgogi beef with rice. It was a lot of meat, but delicious all the same. I realized I have never had Korean food before. I may have it again. The dinner was very energetic, I met a couple people I had never seen before but who were actually in my class at school. I also got to reconnect with some friends I had not talked to in a long time. It was just a much needed break from studying.

After dinner, 10 of us went to enjoy some Karaoke in Toronto's Korean town. It was a blast! I love music, but I have come to the conclusion that I really really can't sing. Before I thought I was just not that good, but I though I was alright. Upon reflecting on my performances that night...I have to say, I was bad! But I didn't let it get in the way. After all, the whole point of the evening was to have fun. Which I did- screaming the lyrics to "Where is the love" and "I'm coming out". I was awful, but goodness did it feel good.

I remember when I was young how excited I would get about going to birthday parties, and then when the day came, how Justine and I would dress our very best in the frilliest dresses we had. I lost that excitement in high school. Going to birthday parties often felt like a chore. But now I think the fun is back! Sometimes life has a funny way of coming around full circle.

People on my brain

I think about people all the time. Now-a-days, I find that I am spending a lot of my brain energy thinking of the people in my class. I think of the unfriendly people, and wonder what made them so. I look to the academics and admire their drive and focus on school. But what I like most of all , is thinking about the people I would like to get to know better. There are quite a few who are on my list, people whom I would just love to find out more about and people who I think are just the gosh-darn coolest! My siblings and I have coined this the "friend-crush". I don't know what it is that draws me towards these people in particular, though I do notice I tend to like understated people who are just really really really nice.

I think positively of them all the time, looking for the next opportunity to talk with them.

This makes me wonder two things: do they know someone out there thinks this highly of them? and does anyone think of me this way?

I bet there are people out there thinking this way about you. Isn't that a nice thought?

a life lesson

This would be an interesting story to tell my younger cousins...I wonder what they would say?

I remember in grade 6, my best friend Catherine asked me a question. She asked me,"If you could have a ring that give you eternal wealth, or a ring that brought happiness to everyone you touched, which ring would you choose?"

Well?

I am ashamed to admit this but I chose the ring that brought me wealth...I know, at 12 years of age, I was a selfish person...but when Catherine told me that she would choose the latter ring and why, I remember feeling so ashamed! I also remember just being so awestruck that someone could be that selfless, and I think that incident opened my eyes to the fact that there were other people in the world that were feeling and hurting, other people to care about besides myself. This is one very permanent memory of my childhood that I think really helped define who I am today.