I have some great news!! After several applications and appeals, Brent’s exclusion period was finally (temporarily) waived so that he can come to Australia for a job interview in September!
Since April, Brent has been working on his application for New South Wales Ambulance Service (since we thought that might be a good way to get him here!). After a long process (similar to applying to Medical school, actually) and making sure all his qualifications were recognized in Australia, he was asked to visit Sydney to continue on with the application process (interviews, aptitude tests, driving tests, physical tests and a medical assessment). So, we recently applied for a short stay business visa to see if they would consider letting him in for the interviews … and obviously the application was successful this time :) !!
This means that Brent will here in September (or earlier) for 2-6 weeks depending on what the visa allows. Once he gets the job, he’ll be eligible to apply for a 4-year sponsored visa which will allow him to work here until I finish school!
So, needless to say, we are both very happy right now!
As far as school goes, I’m in my respiratory block right now- so our cases of the week have been Pneumothorax, Asthma, and this week, Asbestosis and Restrictive Lung Diseases. I can’t say that I’m terribly crazy about this block so far, but I guess it will still be useful information if I’m going to be a GP! He he he. Plus, we are finally learning to use are stethoscopes properly, which is probably something pretty important.
Today I spent the day downtown with Janice looking for props for our MED REVUE which is coming up soon! Each year, the first year med students put on a big play/production (that is called the MED REVUE). It runs for 4 nights at the end of August and it raises money for a charity of our choice. Probably about a third of the people in my class are involved in some way or another. I didn’t want to act or write, so I decided to join the set design, costumes and props teams. It has turned out to be a lot more work than I thought it would be- but it can be pretty fun and I’ve met some new people- so I guess it has been worth it so far!
I also have a lot of little school projects that are due in early September, so I’m going to try to get them all done before Brent gets here! One of the projects is a group poster project dealing with ‘Health and Climate Change’. My group decided on Dengue Fever- and I agreed to make the poster if they did the research! Here’s what I’ve done so far- but I’ll put another picture up when it is done.
I wasn’t really expecting to do things like this in med school- but I don’t mind cause it is a nice change. PLUS, at the end of the semester the posters are voted on and the top 3 get cash prizes! Cross your fingers! :)
Not much else to tell you right now. Hope everyone is doing well at home… ! :) Miss you!
Since April, Brent has been working on his application for New South Wales Ambulance Service (since we thought that might be a good way to get him here!). After a long process (similar to applying to Medical school, actually) and making sure all his qualifications were recognized in Australia, he was asked to visit Sydney to continue on with the application process (interviews, aptitude tests, driving tests, physical tests and a medical assessment). So, we recently applied for a short stay business visa to see if they would consider letting him in for the interviews … and obviously the application was successful this time :) !!This means that Brent will here in September (or earlier) for 2-6 weeks depending on what the visa allows. Once he gets the job, he’ll be eligible to apply for a 4-year sponsored visa which will allow him to work here until I finish school!
So, needless to say, we are both very happy right now!
As far as school goes, I’m in my respiratory block right now- so our cases of the week have been Pneumothorax, Asthma, and this week, Asbestosis and Restrictive Lung Diseases. I can’t say that I’m terribly crazy about this block so far, but I guess it will still be useful information if I’m going to be a GP! He he he. Plus, we are finally learning to use are stethoscopes properly, which is probably something pretty important.
Today I spent the day downtown with Janice looking for props for our MED REVUE which is coming up soon! Each year, the first year med students put on a big play/production (that is called the MED REVUE). It runs for 4 nights at the end of August and it raises money for a charity of our choice. Probably about a third of the people in my class are involved in some way or another. I didn’t want to act or write, so I decided to join the set design, costumes and props teams. It has turned out to be a lot more work than I thought it would be- but it can be pretty fun and I’ve met some new people- so I guess it has been worth it so far!
I also have a lot of little school projects that are due in early September, so I’m going to try to get them all done before Brent gets here! One of the projects is a group poster project dealing with ‘Health and Climate Change’. My group decided on Dengue Fever- and I agreed to make the poster if they did the research! Here’s what I’ve done so far- but I’ll put another picture up when it is done.
I wasn’t really expecting to do things like this in med school- but I don’t mind cause it is a nice change. PLUS, at the end of the semester the posters are voted on and the top 3 get cash prizes! Cross your fingers! :)Not much else to tell you right now. Hope everyone is doing well at home… ! :) Miss you!
Here’s what I’ve been up to these past few weeks! … (I am writing this on Sunday after having traveled for 24 hours and not having slept yet… so I’m sorry if some of it doesn’t make sense! My writing may not be at its best… he he he)
In the early afternoon, Brent and I headed up to Mom’s cottage. We had a nice couple of days visiting with Mom, Nana and Nono. Mom made us all a couple of dinners which were really amazing.
On Monday, Brent’s parents, Harry and Pauline, came down to visit us from Sudbury. We had a nice lunch that Mom made for us and then went out for a little sail. 
The rest of the time we spent windsurfing, kayaking, having outdoor showers, and playing checkers. He he he. My time there is a bit of a blur (I think cause I was so jetlagged). 
On Tuesday Brent and I headed up towards North Bay and Mom took Nana and Nono back to Toronto so that they could catch a bus back to Windsor (in time for Nono to have his afternoon swim!).
Brent and I stopped in Powassan on our way up north so that we could visit his grandparents (who are REALLY cute) and grab some groceries.
Brent’s family cottage is on a big Island near North Bay and takes about 15 minutes to get to by boat after leaving the mainland. 
It was beautiful and we ended up having the whole island to ourselves for the 2.5 days that we were there. We went swimming and fishing (Brent caught a BIG fish and I caught none :( …)
and played LOTS of texas horseshoe. 
We picked blueberries and walked across the island to a nice little swimming hole which was just perfect.
We made 2 really nice dinners, drank wine and sat out on the dock after dark looking at all the stars. 
The weather was nice apart from a few sunshowers and we had a great and relaxing time there! 
On Thursday we left around 2pm and headed to Montreal. The drive didn’t feel that long even though it took us over 6 hours… (After my 24 hour trips to Sydney and back alone, having someone to travel with makes any trip feel nice and short!)… We didn’t get into Montreal till past 8pm after I managed to get us lost on the island!! I don’t know how it happened since I’ve driven there tons of times without ANY problems. I must have been tired! But, Brent was great and he got us back on track and to our hotel near Jamie’s place in no time J.) 
It was pretty late when we got settled and showered and everything, so we decided to just go grab some pub food at Pistol (closeby) and have an early night. As we were finishing dinner, Jamie, Max and a few of their friends walked into the bar (by total coincidence), so we ended up staying a lot later and had some drinks with them.
On Friday, Brent and I went to Boccacino’s for brunch and then headed to McGill Campus and St. Catherine’s to wander around. I took Brent to my favourite store (Simons) and he got a really nice jacket and a belt and bought me a necklace! :)
After dinner, we headed over to Molson Stadium to see my friend, Tristan, play football (he plays for Saskatchewan) against the Alouettes. 
Robert came with us too, but left early because it started raining about halfway through the game. We got pretty wet from all the rain, but it was worth it cause the Roughriders won and Tristan played well and even got an interception!
After the game, Tristan (and his girlfriend, Lisa), Brent and I headed over to St. Denis to see Jamie’s band play! 
It was a nice venue, but pretty big for the number of people who were there. Apparently the band who had organized the show didn’t really know what they were doing… but I thought it was great cause we got front row seats and a perfect view!
I’ve decided that if (or when?) they make it big, I’m going to quit med school and become their manager. He he he. 
Saturday was spent almost entirely in the car. Uncle Rob was up at Mom’s cottage for the long weekend, so we decided to go back there to have dinner with him, Mom and Richard (also so Jamie could talk to Rob about some music stuff). On our way up there, we stopped in Innisfil to see Betty and Floyd and the new puppies!
They were so cute. We also got to see Lokey (the giant 190lb dog that I love!). 
Betty and Floyd are doing well and it was great to see them!
It was really nice and Dad seemed really happy :). In the afternoon we all headed out to aunt Julie’s house for the big Canada Day party.
I hadn’t been to that party in many years and it was much bigger than what I remembered. Julie was a great host and it was so good to see everyone. Granny and Grandpa are still going strong and are turning 88 and 90 this September. 
That night, Brent and I walked down to the beach to watch the Canada Day fireworks at Ashbridges Bay.
Tuesday was our big trip to Canada’s Wonderland. Eleven of us went (Jamie, Jules, George, Brent, Chris Radford, Jessica, McCoy, Jon Berrie, Sarah Allen, Jeremy and me).
It was a lot of fun and a really good way to catch up with everyone. Jamie had to leave early to catch a train back to Montreal at 6pm, but the rest of us stayed till about 7pm and got in a LOT of rides!
Wednesday was another busy day. Brent and I got up early and headed out to Etobicoke so I could meet his little cousin Adelaide (and do my pediatric project) on her. She’s a great little girl and the whole thing only took about 30 minutes (since Brent and his cousin had done a lot of it for me!) :).
On our way back into the city, we had a quick visit with Erin (Brent’s sister) and Chris (her boyfriend). Erin made me a really funny picture collage of Brent making weird faces… he he he. It was pretty big, but I managed to fit it in my suitcase to bring back here with me :) !
After the visit, we made a quick stop at Richard’s office to pick up my newly fixed ring (YAY!) and then headed up to the Granite Club where we had a badminton game planned with Juliann and Georgia.
It was a really fun time, but despite our best efforts, we couldn’t quite beat them! (BTW girlies—we want a rematch in December.) 
After the game, Brent and I headed home and got ready for the surprise that Brent had planned for me! We got dressed up and went for Sushi at a place along Queen called Japango (where we had our first date).
Then we headed downtown and got to go see the musical called “We Will Rock You” done by Queen. It was REALLY great and I was so so excited to see it! 
When we got home, we walked over to Quigley’s and had some nachos and beers which was also really fun! :) 
What a great day!
In the afternoon we headed downtown and had a late lunch at Brownstones on Yonge St. Rob was coming over for dinner, so we didn’t want to eat too much. Mom and Richard made a really nice dinner for all of us that night and we had another nice visit with Rob and Cindy.
