Tuesday was my first day at the hospital this year. All of my clinical days are on Tuesdays now- which I think I like a bit better than Mondays. As always- I really like my hospital days once I am there- but getting there is such a pain. 2 hours each way on the transit…plus now the fare has gone up to $14 return. I also seem to manage to get tons of blisters no matter what shoes I wear! Last week my heels were bleeding when I got home. Luckily, I don’t have to go there everyday. A few of my Canadian friends have bought cars this year, but unfortunately they don’t live close to me :(.
Luckily, the hospital was pretty interesting this week. I spent a lot of time talking with a man who was a tetraplegic (aka. quadriplegic). He had been ‘play fighting’ with his brother, fell backwards, hit his chin on the edge of a table and snapped his neck at C5. Seven years later, he has a whole slew of health problems (related to the injury mostly), his wife left him and his kids don’t talk to him anymore. He was in the hospital getting a giant pressure sore on his gluteus maximus treated (which takes about 3 months to heal). Needless to say, it was a very sad story- and I ended up talking to him for almost an hour.
Anyway, for the next 10 weeks, we will be studying neuroscience, vision and behavior. I think that it’s going to be very interesting, but also pretty challenging. We just finished our spinal cord injury problem (which was VERY interesting) and now we are moving on to epilepsy, hydrocephalus and spina bifida (all in this next week).
I have also recently joined a study group (which I NEVER thought I’d do). But, it actually seems like it might be a good idea. The people I joined are very studious and organized so it forces me to stay on top of things. I have also decided to apply for the honours program here- and do an honours project as part of my degree. I have found a supervisor, but right now I am working on my proposal so that I can get the project approved. I’ll write more about it when that happens!
My apartment is looking a little better these days. I’ve been trying to keep it as clean as I possibly can to avoid bugs- and it’s been working pretty well so far. I’m also pretty much set up without having to buy anything- except for a pot and a pan. Unfortunately, my fridge has been broken for over a week now and even though I bother reception about it everyday, they haven’t done anything about it yet.
Back to a single bed... :(
I have a few friends who are coming by (from Canada) to visit in the next few weeks. Jeremy, Tyler and Mike Landell (who all worked at the beach with me) are traveling in the South Pacific right now and are planning to be in Sydney sometime in the next month. I’m sure it will be nice to see them.
I am also VERY happy and excited that Dad and Norma have booked tickets to come to Australia for a visit in May. :) After Bali, I have 15 weeks straight with no break- so I’m glad that I’ll have something to look forward to during that time.This weekend has been really nice so far. Sunny and high 20’s all weekend- so I’ve been spending a lot of my time reading outside.
Happy Birthday to Mom also! (She’s in Oman right now, so hopefully she has a good birthday there!)
Talk to you soon!
Sorry I don’t have any pictures from this past week- but my camera is in my checked luggage which is still MIA.
I did have a really great last few weeks at home though- which made it a lot harder to leave. The surprise party for Dad was a success… even though it wasn’t a total surprise (since I’m sure he knew that I wasn’t going to see ‘Rambo’ with him for the fun of it). Tons of people came and I think Dad had an especially good time. He he he. ;) Jamie also discovered that his ‘drunk mannerisms’ are genetic. :) 
During the last few weeks, Brent and I also spent a few more days in Collingwood, went to the Scandinavian spa again, visited Betty and Floyd, and spent a lot of time looking at possible wedding venues for next January. We also had a lot of nice dinners before I left, but it was sad to have to say goodbye to everyone. 
This past weekend was a pretty busy one- so luckily I didn’t have much time to think about having to leave. On Saturday, Mom managed to get Jules, Matt, Brent and me some tickets for the Leafs vs. Detroit game at the ACC. We were all sporting our brand new MOORE jerseys too- which was pretty fun.
Also, Brent got recruited to be in the ‘game-show’ in between the second and third periods. He didn’t win (the trip to Tampa Bay to see the Leafs play) but we both got to go down to the glass for about 20 minutes before he went on the ice. It was pretty exciting!
After the game we met Mark and Steve down in the players lounge and waited for Dom to get changed. It was good to see them all.
That night we had dinner at Mom’s house with Rob and Cindy and saw lots of Rob’s Africa pictures. They were amazing.
Christmas was busier than ever this year. I think that Brent and I had about two and a half weeks of straight Christmas and/or Birthday dinners. Mom’s Christmas party was nice- but a little smaller than usual, especially because of the giant snowstorm that hit Toronto that weekend (December 15-16). Nana, Nono, Terry and Madeline had to take a bus to Toronto to make it! … It seemed like a lot of trouble for all of them, but I was sure happy to see them all. :) Rob, Cindy, John and a few friends also came!
The next day we had to go to Etobicoke for a birthday party for Brent at his aunt’s house. All our cars were totally stuck, so Brent’s sister had to come and pick us up in a truck.
(This picture is taken on the Gardiner Expressway in Toronto on Sunday, December 16.)
On Monday we had the McLeod Christmas at Brent’s sister’s downtown condo. Brent and I went there early and we all had a nice swim (in a salt water pool) and spent some time in the hot tubs in the building. After that we had a really nice dinner and exchanged presents. It was another nice night!
We also went skiing at Blue Mountain with Heather and spent one evening at the Scandinavian Spa in Collingwood. The Spa was so nice! We got free massages (cause of Brent’s insurance) and spent a lot of time in the steam rooms, saunas, outdoor hot tubs and “cold baths”. It was amazing.
The night we got back to the city was Brent’s birthday dinner and party with his friends. Sixteen of us went for dinner at the Golden Thai downtown and then a bunch more people met us at a bar called Laide (which we JUST found out is apparently a swingers bar!!) he he he… ooops. I guess that’s what happens when you try to plan things from Australia. Luckily none of use had any clue at the time, and I think everyone had fun. :)
The next week was a bit of a blur- Jules, George and I drove up to Ottawa for the weekend and visited with Granny, Grandpa, and Adele’s family.
We met Dad, Norma and Jamie there and then drove to Barrie the next day for Betty’s Christmas party. Amazing food, presents and puppies- as usual!
On Christmas Eve, Norma took Jules, George and me for our annual breakfast and pedicures downtown. In the evening we had a nice Christmas dinner at Dad’s house and exchanged presents there. This was also Brent’s actual 30th birthday, but he was working nights so we didn’t have much time together at home. Instead, I headed down to the marine unit after our Christmas Eve family dinner and had a birthday dinner with Brent.
On Christmas we didn’t even leave the house. We had 2 Christmas meals with Mom and played A LOT of foosball.
On boxing day Brent and I headed up to Thornhill to visit Anna, Jack and Steve. It was great to see them especially because it had been over a year since our last visit. We had a nice little breakfast with them and then headed up towards North Bay to visit with Brent’s family for a few days.
We stayed with Brent’s Aunt Joanne in their beautiful house overlooking Lake Nipissing and had lots of nice meals at Brent’s grandparents’ place and his Aunt Claudette’s. We also went skating in Powassan and played some outdoor ‘boot’ hockey with his cousins. It was all fun except that I was pretty sick and my head felt like it was going to explode for most of the time. I stayed in bed for 2 days when we got home.
On our way home from Collingwood, Brent and I stopped to visit Amelia and Kirsty at Amelia’s family farm. We had a nice dinner there and then headed home. 
Jamie, Jules and George had to all go back to school/work the next day and I was sad to see them all go. :( I’m hoping they’ll come visit me in Australia tho. He he he
(This was at the 'Polar Bear Dip/Paddleboard' at the beach in Toronto on January 12th. Those two-Boder and Jon Berrie- jumped in Lake Ontario without wetsuits right after this picture was taken!)
I spent 2 nights with the beach people and met up with one of my old swimming friends, Jen Brankovsky, who is now in Med school in the Czech Republic. 
The last exciting thing that has happened lately (to cheer us up) is that Dom was just picked up by the Toronto Maple Leafs!!! This past Tuesday was his first game at home and I was lucky enough to get a ticket to the game! :) It was so exciting and I was so happy to be there. Brent also came along and bought a ticket from a scalper since he’s a REAL leaf fan and was really excited to see Dom as a Leaf too! After the game I was able to catch up with Dom and Mark for a bit, which was also nice since I missed them both at Christmas time.
Brent and I just got home from a nice weekend in Montreal visiting Jamie. We had a great time, but I’m not sure that Montreal is the most appealing place to be at this time of year anymore. He he he.
As usual I ended up writing way more than I was planning, so hopefully someone manages to get through it all. :) Happy New Year to everyone! Take care and talk soon. 