Thursday, March 20, 2008
Last Match
After a few days up in Colorado skiing, I flew back to Dallas last night in order to be around for Match Day. Today was the second big match day. Before I start my ophthalmology residency, I need to complete a preliminary year of internal medicine, so I had to participate in a second match. This morning at 11am, all the medical students in my class went down to their mailboxes, opened them and found their match results (where they will be going for residency). I had already matched for ophthalmology here in Dallas so it wasn't quite as big an event as some of my friends who were matching for the next 5-6 years, but it was still exciting. I matched at one of the major hospitals in town. It's great because I won't have to move twice. It has been some time since I had seen a lot of my classmates. During third and fourth year we get so spread out that we rarely see most of our fellow med students, people we saw nearly every day during first and second year. I guess the next time I see most of them again will be graduation which is about two months away.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Second Canada Trip
Well, it wasn't much more than a day in Dallas before heading back up to Canada. This time it was up to the Ottawa area to visit some friends and family. It was great to see my grandparents.
My flight up there was chaotic. I got in about six hours late and had no luggage. It didn't arrive for another two days. On the second day we had 8 inches of new snow and there was already a ton on the ground. Earlier in the week, there had been some freezing rain so we had 8 inches onto of glass ice. That was the day I drove to Ottawa. I regret doing that. Most of the neighborhood streets were impossible to navigate. People were getting stuck all over the place. At one point I drove around for 45 minutes because I was afraid that if I stopped I wouldn't be able to start again. The picture here was taken a day or two later after they had "cleared" the streets. Many of the snowbanks were 6 or 7 feet tall. From the picture, you can also see it was near impossible to park on the street. You will get stuck, towed, or get buried in snow by the plows.
On the last day in town with my grandparents, I went over the the local hospital with them just for fun to play the bagpipes for some patients and staff. I wore my grandfathers Scottish outfit which was interesting. I don't think I will post any pictures of that. It was fun though.
The last night that I was in Ottawa, we all had met up at the Smith's and headed out to play hockey on one of the public outdoor rinks. We had been playing for 45 minutes to an hour and someone said "next goal wins" so we were just about to wrap things up. Anyway, a teammate of mine and I were heading toward a loose puck at center ice. We both decided at the last second to leave it for the other person and skate around. Well, we both stepped to the same side and collided head to head at a pretty good clip. It sent both of sailing backwards. I really don't think I have ever been hit so hard and the ice wasn't such a soft landing either. Blood was coming from inside and outside my nose. There was soon a new red spot at center ice. All my teeth were still in place, so I was thankful for that. The next morning when I woke up, I felt like I had been run over by a train. I hopped on flight, all three of them and made it back to Dallas. Once again, my luggage failed to make it.
My flight up there was chaotic. I got in about six hours late and had no luggage. It didn't arrive for another two days. On the second day we had 8 inches of new snow and there was already a ton on the ground. Earlier in the week, there had been some freezing rain so we had 8 inches onto of glass ice. That was the day I drove to Ottawa. I regret doing that. Most of the neighborhood streets were impossible to navigate. People were getting stuck all over the place. At one point I drove around for 45 minutes because I was afraid that if I stopped I wouldn't be able to start again. The picture here was taken a day or two later after they had "cleared" the streets. Many of the snowbanks were 6 or 7 feet tall. From the picture, you can also see it was near impossible to park on the street. You will get stuck, towed, or get buried in snow by the plows.
On the last day in town with my grandparents, I went over the the local hospital with them just for fun to play the bagpipes for some patients and staff. I wore my grandfathers Scottish outfit which was interesting. I don't think I will post any pictures of that. It was fun though.
The last night that I was in Ottawa, we all had met up at the Smith's and headed out to play hockey on one of the public outdoor rinks. We had been playing for 45 minutes to an hour and someone said "next goal wins" so we were just about to wrap things up. Anyway, a teammate of mine and I were heading toward a loose puck at center ice. We both decided at the last second to leave it for the other person and skate around. Well, we both stepped to the same side and collided head to head at a pretty good clip. It sent both of sailing backwards. I really don't think I have ever been hit so hard and the ice wasn't such a soft landing either. Blood was coming from inside and outside my nose. There was soon a new red spot at center ice. All my teeth were still in place, so I was thankful for that. The next morning when I woke up, I felt like I had been run over by a train. I hopped on flight, all three of them and made it back to Dallas. Once again, my luggage failed to make it.
Saturday, March 1, 2008
Fernie Ski Trip
This past Monday I took off for Calgary, Alberta to go skiing in Fernie, British Columbia. I was supposed to leave on Sunday but ended up getting bumped twice and leaving the next day. I just couldn't turn down the vouchers. The flight was direct to Calgary and the shuttle left within an hour of touching down. That night I met up with the others who had already arrived from Calgary, Ottawa, and Montreal. Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of the whole group. I know the others took hundreds, if not thousands of pictures, so I guess I need to get one from them. On Tuesday, I got my skis and we all hit the slopes. There wasn't a whole lot of warmup as the second run was bumps in the trees.
The scenery was amazing. I was impressed with the ruggedness of the terrain compared to what I had seen in Colorado.
It seemed like everywhere you turned there was another avalanche warning sign.
On Wednesday we took a hike up Polar Peak. We started the hike around 3:30pm in the afternoon so my legs already felt like Jello. My guess was that it was about a 400meter hike at about a 45 degree angle. Here is a picture from a ridge that was about a mile away. Way down on the left you can see some people climbing. We climbed up and then had to head right out to the peak.
Some in the group had made the climb the day before. I was told two less than reassuring comments from them before we started. First, "I am sure you can get up there, but I can't really guarantee that you will get down safely." One of my cousins mentioned that it was the first time in a long time that he really sort of feared for his life. Anyway, we made it up to the top. At the saddle, we found what was likely a stone or some tree that had been blown solid with snow. It doubled as a horse.
At the top, there was a nice snow cave large enough to hold about five people. There was also a lone 'closed' sign. The view was spectacular. You could see so far in all directions.
Skiing down was fun. I didn't really get a good look over one of the edges, but I would estimate on the side we ended up skiing down, that if you fell, you would probably go for about a kilometer before coming to a stop. You had to avoid heading over the rocks and trees too. Here is Seth taking the plunge. If you look way down the hill, I think you can see a lone skier.
Here is Erin catching a break on the way down. It gives you an idea of the slope.
We must have been the last people down the hill as we didn't get back to the condo until well after 5pm, but the climb was well worth it.
Overall, it was a great trip. I enjoyed the chance to visit with the others. After a hard year of school and interviewing, it was nice to get on a plane and bring a ski suit instead of a dress suit. On Monday, I should be heading back up to Canada but to the other side.
The scenery was amazing. I was impressed with the ruggedness of the terrain compared to what I had seen in Colorado.
It seemed like everywhere you turned there was another avalanche warning sign.
On Wednesday we took a hike up Polar Peak. We started the hike around 3:30pm in the afternoon so my legs already felt like Jello. My guess was that it was about a 400meter hike at about a 45 degree angle. Here is a picture from a ridge that was about a mile away. Way down on the left you can see some people climbing. We climbed up and then had to head right out to the peak.
Some in the group had made the climb the day before. I was told two less than reassuring comments from them before we started. First, "I am sure you can get up there, but I can't really guarantee that you will get down safely." One of my cousins mentioned that it was the first time in a long time that he really sort of feared for his life. Anyway, we made it up to the top. At the saddle, we found what was likely a stone or some tree that had been blown solid with snow. It doubled as a horse.
At the top, there was a nice snow cave large enough to hold about five people. There was also a lone 'closed' sign. The view was spectacular. You could see so far in all directions.
Skiing down was fun. I didn't really get a good look over one of the edges, but I would estimate on the side we ended up skiing down, that if you fell, you would probably go for about a kilometer before coming to a stop. You had to avoid heading over the rocks and trees too. Here is Seth taking the plunge. If you look way down the hill, I think you can see a lone skier.
Here is Erin catching a break on the way down. It gives you an idea of the slope.
We must have been the last people down the hill as we didn't get back to the condo until well after 5pm, but the climb was well worth it.
Overall, it was a great trip. I enjoyed the chance to visit with the others. After a hard year of school and interviewing, it was nice to get on a plane and bring a ski suit instead of a dress suit. On Monday, I should be heading back up to Canada but to the other side.
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