purple people eater

One man's remorse is another's reminiscence
- Ogden Nash

I guess I should've saved that purple rain quote I used when I was worrying about armageddon for this post. It would've been so much more literal.

This year for Halloween we decided to purple ourselves in the style of Queen's engineers. Trevor was a Frec and had done it before and I was looking for a costume that was visually stunning. We tried to find enough Gentian Violet in Vancouver, but they only sell it as 1% solution, so I called up Katelyn and she managed to get some from EngSoc and then UPS'd it to us overnight. We purpled as planned on friday night before going to the Halloween Weepers party at the MSAC (Medical Students and Alumini Centre). Anyhow, it worked, we got pretty purple, and people loved it. The downside, of course, was the extensive collateral damaged sustained to our bathroom, my friend Jazz's house we went to for the pre-party, and the MSAC of course. I guess I had underestimated to ease with which the purple leaves your skin and applies itself to anything and everything that it comes in contact with. Needless to say, we woke up on Saturday feeling pretty bad about the damage we had caused and spent most of they day with a bottle of bleach in hand. Luckily, the caustic chemicals work wonders on most surfaces, although we are still working on getting it out of our skin. I must've left the party a good two hours after Trevor and Sarah and they were still up scrubbing their skin when I got home. Pretty funny.

Bottom line, we are pretty much back to being Caucasian and the majority of the surfaces we touched have been restored to their original colour. It was a fun party. Here is one photo, but if you would like to see more, http://ubc.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2037514&id=21013297.

dollar bouquets

A little pride always goes along with a teaspoonful of brains
- Mark Twain

In my 2nd lecture yesterday, one of my profs told a story about this physiologist that used to work at UBC. The story was in context of the discovery of the hormone calcitonin, which was explained as having a major role in the regulation of serum calcium. I guess this guy was a prominent researcher and ended up becoming a companion of the order of canada. It was an interesting story, but alot of it consisted of talking about how great of a research institution UBC was, and how we were better than U of T or whatever. I was trying to decide why I was having so much difficulty with this guy demonstrating so much affection for UBC. Was I just a snobby Queen's alumus?

Well, maybe I am, but I realized today that the reason I have such an issue with pride is that it often leads to disinformation. According to Cecil's Essential of Medicine, the actual role of calcitonin in calcium homeostasis is a little unclear. It was actually called "a hormone looking for a function". Why would this guy who lectured us yesterday be bigging up the role of calcitonin? Because he wanted to tell us this story. Because we always embelish when we believe in somebody or something.

Speaking of cheerleaders. Check this out.

this moth is not a butterfly

I had a velcro wallet in a casino
that noise drove the shit outta me man
you're at the casino losing money
bust out the velcro wallet again
*velcro noise*
it's like the sound of my addiction
-mitch hedberg

Sometimes I blog because I have something specific I want to write about. Other times I decide it's time for a post and just hope something will come to me mid-keystrike. Now is one of the latter instances.

Do you ever wonder why we get bored? I mean, I spend a fair amount of my time feeling at least a little bored. Overall, I'm still excited to be in medical school, but I often find my mind wandering in class, my mouth wide open and my eyes watering. I also tend to fidget. Courtney says that sometimes, when I'm rocking back or forth in my chair or tapping myself on the face, I look like an autistic child.

Anyhow, even if I find the topic interesting, or at least know it will be useful in the future, I can't help feeling....well....bored. Same thing with just eating a meal by myself. I have a really hard time just sitting there and enjoying my food. I get antsy. I will start reading the cereal box. I will look at the calender and think about what's happening during the week. I will turn on the tv, even though I know that it will only be endless commercials for CHIP Home Mortgages. Seriously though, sometimes I think we all have ADHD these days. Whenever I'm feeling paticularly difficult, I try to imagine shepherds. I'm not saying I dream of sheep herders, I just think of what it must be like to be one. In Ecuador I would see these guys, just sit all day out in the field with their sheep. These dudes have probably lived their whole life in the one village. They don't read books, they don't watch movies, they don't go to school, they don't know anything about world history or philosophy. What do they think about? I can't grasp it.

My landlord is doing renovations on the exterior of the house and he disconnected us from our internet. I went downstairs in a panic once I realized what had happened, but had a difficult time expressing to him just how important to me it was that I had access to this thing we call the inter-web. I had recognized my love for the internet before, but I was REALLY nervous about being disconnected. I started to get annoyed with my landlord, even though he initially didn't even realize he had disconnected us. Doesn't he know that I NEED my connection. He thinks I can be without the internet for a "couple of days"? Uh-uh. Nope. Impossible.

So, you saw it coming, I realized I'm addicted. Maybe I"m just being junkie-optimistic here, but I feel like I can control my use to the point where it's not detrimental to my overall well being. Although right now I should be studying. Eff. Okay, I guess that's all for now.

Oh no, one last thing. If you have been reading, maybe just give me a little message. I don't need much. If you have posted before, then whatever, but if you are a lurker like me, just say hi. That's all I need.

repent! repent!

You say you want a leader
but you can't seem to make up your mind
I think you better close it, and let me guide you
into the purple rain
-Prince, Purple Rain

The conservatives introduced the Clean Air Act today. Ostensibly, the act was intended to demonstrate that their party is not soft on environmental issues.

Sooo.....they have apparently decided to consult with industry for another FIVE years before making any decisions about how we will tackle the issues of air pollution and climate change. The consultation process has been happening for 3 years now, one might think that would be sufficient to get some preliminary strategies on the table. One might also think that waiting 5 years isn't exactly what you think might be appropriate in a global crisis. They did set a goal for carbon emissions. Unfortunately, the deadline for that goal is 2050. Are they serious? I'm not using a figure of speech here, I actually want to know whether or not they are making a joke. I feel like Stevie is up in his office with his cronies laughing about this stuff. Like- "ok, ok, what if we just tell with them we'll deal with it in 45 years, you think they'll buy that?"

At least they are talking about it. Whatever happens, it's good to have a debate. There are some good things in the act if it ever comes to fruition.

Last night I went to go see a presentation/documentary by this couple from Vancouver that circumnavigated the globe using only human powered machines. The documentary is called Beyond the Horizon.
Click and check out the link. It's a pretty amazing story. The dude pretty much did it just to see if he could. He had been on a few expeditions, and no one had ever done this one before. They are trying to put it to good use now to encourage people to bike around for transportation a bit more. You know, it's sort of hard to complain about biking in the rain when this guy actually cycled across Siberia with all of his gear.

the dread pirate pattison

Vizzini- No more rhyming now, I mean it!
Fezzik- Anybody want a peanut?
-The Princess Bride

We went to see a Queen's Players show last night downtown. Players is a show traditionally put on once a semester at Queen's that involves lots of singing, drinking and dancing. They have played some alumni shows in Toronto, but this was the first time there has been a Players style show in Vancouver. The show itself was funny, and the singing quite good, but the crowd was pretty lame. We were expecting lots of other alumni, but it turned out to mostly be friends and family of the people in the show, most of whom aren't associated with Queen's at all. We tried to get things started to get the crowd into it, but we were largely unsuccessful. At a Player's show, it is entirely normal, and in fact expected to dance on your chair, sing at the top of your lungs, give drinks to the people on stage and then heckle them if they don't drink it fast enough, talk during the show and even get up on stage and join in if required (last night was my first time on stage). Needless to say, the 60 year old parents that were sitting next to us didn't really get into it. They also probably didn't get many of the jokes involving popular sexual innuendo. The show was a fusion of The Apprentice and The Princess Bride. One of the characters was Fezzik, played by Andre the Giant in the movie. It made me remember that he made a lot of dumb rhymes in the movie. Trevor is always making dumb rhymes for no good reason so I think he has just found himself a new nickname.

It was fun to relive the good old days, but as is to be expected, wasn't really the same.

Here's a photo from last weekend at Tiffany and Darren's reception. That's Tiffany, Aaron and Kurt, pretty excited about repeatedly saying "Booooookooooooo".

yogi hunters

I fell out of my stream of self consciousness, and I've got welts on my mind to signify all my accomplishments
-Atmosphere

I'm finally getting somewhere with stretching. I have been chronically inflexible for all of my adult life. I imagine that I put one of my toes in my mouth when I was a baby and it's been downhill since then.

I've been having back pain for the last year or so and have been trying to stretch to help deal with whatever is wrong in that deep mess of muscles, discs, vertebrae and nerves.

My goal is to touch my toes. I have had this goal in the past, but any previous attempts have been arrested by a tingling sensation in my calves that I figured to be a result of the muscle lengthening faster than the nerves. This time I just kept stretching and it went away. Who knew? Anyhow, it feels great to be a bit more flexible, but, considering we are in the musculoskeletal section of school, I am wondering- why are tall people so much less flexible than short people? You would think that longer muscles might have a greater capacity to stretch, but I don't know many people over 6 feet that can touch their toes, unless they are training themselves.

I'm interested in getting into yoga, but am scared of the fees. And the lululemon and fitting into stereotypes, but mostly the cost. The kits.life.style doesnt't come cheap.

in places, empty spaces

Beauty is a short-lived tyranny
-Socrates

I'm home now for thanksgiving to an empty house. Mom and Dad are at Fairmont Hot Springs Resort with their friends Hammy and Mel and I'm back in Castlegar for Tiffany and Darren's wedding reception. Tiff and Darren are two good friends of mine from highschool who got marreid this summer in Portugal and are now having a party for all of us here.

I'm working on my own computer at the computer desk in the study and the screen saver of my parent's computer is on the photo album mode. It's a mix of nice family photos from the past couple of years and construction pictures. You go from a shot of the sun rising over ruins in Guatemala to insulation being installed in the basement, or a shot of a kitchen sink in a show home. My parents are building a new house in Castlegar, and are pretty into the whole thing right now. They recently sold the house I'm in now and a rushing to complete the new one, as the sale is effective as of December 1st.

It's a beautiful day here in the West Kootenays, making me wish I was out in the woods, but we still don't have a gift yet and need to do some shopping and card making this afternoon. Hopefully tomorrow we will be in good enough shape to get into the woods. It's hard to imagine nicer weather to be outside. Warm sun, crisp air and colourful leaves. Jordan and I realized that we haven't been home during this time of year since we were in highschool.

I went to the Bodyworlds3 exhibit at Scienceworld this last thursday. It was pretty stunning, but definitely weird. Not necessarily because the exhibit is open to the public, but because the poses of the cadavers are so dramatic. It would take me a long time to describe everything, but they dissect and plastinate full cadavers in interesting ways, and them pose them in the middle of some athletic or artistic pose. Like a man walking, holding up his platinated skin in one arm, seemily pondering the nature of the body's coverings. Some people describe it as a "freak-show", but it's hard to deny the educational aspect of it, and the artistry of dissections. Anyhow, if you have the chance, and aren't morally opposed, I would recommend it.

old friends, new faces

you don't need double talk, you need Bob Loblaw
- Scott Baio, Arrested Development

Ran into my old next door neighbour from 1st Ave today on my ride home. I was waiting at a traffic light, listening to this woman describe an accident to a police officer. Halfway through her description, she looked at me and said "are you Kyle Merritt?", and then told me to hold on. So I waited while she finished with the cop, still not really sure who she was until she took off her sunglasses. Anyhow, we talked about the time I got hit in the face with a baseball bat, she introduced me to her husband, I rode home. It must be at least 10 years since I saw her last.

I had a similar experience in the summer at a bar, where I ran into this guy I knew in residence in first year. It was especially weird, because there is this guy in my class now who shares a number of characteristics with him and I guess my memory of my friend from 1st year had melded into my new friend from medicine. One is named Danny Bay, the other Danny French. They are both from the east, both did a degree in engineering, are approximately the same height and build, and even have a similar sense of humour. It's weird. Anyhow, I always find it hard, when you run into someone like that. I always feel like it is such a coincidence, that something should come of it. Inevitably there is a quick catch up on the main details of life and you part ways, sometimes exchanging numbers, but most of the time both realizing that the chance encounter will be it. I don't know why I suppose that it should happen any other way.

walking through water

I celebrated Thanksgiving in an old fashioned way. I invited everyone in my neighbourhood to my house, we had an enormous feast, and then I killed them and took their land
-Jon Stewart

Trevor is just heading to bed. On friday, he gave me a horse chestnut for some reason I haven't figured out yet. Today, I found myself underneath a horsechestnut tree while playing a round of frisbee-golf and picked up a cargo-pocketful of chestnuts that I have hidden under his pillow. Just waiting for the reaction.

I've played frisbee golf a few times since I've lived in Vancouver and I have to say, I don't like it that much. Cortney is quite good at it, owns a little bag with an assortment of golf discs and is usually the impetus for me to play. Actually, he is always the impetus for me to play. It was nice to get outside today, cause I was studying, and it may have been the best day for weather all year. Clear, crisp autumn air with some nice warm sunshine. Autumn just smells good, even in the city. I have the same problems with frisbee golf as I do with regular golf...mostly getting frustrated at the object not going where I wanted to propel it. I've realized I'm just not good at making shots. Darts, curling, baseball, pool. Any game that focuses on isolated opportunities to hit/throw something- not my game.

I found myself wishing we could be playing real frisbee, with nice big discs that float and are easy to catch. Especially when I hooked a drive left, the disc bounced off the road and into a white corolla with an elderlly asian man inside. He got out, I apologized and felt relieved when I saw no marks on his car. I'm not sure if he understood anything I said, but I sure didn't understand anything he said. Anyhow, I stood there for about 5 minutes while he inspected his car but eventually had to go. The frisbee must've made such a loud noise when it hit that we was sure there was damage, because about 10 minutes after I left, he was still hunched over, inspecting every inch of his car.

Still no reaction from Trevor, but I'm tired, and can't wait any longer. Lise and Trish made a turkey dinner tonight. One week from Thanksgiving. I'm not exactly sure why, but it was really good.