So I've been in Moose Factory about a week now. When I arrived, it was raining and the roads were flooded with water. Unfortunately I didn't take any pictures that day. Over the course of that first evening, a storm was underway, and the temperatures dropped suddenly. Some snow was falling and eventually despite the temperatures being just above zero, it was sticking by the morning. That was the beginning of winter, which has now fully and firmly arrived. As I write this now, the temperature is -16 C, and will drop to just about -20 overnight, apparently.
Above: The day after I arrived, with freshly fallen snow. It was too cold for my shell jacket, though I did feel a bit silly in my parka. You can see the river doesn't have any ice in it.
Above: One week later, I feel quite happy with my parka, as well as my balaclava, at -16C (-22 with wind chill). This photo was taken at the same place (on the dike) as the previous image, although at a slightly more inland angle.
Above: a few days after I arrived, while flying over to Moosonee, you can see some ice beginning to gather in the river.
Above: Ice continues to gather in the river.
Above: probably close to the last boat to brave crossing the river. Taken from up near the Eco Lodge
Above: several days later, just about one week after arrival, the river is suddenly full of ice chunks. I was tempted to try walk over some of it, but fortunately have hidden some common sense somewhere that decided to speak up against it.
I managed to find a small amount of water that hadn't yet frozen.
The ice had piled up just over a metre (3-4 feet) along the edge of the river.
Above: The temperature really wasn't that bad. Okay, I did happen to put the hood back up after this photo.
Ben is in Moose Factory for 4 weeks. I thought I could revive our old blog to put up some pictures. All captions are by me (Julia). Points to any and all of you who come up with better captions.
See the helicopter landing behind me? I'm going to go on that now just to cross the river. I also have my Canada Goose jacket on so I am toasty warm in all this snow!
I thought I'd pick up some bananas and tripped over some snowmobiles in the grocery store.
I've never been in a helicopter before, and now I've gone for 4 rides! I'm off to Kashechewan for some über-rural family medicine!
You can see (some of) the town of Moose Factory Below. and the old Church surrounded by the graveyard.
Blogging hasn't been a priority for me recently. I know there are a few family members who check it now and then (although they don't leave comments, so I don't know who really does end up here!). Anyways, I was inspired to return by recent blog exposure. First, have you seen the movie Julie and Julia? Besides women with fantastic names, the movie is a great expression of working towards a goal and achieving what looks to be impossible. Not a machismo fight the bad guy way, but by taking steps to change one's own life to do something you want to do. I found this connected to something I've been feeling. I'm doing my practicum for teaching right now. I love the teaching aspect, but I realize there is so much that I want to do and be a part of. Secretly, (or not so secretly) I know that there is a small chance that I will actually get on the TOC list, or get a teaching position in the next year. So, I'm thinking, what can I do if I don't get on?
I have a few ideas. First and most obvious, I want to expand my photography experiences, and do more portrait work. I'm starting next weekend taking pictures of Rebekah's band.
Secondly, I would love to learn to cook. My friends here are impressed by my baking, but that's not skill but the fact that I share it that impresses them I think. I'd love to take some cooking classes and actually know how to think about food. We were at the Salt Spring Market yesterday, and there was all this wonderful fresh ingredients around, and I wanted to be able to walk though and be inspired to make something. There were some amazing looking mushrooms, squashes, tomatoes, etc.
I was just reading about 'supper clubs' or 'underground restaurants'. I'm trying to find something like it in Victoria, but there isn't, or they are really underground and don't appear with a simple Google search. One blog I found of a Underground Restaurant was the English Can Cook at marmitelover.blogspot.com/ I guess this goes into my dream for a Bed and Breakfast, bringing people together around good food.
So, in this coming year, I guess I'm working on my New Year's resolutions early... I'm going to start promoting my photography, and start cooking. Maybe not working through Julia Child's cookbook, but I'm going to find something that will help me learn.
Well Devin, you are our inspiration for our blogging updates, which we will do when internet is available.
Our first impressions of Haida Gwaii: 1. Coming off the ferry, the land isn’t very mountainous- it’s fairly flat when driving, and there are trees like driving on any of the islands. 2. We stop to see a ‘balancing rock’ on a beach. Suddenly we’re somewhere unique. This is suddenly somewhere very different. The beach is made of rock that looks like it was poured, encompassing other rocks in it’s path. There is one large rock balanced precariously on a small ridge. The experience would be surreal, had it not been for the man trying to sell his wife’s carvings who continued to talk despite lack of interest. 3. The water, the eagles, the deer, the trees, everything is crisp and highlighted by the evening sun. We found a pub that extended its kitchen hours just past 8pm (it’s Sunday) so we could have dinner. We sat by the window, overlooking a long dock that led the eye towards the setting sun over the distant mountains. 4. The motel we’re staying in claims to have Internet, and we connected to the network, but no internet juice is flowing. This blog post will have to uploaded another day. I am adjusting my general expectations of how few people can make a town, and what it means to be ‘rustic’. Kitimat suddenly seems big. Well, internet worked after all!
So I've been in town for a week now, and in that time I've seen many patients, 3 knee surgeries, 1 hip surgery, 1 lower-leg surgery, ... a bunch of other surgeries ... many XRays, a lot of people with abdominal discomfort, a C-Section, many very-soon-to-be mothers, a few broken bones courtesy of violence, and a lot of diabetes and heart disease. Perhaps of more import, I have found many fishing locations, and have managed absolutely no luck at any of them so far. My only consolation is that most other people were also similarly unlucky (I only saw one other person land a fish). Oh well, all I can really do is hold my head up and persevere.
As I expected, the faint appeal of family practise has grown considerably since I have seen what it can look like in a rural area. Not only do you see patients in the office, but you also see them in emergency, on the ward, and in surgery. You see people you know, as well as others you've never met before. You talk about things, order tests, do some tests yourself, interpret some of the results, help out or do the necessary procedures, and see the patients afterwards. You work with a very diverse team that is well traveled, and get to do this all in a very scenic environment. Did I mention that there's fishing here too? Everyone keeps saying it's good - I'll have to keep checking until I catch something big to believe them ;)
This doesn't mean that I've discovered a definate passion to go into family medicine - but of note, it has firmly placed it onto my list of options. I am still keenly interested in the idea of emergency medicine and surgery, and am sure many other areas will appeal to me over the next year. While dermatology, pathology and urology residencies may breathe a sigh of relief that I won't likely be soon haunting their hallways, there hasn't really been much other 'narrowing down' that has happened. While some items get exclamation marks beside them, very few have been fully removed from the list.
Perhaps because it's one of the more frequent type of procedures in the OR here, orthopedic surgery is catching my interest. The surgeon has graciously let me into the OR whenever I have time or see cases I'm interested in. Perhaps it's the tools. There are some pretty cool tools you get to use, and I feel this ... thrill? ... when I hear the [edited] start up and commit the course of action. From there on, it's all mechanical, and most of the patients are feeling much better quite quickly. Is it cherry-picking? I don't really know, but I know I like the idea.
Anyway, my day here is done, and now is the time to bide my time until heading to my preceptors cabin on the lake to have a BBQ. Life is tough here, but, hey, I'm willing to suffer for it.
So, has it been long enough that posting on a blog is now retro?No?Well, that’s probably the answer anyone at the forefront of ‘retro’ hears to that question.Now that I’ve established my place in history, I can move on.It’s rather odd to feel like you’re going back in time, and to some extent that’s what I’ve just done.
In many ways, Kitimat feels like it’s stuck at various periods in the past.Probably most prominent to me right now is my lack of an ever-available internet connection.I can’t access internet at the apartment I’m staying at (& it isn’t worth setting up for just a month), and I go to the library to check important emails.Anyway, at the least, it makes for less distraction.
The trip up to Kitimat began with a late breakfast at the Blue Fox with Julia, and then I went for a leisurely 6-ish hour drive up to Port Hardy.I was seriously impressed by the quick disappearance of civilization after Campbell River, and then the sudden appearance of an international community of backpackers, hitchhikers and other assorted travellers in Port Hardy.What were they all here for? Well, evidently most were planning on catching the ferry the next day, and so after a night of earplug-muffled snoring, I woke with the rest of the Hostel and headed off to the ferry for the stipulated arrival time of 05:30 – AM, in case you didn’t catch it.
Here, I proceeded to wait in a line of cars that proceeded in the most unusual way.Instead of the cars moving up to the booth, the line stayed still while the BC Ferries staff walked up the line getting the passenger information, after which the cars then moved forward in the line.This was all very confusing to a coffee-deprived brain after a snore-filled night.
With a start like this, the first sight I had upon reaching the passenger deck of the Northern Exposure Ferry was that of a table set out with complimentary coffee and tea.Yes, I was in the right place, and the ferry gods, Poseidon, or maybe even some incredibly generous soul had known exactly what I needed.Things kept on getting better – what had begun as a cloud & fog encrusted boat soon became a mini-cruise ship sailing sparkling waters, with steep costal mountains keeping watch as the porpoises attempted to race us.Silly porpoises, they hadn’t even had their coffee this morning, and thus were no match for us.Also of note, they didn’t have the helicopter pad on their top, as our
boat did.Also entering this race was a team of 5 seagulls manning a log. They didn't move too fast, though.
The journey was filled with many humpback and killer whale sightings, fishboat drag races, dramatic mountains with spectacular waterfalls, and really comfy chairs.
We stopped at Bella Coola for an hour or so, was seriously impressed at how small it looked from the boat, and then moved on to more whale sightings, again closely guarded by the untrusting mountains pouring their waterfalls into the ocean, determined to keep us from running aground as we passed through incredibly narrow passageways that surely also served to clean the barnacles off of the bottom of the boat.
Sunset, and many pictures through glinty glass later, we arrived in Prince Rupert around 11:30 – or 23:30 for those nautical and/ormilitary types out there.
The Tourism staff on the boat had called ahead for me and booked a hotel in Prince Rupert, so all I had to do was find it, grab that parking stall under the burned-out light, and carry my over-sized suitcase (I am packing for more than a month, remember), camera and laptop up the 20 or so stairs to the lobby, wait for the confused couple in front of me to decipher the short form cleverly disguised in their mother tongue before I could then register, and then carry the same oversized suitcase, laptop and camera up some more stairs to my room.Finally, I could call my lovely wife and tell her all about the trip.When she answers her phone, she sounds sleepy – oh, yes, it must be after midnight – but what proceeds is racy.Well, racy in that it was like a race – between the tortoise and the hare.I, hopped up on excitement and coffee, and she sleepy and wanting to pop her head back under the covers.No contest, it was over quickly, I declared myself the victor, and decided to call again during more humane hours.
This will eventually lead to today, three days later, when I finally gave up the idea of finding a decent internet connection to use my skype on laptop to call, and finally called her (or she called me, however you choose to look at it).Anyway, important things out of the way, I’ll tell you a little bit about what it’s like here.
The drive from Prince Rupert to Kitimat was again breathtaking – and thus with such reminders I prevented myself from turning blue.
I passed many locations on the rivers that were loaded with people fishing, getting more and more excited myself for when I’d be able to join their ranks.I passed the spot I’d have to leave from if I were to kayak to Frizzell hotsprings, and noticed the white caps on the waves, and stopped to appreciate the wind – well, maybe a kayak isn’t the best choice of transportation – but if the first nations people could canoe just about 100km from Prince Rupert to the Haida Gawaii (the Charlottes) in dugout canoes long before contact with the west, then I surely should be able to make it the 1.5 km across the river/inlet.
I arrived in Kitimat, guided by my trusty ‘Min(gps) to a detour.Min then brings me back to the same road a good ways further on, only to be detoured again.It was only in the evening that I discovered that the road was closed for drag races, which apparently hadn’t happened in town for 10 years.While the rest of the town was watching the races, I found myself an apartment.The one furnished unit that was available was on the far side of the community, didn’t have much nearby, and cost almost double the unfurnished one I ended up getting.I had the car full of camping stuff, complete with pots, pans, air mattress etc..As I hauled everything up the 4 flights of stairs to my unit, I thought of how this should be called urban camping – and then realized with a wry grin that this is far from urban.I decided to spend the next day (Sunday) trying to find the local climbing crag, and I managed to not only find it, but also grab its GPS co-ordinates, snap some pictures of the cliffs, and run away, chased by a small nation of mosquitoes.Crestfallen, I found myself to a local fishing tackle shop to console myself by buying some flies the size of small household pet – that and some 30 lb test line.It’s going to be good.
Monday I began working with the local doctor to whom I’ve been assigned, and I soon began to appreciate the extra room and slightly slower pace of the Kitimat medical practises.The consult rooms could easily accommodate the times when we both were in a room with two parents, their sick child and a stroller.Tuesday (today) I spend the day in the OR of the hospital (about 2 min stroll from the office, and about a 15 min walk from my apartment).An day in the OR is always a good day, and today was orthopaedic surgery.What’s better than using power tools seeing shiny new joints going in to replace broken/worn out ones?I’m really not sure.For Julia, Dad M, Chris and Mom U’s sake, I’ll avoid the details, but be assured that it was a good day.On the way back, I bought a box of prawns out of a deep-freezer loaded into the back of a pickup truck, and yes, they went very well with my sidekicks creamy pasta with real bacon package.
Anyway, I’m going to call it quits for today, and hopefully make it out to the library with this on a memory stick so I can post it.
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Note- wow, formatting is tough. Think of the design as 'rugged'.
Since we have to blog a bunch for school now, I came across my blog, and saw how sad and lonely it is. Poor ignored, starved blog. If my blog was one of those little electronic pets, it would have beeped it's last beep long ago.
The Top Ten reasons to be Ben and Julia right now:
We are rocking the rock climbing! We've been climbing outside and inside. Our biceps are getting huge!
Victoria doesn't drizzle for days and weeks on end. When it rains, the wind pushes the clouds away, and the sun come back out to play.
We went back to church after 6 months of business, and the pastor remembered us by name. It's good to go where somebody knows your name. Cheers!
We have a hot tub in our apartment basement, so our friends visit it, I mean us.
We see and talk to our friends, so they don't have to depend on this blog to know we're still alive.
We found a kick-ass sale on shoes, and so we're walking pretty.
We're both so busy that when we sit and talk, we have lots to talk about with each other.
Julia found a new place to go for High Tea! in an Art Gallery!!
Victoria has many food festivals. So far we've enjoyed a TEA, CHOCOLATE, and a BEER festival.
Good News, I've been accepted at UVic to do my last year of school (PDP) to be a teacher. I'll be starting in July. this means after quite a while of switching from one job to another, I'll finally have some kind of career plan. I'm looking forward to having some method to teaching, as opposed to winging it like I've done in the past. (I've also been reading "help for new teachers" sites, and the horror stories that go along with one's first year can be intimidating - but there are always the "it's gets better" messages too) If you're a teacher, and want to give me some advice, go ahead a leave a comment!
As for the cat smell, the building manager is in our place today sealing the concrete and we're getting new underlay. Finally after 4 months, we're hoping this is the end to the evil smell. Our friend and neighbour bought us some well titled wine "Cat's Pee on a Gooseberry Bush" - a Sauvigon Blanc, which we will open and celebrate when all the fuss is done!
We're already looking towards summer, as most of our med-friends will be leaving for adventures and work elsewhere after June. In our lonely state, we'd love to have visitors!! Cat pee smell free! In the beginning of April my sister, mom and I tool off to Nanaimo for the weekend and went to the Southwind spa guest house. www.southwindretreat.com I had a wonderful hot stone massage, and we sipped wine and chatted girl talk all weekend. Don't we look refreshed and rejuvenated?
Our lives have been more exciting than this blog would lead you to believe :) Besides the cat smell that still persists (the landlords say they will replace the carpet...sometime) life has been going great. Ben continues to study and do well at school - and really that's all I know about his school work. I actually end up getting more info from other med students about what they are studying - Ben and I tend to talk about non-school related things I guess, as he needs a break from it. I've connected with a few of the med school girls over activities- I've been taking a adult swimming class with two other girls, and we've been having a great time working on our front crawls. I even learned to dive. I've always been to scared to enter water head first, and because of how much more comfortable I am in water now, it was such a scary thing. Yay for conquering fears, even the small ones!
I celebrated my 27th Birthday on the 13th. Ben organized a lot of our friends to meet us at a pub near our house for dinner, then we went back to our place for desert. It was great to see how many people came out. I feel like I've been "myself" more here than anywhere, any time before. Maybe that has something to do with age (yes, I feel older) or that starting with a new group of people, I don't feel like I have any previous "me" to live up to. It's been great. Monday Ben and I went to the Empress for High Tea and it was wonderful. March 8th brought us back to the mainland for the first time we moved here, as we celebrates two weddings, Ben's cousin, and my cousin, both on the Saturday. Luckily they were a couple of hours apaprt, and both in Abbotsford, so we got to squeeze in seeing a majority of our family all in one day. I love our family and friends in the Valley, but it made me realize how much I feel at home in Victoria. I'm surprised how quickly that happened. Rebekah and Tony singing during Shannon and Bob's signing. Arn't we just filled with Character. Our parents made sure we built lots of it! Our little Unrau clan-minus the kids.
I celebrated this feeling of being at home by splurging for some new curtains. (the "rental" curtains looked like they've been smoked through and washed a million times). So, with all excitement I went to Ikea and bought some curtains that really tie the room together. The wonder of Ikea curtains is that you don't have to do any sewing, just iron the hem - seems easy, right? Well, Ikea assumes you have the math skills above a 8 year old, as my first panel I cut way to short! (it looks like capri-curtains). Panel 2 worked as Ben helped me think it through. Panel 3 is slightly too long, although I used the same measurements as Panel 2, and Panel 4 somehow got too short again. Sigh. I was so disappointed. So, when you don't look too close, the place looks great!
I'll end with some good news. I've started a job working at a Fine Art gallery on Bear Mountain, about a 20 minute drive up the #1 from Victoria. It's just opened, and the owner is expecting her first child in the next month, so I pretty much have had to take over. www.galeriesorance.ca I also have a interview on April 1st to get into UVic for my Teaching Certificate. I'm going to go to the interview, and then decide what I'm going to do. Congrats if you've read this far!
There are many joys in starting something new. Today I took a walk to Oak Bay while our building manager cleaned our carpets (again) in the attempt to rid our den of cat stink (cross your fingers!). This is why I love Victoria-today I went into a china store that only sold tea cups and tea accessory dishes-tea pots, china plates, platters, those cool three story platters. As I was walking, I heard old ladies speaking with English accents, and there are so many little stores with quaint things. I just love having to pass antique stores to get to my tea store. Sigh. Heaven, I'm in Heaven-old people heaven... oh crap.
Also, I like starting new friendships. I'm starting a "while you were studying" club-a social support group for widow(ers) of the Island Medical Program. I have to get a good picture for it for our Facebook group yet but there are a few people excited about having someone to do something with when our significant others are studying. There is a JET-ish feel to the Island Medical program- a lot of us are new to the area, we have something in common, and looking for something to do. However, we don't have the disposable income that made living in Japan so much fun. Oooh.. and we're on an island, the same size as Shikoku.
Also, Phone numbers. Ben has his new island number, so email him if you don't have it yet and want it, but my phone is MIA, so it'll be a bit till I get another one.
my Christmas post ended up being longer, so I thought I'd break them up. New Years was a blast. We went to Mt. Washington with 5 of our friends and stayed in Ben's uncle's condo. We had 5 nights-long enough to go snow boarding twice and do nothing on the 1st. It was my second time ever snowboarding, and after shedding some tears going down my first run in frustration, Steve gave me some pointers, and I got better thereafter. I actually had fun and I'm looking forward to when we can go again. At best, I've tolerated going out for winter sports, I've just never been good enough to really enjoy it, nor had the right clothing. This year, thanks to the Helly Hansen Warehouse sale, I was ready!
Ben had a blast with the guys on the back of the mountain, where we beginner girls feared to tread.
After packing up from the mountian on the 2nd, we drove down to Victoria to meet Ben's dad, Chris (Ben's younger brother) and Ashely-who had given up a day of snowboarding to help us.. Thank You!!
Rebekah, Tony and their boys came half way and helped us finish unloading the truck. Rebekah was awesome in unpacking our kitchen stuff. We oreded pizza but it was super late as they had a hard time understanding that 778 can be a area code for a phone (we hadn't changed our numbers yet) So, after Ben "discussing" the issue with the manager, we eventually got our pizza and a credit for next time. Ben whisked Dad, Chris and Ashely to the ferry, where they only caught it because another woman had a car issue, and the ferry was delayed! Seeing as the Janzens were staying the night, it sure would have been a squish if Dad, Chris and Ashely also had to!!
Our place is great, except for a horrible cat pee stink that emanates from the den. We actually found kitty litter and a piece of cat food along the edge of the floor. For now we've shut the den up, and we're waiting for the manager to come and clean the carpets, as well as do some painting in the kitchen and bathroom, which should have been done before we moved in. So we haven't been able to fully unpack
It was great to have the Janzens here though and help us make our new place home. On Thursday we swam in the morning, then went to Bug Zoo in the afternoon. I was really impressed with the guide who had lots to tell us about the bugs, and we got to hold them. Little 4 year old Malachi wanted to hold everything, even the tarantula that you had to be 19 to hold.
Monday Ben started school, I drove him and another med-student who lives down the hall to school, then went to the Oak Bay Marina to watch the sun come up. I love that anywhere we turn, there is ocean. Last night after dinner with some friends they drove us around a bit, and we went to the beach-the wind was blowing so hard we could lean against it.
We feel comfortable here already. I feel like I've been able to let out a breath I've been holding for a long time. It's great to be somewhere where we can invest in-where it worth really unpacking.
Christmas started for us on the 22nd with my Dad's family. It was great to see all the usual family, plus some extras-engagements and a baby. We gather in same place we have for as long as I can remember, and the huge building is now this small room that I wonder how we all fit (there are about 50 of us when we're all together).
The day started and ended with Turkey as after the Unrau gathering we went to our friends house for another dinner.
Sunday was suppose to be a Martens gathering, but Ben's cousin had a near-fatal medical emergency, so most of the aunts were preoccupied with taking care of him, and a lot of cousins were away, so we visited Grandma Martens in Abbosford, then had dinner with Ben's parents. Don't you love a holiday that's counted by dinners? Christmas eve was at the Martens house. We had turkey for lunch/dinner and went to the CLA service. After we opened presents. The Big Gift was our family portrait that Don MacGregor (my boss) did on Spanish Banks this fall. We gave Mom a 40 inch canvas that looks beautiful in their tv nook next to the kitchen. Presents this year were easy for us as everyone got pictures of themselves. Chris's girlfriend Ashely opened her presents from her parents (from Colorado) and she shared her tradition of reading "The Polar Express" with us. I had never read it before, or seen the movie. We spent the rest of the evening eating and playing games.
We spent the night at Mom and Dad's to save us driving back to Vancouver than to Abbotsford again, so Christmas Day we had hugs in Langley, then off to Abbotsford for my family Christmas. Brunch is the main meal that we all look forward to. Fluffy apple pancakes, bacon rolls with cheese sauce, fruit salad, ham-it's my favourite meal of the year. Rebekah's three boys are now old enough that we call all play games, so after presents we all found something to entertain us, from chess to PS3 karaoke. Grandma didn't quite know what to make of our singing, but she smiled and nodded along. We were blessed to have our Cousins Tiffany and Monsef from Amsterdam come for desert. It was great to catch up with them. I love hearing about their lives, although I'm sure it's tiring for them to repeat everything to everyone they see in their short two weeks here.
Although we were preparing to move, both Ben and I were able to get into the spirit of Christmas way more this year than ever before. Ben had exams up to the 20th, but then we were free to enjoy our time. It helped that we didn't host any parties, so there was less stress for us, but last year we were settling in after returning of a year and a half of changes. This year the changes were happening after Christmas so we could just enjoy.
ps. there are lots of pictures but for some reason, our camera doesn't want to give them up, so check back
Well, Christmas is coming and instead of packing up boxes full of goodies for our families and baking yummy treats, we're packing up our house. Yup, December is going by quickly and since Christmas parties start on the 22nd, we're getting the jump on packing. Racheal, Ben's sister in law, is coming to help me (more of an emotional-keep on track help-but she's an awesome packer too!)
So, as much as I wish we were putting up a tree and laying out the garlands, it's pretty grinchy round these parts. We'll be packing up for real, into a moving truck, on the 28th, then heading off to Mt. Washington for some fun snowboarding fun over New Years. Then to our new apartment on the 2nd to unpack and start our new Island Life!
Yup, we're actually going to be settled! We went to Victoria on Saturday, EARLY, and saw four different apartments. Our rage was limited as we wanted a place walking distance to the hospital. I felt a little like Goldilocks as we tried one apartment after the other.. This one is too far away; this one is too old; this manager is too sketchy; ahh, this one is just right.
By 2pm, we had found an apartment with one bedroom and a den, a balcony, close to the hospital, with a nice manager we feel like would do something if something went wrong, and the building even has a guest suite for when we have visitors. (When, meaning we're hoping some people to jump the pond and visit!!!)
We're a short walk from Oak Bay, where they have some fun shopping and a great Tea House (the White Heather Tea House). It's just a short bus ride to downtown/tourist centre. We're excited to explore Victoria and we even bought an Entertainment Guide, so when you come to visit, we can do things 2-for-1!
OK, so my blog may be suffering, but we're not. I suppose no news can be considered good news, but good things have been happening too. Ben's been doing great at Med School. I'm quite the proud wife, and I even send him to school with brownies sometimes to share with his classmates. He's started going to a family practice once a week here in Vancouver (some people have to travel *GASP* all the way to Langley!) and he's really enjoying the hands on aspect (he gave flu shots) and the gleaning of experience from the doctor he's working with. I get to hear lots of stories of strange conditions they see. I also get my share of "check ups" at home, as Ben is discovering his (this is in layman's words) heart, eye and ear check up tools. Actually, Ben blinded me trying to figure out his ophthalmoscope (Ben just spelled it for me-the eye-checking tool)
I am also discovering my talents. They Photography Studio I'm working for is going to keep me on when we move to Victoria after Christmas. I'll be working from home and sending them the digital files of albums and whatever else I'll be doing for them. They're also excited to hook me up with other photographers in Victoria-maybe I can freelance working for a few photographers. I'm excited that I won't have to be looking for a new job right away.
This weekend we took a little get away and drove to Seattle-I've never really BEEN there before.. I've driven through it, and I saw a Mariner's game once. We went to Pike market and had an amazing seafood dinner, then on Monday we window shopped, then drove to Bellingham where we bought Ben some nice "Family Practice" clothes. (They don't wear white coats there)
Ok, so if you read this, please leave a comment, something like "yup, I was here" or something like you see in bathroom stalls " Sam wuz here" so I know that some one out there actually checked this Lazarus-like blog.
It's Wednesday, and Ben started "school" on Monday. It would be better if he wrote about it, but here's my view so far. It's kinda like camp, with wine. Well, they're doing orientation all week, so Monday was a lot of meeting and greeting and introductions, and then a BBQ. Tuesday they had a big scavenger hunt in small groups (Ben was with other similarly 'M' last named people) and in the evening there was a wine and cheese meet the faculty evening. I got to go, and there were a few other wives there I got to meet. I suggested we start a Dr. Wives Club.
I love having a "cool" job. This is the first time that when I say what I do, people are interested to hear more. I guess I've been seeing a lot of science-minded people recently too, so to work in a photography studio is really cool I guess. K, off to my "cool" job!
Well our blog has been suffering, sorry if you've been trying to know what's new with us, and still getting the same stories.
July started with us packing up our house, and by the 15th we were moved in to our apartment just outside of UBC. Well, Ben moved us in for the most part, and I started my job at MacGregor's Studios. The first week was preparing for the Professional Photography School they put on, called Image Explorations, in Shawnigan Lake on the Island. I got to go along, help with registration, and take a photoshop class. It was amazing to spend 4 days among professional photographers from around Canada and USA. We were short on models, so they suggested I call Ben! So Ben came Monday night, and we did an 'engagement' model shoot together on Tuesday, and then on Wednesday Ben got to model for himself. The pictures look so great, and everyone commented on what a great model he is. Now if this Med School thing doesn't work out, he'll have something to fall back on :)
So, moved in and (I'm) working happily away, we've really enjoyed living where we are. We are surrounded by beaches and walking/biking trails, there is everything we need pretty much just a short walk down the street, and the bus goes right outside our building and takes us downtown. I used to think that there wasn't really a point to living in Vancouver, I could just drive in (or skytrain) whenever there was something that I wanted to do, but I didn't so much. I really understand why people live here now. We are just loving it.
We've also had a flow of visitors. Teralynn, who taught with JET in Japan when we were there came to visit last week on her way back to Winnipeg. It was so great to see her, and to touch base with someone who we shared our experiences with, we had a great time joking about the idiosyncrasies that we picked up in Japan.
Most recently (happening right now) Ben is on an Ambulance ride. He left yesterday (Thursday) at 6pm, and still isn't home (10:30am Fri). From his text messages he's having a great time. He met this parametic who will be doing the CPR classes for the UBC students, and he asked Ben if he'd like to teach CPR with him. Ben's happy he gets to teach his fellow UBC students, and not have to take the class (He taught for a few years as he lifeguarded).
Well, this is long enough. Hope we still have some readers out there!
This morning was my "Tri-it" Triathlon in South Langley. Ben volunteered for it, and so he had to be there at 6:30am. The adults race started at 9:30, so I stayed in the car until 8 and slept, and stayed out of the RAIN!! It poured!! It cleared up a bit for the littlest kids doing their triathlon (the youngest was 2 years old.. so very cute!) but when it came to the adults's race, it was just POURING! My wonderful parents, Ben's, and my sister and her husband all came out to cheer, and stood in the torrents of rain. While we were waiting for the swim to start, all of us shivering in our bathing suites on the outdoor pool deck, just waiting to get into the warm water, the lifeguards decided there wasn't enough clarity in the pool, as it was raining too hard to see the bottom of the pool. So, they cancelled the swim part, and we ended up doing a biathlon, biking and running. While biking in the rain, I heard this mad rush, and although it had been raining hard, the skies suddenly wanted to outdo itself, and I think the sky fell! The last time I saw rain fall like that it was during a Typhoon in Japan. Yup, and I was biking along, mostly by myself, with my chain coming off at intervals. So then there was the run, through some nice trails, except for the 4 inches of water covering the path. By that time, everyone was so wet, it really didn't matter. I certanly didn't come near first, nor middle, but I didn't come in last. When running, I finally saw the most beautiful sight, my mom, yelling and cheering me on, then Ben's Dad, and then his mom, and then the finish line!! I really enjoyed it, and am looking forward to the next one.. hopefully when I can do the swimming part too! After a hot shower and tea, we all went out for lunch.. and then to IKEA. Once we got home I collapsed on the couch, and was immovable for a few hours.
Hi All! Let me start with my favourite "The Office" quote: Dwight: So, are you excited? Ryan: Yeah, I'm excited. Dwight: Really excited?! Ryan: Yeah, I'm really excited. Dwight: Extremely excited?! Ryan give Dwight a look. Dwight: Just very excited, that's cool.
Well, we are VERY excited. This last Saturday we spent the day looking at apartments/suites in Vancouver. Ben starts at UBC at the end of August, and we wanted to beat the back to school crowd.. So, we found a great one bedroom near the "Gates" of UBC. We have the place as of July 1st, although we might not move in right away, so for those of you who we will enlist to help us, we'll let you know when that'll be (please, please, come and help us!!).
In other news, we went to see my friend Jessie's play "Maggie's Getting Married" on Saturday, and laughed ourselves silly. Great acting, great writing (Canadian writer), and great location. If you live in Abbotsford area, you should deffinatley check out Straiton Hall on Upper Sumas Rd. They have great entertainment all the time.
Last weekend we went to visit my sister Rebekah and her family in their new home in Courtney, on Vancouver Island. The weather was gorgeous and we spent most of the time on the beach, where my white, winter skin was exposed to the sun for the first time this year, and I promptly got burnt, and am now peeling Mmmmm. We had a great time chatting and eating and playing games. We went to church on Sunday, then spent Sunday night with Ben's aunt and uncle who live down the road from them. We had a terrific time!
Lastly, as it is the thing that might kill me, I'm doing a triathalon on June 24th. If we don't post after that, you know it killed me. I've been training, but I've never done anything like this before. It's a little one, good for beginners, and I've been enjoying the variety of training with the swimming, biking and running. I'm actually really excited about it, and excited that I have the next day off from work, so I'll have a chance to recover. Ganbaremasu! (I'll do my best!)
So, after much, much, much waiting, I've received word, and I'm going to be in the UBC island medical program starting at the end of August. Finally, I've crested to the top of this first mountain (but I have the feeling there's a bigger range coming up...). I also was accepted at Queens and UWO - Kingston & London, Ontario, but we feel that the Victoria program has the benefits of Kingston, London and Vancouver all rolled into one package. This past weekend, we headed up to the southern okanagan with some friends, giving us lots of time to talk it over both with each other on the drive, and with our friends. With the plus of being closer to family and friends, and having pretty much the best weather available, we finally decided to go for UBC's program in Victoria. The acceptance was specific to the island site, and the island program will make things a bit more complicated for us, as the first 4 months are in Vancouver and the rest is in Victoria. This means that we may well have 2 moves coming up to look forward to. That, in and of itself, was almost enough to make me want to move out to Ontario, but it is only a few months of pain to pay for 4 more years of island living. Nazukashi!
It's funny, the experience of preparing, applying & interviewing to get into med school involves a lot of talking with almost anyone you know, and after all this, finally getting in, I feel like I have almost nothing to say. (You're asked about why you want to do it, what you've done, what you want to study, where you want to study, and what you think about this strange rash that just appeared last week. That last one always brings a smile to my face - especially given how often it's come up.) Anyway, it is nice to have all the speculative talk about '*if* I get in' over with. Now all I need to do is hunker down and let gravity carry me down to the beginning of the next mountain.
If any of you happen to know a house that needs to be 'sat', or a suite that would be perfect to rent out for a short term (Aug or late Aug to Dec) in the UBC or surrounding area, don't hesitate to let us know (it'll be a challenge to find something for that short a period, I'm sure).
That's the end of this adventure for now. Tscheus!
