Wednesday, May 24, 2006

not much

Heya! Hope everyone is having a fine time out there in the happy world of the world. In case you can't tell by the strangeness of the previous sentence, I'm tired! I've only been back 'working' for two days, and I'm already feeling exhausted. Maybe I need a good supper in me to help energize me.

So last weekend was the long weekend. I went up to Chitek Lake with my friend Jay and his 4x4ing group. It was incredibly nice to get away and relax. Most of the trucks came out okay and a couple people had minor injuries. Mostly it was just nice to hang out at a lake and be a bum. Too much testosterone in the air, however. I think I might be over sensitive to pheromones! Can you say 'frustrated?' That's how I felt by the end of the weekend.

Only a week and a bit until I'm done in Regina. It will be nice to move back home. Starting a new clinical placement is a little scary, however. I'm sure I'll get comfortable with it in three weeks or so.

Saturday, May 13, 2006

City of Saskatoon - 100 years!

On May 26, 2006 Saskatoon will have been a city for 100 years. That weekend there will be events to help celebrate the occasion. Last year I went to Doors Open Saskatoon, and am looking forward to checking it out again. This year I really want to get the tour of the Bessborough Hotel. I overheard part of it last year, and it sounded quite interesting. It was led by a man who has made the history of the Bessborough Hotel his passion. If you don't have time for the tour, there was a sort of self-guided tour available as well.

Sunday, May 07, 2006

Life in Regina

Exam update: I studied pretty hard. I survived. I passed everything. 'nuff said! I want to move on...

So I've been in Regina for a week now. I'm staying at the hostel at the Wascana Rehab. Centre, which is where my clinical placement is taking place. When I checked in on Monday the room seemed pretty small - then I realized that over the previous week I had spent a fair amount of time convincing myself that my room would be a certain size, with certain furniture. Oh well. I can still fit everything I need in there. Some things are just not perfectly convenient. For instance, Riva and Jason (friends who live in Regina) lent me an answering machine. There is only one phone jack in my room, and the line is very short. It is located in the far left corner of the room behind a small chest of drawers. Beside the chest of drawers is the bathroom door, and on the other side of that is the closest plug in. So in order to use the answering machine I have the power cord hanging down across the doorway to my bathroom. I'm just hoping that the cleaning people notice it and don't snag it when they're in there. Yes, cleaning people. Every weekday they come in, clean the bathroom, replace the towels, make the bed, and vacuum. It feels very strange. I said that they didn't need to come in every day, but they seem to do it anyway. Oh well. I still haven't gotten used to the shower either. It starts out really cold for a variable amount of time, then warms up enough for me to get in. Then it gets burning hot, so I turn it down. Then it gets burning hot again, so I turn it down. Then it gets coolish, then burning hot. At least I've realized that it's a smart idea to not get into the water until it gets hot.

As for my placement itself, it's been pretty busy. We see about 6-7 patients per day. These people are all inpatients (no, not 'impatients'), meaning that they are hospitalized at the Rehab. Centre. They have a variety of neurological problems, due to stroke, spinal cord injury, traumatic brain injury, and even one with a disease I'd never heard of before - transverse myelitis (ie. inflammation across the spinal cord at a certain level). There are some pretty remarkable people here. It's quite amazing to see just a little bit of what they need to do to be able to do things for themselves. And so many of them have good family support. It makes me a little jealous, actually. Some patients' problems remind me a bit of things with my dad, so it's been a little taxing emotionally as well as mentally. I've been exhausted most days of the week.

This weekend was more fun though. On Friday I got together with Jason and Riva and we went out for supper then saw Mission Impossible 3. It was pretty much what I expected. There are things I'd like to say about it, but don't want to be a spoiler! Saturday I slept in and was lazy most of the day. I did a load of laundry in the afternoon, then went to my aunt's for supper. In the evening I finished off a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle that a few of us at the hostel worked on this week. Today I finished my laundry, did some beadwork, then came to the public library to use the internet. I intend to buy a few groceries when I leave here. Then I'm heading over to Jason and Riva's for a BBQ. The sky's looking a little grey, so I hope it stays nice for a few more hours. Tonight I have to do some studying, and that should be the end of my weekend.

Hope everyone is doing well, wherever they are!