Shift

I woke up at 8AM today on a day off of work to the sound of garbage trucks doing their job really loudly. Most of the time this would probably piss anyone off… but I myself had to take a piss anyway. TMI? I don’t think so. Anyway, so after my ‘duties’ I do the usual, check out Facebook. Some great music video posts by others of some great music. Flipped on the Pandora. Like I’ve posted in the past, a great start to the day. Music brings you into some sort of elevated state I can’t explain.

So what else is new… I’m starting to get better. I can’t remember what I mentioned before about my being sick but I ended up put on an oral antibiotic as well as an antibiotic eyedrop. Not exactly 100% yet, but pretty close. Then again, when do I ever feel 100%. This is my fifth day off work and I really don’t have much to show from it. I relaxed a lot to try and recover (as well as passed out when I couldn’t help it due to exhaustion) while watching a lot of Alias on my computer. Great show.

On Saturday, Sep. 10th I ran a 9.11KM race in memory of those who lost their lives on 9/11/01. I probably shouldn’t have in my condition but I already paid for it and I was supposed to be running in memory of someone who lost their life that day. I don’t run much in Las Vegas because it’s way too hot so this was only the second time running outdoors here (third if you include the treadmill once). Surprisingly I ran it a little quicker than I expected, so that’s a plus. On the 11th a lot of old friends and colleagues back in Chicago ran the 15th Annual Chicago Half Marathon. A year ago to that date I ran that exact half marathon for my first ever half. I remember how much of a struggle it was and how accomplished I felt at the end. All the posts on Facebook about it makes me really want to try to run another half someday. Ideally I would love to be able to run the Chicago half again just to see how I’ve improved (if I improved at all). Running a half marathon was always my ‘end goal’ in running. Never did I expect to run a half in under two years of running. I still stand by my statement of not wanting to run a full.

Yesterday I worked on my case presentation on a case of interferon retinopathy for work this week. I’m the first to present a case so I’m not really sure what to put together… but it was a good feeling to get at least a draft done. A big weight lifted off my shoulders. Seems miniscule to the thought of having exams and homework not more than half a year ago of which many good friends back at ICO are still going through.

It kind of saddens me to think I’m missing out on the on-goings at ICO, even if it’s the usual day to day activities of people studying in the library, eating in the cafeteria, or just passing by in the hallways. There’s a sense of family away from home that I get from ICO. I would love to have been at school during the academic year when most people are around. I always loved it when the new class arrives, to help them out, to get to know them. I loved seeing the underclassmen/women become second years/third years and see their abilities and confidence improve. No longer do I get to witness that. I’d love to go back at some point, but sometimes I think I might be elevating what I think it’s like to a higher standard than I should be.

An old friend once told me that it’s not the city you miss, but the people in it that made your experience what it was. So when you go back and the people have changed, your experiences will change. He’s probably right. Either way, I feel pretty ‘homesick’ from Chicago, even though it really isn’t my home. For those that know me well, they know that I really don’t get homesick at all. It’s a little strange to feel this way, but in some ways I feel that I spent the majority of my life in Chicago/at ICO, even if it were only three quick years. I’ve spent the prime of my 20′s at ICO, in Chicago, in the United States of America. Yes, I miss Canada and I am extremely proud to be Canadian and will never deny that, but some part of me feels very comfortable here. Then again, I’m here as a student. Where I live is always transient. I don’t have all the full responsibilities that one might have actually settling down somewhere.

In a completely unrelated topic, hockey season is about to start! Last night I got to watch the first of the Young Stars Tournament where my team, the Calgary Flames (although filled with prospects only) played the San Jose Sharks (also prospects only) to which they got destroyed, 6 to 1. Nonetheless, it was great to watch some hockey again. A little weird when I realized I was living in a desert watching a winter sport… I really miss ‘weather’. Not this, sunny and hot all the time kind of ‘weather’…

Anyway, I have nothing in store for the day, just like most days. So off I go to crawl through the day and hopefully it remains a good one.

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