Wonderwall.

Happy Birthday Sweetie--I don't believe that anybody feels the way I do about you now...

Cleaning Spree.

Note: This is merely a fun post that was created mostly to show friends back home that wanted to see where I 'live' when I talk to them on MSN.

After an afternoon of cleaning and a better part of the evening cleaning, sorting, organizing--you name it, I probably did it, I have come up with an end result: an office that can actually be sat in, a place where I can actually find things. Amazing isn't it?


Alex's Wall of Knowledge: The end goal will be a complete wall filled with anatomical structures and biochemical systems of the body with the added magazine article or two updating the research front on cancer.


The place where magic is made: Well--not quite magic, but pretty close! This is where I spend time cramming, writing essays and researching assignments to the wee hours of the morning usually every night. (Note: This picture is after things have been cleaned up)


Chaos: What my area looks like at best on any given day if I haven't cleaned.

Too Little, Too Late.

All this searching yet my destiny is still unfound--makes me realize this world will always let me down. So it seems that the only hope I ever had was everything that You are...I'm falling down, tumbling after You. I'm overwhelmed, tripping over simple truth. In all I've found there's nothing that's more beautiful than what I've found in You.
"Tumbling After" ~ Starfield

Note: My kadaver lab has become my favorite class in my schedule by a landslide. Due to my lab partner and I's diligence in our prelab assignments and reading, we usually take one out of the three hours to complete the actual lab. The next hour is spent pretending to study, read notes, make summary diagrams when again, due to our diligence as keeners, we have already done all that we can. We simply play this charade to please our lab TA. That is more than I can say for the final hour for in the final hour--all hope is lost as our attention spans are shot and we begin telling stories that the whole lab then evesdrops on. Before we know it, the class is laughing at our jokes that we weren't even telling them directly.

Highlights of the day...
- 'Petit Dance Parties' in the bathroom with girlfriends--followed by the burning of ones upper lip as one uses her flat iron as a microphone to sing along to her favorite song.
- Don't you just love it when you're sitting minding your own business when you get drug into a conversation you'd rather not be a part of? Well today, that innocent bystander was me as I was reviewing the components of the cardiovascular system. There I was and some person (I don't even know her name) starts quizzing me on some pretty personal aspects of my life to try and prove a point to her friend. Despite the awkward moments that followed, I was honest with this stranger--I used the opportunity to share my faith with her explaining why I was the way I was and why I made the decisions I had made (that seemed to be so foreign to her). God works in mysterious ways...
- You know you get off topic and have slight attention span problems when...your TA reminds you and your friends at the beginning of the lab with a smirk on his face to try and avoid talking about animal cruelty this week (it's a long story involving my days at the golf course where the guys I worked with and I used an industrial blower to shoot a dead squirrel/golpher at the bunker crew). To this my friend replied, "Don't worry--that's last weeks news! We'll find a new topic for you today, don't you worry!"

Anyways, now I am off to get some work done so that I can enjoy the rest of my day in all it's fullness. Keep on smiling all!

For we walk by faith--not by sight...

Angels Loosing Sleep.

Bible Verse of the Day:
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for--the conviction of things not seen." ~Hebrews 11:1

What a day!

As usual, this morning I woke up after hitting my snooze button far more than I care to mention--rolled out of bed, didn't bother to do anything other than throw on my running gear and stumble to the front door in a tired daze. It didn't take long to wake up as I stepped out the front door into the cold. The good news is I am nearing my target distance for running and within a matter of months, I'll be exactly where I want to be!

After the routine run, I headed off to class sporting sweat pants, spandex shirt and a zip up hoodie--I'd say it was typical athletic bum look. Today marks the first day in a while in which I attended all my classes on a M/W/F schedule--for I have been missing sociology due to the sheer boredom I experience due to the courses content. You know what the sad thing is? I attended today and found that I was not behind in the slightest nor was I at all lost. The material really is, just that easy.

Classes ended and I enjoyed a nice walk home in much warmer weather than I had experienced that morning. I turned around, went out and got groceries and cooked a quick dinner before taking time to praise the Lord. Later in the evening, I went out with my roommate and his friends to celebrate his birthday and alas, here I am 100% as the picture below depicts.


Me (of course) at the moment, in my little nook that I have made my home.

Other favorites from the day...


Nick's birthday: At the pub!


Roomies!

Picture This.

The engineering cancer head shave is in process at the university--to raise awareness for the event, there are individuals that are shaving their heads on Friday that volunteered to dye their head neon pink today. Picture that.

Lost In Your Eyes.

"When you come to a fork in the road--take it! ~Yogi Berra

I just read that quote and seriously burst out laughing--simple things really do amuse me.

On another note--my weekend was as always one to remember. I found myself driving around in circles in the North end of the city persisting that I could actually find a Walmart where there was none to start with--I finally gave up after a substantial amount of time had passed. Despite being unable to locate a Walmart, I did find the time to be much enjoyable, driving along in the night in a city lit up by lights--listening to music as I held the hand on that special someone.

Sidenote: On every 'to do' list I had this weekend was a mental reminder to pick up my bike from the bike shop. I successfully failed in three days worth of attempts to remember to do so--funny how things work out.

You're the honey and the moon, that lights up my night... ("Honey and the Moon" ~ Joseph Arthur)

Alas, it is nearly one o'clock in the morning and I believe I am running in the morning so I better be wise and get some rest. Hope everyone enjoys their break between midterms and finals--I know I will!

One last note...

Happy Birthday Nick!

Suddenly I See.

Note: The blog server has informed me this is my 200th post--other than that little factoid, there is nothing particularly special about this entry. Enjoy!

In the last fourty-eight hours...

- Can't Kyle stay out of trouble for just twenty-four hours? I get a phone call as I am coming into the city--he's hit the ditch just North of the city. Solution? In efforts to cheer him up while waiting for a tow truck--Katrina and I had a stellar performance in the ditch, myself rockin' out on the air guitar while Katrina sang beautiful vocals. The result? Kyle sat in my car nice and warm laughing to no end as Katrina and I danced and jammed out in the snow banks. It's in moments like these that you really hope no one you know drives by and sees you.

- I got home from rescuing my friend and hit the books--in a twelve hour period, I slept for just over three hours and studied for the rest. I went to my last midterm in a dazed state of mind and nearly danced in excitement when it was over.

In the last twenty four hours...

- My friends and I went to a pub down the street to celebrate being down our five week midterm marathon with cheap wings and beer. The night went on with a round of pints for everyone, a couple games of pool (in which I realized billiards should not be my game of choice) and a bet between the guys involving darts. I was so tired, as I walked home I thought I'd head straight to bed as I could barely hold my head up (and this is not due to the effects of alcohol). As I rounded the corner to my street, I passed an ever so tempting Tim Horton's--Ice Capp's anyone?

- The sugar rush had kicked in and I was singing along to my music. My roommate came home to find me laying on the floor under my desk in my office. His facial expression was clearly priceless. I really couldn't tell you why I was there--mostly because I really don't know myself. It happened like this--I walked into my office and I thought to myself, you can't even sit in here, there are textbooks, papers and binders scattered everywhere--I should clean! In an effort to be productive, I grabbed my laptop, plugged it in on the floor (only space there was) to play my music. One thing led to another, I got distracted and walah! There I was, laying on the floor, bobbing my head and singing to my music talking on MSN under my desk. A long story short--it was only after laying on the floor for a couple hours that I decided to clean up my desk so I could actually sit down.

- I had a hot date...with a cancer research magazine. In all honesty, I was completely fascinated with it--so intrigued that I ended up cutting out a few main articles and putting them up on my wall (so I could inevitably remind myself daily of just how cool I am...).

In the last five hours...

- I woke up feeling rather awake for the time of the morning it was, layered up my spandex and threw on my brand new running shoes. I headed out the door with IPOD in hand as I went to meet up with my friends for our daily run.

In the next hour...

- I have to shower, change and head to class. On today's list of topics we have ventilation and alveolar blood flow, gas exchange and oxygen and carbon dioxide gas transport in the blood. Sounds like a party to me!

No more sleeps left...

Ugh.

For my 199th post on this blog, all I have to say is 'ugh' for I have an anatomy exam in eleven and a half hours.

Must try to keep on smiling!...

Executive Decision.

"My body can stand the crutches but my mind can't stand the sidelines..." ~Michael Jordan

This May, what will have seemed ages will only have been officially two years since my life as I knew it changed. You see--it was a sunny Friday afternoon, our team was out sporting dresses on the rugby field (meant as a team bonding exercise which is an entirely different story unto itself) as we competed against several other teams in the province. At one point, the day seemed like it couldn't have been going any better--the team was bonding and as a result, playing exceptionally well on the field together. We had gone undefeated in our eight games as we had one game left before we were headed to the gold medal match that night. Little did I know then what that one game would have meant not only to my life then, but my life now. It took one person on the opposition who was frustrated with her teammates play--just one person and one intentional kick to the head to end not only my season that year but my future seasons and scholarships at university. The month following my accident involved many struggles as I overcame many visual and motor difficulties in my recovery. The choice at hand was clear and I knew what was the right choice for me then--pursue only my education for it has far greater rewards then rugby could ever give me.

You never really know what you have--until it's gone.

I never fully realized then how much God had blessed me with a gift for rugby, I never realized it until I could no longer play. Now here I am, nearly two years later--missing the game more that I thought I would. With this, I have decided to get involved in rugby again--in May club teams kick off their season and I am pretty confident in saying I will be lacing up my cleats and hitting the fields for tryouts. Why club and not provincial again? I have desire to play but at the same time, I know where to 'draw the line'--with a substantially increased competitive environment will come an increased liklihood of head trauma. Simply said, club rugby will fufill my dream of getting back into the game without risking too much!

I am so excited!

For A Smile.

To the movies that make us laugh...

Zoolander:
Zoolander: "Well I guess it all started the first time I went through second grade. I caught my reflection in a spoon while I was eating my cereal and I remember thinking--"Wow, you're ridiculously good looking, maybe you could do that for a career."
Matilda: "Do what for a career?"
Zoolander: "Be professionally good looking!"

Wedding Crashers:
Jeremy Grey: "Wow. Mr. Environmental is also a hunter. That's an interesting combination."
Sack Lodge: "I hunt quail, Jeremy. They're overpopulated in this region and they're decimating the grubworm population. You got a {insert inappropriate word here} problem with that?"
Jeremy Grey: "Not as much as I do with your attire, or just your general point of view towards everybody here. But hey, lets go kill some birds. I'm psyched."

Orange County:
Firefighter: "What's your name?"
Lance: "Uh, Joe...John...uh, Joe-John"
Firefighter: "You're name's Joe-John?"
Lance: "John-ston, Johnston. Joe."
Firefighter: "You wanna tell me what happened here?"
Lance: "Uh, there was a fire. I dunno, I came by and it's ...checkin out of the fire..."
Firefighter: "Well that lady, Mona? She said that you two were in the building together when the fire started."
Lance: "Yeah, she's a liar, cuz I dunno her so whatever, whatever she says is a lie..."
Firefighter: "K, so you're saying you weren't in the building with that woman?"
Lance: "No, not I! Alright, she started it alright? Because she was like, "I hate my job, I'm gonna burn this mother down!" And I said, "You better not...you better not!"
Firefighter: "...She said it was an electrical fire."
Lance: "It was. It was a total electrical fire, it was like uh, the switches had sparks coming out and the sockets and ...it was like the 4th of July man!"
Firefighter: "Why aren't you wearing your pants, Joe?"
Lance: "I tripped, and uh then I had to take 'em off to run faster out of the flames... *coughing* I think I inhaled some smoke, will you excuse me one second, I'll be right back."
*runs away into the background"
Firefighter: "*into walkie talkie* We got a sprinter. Five foot five, no pants, unkempt...portly."

A Song For You.

Sometimes the world begins--to set you up on your feet again. It wipes the tears from your eyes. How will you ever know the way that circumstances go? Always going to hit you by surprise...I know my past--you were there. In everything I've done--you are the one.
~"Five Days In May" Blue Rodeo~

There's A Reason For The World--You and I.

Wait--what's the sense in life? Here's a riddle for you--find the answer, there's a reason for the world, You and I...Picked up my kid from school today, did you learn anything cause in the world today, you can't live in a castle far away...He said, Dad I'm big but we're smaller than small. In the scheme of things, well we're nothing at all. There are secrets that we still have left to find, there have been mysteries from the beginning of time--there are answers we're not wise enough to see...I guess we're big and I guess we're small, if you think about it man you know we got it all, cause we're all we got on this bouncing ball and I love you free--I love you freely. Here's a riddle for you--find the answer, there's a reason for the world...You and I...
~"The Riddle" Five For Fighting~

I can barely keep my eyes open but before I drift away to sleep I can't help but think about how lucky I am. Such a simple sentence for a mind-blowing, unfathomable feeling.

How lucky do I feel? So lucky that I have prayed thanking God each night for such wonderful blessings in my life--without missing a night in the last one-hundred and eight days.

The best one-hundred and eight days of my life...

Waiting On The World To Change.

Note: I felt surprisingly good about my exam last night--now I rarely feel this good about an exam which can only mean one of two things...either I really studied hard and it payed off or I only thought I knew what I was talking about. It's now a waiting game...

This morning began far too early for my liking--unlike I had previously thought, I was not up late writing my essay for sociology (that, I actually finished surprisingly early). I was infact up watching episodes of House on DVD, afterall, I figured since I couldn't sleep I may as well be entertained. For some reason, my body had not kicked in to tell me that I was tired (maybe I got too into the show) and I rolled over to the look at the clock at nearly three am. Oops, my bad...

I turned off the light, set the alarm and pulled up the sheets around me--it was only a mere matter of three and a half hours until my alarm would be buzzing. There is no better expression to describe the way I felt other than to say that I felt like I was hit by a bus. I rolled out of bed at this point, grabbed a protien shake out of the fridge as I walked back to my room to get ready for going on a run this morning. I showed up outside the biological sciences building ready to avoid freezing for I had worn three layers of pants and more than four layers shirts and jackets. I smiled as I walked up to the meeting place to see Christine had done the same--I mean, sure it decreased our mobility but we were the warmest of the group!

As for today, I have to head into campus early and find an open computer lab to print my essay (long story short--printer here is dry out of ink). Then I am off to my seminar where we will debate the topic of discrimination due to sexual orientation in sports. After the debate, I'll hand in my essay to come home and start packing for I am heading home (roads permitting) today. I'll just have to pray that the roads clear up and that I don't hit any complications along the way!

On that note, I am off to get ready for class--I hope everyone has the best possible day and of course, that you always keep on smiling...

Hopefully no more sleeps left...

A New Day.

Thus far today I have thrown on my running gear and hit the pavement with my friends as we braved the cold weather and frost on our twenty kilometer run this morning. After nearly freezing off all my extremities, I returned home where I fell back asleep in a warm bed till half an hour before I am supposed to leave for class. At this point, I rolled out of bed, hit the shower fed the dog and here I am--printing off todays lecture notes as I realize I have twelve minutes exactly till I have to leave.

Sidenote: If I had milk, I'd be tempted to have Cheerios for breakfast but since I do not, I will just eat breakfast later this afternoon. I wish I had milk...

After I get home from classes, I am going to hit the books hard. On todays agenda (for tonights exam):
- Biological Membranes
- Introduction to Metabolism
- Glycolysis
- Glycogen Synthesis
- Gluconeogenesis
- Lactic Acid Fermentation
- Cory Cycle

Now that the list lies before me, I realize how much work I have to do and just how little time I have to procrastinate. So on that note, I am heading off to begin my day of studies!

Keep on smiling...

A Sense Of Adventure.

Our journey began this morning at 6:30am, as we pulled out of the driveway and nearly slid down the street in my front wheel drive car (that inevitably, will struggly through winter weather). We fueled up and headed out of the city--at this point, I was pretty dead and thankful my dad was driving as I was barely awake enough to keep my eyes open. A bit of time passed (and I really mean a bit) alas, we hit a Tim Hortons off the highway. Time for breakfast and an iced capp--it is seriously never too early for one of those. After the sugar rushed through my blood, the conversation picked up as I began to wake up. The musical selections on this road trip included: The Beatles, The Beach Boys, Edwin Starr, The Doors, U2, Coldplay and Counting Crows. We were making pretty good time, I breathed a sigh of relief as I watched the clock and realized I would make it on time to my lab...or would I? Just as I got comfortable, I glanced up ahead to notice a road closed sign as the highway was blocked off. We were then routed off the highway down a farm road...thirty minutes we hit another 'highway' (now I use that word lightly because can you really call a single lane road with lights every 3-5km with a speed limit topping out at 70km/hr a highway?). Now we were behind schedule, the traffic was backed up and my heart began to race. I watched the clock from that moment on, right till the moment we came screeching into the university parking lot at 80km/hr. The clock had just turned 10:00am, my lab was just starting and I had to get to the building and run up four flights of stairs. Without much time to say goodbye, I jumped out of the car and sprinted to my lab, nearly whipping out in the doorway of the classroom because of my wet shoes. All in all, I made it in a manner that can be described only as 'fashionably late'.

Today in my lab for an unknown reason I was dubbed 'NID'...now you probably wondering what that stands for--running through all the possible combinations that would make sense. Well let me save you the time and just tell you that my new nickname stands for nerd in disguise. Let me add that to an ever growing list of nick names...

Now I am off to campus to study with a friend for my biochem midterm tomorrow--I can't wait till it's over.

Missin' you already...

I'll Be.

Stop me and steal my breath...

Could there be a better way to spend seventeen days? Definetly not--that was complete perfection...

Today I set an earth shattering record as I woke up earlier than I have since landscaping in the summer--5:30am! I forgot what everything looked like when you get up that early...I am off soon to roadtrip with my dad back home--the roads are still rated poorly so I'm praying for our safety (and that I don't miss my lab!). That's about all I have to say...

To my friends here:
I am sorry if I missed you this visit, it's hard to fit everything I want to do into three short days. I'll definetly get you next time!

To my friends there:
I'll be seeing you guys soon, better be ready! I miss you all.