slack inline

The guy at the other stage kept saying f*&% the wind, but I'm thinking, maybe we should just make peace with it.
-Michael Franti

I'm back from Sasquatch and in Vancouver for the week before heading to the cabin on monday. Exams ended and everything went fine as far as I can tell. It was great to get out of town and have a fun weekend full of music to celebrate the end of school for this year. The Gorge is a stunning venue and I hadn't realized how isolated it is, all alone in the middle of the desert. I haven't been to alot of festivals, but in general, I'm learning that you have to get used to not seeing all the bands, not being in the right spot in the crowd and delays due to weather. Favourite performances included Neko Case, Ozomatli, Arcade Fire, & Michael Franti and Spearhead.

I'm planning on spending some quality hamaca time this morning and then down to wreck beach hopefully to try out some skimboarding. I tried slacklining yesterday with some of Steph's friends and am now thinking about setting up my own system. It's pretty much tightrope walking, just it's a flat strap and it's not that tight.

My sister Katelyn has been in Burkina Faso for a couple weeks now I think. Check out her blog. My other sister Tory is just finishing teaching in Moldova and going on a little tour with some friends in Eastern Europe. She doesn't have a blog.

Anyhow, this might be my last post for a while, as it's motorcycle course this weekend and then to the lake. Happy June.

benign familial macrocephaly

Whatever, I don't really know
Flows like an immaculate goat.... what up....whatever
-Man I Used To Be, k-os

Oh goodness, exams go on. Trevor is thinking about medical school so I've been talking to him about my application days (oh my youth!) and even dug out my MED SCHOOL APPLICATIONS 2004 folder. Read through my rejection letters and what not and tried to recapture my youthful optimism. Actually I remembered that I was never that youthful, or optimistic...but you know, it's exams and I'm getting knowledge fatigue and it was good to remember how bad I wanted to be here.

Comments from my 1st (unsuccessful) UBC interview attempt:

- spoke well, direct, succinct
- confident, down to earth
- comfortable with panel
- very brief and non-descriptive answers
- did not listen to question

So I think my problem is that I get really anxious, but I'm good at not showing it. We just had our clinical exams (OSCE's) a week ago and I was quite nervous. These exams involve actors portraying patients that you have to evaluate, and physicians marking your performance. I do things to try and control it, but I always tend to get pretty worked up and forget simple things (like on one station I forgot that blood pressure was considered a vital sign). Anyhow, I think if I ACTED like how I was feeling, the examiner might think- 'hey this guy's nervous and forgot a few things, whatever', rather than 'wow, med students really are dumb nowadays'

I'm not really worried that I failed the exam, it's just embarrassing.

soap box?

the world owes us nothing
we owe eachother the world
-ani difranco

It's great that the environment has become such a hot topic in the media. I'm not sure how well it has stimulated actual conversations on the topic, but to some degree, people are more aware of certain issues. I think it's wonderful that it is becoming more visible on the political scene, but with the media coverage comes the buzz words.

Going Green
Carbon Footprint
Intensity Emissions
and worst of all....

The Environment

Apparently this word didn't even exist (in the sense that we use it now, to describe where we live), until the 60's. I'm pretty sure it was with Rachel Carson and Silent Spring and all that. But seriously, people talk about it now like it's "an important issue in the next election". Reporters ask questions about what you are prepared to give up to "help the environment". Everyone gets all high and mighty, talking about what they will do to help this poor, helpless thing, the environment.

It's not altruistic to take measures to not destroy the place that you live. Starship Earth sounds ridiciulous but it's a great analogy. This is where we live. You aren't making sacrifices in your quality of life in order to benefit some abstract concept of "The Environment", you are trying not to mess up the place that you live so much that you won't be able to live there anymore. I guess it's difficult to wrap your head around the complexity of the interconnections between the weather, the plants and the animals (including us), but it's not that hard to understand the general concept- it's a delicate balance. I don't pat myself on the back for not dumping my garbage on my neighbour's lawn, or not peeing all over my house. I do these things to protect my environment. Yeah, sometimes it's hard. I have to go pee and I'm upstairs. It would be easy to just go in Sarah's room, I could just close my door and I wouldn't even smell it. But I don't, because I'm an eco warrior.

Environmentalism isn't altruistic and it isn't idealistic. Well, it's altruistic in the same way it is to feed your kids and not set your friend's house on fire. We aren't "taking small steps to help the environment. It is a more practical and selfish endeavour than anything else. All the "Environmental Actions" I take are for ME.

toast tada

Prime numbers are what is left when you have taken all the patterns away. I think prime numbers are like life. They are very logical but you could never work out the rules, even if you spent all your time thinking about them.

-The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time, Mark Haddon

I often have issues liking things that are really popular. It's okay if they WERE really popular, but if it's a current craze, I will often have nothing to do with it. Por ejemplo, I have not read any Harry Potter novels, but love the Lord of the Rings. I'll admit it's the same with alot of the music I listen to, probably if some of the small bands I listen to got really popular I would lose interest in them, or at least I would not have gotten interested in them in the first place. I guess I am reacting to the feeling of being forcefed Top40 Hits! and The Oprah's book club, but sometimes I think I take it too far. Like I read the first part of The Curious Incident a few days ago, and it is REALLY funny, and insightful too. I just hadn't been interested in reading it because everyone told me I should.

My birthday was awesome. I had a great day and people really took wonderful care of me. I think that's why I love birthdays the most, I mean, presents can be nice, but I really enjoy the little things, like somone making lunch for you. I also wanted to send a shout out to everyone who sent me messages. Facebook really does change birthdays though. For those of you who aren't familar with this social networking program, (if those people still exist, apparently 100, 000 people sign up daily), it alerts people to the fact that it's your birthday, so you end up getting like 50 birthday messages, which is fun, but eventually just kind of weird. Before this technology, only the person who cared enough about you to either memorize your birthday or write it down could wish you a happy birthday. Now the guy I met in Australia for 3 weeks, 7 years ago sends me birthday tidings. What's wrong with this? I'm really not sure, except that it makes you feel unnaturally popular.

huey lewis is the news

The earth laughs in flowers
-e.e. cummings

If you've never been to Vancouver in the springtime, you should try it.

I just had to refill my stapler and realized that I have more than 25 000 staples in reserve. I must've been confused by exactly how many staples come in one of those little boxes cause I bought some bulk package at, well, Staples. They really pack them in there. So, if you run out, let me know, I will mail you a few thousand.

I discovered some friend's blogs recently and realized that unless you keep up with someone's page, just visiting doesn't give you much information as to what they're up to. Maybe we haven't talked in a while, maybe we have and you think you should remember what I'm up to because you asked once and then never paid attention to the answer. Now you can know without having to ask. This is what's up with me.

I live with two friends in Vacouver- Trevor and Sarah. My girlfriend/partner/sigoth Courtney and I are planning on moving into the condo my parents bought as soon as it's finished (supposed to be sept, more likely jan) I'm just finishing up my 2nd year of medical school at UBC. Two more weeks of school now. I'm kind of excited, seeing as this marks the end of sitting in class for me. My life still has lots of learning and stressful exams on the horizon, but no more sitting through histology lectures and theoretical cases. Woo Hoo.

Exams are done at the end of May and a posse of us are heading down to the Gorge for the Sasquatch Music Festival. I'll be back in Vancouver for a week to get some stuff in order and then be heading to Christina Lake for at least of couple of weeks in June. If you want to come visit, I'd be happy to have you over any time.

It looks like I will be in Ontario for the end of Juneish, for my Uncle Don's retirement . It will only be for a week or so, but if you live in southwestern ontario (especially the GTA), let me know, maybe we can hang out.

At the end of June, I'll fly back and start my mototour of BC. I am at rural family practice rotation for all of July, in Fraser Lake, BC (just west of Prince George), and I'm going to motorcyle/take the ferry up there. I was at my motorcycle training course all weekend and things are on track for that. I think my dad will be coming with me for most of the trip, which should be fun.

I will spend most of August back in Vancouver probably, except for the LWI. September brings the start of our clinical clerkship, which means we spend the majority of our time on the wards, wearing short white coats and looking stupid. From there on in, there are no more summer vacations, hence the schedule you just read about.