Long time, no write

What can I say? You know me, I'm a woman of few words ;)

I know, it's been aaaages! Quite a few things have happened since my last post.
I've become fairly comfortable with the hospital setting. Life's not actually that hectic compared with last year, it's just different. I'm still adapting.

I'm got a housemate now :) Ekta, she's awesome. She's definitely a blessing to have and God's been using the two of us to speak to one another about our relationship with Him. We're both challenging each other in our walk with God in different ways which is fantastic (it's like prep for marriage or something lol).

I went to a Medical Christian conference in Queenstowm a couple of weekends ago. It was great to meet fellow medics around NZ and also catch up with ppl. It was an awesome weekend and a bit of a wake up call. It reminded us all about just how important salvation and God's love actually is. It also asked us to all think of ethics and about support around us.

Life. it's going well. i'm getting back on track with God. It's not that I was completely off target but it's a matter of knowing what matters most. School, it's busy to a degree but I'll do my best not to use "busy" as an excuse. At the end of the day, there's more to life than medicine. One of the desires of my heart is to have a home that is warm, inviting, nurturing, and a place that ppl can come to in order to revitalise. I definitely can't have that if I'm too busy to care :)

I went to Dunedin this weekend for a couple of friends' 21st. It was great to see them both all grown up and great to catch up with ppl too. I really enjoyed it and I've can to appreciate how important good friends really are.

Girl power :)

On Friday evening we had a Med Stein (afterwork drinks) in the common room. I played a bit of pool then for my last game, I found myself playing with Catherine against 2 Trainee Intern guys. We weren't doing that well. i'd sunken 5 of our balls with 2 remaining but it was no use since the boys were on the black ball. I said "well, it was a good game. Catherine and I weren't far off". The boys gave a smile which meant "yeah right".

But is luck has it, the guy missed an easy shot on the black. So it was now Catherine's go. Would she be able to go from sinking no balls to sinking our 2 balls and the black, proving that she had just been "rusty" this whole time? YES!!!! we bet the TIs!! We were overcome with joy and ended up making a bit of a seen. The boys were beaten by 4th year girls! Fun fun

I went to an afternoon conference yesterday. It was all about being "uniquely woman". It was very informative but lots of fun at the same time. I don't know if I can do it justice on this blog but the speakers included a dietian, skin specialist, image consultant and motivational speaker. The conference covered the body, soul and spirit. It challenged us all to understand who we really are and not to let our roles (eg. student, mother) to definite who we are. It motivated us to live life to the fullest and not settle for the ordinary. Pretty much to live the life that we're created for.

Finally went to chruch today, "Evangelical Presbyterian Church". It's quite a small church with a diverse bunch of people. I really enjoyed it and will be going to the girl's bible study tomorrow night. But I'll definitely be checking out lots of churchs before planting my roots down.

restless night

Now, I'm usually a very deep sleeper but last night I woke up about 4 times during the night. I'd been biten by sandflies numerous times while I was in Akaroa and the ichy bites were now at their worst last night. It was horrible :( I know that I'm not suppose to cratch them but it's hard when you wake up to find yourself scratching

At least I don't have to be at the hospital today, otherwise I'm not sure that I'd be able to function at all!

Got a friend's birthday dinner to go to tonight and hopefully I'll be able to meet up with other friends later tonight at sparks in the park


I haven't gone to church since being in Chch but I have been listening to sermons on my laptop. I know that I need fellowship but I think that I'm doing ok at the mo. Will get on to it soon.

Trip to a Marae in Akaroa

So much has happen since I last blogged so I'm not going to bother writing about everything. However, in a nutshell, Jesse came to visit and had a great time then I started clinical.

As part of my course, we had to spend 3 days on a Marae in Akaroa in order to learn about Maori health. I just got back from it. It was amazing! The setting was beautiful and the food was absolutely devine. And most importantly, the whole experience has made me appreciate and respect Maori people so much more. It's been an exhausting few days but I got a lot out of it and really enjoyed myself.

It was such a priveledge of be a part of the marae visit. The tutors that we had were all very passionate about Maori health which made the hole experience so much better. I think that I now have a much better understand about Maori health and feel more confident about treating Maori patients appropriately.

I'm in another internet cafe

I'm reached a new low. I've got Danny to the right of me and Ken (his friend to the left) both playing war craft. In my defence though, I'm blogging instead of being a geek. Blogging's cool and not geeky right? right?

Anyway... life's pretty good. Can't think of any exciting adventures to share with you all. Although, I did have a hot date with Mary! She's my brother's ex-girlfriend's mum. Hmmm, close family, yes. She's lovely.

I haven't started searching for a good church in chch, I kinda slept in on Sunday. We'll get there.

I saw the most adorable dog ever! ok, not quite as cute as Lukey (Em's dog) but still. Danny discribed the dog very well "He looks like a miniture bear". I couldn't help but smile at him and stare. He spotted me and I guess it was like love at first sight or something. He was on the other side of the road and ended up crossing over towards me. So gorgeous. I said hello and started patting him and then chatted with the owner for a bit so that I could spend a bit more time with the dog. He was definitely the highlight of my day. Made me smile :)

Life

In response to Abbey's comment. Yes, life's already pretty exciting but it's going to get even better. I've got my first day in the hospital on wednesday then Jesse will be here for a couple of days THEN I start my clinical training. Woo hoo! How exciting. Real patients!

There is going to be lots of socialising in the first couple of weeks which will be great. I'm looking forward to catching up with everyone and seeing what they all got up to for the summer.

Last night after hanging out with Catherine (movie, dinner then pool), I came back home to find Danny and his friends playing drinking games. I joined in on the festivities. Danny told everyone that his little sister's a good girl. I behaved myself :D We went into town and Danny introduced me to a lot of guys and told them to look after if I was out and any guys were giving me trouble. I had a great night out but I wouldn't be keen to do it on a regular basis.

Hot date

I've got a date with Catherine tonight :) we're going to the movies then out for dinner. should be lots of fun. I haven't seen the girls in months! She lots of fun and I love her (in a heterosexual way of course).

I was in the garden all of yesterday morning. Hmm, I think that I might go back out there later on today if it stops raining. The weeds at my place in chch have grown out of control! Danny asked our neighbour to recommend a gardener to us. The one she suggested was $50 per hour. Over my dead body!!! Even though i wouldn't be the one paying for it, I refuse to allow a loved one to pay that much for someone to pull out weeds. We're looking into other options now but in the meantime, I'll try to do as much as I can.

I've got a week before I start my clinical. Woo hoo! How exciting.