May Flowers

Holy patootieeeeeeeeeee! Haven't blogged in over a month. It's been crazy with life, but I'm still around whew.

A lot has happened since then. April was crazy with preparing for that symposium, but all that came and went by so fast that now we are in May.

The night we left, it was that rain and snow storm. Hundreds of flights were cancelled. I was really worried that my flight would not make it out as I still had to prepare for the presentation the following day. Thankfully AC Rouge was updating us constantly about our flight status. The flight was suppose to depart at 9pm, but we left just after midnight. Not bad considering some flights never made it out. Our original plane was stuck somewhere on the runway because of all the snow. But they had found another plane that was closer to the terminal and so decided we'd take that plane instead. After we boarded, we had to wait another hour or so because a plane behind us was stuck in the snow. They had to dig it out.

Normally I'd bash AC but this time around, I was thankful that they kept us updated every 15 minutes and apologized. I think everyone knew there was going to be a delay because of the weather so there wasn't any crazy passenger stories. Everyone was pretty cool with it. We were just thankful we were escaping this weather to go to more sunnier weather. We departed and landed in Las Vegas after 1am. By the time I got settled into the room and ready for bed, it was about 3am. Of course Vegas is always partying at all hours.

The symposium went well. It was great to be back in Vegas again (and this time, pretty much all expenses were paid by the company). It was only the last half of the trip that I was on my own but otherwise it was a great symposium. Met a lot of people from various States and countries, and getting to know different practices. The presentation went really well, got quite a few interests on my topic. Also, Canada represent BRAP BRAP!!!

Stayed at Aria resort for the last part of the trip and it was AMAZE BALLS. I walked into my room and as soon as I opened the door, a welcome music started playing, and the window drapes automatically opened, revealing the Strip view. This was the first time staying at Aria, and I have read amazing reviews. But this was the best room I've ever booked. The bathroom was awesome as well. I really enjoyed the private toilet area with the frosted glass and separate door from the rest of the bathroom. Private pooping at its finest.

The shower area looked beautiful, with a tub beside it as well. However, when it actually came to showering, there was not much grip on the shower floor once water hits it. It became super slippery. So that was one negative thing noted. You just have to be extra cautious.

The room walls were pretty good. I didn't hear much sound from other rooms that I remember. Maybe I had really good neighbours that never made a peep. The water in the room costed $14 for a bottle. I think it was one of those 1L bottles but TOTALLY NOT WORTH IT. I was told to not touch any of the drinks in the room and fridge as they all had motion sensor on it. There is a warning that if you do touch it, you have about 60 seconds to put it back otherwise it will charge it to your room. I've read reviews that people did do it in less than 60 seconds but they still got charged. So anyways, I never touched them and never got charged.

I'm not a fan of casinos, but the casino area was huge. There were always parties happening at night with the clubs and lounges inside but I never got to check it out as I'm not really into that scene anymore.

I brought my folks to watch Cirque du Soleil's "O" water show at Bellagio and they really enjoyed it. I watched it back in 2009 and don't really remember much of it, except that there was a big pool. Getting old sucks. But once I saw it again, I was like OH YEAH I REMEMBER THIS NOW! Many butt clenching moments because the performers were jumping so high into the pool. And part of me was like, oh gosh, please don't miss the pool.

I did more walking around this time than before, and took them sight seeing around the Strip. Then as fast as I arrived, it was time to leave.

A couple days after I arrived back home, I hear of this terrible news of a Toronto van attack. A van had gone down Yonge Street, hitting pedestrians. Eventually the driver was caught and arrested, then taken into custody. In the end, there were 10 deceased, and many more injured.

This is not something you hear of in Toronto, but when news of it circulated throughout the world, you can't help but wonder: no matter where you go, you just aren't safe anymore.

The tragedy brought us together, and to say: even through tragedy, we are still united as one. We stand together, and we stick together. A memorial was held as well for all those affected.

I want to say it was an attack. Absolutely. This young man who was brilliant on paper, but had autism, had some issues with women in general. He was frustrated with them in general and decided to take action upon them. Someone who is mentally incapacitated will NOT be able to come up with a plan and actually act on it. I don't believe in the whole 'I blame the mental illness' crap, especially when it comes to situations like this. When capable people start blaming mental illness for their actions, it really pisses me off because it really just directs blame to a certain group.

There are people who are really mentally ill, that when you see and get to talk to them, you really know something is going on with their minds. There is no way they would be able to come up with a plan and act on it. The minds are very scattered in thinking, and nothing makes sense when you talk to them. Even a "hello, how are you?" question will result in many scattered answers that won't make any sense.

To be able minded, do something stupid, and then blame mental illness for it, you just want to punch them in the face.

I hope this guy gets what he deserves. A life sentence for each person he murdered, served back to back.

Mother's Day also came and went. This year was absolutely devastating as we had to travel out of town for a funeral on Mother's Day. A family friend of ours, his beautiful wife passed away from cancer. Because of the timing, the only time was on Mother's Day. The hardest part was listening to the goodbye speech from their eldest son, who was still in university. The youngest had not graduated high school yet, but he was going to next month. Prom is also next month as well, and he is still deciding which university program to accept. He still hasn't accepted the fact that his mom will not be there anymore.

It was the hardest Mother's Day to get through. Even though yes, my mom is still here. But when I immense myself in their shoes, it hurts. It really just reminds us all how life is so fragile. Everything can be fine today, but gone tomorrow.

My period cramps this month was terrible. Everything was fine the first 4 hours, but right after that 4 hour mark, all hell broke loose. I took a narcotic to ease the pain, which eventually worked after an hour. But the air in the room was way too humid. Air circulation sucked in that area of the building. Windows can't be opened because of safety issues (don't want patients jumping out the windows). So the last resort was using a fan, but of course that's against infection control because we blow bacteria around the room. Great. All that combined together along with feeling lightheaded and what feels like losing half your body's blood = ready to faint. The nausea is terrible.

I didn't know I looked that bad, but my coworkers know me well.  They realized right away that I didn't look so good and wasn't my normal self. By God's grace I managed to survive that shift and was able to go home a tad bit early as people thought I would pass out on the floor and have to call a code on me.

I have good and bad months. I've had pretty good months lately so it was just a matter of time that I would get a bad one. It just so happened it turned out to be this month. Being a woman SUCKS. I remember reading this meme about periods. It went something like, why can't it just be a small, red dot like congratulations you got your period. See you next month.

If only it was really THAT simple. As a kid, when they first taught stuff about periods in school, I actually thought it was going to be a circular red dot. That's the way it was taught in school. They never said it would look like something had died in your underwear. It would be too traumatizing to show a picture of what a period really looks like in real life.

If only men knew what periods looked like, and what women have to go through each month and deal with this 'congratulations, you're not pregnant' reminder. Some women have it good, and some have to call in sick for work each month because that's how bad it gets. I'm sort of in the middle. I have good months, and some months I want to murder myself to end the misery. If I look at my track record, I remember having to leave work once because the period cramps were too severe. I was getting chills and shaking because of it, along with lightheadedness and nausea. Thankfully I did not puke on anyone but there was no way I could pull through the shift. I'm fortunate that it does not happen every month.

I have done check ups to see if there was something more serious going on with me, but they did not find anything. In the end, you just end up blaming the hormones. Great, I can't control how much hormones are produced each month.

I found more shoes to buy. I was lucky to get them when there was a sale happening during the weekend. I ended up buying 3 pairs, but of course, one for the niece. She's been drooling over my rainbow platforms and begged me that if I don't wear them anymore, to give it to her. Problem is it will be many more years ahead as her feet are definitely not the same size as mine. I saw a rainbow one and ended up getting one for her. I just hope she can wear them this summer, then she can match with auntie! Kids grow fast, so I'm pretty sure I'll be buying a few more sizes for her in the next few years.

Anyways, time to get back to applications. Will update when I get it all sent out to see what my next journey in life will be.