School, the Hole, Critical Mass and Alberta Healthcare Prequels

I've never really experience this before at the Killam. I think it's what they call the calm before the storm.

Really used to seeing this place packed to the brim with fledgling academics. Today things were empty, and as calm as a cucumber. This is in stark contrast to what this week has been like. Major problems getting the schedule worked out (final year nursing students have started already), and just dealing with what to expect this year.

I'm sure gonna be glad when this is all over.

I've really wanted to talk about this spot for a while now. It's literally a gigantic 30-40 foot hole that will be filled with a rather swanky looking apartment building. But until then, and especially on hot days, people have flocked to this hole in droves. They're really keen on taking it all in for some reason. Maybe they are throwing their troubles in there. Perhaps they think that if these guys dig any deeper, some sort of Godzilla like monster (or perhaps the fire creature from the Lord of the Rings) will pop out, and they will be the first line of defense for Halifax. Other times I think (the majority of the people watching being men) that they are just enjoying the machoism behind the use of the big machines and whatnot. Looking at the sides of the bedrock and just saying to themselves: "What's that, reinforced with rebar? Yeah. That'll hold."

Attended the last Critical Mass and have been keeping an eye on what's going on with healthcare in Alberta (thanks to the info available from an Alberta-bound roommate), so definitely look for some rantings next week.

Co-op Over

No pictures to share today.

A low flying jet passed directly over the hospital last week. The sound was pretty intense, and actually caused a bit of trouble with our patients. They jumped out of bed, pulled their stitches and staples, and required some dressing changes.

I heard 7 people woke up from comas due to the noise.

My 10 week co-op has finally ended. It was a great time. Met a lot of people. Made more money than I ever have in my life. It was pretty sweet, and I'm quite sure I'm going to miss a lot of the people I was working with there. That night I was hit simultaneously with an incredible feeling of accomplishment and exhaustion. Going back to school for another few months before this degree is all over. Not looking forward to it.

We were "hit" by a "hurricane" yesterday. A lot of people really went out of their way to batten down the hatches. But what some people call a "hurricane", I called typical Atlantic weather. This is what people in Atlantic Canada look forward to though: their small towns and cities being pulverized by major weather patterns with names. They secretly crave this because it'll give them something to talk about for upwards from 5 years. Remember Juan? That was a hurricane that hit in 2003... and people STILL love talking about it!

Anyway, I was disappointed that Bill couldn't live up to the hype. Mainly because it would have given me something more substantial to talk about today.

Bummer

Trivia Night and an Old friend

Went to Rogues Roost yesterday for Trivia Night. Always a good time in my books. Having tried trivia at other places in town, the degree of difficulty and atmosphere at Rogues is something that is lacking at other trivias.

We were creamed though. Came close to winning (or at least tying) in 2 rounds, but were blown away in the last. Still good fun...

Good food...

Dynamite Drinks!

An old friend and his fiancee paid us a visit last night too! It was nice to see them. Used to live with this guy down on Rowe Ave., in Fairmount. Miss those days when our group was still tight-knit and together. Now we got a bunch of us in Vancouver, some in Toronto... even London, England! I guess they couldn't stick around Halifax much anymore...

Ya bunch a queers...

Heading into work this weekend. Curious to see if one of our 'guests' is still around. He was touch and go at the start of the week there.

My cushy summer job is almost at an end as well. Back to the drudges of school work. I know there is just a few months left. Less than a year even! But something deep down inside is telling me that the remaining time I have in school is going to be a major drag.

Wish me luck, folks.

Nearly Hit by Idiot Female Motorist, Zombie Walk

Here's something quite irritating. Biking up Barrington, when some lady was coming off the side street. She failed to stop at the stop sign and pulled out right in front of me. Had to jam the breaks hard, the bike started flipping forward, but luckily I landed it. The back wheel hit hard on the street though and had to be replaced. Put me out a good $60.

The lady clearly saw me coming up (we made eye contact) and saw that I was too close to pull out. If I hadn't have landed the fall, I would have definitely hit the car. Needless to say, after knowing she had caused me to fly off my bike, I heard her accelerate up the road and out of sight. Really nice of her.

While I was waiting for my back tire to be replaced, something quite strange came up the street.

Yes. Halifax has a zombie walk. It was pretty fun to watch. I was amazed at the sheer amount of nice dresses that the ladies were wearing for this event. I'd imagine they'd be put to better use at a job interview so these kids could make it in the big leagues. At the very least, they could wear them around the street corners at night and try to turn some well paying tricks.

I actually ran into an old friend of mine who was in the walk. It was nice to see an old friend out of the blue like that...

Well maybe not like that.

Had a few drinks to cap off the day with Jabes and her sister. Why they would make a patio looking out toward Chain Lake Dr. in Bayers Lake, I do not know.

Buskers

I was facing another brutal night of not doing anything, so I decided to take a walk downtown to check out the buskers. Maybe grab a drink. I got to the end of my street when I saw this familiar fella (see my first blog entry).

I really don't get the whole busker week thing. I used to play guitar for cash and people hated it. I was shooed away by business owners, told I wasn't allowed to play by the Public Gardens by the park police. One place I went to just straight up called the cops. But for this one week, everything turns around for the buskers, and they're suddenly accepted? Give me a break.

To be honest, some of the busker troops... well it really boggles my mind when I try identifying the appeal behind some of these acts. For example, a drumming group called Squid. Drums can be pretty cool, and they do have some good beats. When you really break it down, however, they only have maybe 3 drum sizes, so only 3 notes. During the show they'll juggle their drum sticks a little bit (note: there is a noticeable pause to the beat when they do this). So I guess they have mediocre hand-eye coordination. But the thing that really gets the crowd is when they start playing every day objects like barstools. People go bloody ballistic when this starts going down, and I'm never really sure why. The beat is the same. The general sound is the same, if not slightly shittier. Why is this such a big deal? I think if I could put myself in the shoes of these idiot, easily amused, staycation spectators, I think they're thoughts would go something like:

"What are those bar stools doing ther... oh god. OH GOD! WOW!! THEY'RE PLAYING WITH THE BAR STOOLS INSTEAD OF THE DRUMS!! Ohhhhhhhh!! Bravo, Squid... Bravo. Here's $10. Man... you guys must have really burned the midnight oil to come up with such a unique idea."

No sir. They did not.

So the night was kind of a bust. I did get to stop by Gastby's again for a slice of pizza and a couple ciders.

On my walk home however, I ran into this bizzar spectacle outside of an Anglican Church. If anyone knows what this is, can ya clue me in here?

Only one more day off. I'm actually looking forward to going back in to work. It's been great relaxing... but I really need something to do here.

Paintball Aftermath, Time on my Hands, Minstrels, Glasses

So I'm just throwing up some pictures of how that paintball weekend left lasting impressions on my arms and (not so flattering) belly area. Those blasted kids! These bruises are actually pretty tender.

I've really got to get back on a diet regime by September here...

The rest of the week has been pretty uneventful, with one exception. I think the nurse that I was paired with got a "smoothing" day off. I'm not 100% on how this smoothing works. Apparently, as you work, you bank hours that can be used to get a day off (after you've built up the day or course). This has left me with a whopping 4 days off in a row. I can't remember the last time I've had more than 2.5 days off.

Unfortunately, it really reminds me about what little interests I have these days. I mean, I bike around and am training for a race in September. Okay that's 2 hours out of a free day. My bike advocacy group takes up maybe an hour every odd day. Other than that there isn't much else that I do. I seriously sometimes go on Facebook, click the "Home" button, scroll to the bottom of the page to check what's going on with people, scroll back up, and then immediately hit the "Home" button AGAIN!

Oh, my life.

I did take the time to eat out at Minstrel's Gastropub with a friend. They have a rooftop patio which is nice. The food was great (big portions), and was priced well. I got the curry-apple-chicken wrap and a green salad. My friend got a steak and fry plate. We split on a big plate of nachos (excellent nacho's, folks!).

Other than that, nothing to report after 2 days of relaxation.

Went to a glasses store today to help my friend Jables pick out a new pair of glasses. I took a look at the mens selection. I think I'll need glasses soon as my right eye is significantly blurry when compared to the left. As a result, when I'm really trying to focus on something, I tend to wink. People often get the wrong impression from this. I guess they think I'm trying to pick them up. Listen, Sally: to me winking as a pickup maneuver died in the '9o's. Grow up!

Friday Night Drinks, Family and Supper, Paintballing with Children

So I went downtown to the bars last Friday. It's been about 3 years since I've gone out on a Friday night to drink, but Jables and her cute sister roped me into it, so there was no backing out.

The best part of the night was the walk there.

We started at the Bitter End (below), and moved to Maxwells Plum shortly thereafter. The evening wasn't that exciting. People were drunk. The concentration of police cruisers was higher than I've ever seen in quite a while. Pizza Corner was bumpin'. Girls were lookin' cute. Just stuff I remember as being pretty typical.

Before calling it quits for the night, we headed over to Gatsby's for a Coffee and some desert. Call me old fashion, but that really capped the night for me.

Went to the valley for the weekend to see the family. I think I'm starting to have my family pegged. As much as we enjoy each other's company, I think we're secretly trying to kill one another by food. Whenever a bunch of us get together, there are at least 2 rounds of heavy suppers, and eating usually begins by 4 in the afternoon and can last until 9:30-10:00 that night. Not only this, but a good 70% of the food we consume is meat. Sure we try to make things look good by making a small salad available here and there, but by and large, most meals revolve around steak, pork, chicken or all of the above. We also try to trick the Food Guide's salad recommendations by making pasta and potato salads. It took me a lot of focused concentration to not just blurt out "Alright folks, pasta and potato salad are not the same as regular salad!"

Anyways... I went easy on Supper's #1 and #2, and opted to sit out of the dessert round someone started (various pies).

The next day we went to a paintball tournament. It lasted for about 5 hours. Unfortunately, there were little kids there playing in the tournament too, which really sucks for the following reasons:

- Unless you're very close to a kid, they won't admit that they've been hit.

- You can have your gun barrel to the back of a kids head and ask him to surrender and he will still successfully worm away from you and shoot you in the face, neck or groin, point blank.

- It rarely matters what team the kid is on, he will shoot at any sign of movement unrelentingly.

- You could be walking onto the field with a group of kids that are on your team, get a couple steps ahead of them and then feel about 20 shots to your back because they all of a sudden thought you were a bad guy.

- If you're walking out to a start-point on the course after being hit, kids will always follow you and shoot the shit out of you until you get there. Or until you swear at them and use their real names.

- Kids will cry at the drop of a hat. Do not approach a crying kid while playing paintball. This is usually a trick to get you close enough to shoot in the face, neck or groin, point blank.

After a couple hours, the kids went home (thank god). The rest of the day was fun, but totally exhausting.

Oh. Took the road bike out on Saturday afternoon for a good 20km. Finally made over 30km/h average, which was a goal I had made for myself at the end of my school year. Felt pretty good.

Funny People and Trapped at the Parkade

After last weeks abysmal movie, I was determined to see a really great movie before summer ended. Being an avid Adam Sandler fan, I was leaning towards seeing 'Funny People' when it came out. Of course feeling exhausted from work on a consistent basis tends to make me push things like this off. Fortunately my friends roped me along into seeing it when it came out.

Best Sandler movie/movie in general that I've seen this summer for sure! I totally recommend you go to your local theater, or movie piracy ring and pay to watch it/own a copy of it today.

Of course when the movie ended, my friend Jables and I walked out of the theater and into 20 mins worth of sheer frustration trying to navigate the parkade to find her car.

I never thought there was any merit to that Seinfeld episode. Color me wrong.

New Race and an Hour at Point Pleasant Park

So I haven't mentioned this, but I do some racing in my spare time. As much as I'd like to say I've done a bike race (other than an AlleyCat), it's hard to find any road races that are going on at any particular point in the year. I looked into it a couple weeks ago, and essentially, I've missed the road racing season. Drag.

But I've chosen my next race: the Harvest Marathon in Wolfville NS. I'll just be doing the half (21 km). I was on the fence about whether or not I'd start training for it this week or next. Luckily, some friends got me out of the house and we went over to Point Pleasant Park for a fun run.

PPP is a pretty nice little spot to get away from city streets, and get some fresh air. The jog itself however was a little slow. Only did about 4km, and the effort put into the run was probably a 3/10. Not a bad place to start I don't think though.

One feature of PPP is BlackRock Beach. If you value your life, do not swim at BlackRock Beach.

Unfortunately, the Halifax Harbor is world renown for it's unsanitary condition. This means the beach isn't open at any point. Halifax tried to address this issue last summer by making a sewage treatment plan. Things looked pretty good for a while. The beach opened for a couple weeks, and even the mayor jumped in for a swim. Later that night, it rained big-time. The storm-drains --all of which only empty in the Halifax Harbor through the new plant-- overloaded the sewage plant and the next day, after a week of being open, BlackRock was closed again. It hasn't opened since, as the plant is still fried from last year.

Now if I ran a site like www.fail.com, and gave out awards for ultimate failures for 2008, this one would definitely be in my top 5. I guess the plant itself consists of 3 or 4 big vats, none of which have lids. Also all the storm drains, which by my rationale should just empty in the harbor, in reality all connect to the plant. So I guess the boneheads that built the plant thought 3 or 4 large vats would serve over 200 000 people plus be able to absorb all the run-off from storm drains. The real footnote here is that it rains here every 3 or 4 days. So yeah. Only one word...

FAIL.

Lame

So I haven't really been up to much since my last posts. Just a lot of walkin' around, lookin' around.

Something of note that happened this week was that the cops towed a car that was in our parking lot, and then proceeded to ask everyone in our apartment building (and some other houses up the street) if we've seen random kids, teens or thugs around the car at weird hours. Aside from the car simply being there, I didn't have any info on it.

It's weird being questioned by the cops. It's like I was thinking that I should act like I have nothing to do with the car when I really didn't have anything to do with the car. So I essentially have to act as if I'm not acting. How did I accomplish this? Naturally, I paused the interview in mid sentence, went to the kitchen, grabbed an apple and then proceeded to eat it for the remainder of the conversation.

I thought it would make me look more nonchalant and innocent. I felt if this didn't sell me as an authentic character, I'd have to pull out the big guns: Bananas and/or cantaloupes.

I spent the rest of the day getting ready for my Fri., Sat., Sun. block at work.

I think the most melo times at the hospital are weekends, day or night. On weekdays, the building is constantly buzzing with blood people, porters, lab nerds, physiotherapists, doctors and nurses (of course) and families. But when weekends roll around, the building clears out entirely. Sometimes it feels like the people on your unit are the only ones in the hospital at that point. Today was especially empty. Even when I went outside for some "fresh air" during my breaks, there wasn't a soul around.

The day itself wasn't too bad. Did a successful blood draw on an old lady (first try). This seems mundane, but poking into a vein on an old person is not the easiest thing in the world. Otherwise, the patients were in good shape for the most part, and not too needy. Regardless, the planned 20 minute power nap after work turned into an hour long partial coma.

Got up at 9ish, and I had to double time it to the crappy laundromat close to my house. Probably the worst one in town. Super expensive, no way to get coins, the driers are completely worthless... the list goes on. The concentration of crap however ensures that there is always a machine available.

Regardless, I had to resort to only drying half of my batch, as there was only an hour before closing time. Just the scrubs for tomorrow, and some socks. Because frankly, when your facing numerous raunchy smells all day, breaking your back, cleaning wounds, wiping bottoms, etc., the pleasant country fresh smell and feeling you can only get with No-Name fabric softeners can really save your afternoon.

Saturday night laundry trips. Who's with me?