Last Wednesday, when Brent was on his way to Sydney, Janice and Nick offered to keep me company for the evening so that the time would go by a little faster! We all went to a “Careers in Medicine talk" for a few hours and then out for some Mexican food. We also decided to go see a movie (“Sicko”) at about 9pm- which seemed like a good idea at the time, but it meant I only had about 3-4 hours of sleep before picking up Brent at the airport! 
Brent arrived on Thursday morning at 6am and his Lifesaving friend, Alphabet, offered to bring me to the airport and pick up Brent. Brent actually got through customs pretty fast, so we didn't wait long at all. It was very exciting to see him HERE! We went out for breakfast and then had a little nap (I was the one who needed it!). In the afternoon I showed Brent around campus and brought him to the grocery store. We had cheese and crackers for dinner that night since we were both too tired to eat much more! 
On Friday we took the ferry over to Manly. The weather was pretty awful, but I had planned the little trip a while ago, so we went anyway. When we got to Manly we ended up finding some REALLY great deals on some used surf boards- so we each got one!
We ended up surfing at Manly both Friday and Saturday!! We only had 1mL wetsuits (from home) which ended up being a little too thin, but we still stayed out for at least an hour each time. The waves were HUGE, but it was really fun and really good exercise (for me at least)! 
On Saturday afternoon we walked around Newtown and then went out for dinner with a group of my friends. That night I took Brent to the Med Revue play that we have been working on for months. It actually turned out pretty well and had some really funny skits in it. I also dragged Brent to the after party so that he could meet a bunch of my friends here. We were up really late that night and I was so surprised that Brent even stayed awake after falling asleep at 9pm the two nights before!
On Sunday we slept in really late and then headed out to Ikea to get some more things for my little studio. After only 3 days of eating our meals on the floor or the bed, we decided that we should probably get a small table. Alphabet also offered to pick us up at Ikea so we didn’t have to bring all our purchases back on the train with us!Monday was the first day of my hematology block at the hospital. It was a very full day, but Brent and I both got lots done. I left for the hospital before 7am and Brent got up with me, walked me across campus (to where I catch my ride) and then he went for run! At the hospital I saw two patients in the hematology ward- one lady in her 40’s with an autoimmune type of anemia and one man in his 60’s who had prostate cancer which had just spread to his bones :(. We also had a long hospital session on needlestick injuries and disposal of sharps and then a really long PBL session in the evening. I really like my new PBL group, but it is a much different format because we have a hematologist as out tutor! The doctor we have is actually the head of hematology in Western Sydney, which is exciting, but also slightly intimidating. I did find out that his cousin is working at McGill’s Dentistry School- which was quite a coincidence!
Luckily that night I got a ride home from the hospital and got home just before 8pm. Brent was home and had made a HUGE, nice dinner for me! Chicken (made in the toaster oven), rice (in our new rice cooker) and steamed broccoli and carrots! Plus he made a big FRESH fruit salad for desert. It was the best dinner I’ve had since I’ve been in Australia… and he made it without having a kitchen! He he he.
Tuesday I had lectures at the hospital from 8am till noon (which made for an early morning), but at least I was finished early too. Brent got up with me again and went for another run in the morning. I was home by about 1:30pm and Brent made us some really GREAT sandwiches for lunch. At 2pm it was about 27 degress outside so we decided to hop on a bus (with Janice too) and go to Bondi Beach for the afternoon. :) It was Brent’s first time there and I was so excited to go since it is my favourite beach here. Unfortunately, in all the excitement, I managed to forget my bathing suit!! Brent still went in the water for a little bit of body surfing, but apparently the water was freezing… so we’ll have to go back with our wetsuits another time. On our way home we stopped at the grocery store and made another really yummy meal for dinner! After dinner we went to a bar down the street (where there was a Unimed party happening) so that I could introduce Brent to my friend, Buck, who is the head of Unimed and who also JUST got a job with New South Wales Ambulance. Buck starts his training on Monday and offered to take Brent through the driving test before his interview in a few weeks! :)Today I have the day off, so we slept in and cleaned our little room in the morning. We also played badminton for a while in the afternoon, which was really fun! Badminton is really not very popular here so it was VERY easy to get a court here on campus… and it was only about a 5 minute walk from where we live! Tonight I am going to try to get some work done and Brent is going to relax and maybe plan something fun for the weekend!
Hope everyone is doing well at home! Miss you guys lots!
I’ve finally finished all the props and costumes that I was assigned to make for our Med Revue! I made a giant cartoon cow and a LOT of grass and flowers out of bristol board and cardboard. Janice and I have also been spending a lot of time hunting for costumes. The best ones we found were for 4 boys dressed as the Chinese National Women’s Swim Team. He he he. The Med Revue is running next Wednesday to Saturday- so I’ve decided to get tickets for Saturday to give Brent a few days to get over his jetlag before subjecting him to it! 
There was a cast and crew party for everyone involved in the Med Revue last Saturday- so Janice and I decided to go for a while.(This is a picture of all of the med revue people in our main lecture theatre.)
It was pretty fun and I finally witnessed the infamous Australian ‘spinning goonbag game’ that I’d heard so much about! They clip a giant bag of awful red wine (the goonbag) onto a circular clothes line… and then they spin the clothes line around and whoever it stops at has to drink as much as they can from the bag. It was very funny to watch, but I kinda felt like I was in high school again. He he he. It’s definitely a game that the beach lifeguards would like to play (if we had goonbags or circular clothing lines in Canada).
On Monday I got home from the hospital early, so I decided to go a yoga class on campus with one of the girls in med 1 (who also lives on my floor). I really liked it, but it was pretty expensive, so I’m not sure how often I’ll be going. Most days it is warm enough to be swimming outside again- so I’ll probably just spend some more time at the pool instead.
Hematology block is coming up next. I’m not particularly excited for that block either, but mostly because we have to be at the hospital EVERY day for 5 weeks straight. I don’t mind being at the hospital, but the 4 hours of commuting each day is going to kill me.
Monday and Tuesday, Brent and Juliann raced at the Ontario Provincial surf lifesaving championships which were actually held at Woodbine beach in Toronto (for the first time ever)!! It was very convenient for them and they both did really well! :) Brent won all 3 of his races- the surfski, the paddleboard and the international ironguard!! Jules did really well too! She came 5th in the 90m beach sprints, 8th in the 2km run and 2nd in a bunch of relays! I haven’t heard how beach flags went for Jules yet, but I’m sure she did well!! Between Jules and Brent, I think they scored points in just about all the events there! :)
Well, I better get back to my work! I have lots to get done before this time next week!
Things have been pretty busy here lately. I’ve been working hard trying to get lots of studying done, but unfortunately had a very unproductive weekend because of my ‘Medic One’ course with UniMed. The course ran all day Saturday and all day Sunday, so I didn’t really have time for ANYTHING else. The course itself was kind of useless for me since I was teaching most of the same stuff to the beach lifeguards for the last 3 years… but I needed to have my qualifications transferred over to Australian standards, so there was no way around it. Although, there are a few things that the Australians do differently- which was good to know (for example- if someone is choking, they hit them on the back instead of doing the Heimlich maneuver… so weird! Apparently the Americans have started doing that as well... but that's no surprise, cause we already knew that they were weird! he he he). The course was also a good way to meet people. There were about 8 people from my med class there as well- and I got to know the ones I hadn’t met already… so that made it worthwhile. Oh and I also talked to one of the paramedics who was teaching us… and he told me that he would be very surprised if Brent didn’t get the job here! So that’s great news too! :)
In the afternoon we had a tutorial on airway management. It was mostly on nasopharyngeal and oropharyngeal airways, but we also learned to intubate patients (unofficially). It was pretty neat and we got to practice lots on our anatomically correct manikins. Some of the boys in the group also offered to have nasopharyngeal airways put up their noses. I really didn’t like watching that- especially because they made themselves tear up and bleed! I wouldn’t use that airway on anyone unless they were being a real jerk. 
We also had a radiology session in the evening- which was useful… but I was so sleepy and sitting in a dark room looking at chest x-rays over and over again didn’t help. 
Oh, I also forgot to write about last Monday’s patients too. There wasn’t much exciting to report- except for a pneumonia patient that we saw in the ER. The only thing that was really exciting about the patient (and his wife) was that they were from Vancouver! They were over in Australia for a 3 week holiday and were planning to go home the next day (until the husband got too sick to travel). They ended up asking us (me and Canadian Nick) more questions than we asked them!
It sounds like things have been busy at home too! Brent’s last shift was very eventful (and I’m sure some of you will have heard about it already). He had a stabbing at Pape and Dundas. The boy was only 15 years old and was stabbed right in the middle of the chest. He was conscious when Brent got there, but apparently had a cardiac tamponade (which is fluid – probably blood – that fills up the pericardial sac surrounding your heart). It does not have a good prognosis, but the boy got sent into surgery right away, so hopefully he will be ok. The media found out about it somehow and were all waiting at St. Mike’s emergency when Brent got there with the boy. I still haven’t heard if he lived or not. Brent’s last 4 shifts (before Australia) are all at the Marine Unit, so chances are he won’t have any more good work stories for me until October! :) 
There has been a lot going on at the beach lately as well! There was a suicide at the rocks off Woodbine 8 a few weeks ago and the man had shot himself in the head. He apparently still had a pulse when the paramedics arrived, but obviously didn’t live. I also heard that they had 9 pull-outs last Sunday alone! I guess they are earning their $$ this year. 
Well I think that’s all that’s new for now… My next two weeks are going to be really busy, so I’m not sure I’ll have a chance to write again for a while.
I took this picture for you, Betty! :)
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 :) !!
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! :)
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.
