July 8: I wanted to get a pic of the amusing soap dispensers in the bathrooms, and figured I'd just be in the pic, too.

The soap dispenser is all happy (and for some reason is a ghost) and bright and colorful so that children will want to use it (it is at a Children's Hospital, after all).

Pardon me looking doofy. As usual. :P

Curious... what is everyone's favorite soap smell?

For some reason, I'm partial to the liquid soap that's in the bathroom stalls on Air Canada flights. LOL I know... I think it's something tropical, but it smells so good.



Ending the night with ice cream and a glass of wine? Awesome.

Although somehow it's going to be past 11 by the time I get to bed - again! BOO.

July 7: These chicken/rooster/fowl plushies brought back memories! I was cleaning out old boxes from the move and figuring out what could be donated, and I found these guys (there's another yellow one, but he wouldn't stand).

They're years old. We won them at a little town fair when we crossed the border near Cornwall, ON, to Lake Placid (or near there), NY. We went with our family friend, Jude, and really had a good time. They brought back fond memories!


Also random from cleaning... does anyone on my FL collect Beanie Babies (or know someone who does)? I found a robin (Early the robin) and two little ones (possibly from McD's - Claude the Crab and Chip the cat) that are still in great shape with their tags (unbent, surprisingly!). I have pics if required. I just don't think they'd sell on ebay, so if someone wants them, all you have to do is cover shipping. If no one wants them, they're going to the second hand store this weekend.

I actually had trouble choosing which picture to use today! haha

And now, off to bed, because I'm tired and deserve 6+ hrs of sleep. Long day tomorrow (8 patients).

July 5: This was an event going on next to the farmer's market in Old Strathcona. I'm not sure what they were there for; their sign said "Knights of the Northern Realm". Girls were wandering around in costume dresses and guys in armour, and they had some booths set up selling things like spells, candles, chainmail, and decorative swords.

These guys were fighting, which surprised me. The weapons were not foam, and they seemed somewhat serious about it, though no one got hurt.

According to their website, it was their annual tournament.
www.knightsofthenorth.ca/Welcome.html They focus on 14th century fighting (mostly, it seems) and garb.

Their FAQ has an amusing (possible) typo:

1) Are you the SCA (Society for Creative Anarchism)?
No. We occasionally hire performers that are members of the SCA for our feasts.

July 4: Took the streetcar from downtown Edmonton to the farmer's market in Old Strathcona. It was pretty fun; we got to go over the Highlevel bridge, which apparently is the highest streetcar bridge in the world. And we went through the only CP rail tunnel in Alberta.

This pic is from the station at Old Strathcona. It's way closer than I wanted; the streetcar really snuck up on me faster than I expected.

The streetcar is actually from Melbourne, Australia. It's one of two that left the country. The line and the cars are managed by a volunteer railway association, and they talk about little historical tidbits on the ride (only about 15 mins or less, as it's only 3 km).

Read more about it at this website: http://www.edmonton-radial-railway.ab.ca/

July 3: This is a shot through mom's back door. I wanted to get the outside light as I thought the fixture was pretty neat. I couldn't frame it quite how I wanted, things just didn't line up. But whatever, it's a photo and I needed one. Even if I did take it a week ago and just use it now. It was a busy day!






Totally unrelated highlights of the day: speaking to two patients, dictating my first letter, having a good drive home, appetizers with mom and being super full, and a phone call from Andy, who I haven't seen since Japan! We made plans to meet up on the 12th, so I'm super excited. :)

July 2: According to the box, this is "Famous Omani Halwa". One of the people in the office just came back from visiting her home and brought it back. I thought I'd be adventurous and try some. It said "sweet" on the box, and I've eaten far worse, I'm sure.

It's quite flavorful. I can only describe it as "interesting". The flavors don't blend together for one taste, they kind of cycle through the ingredients and leave an interesting aftertaste. It's fairly rich, in a way; I couldn't eat a lot at once. Probably an acquired taste.

It contains: starch, eggs, sugar, water, ghee, saffron, cardamom, nuts and rose water.

A website with more info about Omani Halwa.

I also took a pic of the box; maybe I'll upload it later.

This lovely and huge rainbow greeted us when we left the theatre after seeing Transformers 2. It was huge! I don't think the photo shows it all, but it was actually 2-3 "rainbows" wide, repeating, with the fattest on the top (the outer edge). When driving home, I saw a little bit of a second rainbow starting, but turns out I could only see it with my sunglasses on. I think it's because they do something with the light.

Anyway, very cool rainbow, and I haven't seen one in ages. Too bad there was no pot of gold at the end or anything. I could have used it to pay tuition. XD This photo makes it look like the end is a gas station. XD

Sorry for the ugly parking lot. That's just where I was.

It's bright and cheery, and I can see the mountains in the distance from this floor. That makes me happy. It's a brand new hospital, too; only 3 in September, I heard. Very nice facilities.

Anyway, this is where I spend my days when I'm at rotation. Being in a new hospital is a treat! I'm lucky that everyone is lovely, too.

Tomorrow, lunch out and Transformers. I wanted to wear a skirt, but I heard it's only supposed to be 18C. Ugh. So I probably won't, because I'd freeze in the theatre or something.

I really need to post something else, but meh. All you get is a photo. And perhaps a small bit of babble if you're lucky.

June 29: Not very original, but here's my phone. Motorola something or other; it was actually in The Departed (haha). I have had good experience with Motorola phones. And my thing of putting charms on my phone continued after I returned from Japan. The CC Lemon bottle (not surprisingly, a fizzy lemon flavored drink) is from Japan (the liquid in it actually moves - there's bubbles - and I had no idea it did that until I got stopped once at security when flying); the black and white cat is from a Summer Festival at the Japanese Canadian Culture Center in Toronto, and the purple girly drop thing was from a gashopon cupcake from a cupcake shop in Denver, CO (which was awesome). Lots of memories from that one; it reminds me of Lolorado and awesome peeps.

Keitai is "cell phone" in Japanese. I still usually think of "keitai" first when I think of cell phones. And it's been 3 years since I've been in Japan. Lame~~

Trying out the new range for the first time. We thought we burned the pizza, but we didn't. The soups are still thawing or whatever; they take way longer to be ready.

The buttons make cute little noises and it sounds like a video game.


Very late today to post in the blog, but the flickr was updated hours ago, it feels like.

Time for bed, I'm exhausted.

The C-Train near where I'm staying. It makes turning left a pain in the arse. I sat there for like 5 minutes, because I missed my light, then had to wait for two trains, then the other direction to go. That's how I had time for this photo (I had my camera out, because I wasn't sure what I'd be taking a picture of).

And yeah, it's through the windshield. Deal.


I gotta say, I'm getting totally spoiled here. Coming home to dinner made, getting leftovers in my lunches, and having yummy smokies with fries and beans and being told to grab a drink (meaning alcoholic) from the fridge and chillin' while eating outside on the deck with my hosts.

Tomorrow is Friday! Then I get to go home and run errands all weekend and work at home, too. I don't know when I'm going to get all this stuff done!

Time to work on the LOI and prep for cases tomorrow. Started watching Season 2 of Dexter. I don't like Lila. But I still find Dex amusing!

• Sat in on another positive result for a cancer syndrome. Different one - breast cancer - and the person took it very well. I think there's a difference between having FAP and a risk for breast cancer. I'd rather have the BRCA risk, personally.
  
• Worked on more pedigrees with Progeny.
  
• Prepped a bit for tomorrow's patients. I am nervous! I still have to talk to myself to review.
  
• Someone had brought in Timbits and chocolate bars, so I had some as a snack.
  
• Ate lunch outside, which was nice!
  
• Security was on lunch from 12-3:15 (you read that right) - and they closed at 3:30. So I didn't get a chance to have them make my badge open doors.
  
• Was asked to prep more charts for next week. This is kinda feeling like work study at the same time, but it's good practice and I have to be there anyway!
  
• Called another clinic to see if we could get a copy of their pedigree. I was nervous, but did well enough. So here's hoping they have a pedigree to send!
  
• Awesome lightning storm as I left the hospital. I missed Alberta lightning storms! Huge raindrops. It was really cool.