Icebreaker

I went to the Icebreaker rugby tournament on Saturday. It was a lot of fun, and we even won a game! That meant that we actually got our first try. The games were only two 10 minute halves, and we had enough players that we only got to play one half of each game, so that kind of sucked. I was usually just getting into the game when I had to come out of it, but it was still fun. I managed to get a sunburn. I was not expecting it to be so nice out. I was too busy packing long johns to think of packing sunscreen.

Back to Work

Saw my Dr. on Thursday, and we both agreed that I am ready to go back, and join the workforce once again. I was starting to feel a little bored at home the last couple of days, so I think that is another sign. Talked to my manager, and she said there are a couple of things that I might be interested in, so that looks hopeful.

Not too much going on here. Had a visit from Tim and Theresa last weekend, Tim was going to get his wisdom teeth out on Monday. Have not heard anything from them since then, so hoping that no news is good news.

I have become addicted to a show on HGTV, I think it is called House Hunters, and it follows people around who are looking to buy a house. The show takes the top 3 picks of houses that the potential buyers like, and then you follow the realtor and the buyers as they tour the houses. Then after the buyers take possession of the house, come back in 3 to 12 months and see what the buyers have done with the place. It is like spying through someone's living room window to see what the inside looks like. I LOVE it.

On my way... sort of

I applied for the University of Alberta last week - my first choice was Arts. I also applied for residence at Lister Hall, which is where most first-year students end up. However, all the single rooms were taken, so if I get accepted (both the university itself and residence services seem to have rigorous and bureacratic application procedures) I will be in a double room with a stranger. Hmm. But as I'm fond of saying, it all comes out in the wash. The upside here is that I stand to save a fair chunk of change.
I also applied for the U of Calgary, but the application for residence there is May 1, so I decided to stop waffling and finally just picked the U of A. No good reason, really. So I better get accepted or I'm in the soup.
Other than this, not much is new. I've been working a lot (including a memorable 14-day stretch). Lots of old high-school friends have finished uni for the year, so it's been good to see them, once we get past the initial incredulous musings about my present employment situation.
I also got my wisdom teeth out last month. It wasn't too bad, the dentist did it right in Rocky. He just applied local freezing. I forwent watching TV in favour of paying attention to what the man was doing in my mouth. My favourite part was went he said, "Now you are going to hear a sharp crack" as he pried my lower left tooth from the bone. But aside from some swelling (that went on for a week) and quite a bit of pain in the ensuing days as the blood clot formed in the tooth socket, it was minor. Doctor said I made a textbook recovery.

I was a hooker today!

I had my first rugby game yesterday and I survived!! It was actually
really fun, besides the fact that I really didn't know where I was
supposed to be all the time, except when there was a scrum. Since I
play prop, I was right at the front of the scrum running right into a
really big girl. She was not easy to move. We did pretty good
considering it was our first game, and about 50% of our team had never
played in a real rugby game before. I am really sore now, and covered
in bruises and scrapes, but I really had fun. I didn't feel like I was
doing much, but people who were watching said that I made some good
tackles, so I must have been doing something. A lot of the time I was kind of scared to tackle, but I think I should be able to do better as I play more games. At practice today I got to be a hooker. It was really fun because my two props were this really tall girl and one of the coaches who is really big, so when they stood up straight, I was lifted right into the air. It was cool until my armsjust about gave out from holding on to them.

Not much else is new. I have a tournament on Sat. in Calgary,
so I am excited about that. School and work are both going well. My
friend Scott just got back from an exchange trip in France, and he
brought back French jelly beans. They are really good. Except if you
eat more than one at once, they sort of taste like hairspray. It's
weird.

I will post about how the tournament this weekend goes, providing I am still living.

a call from an old friend

I was totally surprised last night to get a call from someone asking if this was the sivaks from Grande Prairie - it was Kay Macdonald! We lost touch a long time ago - probably 15-20 yrs. Anyway we had a nice long chat.




she is 83 now and living in a condo in Calgary, but sounds much the same. Debby is a lawyer in Lake Tahoe, married w/2 girls. Cathy is a cop and has one boy, and the son is a city planner in Calgary. Her mother died a while ago at 101. She passed on what news she had about the Dunns. Jean is dead - she had severe altzheimers - Arthur is also gone - from cancer. Pauline has remarried to a really nice guy and there was something about Doris having severe health problems, but it is escaping me at the moment - too much news in a short time (or Altzheimers?) So we've agreed to keep in touch by letter - she says while she is getting used to it, condo living is sort of boring and lonely, and since no-one writes anymore, no mail to lift her spirits.
I went to the head and neck dr yesterday - my regular one is away touring Europe, so it was a sub. Thought it was the last time, but he said I should see Tim when he gets back so have at least one more, altho' everything is fine.
Have been digging and weeding the garden and am about half finished, but its turned cloudy again, so may just do some housework today. Or maybe nothing! Laura is coming next week - on the 4th for 4 or 5 days; I thought that with the move to GP, she might not make it, so am looking forward to her visit. Am so glad everything has worked out so well for her. Only 3 weeks till we take off for the rock.

Love from Mom/grandma

Cough, cough

So, this is really obnoxious, but since you're family, I'm posting it, because I'm really flipping proud that I got Top Mark in my class for our final exam, which was a mock RN exam, so testing what we've learned throughout 4 years of school.

Now it's done and I can move on, sort of, despite the fact that i will tell you all in person how pleased I am about it too. But I'm keeping the telling to family and some people who aren't in school with me because there is a limit to my obnoxiousness.

Though many of you may disagree with the above statement.

Snick

soooo, please to respond

Hi peeps, have not heard from all involved with houseboat trip, so have taken upon myself to organize meals as follows:

Tuesday Supper: Theresa and Geoff
Wednesday Breakfast: Anne and Will
Wednesday Supper: Judith and Grace
Thursday Breakfast: Tim and Jim and Sam
Thursday Supper: Lisa and Richard
Friday Breakfast: Allison and Laura

There is a bar-b-q on the boat FYI.

Mom is off scot free as she's picking up the tab! (though I would presume that if someone is panicking at cooking a meal for 14, that she'll help) I have not yet booked place to stay on Monday night, but will do so soon, so need to know how many. Is everyone planning on staying in Sicamous the night before? What kind of sleeping arrangements do you prefer? 1 room, 1 bed? 1 room, 2 beds? I am thinking just a motel, not anything fancy at all, is that OK? It would cost $75-110/night.

Please to let me know!! For those who do not respond to messages on blog, you have to stay at the Tel-A-Frend motel in Vernon, on the highway, very luxurious I can tell you. Yes, that's the spelling on the sign.

Jim is renting a karaoke machine for our trip!!! This is the most awesome thing ever!!

In other news, I start my orientation this coming weekend. I have figured out how much I will earn too! Making money for working is exciting, I can tell you. As opposed to paying the university for working during practicums! I should have my temporary license by Monday, I am hoping. So I can now say I am an RN (temp). Once I write my CNA exam in June and get results in August ( passing, I presume), then I am an RN.

I keep having these weird dreams, where I'm on the unit and a) realize at the end of the day that i have not given out any medications all shift. = complete panic. b) the unit is weirdly different and I realize that I have no idea what I'm doing and others around me all seem to have it under control. = complete confusion and feeling of incompetence.

Otherwise all is well, dreams have not been that frequent and I am enjoying having time off. I officially graduated Apr. 18th, after my final evaluation. Which still seems strange to me.

Richard, on his trips to Vernon, saw a sign for free compost. Horse manure. So, he was thrilled and has been happily spreading crap. I did too.

Our tulips have been blooming, I do like this time of year.

back to normal in kelowna

Jim left yesterday, so its just the cat and me again. We had a really good visit and he did a bunch of handyman things for me. Was here for a week then off to Harrison for his conference nad back here on Tues. It was Lisa's birthday so was going to have them all for dinner (a double celebration} but I got sick w/stomach flu, so I went bed amd they went out to eat - said they enjoyed it, but don't know how they could, with me suffering here! It was a 24 hr thing, so am recovered.
It's really nice here now - still a tad cool, but improving and everything is bursting into leaf and bloom and am busy with yard and garden. Lisa and Richard are working their little buns off outdoors too.
Had a nice email from Fred - the medical folk are still trying to discover what is wrong with him - he's still on the heart moniter and just had a tilt test - he fainted, which meant he passed it! He's sounding busy and happy tho' - it's their 40th next month - imagine that. It was good to hear from him.
Less than a month and we are off to the rock - have so much to do before then that the time will fly. Then it's Lisa's grad and the houseboat - busy busy.
Don't know if you've heard from Laura, but she's taken the job with Weyerhauser in GP starting May 15. They made an offer she couldn't refuse, and she's pleased with it. She goes in May, but they guys won't go till school is out.
That's all the news from me. So love to all - Mom/Grandma

Miss American Pie

While I was in Rocky on the weekend, Grace and I made a plan to go to the Calgary Folk Fest, so I looked online to see who has been confirmed and Don Mclean will be there. I cannot wait, he is another person that I thought I would not see in person in my lifetime (the first being Van Morrison). So I am totally excited and now cannot wait for July to come. If anyone else would like to join us, it is the weekend of July 26, and is always a great time.

I have decided not to go to Newfoundland with the rest of the crew. It is a wonderful opportunity, but still feeling as though I want to stay around home. I will not be travelling to Woonsocket any more, and I am pretty happy about that.

Saw my Dr yesterday, so staying off work for another couple of weeks, guess I was not really ready to go back. I did return for two days, but still felt tired, anxious and not able to concentrate. She thinks I need more serotonin(?) so has upped my dosage, just to get over the hump.

Easter

Did everyone have a good Easter weekend? I never appreciated long weekends so much before I worked full time. It was nice to have Anne and Jude here for the weekend, we had a nice Easter ham supper on Sunday. Sam and I were the only ones who had to work Monday.
We had snow last week, but now it seems like spring. There is lots up in the yard. I guess plants around here realize they had better get growing while they can.
I feel as if I am so busy all the time but when I sit down to update here nothing very important comes to mind. I am busy doing not much.

I got into grad school!

Now all that remains is to afford to go. Yikes. I have a lot of thinking and deciding to do before I accept or decline, but it's an honour just to be nominated and all that (or at least it's good to know that I'm able to get in at all, given how long I've been out of school and the non-academic activities I've been up to since then).

The school

The course (it's the Experimental Consumer Psychology one).

I quit my job!

Well, I just quit my job. The one at the restaurant, not the church. In the end, I enjoyed it, and all that, but things were getting busy with things I'd rather do, and I think if I curb expenses, I'll save the same amount of money. I feel a little lazy, down to only one job, and one every couple weeks ( at a book keeping office) but it's better than being over stressed, and running around all the time. We'll see though, they were nice, so I think I can go back if I need to.

Done

I finished my last shift for my practicum at 7 am today. I can hardly believe it. I write an exam on Wed., have 2 days of classes on Wed/Thurs, then that's it!

I can't start at the hospital until after the regional orientation, which will be May 14th, just before we leave for Newfoundland. So, I have more than a month off. well, I can pick up some shifts at work, but don't think I'll be working all that much. Which is fine with me.

I feel excited and like I'm ready to start working as a nurse, but also think there's still a lot I will learn. I sure like being one though.

I was also thinking about starting to figure out arrangements for the houseboat. Mom has kindly offered to pay for the boat (!), so if the rest of us pay for gas, food and insurance? Does this sound reasonable. I was also thinking if we all took a meal(s) and split them up, like 2 for each meal or something? I'll work out a bit of a schedule and post it for feedback. I think if there's 14 of us, we have 8 meals? Or if we have a big b/f and then just supper, then it would be 6 meals, plus snacks. We could each be resposible for picking up groceries for said meal, and I can make sure we have the stuff like salt , foil, blah, blah. Does anyone have any preferance for cooking b/f or supper? Speak now, or I will just assign! Also, people should post what kinds of food they don't like etc. Like me and fish. And Richard and kale.

I am wondering if we should perhaps book a campsite/motel for the night before we leave, what would work for all of you? I can look after this but need to know what others think.

Will post more later, Richard is just finishing up talking with his parents, and then we are going over to Mom's for supper with Mom and Jim.

Wii!

I got to play with a Nintendo Wii tonight! It was awesome. normally, when I play video games I find that they fail to measure up to the greatness of the Super Nintendo, but this was pretty good. It came with a couple sports games, so we were playing boxing, and golf and tennis. It's crazy the way it works- the controller is wireless! Tons of fun though.

I managed to get an invite for Easter dinner at some people's from church. It's always nice to be with someone on Easter! I think I'm helping out at the Youth group overnight vigil/ sunrise service on Saturday though, so I may be a bit tired by supper

Toontown

I saw this on a club in Saskatoon: "The best music in Toontown."
I would like to go back to Saskatoon in the summer. It was like here, all dusty and gritty from winter still and of course not much green anywhere. The people are sure friendly, especially clerks in the stores. That's what it used to be like here before the boom.
We left Thursday night at 6 p.m. and got in to Toontown at 1 a.m. Geoff and I got up early on Friday and went downtown to the passport office. While we were waiting in line for the office to open, I glanced one more time at our applications and realized that we didn't have Grace's driver's licence with us. So Geoff took a cab back to the motel, got her licence and got back just as my number was being called. All was well and we should get the passports in three weeks or so.
The girls lost all their games but seemed to have fun.
We got new flooring installed last week. New carpet in the living room and lino in the kitchen and bathroom. It looks pretty good. Geoff isn't too fond of the carpet. Oh well, pretty soon he won't even see it any more.
Winter is back for a last kick at us. We got quite a bit of snow yesterday and today and it's cold again. My poor tulips. And there are daffodils that have buds, I hope this doesn't do anything to them.
Looking forward to seeing you on the weekend, Jude. Are you coming too Anne?

Saskatoon

My hockey team had a tournement in Saskatoon this weekend. We took a bus, and it was a long drive-7 hours. On the way there we watched Anchorman, Eurotrip and Center Stage. Center Stage is one of the worst movies ever, and the parents grumbled about it. I just played my Gameboy rather then watch it.

We got in at about 1:00 AM, so we just went to bed. Mom and Dad got up early in the morning to get all our passports stuff done. When they came back we walked to the mall and went shopping. I got new shoes! Then we went kind of by the river and I looked for celebrities but didn't see any, then we went back to the hotel and out for supper.

We lost all our games, the first three all by six points, so that was weird. The last game we only lost 3-1. The games were really fun though. I had the best time playing all year, because everyone on the team and the coaches were all in really good moods, and I think I did well. It is pretty scary playing against those really big farm girls from Saskatchewan though!

Our last game was in a arena right by where the Junos were going to be. After the game we ate at the Husky truck stop right by it. We got a seat by the window, but we still didn't see anyone famous. There were a couple limos there, though, and we saw a limo driver. We came straight home after lunch.On the way home we watched The Wedding Singer, Along Came Polly, and Goldmember. I really don't know what we would have done if we couldn't watch movies! We were home in time to watch the Amazing Race, so that was good.