Weekend Review: Ice Skates and the Maple Leaf Rag

I'm three quarters of the way through my general internal medicine rotation AND it's a long weekend, so I'm pretty happy right now! I've felt especially tired over the past week. I've been lazy with meals and my house is a mess. This weekend I've got to turn things around so that I can start next week feeling organized and reenergized! Here are some things that I've enjoyed in the past seven days:

1. cream cheese cinnamon bun -- Medicine Grand Rounds has the best catering! Being post-call, I definitely appreciated this treat with a cup of coffee.

   

   can't beat cream cheese icing!

2. got my flu shot -- Looking out from the glass elevator in the hospital, I noticed flu shot stations set up in the atrium...without any line ups, score. We're supposed to get flu shots as hospital employees. I'm glad the process was so easy.

   

   They're really going all out with the flu shot campaign this year;
   this came in the mail...and unfortunately won't be worn.

3. ice skates -- I bought my first pair of ice skates this week! Canadian Tire had these on clearance for $80 off, so I only paid $55 after tax. I can't wait to get them sharpened and learn how to skate! The rinks in Edmonton have free public skating times and in the winter there are free outdoor rinks as well!

   

   new skates!

4. sunset -- I hadn't actually been at a vantage point to see a great sunset in Edmonton yet, so I was happy to find myself on the top floor of the hospital at the right time to catch one during my call shift earlier this week. A flock of bird silhouettes receding into the sunset was particularly picturesque (but didn't make it into a picture).

   

   my cell phone didn't do the best job of capturing the beauty of this 180-degree panorama

5. Maple Leaf Rag by Scott Joplin -- This is my favourite piano song. It's so jaunty and bright. For some reason I always imagine it accompanying an old silent movie! I was in the process of learning it (harder than it looks) before I moved...and it makes me miss having a piano! I was really happy to hear a pianist playing it in the hospital atrium. Here's my favourite YouTube version, by Cory Hall (as a bonus, it shows the inside of the piano).