Day on the town

Yesterday I took a trip up to my favourite Ontario city: Toronto! I love the little communities that make up that whole huge metropolitan zone. The ethnic food, the AMAZING little shops and the gorgeous buildings are just some reasons for my love. My mom lives there just north of an amazing Greek foodie district near the Danforth. We decided we wanted to hit up China town and then Kensington Market. No Sunday morning is complete without a stop off at a Chinese restaurant for some Dim Sum. I love dim sum! Those little delicious morsels of fried or steamed bits of food...just thinking about it makes me hungry!

Before brunch we did a little bit of shopping in some Asian stores near Dundas St. I found an amazing set of blue feathery fans to use for a remake of the "Sisters" routine from White Christmas. I was clearly ripped off because I found better fans in another store a couple down for less money, but oh well. Brunch was great, not as many dumplings as I would usually like but they had shrimp har gao and pork shu mai. Brunch was finished off with some delicious little egg tarts that were simply devine! From there we hit up some more Asian stores; my mom bought a cute little clay teapot (only to realize when she got home it was ruined...too bad).

After about an hour of Asian stores we sauntered over to Kensington market. There are so many cute vintage stores as far as the eye can see. I saw tutu's galore, amazing purses, 60's style dresses (which I am a huge fan of right now). Some examples:

1.
(This dress can be found here)

2.
(This dress can be found here)

3.
(This can be found here)

I took a couple of pictures of random things that I liked along the way or thought were humourous. This teeny tiny top hat made me burst out laughing...then I tried it on a fell in love! It was so cute. I almost bought it but came back to my senses realizing that I had no idea where I would ever wear such a thing.


There was some interesting grafitti on the buildings and interesting logos for stores. Some of my favs:




I ended up making a couple of purchases. I found a knock-off coach purse for $20 and some really cute berets for $9.



That's all for today I guess. I'll try to be a little more artistic the next time I go to Kensington market so I have better photographs to share.

Rebound Pomeranian?

I have always wanted a Pomeranian! I think that they are adorable little fuzz balls and just looking at one makes me happy. Right now I am going through a really rough time emotionally and more than ever I want to go out and buy one. Now, don't get me wrong, I know that this is not a decision one goes into lightly. A puppy is not an easy thing to take on and definitely require a great deal of attention, love, training and activity. With me working 12-hour shifts on call, it would be hard to make sure that my little fuzz ball would get an adequate amount of Coco time. Would this just be a rebound Pomeranian though, or would it be something that I could and would easily love forever? More than anything I would LOVE to say with 100% certainty that I could and would.

Right now I am torn between two puppies. Both are males, I have yet to decide names. One lives 3 hours away if I drive the posted speed limit. He is very wolf-like in his colouring and the runt of the litter. This means he would potentially be a very tiny adult. He can be found on this Kijiji link - the smallest one on the right-hand side. His breeder would like $600 for him but does not specify whether he is vet checked, micro-chipped or dewormed.

The second puppy is a little over an hour away. He is red-sable in colour and VERY fluzzy (combo of fluff and fuzz). He can be found on this Kijiji link. His breeder wants $700 for him but specifies that he will come vet checked, dewormed and microchipped. I am kind of leaning towards the closer one because it sounds like he is more set up for health, but, the idea of having the weeniest little puppy is a huge draw factor for me.

Some names I was thinking on the top of my head:
- Mr. Moogles, aka the Moogler
- Higgins
- Half Pint
- Squirt
- Gucci
- Louis Vuitton, Louis for short
- Pip Squeak, Pip or Squeak for short
- Truffles
- Amaretto
- Kiku
- Kiwi
- Pickles
- Picolo

I think that seeing how I am turning the big "25" in FIVE days, that I deserve an amazing present and seeing how I am the the only person willing to get me anything, I am going to get myself this gift. Anyone have any opinions about which puppy I should get, or what name I should lean towards?

I LOVEEEEEEEEE my job!

As a kid I can always remember hearing adults whine and complain about their jobs. And with all the negativity that's going on with my life right now I just wanted to talk about something positive; something that I am truly passionate about...being a paramedic!!

Having just graduated and just recently been hired, it's still fresh in my mind what is was like to be a student and out with a crew. I can still remember the first shift I had as a student.

The pager went off - BEEP BEEP BEEP BOOOOOOOOP...I can't even begin to describe the level of excitement that I felt as I booted it to the truck. I didn't know what we were going to, what I was going to see, what I was going to be allowed to do, where we would end up and I was working with an ALS crew. We were dispatched code 4 (more emergent) for a 60ish male who had fallen off a roof. Now, being an overactive imaginer, my mind starts going all over the place - I wonder if he's got broken bones, is he dead, has he damaged his spine, etc. We pulled into the driveway of this guy's home and there he was laying on the ground. I was completely surprised with how fast I jumped into the call. C-spine, ABCs, level of awareness. We put him on a backboard, collared him, checked his vitals, got the history and transported him to the hospital. He ended up being fine but the whole rush thing had me completely hooked.

Now, I would never consider myself an adrenaline junkie, but the more and more cases I got to see, the more it's started to click in: the rush of never knowing what you get to do on a day's work, the way I still jump whenever the pager goes off, the ease with which a call-in makes me jump for joy...I LOVE getting an adrenaline high! Being a paramedic isn't only about the adrenaline though - it's about "helping people" and teaching. Sure there is a LOT (and I mean A LOT!!!) of disgusting things (I'm not going to elaborate - patient confidentiality - blah blah blah) that I get to see on the job, practically everyday, but it's the whole combination of things that makes me love my job. Sharing what we learned with new students and the public...I've got to say I love that too! Right nowthere are several crews that have taken on a 4th semester student.

Yesterday at work we had a student as part of our crew. Now this girl is the same age as me, we both went to university first before deciding to do the paramedic thing, and both graduated with kinesiology degrees. This was not my first chance getting to see her in action. I have to be honest, the first shift we had together she seemed pretty mediocre - mind you it was her first real shift where she was allowed to be 100% involved in every skill. On our first call of the day she completely blew me away with her ability to develop a rapport with a patient suffering a mental crisis. Even thinking about it now I shake my head and smile. I love seeing students blossom before my eyes; to actually see them taking something I have taught them and putting it into action. I can safely say that just from the small amount of time I have had to teach her and see her work, that she will be an amazing medic one day - hopefully for the same service as me! I would LOVE to work with her in a one-on-one setting!

Some of my most favourite shifts have been so because of the genuine gratitude some patients have in the worst hours of their lives. As a paramedic, I get to witness these worst hours, or minutes and I have to try my best to change it. Hip fractures, myocardial infarctions (heart attacks), head injuries, choking episodes, diabetic emergencies, and death are everyday experiences for me. Ideally, my goal is to make the patient as comfortable as possible, and I don't expect to be thanked or praised for doing so. That doesn't mean that when the little old woman who was humilated in front of her congregation when she fell at church, broke her hip and became incontinent, thanks me with tears in her eyes that I'm not completely thrilled! It just makes me love my job even more! All in a days work I guess! I can only hope that this feeling of complete and utter elation that I have for my profession stays with me. Here's to not giving in to desensitization - which is a problem for many in the emergency service industry!