DEAL: $10 off $75 at Old Navy

Print off this coupon, and you can save $10 off any purchase of $75 or more at Old Navy. The offer is valid until September 9, 2006. If you want to redeem the coupon online, simply enter coupon code, LABORDAY.

Update from Surrey

I can't stop coughing. It's annoying, and it has to be annoying for everyone working around me. I just don't know how to make it stop. GRRRRR.

I've got two days left at the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre. It's been a great experience so far. With no residents or other students around you certainly get an opportunity to do a lot of things.

Amanda and I booked a vacation to go to Disney World next May after Adam and Robyn's wedding. This will be my 5th trip to Disney World in my life. It never fails to disappoint!

I start my emergency rotation at the Royal Alex on Monday. I hope I get to see some crazy stuff. I also hope that I get to practice my suturing.

It finally rained yesterday in Vancouver. It was the first time that it's rained since I've been here. I must be good luck or something.

I've been trying to calculate how much I get paid per hour. My tuition is $11000 a year for the next 7 months. I get paid $277 per month. I figure I usually work around 50 hours a week, not including call shifts.

Averaging that out, you get:
Salary - $277 a month
Tution - $1571.43 a month
Net revenue = -$1294 a month
Divide that up by 200 hours a month (estimate), you get around negative $6.47/hour.

Oh yeah.

DEAL: Westjet Travel

WestJet has some great deals to Canadian and American destinations for fall travel. They are offering flights for 30% or more off their regular fares!
Take a look here: Fly to Canada and the U.S. for less! The best service and the lowest fares at westjet.com

Take a look and book a vacation for yourself!

Last year of university

I totally forgot to write about that this is my 8th and final year of school at the University of Alberta. I can still remember my first day of orientation way back in 1999. Scary.

Guess how many vacations I've been on over the past 7 years? Let's try and count....

Disney World - 3
Puerto Vallarta - 3
Cancun - 1
Michigan - 10+
San Franscisco - 1

Good times!

Stop Bill 208

Join the campaign....

Taken from daveberta (daveberta.blogspot.com):
Ted Morton's Bill 208 is now posted on the Assembly website. It's very important that this sort of mean spirited and discriminatory legislation be stopped before it can become law in Alberta. If passed, Bill 208 will amend the Human Rights, Citizenship and Multiculturalism Act, the Schools Act, and the Marriage Act to propose that:
1. educational information about gay, lesbian, bisexual, queer or transgendered rights will will be optional in public schools.
2. public marriage commissionaires could opt out of performing same-sex marriages.
3. that a person expressing their opinion/ideas about homosexuality could not have a claim of discrimination brought against them.
Here is what you can do to STOP BILL 208!- Phone, Fax, or Email Ted Morton and tell him why you oppose Bill 208 (cc the email to your MLA):Email: foothills.rockyview@assembly.ab.ca
Constituency Phone: 1-866-843-4314 (toll-free)
Constituency Fax: (403) 216-2225
Legislature Phone: (780) 422-2768
Legislature Fax: (780) 422-1671- Phone, Fax, or Email your MLA and let them know why you oppose Bill 208. Find your MLA here.
Ask your MLA to table your email in the Assembly

Deal's of the Week

This weeks deals for Canadians:

1. Futureshop.ca has a Wireless G Router for $2.99 after rebates. I've used Futureshop.ca rebates in the past and they've always been reliable and good. They also have a 200GB External HD on sale for $89.99.
2. Apple.ca has some good deals on Refurbished Apple iPods. Save $120 on a refurbished iPod 30 GB with video. Now only $229CAD!

Dell.ca deals include:

1. Save an additional $50 on select systems when you spend over $499 with coupon code SJ9NGCG6DBH3TJ.
2. Save an additional $100 on select systems when you spend over $1199 with coupon code GXB7D0HGLX5?C$.


3. Back to school PC! The Inspiron 1300 notebook $599 with 8X DVD Burner.
4. Back to school PC! The Inspiron 640M Notebook $849.
   
5. Free Memory upgrade on select PCs!

News and Notes from Vancouver

I've had better luck in Surrey Memorial Hospital cafeteria since the disaster on Monday. Yesterday I had some california rolls that they brought in from a Japanese restaurant, and then today I had a piece of meat lovers pizza, although some of the meat on it tasted a little off.

I'm going to the PNE tomorrow with my cousin's and their kids. I think they got me a ride pass. I don't do well on spinny rides, and things like the PNE and Capital-Ex are known to have a lot of spinny rides and not so many fast rides. It might not turn out well for me.

I hate traffic here. No matter what time of day it is there just seems to be a lot of it. The lights don't seem to be synchronized either. It seems as though every light turns red right before you get to it. The speed limits are rather interesting...it'll go from 80 to 50 and then back to 80 in about a span of 100 metres.

I went to go to the bank this morning before work. This was at about 7:30 in the morning or so. As I get there, I see a sign saying "businesses open during movie shoot." And, then, to my surprise, the whole front of the Bank of Montreal had been turned into the "Neighbourhood Bank" complete with new signage and everything, along with a large cast of actors and cameras outside the bank. I promplty turned my car around with the hope that when I return tomorrow they won't be shooting a movie.

I think I'm going to go to the beach this Saturday. I might end up going by myself, but that's OK. I'm kind of a loner!

For all you fan of the Office (including myself), they have a bunch of cool 'webisodes', outtakes, and previews. Check it out here.

Update from the West Coast

I started my elective at the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre today. All and all it was a very good first day. Everything is very organized, which is nice -- they had a locker for me, computer access, a schedule of activities, and a letter to get me the staff parking rate. Seems they thought of everything!

The actual centre itself is quite nice compared to the rest of Surrey Memorial Hospital. Most cancer centres seem to be this way. It's much smaller than the Cross Cancer Institute, and it also seems to be quite a bit less busy, which is nice in a way. I get lots of teaching due to this reason. The coordinator also provided me with two radiation oncology books for the elective, so I can read up on everything. I've been looking for some good starter radiation oncology books and both the ones she gave me were excellent -- I may have to buy them for myself.

The downside to the day was lunch...I ordered a smokie hot dog and fries...and the smokie was one of the worst things I have ever tasted in my life. I'm not a picky eater, but I had one bite of this thing and I just couldn't make myself take another one. It just tasted awful. So I ate the fries, went back upstairs and had some more cookies that Amanda made me for my trip. MMM...cookies.

I'm still trying to get over this cold. It's not working well. My nose has stopped running like it was before, but I'm still getting really hot at night and I'm now coughing all the time. Grrr.

Until next time.

PREVIEW: Borat Movie

Borat Movie

Borat, from Da Ali G show, another character of Sasha Cohen, is being featured in his own movie coming out in November. It looks friggin' hilarious. Take a look at the trailer below!

DEAL: McDonald's Canada 2 for 1 in Vancouver

McDonald's in Vancouver is offering a 2 for 1 large sandwich purchase until August 27th. Just go to the website below for your free personalized coupon...mmm...I love McDonald's!

http://www.mcdonalds.ca/en/ads/coupon/coupon.aspx

Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 with GPS Locator

My mom purchased me Microsoft Streets and Trips 2006 with the GPS locator on Friday for my upcoming trip to Vancouver and for completing my third year of medical school (I'm still in one piece!).

I'm actually writing this blog entry while my mom is driving my car to Vancouver. I'm come down with a bit of an illness and decided to take a break from the driving. We've been using Streets and Trips along the way so far, and it's working really well. The GPS measured speed correlates almost exactly to the speed that is read on my speedometer. Now I can tell if my mom is speeding without looking over her shoulder…haha….

The route planning feature is also very good. It calculates everything from estimated time, possible construction delays, and how much it's going to cost on gas based on a variety of user factors.

You can also find gas stations, hotels, ATM's, businesses on the maps…pretty much any info you want to know at the touch of a button.

Another nice feature is that you can export maps to the Pocket Street and Trips version (included with purchase) for your PDA…which I will be definitely doing to my PDA.

My laptop battery is burning my leg…hopefully it isn't made by Sony! Hahaha…kidding…

Till next time.

One more year left of medical school

I completed my pediatrics rotation today by doing my OSCE exam and multiple choice examination. That marks the end of my third year of medical school and the excitement of having only one -- yes, one year left of medical school.

My third year of medical school was definately the most work I've done since high school. Not only did you work long regular hours, but you also had a number of overnight calls (up to 1 in 4 nights) during the rotations that usually involved little sleep and lots of work.

I did, however, learn a lot. I now feel mildly competent in what I'm doing. I'm pretty sure I could tell you if you had a cold or not. Maybe not much more than that.

The joys of year four of medical school include no or little call, and, of course, the CaRMS match. It's like applying to medical school all over again...only much more expensive...and you could end up without a residency spot at the end of it or doing something that you don't really want to do...

All in all, however, I'm looking forward to it. I'm excited to pursue a residency in radiation oncology. I find the field rewarding and I love working with oncology patients. A good thing about fourth year is that I have lots of time to do electives in radiation oncology, which, again, is a bonus. I think I also might do an elective in health administration to see if I'd like to get involved in that type of career down the road.

7 years of university down, 1 more to go. I can finally see the end.

DEAL: Dell Canada Back to School Special's

You can get the Dell Inspiron 6400 or a Dimension 5150 for $899 each.

The Inspiron 6400 comes with the following:

• Intel® Core™ Duo Proc T2400 (1.83GHz/667MHz/2 X 1MB L2 Cache)
• Genuine Windows® XP Home, English
• 512MB Shared Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz, 2 DIMM
• 80GB 5400rpm Hard Drive
• 8X CD/DVD Burner (DVD+/-RW) with double-layer DVD+R write capability

The Dimension 5150 comes with the following:

• Pentium® D Processor 805 with Dual Core Technology (2.66GHz, 533FSB)
• Genuine Windows® XP Home Edition
• 1GB Dual Channel DDR2 SDRAM at 533MHz (2x512M)
• 250GB Serial ATA 3Gb/s Hard Drive (7200RPM) w/ 8MB cache
• Single Drive: 16X CD/DVD burner (DVD+/-RW) w/double layer write capability

Shipping is free for both. Click on the link below for more information:

Inspiron 6400 notebook and Dimension 5150 Dekstop now $899

Fishing/Camping at Lesser Slave Lake

Amanda and I went fishing to Lesser Slave Lake this past weekend. I caught some fish. Hahah. I caught lots of fish. Walleye and Pike. We ate the Walleye. It was pretty good. Pike gross me out.

Anyways, we're back to reality now. Less than 2 weeks I'll be done 3rd year medical school. That means another exam in less than 2 weeks as well. Siggghhhh....

After pediatrics I'm off to British Columbia to do an elective in radiation oncology at the Fraser Valley Cancer Centre. After the elective I'm going to my cousin's wedding on the long weekend! Should be good times! Amanda is going to Victoria for a few days and then meeting me in Vancouver for the wedding. I think we'll stay another day after the wedding to go to the beach and relax before I start my emergency rotation at the Royal Alex.

Off to Slave Lake

I'm off to Slave Lake this weekend with my girlfriend and her family to go fishing. I haven't been able to really go fishing (with exception of deep sea fishing in Cancun) in the last couple of years, so it should be a fun and enjoyable weekend! Luckily it looks like the weather will be pretty decent after today's impending rain.

Hope everyone has a good long weekend!

REVIEW: Edmonton's Capital Ex

My girlfriend, Amanda, and I went to the "new" Capital Ex on Saturday. After hearing that the organizers wanted to change things from the old Klondike Days to be new and refreshing, I was sadly disappointed to realize that nothing had really changed.

I'm not a big ride person and I didn't buy a pass to go on the rides. However, if I had, I would have been angry with the length of the lineups for the rides. The lines seemed to be very slow moving, and for $30 for the pass, I think most people would have been better off going to West Edmonton Mall and going to Galaxyland. At least they have a rollercoaster that goes upside down.

The games, food, and exhibits were generally all the same from last year. The new "Global Connections" was just an add-on to the trade show, but if the items appeared to come from "Mexico", then they get a nice Mexican flag on their sign. It was rather disappointing and wasn't half as good as some of the featured countries that they used to do at the old Klondike Days a few years ago.

Admission also went up this year to $9, but you seem to get less for what you pay. With the addition of "Ed Fest," you now do not get to see the major headlining bands without paying an extra $14 plus your $9 admission. All you get to see now with your increased admission are bands like "Trooper" and "Jakalope."

Personally, despite all of the changes, I think Capital Ex has priced itself out, which led to the decrease in attendance. For instance, lets say you have a family of four with both kids riding rides with an unlimited rides pass. At the bare minimum, they'll be paying:

Price of two adult admissions - $18
Price of two unlimited ride passes (including admission) - $60
Price of parking - $10
Total price of just walking through the gate - $88 for a family of four

I just think that most families cannot afford this, especially when you then have to buy overpriced food, drinks, and perhaps let the kiddies play some games.