Humble Pie

   Well I learned a lesson I at practicum today that I didn't anticipate. I scanned a case of cholangiocarcinoma (cancer involving the bile ducts). My preceptor left me alone to scan and I was having a rough time. The liver is a big and daunting organ to scan when it's normal. When you throw in strange shapes and shades of gray you get lost. Fast. And so it was with this woman.

    My preceptor asked me "So Naomi, what are YOU going to be doing tonight." Studying cholangiocarcinoma that's what. When I had a few minutes to spare I grabbed one of the textbooks they keep in the tech room. I was looking over a section about this form of cancer and it was actually quite good. Made some notes. Got a little bit smarter. Then one of the radiologists stepped out of his office and saw me. He asked if the book was good to study from. I'd looked some stuff up in it once before and hadn't found it too useful so I told him "Depends on what you're looking for." He smiled, slightly shocked actually, let out a chuckle and said "Oh, yes."

  I realized at this moment, from a previous perusal of this book, that there was a signature at the front. I quickly flipped to it. Yes of course. "To the radiologist residents and ultrasound technicians. Gavin Low" The very doctor I'd just been chatting with. In my embarrassment I told one of the techs about my blunder. But wait. The story gets better. The tech laughed harder as I frantically turned, for a second time, to the front of the book...where Dr. Gavin Low was written once again...as one of the contributing authors. And wouldn't you just know it. He wrote the section on Cholangiocarcinoma.

   Lesson learned: When a doctor asks you how you enjoy a textbook either praise it highly or check out the references thoroughly before bashing it.

Dr. Gavin Low

Blessed are they who can laugh at themselves, for they shall never cease to be amused.

And A Little Bit Of Chicken Fried

     Life is just going by a mile a minute. Sometimes I just want to hold a moment in my hands and admire the joy of a single second. I want to memorize every sense so I can bring back these memories in the same colorful vibrancy I lived them. Everything has been so full of happiness and excitement. I wonder what I ever did right to deserve opportunities this great, people this amazing and memories this cherished. It leaves me in awe every time that it's the smallest things that seem fill my heart to bursting. A few things I've appreciated lately:

- How snow makes everything ordinary beautiful
- The little boy that held my hand today as I walked him through the hallway
- Brad Jones doing the worm while singing J-Biebs
- Hand written letters
- Finding the humor in my mistakes (sending a patient's IV pole flying to the ground and watching the terrified faces of the other patients praying they wouldn't get stuck with me scanning them next. Or when I gave Wade a bowl to make punch in...with a hole in the bottom)
- My roommates, who are amazing and clean the kitchen everyday and make me dinner when I'm starving.
- The little old man who's carotid arteries I scanned and took a million years to finish. All the while jostling his oxygen. I passed him in the hallway when the porter came to get him and he looked me straight in the eyes and sincerely thanked me. I felt awful for keeping him so long, it was a very frustrating case to work through and I definitely was not at my best in patient care but he was so kind to me.
- The little group of friends who are my home away from home.
- Finding an awesome Christmas present
-This song that Kyla and I blast in her car every weekend.

 "It's funny how it's the little things in life that mean the most. Not where you live, or what you drive, or the price tag on your clothes. There's no dollar sign on a peace of mind this I've come to know."

People Are Raving About It

 

     Monday was honestly one of the best days I've had in forever. You know when you look back, with nostalgia gripping your insides, on those long summer days you played until there was no play left in you? That was my Monday. Just add snow. Nothing especially out of the ordinary happened, but it was a quick succession of simple joys that made us all feel full to the brim.

    How better to start your day off than brunch at Ikea with friends for less than the price of laundry? Don't think too hard on that one because the answer is: there isn't. Immediately following our escapades in finding cheap lamps, ten of us got into Costco using one card. Thank heavens for apathetic teenage boys who guard those doors!

  Our intent was to find a friend to say hi to, but mostly we perused the book section. Did you know, according to Guinness World Records, the shortest man is only 54.6 Cm?

  Sledding was an obvious MUST in our traipsing across town. And it just wasn't good enough to go down the traditional way. We had to go down as a human pyramid. I wasn't planning to take any part of this obviously reckless plan. But when push came to shove (almost literally) I found myself at the top of the pile. Best. Idea. Ever. 

Thanks to Alysa who took the awesome Sledding pictures!!

   Who can go sledding without hot chocolate? And where hungry young adults gather, pizza will be delivered.  This only added to my ecstasy because it meant I did not have to prepare a single meal that day. 

   Family home evening was somehow fit into all our rambunctious goings on. Where despite what seemed like a harmless game of jeopardy things escalated quickly and turned into casualties. Breakfast: $3.14, New lamp: $9.97, Pizza: $5, Kyla getting rug burn from playing Jeopardy: Priceless.

And maybe I should have got my nursing roommate to put Kyla's bandage on...Ultrasound kids just make a mess of them.

   The whole day was wrapped up with a good movie. The new Spiderman. Loved it. Good story, good mix of action, romance, comedy, good thing I can look forward to the sequel.

   So I guess each thing on it's own isn't something to get particularly excited about, but smash them all together with some amazing friends and laughter to last a week and I think that's something you can hang your hat on.



  

This Isn't My First Rodeo

This past week was the CFR (Canadian Finals Rodeo) It's been a family tradition to go for almost 40 years now. It's such a fun time for all the family to get together for a few days, eat your weight in food and cheer for your favorite event. Personally I love Al bouchard (tie down roping) and Scott Schiffner (bull riding).  You know after a week of watching at least 2 hours of rodeo a day things tend to all look the same. But there are a few things that I've noticed that I never get tired of and love.

-After calf roping. which takes like 8 seconds while the cowboys jump off their horses and run along the roping, turning the calf on their side and madly tying 3 of their legs together they toss their hands. They just look so stinking cool everything.
- I also love the ugly grimace the guys have when they are about to leave the bucking shoot

-The concentration on their face and head nod they give before they start their event. I swear gansters got it from the cowboys
-The closer you get to the stadium the number of cowboy hats rapidly increase. I think I'd trust anyone in a cowboy hat (a real one though, none of those nasty fake ones)

- The kissing cam
- When in eagerness the audience is all leaning forward waiting for the gates to open and then the stinking horse won't budge, let alone buck.
- When there's just been a really good ride and the crowd is going wild, but you look over at the old cowboys and they just give a good nod of the head for the approval

- PLUS this year they had some awesome talent come and give us a couple mini concerts (Dean Brody and Chris Young)

Crowd Surfing

So my class has fundraisers quite often. This past weekend they were putting on a pub night. The place where they were selling tickets for makes the posters for the events. When they found out it was for the Ultrasound program they decided to customize the advertisements. And came up with this...

...A crowd surfing fetus. What a party.

Raindrops on Roses and Whiskers on Kittens

   Life has been crazy. A crazy, beautiful mess. I have exams coming out of my ears, sleep is no longer a hobby I practise and the student loan people still hate me. I love that about life though. It's unpredictable, no one ever has enough time and try as you might to shut your eyes to it, it is always beautiful.

    School is busy, I'm sure work is keeping people on their toes just as much too. But I've learned that never stops. There will never come a time when all the work is done and there is time just to play. Isn't that one of life's greatest lessons? Moments of absolute rest come infrequently. Consistently happy people find their happiness in the small and simple things of everyday life.

  Sometimes, while I should be madly scribbling notes during a lecture, my mind strays just thinking about the information being shoved down my throat. I am so amazed at the miracles we sometimes forget are miracles. It awe-inspiring to think I'll take courses for 2 years learning about the heart, all the while it takes half a second to know what to do by itself. I am so thankful I have to cross the high level bridge coming back from school.  Changes in season are made so evident looking down on the river valley, masses of trees changing color before your eyes. The view reminds me how quickly life unfolds and to seize the day.

Then I come home to roommates who I love. They keep me aware of what an exceptional time of life this is and that, without a doubt, I will bore my children to tears telling them over and over about the glory days.

    I don't think the change of colors in the fall, time to just chat with a friend or finally crawling under warm covers at the end of a day would mean half as much to me if life was always a mosey along the scenic route.When you're trying just to keep your head above water I think joy can be found in the ache of your muscles, knowing they're just getting stronger with every stroke.

I'm a firm believer that clouds have silver linings, the best sleeps come when the rain is pounding on your roof and rainbows follow the hardest downpours. Enjoy the mess! It's always been more memorable than staying clean.

Mormon Temples

2:07 to 3:06 are my absolute favorite

Salt Lake City Temple

     One thing that seems to set people of the LDS faith (The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints AKA Mormons) apart is our Temples.  Inside these holy edifices we worship God and make promises with Him. We go to feel peace and find answers to our prayers. Although there are many things that go on in the temple we are best known for being married in them. We believe when married in the temple, you are married for time and all eternity. Not just "Till death do us part". Even when your sweetheart passes away, if you have been married in the Temple, you will still have them and your family in the life after. I love that.

Seattle Temple

       It is a very exciting time for LDS members in Alberta right now. A Temple has just been completed in Calgary. What happens in the temple is so sacred to us that after it is dedicated (set apart as a holy place) only worthy members who live the commandments and follow the teachings of the church are permitted inside. But we want everyone to know what we believe! It isn't a secret! What happens inside is just so dear to our hearts and sacred that we don't display it for the world to mock and ridicule. For a few weeks, before the temple is closed to the public, we invite anyone who is interested, anyone who has ever had a question about our temples, anyone who has no idea what a temple is, to come and see for themselves.

      My dear friends, this is something so very important to me. I want you to know why! I want to share with you something that's not only a belief, but a part of who I am. This really is a once in a lifetime experience. If you have any questions, if you are interested at all, if you want to know more, I would love to take you inside this extraordinary structure or talk to you more about it.

My Very own Vancouver Temple :)

      The Temple is more than just a beautiful building. It's a place where we draw nearer to God and make promises. In return we have our families for eternity. I love that even when I'm thousands of miles away from the people who are dearest to me I never have to be afraid I will never be with them again. My family will be together forever. And I can't wait for it.

Poor Starving Student

    I've had a lot of trouble with the student loan and scholarship people lately. The loan people won't give me money because they think my parents should be contributing to my education. Alberta doesn't want to give me scholarship money because, although I'm going on my third year of living in the province, I am not yet 21 (6 months short!!) therefore considered a resident of the province in which my parents live (B.C).The latter is also disinclined to acquiesce my request because I am attending school out of province. This is a lose-lose situation!
The following is an email to my father. Because evidently all my problems are because of him. How the tides have turned!

I just wanted to let you know that no one wants to give me money and it's all your fault. 

    The National and Provincial student loans don't want to give me money because they think that YOU should be giving me money. They pretty much told me that you're obligated to contribute $18000 (yes 3 zeros following the 18) for my education. I was just wondering...what are they expecting ME to contribute to MY education then (since it's only $23000 total. Well I've already forked out the remaining 5 grand so it's your turn sugar daddy)

    

      Also as soon as the scholarships i've applied for look at your income they are gonna throw out the application and laugh at the thought of me needing more money. (Seriously do these people understand how expensive it is to live in greater Vancouver?! and that not all children mooch so shamelessly from the people that gave them life!)

So I've come to the conclusion that you need to quit your job and become a farmer. They give lots of money to farmers. 

I love you though, despite how much you make.

And in reply

Im sorry that I make so much and that the Lord has blessed me so that the windows of heaven have been so generous.  You need not worry that I will not be your sugar daddy.  If your appeal does not go through I will support your extravagant ways and then charge you eternal interest.  You think the Publicans charged high interest rates! ;-)

Yes I should become a rancher, not a farmer. They make even less money but yet they still have their dignity!

One day when I'm a wealthy sonographer I will donate a scholarship to a person just like me. I'm gonna shake their corrupted system that's so antagonistic towards young, out of province students who worked 2 years to get into a stinking Alberta school!! Just you wait and see!

CSDMS

      So sometimes my program kinda stinks. I have days where it bothers me that I start a week earlier than everyone, have a week less of Christmas break and have 3 midterms in the next 2 weeks before everyone else has even begun to think of them. But then there are the days where CSDMS (Canadian Society of Diagnostic Medical Sonographers) sends me mail. I love mail. Especially when said mail contains stickers and magnets. Call me simple, but I couldn't be happier to be in sonography right now!

 And just a little clarification, mid July I posted a facebook status: Well I've decided to stay in BC. I'm not going back to Edmonton in the fall. I'm going to live with my parents for the rest of my life (but not in the basement, completely undignified). I'm not going to work, Mom will make all of my meals and I'm foregoing any marriage opportunities. Living the dream folks. Living the dream.

It was a joke. Got a lot of questions about it. I'll make sure to have more straightforward humor in the future. But I am still living in a basement... 

A Series of Unfortunate Events

The past week has been SO BAD. Exaggerating a little. I mean in a global sense I have nothing to complain about. I'm not starving, dying or worse. But would you please indulge me and hear the whining and complaining of my little world for just a few minutes?

 
     It all started with paying bills (doesn't it all?) So there I am trying to get all new bills for my house under my name because my roommate got married, moved out and no longer wants to pay them, imagine that. So after what seemed like hours of tedium on the phone with gas, electricity, waste, water and internet I was almost done. Until they came to the part where they told me that my power might be shut off during the switch of account holders. And wouldn't come back on until somebody called them. Which didn't bode well. No one was living at the house to know if the power went off, which meant no one would call, which then meant there would be 3 freezers full of thawed, rotten food when I went back to Edmonton. 

        

     After that it was a series of unfortunate events. Do taxes. Print off 100 useless pages of paper before I figure it out. Receive Student loan. Insufficient to cover rent alone. Not eating this year. Frustration. Siblings double book flight. Drive to Abbotsford airport without Mom. Saddness. Land in Edmonton. No one is waiting for me. Take 2 buses, a train and 2 hours to get home. Arrive at home. Lawn not been cut for weeks. Mower will not chop. Home alone, many spiders. Go to bed. Dark and lonely. Wake up, arrangements for my clothes, cookware and textbooks to be delivered from Vancouver fell through. School starts in 3 days. Hysteria. Mom won't answer phone. Alone. Shop for groceries, forget rice for stir-fry I'm making for company. Run to isle and back, angry line up. Come home, but forgot olives for greek salad. Roommates wedding tomorrow, not going. Alone. Spill salt, bad omen. Make cookies, phone rings, cookies burn. Check mail, letter returned because insufficient postage (even though I waited in a line for half an hour, right before my turn the whole system crashes but they tell me how much postage they need. Stamp fell off.) No roommates to tell my woes to. Alone.

  But I know this can't all be because of karma, because I haven't done anything bad! So it must mean that something very big and exciting, fantastic, terrific, grand and wonderful is going to happen to me very soon. I just don't know what it is. But it better be soon the way things are going.

Can She Bake A Cherry Pie?

  So my Mom is a domestic Goddess. She bakes like no other, and decorates her creations even better. She grinds her own wheat to bake bread (and has even made her own butter to put on it), Every year I get a home sewn costume for halloween and a new pair of pajamas at Christmas. She has the biggest garden on the block. I don't ever remember buying salsa or jam because obviously we have an entire room dedicated to the canned goods of our garden. Did I mention she also completed a degree by correspondence while raising 4 kids? So basically my mom and can anything. really, ANYTHING.

  Then there's me. I can hardly sew. Ashamed to say I can't even follow a pattern. I mostly make meals that don't require a recipe (a lot of stir fry, chili and pasta). And my roommates can attest to the fact that I am forever burning or botching some recipe. (Anyone heard of Amelia Bedelia? I'm something like that)

And then something changed...

NOW! (in a deep, smooth announcer's voice) from the smoky ashes of forgotten cookies...  
*Scenes of my unfortunate past flash on the screen*

...comes the summer that will change it all (dramatic inspiring music)

SHE CAN MAKE A CHERRY PIE BILLY BOY, BILLY BOY!

Ok so maybe one cherry pie isn't going to change it all and I doubt I'll be able to sew magical creations any time soon. 

But (announcer's voice returns) This is where it all begins...

To be Continued...

Do You Smell That?

 
 So my Mom recently taught me how to knit dishcloths. They are super simple and doing the same thing over and over in your hands is really therapeutic. I especially like doing it during a movie so I feel like I'm accomplishing something. Michaels has a great selection for yarn colors so I picked up a few to make an assortment of lovely wash ware. I'd just started on a new light purple cloth while my Mom and I sat down to watch a movie.
    A few days before I'd bought a perfume at the Richmond Night Market. And it was one of the first days I wore it. My brother walks in and says "Naomi! I can smell you." and continued to 'smell' me from increasing distances to determine the radius of my aroma. One of the ironic things about perfume is after you've worn it for a few minutes you yourself stop smelling it. But the weird thing was I could smell it too. Every once in a while a breeze would blow through the open window and my Mom and I could both smell it. The really strange thing was it smelt like lavender. When I tested the perfume it smelt nothing like lavender. After we finished the movie I couldn't detect any floral scents.
       We drove out to Vancouver that night and I packed my knitting with me (which made me feel elderly). I pulled out my pale purple yarn and began to click away. Suddenly a wave of lavender hit me. I grabbed the ball and made everyone around me smell the atrocious thing. This time I was certain that the radiating stench my brother had smelled wasn't me. I finally looked at the label 'scented'. Scented YARN! Who does that?! Well actually it's pretty cool. I'm just not a fan of lavender. Which is why I now have vanilla and aloe instead ;)

Celebration of Light

    Wednesday was a night of adventures. The family packed into our car and drove out to Vancouver. Each year at English Bay  there is a week of fireworks display on the water called 'The Celebration of Light'. Each night of the week a different country competes for the best fireworks show. Wednesday was Brazil.
We got there several hours early. They close off the streets and thousands of people storm towards the water. Even when we got there 3 hours early the beach was already packed with an eager audience.

We ordered Pizza and while Lynden and Katie went to pick it up Clayton and I had a little competition ourselves. We both played chubby bunny for the first time...with blueberries. Yes our mother would be proud of the spectacle we made in public. We finally called a truce at 40 berries. The madness had to stop. In the middle of our Phase 10 game the fireworks began.

But maybe we should have kept ourselves entertained in a better way.

They were awesome. Love fireworks. I don't think I would actually like to live in Vancouver. There's too  much traffic, too many people and way too much noise. I don't like being in a sea of people but there's something to be said for sitting in large crowd experiencing the same thing as thousands of others, hearing everyone 'ooh' and 'ahh' together .

 After the show was done we walked back to the dock where our parents left us to go on a work cruise. We began to drive home. After about 20 minutes my Dad pulled over and said he could no longer drive. He could barely stand out of the car. Shooting pains and numb hands. You don't have to be a medical student to know what that means. The 15 minute drive to the hospital was terrifying. They took him into ER immediately. After 10 minutes my brother comes back from Dad's bed. The doctor thought it was kidney stones. Painful, but not half as scary as the heart attack I thought he was having. PS. Hyperventilation causes numbness in you hands. Just so you don't freak out like I did when someone has kidney stones.

And to top off the night's adventures when we dropped Katie off at her abode a family of raccoons came running out from her garage. Man those things creep me out.

Well That's a First

It has been another wonderful year in Edmonton! There were some big changes and lots of small ones. I'm living in a new house, with new roommates and in school. I like to keep a list of the things I've done for the first time in a year. Mind if I share some with you?
It's been the first time that I've...
-Worn scrubs (jeans are seriously ruined for me now)

- Eaten a fig
- gone to the dump (backed my beast up to the dumping dock, I was pretty proud)
-gone to a YSA conference (also the first time i've been to a dance...on a roof... of a hotel!)

- Played the piano for a stake event
- Had a friend get baptized!
- Tried on engagement rings (don't get your panties in a twist folks it was with my cousin, and I know that's normal for Albertans but she's a girl and that's not ok with Albertans)

- Driven a Hybrid car (Sat in it for 5 minutes trying to turn it on. Thankfully instructions come up on the dashboard that tell you what to do)

- Shot a gun
- Done a complete  ultrasound exam all by myself!
-Met a rocket scientist
- Gone to Tuitti Fruitti (seriously people if you have not tried this place you need to get your butts over there cheap, fun and a somewhat better alternative to ice cream)
- Been forked

- Bought my first coffee...but didn't know it was coffee until afterwards
- Tasted Pâté . But only tasted. When I found out it was kidney and liver it was promptly disposed of. Do people KNOW what your liver and kidneys are for?!
- Taken an X-ray (completely different from an Ultrasound. Please never ask me if they're the same thing)
- Put together a sterile tray
- Been in a Relief Society Presidency
- Driven a standard
- Done Archery
- watched my first Alberta thunderstorm (but I watched the lightning, not the thunder)

- Had Hawaiian haystacks
- Made Crayon art

-Ran a 5 k!
-Beat my brother at Super Mariocart (life long goal. Not a word of a lie)
- Gone inside the Cardston Temple
-Fallen asleep at school. Maybe I should have drank the coffee ;)
- Been published!!

It sure was a fantastic, hard and wonderful year. More to come I'm sure!

Secret Admirers and C.S Lewis

Dear Secret Admirer,
3 years ago a brown boxed package was delivered with my name on it. The return address: Secret Admirer.
Inside was a gorgeous, white, hardcover copy of The Screwtape Letters by C.S Lewis. I was ecstatic. I'd wanted to read this book I'd heard so many people talk about. And I tried, but with school and all the other hectic happenings of life time got away.There were many failed attempts at a cover to cover read. But this summer provided the perfect opportunity. I read and read and could barely put it down. It was funny and insightful. I could hardly believe someone could not only so accurately discern the subtle down falls we 'humans' have but to put it into words.
   Thank you, whomever you are (because you've done a fabulous job at concealing your identity), for educating my mind and making me fall in love with C.S Lewis. I must have just mentioned this book in passing but you took the time to buy a lovely copy of it and send it to me. It meant a lot to me. 


I hope you find this, seeing as I have no address to send you my appreciation in return!

Tender Mercy

Practicum has been amazing. For the past 2 months I've enjoyed getting to know my career better. And it makes me excited to know this is something I'll love waking up to do in the morning. Of course every week has it's ups and downs. Yesterday first case of the morning my classmate and I made a 'boo-boo'. It was bound to happen, but still leaves a bitter taste in your mouth. Fortunately for me though I have fantastic professors. I was sitting at a computer looking at our next case with my friend and preceptor, and it felt more crowded than usual. To my surprise my prof was standing behind them with a fat envelope with my name on it. Inside were 2 Lindt chocolate bars and a 3 pack of kleenex. (from a joke we'd had about how I would need these items on a bad day at practicum.) How did she know just the right day to visit?
       Needless to say there was no bitter taste left in my mouth after her visit :)

Appendicitis

Practicum has been a dream for me! I've loved every day! I haven't seen anything too crazy yet but lets be honest I still think gallstones are the coolest things ever. They're just so pretty the way they twinkle on the screen.

  My preceptor, who is currently one of my favorite people in the world, has a policy. You find an appendix, you get the rest of the day off. Now this may not sound so hard but an appendix, even when inflamed, is less than a centimeter big. So pretty much like a needle in a haystack.
   Well today I walk into work and there's a patient already waiting for me.
  7:56 start exam. 8:10 walk out of the room. Appendix pictures: documented.
Hellllllooooo newly forged long weekend!

Easter

                                               Easter weekend was a much needed holiday!
                                                          I put all my exams behind me.
                                 I had nap after nap. Chocolate after chocolate and laugh after laugh!
 And now, when I finally have the time to have a life, it seems the only thing I want to do is sleep.