samurais playing baseball

Geographical Cure: The post-modern notion that, with the convenience of air travel, a quick jump into an new environment will prove a mental tonic
-Douglas Coupland

I'm having one of those days when you keep getting confused as to what day of the week it is. Today (weds), keeps acting like friday and it's messing with my mood. Kurt was here last night and we went out for sushi at TOMOKAZU! followed by a few beers and hockey watching. He's currently on a plane flying to the lovely little country of New Zealand. My parents are in Guatemala. Courtney and others from my class are in California at a conference. This doesn't have much to do with my day of the week confusion, but everything to do with trying to get you to feel sorry for me. Is it working?

I got my marks back and they are not as good as usual, but still just fine. I think maybe the coasting my life sci degree has afforded me is running out. Regardless, this means I don't have to change my school strategy. I'm loathe to try and switch things up now, seeing as how this is my last term ever of real schooly school.

alien willis

Blessed (is) the meek(s), for (he) will inherit the earth
Matthew 5:5

My friend and old housemate Mark "Meekus Milk" Medley had a list of Arch Nemeses and Foes on his door when we lived at 3 Aberdeen. I think maybe he started it when he lived in Vic Hall. At any rate, it started off as a list of people and evolved to include groups of people (ie. girls who hug the teacher), objects (I can't remember one) and events (Kyle and Adam's "Midnight" snacks). I actually think that last one was followed by a threat of violence (midnight is in quotes because the snacks were often much later). Eventually Milk started letting us write our own if we felt the need. At any rate, I'm mentioning this because if I still lived with Meeks, I would add a new item to the list- Crumbly Muffins. The problem with muffins is that they trick you into thinking they are a portable and delicious treat. While they might be delicious, they are less than portable. One (improperly packaged) muffin just exploded in my backpack today and I'm now finding sticky crumbs inbetween my notes package. yum.

I bought the Settlers of Catan this weekend, a board game introduced to me by my cousins- Sheesh and Jeffy. I used to go to their place on thursday nights, have dinner and play a round of Catan. Although I think I may have only won once, I had lots of fun playing. I was putting off buying it, hoping to make some Catan playing friends and keep my loose and carefree Catan lifestyle going, but Jordan suggested playing a game on Saturday night, and when we went to Drexoll Games, I caved and bought a board. I remember when Jeffy bought their board he had to order it in from Germany or something, but since that time it has become quite popular and was no trouble to find. Anyhow, Jordan, Sarah and I played twice on Saturday night- good times.

Here's a pic of Milk and my other housemate Paula in our living room at our Wanksta Party.

small sunshine

Silver foxes looking for romance
In the chain smoke Kansas flashdance ass pants

-Beck, Hotwax

I fell on my longboard yesterday. My usual rule is to never board unless the streets are totally dry. This rule was written to prevent water from seeping into my bearings, rusting them up and increasing my coefficient of friction. I decided that a little dampness on the pavement wouldn't really get into my wheels and I should therefore not be sucha stickler. Well, while I was focusing on the effects of water on the "bad" friction inside my bearings, I didn't really consider the "good" friction between my urethane wheels and the pavement, or the water that had frozen to ice. Luckily I was wearing quite a few layers of clothing (an inherent safety mechanism associated with the increased danger of ice) and was only mildly damaged as my board drifted out from under me during a heel side carve. Some people actually ride really hard wheels and plan on this sliding motion during turns. Other people use special "freeboard" trucks that have a swivel wheel in the middle to allow the board to slide horizontal to the direction of travel, allowing for more snowboard like carving. I have tried neither of these things so was quite surprised and ended up on my ass.

Here is a video about freeboarding. I'm going to try and put it right into the blog. OK, well I couldn't find it on YouTube, I think the company that invented it controls it now. You can find the video here. Otherwise, I found a video that DOES want to be embedded. Enjoy the little superstar. I lose it everytime the does that little marilyn monrose pose.

gears

Dr. Stein: Your fingers have been perfectly reattached. Go ahead and take a look.
Gob Bluth: ....my index finger and my middle finger have been...
Dr. Stein: Reversed! For the first time ever!
Resident (high fiving Dr. Stein): Good one Frank!

-Arrested Development, Sword of Destiny

I got some kind of flu on wednesday afternoon. It took care of itself pretty quickly, but I'm still having abdominal pain. I've been bothered by my abdomen for the past year or so, mostly in the morning when a dull pain wakes me up. The details are pretty boring, but I finally made an appointment with one of my old preceptors, a family doctor that works at 10th and Granville. I've found going to the doctor to be a difficult experience since I've been in medical school. I feel like the doctors I've seen think that I have "medical student syndrome". I also find it harder to take advice. I'm not sure if it's a good idea or a bad idea to see a doctor that you've worked with before. It might be nice to go see someone who you dono't know, but it seemed weird to me to pick a doctor at random. This guy is caring and thorough and he takes everyone seriously. Also, his office is on the bike route, on the way to VGH.

zen lecture etiquette

Death does not concern us because as long as we exist, death is not here.
When it does come, we no longer exist.
-Epicurus

My classmate and biking guru Danny informed me that today is statistically the most depressing day of the year. I'm not sure how that sort of statistic is arrived at, but I wouldn't be surprised.

I'd like to be blogging more, I would say it's a lack of time but I'm finding it more difficult to find the subject material.

Spent the weekend taking it easy for the most part and trying not to hemorrhage money at such a rapid pace. Worked a shift at the clinic on the downtown eastside that I "volunteer" at. Really it's just like family practice placement but the patients are more interesting. I think that if I wanted to practice family medicine in an urban centre I would like to do something like that part time. It seems more challenging in some regards, but I usually find both the personalities and the pathology really interesting whenever I do any addictions/hiv/dtes work. Our DPAS (Doctor, Patient and Society) lecture this afternoon was on health disparities and focused on northern and remote health issues. The lecture failed to enlighten the class on the subject but it did give me an opportunity to daydream about the summer when we get to go on a 4-week family practice rotation to a rural community. I've played with the idea of trying to get placed in Grand Forks and just live at the cabin, but it looks like I will have plenty of time afterwards to spend at the lake. Also, we get a travel subsidy and I want to use it to go somewhere I've never been....hopefully as far north as possible.

you ain't never had a friend like me

Buy me a shiny new machine
That runs on lives and gasoline
And all those batteries we stole from smoke alarms
-Reconstruction Site, The Weakerthans

I'm slowly coming to realize how you have to be careful quoting song lyrics out of context. I usually find myself singing along with this line when it plays, yet looking at it now, it has lost something.

It's been a busy last 5 days, but mostly with fun things.

Jay arrived later than expected on wednesday night and Sarah and I retrieved him from the airport. I packed up on thursday morning, went to anatomy in the afternoon and hung out with Jay, Sarah and Courtney for dinner. Jordan was on a trip drinking Jack Daniels and singing karaoke with Japanese business men. If this makes you think of Lost in Translation, you're not alone. Also, I heard the other day that Scarlett Johansson is supposed to be dating Justin Timberlake. I think JT is a good guy, but I felt like S. Jo was, I don't know, sophisticated or something. I guess she is probably an actress who sometimes plays sophisticated characters.

Anyhow, Jordan went to Japan for a couple of days on a business trip. He works for a company that makes windows and doors, which I guess are probably pretty decent. Jay, Sarah and I went to the Kingshead, met up with some of his friends from Nashville and we had an enjoyable time. My sleep deprived friday morning was not as enjoyable. I made it through with a little less knowledge than I would've liked, but relatively unscathed.

I went on what is probably my last class trip ever to Apex (near Penticton) on friday after class. The weather was cold and especially windy, but the snow was the light, fluffy "champagne" powder advertised on the brochure. The groomed runs were fast and we found some softer stuff from time to time in the corners of the mountain. The theme of the weekend is "Retro 80's, and I wore my white and neon one piece again this year and again found it to be the most comfortable thing I've worn skiing/snowboarding. I'm actually thinking I might wear it on a regular basis. When coming off the mountain for the last time, a waitress from the bar offered me $15 for it. Although someone pointed out that this would be a %100 return on my investment, I couldn't part with my fluorescnet marshmallow jumpsuit. The helmet I bought was comfy and pretty warm. I also felt a bit safer flying down the groomers.

In brief, despite of a lack of fresh snow and an excess of nosebleed producing dry heat in our room, it was a well spent weekend.

jack bauer

If you want, you can send him a letter

just remember- Santa Claus likes rich kids better
-Santa Claus Likes Rich Kids Better, Young And Sexy

Well, the Paramount downtown has fooled us twice. Jordan and I planned to go see Casino Royale tonight at 7:20pm. We figured showing up 30 minutes in advance would give us enough time to find parking, get ourselves a ticket and still allow us a few minutes to anticipate the movie we have been talking about seeing for over a month. Unfortunately, despite our time buffer and it being a Sunday night, the show was sold out. Thanks for nothing Paramount, you are quickly becoming the pinnacle of sucking at letting us see your movies.

It has been a successful weekend overall at achieving its goal of not achieving much. Went out for all-you-can eat sushi with Jordan, Aaron, Jieppe and Courtney on Friday night at Tomokazu (pronounced TOMOKAZU!). The service was zippy and they only kicked us out 1/2 hour before the 2 hour time limit- all in all a wonderful experience. Saturday we went to Costco downtown, which was kind of weird, but a good idea I think. I mean, having a Costco downtown so people don't have to drive to the suburbs. I stopped off at Pacific Boarder on the way home and got a helmet. It was crazy busy and I wasn't able to try on all the helmets I wanted, but I found a good one I think- the R.E.D. Frequency. We watched Jordan's DVD "The Wall" and played Euchre on Saturday night.

Today I really haven't done anything. Well, Sarah bought some supplies and we mounted all of our head shot photos. I think it's going to look cool when it's all done. If you haven't already, come by and be immortalized on our wall (at least until we move out).

Here's a picture of Katelyn from the break.

nipploid

Marvin regarded it with cold loathing whilst his logic circuits chattered with disgust and tinkered with the concept of directing physical violence towards it.
- Douglas Adams, The Hitch-Hikers Guide To The Galaxy

When I was probably about 8 years old I decided if I could pick a name for myself instead of Kyle, I would pick "Marvin". I remember actually liking my name, but thought I should be prepared for the possibility that I might be asked to replace it. I'm glad that never happened. It's funny that I picked a name with an "r" in it, considering I couldn't pronounce that letter until speech therapy started at least a year later.

The return of school has received mixed reviews by me, although mostly poor. We're doing dermatology now, and even though it is quite well taught, I can't honestly say I'm enjoying it. Not alot of death and dying comparitively, but certainly no lack of graphic pictures depicting uncomfortable and nasty looking afflictions. I've been finding it a bit difficult maintaining a cheery disposition after staring at slide after slide of pathology all day. We'll be on to the wonders of neuroanatomy soon enough. I think my poor brain still thinks its on vacation and is not happy about being subjected to the gobs of info I'm trying to stuff into it already.

Jeffy took Courtney and I out for dinner on tuesday which was great. I am still enjoying the charity of the most recently made man in my extended family.

Plans for the weekend include going to costco and sweeping the house. Hopefully I'll get lots of reading done (academic and otherwise). I'm almost done hitch-hikers and hope to dig into an f. scott fitzgerald book i borrowed.

demicentury

Rolled into Nazareth
Feeling 'bout half-past dead
Just need some place, where I can lay my head
Hey Mister! could you tell me, where a man might find a bed?
He just grinned, shook my hand, "No" was all he said
-The Weight, The Band

A new year and a new font. These are exciting times.

Happy New Year everyone! I had a fun time last night having a little party in Lise's parent's basement but I think next year I am ready to upgrade to an adult party. You know, one where you dress up a little, make appetizers and play board games. Actually, my dream for New Year's for the past couple of years has been to hike/ski into my cabin and have a little weekend retreat from the world. It has been hard to convince anyone this would be a good idea and as I own small parts of 140 cars, but not even close to a whole one by myself, it's hard to take myself on little adventures like that.

My break was great. My parents are building a new house that isn't quite finished yet, so we lived at our out-of-town family friend's house (The Waltons), which was a bit like camping, but nice and cozy. I managed to get up to the hill twice and cross country skiing up by the new house once. The weather was absolutely amazing, gobs of snow interspersed with rays of sunshine. Great to see the family, especially Tory who has been out east since last year.

Top Ten best new/rediscovered albums of 2006 (in no paticular order)

1. It's Never Been Like That- Phoenix
2. Stadium Arcadium -Red Hot Chili Peppers
3. He Poos Clouds- Final Fantasy
4. How We Operate- Gomez
5. Moondance- Van Morrison
6. Twin Cinema- The New Pornographers
7. Big Calm- Morcheeba
8. Reconstruction Site- Weakerthans
9. The Dusty Foot Philosopher- K'Nann
10. Billy Breathes- Phish

I said I would post this link for all y'all that haven't gotten your special gift yet this year. It's another SNL Digital Short.

Here's a shot of the old man from the break.