dreaming over the ocean

Well!  it finally seems like life, with all of its ups and downs is going to settle down a bit.  The last couple months have really been on "full go."  I have really realised though, how you think that like might be "slower..."  and it never really gets that way.  Sometimes, we have to make a concerted effort to do that.  but, these past couple months/weeks have NOT been slow, and that. is. okay.  However, I am looking forward to being able to say that I have a realm of routine again. sometimes I feel like having a routine can also be translated to  "boring."  I know that there might be some of my friends out there that ask what is the next big adventure that is planned for me... what am i training for, where am I travelling too?   well, lets just say... marriage and the adventure of growing roots somewhere.  That is the adventure I am on for the next little while.   and, it is official:  here is the pap...

Lessons learnt Clinical 1)     Lack of human resources plays a major role in care provision a.      RNs are stretched between care and administration roles b.      Students are not adequately supervised c.      Care is brief, with basic skills sometimes being missed (i.e. vital signs), or others done without thinking about why (i.e. medications) d.      Nurses are being called back after long locums, and this results in lack of skills 2)     Role of a nurse a.      Possibly still viewed as a “physicians assistant?” b.      Advanced clinical nurses are rare, and severely needed. c.      Quality interdisciplinary dialogue is lacking. d.      Spiritual care is culturally appropriate, and given more readily. 3)     Death is dealt with differently than in Western c...

In nursing, when we learning about assessing a client, there is one step which is entitled Inspection. Inspection includes just looking at the patient, determining their "State."  what do they look like? What is the level of conciousness?  Do they appear to be in distress?  Are they breathing with difficulty?  are they reaching out in pain?  are they appropriately answering questions?  etc.  So.  If you think your nurse is looking at you with "shifty" when you first meet her... well, she is.  but, they are only shifty, because they are "inspecting" your body.  (HA!   another  bad nursing joke just came into my head.... "I'm not checking you out... I'm just doing my inspection.") also included in this inspection, especially for psychiatric clients, is if they are appropriately dressed for the situation. I have had my last month of clinical rotation in the Emergency Dept at Royal Victoria hospital.  I have learnt a lo...

so, yesterday was NOT as it was expected to be. I guess, the weekend was not as it expected to be. yesterday, after I posted my post, i ran out the door (Late, as always on a sunday morn) to head to church. Walked around the corner, saw a man peeing in a corner. fan-fricken-tastic. is *this* how the day is going to go? it got better. got to church, and had a good start to the service. We have recently had a influx of people who are closer to my age, which is great. Considering, at my church , we have all of about 15 people who regularly attend. and, there is about 2 who are my age. anyway, i disgress. i often go to churches which are not your "run of the mill" church. so, this one fits well in my life. i find it also very "new testament." but, we also are a church which is kinda "on the fringe." on the fringe, meaning, well, we often have crazy people come into the service. and, when I say crazy, i mean crazy... like, often being treated...

So, i understand that i am a bit of a tom-boy. I always have been, and I'm okay with that. But, i am becoming more and more in love with wearing dresses... especially when riding bikes, or running! doing a sport in a dress/skirt makes me feel incredibly feminine and it's fun :) There are so many dresses out there that suit my personality, and such. but, dress shopping has always been difficult for me. I am not little, I am athletic, and often, I don't have a super great idea of if it actually looks good or not. i have a general idea, but I always appreciate a 2nd opinion. However, today, i decided to take a litt le stroll up Main Street where there is a lot of great little shops that carry mostly local and mostly sustainable clothing. And, you KNOW how much local and sustainable makes me happy. which reminds me... this past weekend snowboarding, i have lost one of my most FAVOURITE articles of clothing (though, I should really call the youth hostel). In 2007, I ...

So, two things I have been gearing up for this week. 1) my healthy eating challenge with boy i like (BIL? HA!). 2) winter commuting on my bike. therefore, I will comment on them both. and, i write first to say. don't. judge. (yes, leanna, I am looking at you ;) ) I may be a little strange. I may be a little obsessive. I may be a little off the rocker. But, I am what I am. And, there are always reasons for what I do. so, don't. judge. That is my soap box for the day. healthy eating challenge. as we all can agree on, the things we put into our bodies are what make us able to function day to day. we love food. Sometimes I talk a lot about it, other times i don't. One thing, though, for me, which is certain, is I react to the food I eat. Unfortunently, much like many other girls, if i eat to much crap, I feel guilty about it. And, when i feel like crap, sometimes I default to eating crap. for me, it is *Easy* to eat like crap. but, on the other hand: i LOVE healt...

so, today, i had a good little laugh. These past few days, I have been the queen of riding inappropriate bikes . --> the bixi bike, last week, for a training ride. and, today, after having picked up my flying machine from the shop, and post real training ride, I went to take the flying machine back via metro. however, it was during "les heures de point." and, for all you anglos out there (heh): "peak hours." meaning no bikes on metro. so, i commuted... on my P3 . picture me, with my chacos, a crappy "messenger bag," a cotton tee-shirt, cruising the bike lanes at a rapid speed of oh, say 15km/hr, and making stops at a coffee shop, and the bank. allowing commuter mc joe to pass when they want, and weaving through the traffic. (now, if this is not a funny story for you, well, you clearly don't know how inappropriate a cervelo P3 is for commuting. believe me. it's funny.) oh, and, i was also priviledged to see, on my commute home, a black ma...

So, it has been a while since I have posted. Not necessarily because I have not wanted, but just cause this past week has flown by. the last few days in edmonton were busy. busier than desired. the beginning of last week consisted of me being a recluse. My exams, on wednesday and thursday, were a large source of stress. I spent sunday-monday-tuesday at a friend's place, and at coffee shops. Filled my time with cramming, and with researching other nursing programs that might take me if I totally flunk out of mcgill. Exams cause you to do strange things, that is for sure. and, after I was done, it was like a big breath of fresh air. all of a sudden, there was going to be 10 days of non-stress, book reading, bike riding, late sleeping. however, that has only somewhat been true. I have been missing my bikes. They were shipped from edmonton, on greyhound, last monday. THey arrived yesterday (yesssss!), but I had to make due with what I had here in Montreal. I have mentioned,...

so, I love pink. i like the new layout. still going to be working on it, though. Off to Fernie for the weekend. Boy and brother are racing in a silly, ridiculous mountain bike race, called the "Lost Boys Lungbuster." People think I am strange for doing long races that involve 3 sports in one. Try climbing up a ski hill on a Mountain bike. Now that is strange. i will take the chair lift up, and meet them at the top. :) a [not.very.quality] photo from yesterday's ride with my two cousins and uncle (who is taking the photos) through the central alberta roads. Beautiful day, slight tail wind, draft line, and 90km at 30+ Km/hr at a percieved exhertion of probably around 4/10. Beautiful, if I do say so myself. Love the grain elevator. Such a typical alberta scene. More photos to come, when i get my hands on them. I may have sounded a little cynical of Edmonton, in my last post. For those of you who are not really familiar with Canada geography, the province ...

so, what a weekend. it was really my first weekend in a long time (at least all of march!) where I have not spent the entire time stressing out about school work. What a relief. I was able to spend time with friends, I was able to laugh. I was able to race. I was able to go to palm sunday service. i was able to not think about school for a while (right now, though, I am back at it.) Let's talk a little about what was going on. Friday night started with not one, but 2 birthday parties. first it was louis-andre , at Hurley's pub. Louis, and Steph are two of the UdM rowers. And they are fantastic, and It was sooo enjoyable to have see them, since I haven't been able to coach for the last month. Second, it was my favourite man nurse, Will. Will takes fantastic photographs, but, I am not so sure I look great in this. However, here we are. Happy birthday Will. I am glad you are in my life! Then came saturday. All I did on saturday was sleep in until 11:30 (what are yo...

Preparing for the busiest week of the semester! friday, in all aspects, was a good day: fantastic day at clinical, followed by a bit of time at the athletic centre for some "functional training" and a swim, where i was sharing a lane with some super fast graduate students, who proceeded to include me in their workout and subsequently kick my ass. good times :) then, since i was ravenous, i went to a friend's to cook myself some dinner: sauteed portobellos with a bit of mozza on top of a veggie paddy, brussel sprouts, a wee piece of trout, and glass of red wine+spending quality time with a friend=fantastic. but, all in all, the 3 assignments, presentation, mid-term and the start for the lab in the class that i am TA'ing (oh, the joys of graduate school!) that I have next week are keeping me busy today and tomorrow, that is for sure. ughghghgh. had a long run this morning. felt great to be in the sun to start the weekend off. random point of the week: on my thursda...

so, today, I ran into one of my classmates at the athletic centre, when I was coming to do my swim. I mentioned that I had done my strength, then grabbed some lunch and was coming back to do my swim workout. She said something to the effect of "dang... i can't believe that you do twice a day." i felt that i wouldn't actually mention that it was my third of the day. sometimes, it is just how scheduling works. you just fit it in when you can. you make it a priority. today, it looked like this: forgot to turn alarm on. run at 8am. go to school have class. quick functional training at 11:30 eat small lunch. swim at 1:15. going away gathering, class at 5pm. clearly, that is not *too* insane. besides... the way i look at it is when you have a workout that can be back to back with another (such as fuctional training+swim), it only counts as one ;) --------- I am not fat. So, I know that this statement is very true. but, sometimes, when it comes down to it is that as ...

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 biked my first ever 100km ride. I went out to pitt meadows and beyond. Flat, farmland riding, in aero. it was amazing. I didn't know I was going to go that far, but alas. but, it was hard on the way back, cause a decent amount of climbing was involved. I also realized I didn't have enough nutrition/hydration. and, at one point, an aerobar fell off. ha ha! but, none-the-less, it was great during the times it felt great. everything else was just learning things for the race!!! ... i dropped my bike off for a tune up, and a box up. I am going to have my dad ship it down, when he goes back to the states after my thesis defense on tuesday. ... i walked into a wall, and cracked my head open. yup, that's right. I now have a harry potter sized injury, but it unfortunently does not make me have any magical powers. but, do not fret. I am not hurt (except for my pride... who walks into the corner of a wall in their friend's apartment!?!??!), but there was *a lo...

My dear friends, sam and gretchen, have this amazing dog, Jack. I have never met him, every time i think of him, i think of this video. I cannot stop laughing when i see it :)

So, I have recently found these two "tag your friends" things on Facebook. I, on the occasion, like things like this. so, here we go... #1: IPod my life... 1. Put your music on shuffle. 2. For each question, press the next button to get your answer. 3. Write it down, even if it sounds silly. 4. Tag friends who might enjoy doing the memo as well as the person you got the memo from. (my favourites are in bold) ____ If someone says, "Is this okay?" you say... Pull me down What would best describe your personality? Sweet Illumination (ain't that sweet!?!) What do you like in a guy/girl? With my own two hands How do you feel today? Prelude for piano No 4. What is your life's purpose? Over and out What is your motto? Rising Sun What do your friends think of you? Good Riddance (Time of your life) What do you think about very often? Around this corner What is 2+2? Kate What do you think of your best friend(s)? Never gonna find me! What do you think of the person ...

a sprint down the road :) So, this morning, like every thursday morning, I was to be at work at 6am. To train a client of mine (ha! i just thought about google searching his name, to see if I could come up with a link. then i quickly [thankfully] remembered how un-ethical that is!) that I have worked with for more than a year. I have been late for him once in my life, in the more than 60 times I have worked with him at 6am. anyhow. I did something today that i *rarely* (if ever!) do. My alarm went off at 4:45, and I promptly shut it off, and did not sit up. that is t-r-o-u-b-l-e. next thing I know, i open my eyes, look at my alarm, and it is 5:36. my "last chance bus" comes at 5:44 (to get me to work at about five to ten after: not too late) and I live 4ish blocks from the bus stop. thanks to my cat-like reflexes, I jump up, rip out of bed, throw some clothes on, my laptop and notebook into my bag praying that it is everything i need for the day. fly by the bathroo...

that was today. my day, thus far: wake up 6:30. school work and breakfast. depart 8:15, on bike, with "sports rain jacket" (from my WVU rowing days), and one pair of long spandex underneath capri-length cannondale cycling bib short things, wool socks, wool short sleeve, polyester long sleeve, and "waterproof" cycling gloves. go to a doctor's appt, 8:45. go to coffee with erik, 9:15. gracefully accept a pair of cycling booties. go on bike ride, 10:30ish. return home, 11:45, and run into shower. eat lunch. do school work (or, blog!). now, here in vancouver, we get rain in the winter . and, when i say rain, i mean that a low pressure front places itself directly above the city, and remains there until about april or may. however, luckly enough though, we have not had a lot of rain this fall. there have been damp rides, but not soaking rides. today, though, i was reminded of what it is going to be to train through the winter. Today, i thought "hmmmm, m...

i love love love thanksgiving.  and, it is tomorrow.  I celebrated last night, with friends of mine, both known and [previously] unknown, by a potluck thanksgiving dinner.  it was amazing, and so much fun.  good food, good laughs, good wine, good dessert, good people.   and, tomorrow, I will run the Turkey trot   Gotta love throwing in a 10km race on thanksgiving morning, just for the fun of it.  and, at least there will be a man dressed up in a turkey costume.  in fact, that might be the highlight of the day.  the 13 degree, rainy forecast will definitely not be the highlight.   but, nevertheless, I am excited :) 10k's are so much fun! so, race was great.  it was pretty funny, it reminded me of swimming in a triathlon, where aroud the corners, it get so tight, and on the straights, you try to find a line, or someone to stick behind in order not to get trampled down...  Try putting about 1700 people on a 20ft wide path, around winding corners, with small pilons in the way, and tell...

"The only thing that makes life possible is the permanent, intolerable uncertainty, the joy of not knowing what comes next " - Ursula K Le Guin there are a couple of things that i love about commuting by bicycle.  some of them depends on the ride; such as watching the sun rise, or set.  or if you want to get a workout, or if you want to take a leisurely ride. or, if you listen to music, or choose to listen to what is going on around you.  but, at least one thing that happens every single time you go on a commute.  You have the time to feel the wind in you hair, and rushing past your body, as you take the time to prepare for the day, or take time to decompress from the day.  it is a time to think about your day (ahead, or behind), while your blood is flowing rich with oxygen and endorphins.  :) and, today, as always, i had a good think on my way home (which i rode leisurely, with great music in my ears)... this week has been a bit of a trip.  and, so often, i find it interesti...