En Route

It’s funny how we seem to rush through the travel portion of our vacations or trips in a hurry to get where we are going, often dreading the drive, flight or train ride. I am guilty of this myself; the hurry up and wait mentality of the airport isn’t my favorite. As per usual, I was excited to get to New York but was not looking forward to the two flights, going through customs, being on a cramped airplane for hours and then reaching my destination tired, clammy and likely a bit grumpy. A friend drove me to the airport (Thanks Jess!), and I reluctantly got outta the car knowing that the endless cycle of rushing to the counter, than waiting at the gate, rushing onto the plane just to sit and wait on it for hours, rushing out of the plane to get your baggage, then waiting at the carousal for it to come was about to begin.

I began to wonder though, why I always dread the actual traveling portion of the trip so much. Ya, everything I mentioned above holds true, and it does kind of suck, but airports can be really entertaining and interesting places. For anyone who enjoys people watching, Pearson is the place to do it. There are your typical business travelers, in their suits and brief cases, power walking through the terminals; there are the exhausted parents, lugging small children, Dora the Explorer back packs, well equipped with snacks and wet wipes; and at this time of year, you have your spring breakers, pumped to spend the next week on a sandy beach with a drink in their hands. I can’t help but wonder where people are going, where they are coming from and the reasons for their trips.

It occurred to me while sitting on the plane on the tarmac in Toronto, waiting for boarding to finish, watching the seemingly nervous, jittery man beside me open up a book written in a language I don’t even recognize nor could I begin to decipher, that if someone were to really take the time, imagine how much they could learn by simple boarding a plane and talking to every other passenger. I think that’s what I like so much about people; you never can know what to expect, as much as you think you have someone nailed down, they always manage to shift your opinions of them and make you wonder why you were so quick to judge.

I am currently sitting on my plane somewhere between Toronto and New York City, and after napping the entire way between Charlottetown and Toronto, I am wide-awake and pumped to finally arrive. I booked a ticket on a bus from the airport to Port Authority online yesterday, so I’m a little nervous about figuring out where to catch this bus, but at the same time, not actually worried. It’ll all work out…it always does. This trip so far has already been a lot different than any other trip I’ve taken. I am obsessive compulsive when it comes to lists, normally I would have had about 3 lists in preparation for the trip-what to pack, what to do before I go, what to do when I get there etc.

I am proud to say that I actually didn’t even have a list on paper anywhere that had to do with the trip. I just threw some stuff in a duffle bag this morning, and figured I’d spend my first day in NYC bumming around downtown and stumbling across cool things. I think my goal for tomorrow is a running tour of Hoboken, maybe stopping in at Cake Boss for something delicious mid-run, then probably the Rockefeller Center because there is a Magnolia Bakery in there. Cupcakes for lunch? Yes Please!

I’m reading The Omnivore’s Dilemma right now by Michael Pollen. I’ve read one of his books before, and I’m a fan. What I like about his writing is that it’s super informative, and he is passionate and clearly has strong opinions about food, the industry and the raising of the animals we eat, but he’s not preachy. I recommend this book for anyone who wonders what it is they are blindly putting into their mouths. It’s crazy when you think about it, we know SO little about the agricultural industry, yet it’s one we rely on for survival, and depend on for our health. There are very few other things that we are so willing to trust despite not knowing anything about. I think in my next life I will be a farmer, or maybe for some portion of this life. I would love to have a giant vegetable patch, some chickens and a beehive one day. I am going to try to get a job on a farm this summer, or do some volunteering as a farm hand in an attempt to learn more about what goes into the production of the foods we take for granted every meal.

In other news, I JUST arrived at Rachel’s in Hoboken and it is such an awesome spot, I love it already. Her roommates are super awesome. At the airport the bus attendant guy called me perky, and in the same breath asked if I was in the military. Until now I was unaware that a correlation existed between those two-but maybe this means I look assertive and therefore people won’t mess with me. It must because I'm badass.

The entire plane ride from Toronto to NY was full of people talking about the Canada versus US hockey game that’s on right now. I heard about 6 different groups of people say they were going to the bar Tonic to watch it as soon as we landed. I think it really just started with one person saying it and being over heard until eventually the entire plane decided it was THE place to go to watch the game. As soon as we landed, 60% of the passengers had cells phones in hand immediately, dialing friends to find out what the score was, who was scoring, which goalie was in net etc. I couldn’t always tell if there were more Canadian fans or US fans but given the enthusiasm and sense of urgency in knowing, I’m guessing Canadian.

Driving on the bus through the city to get to the bus station I couldn’t help but notice how bright the city is (I know, anyone who has never been here could have told me that!) and of course the first thing I wonder is how many of the light bulbs in the city are energy efficient? I’m crossing my fingers but not holding my breath that the majority are. It actually mostly reminds me of the CNE-there is so much cheap crappy food being advertised on street corners and in little hole in the wall shops, people everywhere and everything is on sale.

I was initially worried about being a dork with a map in one hand and a camera in the other, but I quickly realized that the mere fact that I’m not wearing a scarf, nor did I even bring a scarf is a dead give away that I’m an outsider. First stop tomorrow? Scarf shopping.

Cafe Culture

About a month ago I read a story in the paper about Cafe culture, and how it is disappearing. Instead of going to cafes to be social and converse with others, the modern cafe is now a place to do work and sit on your lap top for hours. I must admit, I am currently sitting in Starbucks with an Americano blogging on my mac book. Cliche? Extremely. But sometimes you just need to get out of the house. ( I love my roommates, but sometimes too much of a good thing can be bad news bears.) I think one of the things I like most about Charlottetown is it's sense of community. This translates into it's coffee shops, and maintains "cafe culture." Very rarely will you see more than maybe 2 laptops at a time in a coffee shop, and no matter who is here and who comes in, someone in the back of the line will know someone in the front of the line who knows someone in the middle of the line who is waiting for someone who knows the barista's brother. It's a lot more exciting going for coffee knowing you will probably run into someone you forgot you knew and haven't talked to in ages. It helps that this particular Starbucks is Charlottetown's first and only, and has only been here since October so the place is still buzzing with excitement and filled with perplexing looks on the faces of new comers as they try to decipher the menu.

I went to see the internship coordinator a few days ago to discuss placement options because I was stressing out big time. I am so glad I did, she is quite possibly the most helpful person I have ever met. Here I am, wigging out and a bit frantic barging into (well I knocked...) her office talking a million miles an hour about all my conflicting ideas about what placement I want this summer and the pros and cons of each option and spazing out hard core. Meanwhile, she laughs at me and calmly asks me what I would want in an ideal world, regardless of the pre-set placements we were given, and proceeds to figure out how to make my ideal possible. Just like that. I left her office feeling a lot better about some new placement combinations she created for me and feeling extremely high maintenance. But on the bright side, this summer is looking better and better everyday; mostly because it's getting closer and closer.

So as of right now, I think I'll be doing a normal 2 month placement, finishing June 25th and then going home. BUT I think I'll be coming back to the island a month later at the end of July for one week to do the Diabetes Camp that I really wanted to do. I love camp, camp is great. I suppose it means I'm doing one extra week of free interning but it'll be worth it to get to be home a month early AND go to camp. I'm crossing my fingers that everything works out.

The hardest part about this whole internship thing is having to compete against all your friends. First we were competing to get an internship, now we're competing to get the placements we want. If two people pick the same one, it'll come down to luck of the draw, and I don't want to be the person to take away someone's first choice.

Last night, I got home from work in time to catch the men's Skeleton finals. Oh man, so exciting. First of all, the idea of sledding head first down a giant ice ramp at 140 km/hr is awesome, and something I really want to try. The Canadian Jon Montgomery, was in second after the first two runs, but was slowely chipping away at the lead with each run. When it came down to the leaders last run, he slowely got further, and further behind but it was hard to tell until he actually crossed the line that Canada was going to take it. Jon Montgomery quickly became my new favorite person. Mostly because his helmet has a giant turtle on it, but I suppose winning a gold medal doesn't hurt either. Skeleton in general was pretty intense this year, with Mellisa Hollingsworth falling short in her last run. My heart broke a little when she gave a tearful interview after her race worried about letting down her entire country. But like she said, she made a mistake that could have been made anywhere; in practice, at world cup etc, and it was just unfortunate it happened at the Olympics. My next blog post will likely be from either New York City or on route to NYC. So stayed tuned!

Pancakes and Summer Camp

Yesterday was our very first meeting all together as interns with our coordinator Linda. It was long overdue, as we had all heard rumors and were questioning exactly what was going on this summer. Turns out that our schedule has had some changes and I will now be dunzo as of June 25th! That's about a month earlier than I thought, which means a whole extra month at home that I am available to work and be with family and friends, and maybe get in a paddle or two. Sounds absolutely fabulous right? Well it is...but there's a catch.

We were presented with a list of our options in terms of placements. There are two placements this summer, one in a clinical setting and one in food service. Each of the 10 options has a placement for May and a placement for June, and we have to email Linda notifying her of our first and second choices. The problem is choosing. For many of the options, one placement sounds fabulous but the accompanying placement for the opposing month is not so much ideal. I am particularly torn because the one placement (of all 20) that really jumped out at me as something I would love to do is a one week long overnight summer camp for kids with diabetes. The kicker is, the placement that accompanies the camp is two months of part time work instead of one month of full time work. This would mean being on the island for an extra month and home only for August. I am also really interested in gerontology, and many of the other combinations include one placement in a long term care facility, however the summer camp combo doesn't. But that being said, the summer camp option's clinical portion is doing home care visits with a dietitian, which interests me more than some of the other clinical options.

I keep flip flopping in my head, I'll convince myself I have made up my mind and log into my UPEI email account to e-mail Linda and then I'll pause, and my brain will get all mixed up again and I'll second guess my decision. I have asked basically everyone I know their opinion but I still really can't choose. Is one week of camp worth a whole month of groceries, bills, inability to work full time, and not seeing my family and friends from home? I have been reminded by a couple friends that it's really a win-win situation. Either I stay here and get to work at the summer camp, and experience a true PEI summer for the first time, or I get to go home a month earlier than I expected.

Before I was faced with this decision, I was able to enjoy a free pancake lunch on campus for Pancake Tuesday. Pancakes are one of those foods that I don't eat very often, but every time I do, I wonder why I don't eat them for every meal. How could you not love carbs drenched in butter and maple syrup? It's probably best that I am not eating them everyday for that very reason. It made me excited to go into the sugar woods with my sister and grandparents at some point in March. Might be my car's first trip across the bridge!

Side Note: the half pipe snowboarder from France drew a french mustache onto his face with a sharpie. It makes me laugh but I'm wondering if it's offending anyone from France. I am also wondering why I keep getting the urge to add lame little clip art pictures to this blog (exibit A and B above) thinking that they are in fact sprucing it up. I will attempt to add actual photos more often from now on.

Awfully Familiar...

Upon reading the Globe and Mail this morning, I came across an awfully familiar story.

It seems as though I'm not the only advocate for humane mouse traps. This story, however, ends happily ever after and the mouse is set free into the wild... most likely to quickly find it's way back into this guy's house. Our humane trap didn't work, but I would not have set the little guy free across the street; I was planning on driving out to Summerside or Cavendish or as far as I could get. Heck, if the bridge didn't cost 41.50$ to cross, I would have dropped the mouse off in New Brunswick. As it turns out, we are hosting an army of mice and not just one so the humane trap might not have been the best option. Weekly trips to Summerside would, quite frankly, take way more time than I have. But it made me feel better that I wasn't the only one initially having so many issues with the wooden mouse trap. I am looking forward to an update and will be checking back in anticipation in a few days.

In other news, the USDA is taking action to improve the quality of organic dairy. Since 2002, in order to label a dairy product 'organic' the cows simply had to have access to pasture, there were no regulations stating that they had to be fed on pasture. The USDA has just issued new rules that will become effective starting in June. Check out this post from Marion Nestle on her Food Politics blog (you can find the link to the blog to your left). Our food system is so messed up, but I suppose it's nice to see at least a minor improvement taking place. Hopefully it leads to more substantial regulation and policy changes across all sectors of the industry in the near future. It's a start though...

Olympic Fever

Despite being absolutely buried in school work due in the next week, I can't help but be sitting in front of the television as much as possible watching the Olympics. I keep telling myself I can be a multitasking super star and get to watch and study but we all know that's not happening. I really don't mind though. The winter Olympics only happens every four years, meaning that for only two weeks of my entire University career I can be a slacker without feeling guilty. Speaking of Olympics, we won another silver medal today in the Mens Snowboard Cross. Exciting race, I've seen the replay about five times and still cheer out loud every time he comes second.

By the phrase 'we won' I really mean Mike Robertson, but somehow at the Olympics singular identities become more elusive and all of a sudden everyone takes responsibility for our athlete's triumphs. This is true for the majority of the medals, but the more epic performances launch the athlete into super stardom and their names are never forgotten. I find my self flipping through the channels trying to find coverage and getting frustrated at Access Hollywood even being on during the Olympics. Who could possibly even care about the latest celeb gossip right now? And Jeopardy, I love that show but unless every episode is Olympic themed for the next two weeks it is quite frankly a waste of a channel that could be broadcasting one of the many sports that we only ever get to witness during the Olympics like luge and skeleton and bobsled and snowboard cross and moguls and biathlon and basically every other winter Olympic sport other than hockey.

However, with productivity at an all time low, my spirits seem to be an an all time high. Funny how that works. I am starting to get extremely pumped for my trip to NYC. This time next week I'll be strolling around downtown New York undoubtedly doing something amazingly awesome. I've been asking around to find out what I should do, see and eat in NYC and so far it seems as though I will be eating A LOT next week, and I won't lie, I am completely ok with this. I am still looking for suggestions though so feel free to keep em coming! I think I might have to outfit myself from head to toe in team Canada gear while I am there though. Unfortunately if I want to do fun things in NYC, I will have to sacrifice couch time. Not the greatest timing but I'll make it work and somehow manage not to miss too much. On the bright side at least the time difference works in my favor.

The Olympics have been underway for a few days now and I have already watched more TV in the last few days than I have all semester. 3 days in and it's already been epic. Unfortunately we don't get CTV so we haven't had the chance to literally sit in front of the TV 24/7 watching; we catch some on OLN, some on TSN and some on NBC so it works pretty well. I definitely have olympic fever, and am pumped to watch again tonight!

I had a really great weekend. Unfortunately though, the social aspect meant I missed Jenn Heil win her silver medal on Saturday night. It was a friends birthday so a bunch of us got together, ate cupcakes, cookies and jello, and then went out dancing. We ended up going to the sketchiest bar in Charlottetown and I was reminded of why I haven't been since I was in first year, but I was with a super fun group of girls so it kind of made up for the horrible DJ, the 50 yrs old cougars and the major creepers.

Last night was Valentines day, and I spent the day at work. Pizza doesn't really attract to many love birds so we were pretty slow and I got to do an extra good job sweeping the dining room while watching biathlon on the restaurant television. The Canadian Jean-Philippe Le Guellec came 6th in the 10 km sprint, a best ever result for Canada in that sport. After work, Sam and I went over to Cindy's for some fajitas and frozen peanut butter pie and to watch more olympics. Cindy is an awesome host, and had an entire feast for us when we got there, with everything down to the salsa made from scratch. So good.

We watched history be made after dinner when Alexandre Bilodeau won Canada's first gold ever on home soil. Cindy, Sam and I were literally jumping off the couch when he won. So exciting! Moguls are super fun to watch to begin with, and team Canada kicked ass, with a 1st, 4th, 5th and 11th. Not to shabby eh!
After dinner Sam and I continued our rounds and stopped by Lexy's for some wine and to share the left over dessert from Cindy's. It was low key and chill and we all just chatted for an hour or so until we decided it was late enough that we were allowed to go home. Today is Islander Day so we get a long weekend and have no school which is fabulous because we also have a quiz and a midterm tomorrow. Which I have yet to even open a book for. It doesn't really seem fair that life still must go on as normal during the olympics. I think it should be declared an international holiday and the whole world should just shut down for two weeks in celebration.

I'm Likin' It

I came across this video on one of the blogs I read and it made me laugh. With the 2010 Vancouver Olympics opening tonight (yahoo!!) I thought it was appropriate. I believe the video is from This Hour Has 22 Minutes.