Reading Week

Frankly, there isn't much to report.
My life at the moment: wake up, feed and entertain Gerturde, go to work and/or library, study until library closes, go to coffee shop, study until that closes, go home, shower, try to read from my book, fall assleep.
This is as bad as finals!
I don't understand. Lots of lots of people have gone home or gone travelling. How do they do it? I'm studying non-stop and still don't feel even remotely ready for my midterms on Tuesday. And I'm not even talking about the papers I have to write. Why does it take me forever to study? I feel so stupid, I must be doing something wrong... but I honestly don't see how I could cut my work-load.
Hmmm. I'm tired. I wish I didn't have to take my MCATs this summer...

Ski and Gertrude

Oh dear... the updates seem to be getting more sporadic, don't they? I mean to post, I really do, it just seems like every time I sit down to write, I run out of steam.
This week is reading week! In the States, this is known as Spring Break, but here at McGill they actually expect you to do some studying. And studying I shall! I have two midterms and two papers to prepare, and I am quite seriously terrified.
I started my week off studiously by going... skiing! I told my friend Emily that I hadn't been skiing in Canada yet, and she brought it upon herself to fix this travesty. So: free ride (her grand-mother lives right next to the ski resort, so her mother drove us), free tickets (they apparently go often), alright! All I had to pay was the ski rental for half a day, which was ridiculously affordable.
I hurt in all sorts of places now, but it was worth it.
Another result of reading week is that everyone that I usually hang out with in the neighborhood is gone. Come to think of it, most people in general are gone. Thank goodness I'm bird-sitting Heather's budgee Gertrude, because otherwise I'd find myself getting closely acquainted to Mr. Stove-top and Mrs. Fridge. Oh dear.
So, without further ado, meet Gerturde!




Isn't she a cutie? I think so. Her favorite things include: chirping, playing with her reflection in the mirror, and chewing my hair when it's wet from the shower.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Or, as I like to call it, Singles Awareness Day (S.A.D.).
I've got to say, Valentine's Day at McGill is always very interesting! There's a flurry of singing Valentines-- students with red lab coats crashing through the class room doors, arms ladden with roses or candy, who burst out into some cheesy song ("L is for the way you Look at me; O is for the Only one I see; V is Very very extraordinary; E is even more than anyone that you adore").
Mostly though, everyone I know, single or not, has been completly preoccupied with midterms. That's right; it's that time of the year again!

I had a bit of a break this weekend though. I went to Valentine's Day themed concert a few blocks away from my house!
I've been itching to write a post about the neighborhood I live in. I will do so... in due time!

Cheez Louise

I leave the bathroom window open for two hours and the shampoo freezes.

What's a girl to do?

Concussion, part deux

My friend Nick had a concussion! He hit his head on a bathroom cabinet while reaching for band-aids. Oww.
He lost a bunch of hair and was bleeding; it was a small gash but still pretty deep. His roomates didn't seem to think much of it, but Nick felt dizzy and disoriented and you could tell he didn't feel 100%. He decided he'd better go to a hospital, and I agreed with him. His roomates had a party to go to (actually, we'd all meant to go), and didn't seem to be too worried, so I said I'd accompany Nick to the hospital-- and you could tell he was secretly relieved not to have to go alone. I have to wonder: how on earth could his roomates not go with him? Anyway. We took a cab to good ol' Hotel-Dieu, the hospital where we took Sean (my concussioned friend #1). Ahhh, again. The nurses told us we'd have to wait three or four hours... and it was eleven. Oy.
It's a good thing I came with him, because he didn't speak any french. We ended up in the same waiting room. I was secretly relieved not to go to the party; lately I've been somewhat anti-social. Anyway, we got lucky and someone ended up seeing him at 12! He got one stitch, and the official story is that: he was attacked by a leprachaun with a machete, and also we totally partied it up in the Emergency room.
My roomate also ended up joining us with coffee and cards. I had originally called her so that she wouldn't worry, and she insisted on keeping us company. She had been with me when Sean broke his face, so she knew that waiting all night in a hospital waiting room was no fun at all. We ended up playing hearts, it was actually nice! Hospital visits are all about making the best of what you've got.
Well, Nick should be fine. The hair should grow back, and he'll have a nifty scar to show for it.

So yeah, second Saturday night I spend at Hotel Dieu. What the heck? Do I have some concussion-inducing hormone? In my denfense, Nick hit his head before I got to their place.

France (my lab partner)

A conversation with France, my very pregnant and very adorable lab partner:

"'Ahhh, j'viens d'entendre une vielle chanson de Radiohead dans la cafeteria... elle a plu a Phillipe"
"Ahhh, I just heard an old Radiohead song in the cafeteria... Phillip liked it."
(France rubs her belly, she's named her child Phillipe)
(sighs)
"Radiohead... je me souviens quand leur album est sortit en '92... je dansais un slow avec un chome... 'ben maintenant j'me souvient plus qui c'etait..."
"Radiohead... I remember when their album was released in '92... I slowed danced with some guy... I can't even remember who it was..."
(France tries to remember)
Moi: "Alors celui-la, il devait etre important!"
Me: "Well, he must have been important!"
(France is feeling nostalgic)
"'92... pfiou! J'avais 22 ans! ... et toi? T'avais quel age?"
"'92... wow! I was 22! What about you? How old were you?"
Moi: "...eeeeuh.... 7 ans??"
Me: "uhhh... 7??"

(France chokes)

She had no idea I was so young. I guess working 15 hours a week in a lab isn't something people my age do much... Also it's unusual for a 19 year old to be so close to graduating! France started uni at 21... haha!
I really like my lab partners. There's Jane and Quin, who mostly speak chinese to each other (but are very nice), Heather (one of my best friends in Montreal), France (who will, sadly, be leaving soon on maternity leave), and Daniel, who is new and doesn't speak much yet. Maybe he just doesn't speak much in general.

It's pretty funny, France is going to deliver her baby in the hospital we work in... in fact, just a few floors away! I can't wait.