So as Robbie mentioned earlier I am now temporarily living in Pembroke Ontario and working for three months at Petawawa Animal Hospital. My good friend and AVC classmate Katie and her boyfriend are letting me stay in the spare bedroom of their 3 bedroom house in Pembroke. It's a nice little community just slightly larger then Oromocto, about 15000 people, and is only 15 minutes away from work in Petawawa. Most would be familiar with Petawawa for its military base, also similar to Oromocto, but nicer.
Small animal is taking some getting used to after having spent an entire year working exclusively on horses but so far they have been nice to me and I am mainly doing vaccine appointments and health checks. They are slowly throwing in medicine type cases plus the odd surgery which have not been too complicated. It is somewhat frustrating knowing that at one point in time I knew a lot more than I can remember now, but some of this info that has been locked away in my head is slowly returning.
Katie left last Saturday for her vacation in Holland leaving me to take care of her dog Finnigin and the house so it has been a little lonely here for the past few days but I've been keeping busy with work, reading, and walking the dog. Finnigin is a very friendly, attention seeking lab that is much too needy for my liking but he is a good dog. It makes me realize that I am quite happy not having my own and that Cooper is very independent in comparison. Katie will be back in 2 weeks.
Becky has planned a trip to Ontario to visit with Robbie and I on the 25th of Sept. so I am excited to drive back to Kitchener for the visit. I will also be driving to Kitchener the following weekend for a working interview at a small animal clinic that is looking to hire as well as to celebrate my birthday! They will both have to be jammed packed weekends as it takes almost 7 hours to drive there and back.
I'll keep you posted on the goings on in Pembroke/Petawawa and post some pictures as soon as I get my camera cord!!
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Monday, September 14, 2009
A couple bachelors
Well Jenn is in Pettawawa working at a small animal clinic and Cooper and I are on our own for the next three months. So far she seems to be enjoying the new job but I'll let her tell you more about that.
As for me, my trip to Bar Harbour Maine was fabulous. We had rain on the way in and on the way out but it was otherwise a beautiful week. I managed to fit lots of tourist activities into my time there. I climbed Mount Cadillac, went swimming at Sand Cove, hiked the Ocean Trail and around Jacob's Pond and enjoyed a couple fabulous lobster dinners. I did manage to fit a little work into my time there, however. We (hopefully) have managed to initiate several cod and Atlantic salmon fish cell lines that I will be nursing over the year. Here is a video of an elasmobranch tank (sharks, skates and rays) I took at the marine station:
Other than that it is life as usual. Now that I live closer campus I take the bus and have been able to join a few extracurricular activities such as tae-kwon-doe. While I liked our last apartment I won't miss having to plow through massive snow drifts to reach Waterloo.
As for me, my trip to Bar Harbour Maine was fabulous. We had rain on the way in and on the way out but it was otherwise a beautiful week. I managed to fit lots of tourist activities into my time there. I climbed Mount Cadillac, went swimming at Sand Cove, hiked the Ocean Trail and around Jacob's Pond and enjoyed a couple fabulous lobster dinners. I did manage to fit a little work into my time there, however. We (hopefully) have managed to initiate several cod and Atlantic salmon fish cell lines that I will be nursing over the year. Here is a video of an elasmobranch tank (sharks, skates and rays) I took at the marine station:
Other than that it is life as usual. Now that I live closer campus I take the bus and have been able to join a few extracurricular activities such as tae-kwon-doe. While I liked our last apartment I won't miss having to plow through massive snow drifts to reach Waterloo.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Helter Skelter
So far August is shaping-up to be a very busy month for Jenn and I.
Jennifer has officially given her notice at her clinic and accepted a short-term position at a small animal clinic with a friend in Petawawa, about 5-and-a-half hours North-East of here. The clinic consists of just two vets but will give her greater range of experience for her resume. It runs from September until probably the end of November. In the meantime, we have dropped her resume off at numerous local clinics.
We have also been on the look-out for a new apartment. I saw four yesterday, four today, and I have two lined up for tomorrow. It has been a little exhausting as they have been spaced throughout the day and I have been jumping back to the university between visits. But I have seen some very nice, reasonably priced apartments. It will be very different than where we are now as they are all very large apartment complex's in the city.
In other news, the weather here was completely wild yesterday. I was driving to see an apartment when it started raining so hard that you could hardly see a thing (One guy switching lanes very nearly hit me in his attempt to get off the road). Then hail, nearly the circumference of dimes started pelting down. It sounded like my car was under machine gun fire. This only lasted about 10-15 minutes tops but so much rain had fallen that the street I was on became a lake before I realized it. The water at its deepest point was up over the top of the hood of my car. I was scared I would stall-out before I made it to dry road. At least it was warm today so my car could get dry. The floors were soaked as the water started pouring in from below.
Other than that we are both excite to be heading home for a smidgeon of R & R and my sisters wedding! See you all soon!!
Jennifer has officially given her notice at her clinic and accepted a short-term position at a small animal clinic with a friend in Petawawa, about 5-and-a-half hours North-East of here. The clinic consists of just two vets but will give her greater range of experience for her resume. It runs from September until probably the end of November. In the meantime, we have dropped her resume off at numerous local clinics.
We have also been on the look-out for a new apartment. I saw four yesterday, four today, and I have two lined up for tomorrow. It has been a little exhausting as they have been spaced throughout the day and I have been jumping back to the university between visits. But I have seen some very nice, reasonably priced apartments. It will be very different than where we are now as they are all very large apartment complex's in the city.
In other news, the weather here was completely wild yesterday. I was driving to see an apartment when it started raining so hard that you could hardly see a thing (One guy switching lanes very nearly hit me in his attempt to get off the road). Then hail, nearly the circumference of dimes started pelting down. It sounded like my car was under machine gun fire. This only lasted about 10-15 minutes tops but so much rain had fallen that the street I was on became a lake before I realized it. The water at its deepest point was up over the top of the hood of my car. I was scared I would stall-out before I made it to dry road. At least it was warm today so my car could get dry. The floors were soaked as the water started pouring in from below.
Other than that we are both excite to be heading home for a smidgeon of R & R and my sisters wedding! See you all soon!!
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Paper is finished
Well it took a week of 11 hour days but I finished my paper yesterday. If anyone wants to know anything at all about saponins, you can come to me. So now that that is done I will regale you all with my birthday BBQ.
Jenn and I went for a delicious pot luck BBQ with the rest of my lab gang down in Cambridge (about an hour south of us). I had a delicious double cheeseburger and tried some interesting
salsa that Dr. Lee got from a military biomedical research company (?). It had hints of honey and cocoa. Then came my cake which was adorned with sparklers. It was delicious (we also had a cranberry cheesecake later around the fire). And I got a 8 GB memory stick which I think they knew I needed because my last one died. I had brought my dead one into the lab to look under the microscope to determine if it was a damaged circuit. Anyway the rest of the evening was spent around the fire.
And if that was not enough, Jenn took me out to a apparently famous breakfast spot in Kitchener ("Country Boy") the next day and made me a roast with homemade rolls and pumpkin cheesecake for dinner! So it was a great birthday.
Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes.
P.S. - Here is a picture of Jennifer and Cooper trying out the new sleeping bag.
Jenn and I went for a delicious pot luck BBQ with the rest of my lab gang down in Cambridge (about an hour south of us). I had a delicious double cheeseburger and tried some interesting
salsa that Dr. Lee got from a military biomedical research company (?). It had hints of honey and cocoa. Then came my cake which was adorned with sparklers. It was delicious (we also had a cranberry cheesecake later around the fire). And I got a 8 GB memory stick which I think they knew I needed because my last one died. I had brought my dead one into the lab to look under the microscope to determine if it was a damaged circuit. Anyway the rest of the evening was spent around the fire.And if that was not enough, Jenn took me out to a apparently famous breakfast spot in Kitchener ("Country Boy") the next day and made me a roast with homemade rolls and pumpkin cheesecake for dinner! So it was a great birthday.
Thank you everyone for the birthday wishes.
P.S. - Here is a picture of Jennifer and Cooper trying out the new sleeping bag.
Monday, July 20, 2009
Canada Day Festivities
Jennifer had to work on Canada Day. So I was on my own for the morning's festivities which
started off with a rubber duck race. For some reason the duck race took place in a little, stagnant drainage ditch. So we had 100 rubber ducks pretty much not going anywhere until the Drayton fire department fired a hose into the ditch. But alas my ducky got stuck on a reed.
After the race it was off to admire the antique tractors. Yes there were tractors dating back all the way to 1956! Then came the local arm wrestling competition of which I did not partake.
After all that fun I decided to check out the "exhibit" center. There were booths for quilts, vegetables, what to do in a power outage, and my favorite, Alpacas! They are a smaller, friendlier, less ugly version of a llama.
Later that day when Jenn got off work we went down for some BBQ'd burgers and fries and homemade strawberry pie. We were worried the fireworks might not happen as there was some light
rain but it was a spectacular display considering the rural surroundings. Unfortunately my pictures don't do them justice. And that was Canada Day in a nutshell.
Oh and I made guacamole that weekend too. Killed our second and last blender while doing so. Apparently the avacadoes weren't quite ripe enough. Wasn't great. C'est la vie.
started off with a rubber duck race. For some reason the duck race took place in a little, stagnant drainage ditch. So we had 100 rubber ducks pretty much not going anywhere until the Drayton fire department fired a hose into the ditch. But alas my ducky got stuck on a reed.After the race it was off to admire the antique tractors. Yes there were tractors dating back all the way to 1956! Then came the local arm wrestling competition of which I did not partake.
After all that fun I decided to check out the "exhibit" center. There were booths for quilts, vegetables, what to do in a power outage, and my favorite, Alpacas! They are a smaller, friendlier, less ugly version of a llama.
Later that day when Jenn got off work we went down for some BBQ'd burgers and fries and homemade strawberry pie. We were worried the fireworks might not happen as there was some light
rain but it was a spectacular display considering the rural surroundings. Unfortunately my pictures don't do them justice. And that was Canada Day in a nutshell.Oh and I made guacamole that weekend too. Killed our second and last blender while doing so. Apparently the avacadoes weren't quite ripe enough. Wasn't great. C'est la vie.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Another birthday gone by.
Well it has been a month since our last blog post and a lot has happened, so I will start chronologically with one post each day for the next few days so as not to overwhelm you all.
Our trip to the small south-western town of Virden Manitoba to visit the Kilford clan was a lot of
fun. We spent most of our time at a cottage on picturesque Oak Lake. The weather didn't cooperate with us the first night, but as the rain poured down it did not dampen our spirits.
The next day the weather improved somewhat and I was introduced to the game golf. But this game had no clubs and the golf balls were tethered together with rope. It is similar to the game of horse shoes and despite being a noob, I actually one a game or two. They told me Oak Lake was shallow but I figured it couldn't be too shallow for a swim. I was wrong. At the deepest part of the designated swimming area, about 30 metres out or so, the water was not even waist high. But it was still quite refreshing.
The next day I was introduced to several dozen Kilford decendants who showed up for grandpa Harry and Grandma Hazel's 60th anniversary. Luckiily Jennifer had made me a family tree beforehand so I wasn't entirely bewildered. The number of gophers at the park almost outnumbered the guests. I had never seen so many in one place. But best of all was the enormous array of delicious food as it was a potluck.
The following morning Jenn and I contributed to breakfast with a very large fruit pizza. I wish we had taken a picture of it as it was a work of art. After breakfast, cousin Carla and her husband Jesse, both arborists, gave us a demonstraion of ascending a tree. Then we all took turns getting in the gear and attempting, albeit poorly, to pull ourselves up using rope leveraging techniques that are not designed for sandals. After that it was off to the golf course where we played a game of
best ball and Jennifer, never having actually played a game of ball before actually had the best ball on numerous occasions. That evening I had deep fried turkey for the first time.
Virden itself was a quaint small town. It has a new fancy restaurant that we went for appetizers for and then it was off to the horse races! Rhoda had given us 2 dollars that she instructed to place a bet with on horse number 3. The horse's name: "Roadhouse Rhonda". Thinking it had to be a sign from the horse gambling gods we made a semi-sizeable bet for us (5$) and that lame horse came in second last!. Oh well.
From what I saw of Manitoba it was a beautiful province and I had a great time. So perhaps we'll have to make an appearance for the 61st anniversary too.
Our trip to the small south-western town of Virden Manitoba to visit the Kilford clan was a lot of
fun. We spent most of our time at a cottage on picturesque Oak Lake. The weather didn't cooperate with us the first night, but as the rain poured down it did not dampen our spirits.The next day the weather improved somewhat and I was introduced to the game golf. But this game had no clubs and the golf balls were tethered together with rope. It is similar to the game of horse shoes and despite being a noob, I actually one a game or two. They told me Oak Lake was shallow but I figured it couldn't be too shallow for a swim. I was wrong. At the deepest part of the designated swimming area, about 30 metres out or so, the water was not even waist high. But it was still quite refreshing.
The next day I was introduced to several dozen Kilford decendants who showed up for grandpa Harry and Grandma Hazel's 60th anniversary. Luckiily Jennifer had made me a family tree beforehand so I wasn't entirely bewildered. The number of gophers at the park almost outnumbered the guests. I had never seen so many in one place. But best of all was the enormous array of delicious food as it was a potluck.
The following morning Jenn and I contributed to breakfast with a very large fruit pizza. I wish we had taken a picture of it as it was a work of art. After breakfast, cousin Carla and her husband Jesse, both arborists, gave us a demonstraion of ascending a tree. Then we all took turns getting in the gear and attempting, albeit poorly, to pull ourselves up using rope leveraging techniques that are not designed for sandals. After that it was off to the golf course where we played a game of
best ball and Jennifer, never having actually played a game of ball before actually had the best ball on numerous occasions. That evening I had deep fried turkey for the first time.Virden itself was a quaint small town. It has a new fancy restaurant that we went for appetizers for and then it was off to the horse races! Rhoda had given us 2 dollars that she instructed to place a bet with on horse number 3. The horse's name: "Roadhouse Rhonda". Thinking it had to be a sign from the horse gambling gods we made a semi-sizeable bet for us (5$) and that lame horse came in second last!. Oh well.
From what I saw of Manitoba it was a beautiful province and I had a great time. So perhaps we'll have to make an appearance for the 61st anniversary too.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Countdown to Virden, Manitoba
Only 9 more days until we leave for Virden for Jenn's grandparent's 60th Anniversary! I'll be able to knock off another province I've been to. It has been a fairly mundane month otherwise.
Jenn had a couple of interviews yesterday that went well. They both have their pros and cons but they are both small animal only so she is still keeping her eye out.
I had a 45 minute presentation I delivered this week to my proposal advisors that went well I think. Other than that I have been fairly busy in the lab trying to develop a new mucous stain, ewwwww. Actually it is interesting research.
This is a picture I took of some gut cells that were stained. Mucopolysaccharides are stained red and nuclear material blue.
From the kitchen, I made hummus this past weekend and Jenn made onion rings. Both very delicious. Hummus is a little spicy because Jenn and I confused the chili powder and paprika. Must get around to labelling that bottle as that was not the first time that has happened.
Jenn had a couple of interviews yesterday that went well. They both have their pros and cons but they are both small animal only so she is still keeping her eye out.
I had a 45 minute presentation I delivered this week to my proposal advisors that went well I think. Other than that I have been fairly busy in the lab trying to develop a new mucous stain, ewwwww. Actually it is interesting research.
This is a picture I took of some gut cells that were stained. Mucopolysaccharides are stained red and nuclear material blue.From the kitchen, I made hummus this past weekend and Jenn made onion rings. Both very delicious. Hummus is a little spicy because Jenn and I confused the chili powder and paprika. Must get around to labelling that bottle as that was not the first time that has happened.
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