The Best of What's Around

Hey guys. What's up? You may be wondering "Rachel, where are your blog posts about Europe". Or you may not be wondering that. You may have totally forgotten that I went there or that I promised to write about it. And now I have reminded you. Damn.

Unfortunately (or fortunately) for you, this is not a blog post about Europe. This is a post about my "mini blog". Yes, I have succumbed to the dark side...Twitter.

Half of my readers already know what Twitter is and are already subscribed to me. The other half probably don't want anything to do with this new-ish nerdy internet tool. What it is ? It is mini updates about what is going on in my life at any given moment - in 140 characters or less.

"Why do I really want to know what you are doing at any given moment in the day", you ask. Well, I do some pretty awesome stuff. And my life is thrilling. Or not. But I find that it helps me be connected to those who are far away from me.

You can update from your computer or cell phone. That means that any craziness I come across on the streets of Montreal, you can read about in real time and not three months later when I finally get around to blogging about it.

So are you interested? I bet you are! Go to www.twitter.com for more information and if you are interested in "following" me, search for Rachel Vanneste. We can be twitter friends!

I, however, cannot condone the use of the term "tweet". Yes, that is what it is called when you send an update. I refuse to tweet. Period.

"If I follow along, does it mean I belong?" - Blue man group with Dave Matthews

Labels: 2008, rachel, technology

So, back when I was a student (whoot), I spent a month in Ottawa. I was doing a rotation at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO). I had a good time during the rotation but I had an even better time with the wonderful friends who allowed me to stay with them.
Tracy and Chris were great hosts and allowed me to stay with them for a month. Their house is awesome and their company is even better.

I tried a bunch of things for the first time while I was there: Pho, Rayman Raving Rabbids and snowshoeing! I quite enjoyed snowshoeing and it was actually more of a work out than I expected. It was a nice day so we took a picnic lunch with us. We had originally planned to hike to a cabin, but 10 km was more than we expected and we just sat in the snow and enjoyed our wine, brie, baguette and grapes.

During the month of February in Ottawa, the Winterlude festival is on. There are plenty of fun winter activities to partake in during Winterlude. Ice sculptures to look at and snow mazes to go through - what isn't there to do at a winter festival?




While I was in Ottawa, I also got to do the quintessential Canadian winter activity: I skated on the Ottawa Canal. I hadn't skated in years but I didn't do too badly. I only fell roughly six times.

Seriously, like I really wanted to see that sign.

I also dog sat their dog while they were away for the weekend. Lola is a cute dog with a lot of personality. She demands to be loved. She will whine for hours if you don't love her. She is needy, but makes up for it by loving you.

I had a good time in Ottawa, but I was also excited for it to come to an end, as Jeff was coming back out East after eight weeks apart. At the time, eight weeks felt like sooo long, but now with us being separated full time, I am sure in hindsight, this will have felt like a piece of cake.

" I love you oh so well, like a kid loves candy and fresh snow" - DMB

Labels: 2008, GC girls, ottawa, rachel, tracy and chris

Can you believe it?! I am finally done my Masters degree. It has only been 20 months since I started the degree, but I feel I have come a long way since Feb 1999 when I first heard about genetic counselling. Nine years later, here I am.

So as far as I can tell, my formal education is complete. So what now? Work...job...career. I had hoped that something might be available in Saskatchewan when I was done, but unfortunately there is not. So, plan B. I was offered, and have accepted, a one-year position here in Montreal. It is a prenatal position (meaning I would be offering my genetic counselling services to pregnant women/couples) working in the (mostly) French children's hospital. I am looking forward to doing what I love, but won't lie and say I am not nervous about the French. I am not really concerned with my ability to counsel patients in French, I am more concerned with the day to day functionings of an office in French. I am hoping that after a couple of months I will feel more comfortable.

The downside of accepting a job in Montreal is that Jeff had to return to Saskatoon and we will be living apart for a year. Yes, it sucks but if the next year goes as fast as the last, it is doable.

I haven't received an official start date for the job, so I decided that I should come home to Saskatoon for a visit. That's right - look for me from April 29th to May 9th in SK! Also, now that I have a bit more free time on my hands, I plan to update this thing a bit more - I have a few adventures left to write about (and a European adventure coming up at the end of the month ...)

So, cheers to the McGill program who accepted me, to the teachers/supervisors who taught me to do this fabulous job and to my classmates who were beside me, supporting me, the whole time.

" These years have passed us by so fast, it seems like we never got the chance to realize how good life really was, and let the moment last. And it feels like it was only yesterday, when we walked into this place and said I can't wait till I get out of here. And now as we walk down this aisle with four years all rolled up in a scroll, you can't help but think 'Hey, Where did the time go'" - DMB

Labels: 2008, GC girls, Montreal, rachel

This is a quick public service announcement.

Cancer sucks.

My friend's friend has been battling leukemia for a few years. I don't know her very well, but I have had the pleasure of meeting her twice: once in Boston and once in Japan. She is one of the those people who seems to be fantastic at everything she tries, but you can't hate her for it because she is so nice and genuine. (I think that Jeff may have been a bit smitten with her...)

Any ways, her leukemia has just relapsed. There isn't a current match in the bone marrow registry for her. I don't really think that anyone who reads this blog is a match for her (what would the odds of that be) but you could be a match for someone who needs your help.

The process of donating to the bone marrow registry is easier (and less painful) than you think.

1) Go to the www.onematch.com website run by Canadian blood services.
2) You have to read a bit about bone marrow donation and then you take a quiz!
3) Fill out the online application form.
4) Canadian Blood Services will contact you so that you can come and give a sample.
5) You give one vial of blood.

That is it. If you are a match for someone, they will contact/find you. Chances are you may never be needed. Or, you could help save someone's life.

"Save me Mr stranger, if you please. Save me, save me, stranger, if you please." - DMB

Labels: 2008, chelle

Oh Mr Rogers...Although you were slightly creepy in your pastel cardigans and your shoe tying, you taught us some valuable lessons. I think some of my neighbors must have watched your show.

Oh, our neighbors. We have some good neighbors and we have some not so good neighbors. Our not so good neighbors include the people who live above us and either do weights or move furniture at 12:30 am almost every night. There are the neighbors down the hall whose dog barks constantly. Jeff loves working from home :P . We also had a neighbor who would play the same piano song every night, and every night she would screw the song up and bang on the keys.

We also have fabulous neighbors. The people below us are great people. They are the janitors of the building and are the people we have to go to pay rent and they are the relay person between us and the landlord. They are a great family and seem to really like Jeff and I. They look after our place when we are away. Last Christmas, as soon as they heard people walking around above them, they came to make sure it was me and not a shady character.

They know that I am here alone for two months and that Jeff isn't coming back until March. I think they feel badly for me as they keep bringing me food. Last week, they brought me two pieces of lasagna and an interesting roll thing. Today, they brought me a full dinner with salad, spring rolls and shepherd's pie. They even brought me the bottle of salad dressing to use! It is like they know that Jeff does most of the housework and they think I may starve.

I really like these neighbors. I don't think anyone else in the building gets food deliveries. There is, however, one thing that is a notch against them...

...karaoke. They play karaoke party and get stuck on one song and sing it over and over, really loudly. Chelle can contest to this as they got in the summer when she was living here. They were stuck on "all by myself" for quite awhile. As I write this, they are playing. I don't mind it; I think it is kind of funny. Jeff is not as easy going about the karaoke. It is actually funny to watch Jeff get worked into a frenzy when they are karaokeing.

I am thankful that there are still good neighbors out there. I thought the days of knowing your neighbor were over, but maybe not. The fact that they are down there when I am up here alone is comforting.

"Too good to be real, smell of something cooking!" - DMB

Labels: 2008, Montreal

For those of you who don't know, I play squash in the Montreal interclub squash league for McGill. I am not very good, but they needed another woman to fill a position in their D-league. I figured that there would be very few expectations for me to win so I decided to join. I haven't done too poorly this year; my record is currently 3-1.

I had a game this Wednesday and it was a bit different. The scene is this: Monteal's nicest raquet club. It was gorgeous - I have never been a club like this. The change rooms were insane; there were little vanities so that you could reapply your makeup and do your hair, nice plush chairs in which to relax, mouth wash, hairspray and other amenities available. This is not your average university gym. There are a couple of bars and lounges and it was in the cutest building ever. The only problem I had with it was it's dress code: all players must wear all white.

Seriously. In order to play one evening of squash, I had to go out and buy an all white outfit. What regular-sweating person wears white gym clothes. So my quest for finding white gym clothes began. Do you know how hard it is to find white shorts in January? Impossible. I searched 6 stores until I found a white skort. Ya, that is right. I had to wear a skort. A white, somewhat frilly skort. It was quite cute, but I am not really the type of person who plays sports in a dress. It feels too girly for me. Because I am cheap, I leave the tags on the skort. Don't judge me! I am a poor grad student and can't justify spending 30$ on a skort I will wear once, even if I wore it and sweat in it for an hour. Ya, I am disgusting, whatever.

So I needed to find a white top to go with my frilly white skort. Thankfully, my friend Stephanie had a white shirt for me. Now, I totally am very thankful for her lending me the shirt, however, I don't think this was a shirt my mother would call white. It was more of an off-white (and there may have been a small purple berry stain on it). It was not the same colour white as my skort. So my white skort, my off-white shirt...what else can I wear? I know! A black sports bra and navy socks. I looked like the most out of place player there.

So I feel like an impostor in my outfit, but it's all about the attitude. I pretend like I belong there. I think I failed. I figure I am going to get my ass kicked. Who pays crazy membership fees to play squash if they aren't going to be super awesome? My opponent arrives and she is really nice but she is totally a hot mom. Maybe late 30s and completely decked out in the cutest white lulu lemon outfit ever. I don't think my body has or will ever look as good as her's...I think I hate her totally respect her dedication to maintaining her MILF-like body.

The first game she beats me 9-2. I hate losing and I feel that this game is going to be over quickly. But wait...I come back to win the next two games 9-1 and 9-4. Go me! I only have to win one more game and victory is all mine. But it has only been two weeks since Christmas and my Christmas goodies and liquor are still clogging my system - I am not in peak physical condition. I lose the fourth game 9-0. I couldn't move anymore. Now we are tied 2-2 and I am not a good loser. I am determined to win this game and send mommy packing. The game starts - she is up 2-0 before I get the serve back. I tie the game up 2-2 but in the tying point I jump to hit a ball and twist my ankle. Smooth. So now I am a sweaty, out of shape, skort and off-white shirt wearing gimp. Awesome. I walk it off (cause I am tough) and go on to win the game. Victory is mine!

So another win for me! Three more games to go this season. Hopefully the store Winners will take my sweating skort back...

"Hike up your skort a little more, and show your world to me" - DMB

Labels: 2008, Montreal, rachel