February is a blur

  As of today, the first month of 2nd year is already over. Wow. So What have I been working on?

  First week of school I was actually absent (how's THAT for rebel?) As I was working with "Health Careers in the Bush" a Queensland Health initiative that brings interested high school kids in from all over rural areas to see what a future in rural health might look like. So 14 girls and 5 guys in year 10 met up with us in Townsville, QLD (a 2 hr flight from Brisbane). We explored James Cook University, the Townsville Hospital, the Flying Doctors and Ambulance Services. It was actually a packed 4 days, but they were a great bunch. The best part is that some who were certain of what they wanted to do were now less so, and others more so.

  After returning back to Brisbane, it was time to get back into high gear and catch up. We've covered allergies, anaphylaxis, skin cancers, eyeballs, anemia, geriatrics, and burns. In the mean time, we are expected this year to go out and dig up our own clinical experiences, besides the ones provided by the program. So far I have been following up with the Burns unit. This involves people who have lost large chunks of their skin due to fires, infections or ulcers. The nurses and docs on the unit have been friendly and I have met some very interesting patients. I find with massive burn injuries, you tend to have 4 categories of patients: 

1. they were doing something incredibly stupid at the time of the injury (sorry, but usually young males).
2. they were doing something incredibly heroic
3. they were the victim of abuse/attempted murder (usually a woman).
4. they lost consciousness/coordination within the reach of hot things (ie stroke in the shower, fast food worker slips and dunks a limb in the deep fryer- which apparently happens with disconcerting regularity!)

  It tends to be a long road to recovery. They require the services of a whole team of people- occupational and physiotherapists, psychologists and psychiatrists, as well as surgeons, nurses, etc.
  So this is what I've been working on lately. Lots of reading, lots of writing, HOPEFULLY lots of absorbing.
  We finally have regular internet at home! So the VOIP phone works again, connecting us with the folks back home. Rob is starting to paper the town with resumes. Hopefully something will come up soon.
  As Rob says, "some days are hot, some days are really hot". right now the days are merely hot, with 30oC and 70% humidity being the average. Happy Valentine's Day, Happy St. Maro's Day (shares the same feast day as Valentine, but gets no press), and Happy Chinese New Year, everybody!

Alive and Well in Brisbane

Hi Everybody,

I guess it's been a long time since the last posting.  It will be a week or two more until we get our internet connection hooked up, so communication may be spotty for the next while.

Well today is Australia Day, the national holiday.  We are planning to got to the festivities by Storey Bridge and then go to a friend of Barb's for a BBQ.

We made it to Brisbane after way too may hours of flying.  The new place is pretty much set up.   We have been stimulating the Australian economy by buy furniture, a fridge, washing machine, bicycle, computer and a car.

The "new" car is a 2003 Toyota Echo in British Racing Green.  His name is Nigel because it sounds very British and Racingish.  It is a bit odd getting used to shifting with the left hand though.

It has been very hot here, 30 or above everyday.  January is 'supposed' to be 40-60 degrees colder than that.  The apartment doesn't have air conditioning except for the bedroom, which does make sleeping comfortable.  Slowly getting used to the heat.

The last few weeks have been filled with surreal moments; we have palm trees outside our balcony, I see parrots flying around regularly, there are bats the size of  crows (fruit bats) andI have to remind myself to look to the right first when I cross the street.  I am enjoying the country and the people very much.  This all will take a bit of getting used to.

We are getting a pallet of household stuff being shipped down from Edmonton.  I has been more difficult than I thought to get everything arranged.  Right now the pallet is sitting in the warehouse of where I used to work taking up too much space.  Hopefully it will be out of there and on is way here very soon.



Happy Australia Day to everybody

Alive in NZ

I'm writing this from the Auckland, New Zealand airport.  The flight went well.  On the Edmonton -> San Francisco leg I got an upgrade to Premium Economy, which means slightly more leg room.  I also had no one in the seat beside me either.  Again on the San Francisco -> Auckland flight there was no one beside me, so you get the wee bit extra room to stretch out in.  As luck would have it, both of my flights so far have been early which means less time in plane and more time in airports.  Barb's flight from Vancouver should be arriving here in about 15 minutes or so.

This morning I saw the moon rise over the south Pacific ocean.  It was a bright red sliver in the darkness. Very pretty.

One of the movies I saw last night had scenes from the San Fran airport.  It was a bit odd to see an airport onscreen that I was at a few hours earlier.

BTW, the laptop and camera both made it to SFO in one piece.  (Well actually four pieces, but the started off in four pieces so everything is OK)

Our time in Edmonton is over

I am currently in transit Edmonton-Vancouver-Auckland-Brisbane. Rob is diverting through San Franscisco because it is $500 cheaper to do it that way. We will be meeting up in Auckland and arriving in Brisbane together. And staying together-YAY! Rob’s student visa (as my spouse) came through last week, at the last moment. So he will be allowed to stay as long as my student visa is valid (March 2013), but only allowed to work 20 hours per week. His PR visa remains up in the air until 2012, when they *might* look at it. GAH.
What I really dislike about the trip to Aus is not the time it takes or the cramped economy airplane seats. I really hate what a greaseball you feel like by the time you are done. Yuk! I can feel my face breaking out as we speak….
Because Rob is diverting through the States, he is victim of the American paranoia since the Christmas underwear bomber . He was told he could take a camera bag as carryon, and then forced to check it when we arrived at the united Airlines desk. I just reeeeeeally hope nothing gets broken, stolen or lost. Replacing the camera and 3 lenses and laptop would be a very disappointing expense.
Onto happier topics. We should be good to go with our new apartment by the time we land, and hopefully there will even be a container of stuff to unload. Our new address will be:
#4, 479 Hamilton Road
Chermside, QLD 4032
Australia
Feel free to drop us a line

Nothing you do will ever be this awesome

This photo is from earlier today at Drumheller Alberta

Nothing says romance like ZOMBIES!!

Rob and I just celebrated our 13th wedding anniversary on Monday, Dec 14. And long ago (I think around our 6th anniversary or so) we gave ourselves permission to do (or not do) anything we wanted to commemorate the date. That means we are not stuck to any expectations of anything. Rob brought home roses, which is actually not the norm (I like flowers on occasion, but really don't need or demand them). Brownie points for Rob anyway! This year we went out to "our" Boston Pizza for supper. It became ours while we were still living on 124th street. We used to walk down to have drinks on the patio in summer, or watch the Oilers play in the lounge over pizza and a beer during the winter. Then we could walk home along the older streets with Victorian remodeled homes, or along 124th, and peer in the closed shop windows, hand in hand. Yup, it was our place. So it seemed a natural choice for the evening. After a nice dinner, we roamed Candy Cane Lane (148th Street), and then the Royal Museum and the Legislature for the Christmas lights. Last we took in Zombieland. Oh yes, it was a fun ride, and seeing as it was Monday night at the cheap theatre at -32oC, we had the theatre almost to ourselves. A great evening.
Edmonton has now had the dubious honour of being the coldest place in North America, and the 2nd coldest in the world Sunday night.
"Edmonton was the coldest place in North America yesterday morning and the second chilliest in the world. The Edmonton International Airport saw a record low of -46.1 C and -58.4 C with the windchill, outfreezing even the Arctic. 'The cold high pressure has been moving down from the Arctic over the Prairies,' said Environment Canada meteorologist John McIntyre, adding British Columbia and Saskatchewan also experienced plummeting temperatures. 'We are right now in the centre of the heaviest, coldest air.' Only Dzalinda, Siberia, appeared to be colder, with a weather station there recording temperatures of -48 C. But the coldest day ever recorded in Edmonton remains unbeaten at -48.3 C with a windchill of -61 C on Jan. 26, 1972. http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/edmonton/2009/12/13/12141366.htm.
So nice of everybody to order up the strongest dose of winter possible to remind me why I will be laughing all the way back to Brisbane in January....