Good weekend, albeit short

Despite almost not getting a drive home, I eventually found someone going but not my ideal ride. I'd describe it more as a flight home rather than a drive but all went without a hitch so its all good.

This week had its share of ups and downs but there was also a xmas party involved. Oulton students everywhere congregated at the Hotel Beau in various degrees of mental acuity to enjoy a formal dance and cash bar. A good time was had by all, even some instructors.

Fast forward to Saturday night and I was at Allan's xmas party. What on Earth (WOE) are a good group of people and there was no shortage of talk, dance and wine. Its so nice to have a child who is old enough to stay home by himself for a few hours while the parents go out. I dread the day when we have to repay the favor.

Back now for one more week. Heavy week too as we plough through two tests and a final. I actually started some xmas shopping today. I think Adrian is going to have a clothing christmas. I bought several choice pieces at Sears and also the Children's Place. In a couple more years he will be outgrown the Children's Place but until then I'm going to keep looking for good clothes at decent prices.

Next on the agenda is to buy two carry on luggage bags so we don't have to pay a hefty fee at the airport for checked luggage. Shorts and bathing suits don't take up that much room so carry-on is all we really need.

I can hardly believe its only two more weeks until holiday break. Looking forward to my open house on the 24th. Put us on your list of things to do that day! The Christmas cheer and goodies are abundant. Don't forget the best part... real eggnog! Not the crap they pass for eggnog at the store. This is the real thing batman.

Signing off now. My obicularis oculii are getting heavy.

Panic

I was afraid this day would come. Its the day when I realize I have no drive home for the weekend and a snot of a husband who is too lazy to come up here.

Hopefully something will change in the next couple of days. As if going to the school dance alone isn't bad enough.

If anyone else finds themselves in the situation of studying away from home, don't listen to anyone who claims that Oh yeah they will visit you for sure, because they're not telling the truth.

T Minus Three Weeks and Counting

Yes I'm counting down the days now until Christmas break. Now that December is here its a little easier to see the Christmas break in the distance. 3 weeks does not sound that bad at all. There is still so much to do until then. At least exams are not on the list. They save that until the last week of January.
I still plan to have our Annual Open House on Christmas Eve, even though I come home only one day prior. I'm trying to find time to bake and prepare in between Christmas parties and Theater visits. Speaking of which, Treasure Island was a bit hit. I'm sure Christmas at the Playhouse will be just as good. This time we are going to an afternoon showing. As I recall one other year, we had a Christmas party and the Playhouse both on the same night. This way is so much better.
This Christmas will be especially nice because we are going to Florida. We drive to Bangor on Boxing Day and fly to Florida on Dec. 27.  I have never been to Florida but my parents travel every year and Forida has been on their list a couple of times. They are flying us down and taking us to Disney World. My son is beside himself with excitement and I'm a little excited too since I've never been there. I feel like all my friends have been to Disney World and they think I'm weird because I've never been there. Well not any more. I'd like to get to a point where we can go somewhere every year. Preferrably some place warm in the middle of the winter.
So back to the books. Does anyone want to know all about the muscles of mastication? Didn't think so.

“I woke up this morning and stared into the mirror as I reached for my toothbrush… “

I know its been so long since my last post. Didn't I say I'd do this? Although not for the reasons I said I would but for the fact that I'm too damn busy.

Life has been a little easier with my cousin Sebastian staying here. He will be here until sometime in December when his block is finished. Then he will be doing what I greatly want to do which is getting licenced and becoming a contributing member of society again. I thought I would hate having another person in my space but it has not been all that bad. We share food sometimes and he always gives me drives everywhere. Our schedules are almost the same so I get drives to and from school now and home on weekends most times. That takes a lot of weight off my shoulders and saves me money on bus  cards.

Rarely does a week go by without a test to study for; and rarely still does a week go by with ONLY ONE test to study for. Typical is three, and I think next week we have four. Somehow I need to pull three more hours out of each day for more cramming. I've never been good at time management. I'm also addicted to my computer and I don't get much done if that is close by and turned on. Turning it off means closing myself off to the world and admitting complete solitude. Its hard to turn off that connection to the outside.
So far I have not failed any tests and I have even aced a couple. That may all change today. The test we wrote today did not feel good at all and I'm trying not to think about it.

Yesterday was a treat. My parents came up to shop and took me out to a quick lunch for my noon hour. It would have been nice to show them the apartment but I have no place for them to sit. Still I think they would have been impressed with the place. Its big and free from clutter, AND CLEAN! Even more so now since Sebastian brought a vaccuum this trip. That's better than paying rent in my eyes.

Well I'm off to get this show back on the road to more note-taking since I've put that off to study. Life is a constant game of playing catch-up for the stuff you neglected due to a test you had to study for. I'm not the 20 year old I use to be. My brain is more slippery and it takes longer for stuff to stick. LOL.

This was more of a bitch session than a blog I'm afraid.

Forgot Where I Was

Wow it has been a long time since my last post. So much has happened I barely had time to study. Some nut decided that red lights were for morons so he went through and rammed my front end. Then there is the nightmare of dealing with Insurance and buying a new car. We are really happy with our new purchase though. I wish this news could be over several posts because each one is a story in itself.

So the other morning I woke up and it was still dark out. This would be Saturday morning after a few drinks with friends. I opened one eye and saw a cat on my bed. No great surprise, I own three. But at the time I did not realize I was in Fredericton. So thinking I'm in my bed in Moncton, what briefly went through my head was that someone's cat found its way into my apartment somehow, maybe through a vent. My next thought was that I'd go back to sleep and find its owner in the morning. Even as I type this it sounds insane. But before closing my eyes another thought came to me; I could not figure out why my bedroom door was glowing. In Moncton, facing that direction would mean I'm looking at my door and then it hit me with huge relief that I'm in Fredericton and that is not my door its a window. And that would make the cat one of mine! Its an odd feeling to wake up and think you are in one city when in fact you are in another city.  How many times will I do that in the next two years? I was reminded of Julia Roberts when she played in Pretty Woman and she woke up in the huge hotel room not remembering where she was. She called it an occupational hazard.

I'm back in Moncton now and the usual comfort of the cleanliness and quiet is not having its usual calming effect on me. Sunday came way too quickly this time. Its only been 5 weeks. How am I going to last 35 more without going insane?

I should be studying. That will help I hope.

Oulton College 8th Annual Wacky Olympics 2010

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Hump Day

Here I am half way through week three and surving just nicely.
I'm actually getting a handle on this bus thing. The drawback is that I have to be at school about 35 minutes early 3 days a week but the alternative is to be 10-15 min late so I have to bite the bullet and get up earlier. I'm here ot get an education, not sleep. This may just work itself out afterall.
The upstairs neighbour from hell, although heavy-footed, is behaving himself.
This Friday will be my first trip back home with a fellow student. I plan to pay for half the gas. Hopefully we can keep that going all year without her getting sick of me, LOL.
This is a shorty so I can get to bed. Tomorrow is not an early bus day but it will begin early nonetheless.

It can only get better

I know its been a long time since my last post but I have been super busy. I'm trying to wean myself off the car. Last week I had the luxury of having it again for my second week in Moncton because DH took the week off and said I might as well take it with me. That was all well and fine until some guy ploughed me at an intersection and totalled it. If I could get the pics off my phone I would post the damage. There is no fixing this thing. So I had to get really good at being without a car really fast. Frankly if I don't have to drive again any time soon I'd be ok with that. But I had no choice. The very next day I had to rent a car and drive home on Thursday evening because I had an early appointment Friday morning.
I just got back to my apartment because its Sunday night now. I'll return the rental after school Monday. Maybe I can find a cheap bike. I have a bike at home but its too nice to bring here and have it weather the elements. If I had a cheap one to chain up outside I would not care if it got rained on.
Drives home are not going to be difficult since there are two other girls in my class who make the trip so I'm ok there. Its the day to day, back and forth to school that will be difficult. The bus gets me there too late so perhaps an earlier bus is in order. Things like this you can't learn until you do them and figure out the best way.

I experienced my first drawback to apartment living Wednesday morning. No class so I was sleeping late only to be woken up by a domestic dispute. Yeah every apartment has them. Its inevitable. I called the landlord and when it got nasty I called the cops. I had to give a statement of what I heard and the whole bit. I'm told that this is not the first time and I'm not surprised. I can guarantee that it won't be the last. People like that never change. This happened on the same day as my car crash so Wednesday really blew as days go.

I can say with great surety that this week will be better because it surely can't get any shittier than this. Why am I being tested so much? Don't the gods know that I'm going through enough here? Lets just pile on more crap and see if she cracks. Did she survive that? Let's see what else we can throw at her.

I've never been happier to be home. It was Harvest Jazz and Blues week. I got together with friends and we walked around downtown taking in the free events and drinking / eating at a couple of bars. I'm so thankful to have a mature, responsible boy who does not mind being home alone while his parents go out. This is definitely a nice new era in parenting that I'm going to enjoy. It was one of those nights that you as a couple hook up with another couple, then one more person joins and then 3 others join. It was fun, relaxing and no set plan and we had a ball. What a great way to unwind. I love the Harvest Jazz and Blues festival. Someday I'm going to buy a ticket. But really the free stuff is just as nice. Some of those singers singing for free are really good.

This seems like a good time to hit the books a little bit more before hitting the sack. Wish me luck; the good kind.

Weekend and Sugar Plums with a touch of Verticals

First weekend home was great! I arrived home shortly before the school bus. It was some nice to be home for my boy like old times. I got to hear stories about his day and his new school first hand instead of through Skype. That's huge.

I got on the road shortly after a quick lunch. Fridays are only a half day so it should be easy to get home for weekends as long as mother nature co-operates. I know there will be times when the impending weather report makes driving prohibitive but I don't want to think about that right now.

This is the time of year when I start to clean the cobwebs off my houseplants and bring them inside for the winter; put pool floaties away in preparation for the pool to be drained; and the most joyful task of all, picking all the plums off the plum tree and even ones off the ground that were too ripe to stay on the branch. They may only be coin-size but they are juicy and sweet. I brought a bunch back with me.

Hubby was in a baking mood so both of us now have freezers full of oat cakes and whoopie pies. This is not usually on my menu but they make great snacks at break time. The oat cakes are my favorite. Our recipe is exactly like the oat cakes you can buy in any coffee shop.

Got back to the apartment at around 8pm Sunday evening to find my vertical blinds finally installed. They are the ugliest sons-o-guns I've ever seen. They absolutely ruin the look of my beautiful bay window. I'll never use them but I have to keep them up because they belong to the property. Boy are they ugly.

The 70's called... they want their verticals back!!!

Guinea Pigs

The day after meeting our buddies, our buddies worked on us in the clinic. I got my teeth scraped and flossed and polished all for free and all from my DH2 buddy. We held mirrors so that we could see what they were doing. She explained all along the way what she was doing and why she was doing it. It was a far cry from the 20 minute appointments I'm use to getting at my Dentist's office. This appointment took 2.5 hours. She did some things that I'm sure my dental office doesn't bother doing. One thing is she put a purple dye on my teeth that showed up all the areas I'm missing with the dental floss. This was not your ordinary Agent Cool Blue. This heavy stain turned even calculus purple so she had to scrape it away with a tool.
Friday is called preclinical. Its designed to teach you everything you need to know before going into the clinic. We learn about the tools and sterilization and cleaning. This class is long and hard to focus but the teacher is interesting. Her voice I find is a little loud for me in the morning. I'll either have to sit farther back or find some mild earplugs. She is a loud sharp speaker and I find those sounds piercing in the morning. On the flip side she has a great sense of humor. Her jokes wake you up so I don't really drift off that much. Its just a long 3 hours to sit there with only one break.
The best thing about Fridays is that we are done at 11:30. Then its back to the apartment for a quick bite before I hit the open highway and make my way back to Fredericton. I arrive at the house just before my son's bus arrives so its perfect.
Next week we will be working on "Dexter." I think it will be a little disconcerting to work on a head that does not have a body to it. LOL.
Toodles until Monday.

Connected!

My Internet is hooked up! They told me between 5 and 8 but I was on the phone by 7 asking if the appointment was still on. The tech came to the door while I was on the phone. I don't feel bad. I miss my boy and I was dying to Skype with him.
Hookup went off without a hitch and I skyped with Adrian and now all is good. These first two blog entries are back to back because the first one had to be composed in TextEdit to be posted when I got connected.
I actually ate some real food today. I was getting sick of white rice and butter so I went to the store and charged enough groceries for a single batch of spaghetti sauce. What a treat.
First day of classes was boring. Sure meeting all my classmates was fun but those icebreaker games can get a bit overdone. The type-A in me just wanted to learn something.
I met some Frederictonians and I can happily say that trips back home should not be an issue. Huge relief off my mind.
We were paired with our buddy today too. Every DH1 gets paired up with a DH2 in case we have questions or trouble with something. They get to work on us tomorrow. I'm going to get a cleaning and a fluoride treatment tomorrow. Pretty cool. In a couple months we will be doing the same thing to each other. Working on patients is still a while off.
Not much more to report. I'm totally loving my new apartment. Its so squeaky clean you could eat off the floor. I intend to keep it that way. No cats or husband to mess it up.
I even took out my scrubs and put them on. How lame is that? I'd like to wash them first but not enough quarters in the seat cushions and the damn machine does not accept loonies. I got too preoccupied to go to the Irving to buy some. It will have to wait until tomorrow. I think I'll wear them tomorrow anyway. As long as I can keep the pantlegs from falling down. A sewing kit is not something I thought to bring.

Learning to be a Dental Hygienist

I have only written in this blog once and never found anything else to write, or "blog" about.

I'm going to change the focus a little and use this Blog as a way to document my times, good or bad, as a Dental Hygienist in school. Moving to Moncton while family remains in Fredericton is the hardest thing I hope I ever have to do.

And so we begin with day one...

Well here I am, day one in Moncton. Still no Internet so I'm composing this in TextEdit to post tomorrow after the Rogers Tech hooks me up.

I’m going to try and keep this blog fairly current. I know myself though; I’ll be all gun-ho for the first few days and then the breaks in between entries will get longer and longer. I hope not though. I’d like to document the entire two years of my training and life here.

First and most importantly, I’m feeling like the worst parent in the world. I need my boy. My boy needs me. Through the wonders of modern technology and the Internet we will be able to talk on the phone and Skype. And yes, it sure seems like you are there but the reality is I feel like I left him. I want him here to share this with me but I know he is better off starting Middle School with friends in his own neighbourhood. I was there for the first day. I saw his classroom and met the teacher. I think he’s going to have a great time there. Certainly our first phone call indicates that this is true.

My first day is tomorrow. That gave me all today to register for my school and move into my new squeaky clean apartment. Well its more like 90% clean. I went the extra 10% before I put anything away. Apparently if you want all your drawers cleaned out too you have to do that yourself.

The best part is that this place is clean. There is no cat hair or vomit on the floor. There is no mess whatsoever. Everything has a place and everything is away. lt’s been a long time since I’ve been able to say that. Cleanliness does not come easy in our house. Here, I am in complete control.

But enough of that. I was able to buy a few books today so I’m going to crawl into my new bed; a queen size air mattress; and take a look. No scrubs yet. Tomorrow is just business casual. I’m sure it will be more like an orientation then an actual class. We may even be let out early. This is good news because I need the rest of the day to fight with the Student Loan idiots that pass for employees there. I got my Notice of Assessment a month ago but the College did not receive it so they could not release my money. Its almost too funny though since I got up this morning and told myself that Student Loans would probably find a way to screw up my funding. There are times when I hate being right that I could just spit. This will be my third CSL in my life and they have been a nightmare all three times. At least this time my eyes are wide open.

So for all of you who have asked me to keep them up to date on how I’m doing here, please feel free to tune into this blog regularly as I progress.

Big day tomorrow.

A girl and her cat

I really wanted this to be a typical "boy and his dog" story but I know that "a girl and her cat" has quite a different connotation to it. However, I digress.

Anyone who knows me even mildly knows that I love cats. Not like the collect-as-many-cats-as-I-can person or the rescue-as-many-cats-as-possible person. I've had cats as pets ever since I was 4 years old. My first cat was Big Kitty, but we had to leave her in Montreal when we moved. The times I have been petless are very few and far between.

Despite the many cats I've had the priveledge of owning over the years, none have been more important to me than a Siamese named Mikki. I fell in love with Mikki when I was 17 and I saw her as a kitten. To me, she stood out from the rest of her siblings. She was bred from a cat owned by my then boyfriend's mother who breeds Siamese cats for money.

Now say what you will about Siamese cats but anyone who has ever owned a Siamese will tell you that they are a different kind of pet. They are very much a one-owner kind of cat. I carried her around with me like a mother with a new baby. We were inseperable. Sure, she spent time on my dad's lap watching tv and sitting on my mom's lap helping with the knitting; but when it was time for bed all I had to do was call from the top of the stairs and she would launch from deep sleep to airborn in less than a second. It was a common joke in my family.

I left her behind when I moved to Fredericton but when I got my own appartment, I sent for her. She and I went through several appartments, not to mention boyfriends too. She was one of the few constants in my constantly changing life, always there willing to be a 10 lb weight of comfort on my lap. Did I mention we slept together? Not at the foot of the bed where most cats can be found. Nosiree. Mikki would plod her way up my side to my shoulder. Once her feet were free of the covers I would lift up a little tent large enough for her slim rump and she would rotate once and back her way under until the both of us were snuggled in for the night. I covered her up to the neck and she would spend the next few hours in my armpit, draping her front paws and her chin over my shoulder.

I really could go on; and you're probably thinking I already have and I guess you would be right. At least now you get the feeling of how close Mikki and I were. So let's step into the wayback machine and back up a few years. I was about 17 or 18, and still at the age when you think your parents always know best and even if it did not feel right in your gut; you did what they told you to anyway. We were to spend the long weekend at Grammy's in Hartland, so my mother told me to pack Mikki up and we would take her with us. There was something about this that did not feel like a good idea. I knew that with enough food and water, Mikki would be fine for 3-4 days but Mom insisted that she would be better off coming with us. I obeyed, pushing that gut feeling back down and trying to ignore it.

Mikki did fine in Hartland. She was on her leash most of the time. By the third day I made a poor judgement call and decided she did not need the leash because it was nothing but field all around the house. She did well and stuck close to the house just as predicted. Perhaps the new surroundings became not so new anymore or perhaps she found a bird to chase; we speculated for hours as to why she wondered off that last day. Dad and I called and called for her to come home. Mom and I finally had to head back home without her. Dad was staying up for the rest of the week to fish. I was sick and I hoped my mother was too. It was no one's fault but I blamed her for losing my cat. We agreed that Dad and Grammy would keep watch for her all week and that I would return the following weekend to take up the search again. I truly believed that with Dad there she would find her way back to the house.

The week dragged on with no word from Dad nor Grammy. I knew the longer time went on the less likely we were to get her back. Finally, Saturday came. I skipped breakfast and told my mom in no uncertain terms that I was driving to Hartland to bring back my cat. It was not a request for permission and I'm not really sure she dared to tell me no. To say the week was tense is an understatement.

I arrived in Hartland around noon. Dad and I had a quick lunch and hit the hills armed with a box of kibble and a determination not to fail. We walked around all the fields and hills around the house but did not hear or see anything. Upper Hartland is a quiet sleepy town and if there was a Siamese howl within a half-mile I'm sure we would have heard her. Even better, we were both calling so loudly that we were sure she would hear us and come running. We tossed handfulls of kibble every few meters to entice her to come. It was a beautiful spring day and we were quite fine staying out until supper time. By the end of the day we had knocked on every door and covered several kilometers of land on both sides of the road. Only then, did the notion that she could be gone forever creep into my head. I have no recollection of the rest of the day. I can't remember if we went back out again or just kept an ear to the back door. These are minor details.

I guess I slept ok. Like most septuagenarians, Grammy was up with the sun. I could hear her downstairs. My will to get up was not exactly strong. I layed there wondering what my next step should be. Grammy did something by the back door, I could hear her puttering around on the back porch. The moment she called my name was quite possibly one of the happiest days in my recollections. She said my cat was out in the back yard a few meters from the door. I donned enough clothing to make me decent and flew down the stairs. I stood in the back doorway looking across the field at the happiest sight I have ever seen. I could tell that Mikki was happy to see me but with Grammy standing right behind me she was hesitant to approach; all the while screaming that classic Siamese howl that we all know sounds like a collicky baby at 3 am. I was petrified that Mikki would bolt at the sight of Grammy but I still did not have enough gumption to tell her to back away. When Grammy asked me if the box of food would help I was all for the idea which served the purpose of getting her out of Mikki's line of sight. Once I had said box of food, the last bit of hesitation left Mikki and she ran to me with vigor. I grabbed her and immediately shut the back door so she could not escape again. I cannot tell you how relieved I was that day to finally have my cat back after a long week of seperation. It sounds cheesy but there really was always the knowledge that I would get her back. Call it denial perhaps. I like to call it a love story.

Mikki and I enjoyed many years together. Like I said before, she saw me through many apartments, many boyfriends, my husband, the purchase of my house and she got to know my only child. I'm happy to say that my son got to know and love her almost as much as I did. She was a very likeable cat.

I was 34 when Mikki died. We were together for literally half my life. Walking for her became a very strained chore. Her hips seemed to be too heavy for her to support. I made an appointment with the vet where they took blood and said they would call me with more information. The next day, the vet called. The information I got was that they could do more but it would only buy her (me) a few more months. Now I'm a pretty level-headed person but I wanted my cat to live forever. The level-headed side of me knew that, since I was completely responsible for the life Mikki had, the right thing to do was to be responsible for her death as well. So I told the vet I would bring her in. Picking Mikki up was easy because at this point she could no longer walk. My husband said he goodbyes and my son gave her a kiss on her head. Then the two of us got in the car. This was something I wanted to do by myself.

I got to the vet and their policy is that all cats be crated. I said look at her, is it really necessary? They knew why I was there and with a cat that resembled a wet dishrag, they agreed to let me sit in a room, just the two of us and wait in private. Since I did not have an appointment, that meant waiting until closing time when all the other appointments were done. I think the total wait time was about an hour but it felt like 3 because of the restored church pew I was sitting on. Every time I moved, Mikki would moan. It was gut-wrenching and I tried not to do it much but gradually my limbs lost feeling and I had little choice. The staff equipped me with a box of tissue and I was very grateful. A technician came in and fitted Mikki with a catheter in her arm. About half an hour later the doctor delivered the fatal injection that ended Mikki's pain and our time together. She was already limp but I was happy that she died in my arms while resting her head on my chest. I'm not a Christian, but I cannot bear to think that Mikki is anywhere but in a better place now. Our house is still filled with portraits of her, and even now, more than 8 years later, my son and I still say to each other how much we miss Mikki.

I've owned several cats since Mikki but none of them have been Siamese. I would love to own another Siamese and maybe someday I will. Now is not the time. There will never be another cat like Mikki. She is desperately missed and I hope she is happy.

My new blog

Well here goes....