Well, it's time I suppose, to bring back the blog. I'll try harder this time I promise!
I'm sitting in my new apartment in Queens, listening to Paul natter away in the bedroom. The only bedroom. We're been here almost two weeks now and the wall that has been promised to go up and give Paul his own bedroom has yet to appear. So, Paul sleeps in the master and Chris & I sleep in the family room.
So far there have been a number of things I've noticed about big city living that is very different than what I expected, or maybe I just never thought about it before.
1. Cream. Cream in my coffee. I ask for cream, and whoever is serving me looks blank for a moment, and then suggests "half & half?" No, not half & half, and no, not cooking cream. I just mean cream...coffee cream.
2. Traffic. Pedestrians. Cyclists. Emergency vehicles. There are no rules of the road here. It's kind of like Grenada, but times 10. Pedestrians never wait for a walk light, and often they are in the crosswalk when cars have the right of way, flipping off motorists for not slowing down. The reverse is true as well. Vehicles never, ever wait for a cleared crosswalk before making a turn. I suppose if they did, they would never get around a corner as the foot traffic never lets up. But I must admit I'm pretty choked when in the crosswalk with my stroller and cars are going around me on both sides. Cyclists take their lives into their hands every time they ride on these roads.
Emergency vehicles. If I were driving an emergency vehicle I would probably have a coronary from road rage. Most motorists do not seem to care to get out of the way of emergency vehicles, or they may change lanes, but they most certainly do not pull over and stop. I suppose half the time, they have no where to go, and just let the emerg. vehicle get around them somehow. This is probably why emergency vehicles use their horns constantly blarring their way through the streets of NY. Somewhat obnoxious, but I guess necessary.
3. That's another thing...horns. The honking is constant. There are even signs that go ignored all over the place warning against honking. In Grenada, the honking was a friendly beep, beep all the time, to say hi, to give warning, or to offer right of way. In Calgary no one dares use their horn because we're all so damned polite. In NY it's constant, obnoxious, "get the eff outta my way," or "you're a moron," honking. Kinda annoying and negative.
4. No 7-11's. Mom & Pop convenient stores on every corner, or in Manhattan - news stands. Kinda cool, actually.
5. Street meat is not just hotdogs. Often it's Halal food or sometimes, Mexican. One drunken night at 4am, Chris bartered a street vendor selling pastries down to 2 bucks from three crewlers.
6. Haven't seen many big malls. And the malls seem to be just stores or food restaurants, no kiddie play areas and such.
7. Haven't yet seen a Coffee & Scream. I think I need to open one.
8. No Safeway's. Mostly corner groceries. At least in Queens. Again, kinda cool to keep the big box stores out, but a bit harder to find everything I'd like in one shop. The only Whole Foods I've seen is in Manhattan, and it will be unrealistic to make the trek very often. I have noticed though that lots of the little stores carry a variety of items, and it is possible to find rarer items there too, depending. I think I'll have to subscribe to delivery service for some of the specialty items I can't find in my neighbourhood.
PS...All the grocery stores deliver!
So, these are just a few of the things I've noticed right off the bat. Obviously the first things, are the ones that are different and unexpected. I'm not down on things by any means, and I'm actually pretty stoked to be here. It's an amazing city, with a million things to do to keep one busy. Paul & I are really gonna rip it up out here :)
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Biding My Time
So how long does it take for one to get their act together? I'm just wondering this as a general question so that I know the appropriate time allotment I'm allowed for certain endeavors. One such endeavor is creating an album of the two years we lived in Grenada. I think I have no end of wonderful pictures (if I include all those I fully intend on stealing from my friend's flicker pages and blogs), and materials to make a most fabulous album. I have many friends who have written creative and descriptive blogs which would make great books/journals of their time in Grenada, but my blog activity has been spotty at best so I think a picture album would be more up my alley (unless I steal all of Julie's blogs and pretend her adventures are my own).
This is one thing that I need to do in the near future. I may or may not be taking courses this Spring, and so I think a good deadline would be end of summer for this project. I don't want to leave it too long, and end up with no memoir at all (which is what happened to my lovely honeymoon album which is still in a "to do" box).
Although I love all the advancements of technology, having all my memories on a flash drive is not quite cutting it for me these days. Why does it seem like such a pain to actually print out pictures into hard copy? And then once you have them, what does one do with them anymore? I am not much of a scrapbooker, but I think albums can still be quite nice and less of a time commitment than the artistic undertaking of a scrapbook.
I am very ashamed to admit that I don't even have pictures of my son to carry around in my wallet! OK, maybe I have one of him on Santa's lap last Christmas (and I'm talking last last Christmas), but it's not really representational anymore, and when I pull out a picture of a 5 month old and then tell my audience that my son is really 18 months old, I think I get funny looks, and I'm sure they're for being a crap mother.
Maybe we need a family pic at the Sears portrait studio with all of us in matching outfits, or with Paul in a sailor uniform or something. Then if I carried this around in my pocket, I would at least have something to show. I think I'm also carrying around pictures of my friend's kids (instead of my own), and my nephew at 2 yrs (he's now 6). It's just pathetic.
But in my defense I am still new at mastering how one actually goes about developing digital pictures in to hard copies. I think I somehow have to take them out of my iPhoto, but them back on the memory stick, and take the memory stick to London Drugs, plug it into the machine and do some printing via computer station. It's all very confusing. The last time I did this, I tried to make my mom a brag book of all her grandchildren, and I ordered all the pictures in the wrong size so that none of them actually fit into the brag album that I bought her. I had to give her the little photo album with a bunch of giant pictures sticking out at all angles and be like "Hey, why don't you take this awkward package to Long Island with you to show all your cousins!" I think she ended up only taking out two pics on their own, and left the whole brag book and the extra pictures behind. It was a very sad attempt at a nice gesture.
So anyway, I would like to make an album, and suppose I should start it soon. Before I have new albums of New York and perhaps Denmark to create (and procrastinate). And hey, you never know. Maybe one day I'll surprise myself (and my husband) and finally finish that honeymoon album too!
This is one thing that I need to do in the near future. I may or may not be taking courses this Spring, and so I think a good deadline would be end of summer for this project. I don't want to leave it too long, and end up with no memoir at all (which is what happened to my lovely honeymoon album which is still in a "to do" box).
Although I love all the advancements of technology, having all my memories on a flash drive is not quite cutting it for me these days. Why does it seem like such a pain to actually print out pictures into hard copy? And then once you have them, what does one do with them anymore? I am not much of a scrapbooker, but I think albums can still be quite nice and less of a time commitment than the artistic undertaking of a scrapbook.
I am very ashamed to admit that I don't even have pictures of my son to carry around in my wallet! OK, maybe I have one of him on Santa's lap last Christmas (and I'm talking last last Christmas), but it's not really representational anymore, and when I pull out a picture of a 5 month old and then tell my audience that my son is really 18 months old, I think I get funny looks, and I'm sure they're for being a crap mother.
Maybe we need a family pic at the Sears portrait studio with all of us in matching outfits, or with Paul in a sailor uniform or something. Then if I carried this around in my pocket, I would at least have something to show. I think I'm also carrying around pictures of my friend's kids (instead of my own), and my nephew at 2 yrs (he's now 6). It's just pathetic.
But in my defense I am still new at mastering how one actually goes about developing digital pictures in to hard copies. I think I somehow have to take them out of my iPhoto, but them back on the memory stick, and take the memory stick to London Drugs, plug it into the machine and do some printing via computer station. It's all very confusing. The last time I did this, I tried to make my mom a brag book of all her grandchildren, and I ordered all the pictures in the wrong size so that none of them actually fit into the brag album that I bought her. I had to give her the little photo album with a bunch of giant pictures sticking out at all angles and be like "Hey, why don't you take this awkward package to Long Island with you to show all your cousins!" I think she ended up only taking out two pics on their own, and left the whole brag book and the extra pictures behind. It was a very sad attempt at a nice gesture.
So anyway, I would like to make an album, and suppose I should start it soon. Before I have new albums of New York and perhaps Denmark to create (and procrastinate). And hey, you never know. Maybe one day I'll surprise myself (and my husband) and finally finish that honeymoon album too!
Monday, February 1, 2010
Our First Month Home
Well, we have endured January in Canada, and I must say, it was nearly as cold as I was afraid it would be. Of the four weeks I have been home, probably three of those weeks have been fairly temperate (not going below -20C). I still have to work up the courage to walk Paul and Stan at the same time on snowy streets, but I think my reservations are more due to laziness than fear of the cold for Paul.
Our flight home was adventurous as always. Having Stan rejected on the flight at the last minute, missing our connection in a FREEZING Toronto and having to be shuttled in the dead of night to some hotel, just to be shuttled back 5 hrs. later. Although, I should definitely not complain, since they bumped some poor schmuck on the next days flight so that P & I could get out of dodge. Thank God for the infant advantage, is all I have to say!
The day after Paul and I arrived we moved into our house. We have lived here a month, and I can still count the pieces of furniture we have on one hand (and two of those are in Paul's room). However, it is a wide open, child friendly place for Paul to explore, and I have little need for much else.
Stan even has his own bedroom! The furnishings consist of one blanket on the floor. He's thrilled!
I had one week to get set up and organized before starting my practicum at Children & Family Services (basically Child Welfare). We are now beginning our fourth week, and thus far I have been really enjoying the experience. I am often intimidated, but I am captivated by all the new experiences, and all the ranges of cases that we are getting. It can be really emotionally taxing at times, something I don't notice until I have a day off and start reflecting about what has gone on at work. Then I sit and dwell on a particular situation until I am ready to move through it. Chris has been really excellent at listening to me when I need to debrief (social worker lingo), even though he's very far away and trying to focus on studying for the most important exam of his life. I try to limit talking about the heavy stuff, as it doesn't make 'feel good' dinner convo.
Paul is changing and growing into a little boy more and more each day. He's talking lots, so active that I can barely keep up, and being generally a wonderful human being, and joy of my life :) He has yet to tell me "no" ever, although he does make it abundantly clear when he's not interested in doing what you want of him. He even will take 'time outs' and will sit against the wall crying his head off until I tell him he can move.
Other than that, we're just sitting around waiting for Chris to come home. Three weeks and counting! I can't wait until the USMLE is over and we can enjoy some time together until clinicals start on May 5.
Happy February everyone! Enjoy the Olympics :)
Our flight home was adventurous as always. Having Stan rejected on the flight at the last minute, missing our connection in a FREEZING Toronto and having to be shuttled in the dead of night to some hotel, just to be shuttled back 5 hrs. later. Although, I should definitely not complain, since they bumped some poor schmuck on the next days flight so that P & I could get out of dodge. Thank God for the infant advantage, is all I have to say!
The day after Paul and I arrived we moved into our house. We have lived here a month, and I can still count the pieces of furniture we have on one hand (and two of those are in Paul's room). However, it is a wide open, child friendly place for Paul to explore, and I have little need for much else.
Stan even has his own bedroom! The furnishings consist of one blanket on the floor. He's thrilled!
I had one week to get set up and organized before starting my practicum at Children & Family Services (basically Child Welfare). We are now beginning our fourth week, and thus far I have been really enjoying the experience. I am often intimidated, but I am captivated by all the new experiences, and all the ranges of cases that we are getting. It can be really emotionally taxing at times, something I don't notice until I have a day off and start reflecting about what has gone on at work. Then I sit and dwell on a particular situation until I am ready to move through it. Chris has been really excellent at listening to me when I need to debrief (social worker lingo), even though he's very far away and trying to focus on studying for the most important exam of his life. I try to limit talking about the heavy stuff, as it doesn't make 'feel good' dinner convo.
Paul is changing and growing into a little boy more and more each day. He's talking lots, so active that I can barely keep up, and being generally a wonderful human being, and joy of my life :) He has yet to tell me "no" ever, although he does make it abundantly clear when he's not interested in doing what you want of him. He even will take 'time outs' and will sit against the wall crying his head off until I tell him he can move.
Other than that, we're just sitting around waiting for Chris to come home. Three weeks and counting! I can't wait until the USMLE is over and we can enjoy some time together until clinicals start on May 5.
Happy February everyone! Enjoy the Olympics :)
Sunday, November 15, 2009
NYC
OK, so never mind the last post which was essentially all about Jersey and how we were going to go there. We changed our minds at the last minute and decided to put in for all NYC hospitals. The reasons are many, and I don't want to go into it all again after having hashed it out over and over for the past two weeks. Lets just say Chris & I are happy and confident in our decision, and are REALLY hopeful for our number one pick, but are fully aware it's unlikely we'll get.
Went to the beach at the Aquarium today. Cruise ship season is ramping up again, so there were a number of cruisers at the beach. This boat was very obviously a European crowd as the men were all in speedos and the women were either in teensy bikinis or topless. Not a common site when the American boats are in. When researching Grenada before we came here I read that it was not acceptable to go topless on the beaches here as it's a conservative culture compared to the other islands. The Euros apparently didn't get the memo or don't care, and what the hell! They're on vacay!!!! Besides, for a 'conservative culture' I routinely see women nursing their babies out in the open without even the discrete little wraps we North American-ers now use, so I guess it's hypocritical. Showing your 't's' while nursing is ok, but frolicking on the beach is a no-go. Who can keep up with all these double-standards?!
Julie, our ever-adventurous neighbour in all things Grenadian, has now made TWO authentic drinks lately out of local fare. The first being a 'nut-water' concoction with green coconut water, rum, and condensed milk. This drink was pretty good other than the fact that we used the 75% rum which tastes like gasoline, and which you're not even allowed to take on planes due to the high flammability. So needless to say, it burned going down. But the burn was good, and we had a really intense discussion, although I can't remember what it was about anymore.
The second drink debuted at The Flats happy hour last night, and was made from sea moss, rum, bitters and milk (i think). It was really good - for the first half. Then the last half had all the sea moss gelled bits at the bottom (gray gelatinous stuff that Julie soaked, boiled and blended into the drinks). Think of fish-eye tapioca. Well, I don't drink tapioca. So I think next time I'll have to strain my drink first, cause the flavour in general was still delish.
Off to bed now. Night!
Went to the beach at the Aquarium today. Cruise ship season is ramping up again, so there were a number of cruisers at the beach. This boat was very obviously a European crowd as the men were all in speedos and the women were either in teensy bikinis or topless. Not a common site when the American boats are in. When researching Grenada before we came here I read that it was not acceptable to go topless on the beaches here as it's a conservative culture compared to the other islands. The Euros apparently didn't get the memo or don't care, and what the hell! They're on vacay!!!! Besides, for a 'conservative culture' I routinely see women nursing their babies out in the open without even the discrete little wraps we North American-ers now use, so I guess it's hypocritical. Showing your 't's' while nursing is ok, but frolicking on the beach is a no-go. Who can keep up with all these double-standards?!
Julie, our ever-adventurous neighbour in all things Grenadian, has now made TWO authentic drinks lately out of local fare. The first being a 'nut-water' concoction with green coconut water, rum, and condensed milk. This drink was pretty good other than the fact that we used the 75% rum which tastes like gasoline, and which you're not even allowed to take on planes due to the high flammability. So needless to say, it burned going down. But the burn was good, and we had a really intense discussion, although I can't remember what it was about anymore.
The second drink debuted at The Flats happy hour last night, and was made from sea moss, rum, bitters and milk (i think). It was really good - for the first half. Then the last half had all the sea moss gelled bits at the bottom (gray gelatinous stuff that Julie soaked, boiled and blended into the drinks). Think of fish-eye tapioca. Well, I don't drink tapioca. So I think next time I'll have to strain my drink first, cause the flavour in general was still delish.
Off to bed now. Night!
Saturday, November 14, 2009
Yes, it's been forever :$
Once again I know I've been neglecting my blog. I think this is only the second or third this semester. So if no one finds it, that's ok. I'm mostly just blogging to organize my head space.
The list of hospitals that we can move to came out about three weeks ago. It was somewhat poorly planned as the list came out on the Friday before midterms, and all the med students could do on the weekend was think about possible clinical placements instead of study boring pharmacology.
At first we thought this list would be fun. As soon as it came out, Chris, Paul and I went and picked up dinner, ate take out from the new restaurant Charcoals, and sat down with the list in front of us, craigslist and google maps. We ended up having probably over 20 hospitals on our list. About 7 in NYC, 6 in NJ, a couple in California, a couple in Florida and one in Michigan. California and Florida are out right away for various reasons. Michigan only has a few spots available, and although living there might be very cheap and I could work across the border, I can't help but feel as though Detroit would be depressing. Not to mention the fact that the so few spots means our chances would be slim.
This leaves NYC & NJ. We only get three picks. For the last two years I have been super keen to move to NYC. I mean, who wouldn't?! It would be an absolutely aweseome experience...maybe. Here are the drawbacks:
-There are no hospital placements in Manhattan, so you wouldn't be living in The City (but really, it's too expensive there anyway).
-You cannot have a car as there is no parking anywhere, and who would want to drive around there?!
-It's kind of expensive, even in the boroughs
-there are not very many families that have gone before us living in NY (I can only think of two)
-taking the subway everywhere sounds convenient, but I really doubt it when you get right down to it, and it can be expensive
-this little fantasy I have of being cute and chic in NYC, is unrealistic and instead we'll probably be poor and frazzled in NJ
Logistically, not having a car with a one year old may be a nightmare. Sure, many people may do it, but it kind of sounds depressing. Shlepping all my s%$t around with a toddler in tow and maybe one day another on the way, in long, cold, icy, snowy, sleety weather would not be fun. I may end up being housebound a lot of the time, as even living near fun, trendy places or big parks raises the cost of rent. Up and down subway stairs, turn-styles, train transfers, etc. We wouldn't be able to drive around, explore the area, even go on the odd (and I mean very odd) family weekend getaways.
So, what's so great about Jersey?! Well, for one in some parts you are closer to Manhattan than the boroughs. There are lovely river walks and boardwalks where you can walk forever and see the Manhattan skyline. We could possibly have a car. We might be closer to other families. Let's be honest, some parts of Jersey are no cheaper than NYC, so I don't know if that's a real benefit. Having a car seems HUGE though. One thing I have learned from living away, is that if you don't have friends and neighbours that you enjoy, your quality of life really goes downhill (at least it does for Chris & I).
Well, regardless we'll see. Our choices have to be in TODAY, and Chris & I are still flip-flopping. Let me know what you think! But before you vote NYC, YOU try living with kids and no car and see how easy your life is. Oh, and by the way...this choice is only for the next 1 year and Chris & I could always move somewhere else for fourth year. That will be a whole new discussion!!!
-K
The list of hospitals that we can move to came out about three weeks ago. It was somewhat poorly planned as the list came out on the Friday before midterms, and all the med students could do on the weekend was think about possible clinical placements instead of study boring pharmacology.
At first we thought this list would be fun. As soon as it came out, Chris, Paul and I went and picked up dinner, ate take out from the new restaurant Charcoals, and sat down with the list in front of us, craigslist and google maps. We ended up having probably over 20 hospitals on our list. About 7 in NYC, 6 in NJ, a couple in California, a couple in Florida and one in Michigan. California and Florida are out right away for various reasons. Michigan only has a few spots available, and although living there might be very cheap and I could work across the border, I can't help but feel as though Detroit would be depressing. Not to mention the fact that the so few spots means our chances would be slim.
This leaves NYC & NJ. We only get three picks. For the last two years I have been super keen to move to NYC. I mean, who wouldn't?! It would be an absolutely aweseome experience...maybe. Here are the drawbacks:
-There are no hospital placements in Manhattan, so you wouldn't be living in The City (but really, it's too expensive there anyway).
-You cannot have a car as there is no parking anywhere, and who would want to drive around there?!
-It's kind of expensive, even in the boroughs
-there are not very many families that have gone before us living in NY (I can only think of two)
-taking the subway everywhere sounds convenient, but I really doubt it when you get right down to it, and it can be expensive
-this little fantasy I have of being cute and chic in NYC, is unrealistic and instead we'll probably be poor and frazzled in NJ
Logistically, not having a car with a one year old may be a nightmare. Sure, many people may do it, but it kind of sounds depressing. Shlepping all my s%$t around with a toddler in tow and maybe one day another on the way, in long, cold, icy, snowy, sleety weather would not be fun. I may end up being housebound a lot of the time, as even living near fun, trendy places or big parks raises the cost of rent. Up and down subway stairs, turn-styles, train transfers, etc. We wouldn't be able to drive around, explore the area, even go on the odd (and I mean very odd) family weekend getaways.
So, what's so great about Jersey?! Well, for one in some parts you are closer to Manhattan than the boroughs. There are lovely river walks and boardwalks where you can walk forever and see the Manhattan skyline. We could possibly have a car. We might be closer to other families. Let's be honest, some parts of Jersey are no cheaper than NYC, so I don't know if that's a real benefit. Having a car seems HUGE though. One thing I have learned from living away, is that if you don't have friends and neighbours that you enjoy, your quality of life really goes downhill (at least it does for Chris & I).
Well, regardless we'll see. Our choices have to be in TODAY, and Chris & I are still flip-flopping. Let me know what you think! But before you vote NYC, YOU try living with kids and no car and see how easy your life is. Oh, and by the way...this choice is only for the next 1 year and Chris & I could always move somewhere else for fourth year. That will be a whole new discussion!!!
-K
Monday, August 17, 2009
I'm trying to make this post more interesting by uploading images, but it takes so bloody long for each picture to upload that I may give up the whole endeavor. Currently I'm posting my pictures on facebook and my videos on youtube (search for "karenanneford1"), and that may have to be good enough. The blog may just have to be filled with my literary work :) so enjoy!
My baby's asleep and I'm putting off housework, so I figured it was as good a time as any. Plus, Julie informed me that she was going to write a blog today and I didn't want to be outdone.
Last weekend was Carnival, an event I missed again this year and so will never see as this is our last semester in Grenada. I am pretty ok with missing the whole event, but I suppose it would have been nifty to see the costumes. Julie informed me that Carnival is supposed to be the hedonistic display before Lent begins, which would make it weird to have a Carnival in August. The explanation is that Trinidad was getting all the attention for their Carnival and Grenada's was being passed over, so they aribitrarily moved the date. Hmmmmm....so where's the party before Lent? I suppose one should head over to Trinidad.
OMG, I might grow old and die before any pictures are being uploaded! Well, here's what I wanted to show pics of:
Paul in his new Dora the Explorer chair
Paul feeding Stan - his new favourite activity
Paul & Isla playing in the "fort" - aka beach tent
Chris & Breck at their Journal Club booth at orientation.
So, use your imaginations.
I'm really proud of Chris & Breck for starting a new club this semester. And how fortuitous that they start it in their last semester and then get to hand it over to the next generation as this is their last term. Way to pad your resumes boys! I made one of the signs for the Journal Club, and I announced that this sign would be my legacy in Grenada as perhaps it will be used for years to come at Journal Club orientations :)
Paul has started back at daycare this week for three afternoons, and it is really nice to have the extra time again. Come September he'll be starting three full days, and I'm sure I'll be missing him a ton. Unfortunately, I also need the time to be able to get my school work done. And honestly, I think the "missing" is all on my part as Paul seems to have the time of his life while he's over there.
Well, this is all I got for now. xoxo K
My baby's asleep and I'm putting off housework, so I figured it was as good a time as any. Plus, Julie informed me that she was going to write a blog today and I didn't want to be outdone.
Last weekend was Carnival, an event I missed again this year and so will never see as this is our last semester in Grenada. I am pretty ok with missing the whole event, but I suppose it would have been nifty to see the costumes. Julie informed me that Carnival is supposed to be the hedonistic display before Lent begins, which would make it weird to have a Carnival in August. The explanation is that Trinidad was getting all the attention for their Carnival and Grenada's was being passed over, so they aribitrarily moved the date. Hmmmmm....so where's the party before Lent? I suppose one should head over to Trinidad.
OMG, I might grow old and die before any pictures are being uploaded! Well, here's what I wanted to show pics of:
Paul in his new Dora the Explorer chair
Paul feeding Stan - his new favourite activity
Paul & Isla playing in the "fort" - aka beach tent
Chris & Breck at their Journal Club booth at orientation.
So, use your imaginations.
I'm really proud of Chris & Breck for starting a new club this semester. And how fortuitous that they start it in their last semester and then get to hand it over to the next generation as this is their last term. Way to pad your resumes boys! I made one of the signs for the Journal Club, and I announced that this sign would be my legacy in Grenada as perhaps it will be used for years to come at Journal Club orientations :)
Paul has started back at daycare this week for three afternoons, and it is really nice to have the extra time again. Come September he'll be starting three full days, and I'm sure I'll be missing him a ton. Unfortunately, I also need the time to be able to get my school work done. And honestly, I think the "missing" is all on my part as Paul seems to have the time of his life while he's over there.
Well, this is all I got for now. xoxo K
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Grenada Again
Well, much to my surprise, my husband chastised me for not keeping up my blog. Apparently he actually reads it. So, after a three month hiatus, I'm back. Here's to all you voyeurs out there that I don't know about, but that apparently read my blog :)
Canada was a whirlwind as usual. I had a wonderful time, and owe thanks to many people for their generosity and contributions while I was home. I spent the month of June living with my mother, and it was really nice to have the time with her and watch her relationship with Paul develop.
The three of us went to Victoria for 10 days, where I spent most days in a classroom, and mom & Paul were kickin' back on vacay. The University of Victoria campus is a really cool place. We had the third floor dormitory mainly to ourselves. I stayed in one dorm room while Mom & Paul stayed in another (far away from me so I wouldn't be woken up by Paul at night). Our little rooms were really cute, and it made me reticent (am I using this word correctly?) that I never had the dormitory experience while in University myself.
Paul had a lot of fun crawling the halls, and hiding under the lounge cupboards. We had cafeteria food every day, and surprisingly it was very good and cheap. The University was also very close to the ocean, so we would walk down to the beach quite often. One house in our vicinity was listed by Sotheby's for a mere $13 million. Who knew houses went for so much in Victoria?!
Shortly after my return to Calgary Chris came home! That was great, as being apart for 6 weeks is no fun at all. Chris had the opportunity to shadow an orthopedic surgeon this summer for a week and spent his days doing rounds, consulting with patients, and getting blood splattered on his shoes in the OR. These were very early days (had to be at the hospital at 6:30am every day), so he needs to take that into consideration when applying for ortho residencies - haha. We all know that Chris IS NOT a morning person. But he did managed to be up that early daily without complaint, and even managed to have breakfast (which is an improvement over his Grenada lifestyle). This experience made him really look forward to getting out of a classroom and into a hospital. I can't wait for it either as I know it will be really exciting for him.
The month of July was spent as Chris' parents house, which was also a great chance to catch up with family and let Paul be fawned over by the Fords. The only complaint was our smokin' hot bedroom. Thinking back it's the only bedroom I've slept in over the past few months that hasn't had a/c. My how spoiled I've become (although as I speak the a/c in our BR in Grenada has stopped working and we have to blast the a/c in the kitchen in hopes that the cool air circumnavigates itself into the BR).
In July Paul & I also did a 10 day side trip to California to vacation with my sister's family. We spent a few days at Bass Lake near Yosemite National Park - absolutely beautiful and a must return spot - and a few days in Anaheim at Disneyland. We all had such fun! Paul loved spending time with his cousins, and was really sad to leave them again. Adam was really close to his goal of teaching baby Paul how to walk (he's started walking constantly just this week, and is working on being able to get up to standing without aid).
Back in Calgary we had just a few days to plan Paul's first birthday party, which was an awesome success. We had a Disney theme since we had just returned, and Paul wore his Mickey ears as his party had (pics on facebook). Then, three days, later on Paul's actual first birthday we left for Grenada again. I said goodbye to the Sheraton in TO, as I probably will not be staying there again anytime soon. I said goodbye to the airport in Barbados, as I will not be traveling through there on my final trip home. And I said GOODBYE to Liat, which I will never be flying again (or at least not in the near future). Yes the airline has gotten me from point A to point B on many occasions, but this last plane seemed so completely neglected that I was surprised when we didn't plummet into the ocean.
And now we're back! And I will do my best to enjoy these final 5 months on the island. This experience has been so wonderful thus far. I'm so grateful that my husband is fulfilling his dream, and that I get to be a part of it. That Paul has had such an amazing first year of life, and is a seasoned traveler at 1yr and 7 days. I will keep you all updated on the last chapter of Grenadian living as it unfolds. Stay tuned...
Canada was a whirlwind as usual. I had a wonderful time, and owe thanks to many people for their generosity and contributions while I was home. I spent the month of June living with my mother, and it was really nice to have the time with her and watch her relationship with Paul develop.
The three of us went to Victoria for 10 days, where I spent most days in a classroom, and mom & Paul were kickin' back on vacay. The University of Victoria campus is a really cool place. We had the third floor dormitory mainly to ourselves. I stayed in one dorm room while Mom & Paul stayed in another (far away from me so I wouldn't be woken up by Paul at night). Our little rooms were really cute, and it made me reticent (am I using this word correctly?) that I never had the dormitory experience while in University myself.
Paul had a lot of fun crawling the halls, and hiding under the lounge cupboards. We had cafeteria food every day, and surprisingly it was very good and cheap. The University was also very close to the ocean, so we would walk down to the beach quite often. One house in our vicinity was listed by Sotheby's for a mere $13 million. Who knew houses went for so much in Victoria?!
Shortly after my return to Calgary Chris came home! That was great, as being apart for 6 weeks is no fun at all. Chris had the opportunity to shadow an orthopedic surgeon this summer for a week and spent his days doing rounds, consulting with patients, and getting blood splattered on his shoes in the OR. These were very early days (had to be at the hospital at 6:30am every day), so he needs to take that into consideration when applying for ortho residencies - haha. We all know that Chris IS NOT a morning person. But he did managed to be up that early daily without complaint, and even managed to have breakfast (which is an improvement over his Grenada lifestyle). This experience made him really look forward to getting out of a classroom and into a hospital. I can't wait for it either as I know it will be really exciting for him.
The month of July was spent as Chris' parents house, which was also a great chance to catch up with family and let Paul be fawned over by the Fords. The only complaint was our smokin' hot bedroom. Thinking back it's the only bedroom I've slept in over the past few months that hasn't had a/c. My how spoiled I've become (although as I speak the a/c in our BR in Grenada has stopped working and we have to blast the a/c in the kitchen in hopes that the cool air circumnavigates itself into the BR).
In July Paul & I also did a 10 day side trip to California to vacation with my sister's family. We spent a few days at Bass Lake near Yosemite National Park - absolutely beautiful and a must return spot - and a few days in Anaheim at Disneyland. We all had such fun! Paul loved spending time with his cousins, and was really sad to leave them again. Adam was really close to his goal of teaching baby Paul how to walk (he's started walking constantly just this week, and is working on being able to get up to standing without aid).
Back in Calgary we had just a few days to plan Paul's first birthday party, which was an awesome success. We had a Disney theme since we had just returned, and Paul wore his Mickey ears as his party had (pics on facebook). Then, three days, later on Paul's actual first birthday we left for Grenada again. I said goodbye to the Sheraton in TO, as I probably will not be staying there again anytime soon. I said goodbye to the airport in Barbados, as I will not be traveling through there on my final trip home. And I said GOODBYE to Liat, which I will never be flying again (or at least not in the near future). Yes the airline has gotten me from point A to point B on many occasions, but this last plane seemed so completely neglected that I was surprised when we didn't plummet into the ocean.
And now we're back! And I will do my best to enjoy these final 5 months on the island. This experience has been so wonderful thus far. I'm so grateful that my husband is fulfilling his dream, and that I get to be a part of it. That Paul has had such an amazing first year of life, and is a seasoned traveler at 1yr and 7 days. I will keep you all updated on the last chapter of Grenadian living as it unfolds. Stay tuned...
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