dreaming over the ocean

So, about once a year (or so), i am ambitious enough to write a newsletter. Here is the 2009 version! hope you enjoy!

I snuck the camera, and got a shot with the tree :) My Uncle (Mum's younger brother) and I. One of the centre pieces at our dinner table... my aunt sure knows how to make it beautiful! Apparently, there have been about 3 million of these pairs of Vancouver 2010 mittens sold. There were 4 that turned up in the Patterson household this Christmas. My cousin, Nicole, and I The Christmas tree, with all the presents gone.

Hi All... in the mode of the season, I thought that i would put a bit more effort into my post today. A little video for you. enjoy!

I think that is exactly what christmas is supposed to be about. I am currently in Mississauga, ON. which, is a every present western suburb of Toronto. If you are reading, and you are Canadian, you know that going to Toronto for christmas is not necessarily what everyone wants to do. I have even had a sympathetic "oh. i'm sorry." statement. THat is... unless, of course, you are *from* toronto. Then, it is the only place you want to be! ohhhh, the irony of being Canadian, and your opinion about Toronto. But, to me, right now, it is pretty much P.E.R.F.E.C.T. this is the first time in years that I have spent christmas with family. And, this is a family of which I have not maybe *Ever* spent christmas with. And, can they do christmas. I am sitting beside a wonderfully smelling, decorated tree, and, downstairs my cousin is wrapping presents in the kitchen (i am already done!), and my aunt is baking cookings, and cooking meals for tomorrow. It is such a relief to ...

so, I would just like to make a comment... remember how a few days ago, i was missing my Teen Missions Team kids? well, still kinda at that point. and, i just watched a video of two of them... here it is. it just shows you how awesome, and hilarious, they are. boys will be boys!

about so many things... about the things that have happened this past week. about poverty. about what i like about triathlon. about christmas events and the current advent season and the feeling in the air... Earlier this week, I had the unfortunate occurrence of having my wallet, apartment keys and cell phone stolen out of my pocket. Even more unfortunate, it was at a place where things are meant to be safe. A place where people should be able to relax, and not be worried about things going missing, or whatnot. and, this is the second time that something of mine has been stolen at church. and, it is quite ironic. but, i choose to go to churches that have outreaches to individuals who are of lower income, individuals who may be homeless, individuals who live in poverty. photo courtesy and, i have been dealing with poverty on a number of different levels recently, but, this incident got me thinking about a few things.... not as much of the *Causes* of poverty, but what effects pove...

believe you me. I am ready to split from this town for a few days. This week has been unbelievably unbeliveable. Let's just say that irony has shown its ugly head, and I was not happy about it. At any rate, I look forward to leaving on *friday* plan is: go to syracuse on friday. see my friend from college, Daniel Van Vliet, and his wife nicole, and their son who I have never met. hop a bus on saturday to Rochester. go see my coach! then: get my fat pinched, and my run video recorded, and my swim looked at, and my bike speed tested. and, a "meet the team" run on sunday morning. then: monday bus to toronto. and bask in family love! woo! all of that makes me excited just to think about! :) and.... i got my garmin back in the mail today. yesssssss! Heart rate monitoring, you and i are back in the game! so, things are okay today. but, just okay. and, i am okay with okay. because it is a lot better than really *hitty. which have been the way things have been in th...

went out last night with the nursing girls, and this was just as we were leaving. i thought it was the *only* good photo of me in the whole night.

So, I am working on something right now for the kids that I went to Haiti with. For some reason, I have been missing them a lot recently. Taking this saturday to relax, to work out, and to catch up on things that I have been putting off during exams. It is a beautiful sunny, snowy, and *cold* day out there. but, one of those days that you just feel happy to wake up too. It is amazing, because I remember when I had returned from my first trips with Teen Missions interational to Africa, and how long it took for me not to think of those trips from a day-to-day basis. How hard it was to adjust to life back in "the real world." And, so, I wonder how they are doing right now. When I look at the photos of these teenagers, I just know how some of them are going to really continue to excel in the future. I know that for some of them, it is going to be a struggle. I know that all of them are going to continue to face the challenges that arise in being a teenager these days. and...

so! it went wayyyyy better than thought it was going to be. and, i find that very ironic. but, GREAT! so.... it just started the day well. and, to end the day, i got to watch the olympic flame relay. but... since it is late, and i have to wake up early... i will post on it tomorrow. but, it was so neat! :)

so, my classmates decided to stay up late and study. I decided to sleep. I would rather be rested, and do poorly, than be tired and do poorly ;) it just makes dealing with the stress *that* much easier. I just had a reminder while i was getting dressed about what I am doing here, and how I am meant to be doing what I am doing. and, two quotes that i have posted by two inspiring pictures of female triathletes came into my head. Because my God is a big God, I will think big with confidence, knowing that MY THOUGHTS CAN NEVER BE BIGGER THAN MY GOD. God did not call me to a life of failure, but to a life of SUCCESS. this being so, I CANNOT FAIL as long as I do his will, allowing him to work in me and through me, motivating my very thought. i like to think that god has got.my.back. on this. so, i have a new outlook than i did last night. it is a wonder what a sleep and a workout can do. :) will post after the exam.

so, every once and a while, I post a "hilarity of life" tag. today is one of those days. it started snowing in the early morning today. probably at about 6 or 7am. I write my physiology exam this afternoon, at 2 pm, and my pharmacology exam tomorrow morning at 9am. So, after my 8hours sleep last night, and good breakfast (ps... i *gotta* ween myself off bowls of quinoa for breakfast. as delicious as it is, i think it needs to be a treat, not a habit. sigh....) of quinoa, a banana, yogurt and coffee, i made the trek to school. and, any reasonable person would have taken the public transit. but, not i. i decided to walk. and, i find it hilarious that i put on the same clothes that I would wear out on a weekend winter hiking trip on the west coast, in order to go to school. so, this is why they call canada "The great white north." at one point in my life, i remember the wonder that came with the snowfall. maybe i have become jaded with my living in somewhat temper...

I *love* post secrets. today on sunday secrets, frank posted a video. this is the link to it. it takes about 5 minutes, so take the time to watch! it is amazing. really interesting to see people, rather than just the postcards. very very touching. PostSecret: Confessions on Life, Death and God from Frank Warren on Vimeo .

so, I have my finals on wednesday and thursday. Physiology on the afternoon of wednesday, and pharmacology on the morning of thursday. it seems so close, and so far away.. all i know, is that I will be burrowing my nose into my books, and into my notes for the next couple days. One of my classmates and i have come up with a good solution to "Studying" together. via skype. we just sit studying, and when a question comes up, we internet chat about it. pretty good solution, but, am tied to my computer right now, and that is annoying. I ran a santa shuffle this morning. My first 5-km "test." My tri (life?!?!) coach will use this as a marker for my progress. And, my shuffle was a bit quicker than a shuffle, which i was happy about. I was a little concerned that since all I have done in the last 4 weeks is bike and swim, that my running legs would be questionable. especially that ankle. but, needless to say... it was pretty darn good. The weather was nice (about ...

yesterday, I had my end of term review with my clinical instructor at school. And, it is amazing, because despite the fact that I have enjoyed clinical, I am r.e.a.l.l.y h.a.p.p.y. to be done with geriatrics. If you read a few days ago, you know that some of my experiences have been less than ideal. we learnt about what our placements for Ped's and Post-Natal will be next semester. And, let's say that "nothing is set in stone," but, with the declaration that this area is going to be the clinic that I am working in absolutely thrills me. i was able to ask the clinical coordinator after class: "so. well. a TB clinic. does that mean.... well, that it will involve a lot of immigrants and people in lower socio-economic groups....? since, well, you know, that is where TB exists?" [thinking....please say yes!] and, her response was, "yes. of course. you like that, eh? I thought you might." (and she said that the placements were random. ha ha...

can I say, that i am excited for the upcoming week!? and, i don't know why i am still awake? tomorrow, U2 tickets go on sale. at noon. that equals nerve racking. i hope hope hope i can get a ticket!!!! eeeeee. I so remember this whole thing in senior year, when I bought 6 tickets while sitting in the library with zach and i at computers and refreshing, refreshing, refreshing. exciting training week ahead... after about a month of doing a lot of "brick laying" and no running, we are starting to mix it up a bit more. some functional strength, and adding in running again. Yay! perhaps, a 5km running race on saturday?! hopefully. we will see how the running goes on the ankle. but, santa shuffle?! here i come! (hopefully). today I wrote a somewhat strange facebook message to someone. I hope i get a response. cause it would be pretty dang funny. last week of classes. that means less stress for time related items, and increasing doom of exam period. phew... tell ...

so, you know the neat thing about being a student, is the stages of the semester that you go though, and knowing that everyone is right along there beside you. I have one more week of classes, no more papers, and two final exams on the 9th and 10th. So, it is definitely a feeling of relief. I arrived here in Montreal, with not many expectations, but knowing that I am here to do a program that I firmly believe in. I totally believe that I am 100% in the right place, and that I am doing what I want to be doing for the rest of my life. And, that, is such an amazing feeling. I am taking on nursing, at a skill level that is a little intimidating. I am in a direct-entry master's program. What that means, is that we are doing nursing at a graduate level, but none of us are already nurses. We come from science backgrounds. Anthropology. Film and photography. psychology. a huge diversity of people from different places and different experiences. and, we all want to be nurses. so,...

Sunday was an exceptionally long day of paper writing. I have 3 short papers (about4-6 pages each) to write to finish up my clinical semester. I am trying to get them done early, so that they are not hanging on my neck for the remainder of this week, when I am starting to get ready for finals. I got one done, and was able to get a good handle on the two others. and the two are "reflective journals" so... they aren't so bad. yup, finals. they are just around the corner! Only 2 more weeks of classes, and that is shocking to me! this past week has been exceptionally busy, but filled with everywhere from the awful to the wonderful happenings. and, so, I present you with the highlights (holy moley this is a long post!): late night wanderings: last thursday night, we had a wonderful rowing dinner. Filled with videos, fancy people (have i mentioned that i love the fact that word for "fancy" in quebecois is "chic." for example: comment chic vas-tu se s...

(i know, on saturday, i said i was going to post on sunday. it is now monday. blame it on papers.) so, my best friend is now married. She is no longer "christina L." She is now Christina S. and, i don't know if her new last name has quite the same ring to it. but, it is her new last name! yay! so, i have a story that involves me and a dress and high heels and getting only 3 hours sleep last night before my day long "stage" at the hospital today. yup, i know. you are curious now. wait for tomorrow. Meanwhile, please enjoy the following video that I have put together for the rowing team that I coach!

so, today will start the second week of no running in my workout plans. ugh. just as i was getting into it! and, it is funny, 'cause when you drop one out of the 3 out of training~ it just seems so monotonous! I was talking to a friend last night, who is an RMT that specializes in swelling, inflammation, and lymphatic drainage. and, we were laughing 'cause i told her the whole ankle story, and declared "ugh, stupid ankle." to which she responded: "yes, im sure. it's the ankle that is stupid." gee, thanks Rach. ;) but, taking these weeks off will allow it to heal better. and, so will those anti-inflam's that i am on. I am actually starting to be able to see the shape of my ankle bones again! I know that cankles are cool (if queen elizabeth has them, why can't I have them!?) but, its nice to know that my single cankle is disappearing. the thing about rest... well, it just generally is good for allowing the body to heal. hopefully I will...

so, sometimes I like to think that I am not a morning person. sometimes i tell myself, and many other people, that I am a night owl. it is 5:24, and I have clinical today. But, I woke up early to do some school work. and, normally I wake up early to go coach a rowing team. Or, I wake up early to go exercise. I just can't seem to do things with as much focus in the evenings. maybe it is serotonin levels. maybe, it is because I like the mornings. I like that only a certain end of the population bell curve is awake. there is something calming about it. I am feeling a bit behind with work right now. So, a weekend of school work is planned. also time to start studying for finals. Every day, I get a quote in my email from outward bound. Today's was an aristotle quote. ANd, it is one that was graffiti'd on the bridge in Morgantown, and so we would row by it every day. I *love* it~ words to go by: we are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act, bu...

well, sore ankle. just one. Remember how I twisted it two weeks ago!? well, you know how it goes. You don't want to stop. So, you don't. And, then it turns around and bites you in the ass. Finally went to the Doc today at the sports medicine clinic. fortunently, my sprain (most likely) is only a second degree... 1st degree is what people do frequently. 3rd degree is surgical. Apparently, mine is somewhere in the middle of that, leaning towards the 3rd degree, but the Doc didn't seem to be wildly concerned. she just said: stop running! keep biking and swimming! and guess what!? my coach already told me that ;) so, here we are. Today, is the 14th birthday of one of my most favourite people in this world. I remember this day, 14 years ago, very very vividly. My life was changed with beautiful Makayla came into this world. My brother had his first daughter when I was 12. And, we have been close for a long time, and the only thing that I regret with her is that I cannot see her ...

wish i could be... part of that world... so, i have a new look. it is sunshiney, and it has a bike. but, it lost all my web connections, which i am slightly annoyed with. argh! if you know that I read your blog, please make a comment, so I can reconnect with you! so, it has seemed, that recently, a theme in my life has been one of surrender, freedom, and trust . a friend of mine, that i have not seen in a long time, but holds a special place in my heart reminded me of surrender, and it was definitely not a long way off of a conversation that I had recently with a different friend of mine... and, i know that in times of transition, those qualities are perhaps the most important things to remember... "make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love." yeah. good advice. today w...

wooo! I am figuring out how to effectively add things to youtube! yay! so, if you have 10 minutes, and want a video tour of maine, nova scotia, PEI, and the car we rented, feel free to enjoy the following: and, can we just talk about how much I am procrastinating right now!?!?

first off, I think that I am going to take off my RSS feed to facebook... I have too many people who have access to my profile, and if you want to read my blog, you should read my blog. So, all you facebook followers, cruise on over to my blog at dreamingovertheocean.blogspot.com. and, then bookmark it, if you are interested. I have been really frustrated with youtube in the last day and a half~ I have wanted to upload a hilarious video, and i can't. it keeps giving me error messages. I have no idea, and I am not techy like that, so I don't know how to fix it. But, as soon as I do, get ready to laugh. yesterday, when I was sitting on my bike, i made a funny realization. i have frequently made fun of Triathletes... the gear heads they are, the funny clothes they wear (can we say arm warmers with a sleeveless jersey!?), the ridiculous length races they do, the obscene time of day they wake up at, and, in general: the strange strange habits. Every since I participated in m...

and, in addition, i am learning to use my new toy... a little video for you today, from my east coast extravaganza. if you have 53 seconds to waste (and i know all of you do!) watch this! i find it quite hilarious. in fact... sujan and I are hilarious. and, i like to make people laugh. and, i think you. will. laugh . when. watching. this. video. i am trying to get the longer video up, but for now, this will have to do :) (ah ha... success....!)

so, here is a post about a little bit of everything. well, not really. all it is about is my life. so, if you are interested..... read on! read on! ha ha... okay, done with the ridiculousness. (well, okay, am i really *ever* done with the ridiculousness?!?! i think not) today, i went to get a new battery for my garmin . get the new battery put in, and guess what? it now works less than it did before. *crap* so, guess what is getting sent to garmin international on warranty? guess who doesnt have a HRM for a while... yup, that's me! remember how i rolled my ankle last week while running in the park? well... let's just say that the swelling hasn't gone down. *crap* can we talk about how much i love ice on my foot. well, i don't. but, ice+foot have been a common theme recently. i have recently been getting annoyed with having to carry about 10 million bags to school each day. i carry school stuff, work out stuff, lunch stuff, coffee stuff... you get the picture...

So, i don't really know if i quite call myself a rower anymore. but, every once and a while these days, I jump in a boat. So, this was at head of the fish regatta last weekend. Lots of fun, in a mixed boat of the four coaches from my team, and 4 of the rowers. 7 seat, how i love sitting in you. donna, how i miss having you sit in front of me... Club d'aviron Montreal | Mixed Collegiate Eight

so, I woke up at 4:45, with the intention of going to le bassin d'aviron, to coach this morning. this, to me, is normal. remember how I have said that something strange happens to me every day in Montreal. Well, it is 7:30, and I am sitting in a cafe, not at practice. My girls are probably just coming off the water now. first off, I missed my bus, by about 15 seconds* At that point, I though: "hmmmm, so this is how the day is going to go..." so, i speed walk 15 minutes down the hill, to get to the metro. get into the metro on time, and wait for it to start (if I ride it to practice in the morning, I have to get the first one.) We hear the electricity start up, and promptly in about 1 minute, there is an announcement: Le service de metro est introrumpter pour une temps indeterminer. The metro service is down for an undetermined amount of time. oh crap. so, I wait. and wait. and wait. 45 minutes- an hour later, i determine that there is no point in going to the ...