Friday, March 29, 2013

"You can't have nazi's at a bridal shower!"

My little sister is getting married, and I get to be her maid of honor (MOH). But with that comes a lot of responsibility. Thankfully my sister is a realist and not a bridezilla, so the whole process is relatively easy, except I still need to plan the shower.

There is something about wedding and baby showers that gets under my skin. Don't get me wrong, I love parties, but a shower is different. It's like a party that you're forced to go to. And you have to bring a present... meaning you HAVE to spend money.

You also have to mingle with many people from different social circles and you're thrown together, again, much like survivor.

I think the wost part is having to open presents in front of everyone... or being the person having to watch someone else open presents for 2 hours. Who decided that we had to do it that way?? Is it a social etiquette thing? Who actually likes having twenty pairs of eyes on them while they open presents?

My current challenge is the games. So many games are overdone and kind of lame, so I'm trying to put together a theme-inspired quest, to keep guests from getting bored. I asked my sister if we could play Hunger Games, but she was opposed to that. I don't think she got the concept that we wouldn't ACTUALLY be killing anyone.

My sister's first suggestion was:  "Bomb Girls! Fighting the nazi's!" and my immediate reaction to her was "You can't have nazi's at a bridal shower!"

So her second suggestion was a "Breakfast at Tiffany's" themed shower, since she's a huge Audrey Hepburn fan, so that's what it's going to be... except, I might be changing the concept just a little bit. I mean, it is possible that Voldemort was around in the greater times of Audrey's career, right?

If anyone has an amazing idea for a shower game, please feel free to post it either on my facebook or on the comment section below. Until then, I'm going to allow my creativity to take over... no matter how ridiculous.

Thursday, March 28, 2013

When family is 10 shades of crazy

Tomorrow is my first official real day off! I didn't realize, until someone today wished me a happy Easter. I completely forgot that that was the reason for getting two days off of clinic. I guess there comes a time in your life where if you're not actively celebrating religion, that holidays like this get overlooked... or we save them for kids.

I know a lot of people are doing family celebrations this weekend, but I am not one of those people. I do remember the days where we did celebrate and the first thing that comes to mind is having to spend time with a very dysfunctional family.

Why are families so crazy?! Each person on their own has their issues, but you put them all together and it's a pot of boiling rabbits smelling of guilt and psychotic tendencies. I know I'm not the only one who feels this way. Do any of us have a normal family? If you said yes, well, I'm pretty sure you're lying. If you're not lying, then I'm voting you off the island.

I don't know why, but the universe found it necessary to give me an aunt who is 10 shades of crazy. She had the ability to ruin every single family holiday, and everything was always about her. All eyes had to be on her; she was always the victim. She would throw food, throw tantrums, take back Christmas presents. She would talk about you behind your back but days later would shower you with complements... I think she would have her own classification of bipolar in the DSM IV.

But with family gatherings, you do get the stories. Some of them are bit unpleasant and you try to forget them, but others just make you laugh. The ones where Nana gets hurt and swears at Papa are my favourite. Nana swears a lot...

Bringing the extended family together is a project. It requires planning. You have to think about the seating chart; With my dad's side I apparently still qualify for the "kiddie table". Apparently it doesn't matter if you're 28 and a naturopathic intern... more people are still older than you and you still get the kiddie table.

In addition to planning you also need to know when to kick people out - because really, if you don't, they will never leave. And don't forget to make everyone's favourite type of potatoes: mashed with sour cream, mashed with little chunks, mashed sweat potatoes, baked sweat potatoes, roasted potatoes... everyone has their preference horse and they'll be disappointed if they show up and their favourite potatoes are not there.

So for everyone out there who is having a nice family gathering this weekend, I wish you goodluck. Take mental pictures every time something hilarious happens. Get your speech ready for when they ask you "How's school going?" and if you're married, be ready to duck the inevitable question "So when are you guys going to have a baby?!?"

We can't choose our family, but if we did, I think life would be a little boring.

Tuesday, March 26, 2013

A day of boobies and babies

I had a day full of boobies and babies yesterday, and honestly, it was exhausting!

I was shadowing at the breastfeeding clinic on campus, each appointment being an hour long, and I was taken on a trip through memory lane...

Maybe my exhaustion was due to the fact that the rooms were so warm, with nice sunlight beaming in, and having to see 6 patients back to back... but I think it was more than that. Watching the interaction of the mother (or both parents) with each infant, I was reminded of how much love there is with a new family addition, but also how much work babies are.

Granted, when I stepped into the room to see the first "brand-new" baby of the day (literally only days old), my heart just melted and I could feel a little tug on my ovaries. But in truth, the novelty of a cute little baby wears off as soon as you realize it's a 24-hour job. Actually, I think it's more than that.

When someone says that being a mother is a full-time job, I laugh inside, because really, it's like having 3 full-time jobs. You are on-call 24-hours a day. And you can't always delegate to other staff/team members. They don't have all the prerequisites including boobies full of milk. At the same time, the business that you are in requires a constant giving of yourself. You physically, mentally and emotionally have to share your entire self with little baby.

When baby sleeps, you sleep - not the other way around. Baby doesn't know about your morning yoga routine. If you want to eat, baby doesn't care, you have to feed it first. And don't forget about the language barrier! Baby doesn't speak yet so you have to learn baby-language via different cries, faces, squirminess.

And babies are not like puppies... you can't train them to poo outside. Nor can you use litter boxes. You must attend to every single wet diaper or bowel movement, and unlike most grownups, babies can poo ALL THE TIME. They can also squirt you with urine if you leave your guard down. They can't even grasp the concept that squirting pee at you is kinda funny. So really that whole moment is lost on them.

Next you have to figure out what to do with all those dirty diapers. I mean, yes, you can use cloth, but now you have to deal with the poo on a whole other level and wash those cloth diapers (who am I kidding... this is probably what I'll end up doing one day). If you choose to go disposable, now you have to figure out how to work the Diaper Genie - which isn't as magical as it sounds. Really, I had the hardest time figuring it out and once I did,  I realized that all it did was make long strings of diaper sausages.

But babies are like puppies in the fact that they are super cute, they require lots of love and you need to take them on walks. Unfortunately, when they are a few years old, they still are not strong enough to pull you down the street on your rollerblades.

So all in all, I had an amazing experience yesterday, but I know that at this time in my life, there's no way I could handle a mini-me. I give full credit to my friends and peers who are at that right time in their life, because I remember what it was like helping my sister with her little one when we lived together.

Maybe I will start with something small... but I can't quite think of an animal that is small, and not ugly (like a fish), or that is quiet (unlike a bird) or that doesn't poop all the time... hmm... Okay, maybe I'll just borrow other people's babies for like 5 minutes and then give them back.

Monday, March 25, 2013

Kitchen Adventures... what NOT to do

What's a girl to do when her boyfriend is away? Cooking and cleaning! I swear it's not as anti-feminist as it seems.

I decided to have a kitchen adventure and make a brand new and very complicated recipe. Except that it's not that complicated... it just required me going to a grocery store that I never use - which is an adventure in itself! I was all disoriented. Figs were starting to look like chestnuts. The fresh meats were nowhere to be seen. But thankfully the employees, scattered all around the store, all wore nice bright red shirts and were able to direct me when I got lost.

Then I hit the LCBO for two types of Port and really had no idea what I was even looking for. I mean, I couldn't really tell which would be good for a soup, so I based my decision on the amount of bonus Air Miles that was offered with each one.

The next part of this adventure was cooking duck. I'd never done it before and was a little scared. It's a whole other species of bird! But I have to say that I was pretty impressed with my mallard intuition. My duck soup was a success but not without a few hiccups. So to help your future kitchen endeavors, I'm giving you my "What NOT to do during a kitchen adventure" list:

1) If you have a paper cut, wear gloves when touching minced garlic. Ditto for lemon/lemon juice. The pain is so incredible that at that moment I almost wanted to amputate my entire arm.

2) If you plan on chopping up and handling jalapeno peppers, make sure to take out your contact lenses and then DO NOT TOUCH YOUR EYE. If you do, you will feel like a fountain of sulfuric acid is pouring gingerly over your eyeballs.

3) Always use protection when handling hot objects. You must wear oven mitts when removing a cast iron skillet from a hot oven. If you do not, there will be much burning.

4) Just because an oven mitt doesn't technically conduct heat, you should not touch the part of the oven mitt that was in contact with the hot object only seconds ago. It's still pretty damn hot.

5) Always read the entire recipe before starting it and make sure you understand all the steps don't miss anything. Sheppard's Pie just isn't the same without the ground beef.

Numbers 1, 3 and 4 were from today. The upside is that the duck soup was a success.


Saturday, March 23, 2013

It's a Catch 2.0

Evolution is a funny thing. I don't mean in a Darwin sort of way - but in a human-development way. Because of technology and human advances, we've solved many problems of our past, but we make all new problems. We think technology makes life easier, but does it? Really, I think it just makes life busier and faster... which is a good thing?

I'm currently trying to read Mitch Albom's The Time Keeper. And I say "trying" because, ironically, not having enough time is keeping me from finishing it.

We invented the concept of time; Of making calendars, of measuring out the days by sunrises and sunsets, and breaking them up into hours, and minutes and seconds. Because of technology, everything in our world is "instant" and we can technically fit more into a day.

Remember the days of snail mail? I actually used to write letters to friends and send them in an envelope with a real stamp and put it in a physical mailbox. It would take about a week to get a reply. But now we text each other and can communicate instantly.

I wanted to talk about it because it's such a huge source of anxiety and stress in our world. But how can we deal with it? How do we solve this problem? People (including myself) always say there is never enough time!

If we create more space in our day by being able to accomplish more in that time via technology, isn't there just more stress put on us to get more done and be MORE productive? It's a Catch 22... or a catch 2.0? I can submit assignments without actually having to be present in class. I can arrange my weekend plans with just a few taps on my iPhone. With the physical barriers gone, there's more pressure to get things done in a day.

Would it be terrible if we all just slowed down?!

It's funny that nowadays we get "mental health days" from work. We actually need to force ourselves to take time off, but how many of us actually do that? And really, would one day every 6-8 months make a difference? Who can afford to take more time off of work? We need to make money, we need to have society running, and we need to keep the economy going (I'm guessing... I really have no idea what's going on with the economy... Seriously, there could be a room full of monkeys sitting at desks crunching numbers on Casio calculators just making shit up for all I know.)

Side note: on the mention of monkeys, I'm pretty sure that's how our government is run. Everything seems so backwards to me. I'm going to be an ND in less than 2 years, helping to heal people rather than medicate and sedate them, thereby alleviating the stress on our health care system and yet the banks and the government insist on just taking all my money instead of helping me grow... and they're using my money to pay for other peoples bad health choices (due to lack of education... which is where NDs come in).

How f&@%ed up is that??? Some days I truly feel like I can take on the world and help make it a better place, but other times I'm so overwhelmed with how far we've come in screwing up our society.

How do we weight out the benefits of what we have and what technology allows us to do, with the risks of creating more stress and anxiety (among other health problems) from the society we've created?

Friday, March 22, 2013

Shit that CCNM students say

So I've been MIA for the past few days... studying away for OSCE and trying not to let my brain explode. This school does some interesting things to you, and most of the time I think that if any other type of student heard us talking in the halls, they would think we're crazy. So I've compiled a starter list of the "shit CCNM students say"...

"Can I see your tongue?"

This is usually followed up with: "Wow, you have a serious map tongue!" or "I see a bit of scalloping around the edges... how's your spleen function?"

"Oh man, I'm so Liver-ish"

"I just really don't feel like getting naked today" ... referring to massage and hydrotherapy

Student 1: Would you like a cookie?
Student 2: Is it gluten free/dairy free?

Student 1: Your lunch looks so good and healthy!
Student 2: Ughhh... I'm on the elimination diet. I feel like I just want to punch someone in the face
... later that day during Primary Care...
Instructor: So what's one thing that you would do with this patient?
Student: Elimination diet!

[for anything] "You should definitely take a probiotic and a fish oil"

Student 1: Did you go to class today?
Student 2: No. Did anyone else here go to class?
Students 3, 4 and 5: all shaking their heads no

"I'm so tired. I was up until 2am... stupid Liver time..."

"Is it up on Moodle?"
"Did you check Moodle?"
"Does anyone know how to work the Moodle?"
"It's definitely on Moodle"

"I'm SO tired!"

Instructor: "Generalized anxiety disorder: excessive anxiety and worry; finding it difficult to control the worry. Other symptoms: restlessness, easily fatigued, mind going blank, irritability, muscle tension, sleep disturbance."
Every student in the class: I totally have that...

"Dr. Saunders? Yeah, he's definitely a wizard."

Student 1: Are you going to that women's health talk today at common time?
Student 2: Is there free food there?
Student 1: Yes, I'm almost certain.
Student 2: Then yes! We should probably get there early.

Student 1: I'm so tired!
Student 2: Me too! I think I'm going to skip class and take a nap in the meditation room

"Your pulse feels a little slippery... are you pregnant?"

Student 1: You look nice today!
Student 2: Clinic.
Student 1: aaah [nods head, understandingly]

"I have clinic tomorrow so I can't forget to charge my opthalmascope!"
"My opthalmascope went dead halfway through PCD..."
"Don't forget to charge your opthalmascope!"
"My opthalmascope is dead again. Do you think I could charge it in the clinic room before having to do the exam?"

"Is it taco salad day?"
"Ugh, taco salad day again?"
"Ooh! Taco salad day!"

"I'm so tired..."

Student 1: How do you explain homeopathy to people?
Student 2: It's like an imprint of a substance in a medium... and it's energetic medicine... Something about 'like fixes like'... and then you repertorize symptoms... and the remedy overpowers the disease...
Student 3: hmmm... I just tell people it's magic

Student 1: Have you done the Peds assignment yet?
Student 2: We have another peds assignment?!?! I was working on the health psyc assignment all week.
Student 1: We have a health psyc assignment?!?!!

Student 1: I feel so deficient
Student 2: OOh! can I feel your pulse?

Wednesday, March 20, 2013

Sarah's Guide to Arctic Survival

So my brother is up in Alaska right now for work, and he left so suddenly that I forgot to make sure that he was given the right training to be safe. Honestly, I've never been that far north, but I did go to school in North Bay, Ontario... so although it doesn't make me an expert per se, I think I'm well qualified to write a guide on arctic survival. Although, according to me, I'm qualified to write any type of guide - all of which cannot truly be taken seriously, but I like to try.

So here is my survival guide for the great north:

1) The population is so small up there that you NEVER have to worry about population-claustrophobia. I am one of those people who actually gets claustrophobic if too many people crowd around me. Please don't test this theory... I will probably cry... and then someone will have to throw a EJCTFD card at me (to get this reference, read yesterday's blog post). So mentally prepare yourself for wide open spaces and fresh air.

2) It's pretty damn cold up there. Make sure to wear proper attire. At least 2 t-shirts and 2 sweaters under your down-filled jacket. And remember when you were a kid and you mother told you to wear your hat outside? Well, yes, you should probably listen to that advice. Otherwise you could lose a limb or a head.

3) Speaking of childhood advice, there are many animals up north that are specialized for the climate. They look at you and laugh at your down-filled jacket and big Sorel boots. Although normally we would discourage bullying and harassment, we have to be more accepting of the arctic creatures and if they laugh at us, do not make eye contact... just walk away slowly... Unless you are being chased. At at that point, refer to #4.

4) Always carry bear repellant with you. If you don't have polar bear repellant, pull out a full-size picture of a dinosaur. If a full-size dinosaur doesn't scare a polar bear, I'm not sure what will.

... maybe a house cat... those things are dangerous.

5) Attach a string to your mittens so you don't lose them. There is nothing worse than being in the great north and losing a mitten in -50 degree weather... except being eaten by a polar bear (refer to #4).

6) No matter how beautiful and clean the ocean looks, do not be tempted to go swimming in it. You will likely get hypothermia and all of your bits and pieces will be frostbitten when you come out of the water. If you speak whale, you'll have to do it from the surface.

7) About 3.5% of people in Alaska speak Spanish at home. So if you're bored up there, learn some Spanish and then go talk to 3.5% of the people in Alaska with your newly acquired skill.

8) They are well-known for their seafood up there. So take advantage of the local food for a healthy dose of fish oil straight from the source. If you are trying to catch the fish yourself, do NOT dress up like a polar bear in order to blend in with your surroundings. Fish are afraid of polar bears - as everyone should be. But don't dress up like a dinosaur either. Maybe if you're just really quiet and still, a fish will jump out of the ice water and into a bucket for you. But you might need to dress up like a fish so he'll trust you. Yeah, I would try this first... or hire an experienced fisherman.

9) If you are thirsty, do not attempt to chip off a piece of ice and eat it. The reasons for this are twofold: 1) The icecaps are already melting due to global warming, so it would be ill-advised to contribute to their demise. 2) Ice is cold... and your down-filled jacket is working so hard to contain your body heat, so eating ice would really be counter-productive.
Image from fineartamerica.com

10) Before you leave, you may wish to host a going-away party. If you don't, there may be some long-standing resentment among the peoples and the arctic foxes. The arctic foxes are amazing because they form monogamous pairs and stay as a family group for multiple generations in complex underground dens. Can you say "secret society" anyone? You definitely want to make these connections before you leave.

Seriously, how cute is that lil' fella?

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

I would like to play an "EVERYONE JUST CALM THE F@$% DOWN" card

Okay, so you know how in soccer they have those yellow cards and at any time the ref can wave one or throw one down or hand it to someone? I'm pretty sure this is how it happens. I mean, I'm no soccer expert, but I swear I've seen referees with these cards and when they use them, it's a big freaking deal and everybody stops what they're doing to give attention to the card.

I also have one of these cards... it's between a yellow card and a red card and I like to call it the "EVERYONE JUST CALM THE F@$% DOWN! - card."  (Will refer to it as the EJCTFD card.) I also like to imagine that this card has Dumbledore's face on it. Because in times like these, I think Dumbledore could easily be elected as the spokesperson for calming the f@$% down.

You know when everyone is freaking out around you and it just gets to be so overwhelming? Maybe it's on the 401 when people are acting like idiots on the road, or honking for some absurd reason. I once saw a woman honking at a car in front of her that was stopped at a red light. As if she thought that the car in front of her had a traffic control panel with them and could change the light to green. I mean, seriously?! Calm the f@$% down lady.

www.guardian.co.uk
Man, just look at those guys in the photo to the left... that one guy in front looks like he's going to lose his mind. It's madness and chaos, but that referee says nothing and just holds up that card. Final answer.

I find that on the day of an exam the environment is just toxic in the school because everyone is stressed out, and they're all comparing notes and quizzing each other and I just want to scream and find a cave to hibernate in until it's all over.

Other times there might just be a really heated discussion going on within a group... too many people are talking at the same time, all trying to get their own opinion across, and nothing gets resolved.  

But usually it's just people who are angry at such little things. Yes, it's hard to see the big picture when something doesn't go your way, or something is maybe done unfairly, but at the same time do you really need to blow up around everyone else in the universe? Some people are happy and content and don't need an energy-sucking black hole of misery whizzing about. And that is the moment I would like to pull out my EJCTFD card.

We all need to be the referees in our own lives. If someone is taking too much from you (energetically, emotionally, etc), it's time to blow that whistle and give these people a time-out. I'm still learning about setting boundaries - and will continue to do so in clinic- but it's important not to let others drag you down.

It's always great to vent and get your emotions out, and on the other end, we need to have good listening ears; but where do we set the boundaries between helping someone and just being a dumping ground for them?

Maybe it's okay to have big rants but then we should take a deep breath and move on. Easier said than done though. Until then, I think I just need to be aware of those boundaries - be a great listener and a good friend, but recognize when people are taking advantage of the "energetic vulnerability" of myself and others. As well as recognize when it's necessary to remove myself from those situations (not as easy when you're stuck in your car on the highway).

Monday, March 18, 2013

Growing Up as a Girl

The 2nd edition of my book was just approved and is now up with it's ISBN all published and up on the internets.

If you haven't seen in on my website or on www.ebookguides4life.com, I've written 2 books that were published online; one of them being "Growing Up as a Girl."

Through my teenage years, I was raised by my dad. And really, it wasn't an easy job since he was raising both me and my sister from the ages of 12-18. So I couldn't always go to him with all my "girl" problems. He really tried his best, and I give him full credit for it, but at the same time, sometimes you just need to talk to an older (and more experienced) woman.

That became my reason for writing this book. I'm sure there are young girls out there who feel awkward talking to their big sisters or moms, or maybe they don't have that figure in their life. So I wrote a true-to-life book with my own experiences (and embarrassing stories) from high school so that someone could either learn from it, or laugh at it.

Here is a list of the chapters from the 2nd edition:

Mean girls
Self-esteem, body image and breasts
How to: Shave your legs, dye your hair, etc.
Bra fitting
Tattoos and piercings
Getting your period
Dating
Sex
Birth Control
Getting your first PAP test
Drugs and Alcohol
Eating right and exercise
Getting your driver's license
Picking classes in high school and undergrad
Internet privacy
How to deal with your parents
And a just for fun section on Must-see movies!

I want to encourage and empower future generations of women, and this is my stepping stone. It's basically a reflection on my high school diary... things that I know now that I wish I knew back then.

I completely understand that today's teen girls are a bit different from when I was in school, but really, other than the whole "cell phone" revolution, we still deal with the same situations. I mean, I'm sure Degrassi uses some of the same story lines/concepts from the 80's and 90s as they do today.

If I've peaked your interest at all, you can find a free excerpt on the ebook website by clicking here (there's a link to the PDF on this page).
Keep in mind that my books are based my own experiences and opinions; and apart from my Guide to being Gluten Free, I haven't included any references, except for a few website addresses. It was basically a fun project of mine; wanting to share my crazy teenage thoughts.

Saturday, March 16, 2013

How to Impress the Ladies

This post is dedicated to a friend of mine who was given terrible advice on how to pick up women.

Guys think that women are complicated ... like a sphinx! It's like we give you a riddle that needs to be solved, but every girl likes to tell a different kind of riddle. And sometimes we like to trick you, and other times you just don't answer the riddle in the right tone of voice - which pisses us off. Or you didn't deliver the answer to the riddle at the right time - again... seriously? Yes.

But like any sphinx (or fox or kitten), we get happy over the little things. You just have to know your lady friend and figure out what makes her happy; So when you screw up, have a good distraction ready.

Here are some excellent ways to impress the sphinx ladies: (Disclaimer: these do not work on every sphinx lady; do not expect positive results with each attempt. Choose your words, actions and delivery very carefully... but otherwise it's a fool-proof plan.)

1) Dancing videos on YouTube. Seriously. Who doesn't enjoy a good video of people dancing on the internets. Saxaphone guy, Nathan Barnatt... take your pick. Plus, at school, we could always use study breaks!

2) Dark Chocolate: milk chocolate is bad for you... too much milk, sugar, etc. but dark chocolate says you care about her antioxidant levels while also satisfying those chocolate cravings.

3) A really cheap but amazing pen. Maybe it's because I'm still a student, but you know that feeling of when you go somewhere, and you pick up a free pen with some sort of advertising on it.. and it ends up being the most amazing pen and you don't want to go anywhere without it? Maybe it has a really good grip. Maybe it writes really smoothly. Eitherway, give a girl a really cheap but GOOD pen, and she'll adore it forever. Until it dies and then she'll be so upset and she'll remember the day that you gave it to her (true story, btw. A boy named L.V. gave me the most amazing pen in 8th grade and I will never forget it).

4) Hugs. Give a girl a hug, but not in a creepy sexual harassment way.

5) If she has really busy days, feed her! You can insert dark chocolate here. But anytime you cook for a girl - and it's healthy - she'll be so appreciative that you thought of her. So... learn how to cook.

6) Listen to her. Or pretend that you are listening to her. It doesn't really matter. Just keep eye contact, nod your head and every once in a while throw in an "awww"with a head-tilt.

7) At CCNM, claim that you want to practice your manips and ask if you can palpate for fixations... if you can get cavitation and she feels awesome after that, you'll have no problem scoring a date. Or at least another manip exchange.

8)  Complement her on something. It could be anything! "Your hair looks really shiny today!", "You look really cute today," "That was a great answer you gave in class today!" "These cookies you baked are amazing!"

9) Don't ignore her because you think you are being mysterious. We don't have time for mysterious boys. Mysterious boys are often the trouble-makers. Plus, being mysterious is our job and we don't like being imitated.

10) Be her friend. If you're her friend first and actually like hanging out with each other she'll be happy just to see you. And then you can do fun stuff together like: Fly kites, walk a dog, go wine shopping, watch a funny tv show, do arts and crafts, play board games (like Catan!), go out to a movie, enjoy delicious food whenever you're both too tired to make dinner that night, pet a bunny, join a euchre tournament, etc. The possibilities are endless.

Those are my tips for the day. Goodnight and good luck.

Thursday, March 14, 2013

How group projects/papers are like Survivor

Whenever I hear about a "group" assignment, I cringe a little inside. I don't think it's an aversion to working with others, but it's all the little problems that go along with it. It's like first episode of Survivor where all the contestants must work together, or they'll probably die in their sleep.... except I don't think anyone has died yet from not participating in a group project...

  1. You have to accommodate the schedules of 4-8 people and find a time and date when everyone can meet. This alone is almost impossible. In survivor they just drop you all from a plane and you HAVE to swim to the island, otherwise you'll die. It's pretty good incentive.

  2. You set up your shelter: When you finally meet your tribe, the natural-born leader will speak. If not, the challenge is to try having only one of you speak at a time; and figure out how to build the damn thing well, so you don't die in the middle of the night.
     
  3.  You play the reward challenge. You are no longer an individual but you're playing for your whole tribe: You have to completely lose your writing style and morph it into the writing style of a 5-headed creature named John-Becky-Joe-Sally-Mo.
     
  4.  You have to put your faith in John... and Becky and Joe and Sally and Mo... and trust that they will actually do their individual parts/tasks for such project. If they don't, you will starve that night. And you are likely plotting on having them cast off of the island. You can't do that in real life. Although I'm sure there's some sort of group-work blacklist that we all create in our heads.
     
  5. You also must trust that they'll do their portion on time. If their individual part is not completed fast enough, you fail.
     
  6. Then Jeff comes over to your tribe and asks the leader, "Tell us what happened out there today?" Which is similar to having a master editor to go over the whole thing to make sure it doesn't sound like 5 different people wrote it. After all, you're suppose to be a tribe that works together. If you start singling people out, they're likely to have their torch put out.
So really, when you think about it, would you rather be stuck on an island alone and have to do all the work yourself, but not deal with a whole shwoop-a-loop of people? Or be stuck on an island with a group and face the challenge of working together (knowing that you'll have the hard workers and the shit-sippers all mixed together) but ultimately do less work than you would have alone?

Wednesday, March 13, 2013

The Black Sheep of the family

Every family has a black sheep. It's like Sesame Street: "One of these things is not like the others; One of these things just doesn't belong..."

Or as Meredith Grey once described "He's dirty Uncle Sal. Who embarrasses everyone at family reunions, and who can't be left alone with the teenage girls, but you invite him to the picnic anyway."

I think we encounter quite a few "Dirty Uncle Sals" in our and in many other professions. There are always going to be chiros, naturopaths, nutritionists and dieticians who bring down the profession and give us a bad name in the public eye.

I had to learn this lesson last week when a friend posted an "article" - which was actually another blog post - from a nutritionist in the states. The advice she posted seemed really absurd, so I took it upon myself to contact her for a list of her resources. It turns out all of her references were either cell culture studies, in vitro studies on rat tissues or mice studies (with small subject groups) and she used this information to come to the conclusion that a specific supplement was dangerous for humans.

I replied to her with several human studies (one which had 11,000 human subjects) which showed the exact opposite of what she was claiming. I then offered her the advice that she should be looking at human studies or meta-analyses rather than in vitro studies when she's giving health advice to the world.

Saying that something we prescribe is "dangerous" to all humans is a scare-tactic which the media often uses. It's really unfortunate that this is the way she's trying to reach others and give them health advice.

I had to do this research for myself, but it came with a lesson: Although I'm worried that the general public will take the wrong message from publicly-made information such as this, it's really not my job to seek out these people to prove them wrong. I don't have to justify my profession to anyone.

It's an unfortunate circumstance that the media (and basically anyone with internet access) can post whatever they want on the internet and when that information comes from a "professional," people accept it without question. So I'm going to take it upon myself to teach my patients when they come to me with questions, but I don't need to prove someone wrong. If you want to post really unreliable information on the web, that's your prerogative, but I'm going to be the type of practitioner that gives Naturopathic Doctors a good name.

So to all the Dirty Uncle Sals in the natural medicine world, I think most people can pick out the fact that we can't trust you "around the teenagers" but we'll invite you to the picnic anyway, and let you make your insane claims about what you think is right and wrong.

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

The Un-naturopathic naturopathic doctor?

When the topic arises, a patient will always ask me, "Do you drink coffee?" And I want to answer truthfully, but at the same time I want to set a good example. I think there comes a time when you just have to be honest and hope that your patients realize that you're not perfect.

But I've heard this before... you go to your family doctor who is a smoker, or who is overweight, and you think "This guy is suppose to be my doctor and help me be healthy, and yet, he/she is not healthy him/herself? What a hypocrite!" Seeing as how one of the naturopathic principles is "Doctor as Teacher," I don't want to be a hypocrite. So where do we draw that line?

Yes, okay, I love my coffee in the morning. I don't drink pots of it, but my one mug in the morning is what gets me going first thing. It also helps with those morning workouts. I don't fill it with garbage sweeteners and milk... I have my almond milk and 1/2 tsp honey - but here I go again trying to justify it to myself. And really I should be admitting to that occasional extra mug that I'll drink in the afternoon if I'm having a super rotten day...

A naturopathic doctor once told me that "One cup of coffee is a tonic, and more than that is toxic." I try to keep this in mind, but really, we're human, and coffee is addictive. So I think my internal struggle is, (and I wonder if we all feel this way) how do I tell my patients to do something if I don't follow it myself?

Maybe that's why I work so hard at keeping in shape, eating healthy and trying to maintain a healthy mental status - which is a whole other struggle!

This program is so un-naturopathic. The hours are irregular and varied, we're stressed all the time with our workload, we're given group assignments at the most inconvenient times (well, in my opinion), we're all sleep deprived, and trying to cram in as much information as we can without our brains exploding. Meditation? I can't get my brain to stop thinking! Yoga? Haven't been to a class in weeks (probably more like months). Home-cooked meal every night? Who has the time to go grocery shopping all the time?! Maybe that's why I'm so in love with my slow cooker... because finding time to cook dinner is like trying to find an extra hour in a 24-hour day... and truly that only happens once a year for daylight savings time.

The one thing we have going for us is knowing how to take care of ourselves when things go wrong. I wonder how many of us CCNM students are on an adaptogen right now? How many supplement with more than the recommended dose of vitamin D per day? How many of us use homeopathic remedies when we're ridden with stress? And don't forget about those cold socks and steam inhalation when we're sick. We do a lot for ourselves, but how much of that is caused by this program in the first place?

When does trying so hard to be healthy become unhealthy?

My hope is that a patient will respect me more for being honest with them, but I guess only time (and experience) will tell. 


Sunday, March 10, 2013

City vs Country... drastic differences in a rough week

You may have noticed that I haven't blogged in a while. This week has just completely drained me. I think Toronto can do that to you. The people are angry, the weather is shitty, the streets are dirty, traffic blows, and the energy is so overwhelming!

So after staying up late a few nights in a row trying to get school work done, I was sleep-deprived, socially deprived, and stressed from the city. Plus when you add PMS to the mix, it's just a disaster. I ended up staying in bed for most of the day on Thursday, just trying to let my body rest and reset. I mean, when you start to feel flu-like, it's time to start listening to your body and give it what it needs.

My intern at the school's clinic gives this to me as my homework. She says to put your feet up and do absolutely nothing for 5 whole minutes (which can seem like an eternity) and ask your body what it needs. Maybe it's water, maybe it's food, maybe it's rest, maybe it's movement and exercise. But it's all about tuning in to my body and not letting all the "other stuff" run my life.

On Friday, my boyfriend and I were lucky enough to shadow Dr. Frances Turk at the Rockwood Naturopathic clinic together.  The drive there alone was uplifting. We left very early in the morning and as soon as we were north of Milton, our entire surroundings went from an industrialized, dirty mess, to a winter wonderland. Everything was covered in a gorgeous blanket of snow. I had forgotten how beautiful the "country" could be and just how different the weather can be when you drive even 20 minutes north of the city.

I should mention that the first amazing bonus to this day was that I got to wear slippers the whole day in her office. I mean seriously, right then and there I was in heaven. Slippers are one of my most favourite things and my friends can attest that I usually have a pair packed in my purse. So once my feet were nice and snuggly, I looked out the window and saw nothing but a snow-covered forest. It was so quiet and peaceful that I really didn't want to leave. It truly was a healing environment. 

But for all of you who are stuck in the city, I must say that sunshine greatly helps to dissipate the great dark cloud of grim that absorbs us into its swirly vortex of grumpiness and fatigue. It's like the universe has dumped boxes of sad kittens onto all of us.

So... I guess my conclusion is that I desperately need more sunshine and less city... Though it's not always easy to do. I think we all need a break from this swirly vortex of grey. So if you get the chance to escape - take advantage of it! Make time to check in with yourself. Make time to escape even if it's just for a few hours.

Tuesday, March 5, 2013

If Y2K and the Mayans can't cause the end of the world, I'm pretty sure Disappointment won't either

We interrupt your life for Breaking News: Local school administration upsets students. Details after this...

Okay, so I know that I'm an extremely sensitive person. It doesn't take much for me to cry. Again, I think I may have mentioned that March of the Penguins had me going through half a box of Kleenex and anxiety can send me into a panic attack of palpitations and tears. But it's only been recently (past 2-3 years) that I've been able to identify it and to calm myself faster than in high school or undergrad.

So, the fact is, I had two satellite clinics that I had my heart set on working at and I was just too far down the selection list to get either of them. That was the moment I realized I'm not going to get a shift outside of the RSNC (our school's clinic). It truly isn't the end of the world, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't upset. I thought that this was a learning experience that would greatly benefit me and was told continuously "Make sure you get a satellite shift!!" So my initial response was heartbreak, and then panic and then some crying as I realized my clinic experience had just been chopped short.

It took me an hour to calm down and realize that this isn't a deal breaker for my career. It's unfortunate, but I had to understand the master plan. I wasn't meant to have that shift. It might sound absurd to some of you, but it's the truth. It's how I ended up at CCNM, so I'm taking this as another sign. Back in my undergrad years I dreamed of being a doctor and applied to traditional medical schools in Canada for 3 consecutive years, writing the MCAT each time. This stuff isn't cheap! I spent thousands of dollars on study materials, applications, exam fees and it was all just there to show me that I wasn't meant to be a traditional Medical doctor.

Because of that "rejection," I was able to see the big picture and find my true calling: to actually help people to heal, to use preventative medicine, and to teach others by becoming a naturopathic doctor.  But trust me, all of those rejection letters and shitty MCAT scores felt like a kick to the face each time... actually, like Joe Rogan kicking me in the face - and that's really saying something! 

The hardest thing was to realize that I didn't fail, I was being pushed in a different direction; the one I was meant to follow. So that's what I'm making of today's gong show that we call Day 1 of Clinic Shift Selection. I wasn't meant to go anywhere but the RSNC and I can deal with that.

As quoted by Tom Hanks' character Jimmy Dugan. One of my favourite movies. I have to remind myself of this often.
I see so many frustrated students out there who keep hitting a brick wall. Ones who are trying to get into one field and yet they are struck by that road block each time. It was so hard for me to learn this lesson, and I know that others have to learn it for themselves, but I found it necessary to share my story so that maybe we can all sit back and think "Okay, this CLEARLY isn't working out for me. There has to be a reason why! There has to be another way!"

If you keep hitting a brick wall over and over again, maybe it should be taken as a sign. Maybe it's not meant to be that particular way. I don't mean for you to not try something, or to give up on your dream, but if you've attempted something 3 or 4 times and it's still not working out for you, try to think about why it's not working. Find a different path to get from A to B. I'm still going to be a doctor, but I'm becoming the doctor that I was meant to be - not one who sees patients for 5 minutes and hands out prescriptions like candy on Halloween.

So, although our school's organization wasn't at it's best on this particular day, let's not get angry; let's deal with what we have and appreciate it. I'm not going to be a terrible doctor just because I won't be spending a semester working with Dr. Ladd or Dr. Gowan.

It's truly not the end of the world. The dinosaurs that are up in heaven are laughing at us right now. I'm pretty sure they wish they could all kick us in the face for being so dramatic about our lives. Or eat us.

For my own personal mission, I want to be more mindful and grateful for what I have. And I hope I can remember that the next time I feel heartbroken or disappointed.

Monday, March 4, 2013

I was bit by a dog, but experienced more anxiety from my phone

So today (meaning yesterday) was one of those days where I just wanted to smack myself and yell out "SERIOUSLY!" There is only so much you can do to stay bubbly before the world just spits in your face - or in my case, bites your leg.

On my way out to my car I noticed someone had double parked and blocked me in. Just great. So in addition to having to go door-to-door trying to find the culprit of the park and dash, I was attacked and bit by a dog. Now, I wish I could say that this was a huge ass dog with fangs like a Basilisk and paws like a bear... A dog that was frothing at the mouth with rage in its eyes! But embarrassingly enough I was bit by this tiny white fluffy -what I call a - "kick-me dog". Okay, so take that picture there just below and imagine him just a little bigger and mangier!

Image from: http://www.dailypuppy.com/dogs/max-the-bichon-frise_2009-01-02



You know what I'm talking about and don't even pretend like I'm some Death Eater who's out to kick puppies. I love dogs. I love puppies even more (hard to believe), but there is something about the small, yappy vicious dogs where they bark at you one too many times and you have the urge to punt them like a kicker going for a field goal. Yet the whole time I could feel this little shit's teeth trying to sink into my leg, all I could think about was how annoying this stupid dog was and how I just wanted it out of my way.

But being bitten, or even just ambushed by an animal can be a fairly traumatic experience for someone and cause a lot of anxiety. I'm going to switch gears and share with you the real source of my anxiety, which came later on in the day: technology.

My supervisor in clinic said something really profound this weekend. She said that we're now in a world where we are expected to be available all the time, and where we're expected to respond instantly. And think about it: If someone doesn't respond to a text or email within 10 minutes, do you ever wonder why they aren't responding? Maybe they don't like you. Maybe they're with cooler people than you. Maybe something terrible happened to them. Maybe they're just busy and are ignoring their phone. You have no idea, it could be anything! But we get sucked into this need to constantly know everything all the time. We update our statuses religiously, and if no one "likes" something that we put on Facebook, we immediately take that as rejection.

For a teenager I can only image how influential this is on their mental well-being. I never had a cell phone as a teen. I carried an "emergency" quarter in my backpack in case I needed to use a payphone. We didn't have text messaging. Closer to the end of high school we had ICQ messenger... but it was on dial-up internet and if you were "offline" you truly were offline. Now, you can hide your status. Pretend like you're busy. Or maybe you really are busy, but no one really knows and we're all so obsessed with knowing!

Our phones have become our lifelines. And I didn't realize the impact it had on me until today. I actually switched from my Android to the iphone 4. Granted, it's not the new snazzy iphone, but it does the trick, and it likes to talk to my MacBook. I joke that when I plug my phone in to my mac, they form a shadow government and start syncing secret information. Because really, I don't know what happens in the Cloud and I'm pretty sure I can't even get access there yet.

My point is, for the entire day I obsessed over setting up this phone. Syncing my calendar, my music, making sure I still have Wham! as my ringtone, and transferring all my contacts which apparently can't be done. Seriously, we have the power to follow the trajectory of meteors but someone couldn't figure out how to transfer a contact list from one phone to another? And this was my biggest stressor of the day! That dog bite took the backseat on my anxiety scale.

So what is to happen to future generations? Will we be riddled with anxiety disorders? Depending on how we use them, will our brains evolve or dissolve? Or maybe the Bichon Frise dogs are just waiting for our phones to explode and then they'll eat us and rule the world!


Friday, March 1, 2013

What's "heat" got to do with it?

Well, I have to say that putting any type of meat into a slow cooker turns it absolutely amazing.
It's like putting coal into an alchemy machine (yes, I just made that up), and in 8 hours on low you get solid gold.

I've found "Paleo Slow Cooking" by Chrissy Gower to be really hit or miss. The sweet potato jalapeno hash with sausage was by far my favourite dish. This is definitely going to be a repeat breakfast! I used Sundried Tomato and Basil Gluten-free sausages from McMaster's Meats in Georgetown, and it was the perfect flavour! However, according to my spice-enthusiast boyfriend, there just wasn't enough "heat".

Okay, story time: I have an amazing boyfriend, who can cook pretty decently, but we have a difference in opinion when it comes to flavouring and spice. Now, I do love Indian food and a little "kick" to my food is always welcome, but unfortunately, my mouth is not equipped with a fire extinguisher like his. One morning he offered to make me breakfast - and really, who am I to refuse food being cooked for me?! That would just be crazy; So I let him do his thing in the kitchen, making me frittata to which he said he added just a tiny bit of jalapeno.

I braced myself because I knew we had a difference in palates. He can chug a bottle of Sriracha like it's a refreshing splash of morning dew and lemon drops and a gentle wind would blow across his face. Meanwhile with me, even just a taste of the hot sauce in my world would cause thunder to take over and giant dinosaurs would rampage the earth, crushing houses!, crushing mountains!, tossing lightning bolts into the ocean and electrocuting all of the fishes! The earth would open up and liquid hot magma would unfold from the tectonic plates, slowly devouring the planet as we know it! That is what hot peppers do to me. I turn into the unhappiest dragon of all.

So after my wonderful boyfriend presented me with this lovely looking vegetable egg frittata, I took a few bites and immediate I could hear the roar of the dinosaurs. I looked at him and asked him how much jalapeno he put in it... Turns out that my piece of frittata had all of the pepper and he didn't bother to remove the seeds because apparently "that's where the heat comes from."

Least to say, I never let him forget that moment and from then on he understood that when making me any dish, he had to "sarah-fy" it. So making this sweet potato and sausage hash was amazing for me. But when I make it again, I would use either two jalapenos - instead of just one (with seeds removed) or, add just a couple of the seeds to bring a tiny bit more heat into the dish. I also modified it slightly by adding a bit of cayenne for the boyfriend too. It still wasn't hot enough for him, but I loved the flavour!!

So if you decide to buy this book, realize that not every recipe is perfect. She also uses a LOT of tomatoes in her recipes, so if you're following an anti-inflammatory diet, your recipe selection becomes much slimmer.

I also didn't appreciate her use of Penzey's spices since they aren't available in Canada and trying to substitute with something here just isn't going to give that exact flavour. But for all you 'Muricans out there, go nuts - I'm totally jealous that you have access to Penzey's products.