Milestones

Update...

2005-07-26T17:23:00.000-04:00

I think I'll post consistently over the next week and end this thing once and for all next Tuesday (which I believe is August 2nd)... I really liked the suggestions I got for my last posts and I'll likely use most (if not all) of them...But I think my previous post was a little more personal than most? That's a good thing, right? :)

More to come...

Oh, and THANK YOU to everyone who has been reading my blog...I know you're out there. Some more quiet than others... I really appreciate it. :)

A letter to an old friend....

2005-07-26T09:24:00.000-04:00

Hey lady,

It's the end of my blog and I've been thinking of things to write that I feel would appropriately wrap up my short, yet sweet time in cyberland. I'm very fond of telling people just how important they are to me for I really believe that life is just too short. You mentioned the other night (when we searched for a coffee shop and settled for beer instead) that you appreciate my friendship ... Here's my rendition of what you have so beautifully vocalized lately...Don't think I haven't noticed.

When I think of my history, my stories and the milestones that have helped me become me, I think of you. Do you realize it's been 13 years now? Do you realize that my going to medical school is/was the first time since we were 12 years old that we didn't go to the same school? Do you realize how many memories you are associated with? Do you ? Because I do.

It's amazing how our lives have mirrored each other's - yes, you know what I'm talking about. And how we always say that our conversations center around "one" topic but we both know that's not true! What will we do when we can't spontaneously pick up and go to Cancun like we did ? When we can't laugh about certain hat-wearing people singing in bars and us falling asleep in the airport together? What will we do when we have kids? Will we still be naughty good girls together? Will we still laugh and say "I know!! ME TOO!!" , just the way we do now? Will I still send you care packages in Japan? Will you still big my biggest fan when it comes to my dream of becoming a doctor? Will we still treasure each other like we do now? Will we still know that we hold a place in each other's lives that nobody else can replace? Will we still be able to be happy for each other like we are now? Because I love that about us...

When you think to the future, do you wonder if we'll keep evolving and growing together? Because we have. I was told recently that you and I are quite alike. I would've never thought it before. You were the loud and rambunctious one at school! Do you remember? I can close my eyes and see you at 14 years of age (just like it was yesterday!!) . I was the shy and reserved one...God, what happened to me? Do you wonder if we'll always email each other a zillion times a day? If we'll still tell each other everything knowing that we'll never judge one another? That we'll never disapprove or badmouth? That we got over that nonsense at around the same time that we moved in next door to each other in University? That we turned of legal drinking age within three days of each other? That we went to France together? That we went to Cuba together? That you saw me in some of my most awkward and insecure stages (which I think are still going on, by the way) and that I cried when you got your traumatic haircut in high school?

Do you realize it all started over a "sombrero" and an "early in the morning"? Do you realize our code names for boys are all over my childhood memorabilia? Do you remember how many letters you sent me when I went away to camp? We were always great pen pals...Heck, we were great pals period. I'll always love this. Do you realize our friendship never revolved around a common interest? Sure, we could talk about songs, celebrities, clothes and movies until the cows came home but you got your tongue, belly button and nose pierced! I don't' even have my ears pierced! What an odd pairing, wouldn't you say?

So tell me - what happens now, lady? (Do you realize I've called you lady since you were 12? Do you realize you've refused to call me Sam or Sami or anything other than Samira since I was 12? ). Do we grow up? Tell me - what does happen now? Are we supposed to keep looking life in the face like we have been, waiting for our cards to be dealt the way we want them? Is this what happens? Is this what we do? Will you come to my wedding someday? Will I go to yours? Will you be a bridesmaid if I have one? Will you forgive me if I don't have one? Will you let me be your children's doctor? I promise, I'll love them like my own. Will you keep traveling with me? Will we be able to leave our husbands and have a girl's night out? Will we giggle at each other uncontrollably because we both know what we're thinking?

How could I not remind you of all this when my website is called Milestones and you have been a part of so many of my Milestones thus far? I hope you know that I think we'll both do just fine...That we will always ask for each other's advice and we will always laugh at our past selves question our future....This is normal. Uncertainty is our motto... But I do know one thing for sure: when we meet on Thursday, we'll have tons to say, not enough time to say it in, and we'll have a great time ...as always.

The beginning of the end...

2005-07-15T13:55:00.000-04:00

After careful consideration, I have really decided to stop this blog. Unfortunately, I can't explain the reasons behind my decision, but this is something that I must do. That's not to say that I'll quit writing altogether. Maybe someday, in a year or two, I'll start another anonymous blog and you'll stumble upon it and think, "Whoa. This girl is as crazy as that Samira girl who used to blog once", or maybe I'll just start writing in an old fashioned journal like I used to in grade 8 (although, after having my cousin find the diary a week ago and read it aloud in a chipmunk voice while laughing hysterically at my simple-mindedness, I might reconsider that option)...

But this site has definitely past its expiration date... So my next few posts will be the last. I'm not thrilled about this, trust me. Which is why I'll find another way (maybe finally publish my silly book?) .... But in the meantime, I'll take requests for my last few Milestones posts - meaning that if anyone wants me to blog about somethign in particular, I'm definitely open to suggestions.

So hit me.

A litte taste of italy....

2005-06-21T17:28:00.000-04:00

A litte taste of italy....
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

I have never had so much damn red wine in my entire life. By the way, I retract my previous opinion and can now confidently say that red wine rocks the big one (*hiccup*).

I don't have time to write a big post and yes, I did take this picture myself (*proud smile*). Do you think I should ditch the medical career and opt for photography instead?

All I will say for now is that I everytime I think I love Italy a little more, I see something that blows me away even more..I loved Florence more than Rome and I loved Venice more than Florence... I always knew I'd like Venice but I never dreamed...not in a million years....

Ps. Oh, and I have to lose 10 lbs now. It's my new mission. How the heck do these Italian girls stay so thin and eat so much?!

After the Spa day...

2005-06-20T15:56:00.000-04:00

After the Spa day...
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

Okay, all I have to say (for the time being) is that I freaking LOVE Italy. Love it, love it , love it.

How is that for poetic?

Oh. And I love it smore.

More to come later..but in the meantime, this isnt Italy...Its our spa day (post pampering)...

I know it's been ages...

2005-06-14T11:43:00.000-04:00

...But I think there's a certain recuperation period necessary and I'm still enjoying it. I think that St. George's knows all too well that two months rest is exactly what their students need after completing their first term. I still don't feel like myself but I'm not entirely sure if I'll ever be the person I was before I left. And I don't necessarily think that's a bad thing.

I sort of feel like I'm leading two separate lives. The first one includes my parents, my family, my friends and my history. The second includes me following my dreams, meeting new people, creating a new family and feeling somewhat lost most of the time. I will tell you though -- that when I'm in school, I have a one-track mind and that is completely new for me. I've always a been somewhat eclectic individual and generally one of those people who likes to dabble in a bit of everything. But at SGU, I'm student-Samira and that's about it. Maybe it's just me. Maybe I've yet to master the art of balancing things when I'm in school, I don't know.

All I know is that I'm here. Back at home. My skin's cleared up and I'm eating fruit again. I'm boycotting chicken altogether (as someone so appropriately put it, "If you're a chicken on Grenada, you're not safe"). I'm drinking my favorite coffee. I'm driving again. Playing with my dog. Playing tennis again. Seeing people who have been here for the last four months and who have tons of stories to share with me. People who know I've had the time of my life but who also weren't expecting to hear that first term was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. I can't wait to look back on it and laugh but I'm not there yet. I'm still thinking, "Holy crap. I can't believe we made it."

But we did. And that's what matters...

I visited my undergrad University yesterday (for my cousin's convocation). I hadn't been back in about 3 years and nostalgia hit me like a ton of bricks. I kept saying how I couldn't believe how much time I'd spent there , and there....and there.... And there's the restaurant I waitressed at...And there's my old house. My old dorm. This is where I used to go grocery shopping. And that's where I did my research project. Boy am I glad that's over. That's the spot where I was picked up every day of the work week. That's Dionne's old house. And there's where wasshisname used to live. God, what was his name ? That's the bus I used to take. That's the coffee place we used to go to. This is the hill we charged during Frosh week, where we sang crazy Frosh songs - and where we met people who we never ended up keeping in touch with.

And all the while, I couldn't help but think....Is this what SGU will be like for me in a few years?

It feels great to be home...

2005-06-08T21:28:00.000-04:00

It will probably take everyone some time to get back into the swing of things back home. To forget about SGU and to remember that life does exist beyond Grenada and beyond exams. For me, it took about a day and a half.

I played tennis today. And I'm happy to report that it really is like riding a bike...Even though I am officially the biggest nerd on the planet because I don't think it's kosher to be yelling out the names of all the muscles that you're using while playing the sport. But hey - nobody said I was perfect. ;)

I also just came back from eating dinner with my mom. You know -- one of those dinners where you're wondering at the beginning what in heaven's name you're gonna talk about and then realizing 2 hours later that you still have so much to say.

And I'm also happy to report that I bought a jump drive today so I'll be posting pictures again. I still have a lot to say but I also have some catching up to do so...

Toodaloo for now!

Smells like home...

2005-06-07T17:25:00.000-04:00

A while ago, I wrote that I don't remember what home smells like anymore. I can honestly tell you now that it smells wonderful and I hope I don't ever forget the smell again.

I won't be able to post any pictures up until I buy a jump drive (don't ask). I'll try and do that soon because it seems that my schedule is quickly filling up....

Exam Week

2005-06-05T12:32:00.000-04:00

Exam Week
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

I leave for Toronto tomorrow. I’m in a pretty numb state right now so I don’t know what to write about (or should I say “aboot” , as we Canadians apparently pronounce it). I have no exam to worry about, no assignment due, no professor to go see. And of course, I can suddenly wake up at 6am WITHOUT my alarm clock.

It feels like the first week I arrived, hand-in-hand with my dad who (in hindsight) was wonderful that week. The only difference is, four months of my life have passed, I think I’ve climbed a mountain and I’ve met a ton of great people who I didn’t know four months ago. Yesterday, when I was saying goodbye to Les (yes, I cried . Yes, I’m a moron), I was really emotional because I kept thinking of how weird it is to have this tight-knit community and to be spending every single day with your classmates, your roommate, your study mates and your friends when you didn’t even know these people existed until you were thrown into this emotional marathon with them. I’m telling you, it’s like Survivor on this island.

It’s extremely refreshing to see everyone in their natural state. To see them smiling again, to see them showering again (okay, so maybe that’s just me. Kidding!), to see them get ready to go back home and settle back into their element. I do feel slightly drained (read: mostly dead) and I can’t wait to see my family and friends again and to soak up some of their goodness, their positive attitudes and their moral support. No matter how much I tried to prepare for this experience, there was no way I was prepared for what hit me like a sack of bricks (just above my inguinal region- knocked the wind right outta me, really).

I’m pooped. I’m sheepish. I’m 10 or 15 pounds heavier (Leslie and I's new motto was "Screw you, Oprah!"). I’m not even tanned because it’s been raining for 3 weeks straight here and I’ve even come to accept that in some parts of the world, rain falls sideways and no umbrella or raincoat can save you from swimming to campus. I just hope I don’t cry when I leave tomorrow or when I see my mom at the airport.

Hey! Did I mention I’m going to Italy for a week? My parents are going to Rome, Florence and Venice and seeing as how I’ve always made such a huge stink about wanting see Venice before there’s no Venice left to see, they’re taking me with them. So I’ll be leaving on the 17th . That'll make for some interesting blogging stories, I'm sure. :)

Something to look forward to. Along with the 8 weeks of home I get, of course...

More to come soon.

It's over...

2005-06-03T17:28:00.000-04:00

Best beach ever
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

In more ways than one, maybe. Biochem kicked my ass so badly that I am scared to check my grade. So I won't.

I'm just gonna try and enjoy my weekend. Right now though, it feels awfully weird not to have anything to do. Les and I are just staring at each other.

Small break....

2005-05-19T15:45:00.000-04:00

Finals are creeping up so I need to take a small blogging break to focus . I'll be posting again after June 3rd (the day of my last final).

Wish me luck and a la prochaine!

Right outside our room....

2005-05-18T18:27:00.000-04:00

Right outside our room....
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

Look at this frog. What you want to be paying attention to is this:

The fact that I won't get close to it because ... It's the size of my foot.

Leslie made me post this....

2005-05-18T12:13:00.000-04:00

It’s 10:30pm. I’ve been studying the skull. I just spoke to my dad. And I hate finals.

Scratch that.

I hate exams.

Altogether.

They suck the fun out of learning. But I won’t be negative. I’ll be positive and I’ll focus on the good things.

So here are some good things.

A certain someone made my day today. You know who you are. I’ve told you at least 6 times already that you rock.

Also, Leslie had a table quiz in Anatomy and left our room in such a hurry this morning that (get this), she didn’t make her bed. Oh yeah. I know. What has this world come to when Leslie B. doesn’t make her bed! Have I mentioned yet why this is a big deal? Because she usually makes *my* bed too. She thinks I’m the most disorganized, messy person ever. I probably am (my mom would attest to that). Anyway, so I made her bed for her after she left. Yes, toot toot - I’m not very humble either.

(Overall, Les and I have a very comfortable type of routine going. She is one of those people who likes routine (myself personally, I could go either way). So every morning, I make the coffee and smoothies and she does the dishes and makes my bed.)

Another thing. My dad told me that he recently saw my mixed-doubles tennis partner who apparently reads my blog on a regular basis? That made my night. I feel like I have no idea how you are doing Allan, so to learn that you know what’s been going on in my life really feels great. *big goofy grin* . The opinions you must have of me by now! Betcha didn’t know how cooky I am off the tennis courts, eh? By the way, I haven’t been on a tennis court since I saw you last (except if you want to count that time when Leslie and I played “bennis”).

Another good thing. Andrea is the world’s most gag-worthy newlywed. I love it. Mitra, on the other hand, might slap her the next time they see each other but I’m sure that deep down, she’s happy that Andrea’s so disgustingly blissful. Every morning Andrea sends us the “Good morning! The sun is shining! The birds are chirping! And I’m married to the most wonderful man in the world” email. Great way to kickstart my morning, let me tell ya. Mitra, by the way, has taken her Togo experience and used it to become an even better person. It’s truly amazing.

And, oh. Andrea wanted to know about the floods in our room. You see, the floods were actually caused by two separate occurences. The first had to do with our bathtub, which seems to only have two settings. Setting 1 is the “not draining” setting. You know, the one where you end up in knee deep water by the time your shower’s over? And Setting 2, is the “leaking through the wall” setting. It’s pretty self-explanatory, in my opinion. So once we got Setting 2 fixed, the pipe under the bathroom sink burst one night when Les was alone in our room. She had to save everything by herself (shoes, electronics, suitcases, everything important really), and that was the cause of the second flood in the room.

Another great thing. The ocean. It’s different every day (in the most gorgeous of ways). I will never (ever) grow tired of it. I try to catch the sunset whenever I can , even if only for a few minutes.

Am I even making sense right now? I sure hope so. You’ll have to tell me in the comments section. I bet my posts are becoming more and more obscure with each passing day . I blame the following things for my insanity:

* Cranial nerves 5 and 7.
* Lymphoid tissue (I don’t even remember studying it the first time around. Honestly, did we even learn this or did the profs just sneak it into the handout without our knowledge?).
* Purines and pyrimidines. I hate you both. Not a big fan of cobalamin either.

Ps. More to come later….

Caving

2005-05-16T21:03:00.000-04:00

Caving
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

I don't have time to write a decent post today (nor do I know what to write about except for maybe, "AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!"). But a certain someone is doing a very good job of keeping me calm (and fed) so I'll spare you the virtual panick attack....for now.

What I've decided to do today is to recycle a post I wrote before I came to Grenada. I've been thinking about my two girls quite a bit lately (it might have something to do with the 14 emails I get from them a day)...so here's a little story that is very indicative of "us". I hope you like it as much as Leslie did.

Andrea: Loved the chopping veggies story and I hope you get the cat.
Mitra: Sorry to hear about "you know what". Hang in there. If anyone understands though, it's your mini-me.

CAVING:

So, has anyone ever gone "caving"? That is one experience I'd like to forget. I can't remember if it was Mitra's brilliant idea or Andrea's. Not really sure. But one of them found about this caving trip through this website and were extremely gung-ho about trying it. I'm not sure when we turned into daredevils exactly, but we did (for a brief moment anyway).

And me? I thought, sure! I'll stick a flashlight-hat on my head and go in a few caves. I can do that. No worries. How bad can it be? We're in Ontario for Pete's sake.

So we actually paid someone to go into some Ontarian caves in some Ontarian mountains.

*giggle*

As if we even have mountains in Ontario. So let me rephrase that, we went into some Ontarian "hills".

So we got there in the morning and they stuck us with nine other people or so (and one guide). We said some polite "hellos" here and there, and off we went.

Task # 1: Climb up a little Ontarian hill.

Only, it wasn't a hill. It was actually the world's biggest mountain because it took 45 minutes to get to the top. Take three city girls and make them hike up a mountain and what do you get? Sweat-dripping, out-of-shape-panting, hell-cursing, frizzy-hair-looking, sweater-stripping, awful-looking girls.

But we made it. Hoorah. Task #1 was completed with minor damage.

Task #2: rappel down a huge hole that happens to be at the top of the mountain.

Oh, and when I say "rappel", I'm talking 100 feet here. Enough to scare the soul right out of you. Hey, did I mention none of us have gone rappelling before?

Mitra [peering over the edge]: Uh, 'scuse me?
Guide: Yes?
Mitra: Uh....we've never done this before.
Guide: Don't worry, I'll walk you through it.
Andrea [peering over the edge]: Wow! That's a big drop.
Guide: Don't worry, I'll help you through it.
Me [peering over the edge]: F**k that! I'm not going down there! There was NOTHING in the trip description about cliff-hanging!!
Guide: It's not cliff-hanging, it's rappelling.
Me [giving guide evil look]: Potayto, potahto. Do I look like Sylvester Stallone to you? I'm not doing this. I'll walk back down and wait for you guys at the bottom of the hill.
Guide: You can't do that. I'm responsible for you and we all have to stick together.
Me: Then let's all just get out of here.
Guide: No, I'm sorry. You'll just have to do this. You can do it. Don't worry. It looks a lot worse than it is. Trust me.
Me: [snort]

Meanwhile, the other 9 people in the group are all professional rappellers and they are gliding down the hill effortlessly as if it was the best thing since sliced bread.

And then there were three.

Mitra volunteered to go first.

Let's just say, that was possibly one of the funniest moments in my life. The look on her face as she was going over the edge was truly priceless. The expression, "deer caught in headlights" doesn't do it justice. It was more like, "This is it. This is how I'm going to die." Or to quote her directly, "This is my life. For real."

I have a picture of it somewhere. Andrea managed to take a picture before Mitra went over the edge, leaving the two of us rolling on the floor, pissing ourselves laughing. Honestly? Once Mitra had made it to the bottom, it wasn't so bad. Andrea went next. And then it was I.

I mean , really. All I did was try and grab every rock, tree, twig, branch and ledge on the way down. But I was sooo good. The guide even said that she was impressed with me. Something like, " I can't believe you made it down in one piece after having banged yourself against the side like that so many times. That was truly miraculous."

Oh yeah. I was a natural.

And boy was I ever on a high! So happy, was I, that the "Holy sh*t you're bleeding Sami, your pants are ripped and you've got a branch stuck in your hair," stuff didn't faze me whatsoever. I was a true dare-devil.

Thinking that the worst is over and that we are superstars for having rappelled flawlessly down a 100 ft drop, the three of us were cruising.

BRING ON THE CAVES! [high five]

But this is where I ask you, dear reader, if you've ever been "caving" before. Because the word "cave" gives the impression of a large hollow passage, with an opening to the surface of the earth. Therefore, the word "caving" gives the impression of walking inside large, hollow passages which have openings to the surface of the earth.

Well. Apparently, impressions weren't worth much out there because the true meaning of the word CAVING is completely different.

Caving (v. intr) [kAy-ving] : To crawl into the smallest tiniest air pockets on the planet. To drag yourself on your hands and knees along the narrowest and most claustrophobic of environments for 2 hours straight without seeing daylight. To cry. To think you are going to die. To come to a small "room" where you can finally stand up in which twelve people are practically molesting each other because there is no room to breathe, let alone scratch your itchy nose. To know the true meaning of "claustrophobia" and know that you, in fact, have it. To dig your way out of a mountain like a goddamn gopher. To watch your friend have a panic attack when you come to another area which has a ledge that you literally have to JUMP over (no rope). Falling over the ledge would result in death (no joke). To cry s'more. To want to kill your guide. To think to yourself, "Screw my friends, I have to get out of here alive". To have the battery run out on your hat-flashlight and be crawling around in the dark and wondering what's crawling around on you. To grab Andrea's foot (who is crawling in front of you), so you don't loose your friends since it is pitch black and you don't have night vision. To hear Andrea say, "Sami, stop pulling me back. It's every man for himself in here." To contemplate pushing Andrea over the edge. To know you can't push her because if she's going down, she's taking you with her.

So that, my friends, is the TRUE definition of caving. It is positively the most traumatizing experience ever.

Task #3: Go caving because that's the only way out of the mountain.

First off, Mitra's panic attack was quite amusing to witness (I'm talking full-blown "I can't breathe, I'm hyperventilating, holy [insert string of swear words here], get me out of here") . But I'm sure my friends would testify that mine was more fun to watch.

Honestly. I'm telling you. I was OK for the longest while. I tried not to think about how little room I had. I tried not to breathe. I tried not to think about the fact that I kept getting stuck and the stupid guide kept having to pull me out of the holes. I tried to think happy thoughts. I tried to sing, "Rain drops on roses and whiskers on kittens. Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens".

Really. All was good. I was surviving.

I even jumped over the gaping hole without falling into the abyss. I managed to crack a smile when Mitra freaked out. And I only freaked out a little when the guide told us to "look up" at one point and I saw hundreds of bats sleeping a few feet above my head.

Me: Holy mother of god, are those what I think they are?
Guide: Yes! Isn't that neat?
Me: NEAT? You call that neat? Wtf is wrong with you?
Guide: They are magnificent creatures!
Me: What's magnificent about them, exactly? They're blood sucking tendencies?
Guide [laughing] They're not vampires.
Me: Whatever. Get me out of here. [mutter, mutter]. Magnificent creatures. [mutter, mutter]. Black widow spiders are magnificent too and I don't see you hanging out with them in a four foot cubed environment.
Guide: Why? Did you see one?
Me: See one what?
Guide: A spider.
Me: Ha. Ha. Very funny. As if I'd see a spider in a mountain.
Guide: Oh sure you would! We've got all kinds in these caves.
[silence]
Guide: Hey. You okay? What's wrong? Why did you stop?
[more silence]
Guide: Hey, uh... [she can't remember my name]....uh...Smeera...you alright over there?
[silence]
Andrea: Come on Sami, I think I actually see light at the end of the tunnel.
Me [thinking I've died and gone to hell and Andrea, of all people, is trying to steer me into the light. I finally managed to say something]: Sbragit.
Andrea: What? What did you say? Mitra, what did she say?
Mitra: Don't f**ing talk to me! Don't f**ing touch me! I'm f**ing concentrating.
Andrea: Psst! Sami, come on. We're almost there.

I start crawling again. Meanwhile, I am suddenly very aware of my surroundings. I see things crawling all over the place. I think I feel something on my head.

I am on Fear Factor. I know it. I am on some sort of Surprise episode of Fear Factor and there are cameras watching me every minute of the way. Next, they're gonna make me eat something that's not supposed to be eaten.

But Andrea was right. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. One that lead to the exterior. To the real world. With the sun shining and everything.

And we made it out. All three of us. And we were alive. And we hadn't totally humiliated ourselves.

That is of course, until Andrea told me there was a spider on my back.

So....Picture how someone would scream if they were die the most horrible death. That was me.

It was the size of my hand. It was hairy. It was huge. It was on me. I screamed. Get it off me , get it off me!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But nobody wanted to. The sonnomabech was huge and nobody wanted to flick it off. It took forever. Forever is a long time to have something on your back, making itself at home.

Finally, the guide made herself useful (for once) and she got it off. She refused to kill it. I threatened to kill her. She didn't take me seriously. I guess it's hard to take someone seriously when they're jumping into Andrea's arms for protection from a mutant-spider.

Meanwhile, Mitra's turned catatonic.

But, BUT - 20 minutes later, we were almost back to normal.

We did it. We survived. We're heroines. Whoever said city girls are wimps? Psha. Not these city girls. We put Fear Factor contestants to shame. Really. You may as well hand us the 50 Grand now.

Only....it turns out, we weren't done, quite yet. We still had half the trip to go. We weren't at the bottom of the mountain yet. And we had to do the entire thing, all over again.

Let's just say, NEVER AGAIN.

You know Grenada is your home away from home when...

2005-05-14T17:48:00.000-04:00

Wish you were here...
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

1) You feel like something's missing when your feet don't have fire ants crawling all over them.

2) You've tried every possible dish mankind has ever invented with chicken in it.

3) You don't know which side of the road is the right side to drive on. All you know is that you have to look both ways (twice) when crossing the road.

4) You've met everyone on the island.

5) You have to remind yourself that having the ocean right there is not something you have back home.

6) Red meat is a distant (and pleasant) memory.

7) You can't remember what home smells like anymore.

8) Seeing random, orphan cows hanging out on porches, beaches and in parking lots doesn't seem so unordinary anymore. In fact, nothing seems unordinary anymore.

9) Your digestive system has given up the battle it was fighting for so long.

And....

10) You're comfortable. You're a different version of you -- one who is very, very comfortable.

UPDATE:

11) Toilet paper has just become an extra layer added to your stratified squamous keratinized epithelium (stratified squamous keratinized epithelium with TP, if you will).

12) You've stopped sweating all day long.

13) You know the bus schedules better than you know gross anatomy (even though it really doesn't matter if you know them by heart - chances are, they'll surprise you anyway).

14) You've stopped converting everything into US currency (or in my case, Canadian). When you say 20 bucks, you mean 20 EC.

15) You've decided not to get that fly swatter after all. What's the point when your reflexes have become super-human?

16) You can't eat wraps at Pearl's anymore due to the observation of a certain student who you wished would have just kept the wisdom to himself/herself.

17) When your roommate calls you at 1:30am to tell you the pipe in your bathroom burst and there is an inch of scalding water on the floor of your room, you think to yourself, "At least this didn't happen during finals" (side note: I'll post about this in more detail later). After making the 100-yard dash to your room, you find your roommate giving you the "I can't believe you have so many godamn pair of shoes" look and your live-in laughing his butt off at your "Holy mother of pearl" reaction while saying, "Boy am I glad this didn't happen in my room,". (Ps. This is the same person who thought it would be a good idea to try the $2 Tasty Cocoa Balls they're selling at the supermarket and who goes through swatting tantrums at invisible mosquitoes).

18) You don't remember what wearing normal shoes feels like anymore and you daydream about designing your own "flip-flops go with everything" clothing line (okay, so that's Leslie).

19) When you have your biochemistry small group on Coronary Heart Disease you think to yourself, "Well. At least I know what to expect of my LDL levels in the next two years."

20) Your new motto for everything is, "Hey. I'm over it."

The fantasy pool...

2005-05-12T14:53:00.000-04:00

The fantasy pool...
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

It's the last lap of the race and it's really been a marathon. I don't think I've ever felt so mentally drained before in my life -- and I suspect it has something to do with my lack of determination at times (I tend to doubt myself a lot).

This pool is practically in our backyard. Really, it's a hop, skip and a step away. I try to swim in it as often as I can but of course, time here is just the funkiest phenomenon. Life is zooming by but I am also always stressed for lack of time.

A few nights ago, a certain individual (who shall remain nameless because I refuse to talk about her again) and I went outside in the rain with our clothes on...The next thing I knew, we were in this pool laughing hysterically at my efforts to repeat her tomboyish stunts.

I am really trying to enjoy the small things (like the fantasy pool being so close by, the ocean, the weather, good friends, things like that) but I have to admit - biochemistry has managed to incorporate itself into my dreams (I really hope Maple Syrup Urine disease isn't endemic to Canadians) and anatomy follows me around like a scared puppy dog. I've pretty much abandoned histology and embryology and I think they are the type of friends who take revenge on people who ditch them, if you get my drift.

And the clock is ticking. Make it stop ticking! I need to shovel more material into my already engorged cerebral cortex who at this point in time, couldn't care less about methylmalonyl-CoA mutase and who is really bitter that our biochemistry professor's version of "cutting down material" is to remove three enzymes from a 30 paged packet. I'm going to learn those three enzymes out of spite now.

And when I say now, I mean *now*. So if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go metabolize some vitamins...Is it sad that I'm actually enjoying repeating the phrase 5, 6, 7, 8-Tetrahydrofolate!?!

I want a divorce...

2005-05-12T10:44:00.000-04:00

The Burger Sisters...
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

So maybe we seem all innocent and happy in this picture, but the bottom line is, I don't wanna live with her anymore and I don't know how to get rid of her.

The first thing I wanna mention is that we have a flood in our room (coming from the shower) and that we are literally sloshing around barefoot all the time in about an inch of water (nice, eh?).

But yeah, back to the divorce. I mean, forget the fact that when I was making us lunch yesterday, I knocked over a container over this "powdery" stuff of hers all over my feet. And forget the fact that she actually said this:

Me: Omigod. What is that?
Her: Hahaha!
Me: What is it?
Her: Mashed potatoes.
Me: Mother f--. Great.
Her: *laughing* Just walk around in the water a bit more and you'll see for yourself.

Yeah. She said it.

But let's forget about that. The reason I want a divorce is that we've literally turned into a married couple now. And she's like, the WORST spouse ever! Okay, so maybe she cleans up after me and makes my bed in a very OCD type manner, but I do the cooking and dammit, if I hear one more crack about the food, I will divorce her!! Plain and simple!!

Her: What is this?
Me: Taco salad.
Her: You gonna use all that cheese?
Me: I was thinking about it. *putting half of it back in the fridge*
Her: Did you wash the lettuce?
Me: Yes. Why?
Her: It's really uh...interesting. *giggles*
Me: Just eat it.
Her: *eating* Yeah so, I don't think I've ever had a taco salad that tasted like this before.
Me: We're in Grenada. I had to improvise.
Her: With nacho cheese?
Me: Shut it. *flinging a piece of food at her*
Her: *laughs*

Yeah. This is what I have to put up with. I'll probably post more later on today...Really, I think it would be healthy of me to post about something OTHER than Leslie for a change.

What girls want...

2005-05-11T12:30:00.000-04:00

What girls want...
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

Okay, first of all, Miss Andrea - you gotta know that when you tell me I suck, I'm just gonna go ahead and post a picture of you actually crying at the reception. :)

So here you have it. Miss Foxy herself (or should I say, MRS. Foxy, now) crying while giving her speech. But although I love embarrassing her, the reason I posted this picture isn't only to bug her.

I posted it because I think this picture is so very indicative of the type of love Sean and Andrea share. Just look at him. He's leaning into her and supporting her and that's pretty much the way he was the entire night. He would smile at her from a distance, lovingly (*gag*) and he's pretty much the major cause of my breakdown during the actual ceremony. He is so into her and I am so happy that she has found that and that she's getting her happy ending.

Every girl deserves to find this type of love - this type of relationship. The trusting, loving, caring, head-over-heels, ga-ga, I-only-have-eyes-for-you and nobody else type of thing. (Side note: am I a girly girl or what?!)

Sean really compliments Andrea. He "gets" her. He understands her and it's more than obvious that he's just the happiest guy when he's around her -not matter what she's up to. Whether it be dancing with her two girls, freaking out bridezilla-style about the teeniest of details or just being the quiet, reserved beautiful girl that is Andrea, he loves that and it was so obvious that their wedding day was the best day of his life.

Leslie's got that relationship too. It was obvious from the minute her boyfriend came down to visit her for a week a couple of months.

At the wedding , Mitra and I looked at each other and said, "Well, babe. It looks like it's just the two of us." Neither of us caught the bouquet by the way. ;)

The last dance of the night

2005-05-06T18:40:00.000-04:00

The last dance of the night
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

This is my favorite picture from Andrea's wedding. I don't know if any of us are wearing shoes at this point and I don't know if Andrea even remembers taking this picture. Mitra said she wished Andrea's eyes were open more, but I like it just the way it is... It's just very indicative of how we are. I think this picture says a lot, don't you?

If there is one thing you realize as you get older, it's the value of good friends. I've found me a keeper here, in medical school. So much was I smitten by her that I moved out of my old room and moved in with her about a month ago. So yes, Leslie is my new roommate and we've already found an awesome two bedroom, two bathroom, apartment with a huge patio/balcony for next term. We're pretty excited.

I had no intention of making strong bonds when I first started medical school a few months ago...But what can I say? Stalking works. She started with little things like leaving post-it notes on my door and making me laugh in class and eventually, we reached the point where I was welcomed back to Grenada with a huge "Welcome back, I missed you!" sign on my door last weekend.

The morning after I got home, Mitra was at my door, ringing the doorbell frantically and yelling at me to get my ass downstairs before "I come up there and barge in on you in the bathroom!". The emergency? We hadn't seen each other in 8 months and she had bought me my first real cup of coffee and a chocolate croissant for my homecoming. Andrea of course, was outraged when she heard we'd reunited without her. But that didn't stop her from buying me flowers and forgiving me for weeping like a moron at her wedding.

The moral of this story?

I am one lucky girl. Now please excuse me because I have to study and because Leslie just made the worst cup of coffee I've ever had in my life and I think she won't shut up until I make her a new one. ;)

Where do I start?

2005-05-05T01:06:00.000-04:00

It's been so long since I've last posted about my life here as a med student in Grenada. I don't even know where to start. So many things have changed.

I wasn't planning on returning to the blogging world but Mitra wrote me an email which convinced me to take it up once more. What can I say, some people in my life can influence me very easily.

This post is just an introductory post. I'll try as best as I can to write a decent synopsis of the last month in the upcoming days, but in the meantime, I'll just tell you what I can think of right now. First things first, I went to Andrea's wedding. Meaning, that I went home last week.

It was probably the weirdest feeling I've had in a long time. It's really strange to go home after having been away from it for so long. You sort of expect things to stay the same and when you return and see that everyone has been living without you -- well, let's just say it's a strange feeling. Not to mention how much I've changed in the last 3 months (without really realizing it). But Andrea's wedding was phenomenal.

Of course, I think I may be the worst bridesmaid ever. Forget the fact that I forgot the maid of honor's speech at home (*grimace*), but I pretty much started bawling from the minute we rehearsed for the wedding the day before, right up until Andrea and Sean said their "I do's".
Yup. I was a mess. I couldn't help it.

And while it really was all about Andrea's wedding...It was mostly about three friends reuniting after 8 months of having been separated (if you recall, Mitra left us back in August for Togo, Africa) and it was honestly wonderful.

More to come later....

Me and my girls at the Wedding

2005-05-03T15:18:00.000-04:00

Me and my girls
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

And yes, I'll be blogging again...

Out of commission....

2005-04-06T12:47:00.000-04:00

I'll be trying an experiment with regard to this blog. Basically, I'm not going to post anything new until May 1st (after returning from Andrea's wedding in Toronto). I want to try and see how things will be if I take a break from the blogging world.

On May 1st, I'll have decided if this is a temporary experiment or if I'm gonna stop blogging permanently.

Even more detail....

2005-03-30T12:44:00.000-05:00

I kinda feel weird posting about this – especially since some of my classmates read this blog… But this blog is supposed to detail my adventures in Grenada and well, I had one. You know how I always compare myself to Bridget Jones? Well I do this because it’s true. I am clumsy, flimsy, flightly and an overall disaster seeker.

Why, you may ask? Well, here goes.

The hives I had on my torso the other day took a turn for the worse. They started spreading all over (they were really quite nasty and "callusy") and no amount of Benadryl, ice, water or prescribed steroids was subsiding the itching, the swelling and the wild-fire spreading. I slept for 3 days straight in hopes that whatever was doing this to me would just finish its cycle and leave my system. It didn't.

To make a long story short, it turns out that I am seriously allergic to a form of penicillin called cloxacillin (which has a different side chain than your average penicillin) and I didn’t know it until I had reached the point of anaphylactic shock on Monday morning.

I’m talking full-fledged, I-can’t-breathe-someone-please-take-me-to-the-hospital-and give-me-oxygen, type of thing.

So yeah. At the age of 25, in Grenada (of all places), a few days before my midterms (of all times), I had my very first case of anaphylactic shock (of all things) and was taken to the hospital here in Grenada. But I’m okay. It’s over. All’s well that ends well.

By the way, I have a totally new-found respect for people who deal with respiratory problems such as asthma. Not being able to breathe is not fun.

But they took good care of me here (side note to prospective/future SGU students: the health care here is very decent. I had excellent treatment so you have nothing to worry about in that department). One of my Histology T.A’s (who just happens to be an M.D.) came and made three house calls the day I was taken to the hospital. In the end, he was the one who drove me to the hospital. He called me twice that night and another time the next morning after I was discharged just to make sure I was okay. He spoke to my professors to let them know of my situation and pretty much saved my life. Also, the nurses woke me up every two hours the night that I spent at the hospital to make sure I was still breathing and okay. The doctors had no qualms talking to my dad on the phone to calm him down and help me convince him not to take the first flight out to Grenada to come and rescue me. Things like that. Good, personalized, adequate treatment.

Of course, I’ve missed my first two midterms, which really sucks. I’ll have to make them up in a week or two I imagine. But my profs have all heard of my story and have been nothing but extremely supportive and understanding of my circumstances. My experience has been as easy as can be expected.

I’m not sure what else I can say for the time being. I thought Mitra had it bad with her rabies scare in Togo, but I think I may have one-upped her on this one. So typical of me to draw so much attention to myself, eh?

But that’s me. Bridget Samira Jones at your service. I’ll post more when I can think of more to say. But really, honestly, I’m fine. Not to worry. And if you know me personally and I haven’t told you about this yet (Mel, Janet/Jen, you’re the first two people who come to mind) , I promise I am TOTALLY fine now. I wouldn’t say it if it weren’t true. So not to worry, okay?

On a lighter note, I should also mention that although I compare myself to Bridget Jones , I am also the living version of the movie My Big Fat Greek Wedding. My phone rang OFF THE HOOK while I was in the hospital. Phone calls from all over the globe from every member of my big fat family. Here's a direct quote from one of the phone calls I got while at the hospital from my youngest aunt:

Me [groggy]: 'Lo?
Aunt: Yo!
Me: Oh hi!
Aunt: Whadja do to yourself?
Me: Oh, nothing. Just a little allergic reaction is all.
Aunt: Feeling better?
Me: Oh yeah. As good as new.
Aunt: Good. Oh, by the way, great news! We went to see a fortune teller for you yesterday and she said you'll be getting married by the end of the year!
Me: You don't say.
Aunt: Yeah!
Me: That's f**king fabulous.
Aunt: Isn't it? Okay, well that's all for now. Talk to you later kiddo.
Me: Absolutely. Love ya, bye.

To quote my dear friend Mitra: this is my life. For real.

Too much detail....

2005-03-27T10:19:00.000-05:00

Last night...

Les: Hello?
Me: Where are you?
Les: In my room, why?
Me: Could you come over please? Now?
Les: What's wrong?
Me: Just come by and uh...don't bring John. Cause it involves nudity. [eruption of laughter from Nana].
Les: What?!
Me: Just hurry!!

Minutes later...

Les: What's up?
Me: Grenada hates me.
Les: Why?
Me: Look at this. [pulling up my shirt to reveal that my entire torso has broken out into poison-ivy type hives].
Les: Oh.
Me [freaking out]: What do I do?
Les: Take Benadryl.
Me: I just did.
Les: Take more.
Me: Okay.

Later....

Les: It's getting worse.
Me: I know. I'm dying here. It's on my arms and legs now too.
Les: Not to scare you or anything, but this happened to my dad once. He almost died.
Me: Oh great. Something to look forward to.
Les: Nana's gonna have to keep an eye out for you tonight to make sure you're still breathing.
Me: Um, ok.
Les: Nana, you're on Sam patrol tonight.
Me: Yeah, you're my Nana-monitor.
Nana [laughs]: You're so funny.

An hour later...

Les: Okay, take another benadryl. It's been a while.
Me: Okay.
Les [laughing]: You look like a stray dog who just got kicked by a pedestrian.
Me: Thanks. I'm gonna kick your mom soon if you don't shut it.
Les [more laughing]: When you grow up in my house, nothing shocks you so you're not getting any pity from me.
Me: Fine. Then I'll get my pity elsewhere.

The next day....

So are you feeling sorry for me yet?

You know you're a nerd when....

2005-03-24T17:23:00.000-05:00

A la David Letterman....

# 10 - After 5 hours of biochemistry, you reward yourself with............... Anatomy.

# 9 - You can't remember what the common term for myocardial infarction is anymore.

#8 - You take scheduled coffee breaks (which you pencil into your day-planner).

# 7 - You pay people do to your laundry because spending 3 hours to do laundry is blasphemous.

# 6 - You are happy when it rains because then you don't feel guilty for being indoors all day.

# 5 - You take scheduled bathroom breaks.

#4 - Instead of whispering something to your friend who is studying a foot away from you, you either :

a) Write her a note or
b) Instant Message her.

# 3 - You start forgetting everyone's names (including your own).

#2 - You can't remember if you took your scheduled bathroom break or not (your think
not).

And finally...

# 1 - You're writing a "you know you're a nerd when" list as a two minute study break.

;)

Before and After...

2005-03-23T14:15:00.000-05:00

I've noticed some interesting patterns taking place where classes are concerned...Since I'm pressed for time, I'll give only one example (pertaining to my histology lab). Hopefully, you'll get what I mean..But basically, this is happening *everywhere* right now..

Countdown to midterms: 5 days.

Before (the first few weeks of class) :

T.A. : What do you call this thing here, the one I'm pointing t--?
Students: Simple squamous epithelium!
T.A.: Oh, good. Okay. How about this thing right he--?
Students: Stratified squamous!
T.A: Oh! Very good. Okay , then how about what I'm going to show y--
Students: Transitional epithelium!
T.A. : Wow. And what about th--
Students: Pseudostratified epithelium.
T.A: And what a--
Students: With goblet cells!
T.A.: And h--..?
Students: Cilia!

After (this very morning):

T.A.: Okay, what's this structure right here?

[silence]

T.A.: Anyone? Anyone? This one? [pause] No? Okay. What about this right here, then?

[silence]

T.A: Okay. No problem. We'll just start from the beginning then. Is this a retroperitoneal organ?

[silence]

T.A. : That's ok. No problem. We'll go slowly . Who can tell me what retroperitoneal means?

[silence]

T.A. : Whoa. Let me just spare you then.

[later , that same hour]

T.A.: So , everyone clear?
Student: No.
T.A: What's not clear?
Students: Everything. [laughter]
T.A.: Okay, what are your questions?
Students: Is the cell darkly stained or not?
T.A.: The granules are darkly stained.
Students: But is the *cell* darkly stained?
T.A. : The granules are.
Students: But...is the cell?

[Poor T.A. attempts to explain for 10 minutes]

T.A. : Is that better?
Students: No.

And so on , and so on...

Holy Mother of crap...

2005-03-21T14:05:00.000-05:00

Holy Mother of crap...
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

Me: Eek!! Omigosh Les, I just saw the hugest spider in the bathroom. [Shutter]

Les: Really? Kind of like that thing over there? [pointing to the thing in the picture which was just chilling on a door frame]

Me: Holy sh*t!!! What the f**k is that?

Les: I don't know! [looking mildly freaked out]

Me: [looking like I just saw a ghost] Is it on me? Is anything on me? [scratching myself like crazy]

Les: Yeah, they're all over you.

Me: Ewwwww!!! Look at it. Omigosh! Ahh! It's moving!!! [jumping up and down]

Les: Yuck. What is it? Let's take a picture of it.

Me: Uhhh...um, oh. Okay. [Touching my bag and camera as if they're covered with bugs].

Les: Hurry up.

Me: Omigosh, it's huge. It's like, the size of my f**king palm.

Les: [click] I think I got it. Let's go. Yuck. I just risked my life for that thing.

Me: [looking at the picture] It doesn't look big in the picture. It looks like a beetle. Take another one?

Les: [dirty look]. Mmm...okay fine. [click]. Okay seriously, let's go. That thing is freaking me out.

Me: Omigosh. Does that mean I have to walk under it?

Les: Yup. [she walks under it]

[pause]

Les: What's wrong?

Me: I can't.

Les: Just do it.

Me: I can't. It's gonna fall on me the second I walk under it.

Les: Just hurry up and do it.

Me: Okay...Stop pressuring me. [Going through the door in one swift and graceful motion]. What? What are you laughing at?

Les: You screamed the entire way through the doorway.

Me: I did not.

Les: Yes you did. And it fell on your backpack.

Me: [having a mild heart attack] What????????????!!!

Les: Haha. Just kidding. I love doing that to you.

The girls in my room

2005-03-21T07:09:00.000-05:00

The girls in my room
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

Saturday - studying with Les.

10:00am.

Les: When do you wanna eat?
Me: An hour or so?
Les: Sounds good.

12:30pm.

Me: I'm gonna get us food. What do you want?
Les: Oh, a veggie wrap with tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuce and cheese. And if they have no cucumbers, I'll take corn. And if they have no corn, I'll take whatever else they have. Maybe chick peas. Yeah. Oh! And get me a V8 if they have it. And let me give you money. Oh, and if you get chocolate I want some too.
Me: Too much detail. You're getting whatever I feel like getting you.

1:30pm.

Les: Are you really gonna study while you eat?
Me: Yup.
Les: I'm gonna keep talking.

4:30pm.

Les: Hey, I have a question about histo.
Me: Are you really gonna keep talking to me all day?
Les: Dude! I've said three sentences to you! And this is about class!
Me: I'm not answering you.
Les: I'm asking anyway. Are satellite cells only in spinal ganglia?
Me: I have no idea.
Les: Oh.
Me: Yeah.

SGU Campus

2005-03-18T14:35:00.000-05:00

SGU Campus
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

When you come out of the Anatomy lab after having inhaled those fumes for a few hours, you tend to have trouble keeping your hand steady, so that's why this picture is crooked. But it's still lovely, isn't it? (Humor me here - it's friday).

So, guess what?

I have gotten THREE (yeah, count 'em! Three!) packages! The first was from my aunt. She sent me coffee (she understands my relationship with coffee), a new coffee maker, dried fruit and nuts. The second one was from Mark and guess what was in it? C'mon guess.

You'll never guess. :)

Aside from the dried apricots and coffee crisp, I am now the very proud owner of a brand new super high tech monster blender! *sh-t eating grin on my face* So now, I don't have to buy banana smoothies anymore, I can just make 'em!

The third package arrived today from my mom...Thankfully, it arrived just in time because I was running out of dried fruit and nuts. So I've got me some more of those. She also sent me shorts (yes!!), two pairs of sandals (again, what was I thinking with the close toed shoes?!), bed sheets (don't ask) , a sturdy knapsack (cause mine ripped within the first week) and whole buncha other "mommy" stuff (like pictures she thought I might want).

So here some conclusions/observations:

* Banana smoothies ROCK. Try making one. It's easy. A banana, milk, a tablespoon of sugar and ice. Blend, blend blend and enjoy.

* Whoever invented dried fruit better be living the high life in heaven right now. I'm talking pina coladas by the hot beach, daily massages and everything he/she ever wants.

* Coffee is and always will be my best friend.

* New clothes rock.

So I am ALL set for the next month. Cause that's when I go back to Toronto for four days for Andrea's wedding. Until then, I have midterms coming up in a week. The closer they get, the more giggly and loopy I get. Les and I have been on a role with the mean jokes...I won't tell you what we've been up to cause you'll think we're the meanest doctor-wannabees to walk the planet. But really, it's all in good fun and nobody gets offended. I think. Except Les' mom of course...;)

But yeah midterms...They're exhausting. And I have no clue what to expect. But hey - that's what med school is all about, right?

More to come later, I hope....

UPDATE:

Warning: If you are a prospective student for SGU, please don't judge us by our worst specimens (read: Les and I). SGU really is a WONDERFUL school.

UPDATE 2:

Last night at around 8pm, on the way home (after another 12 hour day on campus) -- sitting on the bus, waiting for it to leave school.

Me: What time is this bus leaving?

Nana: I don't know. Hey , what time's this bus leaving?

Student #1 : In 6 minutes.

Me: Oh. Why then?

Student #2 : Because that's its scheduled time.

Me: But it's full.

Nana: Yeah! The bus is full. Hey bus driver? Can we leave now, please?

Bus driver: No. We leave in 5 minutes.

Nana: But we're so tired...Oh please? Pretty please? The bus is full and we're all so tired. We just want to go home, please?

Me: He's not gonna agree to it.

Nana: I'm still gonna try.

Student # 3: This is silly. Why are we waiting here when we could just be moving?

Student #4: I dont' know.

Me: *sigh*. I'm so bleeping tired. I feel like that kid from the sixth sense, only, I don't see dead people, I see a cross section of isogenous groups in hyalin cartilage.

Nana: [laughs at me] Pleaaaase? Bus driver? Please? Pretty please? We are so tired! We've been at school since 8am this morning. Please just take us home?

Bus driver: Ok.

[silence]

Me [to Nana]: I love you more than you will ever know. Just for that, you can eat ALL my salami.

Life is so strange....

2005-03-17T14:35:00.000-05:00

A little over a month ago, I couldn't imagine what was lying ahead of me. I knew I was going to medical school but for all I knew, it would be the worst decision of my life.

Today, I can't remember what it was like to get up every morning and go to work. In a bank. In Toronto.

That's in Canada. Where I live. Do you follow?

Cause, you see, I'm a student again. I have no money (*sob*), I eat crap (I either eat nothing or I eat everything in sight), all I do is study (oh yeah and study and let's not forget study s'more) , I carry my own weight in books every. bloody. day and I do this on a daily basis in the caribbean ! In Grenada. A country that (don't kill me but) I'd really never heard of before I found out they have an awesome medical school.

I think many of the students here feel the same way as I do -- basically, we keep having to remind ourselves that we are actually here, living this life, going to medical school and learning things that will affect others for the rest of our lives. I often feel like an alternate version of myself when I'm here. People will say things and I just want to say : "Wow, if only you'd known me back home"... But at the same time, I also often forget that my new friends have totally different lives back home - that they live in the U.S. and not in Canada, that they call chocolate bars "candy bars" and they call University "college", that they measure things in farenheit and miles and not celcius and kilometers...that they call it 7th grade and not grade 7...And that they get a real kick out of the word "eh" and of my accent when I say "about" and "out".

Because out here, we're all one and the same. I was having this conversation with three friends this morning. We were saying how this environment forces people to bond with each other and how we're usually relatively reserved people (well, okay, maybe not me, but that's another story) but that out here, you have no choice but to cling to each other like cling-wrap and hope that the wind blows you in the right direction.

These friends of mine are all (as of today) over 25 which brings me to my next point: Happy Birthday Les!

So those are my totally random thoughts for today. I realize they make no sense at all, but in my defense, I'm all saturated with Anatomy and Histology. Tomorrow I'll be saturated with Biochemistry...Wish me luck.

Campus at 6:15 pm....

2005-03-16T14:25:00.000-05:00

Campus at 6:15 pm....
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

The sun sets at 6:15pm every night of the year here.

The last two pictures I've posted (including this one) have been pictures taken on campus. Grenada has the most beautiful sunsets ever.

Coming back from the Anatomy lab...

2005-03-15T12:05:00.000-05:00

Coming back from the Anatomy lab...
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

Wow...

More on life here....

2005-03-14T14:47:00.000-05:00

Things I'm thinking about right now:

* What was I thinking packing so many pants and only three pairs of shorts?
* Will the mom jokes ever get old between Les and I ?
* What should we name the three beach dogs? I know that many people have named them already but Les and I are looking for our own set of names.
* I didn't fix my coffee maker - but I got a new one in the mail... God bless FedEx.
* Is it humanly possible for me to go a day without spilling/knocking something over/on myself?
* I have changed so much in the past month that I actually turned down the possibility of getting a T.V. in our room for fear of it distracting me. Can you believe it? Me. Saying no. To television. What is this world coming to?
* The weather gets hotter by the day. I don't know if there's a/c in the lecture hall at this moment but my chocolate and my skin have both melted.
* Speaking of chocolate -- did you know that Coffee Crisp doesn't exist in the U.S.? Coffee crisp! Only the best chocolate bar EVER. Oh yeah, and Americans call them "candy bars" too...
* Someone asked where Les is from. Two words: Planet. Psycho.
* I'm having a bruising problem too. I should take a picture of one of my legs to show you. I have a zillion bruises running up and down my legs. You'd think I get beaten with a stick at night...It's really strange. The only theory I've got is the mosquito bites...
* I have never eaten so many bananas in my life. I eat bananas every day...(notice the plural usage of the word).
* We've got midterms coming up in 2 weeks. Then we've got this event called Sandblast which is supposed to be a celebratory weekend involving insane alcoholic abuse. Of course, I'll be posting all about it.

Things I learned today:

* Introns are stupid.
* We have 32 teeth. I think I knew that already but I never really thought of it. So now I know.
* Our enamel never grows back. So, take care of it. What you have is what you get.

The girls at ricks

2005-03-14T11:19:00.000-05:00

The girls at ricks
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

So, you know how I was having a problem eating before?

The night we took this picture, I think I had a temporary tapeworm situation. Here's what I ate (from 7pm onwards!) :

* A decent sized cheeseburger and fries
* Ice cream
* Half a can of Leslie's pringles
* About 30 cookies.
* Chocolate (again, Les' chocolate)
* And some more stuff I can't remember right now...

It was insane. You'd think my body suddenly thought, "Oh my gosh, I need FOOD". I ate and ate and ate and never felt full!!!

Oh yeah! And I had a salami and cheese sandwich as a midnight snack! And some nuts, dried fruit and red bull. Speaking of red bull , is that stuff supposed to keep you up or is it a sedative?

Well anyway -- that's the latest on the stomach/food situation.

More to come soon....

Part 2

2005-03-11T11:41:00.000-05:00

More of the same...
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

Dear Leslie,

I'm writing you an email to wish you luck for your Anatomy Lab Quiz this morning. Actually - I retract my statement. I hope you blow it so I can laugh at you for the next four hours of lecture.

Smell ya later, ;)

Sam.

Our relationship in a nutshell....

2005-03-11T07:26:00.000-05:00

Picture 016
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

What sorta happened....

[knocking]

Les [groggy look]: Hey! Come in.
Me [electrocuted look]: I hate you.
Les: Give me two minutes okay?
Me: Bite me.

[A few minutes later...]

Les: Ready?
Me: [giving her dirty look] I can't do this.
Les: Yes you can, come on.
Me: Have I mentioned that I hate you?
Les: Not yet.
Me: It's f***ing six o'clock in the morning. My limbs aren't even awake yet. How the hell do you expect me to do this?
Les [hopping the fence to get on the beach]: Come on!
Me: You're kidding me, right? You're making me hop a fence to go running? Do you know that you're playing with fire here?

[Meanwhile, she's already started jogging].

Me [swearing]: Ow, ow, ow,ow, ow!!! Mother &@#*@#!!!
Les: Let's go!

Me: I can't do this...*whimper* I have no energy.

[A few minutes later...]

Les: See? Not so bad right?
Me [tripping over my own feet for the third time]: Yeah actually. *pant, pant*
Les: Whoa, you've really got balance issues.
Me: It's my crusty cerebellum. *pant* Wow, it's beautiful.... *pant* I can't believe...*pant*, that I haven't done any cardio in like a month. *pant* That's such a change of pace for me..... Les? *pant* Les?
Les [whistling to attract the attention of the beach dogs]: Now we have company!
Me: What am I ? Chop liver?

So I made it. Of course, the one day that I'm totally sweaty and disgusting and need a shower more than anything ...yup - there's no hot water. I *hate* cold showers.

So the picture you see is of us, after our run (can you tell I'm dying?) - dogs and all. What I found funniest about the picture is the lunch meat that Les is holding in her hand. I didn't even notice it until I uploaded the picture. Too funny....

One more thing to describe our relationship....

[Yesterday in latter half of class. This is a written conversation...]

Me [writing on a piece of paper to Les]: Where are you gonna eat?
Her [writing back]: Your mom's place.
Me [howling]: Let me rephrase that in terms you can understand. Where. Are. You. Gonna. Eat. Biatch?
Her: Oh, your mom's gonna be there?

[uncontrolled giggling from the both of us for about 10 minutes straight]

See why I love this girl?

I mean honestly! What's not to love about someone who says "Smell you later" instead of goodbye when we part at 12am every night?

Crazy Americans...

Eh? ;)

Grand Anse

2005-03-10T13:08:00.000-05:00

Picture 014
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

I took the scenic route back from the supermarket today. You can see my resort in the right (it's got a red roof)...And you can see St. George's (the capital of Grenada) straight ahead (sorta). But more importantly, you can appreciate the view and the ocean....

Ps. This was taken about 2 minutes before I almost did a face plant into the sand. I give a whole new meaning to the word clumsy....

Picture of Campus

2005-03-09T11:54:00.000-05:00

Picture of campus
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

Son of a ...grrr!!! My stinkin' digital camera is driving me nuts! I took like 30 pictures in the last 20 minutes and this is the only one that turned out. Oh well - at least you can see the beautiful ocean in the back...see it?

This morning, I had a hilarious experience in my histology lab. I don't want to post about profs or T.A.'s here (I think it might be an invation of privacy or something) but this one T.A. (who shall remain nameless) made my day.

Have you ever seen the movie Starship Troopers? At the beginning, they show this video where they are trying to recruit people for the "army" (or whatever it was) and with every bit of information they provide, they proceed by saying "Would you like to know more?".

This T.A. was explaining nervous tissue to a group of us (about 10 or 12 altogether) and with every single fact that he provided us, he would ask "Do you get it?" . And he'd put the emphasis on the "get" word.

So it was something like this.... "This is the dorsal horn right here. Do you get it? And this is the ventral horn right here. Do you get it? And you can tell the ventral horn apart form the dorsal horn because the ventral horn has alpha motor neurons. Do you get it? And you can also call them golgi type 1 neurons. Do you get it?"

It.
Was.
Bloody.
Hilarious.

I can't stop asking people that question now today. "Do you get it?" Do ya? ;)

Oh Ocean, how I love thee...

2005-03-08T14:58:00.000-05:00

I do .

I honestly do.

Yesterday, after my test, you comforted me. You were warm and lovely and I never say that about anything. You didn't let any of your scary fish or inhabitants touch me (even though Leslie yelled out "Shark!!!" about five million times to scare the bejesus out of me).

You let a large group of us play , swim and laugh in your waves. You didn't attempt to rip my bathing suit right down the back (like your counterpart in St. Maarten did when I was 18 years old). You kept us occupied for a few hours...You complimented the sun set beautifully in the horizon and you never faltered.

You didn't laugh when I used the word "Complimentary" in the wrong context (I won't even tell you what I was trying to say - it was quite the Homer moment). You didn't laugh when I spilled coffee on my white shirt for the umpteenth time (it's like a tradition now). You didn't laugh when Leslie had a Hercules moment and accidentally squashed her banana smoothie cup into a zillion pieces , resulting in banana guck plastered all over us (although, I did laugh at that, quite rightly). You didn't even laugh when I saw the cow chilling on someone's porch as if he owned the place and was just waiting for the kids to come home from school.

Ocean, you are awesome. I really think that you bring me a peace I've never known before and it's now, more than ever that I can confidently say that Turks and Caicos really does need to become a Canadian province so that I can live in this climate forever and still remain a Canadian. Here's hoping for a miracle.... ;)

Ps. Pictures of my Ocean to come....

Happy Birthday to you...

2005-03-08T07:45:00.000-05:00

I would like to declare my undying love for a certain very special individual: my aunt.

Actually, she's more than an aunt, she's like a surrogate mother. I am so lucky to have her by my side. She is one of my best friends and she has done more for me in my 25 years of existance than many mothers have done for their own children.

So happy Birthday to you.... I hope you know that even though we don't get to talk every day like we used to , you are (and always will be) in my heart. Just think of all the stories I can tell you this summer!

So happy birthday - I'm sorry I couldn't give you a present or wish you Happy birthday in person, but I hope you know how much you mean to me....May all your wishes come true.

Love always,

Sami.

Ps. Sorry for the mushiness...But you know me. :)

One down, three to go!

2005-03-07T14:33:00.000-05:00

sunset
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

Woohoo! Test 1 is down. Three more left (one per month) and that's the end of first term.

I won't tell you how it (the test) went. Mainly because, it doesn't matter. Some of my fellow first termers check this site and I think they'd agree with me when I say: Who cares? It's time to relax and enjoy the day!

Some random thoughts:

1) On my way up to campus today, I saw a cow sitting on someone's porch. It was the funniest thing I've seen since I've gotten here.

2) There aren't enough roaming goats in Canada. If you go for a walk here, you can take a walk with a goat. Now tell me : why can't we do that in Canada?

3) They really love their Celine Dion on this island. Holy moly do they EVER. Thank goodness I brought my CD player with me otherwise, I'd be ready to de-Canadianize myself (cause Celine is Canadian...)

4) I have never met so many people from Southern USA before in my life. And you guys ROCK! I swear, manners have a whole different (and better) meaning in the south. Us Northerners are quite rude at times.

5) The other night (I think it was Saturday), I was just on the cusp of freaking out about the first test when I walked outside my room and saw the picture you see here. It was the most beautiful sunset I have ever seen in my life. The picture doesn't do it justice, but I'm hoping it'll be worth a thousand words anyway.

Me and Kristin

2005-03-05T08:55:00.000-05:00

Me and Kristin
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

Ok. Isn't this just the COOLEST truck ever? We call it the zebra truck. I don't know who it belongs to (or if it belongs to anyone at all for that matter) Kristin loves it and wanted to get in, so we did -- of course, once we got out, I had black dirt all over me (the truck's never been washed - EVER).

But the picture was worth it.

And for the record!!

2005-03-04T08:11:00.000-05:00

In the picture of me and the Nanas , I was wearing flats!!

And...okay, I'm 5''2.

Some would call that vertically challenged.

I call it "petite".

;)

Me andLes

2005-03-04T08:07:00.000-05:00

MeandLes
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

I've had an interesting (read: crappy) day. Getting sick was just the beginning. Tension on campus is at a high right now. It's strange because we're all over-achievers. Someone brought it to my attention that every person in my 300+ class was likely valedictorian, was an A student and overall bright person. It's the truth.

So once in a while, you get that "Something tells me we're not in Kansas anymore" feeling. And then right when you're feeling down, something else will happen that will make you feel even more inadequate. My "something" was pretty shitty.

But....

My new favorite song is a song by ColdPlay. I don't even know its name -- all I know is that my adorable 15 year old cousin burned it for me the day before I left. The CD says "I love you" on it. And I'm listening to that song right now at 10pm on a Thursday night, in my room, post-library but before more studying (iced coffee in hand).

See how appropriate the lyrics are:

"Nobody said it was easy.
It's such a shame for us to part...
Nobody said it was easy...
But no one ever said it would be this hard...
So, I'm going back to the start..."

And what's the start, you may ask?

The start, for me, is to become a doctor. Nothing more, nothing less. That's what brought me here and that's what I'll get out of this.

This is a picture me and Leslie (Les) being geeky with our laptops, sitting in class before our Biochem lecture. Right after we forced a smile for the camera, we had a great hearty laugh that brought me back to the start. So, you see, none of this is worth it if you can't laugh.

WhiteCoat

2005-03-03T13:07:00.000-05:00

WhiteCoat
Originally uploaded by Smail1358.

I have a test coming up on Monday, so I won't be able to post much until then...I'm sort of freaking out about it (the test)....but, guess what?

I got my camera working! So , you can expect pictures to start pouring in (that only takes a minute or two, so I can swing that). I was only able to salvage one from the white coat ceremony but here it is. Me, my roommate (on the left) and my next door neighbor. They have the same name. We call them Nana 1 and Nana 2.

More pics to come later...

The pain in my side....

2005-03-01T11:18:00.000-05:00

They don't teach you this in medical school but it actually happened.

A long time ago (in a galaxy far, far, away) - some guy (we'll call him Jackass) decided to study the development of a human embryo. Unfortunately for Jackass, it turned out that the first three weeks of development were pretty boring - cells multiplying and turning into bigger cells that move around a bit and fold a little and stick to other stuff. Not. Much. Fun for our old friend Jackass.

So Jackass became bitter. One night, he drank himself into delirium and decided to name every single freaking cell, border, groove, hole, membrane and plate he could find. Sort of like: "Well, *hiccup*, this thing sorta looks like a circle, so I'll call it a...... morula! *hiccup* Yeah! A morula!". The best part? Not only did he name every freaking cell, border, groove, hole, membrane and plate with the most random of names but he also decided that with each passing day in this development, the names should change. Just for fun!!!

And so, he invented embryology : a overall fascinating subject that is just a pain in my side because of one drunken night in the life of our friend Mr. Jackass. So if you read a page of embryology without knowing what you're reading about , you're basically reading German.

IT.

SUCKS.

But on the bright side...I betcha didn't know that a sperm waits 7 hours after it's been released to penetrate the egg. Did ya?

Well, it happened....

2005-03-01T07:03:00.000-05:00

I got my first head cold.

*cough, cough*

I officially feel like an abandoned piece of crusty mold. Pretty picture, eh? *cough, wheeze*
It started yesterday and I have a sneaking suspicion it has to do with the little sleep I've been getting lately. I have my first test coming up on Monday and it's called a "Unified Quiz" because they test you on all the courses together. It's a great concept overall (it's worth very little and just meant to measure how well you're doing so far), but to me, a test is a test, is a test. So there you have it.

*cough, cough, sneeze*

Not only do I feel like arse but I look it too. It's funny but with each passing day, I look less and less like the old me, and more and more like some alternate version of me living in an alternate dimension.

For instance, the old Samira would straighten her hair every day (except on weekends). New Samira leaves her hair to dance with the Grenadian humidity and ends up looking like a member of the Jackson-five by the end of each day. No worries though. Also, old Samira would cover up her red nose with make-up in the event of sickness. New Samira doesn't give a sh*t. She is embracing the Rudolph complex. Furthermore, old Samira really couldn't stand her scrubs (all with the tapered legs and stuff). New Samira is happy to wear her scrubs because none of her other clothes are clean at the moment and she doesn't have time for laundry. Old Samira wouldn't have been dead caught eating certain foods. New Samira will eat anything she gets her hands on for the sake of ingesting something - anything! Old Samira was a glutton who was trying to loose a little weight. New Samira is trying to pack on the pounds because the weight loss she's experienced is not a healthy one and she knows it. Old Samira took fruit and veggies for granted. New Samira knows fruit for what it really is: GOLD!!!! Old Samira had to play tennis at least 4 times a week. New Samira has replaced tennis with walking, hiking and swimming. Not bad, but not tennis...

Things like that...

Anyway, I'll likely write another small post by the end of the day.

Ps. I was asked a question about the brachial plexus. The thing is , we haven't gone into the clinical implications of the brachial plexus yet, but this is still the kind of question I'd love to answer.So far though, we've only learned the location of the brachial plexus and the implications of lesions within the nerves that run through it.... but if I were to make an educated guess, I'd say that if babies have ..uh, I think it's called "Elb's" , or something....I am guessing it has to do with problems during childbirth. You know, like abnormal stretching of one side. That's my guess.

SGU versus other Caribbean schools

2005-02-22T14:56:00.000-05:00

I'm writing this post because a reader asked a few questions yesterday (see? I told you that I read all the comments). I believe that she would like to know how SGU compares to Ross (another school in the Caribbean) and she was also curious to know my impression of Grenada and of the other students here at SGU.

Seeing as how I did enough research before attending SGU, I'm comfortable answering these questions. I'm quite familiar with Ross (not to mention that my cousin went there) - but please remember that I have never been to Ross. And I'm only in my first term at SGU. I don't know how things are at Ross - I only know how they are here, in Grenada, right now, for me. So please don't take my words verbatim. Read it, learn from it, but make your own decision. Kapish?

Onto the crux of the matter.

So far, I am a big fan of SGU and the island of Grenada. This school is awesome. They cover all their tracks and they know what they are doing. They have turned thousands of people into doctors and it's obvious. It's a big school, but yet, you'll find the Dean of Students dissecting your cadaver with you on Tuesday mornings in your anatomy lab because (get this) , he's an anatomist and he loves what he does. That, right there, is very typical of SGU.

I'm in a class of 300 students and I probably know half of them. Not because I'm a social butterfly but because when you're on an island with 300 people who are experiencing the same thing as you, you tend to want to get to know them. And you find out that although you have all come from different corners of the world, you all have so much in common. Doctors and doctor wannabes have a lot in common.

So far, the students here are great but I have no clue what will happen in the next 2 years. I don't know if the gossip will start or if there will be drama (ugh. I hate drama), but for now, there's nothing but this:

You: "Holy mother of God, did you study last night and do you understand the brachial plexus? If yes, can you explain it to me?"
Them: "Omigod, I don't get it either. Are we screwed? What do we do? "
You: " I have no clue. Wanna go see the prof together?"
Them: "Totally. That's a great idea. And there's a student in 2nd term holding a review session for anatomy. We should go to that."
You: "Good idea. And my footsteps buddy is also in 2nd term and she said I could email her with questions at anytime, so let's ask her too."
Them: "Great. Hey. Wanna eat something first?"
You: "You read my mind."

Meaning that basically, there's no time for anything else. (Yet. Like I said before, I still don't know what will happen in the future. I've only been here for 3 weeks).

As for Grenada- it is the perfect environment for a girl like me. It's not perfect! It's just perfect, for me. Because mainly, there's nothing scary or complicated about it. But there are no (and I mean NO) distractions here (other than university run parties and the beach). So guess what that means? It means I spend most of my time studying. And that's just how I wanted it.

If I have a half hour break between classes, I run down to the beach and soak my feet. If I feel like taking a morning off, I can play a sport or hang out by the pool or run some errands (because errands take forever here). Grenada is an amazing island and one that doesn't nearly get enough credit. It has the most beautiful beach I've ever seen (and I've seen quite a few beaches, believe me). The people here are anything but rich not to mention that they are getting over a horrible natural disaster, but really? Yo'ud never know it if it weren't for the occasional destroyed house or the missing roofs. The people here are awesome, vibrant, friendly and helpful (in their very own unique and sometimes crazy, Grenadian way).

But of course, the country is deprived of luxuries. I am okay with this particular fact. All I wanted was coffee and the ability to stay away from too many complex carbs. I can do that easily. I'll definitely moan and groan about missing some things, but it's a small price to pay for what I'm getting here. I'm getting a great education. I know I am. I can tell. My profs and my school care about me. So do my fellow students. But yeah, I want McDonald's and I haven't had an orange in 3 weeks. I've lost weight and I have to take my multi-vitamins for fear of getting scurvy.

For me, that's SGU. I'm tired as heck yet I want the day to be 30 hours long. I love it here. Things may change (read: things will change) but for now, I know I made the right choice. I was drawn to SGU right from the start and I wasn't wrong about it. It's great.

I hope I answered your question. :)

Why there's pressure in class...

2005-02-21T13:49:00.000-05:00

I feel the need to start this post by clearing up a few things:

1) I don't know what will happen to this blog.
2) Thanks for all your kind words (you're making me blush).
3) If you are a prospective student and have any burning questions (I know I had a zillion of them), feel free to leave a comment and I'll do my best to answer them in my next post. I really do read every comment - even though I don't have time to reply to them all ( I wish I did).

So back to the title of this post: Why there's pressure in med school classes at SGU.

Remember in undergrad, when you took that really boring class (for me, it was "The Biology of Birds" or something like that. Yeah, it was so special that I can't even remember what it was called). Remember how you'd sit there and memorize a zillion species of birds for no good reason? You'd sit there in class and think "When the heck am I ever going to need this?". Remember how you'd swear up and down every time you studied for the class? Remember how you had to force yourself to attend the lectures or just didn't attend lectures at all? [pretending I'm not talking about myself]. And do you remember those odd days when you did go to class? Remember how you secretly wished your professor would come down with the flu on the day of the exam or that there would be a snow storm or a blackout?

Remember?

Well. Med school isn't like that. First of all, skipping is not an option for me. Second, I could wish a bad flu on my prof but it wouldn't matter because each class is taught by about seven of them. So that's out. And third, here's what goes through my mind in lectures (laugh at your will. This is me, in a nutshell.):

"Ok. Class is starting. Absorb. Be a sponge. Be... a sponge. You're gonna need this for the rest of your life. This is important material. People will rely on you to remember this so that you can cure them. This is serious. Listen to the prof.

You're not listening to the prof. Stop thinking about absorbing and listen to him. You're not being a sponge. Stop talking to yourself and listen. Okay , seriously now. He's talking about lipids and eskimos. Eskimos. Why are we talking about eskimos? This must be important. You're gonna have to treat eskimos at one point in your life, right? That must be what he's trying to tell you. Cause you have to remember this stuff forever.

Wait. So, what was that about the eskimos again? What did he say? Something about their fishy diet? Holy. I must have been zoned out . Wait, so what are we talking about, now? The pec muscles? Oh shoot. This is a different lecture. We're onto anatomy now. Oh man, I'm so sleepy. And hungry. I wish I could eat something other than fried fish. I feel like an eskimo living in the caribbean. All I eat is fish. Oh McDonalds. I want McDonald's. Mmmmm.... *drool*. No wait. Pay attention! Be a sponge. Beeeee ....a sponge. "

There you go.

That's me, right now. ;)

To blog or not to blog...

2005-02-20T12:49:00.000-05:00

So, I've been reconsidering the whole blogging thing. I don't think I'm doing what I was hoping to do with this site.

To explain, my parents, friends and family still expect emails from me. So I still have to repeat myself over and over in emails. I'm not complaining. Just stating fact.

Also, I don't think too many future students or medical student wannabees are discovering the site and/or getting anything out of it.

So I might retire the idea. Especially because I don't have time to blow my nose lately.....

Just a thought...Will keep you posted.

Books, studying and other stuff...

2005-02-18T17:11:00.000-05:00

Ok.

I'm gonna tell you a secret. Medical school is no joke. Good secret , huh?

Well, here's the thing. So far (and watch me eat my words in a week), the material isn't "challenging". You don't sit there for three hours staring at one page thinking "Duh...what?".

Unless you're me and you've always been like that with any sort of chemistry - in which case Biochemistry , is no exception. But as a rule, the studies aren't difficult....yet.

The VOLUME of material however, is another story. And in real life, it wouldn't be a problem if there was such a thing as "time". But in med school life, time is finite and so is your fuse. Because really, you're on campus every day from 8am (or earlier , if you're me and you want to talk to your boyfriend on your webcam) until about 9 pm or 10pm at night doing miscellaneous things like attending class, labs, study sessions, review sessions, study groups, mandatory meetings, extra-curricular meetings, meeting profs and/or sleeping. There's no "studying" involved in that time. Studying happens after you've gotten a bite to eat (which you're only getting because your stomach is growling at you like a lion in heat). So studying, starts at around 10pm . And in between all of this stuff is the sleeping.

Yes. Quite a few of us sleep wherever we can - seeing as how we get (on average) about 5 hours of sleep per night. So here's the mental picture for you:

About 300 or so first year med students -coming from the U.S.A., Canada, Europe, the Caribbean or any other place you can imagine. A variety of different accents, backgrounds, languages and cultures fill the campus. But physically, they all look the same in their hospital scrubs. All of them smell like formaldehyde and other stinky stuff. All of them plop down and sleep in the most unusual places. All of them eat in the most unusual places. And all of them carry a monstrous laptop and about 50 heavy duty textbooks around a campus that is uphill, no matter which way you walk. But guess what? All of them are really happy to be here. And all of them are really supportive of each other.

Get the picture?

Update on my life....

2005-02-16T06:43:00.000-05:00

People's opinions change from day to day. When I first got here, I'm sure I had some opinions and now that I've been here for two weeks (feels like a helluva lot longer), I thought I'd write an update on how I feel about my life here.

* The main factor that still motivates me (my "fuel" , if you will), is the combination of the weather and the ocean. God, I'm still not tired of it. It's a sight for sore eyes. And it really , truly, makes me smile every day.

* The main thing that is slowly killing me (aside from being homesick and missing my family and my love) is the food. Sweet Jesus , the food here sucks. And as a rule, I love food. I was probably bordering on gluttony every day when I was in Canada. Here? I have to literally force myself to eat because when I take one look at the food, I lose my appetite. That is such a change of pace for me. You really have no idea.

* Speaking of food, there is no fruit in Grenada. I want fruit. I have found *one* place that doesn't sell fruit, but that sells real fruit smoothies and that is my guilty pleasure. I feel like I've stumbled upon a gold mine. And it's only $1 for a smoothy.

* Ever since I've gotten here, I've been doing okay with the homesick thing. Like I said, the ocean is keeping me mentally healthy. However, there is *one* devastating event that nearly brought me to tears. You're not gonna believe it. You're really not. Ok, you know how I'm sorta clumsy ? (read: I'm an accident waiting to happen). Well, guess what I broke? *whimper* I broke...*big breath*...I broke....my coffee maker.

Yeah.

But I can't talk about it. I really can't. It's too painful to bear.

Ok. Class is starting in two minutes. In my next post, I'll write about classes, school, homework and the people here....

Happy Valentine's Day

2005-02-14T06:48:00.000-05:00

Uh, happy valentine's day.

Yeah. Have a great day and blah blah blah, and all that other stuff. Yadda, yadda, yadda, lots of love, if you like that sorta thing. And romance, chocolate, candy and candles if you're a loser like me.

And no, if you must know, I'm not bitter. Bitter, would be if modern technology hadn't allowed me to see Mark through my webcam this morning.

Yeah. This isn't bitter.

It's actually just the opposite. I'm sooooooooo happy to be here all by myself on Valentine's day. Can't you tell?

[fake smile]

So stop pestering me and go enjoy your Valentine's day.

;)

I am living in paradise...

2005-02-13T12:29:00.000-05:00

I still can't get over how beautiful it is here. I wish I could drescribe to you what the ocean looks like, but I can't. It really makes me think that I belong near the water and that I thrive in warm weather. There are some things at the moment which could be better, but they are small prices to pay for what I have.

For instance, the school bus is suppose to come every 20 minutes. Right now, it's showing up every hour. At this rate, by the end of the term, it will come once a day. Everyone is complaining about it, but not much is happening in terms of "fixing" the problem. The next problem is that about 200 of us new students have yet to get a fridge. We we told that we would have one by now, but we don't. So I've reached the point right now where I can't look at canned food anyore. Actually, I can't look at much food anymore.

NB: If you want to lose weight, move to Grenada. It *will* happen.

But like I said, the combination of the weather, the ocean and the beautiful scenery make all these problems seem inconsequential. This morning, I went grocery shopping with my roommate. It was a typical occurence....

Stranger [to my roommie]: Are you married?
Her: Huh?
Stranger: Are you married?
Her: Am I married?
Stranger: Yeah.
Her [looking confused]: Uh, no, I'm not. Do I look married?
Stranger: Yes, someone as beautiful as you has got to be married.
Her [giggle]: Oh, haha. Uh, thanks. That's nice.
Stranger: So can I marry you?
Her [another giggle]: You want to marry me?
Stranger: Yeah.
Her: But you don't even know me.
Stranger: I don't need to know you. You're so [insert string of pick up lines here].
Her [laughing]: Oh! You're flattering me! You are making me uncomfortable!
Stranger: I'm telling you the truth.
Her: That's nice, thank you. You are very sweet but I am not interested.
Stranger: Why aren't you interested? I'm a good guy.
Her: Yes, well, I'm a student here, you know. I don't actually live here.
Stranger: So take me with you.
Her [laughing]: Hahah! No, I can't take you with me.

And so on, and so on and so on.....

Then there's me.

Stranger: Hello.
Me: Hi!
Stranger: Are you married?
Me: Yes, I am.
Stranger: Goodbye.
Me: Bye !

Not bad, huh? ;)

Gross Anatomy

2005-02-11T10:44:00.000-05:00

I wasn't weirded out by the cadaver. I wasn't put off by the smell, nor did I think anything remotely gross about it. And it's really noble that some people donate their bodies for medical research and education. I just thought I'd mention that.

I'm in "holy sh*t" mode right now. They are trying to test us, I hope. I have class from 8am until about 9pm today. And again at 8am tomorrow morning (yeah, Saturday). So that doesn't give me much time to study, if you see what I mean. And I'm already overflowing with information. I feel like Kelly from "Married with Children" who only had a certain amount of space in her brain. So for every new fact that she learned, she'd forget something else. By the end, she couldn't remember her dad's name anymore.

But we're all in the same boat. The material is very interesting - and so far, I haven't had trouble understanding anything. It's just the frickin' volume of material combined with the lack of time (since they've filled up all our free time). And okay fine, I'm so sleepy right now that I'm debating if I'm narcoleptic or not.

And officially, there are good and not-so-good people all over. You've got the great people who are super friendly and then you've got those who are out to scare you. I secretly wonder if they've been sent by the profs to scare the bejesus out of us. You know? Like a little group of people who report back to the profs and go "You know Samira? Yeah. She fainted when I mentioned the word spider. "

And those people don't seem interested in regular conversation. You sort of do a little dance with them that goes something like this:

Me: Hi! How are you?
Them: Omigod, did you hear about the first surprise quiz on Monday?
Me: Huh? Uh, no, I didn't. So, how's it going?
Them: Fine. Aren't you scared about the dissection? I heard they are going to test us on it.
Me: Uh, ok. Well, whatever. So, did you enjoy your dinner last night?
Them: Dinner? Yeah, it was great. Speaking of which, did you know that they've set a bell-curve for us and that they want half the class to fail?
Me: Oh. Well, I guess we'll just have to pass then.
Them: Yeah, and did you hear about the fridge situation? We're never getting fridges. EVER.
Me: Well, I've been living without a fridge so far, so I guess I'll survive...

Something like that.

Get it?

But such is life. And right now, I need to get me some coffee because I still have 9 hours of listening to do....*yawn*

Settling in....

2005-02-09T21:16:00.000-05:00

A note to all mosquitos: If you bite me, you will die.

If you bite my feet , you will die a very painful death. It may involve removal of your wings, then of your feet (see how it feels?) and much subsequent torture. So think long and hard. If you want my blood that bad, it will be your last meal. I'm not joking.

To my blog readers, family and friends, time is not a luxury I have right now, so today's is a point form post:

I made coffee yesterday mornign & drank it on the bus.
The combination of the scalding weather, lack of a/c and hot coffee made it so I was dripping by the time I got to campus.
So today, I made iced coffee (that's good stuff, btw).
Of course, the was was air conditionned today so I froze half to death.
Murphy's law...
I was given the wrong class schedule when I registered for my classes.
So I studied the wrong stuff for the first day.
So I was totally lost on my first day of classes.
So I had my first panic attack.
I'm okay now.
Now I know that my stupid bio degree didn't prepare me for anything.
Other than how to deal with nematode trapping fungi.
No offense Professor Thorn.

***

My roommate: Omigod look! A crab!
Me: Huh? Where?
Her: In that hole, in the grass!
Me: OH MY GOD! THAT'S NOT A CRAB THAT'S A SPIDER!!! A tarantula!! AHHH!!!!! [running around frantically and waving arms in the air like a common lunatic]
Her: Sam, it's a crab!
Me [running away like a little girl]: What? No! It's in the grass! Crabs don't live in grass. Omigod, a real tarantula! A real f**king tarantula. A huge mother f**king tarantula and I think it's on me! Holy sh**t! Look on my back! Is it on my back? Holy f**k! AHH!!! (*&!@#(*&(!!!!!
Her: There's nothing on your back. You're nuts. Look at it , it's a crab!
Me: [closing eyes] No! No!!!! You're evil. I don't wanna see it. [moan] I wanna go home. I'm going back to the freezing canadian weather. Where there are NO exotic creepy crawlies and where my boyfriend will protect me of monstrous poisonous creepy crawlies. [whimper]
Her: It's a crab. It's. A CRAB. Look over there. There are tons of them.
Me [ finally looking]: Oh. Yeah. You're right.
Her: You're such a scaretty cat.
Me: Yeah, maybe a little. Hey, uh...they're kinda cute, eh? Look at that blue one over there. Sort of pretty. [small smile]
Her: Wanna touch one?
Me: Not a chance in hell.

The White Coat Ceremony

2005-02-09T06:19:00.000-05:00

I cried last night. I'm not sure if I was the only one, but I have a feeling that I wasn't.

The ceremony was beautiful. I wished my family was there. All I know is that everyone should go through this once in their lifetime regarding their respective career choices. When we walked in the auditorium, there was classical music playing. We were seated and we heard great speeches by half a dozen doctors. It was very inspirational.

Then we walked on stage individually - our names were called out. In four years, we'll do the same but our names will be preceeded by the word "Doctor". How cool is that?

If there was any doubt in my mind up until this point, it isn't there anymore. All I can say is, for the few hours that I was in the auditorium I kept thinking, "This is the best decision I've ever made in my life."

I'm sure i'll eat those words when I'm studying for my first exam, but for now , I'm enjoying it. St. George's is a great school. It gave me a chance when no other school would.

The sun, the beach and the "WOW".

2005-02-08T08:09:00.000-05:00

Ok. The mosquito thing has become quite the problem for me. I have bites everywhere and I mean everywhere. The most bothersome one is at the bottom of my feet. The ones in my armpits are pretty irritating too. And since I’m using calamine lotion to help with the itching, I look like a human bottle of Pepto Bismol. I thought that if I bathed in the ocean, the salt water would soothe it, but it actually sort of irritated them more. It made them itchier. Oh, and did I mention that nobody else is having this problem? I’m starting to wonder if my shampoo is attracting them or something.

I learned a lot about Ghanaian history last night. My roommate is from Ghana and so is my neighbor. They (and a girl from Trinidad) were in my room and the two girls from Ghana told us all about their culture and the history of their country. Yup, based on appearances, I was definitely the odd one out. But it was so interesting, especially because one of my best friends is in Togo so I wanted to learn a little so that I could impress her. Here are a few key points:

Voodoo is scary. Everything associated with it is scary. It’s just bad.
My roommate is a phenomenal story teller. The variations in her tone, her hand movements and her enthusiasm are all way beyond anything I’ve ever seen. Sesame Street could use her.
I’m actually an extremely clueless person. I kept calling Ghanaians “Guyanese” and they kept correcting me. I don’t even know if I’ve spelled it correctly.
These girls share a lot of information. Let’s just say that “menstrual cycles” was one of the first topics. You can only imagine what followed.
And finally – these girls love to laugh. That is a very good thing in my book.

Have I mentioned that classes start tomorrow? Yikes. I’m looking at my books right now and there are ten of them. Ten fat books that I’ll pretty much have to memorize (cover to cover) in 4 months. And I’m almost sure that my biology degree is totally useless to me at this point in time. For instance, I have no clue where the scapula or femur is. And the only reason I even know those words is because I just randomly opened my anatomy book and picked them. But I also know that many people are in my shoes, so that is a comforting thought.

Ok. I’m off to the beach …

UPDATE: I have been to Cuba, the Dominican Republic, St. Maarten, Cancun and a couple of the states. The beach in Grenada is by far the most beautiful one I’ve ever seen. I even swam in it (that should say a lot since I’m deadly scared of sharks). There isn’t an ounce of seaweed in this water…I must have been there for 6 hours…I only left because I could start to feel my skin burning. So I made myself an iced latté and enjoyed the weather in the shade….I wish my loved ones were here.

UPDATE 2: I'm sitting on campus right now waiting for my first class to start.... I just spoke to mark on my "webcam" and we got to see each other. God love modern technology. :)

Convocation

2005-02-06T13:08:00.000-05:00

We had our convocation this morning. It was nice to hear that we have all been "hand selected" and that we were all going to succeed. It was nice to hear "Welcome to the SGU Family" and it was especially nice to hear about what we can expect in the next few years.

I already feel like I've been here for a while. Not much seems new anymore, I have to admit. Grenada is pretty easy to settle into. My roommate and I share a love for sleep (gotta love that) and we both also said that we don't like drama. So far, so good, right? Oh, and did I mention she's 26? Yeah. It took me almost a week to actually find that tidbit of info out, but yup, she's a year older. Another bonus for me.

At convocation, I had a little problem sitting still. Yes, it was long and yes, there was enough repetition to make you think "Are they gonna repeat themselves this much in class?" , but really, that's not why I was restless. You see, I'm having a mosquito problem. They really like my feet. I can't possibly imagine why because feet are gross, but they seem to be attracted to my tiny size five feet. My ankles (which tend to be really thin - ask anyone I know, they are almost freakishly skinny) have swollen to three times their usual diameter. It's a scary sight. And they are so freakin' itchy that I fidgeted during the entire presentation. Scratch , scratch...Ahhh...That feels good. Oooh! Scratch, scratch...ahh... Yup. That was me for 2.5 hours straight. Of course, it never occured to me to bring calamine with me to the presentation. Note to self: must carry that stuff everywhere.

And in case you're wondering, yeah - I showered with Off-Skintastic this morning. Maybe I forgot my feet.

The beautiful weather (honestly? Grenada has the best weather of any tropical island/city I've been too) has made it easy to get up in the mornings. Tomorrow's a national holiday so guess what I'll be doing ? It's the day before "stress" starts soooooo...I'm going sunbathing!

Still no pics ...I'm so sorry. But I'm working on it. Shouldn't be too long! Thanks to all for your continued support. You are all awesome and sweet beyond words....

Oh and one last important bit of info - I got my "White Coat" today.

First Impressions....

2005-02-05T10:12:00.000-05:00

I have made it to the library for the third time now. Something cool: it seems that the majority of the campus gets internet (wireless). So I read my email while sitting on a bench over-looking the ocean yesterday. Nice, huh?

So far, things are going well. The school has exceeded my expectations in so many ways. The welcome committee gave me a phone card when I got off the plane so I could "Call my family and tell them I arrived safely". Isn't that sweet? If were this spoon fed when I was in undergrad, there would be a lot less dropouts, that's for sure. They have done so much for us, it's crazy.

The island really is beautiful. It's "hilly" and has a rainforest feel to it. The weather has been perfect so far. The food is really the thing that will take getting used to. Isn't it amazing how much emphasis we put on food in North America? They don't put that same emphasis over here...But I did find a supermarket that resembles one from home so that made me happy.

It's not as scary as you would think here. Mind you, as I'm writing you this, my dad is sitting right next to me, so I might change my mind tomorrow (when he leaves). *sniff*. I should mention that I'm quite the scaretty cat. Meaning ,I'm scared of a lot but so far, aside from the teeny tiny propeller plane that I'd like to soon forget, I've been ok.

Grenada is just plain slow. To a certain extent, it's refreshing because we really are crazy in North America with our North American multi-tasking ways. Drive-thru banking and drive -thru eating and drive-thru pharmacies, etc, etc...Nothing can be done quickly enough. But, I have to admit, it should NOT take 3.5 hours to open a bank account. Which it does here. That's enough to make a girl go bananas.

Oh! I found a KFC, a chinese food place and a Pizza hut very close to where I live. So if i ever crave fast food..I know where to go. Oh and if you want to get an idea of how expensive brand names are here , a package of Folgers (the coffee) is $15 US. I thankfully brought my coffee with me...and I forgot to mention that my mom stuffed like 10 cans of tuna , 10 cans of peas and carrots and enough pistachios to last me a lifetime in my suitcase. No wonder my suitcases were so heavy. It had nothing to do with my printer, my UPS system, my hair dryer, straightening iron, burner or anything like that. Nope. It was all cause of the tuna.

Classes start on Tuesday. I think I have class from 1-5pm , 3 days a week and then from 8-5 the other two days. Not so bad (compared to undergrad anyway). Oh and we also have the White Coat Ceremony on Tuesday. I wish my parents could witness that. Tonight, there's a seminar on "How to Achieve Academic Success". I'll go but if it's anything like the one in undergrad, it'll be pointless. Basically, they'll say : study hard, don't fall behind, rest well and exercise. Yeah. I knew that, thanks.

The frizzy hair thing has been a bit of a pain. Every day it gets frizzier. And I'm the only one with this problem. Everyone else has perfect hair. I kid you not. I also had this "hydration" problem the first few days. Mainly that I wasn't. Hydrated, that is. I felt like a diabetic, always thirsty, always running to the bathroom. Oh and my lips felt like sandpaper. Thank God Mark didn't have to witness that.

I haven't tanned yet, but I'm in no rush. I walked on the beach this morning and it was great. I kept laughing because the tide really wanted to suck me in. I had clothes on of course, so I didn't want to be sucked in.

One thing that's cool is how much walking you end up doing here. I think I've determined that tennis isn't going to happen (oh gosh..their tennis courts are atrocious!), so I'm happy that I'll be getting decent exercise every day - and let's not forget about the pool! The buses go everywhere, but for me, so much has been within walking distance so that's been nice. And the campus itself (the gorgeous thing) is quite big too. I forgot how much students walk.

So far, I'm the oldest student I've met. Where are all the other 25 year olds and stuff? All I've met is "fresh out of university" people. They think their 6 month break has been long. Try almost 3 years!

Ok! This is a long post and I have tons of emails to catch up on so....take care and thanks for your continued support.

Welcome to Grenada...

2005-02-04T13:17:00.000-05:00

First things first. I have to post this before I forget. At an orientation session yesterday, this lovely girl comes up to me and asks me what my name is. So I tell her. Then she shakes my hand and says : "I'm so happy to meet you," and sort of goes on like that for a few minutes. I was a bit confused and then she says, "I read your website everyday. You're so funny."

Then she walked away and I just sat there with my mouth wide open. That was a first for me....

Okay. So you're wondering how things are going , right? So far, so good. Of course, everytime I use the word "good" or "okay" or "swell" or "nice", please remember the subliminal message: I miss my mom. I miss Mark. I miss my family. I miss my friends. Got it? Good.

Here are some key points:

The weather is nice. Actually, it's pretty darn hot but you can always find shade.
My digital camera is broken and I don't know when it will be fixed (go figure). So no pics for now.
The students are very nice. More so than you'd think . If you even so much as look lost (which I do naturally, all the time), they'll come up to you and ask if they can help. It's been great.
If you ever go to Grenada. Don't make the same mistake I did. If someone tells you they are from the "Spice Isle", don't ask every so enthusiastically, "Oh really? Where's that?".
The Spice Isle is Grenada.
The locals are very nice too. I have to admit, the men and boys sure like to stare a lot. I mean, it's one of those stares where they just won't look away until you finally cave and say "Hello", so that they stop.
The driving is gonna need taking use to. Did I mention they drive on the wrong side of the road?
Grenada is very "hilly". I can't wait to show you with pics, but it is. Not like your average Caribbean island.
The water is beautiful and warm. My room is beach side.
A few of us scaretty girls brought our parents with us. We have already found each other and are bonding over that.
Some people have moved here with their kids and spouses. Now THAT is bravery.
They gave us too many books at registration. I'm already getting nervous.
My roommate is from Ghana. Did I tell you that already? I haven't seen her much but she's very nice. She talked about how she loves "fufu" (a traditional dish) and I was so proud that I knew what that was (thanks Mitra!).
Nobody's gone to the beach yet. I'm finding this very odd. We have this HUGE beach all to ourselves and nobody's using it...I don't know where most of the students are most of the day...I seem to always be where they're not!
I haven't met too many people from Canada (actually, only 2), but I've met a ton from California, a couple from Florida and quite a few from New York. One girl from Orange County forbid us to call it the O.C. But I soooo wanna.....

Okay! Times out, more to come later....

I'm here....

2005-02-03T09:24:00.000-05:00

Two words:

Propeller.

Plane.

Yeah. But I'll start from the beginning....

Bye....

2005-02-02T05:10:00.000-05:00

I'm off....

Tic, toc, tic, toc...

2005-02-01T13:48:00.000-05:00

My fifteen year old cousin came by to drop off a mixed CD she made for me. On the CD, she had written "I love Abby" all over it. She calls me Abby. She was one of those babies who took forever to start talking. Just by looking at her, you knew she had a lot to say but she waited until the perfect time to start speaking. She waited until everyone was listening. And then she said it: Abby. Me. And I never corrected her. And to this day, she still calls me that. I love it.

These are the things I'm remembering today.

My family doctor and his wife have become good friends of the family. They came by this morning and dropped off a gift: my very first anatomy book. They signed the inside and also wrote: "Learn medicine well". It's great advice. They also said, "Some light reading for your trip there." I chuckled out loud. The book is 600 pages. The funny part ? They weren't kidding. And you know what? They, of all people, would know that a 600 page anatomy book is "light reading" for a med student. Yowza.

What a time to use that word for the first time.

Andrea's called me three times today. Every time she calls, I'm about to leave the house but something holds me back. Last night, I dreamed of her upcoming wedding. I was giving a speech -- and when I woke up, I wrote it down. It was perfect.

Tic, toc, tic....

Mark and I were supposed to say goodbye last night. I was supposed to spend tonight with my parents. But when the minute came to part, we both simultaneously said, "No. This can't be it." So we're seeing each other again tonight. We might pull an "all-nighter". It's the only way.

Tic, toc, tic, toc....

Here we go....Less than 24 hours.

2005-02-01T08:48:00.000-05:00

I woke up at 5:30 am today. I could have forced myself to fall back asleep but I didn't. I thought I'd lie in my own bed, in my own house, with my parents breathing two doors down and I tried to soak in that feeling you only get when you're at home. I won't have that feeling for a while.

My mom threw out her back this morning. I have a suspicion that it has something to do with my departure. I wish I could make her stop worrying about me - but then again, I suppose she wouldn't be a mother if she didn't worry.

These past two weeks have been extremely tumultuous.

I haven't have a minute to sit still and actually let the excitement take over. I've had five holes poked in me (five different vaccinations). I've gotten an MRI (don't worry. Nothing bad, just routine). I've gone shopping more times than I care to remember. I've watched my life savings diminish to nothing. *whimper* I've watched the temperature rise one degree per day (at this rate, it'll be warmer than Grenada in two weeks). I've said goodbye to too many people. I've packed my life into four suitcases. I've prayed for my aunt's speedy recovery. I've played tennis and been asked if I've been working out. The answer is no, I've just been stressed....

But hey, this is what life is made of , right?

One day left...

2005-01-31T19:01:00.000-05:00

Oh God. One day left. I swear to you that I wrote the "T Minus 6 days" post a minute ago. Then I blinked. And now I'm here. Counting down the hours until I leave...

I know I should be excited. I know I should be bouncing up and down, but I'm not. And from what I've heard, none of my fellow classmates are either. So I'm not alone...and that's comforting, I must admit. We're all feeling the same mix of emotions.

Tomorrow, I'll be posting as much as I can. I've given myself the day off (hah! let's see how well that goes) so that I can relax and soak in what's left of my life (and by that, I mean what's not packed into four suitcases). Thanks so much to all of you for your continued support.

This is it.

This is exactly what this blog was created for.

It's too late to turn back. Too late to chicken out. Too late to fake sick (*cough, cough*. Did you buy that?).

I guess I might as well just be.

See you tomorrow.

The Party

2005-01-31T09:31:00.000-05:00

The party ended up being great. I had a great time. The baby didn't show up so my dog ended up being the center of attention (a turn of events that was fine by me). As an only child, you'd think I'd like to be the center of attention but I'm not too fond of it actually.

My friends all lumped together in one corner and I tried to shmooze everyone equally. Thankfully, Mark shmoozed too and every once in a while we'd wink at each other from across the crowded oom.

I answered the following questions approximately twenty times each:

When are you leaving exactly? Where will you be staying? How long is the program? When are you back? Are you excited?

To which I answered (respectively):

Wednesday morning at 6am. At a resort - here's the picture (feel free to Oooh and Ahhh). The program is 2 years long and then another 2 years of clinicals in the States. I'm back on June 3rd for the summer. And No, not yet, I'm sure I'll become excited eventually though.

Poor Mark also answered his share of questions. You'll miss her, eh? What are you gonna do while she's gone? Will you be visiting her?

You can guess all those answers, by the way. They are pretty straight forward.

I received a few goodbye presents too: a couple of books (for the flight), a pair of PJ's, money (!!!) and a little bit more money (!!) , and an American Eagle gift card (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!).

Yes. I'm totally spoiled. I didn't think I deserved all that stuff at this age. If I was 18 and going away, sure, that's one thing - but 25? I'm practically a grown up! ;)

Anyway, I still have tons of errands to run today (yikes). Wish me luck!

Where does time go?

2005-01-30T15:59:00.001-05:00

In a couple of hours, people will start pouring into my house. I've spent the good part of this Sunday cleaning (I hate cleaning), running errands (even worse than cleaning) and shopping (not so bad but not so good either).

Soon, my quiet house will be filled with chit-chat, awkward conversation, catch up and other stuff. And then, a few hours after that, they'll all start leaking out, one by one, and I'll have to start saying "Goodbye" or "See you later" or "Get out my house before I kick you out because I've been up cleaning and cooking for you since 7am". But hopefully, I'll have had enough Woody's by then to avoid the last comment.

Some random thoughts:

* I laughed today and my mom yelled "I'm going to miss your laugh!". It hurt.

* Mark asked me if it was mean of him to want me all to himself. I said no.

* He also asked me re-consider leaving. I said ok. He was half serious. I wasn't.

* This is the first time I'm having family and friends over in one lump gathering. It's going to be quite the hodge podge of personalities. I'm not very comfortable with it because it means that the only thing they have in common is me. That's a lot of pressure.

* I hope the baby will attract some attention. Even though I hear he's got an ear infection.

* I've still got tons to do before I leave. I haven't found a portable hot plate yet and I have to open a bank account. I have to wire funds for my tuition as well. But...on the bright side, I've packed 3 of my 4 suitcases. And yes, I packed the tuna.

* I'm worried about how I'll stay in touch with everyone while I'm there. Staying in touch with people (even if it's only via email) is very time consuming.

* I'm secretly afraid that I'll have forgotten how to study.

* The thing that I dread the most is the first night I'll be alone in my new room.

* I think I'm too stressed to be excited right now.

* I just had an hour conversation with Mitra (my best friend who is saving the world in Togo) and I feel ready to conquer another day. She's great and I love her.

* It's taken me over 1 hour to write this post! Oh wait. I forgot about my conversation with Mitra. ...but my guests are coming soon, so I better dash.

Before I do... If you want to do a good deed today, check out Greg's site and buy a box of girl guide cookies for $3.50.

Mmm. Thin Mints. Everyone loves them. Even those who pretend they don't. ;)

It's going by too fast...

2005-01-30T15:59:00.000-05:00

Four Days Left....Yikes.

2005-01-29T09:14:00.000-05:00

I'm starting to do the whole, "This is the last time I'm doing this..." thing.

On Thursday night when I was watching the O.C. with Mark, I said it.

"This is the last time we'll watch the O.C. together," I said.
"Shush, please. I don't want to even think about it," was his response.

I did it again when we were watching In Good Company.

"This is the last time we'll see a movie together for a while," I whispered.

He hugged me and closed his eyes.

I have been doing it to my parents as well. They try to make me feel better but you can
sense the sadness in their eyes.

The thing is, if I could have, I would've just gone to a university close to home. I have already left home for my undergrad years and I had no desire to do it again. When I was 18, leaving Toronto was a dream come true. Now that I'm 25, it's actually pretty close to a nightmare.

Not to say that I'm miserable -I'm just saying that a lot happens to a person in 7 years. But it's this philosophy that pushed me to apply to offshore schools this year as well. I told myself, "Time will pass no matter what. I'm either going to wake up in four years and be a bank manager, or I'm going to wake up in four years and be a doctor. I'd rather be a doctor."

And that was it.

Tomorrow night, my parents are throwing me a goodbye party. We'll be having a bunch of family over and I've invited a couple of my friends (bridezilla included) and of course, Mark is going to be there too. And yes, I'll be blogging about it. I want to remember these days when I look back on them in a few years...

For now though, all I can say is, I miss home already.

That's the sentiment that's blinding me.

T minus 5 days...

2005-01-28T09:31:00.000-05:00

But I'm ok. Really, I'm fine. [looking at my shaking knees]

What? That? That's nothing. It just means I need another coffee, that's all.

So, I've started to pack. And this is the part where my mom and I get into disagreements.

Me: Mom. I'm not bringing canned tuna fish with me.
Her: Just a few cans. Just for the first few days!
Me: Mom. Dad will be with me for the first few days. I don't need tuna. They have tuna there.
Her: It never hurts to take some food with you.
Me: But tuna is heavy! And I'm already over the weight limit!
Her: So what? It's better than starving over there.
Me: Mom. I'm not going to the moon, ok? I'll be fine.
Her: You're taking the toona. And the canned carrots. And the peanuts. And you'll thank me for it.

And I have a feeling she's right - I'll be thanking her for it. Here's another:

Me: Mom, pass me the iron please?
Her: What do you need an iron for?
Me: To iron my clothes?
Her: No. That's too heavy. You're not taking that.
Me: Mom, I don't want to look like a wrinkly slob while i'm there. That iron is tiny. It's a travel iron and I bought it specifically for this trip.
Her: You're gonna be a student. Everyone will understand why you're wrinkly.
Me: I really want to take it. Please?
Her: Fine. But don't blame me if you go over your weight limit.

*LOL* Yup. Such is my life right now.

This morning, I woke up earlier than usual and I had a chance to visit all the blogs I've been wanting to see (I hope). Now I'll have to update my blogroll list because blogger deleted it (grrrr). Also, I've got me a task beyond tasks to complete today! Michele has got this blog scavenger hunt (is she the most creative blogger ever or what?) and I wanna give it a whirl. Wish me luck.

Also -- my new friend cookie has started her own blog recently. I'm so excited for her. I think she'll make a great blogger. If you have a few minutes, stop by her site (here) and tell her I sent you!

Ps. Oh! About the movie yesterday...It was good. I want to give you a full analysis but I'm afraid if I do that, I'll ruin it for you guys (because I can't tell you what I thought without giving it away). So..if you wanna discuss it, feel free to email me.

Pps. Thanks Greg for the gmail invite! Here's new email address:

medsamira@gmail.com

T minus 6 days...

2005-01-27T09:33:00.000-05:00

Well, I finally found a pair of scrubs in this medically deprived city. Only problem is, they are bloody uncomfortable and the extra-small pants reach up to my neck.

I must officially be the smallest doctor ever.

You'd think it's an easy task to find medical scrubs. Nope.

I had gotten to the point where I seriously contemplated stealing them from the local hospital (I think my medical plans covers scrubs, don't you?). But it finally dawned on me that the medical school downtown (the one that didn't want me) would sell them. Only, they should have mentioned that the reason they didn't accept me into their school was because I'm not 6''4. Oh, and I paid WAY too much for them too ($40).

And yes, I tried everywhere. A bunch of my friends asked their nurse mothers and their nurse sisters and their nurse brothers and they all gave me the names of a bunch of different stores that "supposedly" sell scrubs. The problem was, sure, they sell the pants, but not the matching top. Apparently, nurses and doctors go topless nowadays. I suppose I could consider that once I'm in Grenada. It'll definitely be hot enough.

Other than that, I still have quite a few things to do... But I'm taking a bit of a breather today (a bit), because I need it. So Mark and I are going to see In Good Company. I could really use a pick-me-up type, romantic comedy. Hey, did you guys know that the guy who plays in that movie (the one from That 70's Show) , calls himself "Topher" but that's actually short for "Christopher"? Yup. A little bit of useless info for ya there.

Anyway, I hope all is well with my friends. (is it?).

Ps. Pop Quiz: What things will I not miss about Canada? Answer: The weather.

Yeah. That's about it.

pant, pant

2005-01-24T18:01:00.000-05:00

*pant*

So...... busy.... *pant, pant*.....

Too much to do....*pant, wheeze*....

So little time.... *pant*

So sorry I haven't been around. *wheeze*

Will be catching up with all of you soon. I promise. *hee-hee-hoo, hee-hee-hoo*

Will drop by each of your sites... Poppy ...you're first on my list!!

Thanks for your support everybody, *pant*.

I really appreciate it. :)

Ps. Pop quiz: How many hours are there in a day? Answer: Not nearly enough.

Lemony Samira's - A Series of Inspiring Events (4)

2005-01-23T08:46:00.000-05:00

I might loose half my fan base with this post. It's a little far-fetched and it will give you a little bit of insight into the way I think. But darnit, it inspires me and I'm stickin' to it !

So here it is : I'm inspired by the gym called "Curves".

First of all, let me say, I'm not a member of this club, nor have I ever stepped into one. Ever. All I know is that they chose the perfect name for their gym. It's a good, healthy name. Curves. To me, it's a name that means it doesn't promote "stick-thinness" or anorexia or anything unhealthy and inappropriate. It's a club that wants women to look like women. It's a club that wants women to be healthy and accentuate their God-given curves.

What is more inspiring than that?

We can't all fit into that one perfect image that is given to us by society. I don't care how much I diet or exercise, I will never grow past 5''2. Does that make me a mutant? No. Does that make me less worthy than Nicole Kidman or Uma Thurman? Hell no. What does it make me?

ME !!

I think the gym called Curves is promoting a new direction. I mean, look how far we've come in the last five years! Five years ago, Secret's television add said "Strong enough for a man. Made for a woman." Nowadays, it's just "Strong enough for a woman."

You bet your ass it's strong enough for a woman! Yes! Women are allowed to sweat. Yes! Women are strong! And yes, women are supposed to have curves. These are all things that are not only allowed, but that should be taken for granted in today's accelerating society.

And I really think that the gym Curves, has started on the right foot. If I wasn't leaving the country, I'd probably join that gym. Just because of its name. I mean it! I'd walk in and flaunt my curves to everyone who cared.

That gym. That Curves. They got the name right, and that is really inspiring.

Ps. While this post was very pro-estrogen, I should mention that I think it's also applicable to men. I find that men are pressured into fitting a certain ideal body type. You know : tall, broad shoulders, muscular, six-pack, small tush, etc, etc... Men are in the same boat as we are.

A Series of Inspiring Events (3)

2005-01-21T16:45:00.000-05:00

I could have done many things today. I could have opened a bank account or finally bought myself the only sundress left in Toronto (which would probably suit my grandmother). I could have gone to a medical supply store to buy scrubs, a labcoat and my very first stethascope. But I didn't do those things.

Instead, I chose to relax. I chose to get inspired. I chose to go to the bookstore. And not just any bookstore - I chose to go to the huge bookstore downtown that is three stories tall, has leather couches , a coffee shop and everything from books, to stationary, to home stuff, to educational toys for children. Yup, I chose to go to my personal heaven.

I bought myself a coffee, browsed a little, picked up a few magazines and a few books and I sat down and meditated. It was great. I absolutely love those bookstores. I love everything about them. The furniture, the smell, the layout, the people , every . single. detail. I love that you can sit in those stores for hours and they won't make you buy something. I love that people go there to study and nobody cares. I love how many frickin' books there are in this world! I want to read them all !

I must have spent a good three hours in that bookstore. I browsed every aisle I could and in the end, I had to force myself not to buy the entire store. I ended up purchasing one book -- a children's book -- and I only did so because it peaked my curiosity and I knew I'd finish it by tomorrow.

But even without my purchase, bookstores are truly inspiring. Don't you agree?

A series of Inspiring Events (2)

2005-01-20T17:39:00.000-05:00

Growing up, I was a bit of a tomboy - okay. So maybe that's an understatement. And I think that rule # 1 of being a tomboy states that you have to like sports. Which I do.

But I don't like *all* sports. Plus, there are some that I can watch on T.V. but that I would never play. And there are also some sports that I can play, but that I fall asleep watching on T.V.

But if I had to pick one sport - one sport that gives me goosebumps - I'd pick (drumroll please) tennis. I've been playing tennis since I can remember. And I'm pretty good (compared to some). And anytime tennis is on T.V. , I go absolutely bananas. Thankfully, my boyfriend likes tennis enough to watch it with me.

And while sports are definitely inspiring in their own way, today's post isn't about tennis, it's about a tennis player. I think we all have one athlete that inspires us and while Pink Poppy's is Michelle Kwan (did you know she's met her?), mine is Maria Sharapova.

Maria , who?

She's just this tennis player who inspires me. She's only 17 years old and damn does this girl define the word focus! To me, anyone who can (figuratively) keep their eye on the ball without getting distracted, is an inspiration. When she plays the game, you just *know* she wants to win. She gives off that vibe with every fiber of her being.

And I could learn a thing or two from that girl. I could learn to pick myself up when I'm down a few sets. I could learn to stay focused. I could learn to be tough when needed. I could learn to grow 40 inch legs and beautiful, long, blonde hair. (Kidding , of course).

My point is - good, hardcore athletes are inspiring. Everytime I see Sharapova on T.V. , I wanna go out and ace somebody. I feel pumped up and ready to go.

I'm sure you've got somebody who makes you feel that way too.

So, my roommate wrote me back...

2005-01-19T16:39:00.000-05:00

I'll post the email below, but I'll edit it a little (cause I think it's the right thing to do).

Hi Sam,

i hope i can call you that. i'm [insert her name here] but i believe you already know that. It was nice of you to write. I'm from [insert foreign country here] but i schooled in Canada for my university education. I'm presently in [insert Canadian city here] and i think it's coincidental that you are in Canada too. Anyway i'm looking forward to seeing you. Take care.
[Roommate's name]

So? Any thoughts? *nervous smile*

Here are mine:

1) The fact that she wants to call me Sam right off the bat makes me think either that:

a) She knows another Samira or
b) She knows me (personally or virtually).

2) I think she sounds nice... don't you?

*pretending that I'm totally ok*

Well. *awkward silence*, I guess...there's not much to be done other than for me to write her back.

Here I go...

UPDATE: Are you a Tall Poppy? Do you want to join the Poppy club? If yes, please go visit Pink Poppy's site. Something fantastic is happening over there - you won't want to miss it. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, email me and I'll gladly explain it to you. :)

Lemony Samira's - A Series of Inspiring Events

2005-01-19T09:06:00.000-05:00

Before you say anything (shush), I didn't come up with the title of this post. My younger cousin did and this is part of why I love children -- they are bundles of imagination all rolled up into wonderful, innocent little people. Lemony Samira. That's me. How cute is that?

Side note: In case you're wondering, I have yet to get a response from my new roommate-to-be. But I promise that the minute I hear from her, I'll let you guys know. So far...nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. Absolument rien. But I'm sure it's just because she is thinking up the most wonderful response ever (in which she'll tell me that she wants to pay off my monster-loan because she's a millionaire princess who is also bringing along her butler to school for our convenience). A girl can dream, can't she? ;)

Now, onto my Series of Inspiring Events. I came up with this idea today while I was shopping for a "sundress" (nope, didn't find one. And every sales person thinks I'm nuts because "Uh, ma'am? It's winter outside. We only have winter clothes". Yeah. Thanks. And don't call me ma'am. )

So while I was shopping for nothing, I heard Christina Aguilera's song : Fighter.

As a rule, I thought I'd mention that I'm not a big fan of the girl. She's O.K. I suppose, and I admit, I am caught singing along to her songs once in a while, but she sorta lost me once she turned "dirty" (if you get my drift). But what I can tell you (in all honesty) is that I rarely care who sings a song - I just have to like it (Sarah McLaughlin excluded of course. She could sing about hang-nails and I'd love it just the same).

To me, there are two things that make or break a song: the lyrics and of course, the melody.
When it comes to Christina Aguilera's Fighter, it's the lyrics that I really enjoy. To me, the song is a modern version of I will Survive (although, I will Survive really is timeless). Just in case you're not familiar with the lyrics of Fighter, here is an excerpt:

After all of the stealing and cheating

You probably think that I hold resentment for you

But, uh uh, oh no, you're wrong

'Cause if it wasn't for all that you tried to do

I wouldn't know just how capable I am to pull through

So I wanna say thank you

'Cause it makes me that much stronger

Makes me work a little bit harder

It makes me that much wiser

So thanks for making me a fighter

Made me learn a little bit faster

Made my skin a little bit thicker

Makes me that much smarter

So thanks for making me a fighter

Aren't they great lyrics? And it's so true. Everyone who has done something to hurt us, in a way, has done us a favour. I think those lyrics are very powerful and extremely inspiring. And this is where my Series of Inspiring Events comes in.

In the next week, I'll be writing about people, songs, words, quotes and other things that inspire me to stand a little taller and face a brand new day (and a brand new start, in my case). Please share your thoughts as the week unfolds, it will be a lot more fun if we can make it interactive.

UPDATE: Did you stop by my site last night? If yes, you would have known that blogger wiped it out (do you think they're trying to tell me something?) ! Thank goodness for my new angel Lisa who saved a copy of my template and who saved ME! Thank you so much Lisa! You're the best.

UPDATE 2: Nope. Haven't heard from roommate-to-be yet. Is this weird? I think it might be weird. Anyway, S,C &A recommended that I don't worry about it until I know she's a psycho for sure. It's good advice. So this is me: not worrying. Am I convincing you?

Uh, houston? I have a problem.

2005-01-17T19:54:00.000-05:00

Ok.

My plan to become inseparable best friends with my new roommate-to-be (the one with the very non-descriptive name) is not going well .

Here's the thing.

I get a letter (from the school) with her email address on it. I write her the following email:

Dear Roommie,

It's okay if I call you roommie, right?

Here's the thing. I got a letter in the mail today with your name on it. You sound like a nice person. Anyway, I just wanted to get a few things out of the way.

If you want to live past your first day in medical school, don't mispronounce my name.
If you want us to get along, I accept compliments and I love massages. Also, do you mind if I write about you online? Don't worry. Nobody will know it's you. Except for when I tell them your name.

So where do you live? If you come from somewhere warm, I'm not pleased. I thought we could complain about the weather together.

What do you look like? If you're pretty, thin and naturally beautiful --- what the heck are you doing in medical school ?! Oh and I should tell you, I don't socialize with beautiful people. I'm already having problems with PSD. Just ask them. But, if you want to follow in Michele's footsteps and only show me your legs, that'll work, I suppose. But I draw the line at the waist!

Oh, and I'm telling you right now, please don't be smarter than me. Just dumb down a little (or a lot) and we'll get along famously.

Okay. You caught me. I didn't actually write that. Here's what I *really* wrote.

Hi [insert her name here],

My name is Samira and I'll be a new student at SGU this February. I just got a letter in the mail today and it says that you and I are to be roommates at the Grenada Grand Resort!
So I thought that I would write to formally introduce myself. :)

Anyway, I'll end this email for now, just to make sure that I have the right email address and the right person! If you have time, I'd love to hear from you.

Sincerely,

Samira. :)

Yeah. I think I jinxed myself , because guess what? You won't believe this (this is where the "Houston, we have a problem" thing kicks in).

The email bounced back.

Not . A. Good. Start.

Why do I have a feeling she cancelled her email account cause of me? ;)

Anyway, I emailed the school and asked them to give me an alternate email.

So operation "stalking future roommate" begins. Wish me luck. ;)

UPDATE!!!!!!!: I called the school and it turns out, they had given me the wrong email address. So I emailed her again (with the SECOND email. C'mon guys! I'm not psycho, I'm just playful!) . So far, it hasn't bounced back. Will keep you posted.

One down, three million to go.

2005-01-17T13:13:00.000-05:00

So I highlited my hair.

That was on my to-do list (before leaving for Grenada). In case you're wondering...there are fifteen days left before I go. It may sound like a long time, but in reality, I'm afraid to blink because if I do, I'll miss the next 15 days. I just know it.

Here's what I still have to do before leaving.

* Buy a suitcase (or two).
* Buy scrubs and a labcoat.
* Cut my hair.
* Take Michelle to sign up for her university classes because if I don't witness it, I won't believe it's done. ;)
* Buy enough toiletries to last me four months.
* Go to the doctor to get vaccinated (wooo.................hoo. Can you feel my excitement?)
* Exercise (an item on every to-do list I've ever made).
* Spend some quality time with those I love.
* Get the last of my paper-work sorted.
* Find out if my passport is even valid! Yikes! I just thought of that! Could you imagine if I had forgotten to do this?!
* Pack. (Oh , goodness. Packing. That's gonna be fun. *sarcasm*)
* Buy a couple of sundresses (because I've been told to, by the school).
* Sell my car.
* Stop making non-important commitments that I don't want to do and that are taking up my time and stressing me out .
* Call my friends and enjoy talking to them without having to pay long-distance fees.
* Find some strength. I told Mark that I needed to do this. I told him that I haven't found the strength yet and that I'm still looking for it. His answer? "It's in you. It's always been in you. Don't worry. You'll find it."

That's all I can think of for now. There is a lot more, trust me.

UPDATE: Well, I got a letter from the school regarding my housing situation.

1) I'll be staying here: http://www.grenadagrand.com/
2) I know the name & email address of my new roommate. *nervous grin* I guess, I'll, uh...just go ...email her then....Too bad I can't tell from her name if she's nice or not. I'll keep you posted.

So tell me please...

2005-01-16T13:07:00.000-05:00

Going back to my previous post...

What's a better way to say "goodbye"? Any suggestions?

Anything that says, "see you later" without making me cry.

UPDATE: Sorry I've been M.I.A. this weekend. I'll post a thread this afternoon. But I have a favour to ask you. Now that I'm not working anymore, I can catch up on many things. SO, with that being said, if you've blogrolled me, can you leave me a comment to remind me? I'll update my blogroll list thingie today. Thanks! :)

See you soon...

2005-01-16T09:33:00.000-05:00

I'm not a big fan of the word goodbye. Mind you, I'm not as bad as my youngest aunt, who literally "pats you on the head" and then runs off to cry by herself. But I don't like saying goodbye. It seems so final.

I'm more inclined to say, "See you soon", or in this case, "See you in five months". And people are responding well to that.

I already said my first set of "See you in five months" on Friday night. (Side note: thank you so much to all of you who remembered that Friday was my last day of work. You are all so sweet. You have no idea who amazing it feels to have people actually be interested in your story and to remember little details about you. Your support and interest means a lot and, please know that because of that, I will support you in return). Some of the "see you laters" were easier than others.

There's this one girl that I have really grown to love. The funny part? I've never actually met her. In our roles, we had to call each other quite often (but she worked in a totally different office building about an hour away). It took a week for us to start talking away like two teenagers and by the end, we'd call each other every day. We'd talk business for 5 minutes and about other stuff for another 20 minutes. But we never saw each other face to face. (Side note: this seems to be a theme in my life lately. I'm meeting all these great people that I've never actually seen in person. You know who you are! :))

Anyway, my second set of "see you laters" is today. Mark's mum & dad are going to the Dominican Republic for two weeks and they get back the same day I leave. They are taking us (Mark, Michelle and I) out to dinner and I get to choose the place.

Me: I get to choose?
Mrs. B: Yes! Of course. Whatever you want...
Me: Hmmm...That's a tough decision...
Michelle [whispers]: Red Lobster.
Me [laughing]: Is that what you want?
Michelle: Red Lobster. Mmm.
Me [louder]: Can we go to Red Lobster please?
Mrs. B: Sure!

And there you go.

I'll let you know how it goes. This set of "see you laters" will be more difficult than the first set.

I guess that's just the way it goes.... I don't even want to think of the last people I have to say "see you later" to.

These two weeks are going to fly by. I don't think I like that.

Friendship (Part 2)

2005-01-14T13:55:00.000-05:00

What I hated most about the unhealthy "friendships" I harbored in my past was the game playing part. Ugh. Just thinking about it nauseates me.

I've never been the game playing type of individual. If I'm hurt by you, I tell you. Otherwise, everything is honkey-dorey. I'm really not a complicated person. But those people just thrived on drama. If they had a problem with me, they wouldn't tell me until I would beg them a month later (after catching on that "something" wasn't right).

You: Is everything ok?
Them: Yeah. Fine.
You: You sure? You've been acting sort of strange lately.
Them: Yeah. Whatever.
You: You SURE? If something was bothering me, you'd tell me?
Them: Yeah.
You: You know you can talk to me, right?
Them: Yup.

Yet, that would be a complete lie. Everything wasn't fine. They had probably heard some rumour about me and believed it. Or I had offended them the last time I scratched your nose and they just kept it all bottled up until the sh*t finally hit the fan (and that, was never fun).

Another favorite game of those pseudo-friends was the gossiping. Say there was a group of four of us. When three of us would get together, guess what the topic of conversation would be? Yup. Poor unlucky friend # 4 who couldn't make it out that night. So of course, it would take me all of 3 minutes to start with the paranoid thoughts when I wasn't able to go out with them one night. Oh , I bet they' re talking about me. I wonder what they're saying about me. I wonder what they're doing now.

The truth is, a real friend should never make you feel paranoid.

A real friend, shouldn't find a million reasons to get mad at you (for no good reason).
A real friend knows you and loves you for who you are.
A real friend isn't interested in drama.
A real friend knows drama and friendship do not go hand in hand.
A real friend is honest with you.
A real friend is interested in you.
A real friend accepts you for who you are.
A real friend should not want to change you, but at the same time, should want you to evolve and become a better person.
A real friend isn't threatened by you.
A real friend appreciates you.
A real friend is there for you.

Friendship is a two-way road. Some people don't get that. Don't get me wrong, I don't pretend that I'm the best friend in the world. I do things at times that surprise me later down the road. But I never do it intentionally. And my real friends know that. And if I'm insensitive by accident, they just tell me. Most of the time , they tell me in a joking manner but I always apologize sincerely. And the same goes for them. If they do something that hurts me, I just tell them right away. No drama. No fighting. No being miserable. Just two people, communicating.

After university, I got the feeling that many people never grow up past high school. Cattiness, gossiping and hurting people intentionally is just plain wrong. But some people thrive on making others miserable. And to me, there's just no room for that in my life. To me, those people deserve each other and there is nothing appealing about them, whatsoever.

I don't know why it took me so long to come to this realization. Like I said, it might be because I was afraid of being alone. But there is someone for everyone out there. Everyone can find a mate and everyone can find a true friend. There are 6 billion people on the planet. We are far from being alone.

To Realize

2005-01-14T08:59:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you've read a version of this at one point or another, but I think it's always good to come back down to earth sometimes. I get so caught up in my daily activities sometimes that I forget what's really important...and that's not a good thing. So please take a moment and read this - it's beautiful.

To realize
The value of a sister
Ask someone
Who doesn't have one.

To realize
The value of ten years:
Ask a newly
Divorced couple.

To realize
The value of four years:
Ask a graduate.

To realize
The value of one year:
Ask a student who
Has failed a final exam.

To realize
The value of nine months:
Ask a mother who gave birth to a still born.

To realize
The value of one month:
Ask a mother who has given birth to a premature baby.

To realize
The value of one week:
Ask an editor of a weekly newspaper.

To realize
The value of one hour:
Ask the lovers who are waiting to Meet.

To realize
The value of one minute:
Ask a person
Who has missed the train, bus or plane.

To realize
The value of one-second:
Ask a person
Who has survived an accident.

To realize
The value of one millisecond:
Ask the person who has won a silver medal in the Olympics.

To realize the value of a friend:
Lose one.

Nice, huh?

Anyway, it's interesting that the last phrase is talking about friendship. I'll continue with my thoughts on friendship later today (for those who missed it, it's a continuation of yesterday's aptly titled post called, Friendship). In the meantime, let's add to this list, I'll go first (in the comments section).

UPDATE: As promised earlier this week, I donated $50 to the Breast Cancer Society of Canada today to honor two people: my mother and Cheryl. **** I love you mom. ****

If I knew being a Bridesmaid meant....

2005-01-13T16:51:00.000-05:00

Dear Andrea,

Please know that there is no way on earth I am eating anything that contains the word "shark" in it. If I go into the ocean and the shark sniffs his mommy in my belly, I will be bitten. Plain and simple.

I will not do it. EVER.

Also, please stop writing emails to Mitra regarding how "mean" I'm being to you. Suck it up please and do something constructive with your time (like telling me how wonderful I am).

Thank you and sincerely,
Your "bridesmaid",

Sam.

Ps. Meet me at the chocolate fountain.

Friendship

2005-01-13T13:49:00.000-05:00

There's a saying that goes: "Friends are the family you get to choose".

I have always loved that saying. Unfortunately for me, I didn't actually know what it meant until a couple of years ago.

I'm not sure why, but I definitely didn't choose my friends in high school and university. I just, sort of landed on them, I guess. And while they'd make me miserable to the nth degree, I still stuck around. It was as if I invited misery into my life. Silly me. Hindsight really is 20/20.

I just thought that friends were supposed to make you miserable. Isn't that weird? I didn't know that there are millions of amazing, kind, and genuinely decent people in the world and that I don't have to settle in the friendship department. But a couple of years ago, my world changed. Sometimes, I attribute that change to my mom's battle with b.c. , other times I combine it with having met Mark.

Anyway, something helped me see the light and say "Omigod, I don't actually have to put up with this crap."

So I stopped putting up with it.

I cut all the umbilical cords that were sucking the life out of me. I started appreciating my real family because they have always been my best friends. I let go of the people who always wanted, wanted, wanted and never gave anything back (except for the occasional migrane or high blood pressure, but I never asked for those). I don't know why, but I had always been afraid to do that. I think I was secretly afraid that I would end up all alone if I let go of my so-called "friends".

But there comes a day when you tell yourself, "I'd rather be alone than live like this", and that day is just soooo liberating. And from that day on, I actually started choosing the people I wanted in my life. There are some I keep at arm's length because I know how the story will go if I get too close. And there are others that I cling to as if it's my last day on earth (Mark, my mom, my aunt, Mitra, Andrea, Dionne, Michelle, Melaine...). They are my gems...Even when they are millions of miles away or when their wedding plans are driving me bananas. ;)

As for those that I let go a few years ago, I don't miss them one bit. I never wonder how they are doing. I wish them all the best but I also know that they will always be miserable. It's just in their nature. They don't see friendship the same way I do.

To be continued....

I have a question regarding Starbucks

2005-01-13T09:34:00.000-05:00

I never jumped on the Starbucks bandwagon. Starbucks only became popular in Canada a few years ago. Before that, we had the Canadian version called "Second Cup".

Second Cup was not very happy when Starbucks moved to Canada. Especially because Starbucks seemed to take a liking to Second Cup and planted itself next door to every Second Cup in the country.

But now, Second Cup and Starbucks are good friends and they live in harmony. So all is good.

So here's my question. I see famous people having some sort of drink from Starbucks every day (and twice a day on Sundays). They are always walking out with some sort of drink and they seem to be *loving* it (or maybe they just know that the paparazzi are snapping away from behind the bush). But everytime I order something from Starbucks (which isn't too often), I feel icky afterwards. I feel bloated and icky (and in case you're wondering, "icky" is a very technical term in Canada). Basically, I feel like like the drinks at Starbucks are loaded with sugar.

My theory is, I might be ordering the drinks wrong. I think the beauty of Starbucks is that you can customize your drink. Right? Like you can order a non-fat, non-whip, decaf, non-mocha blended super duper macchiato with a twist, or something, right? Or am I thinking of a martini?

Or a Grande soy, pumpkin spiced, iced decaf frappucino with extra soy whipping creme, shaken , not stirred and with a splash of cinnamon.

Or something.

So, what do you order at Starbucks and why? Or do you not like spending $8 on a coffee type drink? Because that's understandable too.

Am I the only one on the planet who stares at the Starbucks menu in awe for 20 minutes and then only orders something because my friends are pressuring me to hurry up? And am I the only one who orders something the exact way it appears on the menu? WITH whipped creme?

I'm in a sharing mood today...

2005-01-12T16:50:00.000-05:00

I was inspired by Dana... Thank you Dana (and my dear Michele, because she does stuff like this all the time).

Some random thoughts...

* I speak three languages. I like to pretend I speak Spanish too, but I don't.
* I love to laugh, but I have to refrain from doing it too often, because once I get going, I can't stop. It's actually not a good thing. Especially during interviews or in serious settings.
* I have naturally curly hair (that I obviously like to straighten). If I get lazy though (like today), it stays curly and I get many compliments. I don't believe any of them. I look like a poodle and I know it.
* I can't stop thinking of the movie Office Space today. I think it's because I'm living that movie right now.
* Tomorrow, I'll be blogging about Friendship. I've got a few theories when it comes to friendship that I'd like to share with you all.

Now it's your turn. Tell me something about you I don't know.

And if I don't know you at all, write, "You don't know anything about me", and I'll drop by your site to read about you.

I'm having this conversation too many times today...

2005-01-12T14:18:00.000-05:00

Random Co-worker: Hey, can you help me with this?
Me: No, I'm really sorry, but I'm swamped over here. Friday is my last day and I won't even be working on Friday. I've only got tomorrow left and I have many loose ends to tie up.
RCW: Ok. Great. So here's my problem....
Me: No, sorry. Listen, I really can't help you.
RCW: I need to know if we can do.....
Me: Hello? RCW? I really can't help you.
RCW: But...
Me: No. I'm sorry. No can do.
RCW: But...
Me: No buts. I won't even be here next week. Please find another way. Just pretend like I'm not here.
RCW: But you are here...
Me: Only in body. Not in mind. Please find another way.
RCW: But you're the only one who knows how to do this...
Me: Yes, well, you'll have to get along without me somehow... What are you going to do next week?
RCW: Call you at home?
Me: HAH!! I charge $100/hour. Are you willing to pay that?

*sigh*

What's wrong with these people? Don't they know that I just want to write in my blog for the next two days? ;)

UPDATE:

See below for Part 3 of Why I make a horrible bridesmaid. Also, FYI, Ms. Andrea (a.k.a bridezilla) herself has graced up with her presence and posted a comment in the comments section. Pay no attention to her.

Why I make a horrible bridesmaid (Part 3)

2005-01-12T09:33:00.000-05:00

(Note to reader: So sorry for the long suspense my friends. Thanks for your patience and here we go...)

We turn around and suddenly, the world comes to a complete and total halt.

"Oh. My God," I say as I land my eyes on the sight sitting in front of me. "Is that"?

"Yeah, it is...." Andrea says.

Maybe, just maybe, there's hope for us after all.

"A chocolate fountain!!!!!!!!!" I shriek, but Andrea's already on her way there.

"A chocolate fountain," I repeat quietly to myself. A chocolate fountain. I don't believe it.

It's magnificent. It's every girl's dream come true. A fountain, made of chocolate. The fountain is about 3 feet high, standing elegantly on a beautifully decorated table. Milk chocolate is pouring from it continuously and people are standing around, some gazing longingly, others dipping fruit in its falls.

I look at Andrea. She's just finished eating a strawberry that she's bathed in the chocolate for a good 30 seconds (much longer than recommended). She's got chocolate on her chin and on her nose.

"It's Lindt chocolate, Sami ! Lindt! Get over here!!!"

I can't move. I'm just too ecstatic to do anything. I feel like I am in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (which, by the way, is a movie I love). I've always secretly wanted to be Charlie. To frolic and to play in the chocolate factory (I've also always wanted to use the word frolic), to try all those new and exciting candies, and oh, to swim in the chocolate river....

And here I am. After 25 years of living on this planet, I am actually in my very own chocolate factory. Willy Wonka is probably watching me from his secret window and I am two feet away from the chocolate river. And to think, all this time, the chocolate factory was secretly located in a Bridal Show in downtown Toronto, Canada. Who knew?

"SAMI!" Andrea hisses.

I walk over. I'm not really sure what happens for the next few minutes. All I know is that half the fruit is gone and my fingers are very sticky. I look up at Andrea and we both laugh. I know my face looks just like hers: covered in chocolate.

But we don't care. We're in heaven.

"Leave it to chocolate to make us happy," she says.

"Mmffoo," I say in between bites. Andrea laughs.

"Try a marshmallow," she says, handing me one. I try it. It's all just so heavenly.

"I want to stick my tongue in it and drink it," I say.

Normally, this would sound disgusting, but looking at us - two chocolate covered girls with a bunch of flyers in our hands (which we are using as napkins by the way) - it makes so much sense.

"It's $800 to rent this thing," Andrea says.

It's as if she knew I was wondering that. The wonders of chocolate. Wow. It can even enhance telepathy.

"Wow," I say. I'm not sure if that's expensive or not.

"Too bad," Andrea says.

Oh. I guess it's expensive.

"I've got a better idea. Let's gather 10 girls one night, each pay $80 and rent this thing for fun. Wouldn't that be awesome?"

"That sounds great. Mm... [munch, munch], try the pineapple," she says handing me a pineapple covered in chocolate.

The chocolate drips all over me. I don't care.

"Fantastic," I say.

My phone rings. It's Mark.

"Omigod, Mark, I'm in heaven!!!" I exclaim. "You wouldn't believe how wonderful it is here. Invitations, and and, huge limo-buses and and, lots of flowers, and center pieces and, and, and, a chocolate fountain!!!"

Mark laughs. We talk some more. Okay, so maybe I talk his ear off. He (poor guy), doesn't say much at all.

"Wow! Don't worry. It'll be your turn someday," he says to me as we hang up.

Someday, someday. Yeah. Someday like in 4 years, someday. *sigh*

"Okay," Andrea says. "I think I'm ready to go again. If we start getting cranky again, we'll just come back here."

"Good plan," I say.

We start walking again. It takes all but two minutes for me see a booth specializing in Caribbean weddings. I've always secretly wanted to get married by the beach. Like they do in the movies.

I run over to the booth. Andrea follows closely behind.

"Wow. It's so beautiful," I say.

"Are you the bride?" the woman asks me. I pause for a moment.

"Yes. Yes, I am," I say.

Andrea laughs so loud she snorts. I elbow her.

"Ow," she mutters under her breath.

I start conversing with the woman.

"Oh, well, this isn't really my engagement ring. My real engagement ring is being sized at the moment," I say, as I see the woman examining the ring on my left ring finger (the ring that Mark got me for my 25th birthday).

Another snort comes from Andrea.

"You're stealing my thunder you know," she whispers.

"You're not here for opinions Andrea, you're here for support," I say back. She elbows me.

"OW!" I say loudly, "I'm sorry, my friend is a little jealous of all the attention I'm getting. Obviously she can't handle not being in the spotlight for a minute."

"It's because I'm the bride!" She exclaims.

The woman is confused and obviously not amused.

"Give me my twoonie back," I say as I face Andrea.

"Not in a million years," she says.

"GIVE IT TO ME!" I repeat louder.

"No. And that resort you're looking at is just plain ugly. U-G-L-Y, UGLY!"

"Give. Me. My . Twoonie. You total and absolute bridezilla!"

She's laughing.

"Nope. It's mine," she says as she runs away.

I run after her.

And the beauty is, I know just where she's going.....back to the magical chocolate fountain.

And in case you're wondering, we get through the rest of the night just fine. Once we'd overstayed our welcome at the fountain (read: once we were told to leave), we discovered a whole other section with tons of cake slices and chocolate truffles being distributed.

In short, bridal shows are the BEST.

The End.

Please take a minute....

2005-01-11T11:01:00.000-05:00

To visit Greg's site today. He is donating $1 for every comment left on his site, to honor Cheryl. The money is being donated to the National Breast Cancer Foundation.

This particular topic is very sensitive for me too, so I will be donating $50 as well. I know it's not much, but please try and remember how much debt I have at the moment. But in case you were wondering, I donate to this cause on a regular basis.

If you want, you can leave a comment here to show your support, but more importantly, please take a minute to support Greg in his very altruistic effort. Thank you.

Ps. See below for Part 2 of Why I make a horrible bridesmaid.

Why I make a horrible bridesmaid (Part 2)

2005-01-11T08:14:00.000-05:00

(Note to reader: GRRR! Stinking blogger wouldn't let me post yesterday!! Sorry about the delay. I might post two threads today to catch up. Stay tuned and thanks for your patience).

We start walking.

“This is enough to make one person go raving mad,” Andrea observes.

“Mm-hm,” I manage to reply. I am totally dumbfounded by the site that surrounds me.

Andrea grabs my hand.

“Would you like to know about our services?” asks one man.

“No thanks,” replies Andrea. “I’ve already booked a photographer.”

“Oh great! Are you getting married?” the man asks her.

“Yes she is!” I say happily. Andrea squeezes my hand. What?

“Congratulations. Where are you getting married?” asks the man.

“Uh, I don’t know,” she says. That's a lie. She booked her location months ago.

“When are you getting married?” he inquires again. Poor guy. He doesn’t have a clue.

“April 29th,” she says.

“Of this year?” The man is stunned. Don’t worry buddy. She’s actually got the perfect location picked out. She just doesn’t like talking to you very much.

“Yes,” says Andrea. She starts walking off.

“Would you like to fill out a ballot for a chance to win free DJ services?” asks another exhibitor.

“OH! Andrea, look! You haven’t gotten your DJ yet,” I say.

“No thanks, “ Andrea says to the guy. “I don’t like being called.”

I laugh out loud. I can’t believe she just said that!

We’re strategically making our way up and down the aisles. We go inside a gigantic limo-bus (that could easily fit a marching band) and I’m totally blown away.

“I don’t think I can afford a limo,” Andrea says sadly.

“Who cares?” I say. “Limos are totally over-rated.”

I ponder how much it would be to rent a limo for her big day. Maybe all the bridesmaids can chip in.

We walk up and down more aisles and we’re both baking in the heat. There are too many people here and it’s getting noisier by the minute. It’s hard to concentrate, let alone have a decent conversation. We're holding our coats and the million flyers we've already accumulated up to this point.

We head over to a booth displaying tiaras. Andrea picks one and tries it on. She lets her hair down and examines herself in the mirror. She looks beautiful. I try to fight the tears but they just start streaming down my face. I wish Mitra were here. (Note to reader: Mitra is in Togo, Africa working on AIDS prevention and safe-sex education or something like that).

“What are you doing?” Andrea says when she catches me blowing my nose.

“Nut-ing,” I reply. Sniffle.

“Omigod, you’re crazy,” she says with a laugh. We hug.

“But in all honesty,” I say, “I think you can find a better tiara. This one is a bit big and uh, flashy”.

“It’s a tiara Sami. It’s supposed to be flashy. You and I really don’t have the same taste.”

“That’s true, but I’m just telling you my opinion.”

“You’re not here for opinions. You’re here for support,” she says.

“Fine,” I reply. Support? Pff. If I knew I was here for support, I wouldn't have come! “Then I should tell you that I think the tiara is totally ugly. Hideous.”

She shoots a mean look in my direction.

“Oh really?" she says, "Well that flower setting you liked was hideous too!”

“Is that so?” I ask her. “Fine. Be that way.”

“Fine,” she says stubbornly. We continue up and down the aisles continuing the conversation in the same fashion.

“What about this?” I say pointing to the most beautiful invitations I’ve ever seen in my life.

“No. I don’t like the bow,” she replies. “What about this one?” She is pointing to an invitation that I could make using construction paper and two crayons.

“Ew,” I reply.

“Ew?” she repeats.

“Yeah! Ew!”

She rolls her eyes.

“Ooooh!!” I swoon as I see some sort of Asian trinket.

“What’s that for?” she asks. “I don’t know exactly…but I just thought it would go with the theme of your wedding.”

“The theme of my wedding?” she asks me in complete confusion. Wow. She can be sooo clueless at times.

“Uh yeah! You know, with Sean being chinese and all,” I say.

She laughs. “Yeah, and?”

“And, isn’t that the theme of your wedding?”

"What? China?"

I don't say anything.

“Hell no!” she exclaims. She is laughing at me.

“Oh, ” I say. She is now pointing to a pair of white shoes.

“Oh god no. My grandma wears those," I say.

She gasps.

“That's not very nice!”

”Oh please,” I say. “You threw 'nice' out the window when you told that poor guy that you don’t like being called. "

She gasps again. I pretend not to notice. I point to a pearl necklace. She said she wanted a pearl necklace.

“Look. A pearl necklace. This can be your something new, “ I say.

“Ew,” she says spitefully. Grr. Now she’s just being difficult.

“You know what?" I bark. "I want my twoonie back."

“What?!” she asks in a shocked manner.

“Yeah! My twoonie, give it back."

“No!”

“What do you mean, no? You can’t do that! Give it back! You owe me two dollars and I want it!”

“No. You said I could keep it and I’m keeping it!” What a baby! Look at what she's doing over a twoonie!

“You thief! Give it back!” I yell.

“Never! I’m keeping it forever and ever and ever and you’ll never get it back!”

“Give it!” I yell, reaching in her pockets. She starts fighting me off. I reach in her purse. She slaps my hand.

“Stop!” she shouts. “Stop it, take your hand out of there!”

I can't believe how childish she's being!

“Ladies, ladies!!” a voice comes from behind us.

We turn around and suddenly, the world comes to a complete and total halt.

“Oh. My God,” I say as I land my eyes on the sight sitting in front of me. “Is that…?”

“Yeah, it is....” Andrea exclaims.

Maybe, just maybe, there's hope for us after all.

To be continued....

Your comment is worth 1$

2005-01-09T13:07:00.000-05:00

I'll continue my "Why I make a horrible Bridesmaid" series tomorrow (the best is yet to come, trust me).

In the meantime, there is something more pressing to discuss. Please take a look at this .

Michele is doing something wonderful; for every comment you leave on her site, she will donate a dollar to the Tsunami Relief Organizations. If you have already made your monetary contribution, thank you, but there still is more you can do. For instance, you can take 30 seconds to leave a comment on Michele's site. And please mention that "Samira sent you". If you're a lurker, this is the perfect opportunity to make a difference. Every dollar counts.

I really appreciate it. Thank you.

Why I make a horrible Bridesmaid (Part 1)

2005-01-08T13:18:00.000-05:00

I am so not cut out for this.

When Andrea asked me to be her bridesmaid, I was ecstatic. She and Mitra were over at my house one day and Andrea handed me a greeting card. Inside it was written:

Roses are Red
Violets are Blue
Won't you please be...
My bridesmaid too?

I felt so special that I started laughing, crying, screaming and jumping all at the same time. Omigod! This is wonderful! This is truly amazing! Me? A bridesmaid!! Yay! Hoorah!

"I think that's a 'yes', Andrea", Mitra said.

Of course it's a yes! Are you kidding me! I'm gonna be a bridesmaid at one of my best friend's weddings! Woohoo!

"You sure you want to say yes?" Mitra asked me later.

"Are you nuts? Of course I do!"

"It's just...being in the wedding party isn't all it's cracked up to be. It's stressful, it's time consuming, it's awfully expensive and it's just plain craziness," she said.

"Who cares? I'm totally up for it. Aren't you?"

"Of course," she said. "Just don't get your hopes up."

Don't get my hopes up? How can I get my hopes up when I have no clue what to expect? No way, I want to be one of Andrea's bridesmaids, come rain or shine.

But Mitra was right. Little did I know, I'd suck at being a bridesmaid. There should be a book entitled "How to make a good bridesmaid" . Or better yet, one of those "Bridesmaids for dummies" manuals would do. In the meantime, I'm going to tell you what not to do. And I'm going to tell you why I don't make a good bridesmaid, or better yet, why I make a horrible one.

So please, sit back. Grab a cup of coffee and a relax....

My story takes place last night (Friday). I'm with Andrea and we're in the Toronto Convention Center in downtown Toronto, Canada.

"Why are we here again?", I moan.

"To see the Bridal Show Sami. Now come on, stop stalling."

Bridal show. How boring. I am not a girly-girl when it comes to certain things and going to a Bridal show qualifies as a girly-girl activity in my books.

"I have to pee," I say.

"Again? We just went 5 minutes ago! What's wrong with you?"

"Nothing's wrong with me. I have a small bladder, is all. You coming or are you gonna stay here?"

"I'll stay," she says. "Hurry up though. I'll stand in line."

I return from the washroom to find her waiting in line.

"Oh here," she says to me. She takes out a twoonie from her pocket. (Note to reader: a twoonie is a Canadian two dollar coin.)

"What's this?" I ask her.

"I owe you a twoonie from last time," she explains.

"Oh please. Do we have to go through this again? Please keep it. It's only a twoonie."

"No, take it."

"No, really. I insist. Keep it."

"No please, take it. I feel bad".

"You feel bad about two dollars? Please just keep it. I insist. You can buy me a coffee sometime."

"You sure?" she asks me.

"YES! Please. Keep it."

"Ok," she says reluctantly. She puts the twoonie back in her pocket.

I love Andrea. She's such a sweetheart. She's the most non-malicious person I've ever known. Mitra and I always say how there isn't a single malicious bone in Andrea's body. It's totally true.

We wait in line for 15 minutes to buy our tickets.

"Fifteen dollars, huh?" I ask her. "So, do we get anything for this fifteen dollars?"

"Uh, no. Not really. You just get to see the displays and everything."

"Displays? Ah man, I hate displays. What kind of displays?"

"I don't know. You'll see. Haven't you been to one of these before?" she asks.

"Uh, yeah, sure. Of course I have. A bridal show. Sure. All the time. I went a few months ago , actually."

"Oh really? I thought they only had these once a year."

"Oh right. They do. I mean, I went to one in another city."

"What other city? You went to another city without telling me?" She's examining me.

"Uh ...yeah! Remember when I went to Niagara Falls a few months ago? There was a bridal show there."

"Oh. Ok," she replies. Thank God. That was close. Non-malicious and gullible. Holy moly, was she interrogating me or what?

A few more minutes pass . I'm whining. My feet hurt, I've been working all day, and this sucks. There are too many people here and it's hot. I have to carry my jacket (which I hate doing) and it's just noisy. Blech.

"Are we there yet?" I whine again.

"Almost," she says. She's too patient.

Finally, we buy our tickets. I look at my cell phone and contemplate sending a text message to Mark asking him to call me and lure me away because of some emergency. I decide against it. Do you see what a good friend I am?

We head up the escalator and enter the 'Bridal Show Area'. I'm overwhelmed. It's huge. There are hundreds of booths set up with people standing behind them. There's a big limousine-bus near the entrance and tons of beautiful curtains drawn in every corner of the hall. It smells delicious.

"What's that smell?" I ask Andrea who's inhaling deeply as well.

"I don't know. I hope it's free food."

"Free food? Omigod, thank you for bringing me here! You're the best friend a girl could ask for."

"Well, it's not free per say. We paid fifteen dollars, remember?"

"Oh yeah, " I respond. "Let's get our money's worth then." She laughs.

Sensory overload. I can't believe all the colors! I scan the room. I see beautiful colorful flowers in every corner, some giant tiered cakes (cakes!) and gorgeous dresses galore. Men in tuxedos, women with their hair done up and tiaras sparkling in the background. It's magnificent. I stand there absorbing the site that is in front of me.

"Sami, you can close your mouth now."

I obey. It doesn't take a minute for the surrounding sounds to come into focus. People are yelling in every direction. There are so many people, and they are all so young. Are they all brides-to-be or are they shopping for their mothers? Vendors standing every few feet are handing out flyers and craving for attention.

"Want some flowers?" asks one.

"Have you chosen your DJ?" asks another.

"Where are you getting married? When are you getting married?"

"Do you have a wedding planner? We offer a 5% discount!" one yells.

"Invitations! Invitations here!! The best invitations in Canada!"

"Tuxedos, get your Tuxedo's at Moore's for 75$," yells another.

Oh my dear heavens. This is a frickin' zoo. I knew it. This is gonna suck. How long do I have to stay before I can leave without being rude?

"Sami, listen. You have to stay close ok? Otherwise, we're gonna lose each other,"

"Ok," I say.

This is nuts.

To be continued....

Coming up later today...

2005-01-08T10:54:00.000-05:00

Why I make a horrible bridesmaid. It'll likely be a three part series.

In the meantime, I'm off to read the blogs of the nice people who have commented on my site lately. Also, I'll be seeing if I can lose 5 lbs in 3 hours (read: playing tennis). I'll let you know if I succeed.

Thank god it's the weekend.

*sigh of relief*

See you soon.

Ps. A special hello to Greg, PSD, GFF, Poppy, Michele (hi!), Chastity and RSM.

About me

2005-01-07T10:50:00.000-05:00

Thanks to all of you for your wonderful comments regarding yesterday's post. I honestly meant every word of it (and then some). I could have gone forever.

And if you're new to my site, hi! Welcome. Make yourself at home. As you can see, I've got some tea/coffee to offer and uh, a fake flower, if you're into that.

Some readers have been asking me some questions (yes, I can be very specific at times), so I thought I'd write one of those "100 things about me" lists. Only, I'm not sure if I can reach 100, so we'll just see how far I get. Here goes.

100 Things about Me.

1. My name is Samira. Not Samara. Not Samera. Not Sameera. Not Samra or any other mutilation of the word.

2. It's pronounced like "Sameera". Not Samara. Or Samera. Or my personal favorite, "Samrah" (where they actually get brave and insert an "h" at the end.)

3. My family and friends call me Sam or Sami.

4. A few of my close friends call me Smai.

5. They call me Smai because when I sign my emails in a hurry, I accidentally type Smai instead of Sami.

6. They love this. I don't.

7. For the moment, I live in Toronto, Canada.

8. I haven't always lived here. I lived in Paris, France for the first 7 years of my life.

9. I still speak/write french (fluently).

10. I've been back to Paris quite a few times since my childhood and nothing can explain the way I feel about that city.

11. If you ask me, Paris is the best city in the world.

12. Toronto's pretty great too, but I've been to quite a few U.S. cities and I have to say, some of them are amazing.

13. I'm an only child.

14. I've never felt lonely.

15. I have too many cousins to feel lonely.

16. My parents are wonderful.

17. I have an undergraduate degree in Biology.

18. I hate Biology.

19. Biology has nothing to do with medicine. Biology involves memorizing 1 million species of birds, algae, fungi and every other excrutiatingly boring organism on the planet. Biology sucks.

20. I had very bad roommate experiences in University.

21. I'm not sure if I bring out the "psycho" in some people but I think I must.

22. Therefore, being in University was not the best time in my life. Sure I had some great moments here and there, but you couldn't pay me to do it over.

23. The same goes for high school. I've got quite a few theories about high school and teenagers.

24. Basically, I think anyone who stomped on anyone in high school turns out to be miserable in life and those who were stomped on, blossom once they leave.

25. I was stomped on.

26. So were my friends.

27. I've been wanting to study medicine my entire life.

28. I saw my pediatrician in action when I was four and I wanted to be him.

29. I still want to be him.

30. I applied for medical school three times in Canada.

31. It turns out, they don't want me.

32. I still don't know why.....(mofos).

33. So after University, I had to do what all people do when they are confused and they can't get into their field of choice: I worked.

34. I started working in a bank as a Customer Service Rep.

35. In my opinion, CSR's are the most unappreciated, over-worked, underpaid people in the world. They deserve a gold medal in patience.

36. I really enjoy math, accounting, problem solving and working with people, so moving up in the bank was inevitable.

37. It was inevitable but not permanent.

38. I stayed with the bank a little longer than I anticipated because my mom was diagnosed with breast cancer.

39. When I found out, my entire world collapsed.

40. But it turns out that my mother is the strongest person on the planet. She didn't falter one bit.

41. Now I want to be a doctor more than ever.

42. My mother also happens to be the funniest person I know.

43. Sometimes she means to be funny, but she's funniest when she doesn't know it.

44. She's got an accent and sounds like Salma Hayek when she speaks English.

45. Last night, for instance, she wanted me to hurry up, so she yelled (in a crowded area of all places), "Okay, but run Foster, Run!"

46. If I didn't know her, I'd have thought, "Who the hell is Foster?"

47. But I do know her. And that's why it took me all but 3 seconds to realize that she meant to say, "Run Forrest , run".

48. She also likes to pronounce the word "cushion" like "coshion" and she likes to say, "I was keep telling her" (instead of "I kept telling her").

49. My favorite mommy-ism though, is "A lots of". Not a lot of. Not lots of. A lots of.

50. I applied for medical school again this past September, only, this time, I applied offshore too.

51. I got into all of the schools.

52. I chose St. George's University (in Grenada) because it was the best school.

53. I've never been to Grenada.

54. I leave February 2nd.

55. Grenada had a hurricane recently which destroyed all housing so we'll be living in a resort for the first term.

56. This is the resort. http://www.grenadagrand.com/

57. I'm not kidding.

58. The only not-so-great thing is that I *have* to have a roommate again.

59. I'm praying that she chickens out a few days before classes start and never shows up. And while I'm wishing for impossible things, I'd appreciate a million dollars from her too.

60. I'm excited, nervous and sad to leave Canada.

61. Excited, because I've waited 25 years for this moment.

61. Nervous, because of the roommate thing and because I'm not too keen on becoming a "student" again (once you start making an income, being broke stinks).

62. Sad, because I will miss my family, my friends and my boyfriend, Mark.

63. Mark is very happy and supportive for me, but really sad as well.

64. The bad news is: visiting each other isn't really an option because it's a $2000.00 return flight to Grenada.

65. That's a lot of money.

66. The good news is: the first term is only four months long and then I'm back in Toronto for three months.

67. I love to play tennis.

68. Sometimes I like to pretend I'm a professional tennis player.

69. But I snap back into reality when I do things like hit my leg with the racket (hard) or take a nose dive into the ground.

70. Which reminds me, I'm totally clumsy.

71. I'm only 5''2, but I'm the clumsiest person I know.

72. Talk to any of my friends and they will gladly let you know of a time when I did a Superman dive across the pavement and actually skid when I hit the ground. (They call it a Superman dive because my hands were actually extended in front of me while I was airborne).

73. By the way, today, I fell down the stairs in my house (there are 12 of them).

74. It hurt.

75. I love children.

76. I love anything to do with children.

77. Hence why I love children's books and movies.

78. I can't wait for Harry Potter 6 to come out this spring. I've pre-ordered my copy already.

79. My love for children has also inspired me to write a children's novel (for ages 12-18).

80. It's finished.

81. I doubt it'll ever get published.

82. Unless I can somehow bribe, pay or torture someone to do it (which I'm totally willing to do, in case you're wondering).

83. My book is (conveniently) called "Milestones".

84. It's about how I think high school should be.

85. I love clothes.

86. I have too many clothes.

87. My mother has to throw away my old, crusty, ripped up clothing behind my back, because I can never part with them.

88. I also love Scooby doo.

89. Mark likes to call me "Rami" (instead of Sami) because it's how Scooby doo would pronounce my name.

90. Yes, you're free to gag at any point.

91. I only have to say 9 more things about myself!

92. I have a phobia of sharks.

93. My phobia was so bad at one point that I was scared to swim in swimming pools.

94. Yes, I knew I was nuts. But in my defense, it was because of that old James Bond movie where the bottom of the pool opened up and the sharks came up into the pool.

95. Just thinking about it makes me want to faint.

96. But generally, I have a strong stomach.

97. Unless it involves anything that crawls or has more than four legs.

98. A lot of people think I look like Katie Holmes.

99. That's okay, I suppose but after a while, it gets old.

100. Plus, they don't say Katie Holmes, they say "Joey", and frankly, I hated Joey.

101. I have to go over 100 things because I just realized that I haven't said anything about coffee.

102. Guess what? I love coffee.

103. I can't go a day without it.

104. One day, I had to go a few hours without it and I nearly died. Here's the link.

105. Oh! And I really love movies. All kinds.

106. And I can watch re-runs of Friends forever.

107. So can Mark.

108. We're movie junkies.

109. I should end this list now, but I have one more thing to say.

110. I've met some great friends on the net. See below for a few of them.

Ps. If you've blogrolled me, please email me. I'll blogroll you back. ;)

My favorite blogs and why they rock

2005-01-06T14:01:00.000-05:00

A few months ago, I had no clue of what goes on in the cyber world. Blog? What's that? A few months ago, if someone would have told me that I was to meet internet people and grow to like them, I would have laughed in their face. Don't be ridiculous. The internet is full of loonies.

But here I am : affected and addicted.

So, here is a list of the blogs that have affected me and of the great people behind them.

1. Pink Sun Drops. I'm starting with PSD because her heart of gold stung me from the very first post she made on my site. If you want to read the writings of a truly good person, take a look at her site. She has a very gifted way with words and always finds a way to move others. But I think that what I like about her most is how she's always doing things for others (but in the most subtle, discreet and humble way possible). If I didn't catch her in the act, I'd never know it. She's just that good-hearted and I hope the people in her life know how lucky they are. Honestly, this girl is so sweet without even trying. Oh, and I have to mention that she's gorgeous too (sorry! I have to! It's true!). I just love this girl and you will too. Trust me.

2. Girl From Florida. I call her GFF. She thinks I call her that because it's an acronym for Girl from Florida, but it's actually because it's an acronym for Girl Friend Forever. Cheesy, I know, but it's so true. To me, she is the girlfriend next door (who also happens to be beautiful. Too many beautiful people on the net, I tell you). She's the one who always has something nice to say and the one who makes you laugh when you need it most. She is always looking out for her friends and she is always happy (even when she's sad). You can count on GFF. And it's virtually impossible not to love her (pun intended).

3. RockStar Mommy. If you want to laugh your ass off, go pay a visit to her site. There is a reason why she's so popular in the cyber-world. She voices so many things that we are all thinking (like who the heck's brilliant idea was it to spell vacuum with two u's and how come the word never looks right?) and she is just bloody hilarious in doing so! She's also one of those few genuinely good people. You can just *tell* with her. I mean, anyone who makes a daily habit out of making others laugh has got to be good, don't you think? Oh and did I mention she's so beautiful? Yeah. Another one.

4. Chastity. Chastity posts about the stuff that every girl wants to talk about. She always gives credit where credit is due. She always writes about great topics and you can almost feel her smiling as you're reading her posts. She is also beautiful and if I write the word beautiful one more time, I'm strangling myself. But take a look at her pictures, wouldn't you want to marry her? Chastity has been posting religiously on my blog since the very first days and I just knew that if I knew her in real life, we'd be good friends.

5. Poppy. Oh Poppy. Poppy is the person I was referring to in my previous post. If she doesn't publish a book, then I'm throwing in my hat (somewhere). She is 50 times better than Oprah. And if you don't like Oprah, don't worry, she's nothing like her. I'm just saying she's great. She has the greatest outlook and attitude towards life and she is a gift to all great women. I can't say enough about her, honestly. She is the kind of person that you wish everyone knew because if they did, the world would be a better place. I can't express how awesome she is, so just read her latest post and you'll see for yourself.

6. Michele. Let's be honest here. You already know about Michele. How can you not? Everyone knows and loves this lady and rightfully so! One of her fans wrote "the best thing about Michele is that her site is actually NOT about her and all about her readers". I couldn't agree with it more. She welcomes everyone to her site, and she is just so darn creative! I wonder where she comes up with half the stuff! It won't take you a minute to become addicted and have her site on your desktop 24/7 hitting "refresh" every 2 minutes (not that I do that or anything). She is also another person who always does things for other. Where do you think I got the idea for this post? From her, of course! She does it every day! But you knew that because you know her. And I'm sure she's beautiful too because she's beautiful on the inside and yes, I said beautiful. Again.

7. California Hammonds. Last but certainly not least. I found California Hammond's through BE. To be completely and truly honest, when I first read the description at the top of the page, I moved on to the next site. Having gone through that with mom, I couldn't bear reading about Cheryl. I don't know if that makes me a bad person, but it's the truth. I just wasn't ready. But I think that in some way, I was meant to read that site because BE brought it up more than any other site. I'm not kidding. So one day, I finally sat there and read it from beginning to end. I couldn't stop the tears streaming down my face and I couldn't believe I had gone through my life without having read this site. If you want to read about true love and how it conquers all, read this site. If you want to read about a magnificent person, read this site. Most of us will never know Cheryl personally, but through the poetic words of her loving husband, we are touched by her life. It is crystal clear that she is (I use present tense because she lives on in her husband and children) truly a magnificent person and as my recent luck would have it, she's gorgeous too. There are different pictures of her every day, in every way, shape and form and I swear, this woman is breathtakingly beautiful. There's a picture of her on a boat wearing a white one-piece bathing suit and she makes Marilyn Monroe look like a horse. Anyway, I urge you to read this site. It will make you a different person.

Actually, I urge you to read all these sites (if you haven't already). They made my day every day and I know they will make yours too.

PART 2: What NOT to do when you've had tons of fluids

2005-01-06T09:16:00.000-05:00

Before I continue with my story, I should mention that as a rule, I don't like confrontation. I'm not a confrontational individual. I'm one of those people who just likes to have peace in my life. But ever since I've met Mark, I've changed a little. Mark and I are total and complete opposites in many ways. So, while I've taught him how to let bygones be bygones at times, he's also taught me that once in a while, sticking up for myself is not a choice, it's a necessity. And it's true. Now, on with the story...

Enter SCW.

SCW: Oh. Hello.

Me: Hi.

SCW: So, what did he want?

Me: What do you mean, what did he want? Don't you know what he wanted? You're the one who was talking to him first.

SCW: Well, no. I was just following orders and the VP said...

I realize we're in a public bathroom with a line-up when I see sweet bathroom lady waving frantically at me in the mirror. I wave back .

Me: Listen, this isn't the right place to talk. I'll catch you later.

SCW: Fine.

Me: Fine.

Later...

Me: I think the real issue that needs to be addressed SCW, is why you couldn't have Mr. X wait on the phone for 2 minutes while I ran to the bathroom. I didn't appreciate that.

SCW: Oh, please. You only got up to go to the bathroom because you saw me coming.

*gasp* Oh no she didn't!

Me: WHAT?! Why the hell would I do that? It's not like I knew you were gonna tell me to talk to someone I don't know. Plus, contrary to popular belief, I don't have a sixth spidey sense. I honestly had no clue you were coming.

She's not amused.

Me: Did you know I was on the phone with him for 45 minutes?

SCW: No.

Me: 45 minutes of me having to go to the bathroom so desperately, when I could've just gone before the conversation with him.

SCW: I told you, it was urgent.

Me: You did tell me, but that wasn't the truth. First of all, any one of my team members could've handled Mr. X. It didn't have to be me. Second of all, he didn't even know he was being transferred. Don't you find that a bit odd?

SCW: What's your point?

Oh gawd... Am not getting through, here.

Me: Okay, look. Next time, just let me go to the bathroom okay? I think there are laws against that in the workplace. We're co-workers and we need to respect each other, so I expect you to respect my bladder and all my bodily functions for that matter.

She laughs. I wasn't trying to make her laugh.

SCW: You're funny.

Me: Uh, thanks.

SCW: So what's the outcome with him?

Me: Can you promise me about the bathroom thing please? Otherwise, I might really have to start avoiding you.

She laughs again.

[Awkward silence when she realizes I'm serious.]

Her: Yeah, ok. Fine.

I smile.

SCW: Thank you.

Enter kind friend who let me switch spots with her in the bathroom. She is same person who tells me everything medically wrong with her since finding out I'm going to medical school.

Friend: Hey!

Me: Hi!

SCW: [to friend] We were talking. [To me] So what's the outcome with him? Tell me everything.

Friend: Sorry, geez.

Me: Wow SCW. You're taking this "customer focused" thing to a whole other level here. Don't worry, I've got it under control.

SCW: Tell me anyway.

Friend: Tell you what?

SCW: [To friend] Nothing.

Me: I'll tell you later, when I've got it all settled with him, k? It's a long story. Remember? It took 45 minutes? I'll just tell you and the VP at the same time.

SCW: Uh, no. Listen, once you've got it settled, tell me and then I'll tell the VP for you.

Me: Huh? Why?

SCW: Because that's what she wanted.

Me: I see. So she wanted you to pass Mr. X over to me, have me do all the work, then have me tell you what I did , so you can pass the message along to her?

Friend laughs.

SCW [shoots friend dirty look]: Actually, yeah.

Me: Ok. Fine. I'll do just that , then.

Friend: Uh, Sam?

Me: [To friend] Let's go. [To SCW] Bye SCW.

SCW: Let me know by the end of the day.

We walk away...

Friend: Omigod, don't fall for that!

Me: Don't worry about it. I don't care. So what's up?

Friend: I think I have chronic bronchitis.

Me: Oh yeah? What makes you say that?

She makes the most godawful noise I've ever heard in my life (which I can only assume was a cough) and then proceeds to tell me about how she got sick, how her boyfriend got sick, how she mother and father got sick, and how her mother's sister got sick.

And that's the end.

And no, I wasn't born yesterday. I know that SCW is being a weasel and trying to take credit for what I did. I know that the VP never asked for me to take the call. I know that she wants to pretend like she did all the work. I know all this.

So what did I do? Nothing. Normally, I may have have done something. I'm not really sure.

But now? It really doesn't bother me. If she wants to take credit for something I did, then so be it. I'm leaving in 6 business days, 6 hours and 30 minutes (but who's counting?) and this is really not something I need to stress over. It's not worth it. She's not worth it. And people like her, always get theirs. Eventually people find out that they aren't what they pretend to be, and eventually, their misery catches up with them. The key word being eventually, of course, and unfortunately, in life, we are never around for the eventuallys.

There is actually a blog out there that sums up that SCW quite nicely. SCW is what we call a "weed". I intend to share that blog with you very shortly (amongst others).

So stay tuned for my next post entitled...

My favorite Blogs and why they Rock

What NOT to do when you've made a resolution to drink tons of fluids

2005-01-05T11:43:00.000-05:00

Getting up from work-desk to go to the bathroom.

Stupid co-worker: Hey! Where are you going?

Me: Bathroom?

SCW: Now?

Me: Yeeeees. Usually when people are saying they want to go to the bathroom, they don't go running a 5k marathon first.

SCW [not amused]: Oh. Well, I have Mr. X on the phone and he needs to talk to you.

Me: Mr. Who?

SCW: Mr. X.

Me: I don't even know a Mr. X.

SCW: Well, he needs to talk to someone.

Me: Did he specifically say he wants to talk to me?

SCW: No.

Looking around and seeing that my three team-mates are all sitting at their desks, typing away. I don't believe this.

Me: Can you transfer the call to one of them? I really gotta go.

SCW: No, he has to talk to you.

Me: Why me?!

SCW: Because the Vice-President said she wants you to handle it.

Me: *sigh* Ok. No problem. Just put him to my voicemail and I'll call him right back.

SCW: No. He has to talk to someone now. He doesn't want a machine.

Me: Ooookaaaaay. Then keep him on hold for a second, k? I'll be right back.

SCW: No! Ugh. Sameeeera! What part of "now" don't you understand?

Me: The part that involves me peeing in my pants SCW!!!!! Geez!

SCW: I don't care. I'm putting him through right now. Pick it up. It'll only be a few minutes.

She storms off . I (stupidly) pick up my phone.

Me: Hello? [bounce, bounce]

Mr. X: Who's this?

Me: My name is Samira, sir. [bounce, fidget]

Mr. X: Who the hell are you?

Me: Samira. That's who I am. I work with the V.P. She's isn't here at the moment and has asked that I ...

Mr. X: I don't want to talk to you! Why am I talk to you? Who the hell transferred me here? I was just talking to that woman. Why did she transfer me to you?

Oh sweet merciful crap.

[pause]

45 (yes, forty freakin' five) minutes later....

Me [moaning, sweating, ready to go in my pants] : Ok, sir? [bounce, fidget, fidget, whimper]

Him: Fine. Just call me back as soon as you can.

Me: Will do. Thank you and goodbye.

Hanging up phone and dashing towards the bathroom. Knocking down employees on my way there. Crying because "Why the f**k did they have to build the bathroom so far away from everyone and how come the woman's bathroom is always waaaay after the men's? Huh??!! Women have more sensitive bladders, yet men always get the first door!! It's so unfair!! Obviously men build office buildings, NOT women!!"

Finally, opening bathroom door to realize there's a line-up. Typi-freakin-cal. *whimper*

Me: Pssst!

Friend [who is second in line]: Hey! How are you?

Me: No time to chat. Switch spots with me. Please.

Friend: What? Why?

Me: Because if I don't go in the next 30 seconds, I'll piss all over you.

Friend [laughing]: You're such a goof.

Me: I'm not kidding Tee. Please. I'll buy you a coffee.

Friend: But you always buy me coffee!

Me: I'll buy you two coffees!!

Friend: But I don't want two coffees.

Me: I'll buy you whatever you want. Please , it hurts. It really physically hurts. And if you don't go when it hurts, then you'll be scarred for life. Trust me, I'm going to be a doctor. I know these things.

Friend: [more laughing] You're full of it, but okay, okay. Here.

She switches places with me. I dash for the next stall. There's no toilet paper. I don't give a sh*t. RELIEF !!!!!!!!! I pee for 10 minutes straight. Wiggle around a bit and walk out with a sheepish smile on my face.

Enter SCW.

Her: Oh. Hello.

To be continued......

Ps. If you're a lurker (and I know there's a few of you), guess what? Apparently it's de-lurker day today so "Hi!". Make a comment. I didn't make the rules, but I like them. ;)

Woohoo!

2005-01-05T09:20:00.000-05:00

Canada won last night!