February days

It's been ages so after a little prompting from some well-meaning individuals I am finally posting. Also I am on my days off now which bodes well for some pondering time. :)

What is going on in my life lately you may ask? Well. Our house is back to 4 lovely friends as Hillary has returned from her Indonesian-Singaporean adventures. I've been working a lot lately but work has been good. Something I've really noticed lately is the team spirit thing we've got going on up in ortho trauma.. I really appreciate so many of the people I work with there. Helping each other when the going gets crazy, starting IVs when veins collapse for one, going into a patient room two at a time so the crazy woman can't hit you with her newspaper while you try to take her blood pressure. Standing beside a dying patient as he takes his last breaths- making silent signals to each other about not finding a pulse as his anxious daughter stands nearby- that bonds people. We look out for each other. And at 4 am a lot of things become awfully funny.

Also of note lately is that a week from today I'll be in St John's, Newfoundland! So excited about that. It'll be so good to see Brian again... and to see his world out there. Context means a lot.

Vancouver is gorgeous lately and I am developing a deeper and deeper appreciation for this city. It hasn't been such an awful winter at all really. And now we've been getting sun quite frequently... Cypress, Grouse and Seymour look positively majestic. If you didn't know this already, I love the mountains. Had an amazing bikeride with Nancy to North Vancouver last week and oh, the sunset.... amazing. So amazing.

The Lord God is in His holy temple, let all the earth be silent before him.

(Habbakuk something...)

jagged peaks

Well it's a Friday afternoon and the weekend is beginning. Though I am working tonight and tomorrow.. not so much of a weekend perhaps. I don't mind though.

The lovely sun shone on Vancouver today. And as a matter of fact, it is still shining. The days are getting longer.

Today I went for coffee. had a nap. had two lovely phone calls. made some cookies. puttered around the house. read a good book. It was a good day. Nice and relaxing.

Not much else to say. Sometimes I really wish I could drive off into the beautiful mountains which I see everyday. Those of you who I hang out with a lot (ie Nanc) are going to laugh because I say that a lot. But something about them just makes me feel restless. A good restless. An adventurous feeling. They're just so mysterious to me.

On that note, I'm going to make some dinner and then head to l'hopital... Au revoir, tout le monde.

northern new years

This is my first post of 2009. Of other importance is that yesterday marked 1 year since I moved to BC- flying into Victoria on January 8, 2008. Crazy! What a year it's been. Some of the hardest times of my life, with all the change and transition, but it's all been worth it- it's been a great year. I've been to some really neat places, got to know 2 awesome cities. Met amazing people, people who I think will now be part of my life for a long, long time. Graduated, started a new job, lived in 4 houses... it's been pretty eventful, that's for sure.

I just got back from an amazing time up in Prince George with Brian and his family. The people of PG definitely know how to have fun in the snow. We went snowshoeing, cross country skiing, skating, sledding, walking in the (super deep) snow... lots of fun. Also just talking face to face and hanging out together was fantastic. We haven't done that in a while. Now we once again live on (literally) opposite ends of the country.

Other than that, Vancouver is still recovering from the massive dumping of snow which we had over the holidays. I think we narrowly averted the possibility of some massive floods but it's still pretty soggy out there. Tomorrow I'm supposed to be going snowshoeing as the mountains are still snow-covered- looking forward to it as those mountains are one of the main reasons why I love this city. Then Monday it's back to work. I've also reached the 6 month mark at VGH which seems to have flown by.

Life is interesting. Challenging, frustrating, exasperating at times. But God is good.

west coast Christmas

I have started a post for this blog numerous times in the last month, but always just kinda went, "naaaah" and let it be. So I think it's about time for an update. Though I don't really have anything extremely newsworthy to say, I dont think. We'll see.

Vancouver has found itself in what the locals might call a deep freeze for the last week or so. The temperature has been sitting around -7 I think, which isnt terribly cold, but its colder than its been for a long time. For me and many others I think it just seems normal for this time of year- my roomie Jana was saying that to her it seems like a gift for those people who are missing home right now where the temperatures are much colder and there's a white Christmas- good point. Because it does look like Vancouver will get a white Christmas. I am enjoying it. Though I do miss biking to work, because the bus takes a long time. And also I have run out of bus tickets, though that is a problem that is easily fixed. I must say that Vancouver deals with the snow a lot better than Victoria (from being there last winter when it snowed once)- I guess it has to, being the bustling metropolis it is. But they do seem to have more than one snowplow at least ;).

Work has been going well, I must say that I am really getting quite used to it now, and have really increased my confidence in general for how things are run in the orthopedic trauma world. And people are funny. Here are a few random lines from patients, just from the last couple shifts, that stand out in my head...

" But how do you get a snake out of the toilet?"

" How many pieces of bone in my arm are broken? How is the surgeon going to glue them back together?"

" You and me, we went together, back in 1919"

" Nursey nursey nursey nursey!!"

"I was getting out of bed to try and fix the flat tire!"

" Will you marry me? You will get a million dollars!"

" Who looks after you while your parents are at work?"

" Find me the Chinese radio!"

All of the above are true statements by real patients at Vancouver General Hospital.

Christmas is coming. surprisingy so, I can't believe that its only 6 days ago. I'll be working the the 23rd day shift, and then the nights of the 24th and 25th. It'll be pretty different. There have already been a few "aaah i miss home and being there for Christmas!" moments. Its not easy. But I have good company here still- Mark and Hillary will still be home. And then on the 27th I am going up to Prince George for a week which will be lovely. :)

My eyes are getting blurry in tiredness so I think that's all for now.

Here are the beautiful mountains which i love so much. This is west coast. this is home. one of more than one place which i consider home, but still home. :)

the golden rays of crisp November sunshine touched on the city of Vancouver this morning. and bathed the majestic peaks of the north shore in glorious heavensent light. as the blue sky stretched overhead. and the people below saw the snow above, sprinkled over the peaks by their Maker. this is a glimpse of glory.

sushi

2 posts in one day- what is this? "It's the green tea, my friend, the green tea".

Biked to Grandview, to meet up with Nanc and coincidentally catch the tail end of their church service- then went to Tenth church (i am not trying to sound pious with these multiple churches, it's just the way things go around here on Sundays in order to hang out with good friends who attend multiple churches)...

To sum up the message we heard tonight at Tenth.. a quote from Rob Bell- "No one else gets in this specific, holy, sacred, spiritual, physical way". Marriage is a context like no other.

Went out for sushi after- hence the green tea. I love the connections that can be made with people. Often wherever you go, it seems. You did a course at my university i treeplanted with you your brother is my friend we are from the east you are going to marry that guy who is also my friend my boyfriend grew up in your town but after you you went to my school we were at the same concert in 2005 you also work at VGH you are friends with my friend we are all friends therefore...... its quite amazing.

All the cats in Vancouver come out onto the streets at precisely 11 pm. I have now witnessed it with my very eyes during a late night chat at the curb. Vancouver is beautiful at night. There is quiet and peace to be found in the sleeping streets of the city.

blue-grey-light

this has been an interesting last few days.

First of all I would like to say that I am quite pleased it is already November 16. November seemed to me such a daunting month when I first turned the calendar page. But now the halfway mark is past.

I've been a little under the weather lately and have a tendency to snuffle and sulk and become frustrated with my lackluster health status. I despise feeling ill. I don't like slowing down, I think that's the main problem. I want to not call in sick to work, I want to bike to north Van cause the weather is half decent, I want to sing my heart out in church- but all of the above will probably prolong this state. and so i just. need. to. slow. down. and i have a hard time with that. but i'll keep trying.

something that has been on my mind a bit lately is keeping in touch with people, or more the lack of such. I can (almost) count on one hand the friends from UWO that I still actively communicate with, still know what is going on with them, still call them to catch up and know what is going on with them without resorting to facebook stalking. I think it bothers me that I cant seem to keep in touch with more people. but it is something that does happen when you up and move across the country. and distance is a true test for any relationship. i seem to be learning this a lot lately.

i went on a lovely walk yesterday. there are still always places to discover around here. such as new brighton park. i guess you could say it is east Van's version of Kits beach. quite a nice spot.

You are the only constant in my life amidst the seas of change and uncertainty and hopes and dreams. People fail. You do not. Ever. Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord unto me.