I'm way too young to be this old

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.

New Years, Moving, Cat Stink and Bugs

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 fun

It's been a busy few weeks, but here's the recap:

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

A Grinchy looking house at Christmas

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!

We've found a home

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!

We're not dead yet

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.

Ben's started School

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!

Life in the big(ish) city

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!

I didn't die!!

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.

Summer Time, and the pilgrims are getting restless

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!)

psssst..... I'm in.........

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!

Mothers Day

We've had a lovely weekend. The fun started on Saturday with morning petticures at Petticoat Junction in Ft. Langley. Racheal and I got to spoil Mom M. and surprised her with a relaxing hour petticure, and so of course, we had to indulge also!

Then Sunday for lunch we took Mom U. out to a wedding reception place in Surrey that had a wonderful buffet, including an omlet bar, and chocolate fountain! So good. Afterword, we went back to Beth's house to find a fire engin in front of their house! A car across the street had been stolen, stripped, and set on fire! We got there just as the firemen were packing up their hoses. Beth and Devnin have a fire hydrant infront of their house, and Dad had parked in front of it (like, how often do you actually need a fire hydrant over lunch!) so they firement used the water in the truck's tank, and then filled it up again afterword, so we got to see that too. We chatted with the firement for a while, then went in to relax for a while. Watching the firetruck in front of Beth and Devin's houseBen and Dad looking in the now flooded car.

Mom talking with the Firemen

In other news, we're still waiting for news from Med schools, although they send out info on Tuesday, so we should know really soon! We've played every possibility over in our heads, every option on living, how we would move, but it doesn't do any good until we know where he's got in! It seems strange that we will eventually know.

Facebook can be distracting..

It's true, I haven't been blogging because of Facebook.
So, Ben finished his course on Friday, with his last exam of undergrad ever! Yay! He was taking a cell biology course that only UBC required. He is very happy to be done, and I am very happy to have my husband back. Ben works usually between 4-10:30ish, and I have normal office hours, so we don't get a lot of waking moments together in the week, so I'm happy to have those study times back! He'll be taking Saturdays off for the summer so we can have some fun.

I've been battling dizziness since February- I have Labrynthitis-isn't that a cool word! Anyways, it's something wrong in the Labrynth in the ear, which makes me dizzy, but it's getting better (slowly) and next Thursday I'm going for physio, to learn some kind of exercise that will help. I'm really curious to see what that will be!

Last night we had dinner with the ladies of my dad's family. It was so fun! We don't really get to see eachother very often, and I'm starting to get to know my older cousins as we're now all adults. My cousin Janice and I split a caraf of wine, and Grandma tasted it.. didn't like it too much though.

We've finally got our camera back. I love Cannon cameras, but can't say much for their waranty.. twice we sent it in and twice it was returned unfixed.. so London Drugs just gave us a new one. Kudos to them. So we should have new pictures to show soon.

This are from two weekends ago, when Keegan and Lauren took us out skeet shooting. Keegan is a hunter, and has three rifles. I'm not the right one to say what kind of guns they were, but it was my first time shooting a real (not pelet) gun. Arn't you proud Elisabeth?
As you can see we were shooting against a bank, so there was not worries. Ben and I both have pretty good shots too! We both hit the clay pigon!

Good Friday

How 'bout an update?
Well, thanks for asking.. Ben was in London (chips and fish??) Ontario (nope) last weekend for his last med school interview. He billeted with a house full of students, some med, some education, some 'other', and had a great time. He had a lady pay for is bus fare, because he didn't have the right change, because he tipped the taxi driver too much.. those Ontarians are setting up a good name for themselves (cough.. he wasn't in Toronto). He felt the best about this interview from all of them, so he's glad he went. He wasn't sure at first if he would go to a fourth, but hey, might as well not miss an opportunity!

He was greeted by snow on Monday coming home. Honestly, snow in April (prep for Ontario maybe?) I was in school on Monday and all anyone could say was how crazy the weather was. By the time school let out, it was sunny and all the snow was gone. Some of the students are starting to figure out that I'm not a teacher, or a student teacher, so.. who am I? The art teacher I'm working with was wondering if I could come in more often. Sure would love to!

Our day today will be bicycling around, maybe to Fort Langley. Yay!

This Old Thing?

Ben and I in our yukatas.

Ange in her wicked 70's dress.

Laurie in a bridesmaid dress, Jessie in her wedding dress
Devin in his Star Trek tie
The Abbotsfordians guessing at charades
The Langlyites guessing at charades
Ashley in her grad gown, and Chris in his Halloween costume

Jessie and Lars-in Jessie's dress

This Old Thing?

I had my birthday party Saturday (yesterday). My theme was "this old thing?" and people were invited to wear that thing that they would never wear again, or haven't worn in a long time. I was amazed at people's creativity. We had 2 wedding dresses, a bridesmaid dress, a couple grad gowns, Ben and I wore our Japanese yukatas, a tux, a jail shirt, a Star Trek tie, and two beautiful men in dresses (which they promised to never wear again)

(I'll have pictures as soon as Beth emails them to me.. this picture at the top was a cell phone pic..our camera is out getting fixed.. crappy cannon warranty that returns a un-fixed camera and makes me miss taking pictures at my birthday...grrr)

It was also a wine and cheese party, so people brought all sorts of wine and yummy cheeses. Ben and I got a bunch of beads and rings so that people could make their own wine charm/dangley thing. This was good, as I was continually losing my wine glass, and asking people if they had seen a wine glass with a J on it.

People wrote about their outfits, and later in the evening we created a fashion show. I read out what they had written: what they were wearing and when the last time they wore it. Everyone hammed it up real well, and it was sort of an introduction for everyone, as we had people from different aspects our lives all together. I was impressed our basement suit held 20 people!

And then what's a party without charades? Bekah, we played that game you taught us at Christmas, it was actually requested.

All in all, it was a great time. Thanks for those of you who came and helped me celebrate the road to thirty.

If I was a flower...

I am a Sunflower What Flower Are You?

"When your friends think smile, they think of you. There is not a day that goes by that you can't find something good about the world and your fellow human."

It makes me wonder, what kind of flowers are nasty people? I wonder if that's an option in this quizz? Let's find out what the anti-Julia flower would be...

I am a Canna What Flower Are You?

"You stand up for what you believe in, even if it gets in the way of what other people think. You are proud of yourself and your accomplishments and you enjoy letting people know that."

Kinda spiky.. figured that

Julia's Birthday

Tuesday was my birthday. I turned 26. I thought that should affect me in some way, that I shouldn't like that, but I do. I've actually been 26 for half a year already.. in my mind. Whenever people ask me how old I was, I would think 26, and then remember that I was still 25. I guess 'cause so much has happened in the last year, I figured I must be older for it. Plus I feel like I've achieved a lot already, I've achieved my goals for the most part of what I wanted to do by this age. Our 5 year plan we set out 4 years ago has gone as planned, and I sent in my UBC application for my B. of Education yesterday. (On Tuesday I woke up to apple pancakes, and then in the evening, Ben came home, on his bicycle, with a huge bouquet of flowers! I'm such a lucky girl)

I'm really loving being at the high school on Mondays too. This past Monday I got to be in art classes in the morning. It was great to be able to walk around and talk with students, give them ideas for their projects, and get to know them a bit. The art teacher and I hit it off, and spent lunch drawing animal skulls for an example project for after spring break.
Ok, gotta go to work.

Dreams Come True

Have you ever had a dream come true? Not a day dream, or a "when you wish upon a star" -type dream, but a real, while asleep dream?

My sister's husband has applied, and is very much considered for a Youth Pastoring position on Vancouver Island. While they were still in the "we don't know if this is going to happen" stage, I had a dream that they were accepted, and they were looking for a house. The same night, I dreamed about people dressed up as crayons-like for Halloween. The next day we were at Ben's parent's house for a family dinner, and Ben's brother's girlfriend was saying how when they were little kids, they dressed up in crayons for Halloween. (and as they got older, they became the next colour up in size).

Flash back to YEARS ago-- I watched one of those mystic ghosts and dreams type shows, and this woman had dreamed about her daughter getting stung by a bee, and then she did. She also dreamed about something else that was way more important... and the dream about the bee was for her to pay attention to the second dream that was to come true. For some reason that always stuck with me, and now I was wondering.. did the crayon dream tell me that the dream about my sister's family moving was true?

Anyways, to what most of you want to know... BEN'S INTERVIEWS
He can re-write this later if he wants (he's at work right now). He had his University of Alberta interview on Friday. I drove him to the Abbotsford airport super early on Friday. He got a shuttle from the airport on that side to the school, had his interview. He said it went really well. He didn't endorse euthanasia like some other bloke who interviewed before him. He felt comfortable with the conversation style interview. They had this little square table, three sides of interviewers knocking knees with Ben. They asked a lot about his Japanese and Angola experiences. His friend Bruce lives in Edmonton, so they hung out, and Ben got to crash there for night, and he came home in the morning.

Sunday was the UBC interview, and I got to go with him. I hung out in the Lobby waiting, watching all these interviewees walking in with their mom's or dad's, or both. Thought it was a little funny to go to an interview with your parent, but hey. The interview was pretty much the same, except a larger table. They asked more about Ben's work with Autistic kids. I think they should have jumped up, and offered him a spot in UBC right then and there, but, alas, they didn't, and we have to wait until the middle of May to know anything more.

Oh, I also started school on Monday. I pretty much sat at the back of the class, and watched. I also got to hand out, and photocopy papers. I'm at Brookswood high school every Monday now. I'm really excited for this opportunity to learn from Lynie, who I met at Ten Thousand Villages. She's an amazing teacher, and you can tell that the students really respect her. My favourite quote of the day

"You are all ignorant. Luckily that's curable"

In response to the grade 11's who were trying to figure out what the cold war was about. They figured it was between the Americans and British, and had something to do with the Boston Tea Party. I had a good laugh at the back of the room. Precious.

More interviews!

Well, after pretty much concluding that I didn't meet U of Alberta's out-of-province cut-off, I received an invitation to an interview in the mail today! I also received an invite from Queens a little while ago, so I have plenty of opportunity to both get in to medical school as well as to collect a bit more of that special high-altitude radiation. Hmm, I guess I didn't get enough of airplanes in coming back from Angola - and, even though I wouldn't have guessed it while I had been 1/2 way over the Atlantic, I'm actually really looking forward to it!

It's amazing how a little piece of paper in the mail, or an email in the inbox, can really brighten up one's day!