Goodbyes are hard. Very hard.

Things become more poignant when you realise that you're doing it for the last time. I just couldn't help but to feel sad when we drove past Whyte Ave and I had a good last look at it for the last time. And to go into Safeway Mart and to know that I will never go there again. And to look out of my window and realise that no matter how ugly U of A is, I'm going to miss it all the same.

And also the people. Those that have been around all the time to guide and teach, and those that have been around to show me what is it like to be Canadian. Sleeman's Honey Brown, Edmonton Oilers, Tim Horton's, saying "eh" and "pop" and being able to go to bed when the sun is still up and wake up 8 hours later to an already bright morning.

Oh, this post is going to be very emo.

I am just thinking back on how much I have taken for granted in this place. And yet, I am amazed that I still find new and interesting things each and every day.

I think I need some form of release before I leave tomorrow. It felt just like after A-Levels, when I finally had to leave Sg, not knowing whether I will be back. The friends I have made, the people I have met, and the little differences I have made in people's life through the pharmacy...

I want to do all these again.

So, goodbye Edmonton (for now?).

SATURDAY!

Saturday. A very sunny one too. Kinda regretted not going to the park again for the afternoon, but instead, have decided to pop by West Ed Mall and be materialistic. And ended up getting 2 rather pretty tops for CAD10.69 in total. Not too bad, considering there's a fair amount of lace and (polyester) silk and sequins involved.

I'm just being a little bored and agitated right now. Knowing that I have a FULL day to pack tomorrow...and knowing that I have to do some research to decide on the things I want to see in Victoria...and helping CYYC search for whale-watching deals. And yet, I have done about half of the packing. I guess I am feeling a little lonely now that CYYC has gone to Vegas. Although we are usually alone most of the time, I don't know why this is bothering me today. And the whole college's freaking quiet. Ugh. Where are the people when you need them to make noise!! Anyways, am very happy that Edmonton Oilers won the game tonight after a bad lost in the last game! Woohoo.

Horrijible, ugly football season has begun. It's going to last till July 9. Maybe I will just stay in Singapore all by myself until the series end lah. I don't want to go pak-tohing with half-asleep creature. Hmmphf.

Time for shower. Then research. I'm pooped.

i TID before planned activity

Teehee.

Had a good laugh over some of the prescriptions yesterday. The above was for sidenafil and tadanafil (did not want to type the brand names as search engines may pick it up). The wife did sound anxious and in a hurry to pick them up though. The prescription calls for 10+12=22 pills in total. Preceptor thinks that they are some machine. Wahahah. But why "planned" activity"? Sidenafil has a half life of 27 hours and it has effect the whole day. So. Weird.

Anyways. Yesterday was the last day of work. It got really busy towards the end and it was so hard to say a proper goodbye...but I'm missing it already. Had so much fun with the people there and I definitely learnt lots. And we even went beyond our scope of learning and talked about therapeutics for depression.

Would love to have some pictures up. But I'm too lazy to load them on the computer. I might do them tomorrow though. Today, I will be out shopping and doing some last minute stuff. Will be a long busy day. And tomorrow, I will have to pack.

I am not eager to leave this place, but on the other hand, I am excited to go to Victoria and Vancouver. And I can't wait to go home. I miss seafood (there's almost NO seafood here), my lovely sushi!!!, char kuey teow, nasi lemak, rendang and all the Malaysian food. The Asian food here sucks.

I will have to go shower now. And get breakfast.

Bye Edmonton. You will always have a special place in my heart. I might come back some day...

A Lazy Afternoon at W.Hawrelak Park

The open space on the park

The beautiful sky.

Lunch bag and homework. Heh.

Lunch time!

My feet and a map.

Lying on the cool grass on a hothot (23 deg) day is wonderful. Promptly fell asleep after lunch and never finished my work. Bleh.

Siao zha bor jump. Look damn silly man.

On top of stairs leading to park.

Was a nice Sunday afternoon to laze on the park. The breeze was cooling and I got a little burnt on my arms. Wished we found this to do earlier. I don't mind going to the park every weekend to play frisbee or just lie there and take afternoon nap or just to take a walk or just tan. Is just lovely. I love the weather here.

The best pharmacy team evarrrrrrrr

Here's a couple of pictures. My preceptor's the one with short chin-length hair.




One of the pharmacy tech's leaving for a 2-week course out of town, so decided to take a picture with her in it. She's so funny and interesting. And she knows so much and sometimes she will test me too. So yeah, I've learnt lots from her.

Fort Edmonton Park

Apparently I seem to be giving the impression that I'm on holiday more than I'm working. I bet it is more fun and iinteresting reading about the leisure stuff rather than the work stuff.

Anyways, went out again today. Sun was shining and the weather was perfect for an outdoor walk. Would love to go for a picnic someday. Though I think CY will never be game for it, since it's not a Singaporean thing to do. So we went to Fort Edmonton Pa and had quite some fun looking at historic things ranging from the late 1700s to 1920s. There are buildings built exactly like what they used to be and people dressed up in period costumes performing tasks eg baking, running errands, chatting and reading. It's just bizarre.

Less talk more photos!
Old steam engine train.

Trading house in the early 1800s.

Room in the 1800s

Me with skunk fur at trading house.

Fool's gold.

Year 1885. Someone's house. The lady was baking. The original house owner has 9 children.

Transportation in 1885.

Rutherford's (founder of U of A) house

2 ladies baking in 1885.

Drug store of 1885.

Garage office in 1920s.

Millinery (boutique) in 1885.

Some photos

HI Mosquito Creek. Accommodation for the night in Banff. We were staying in the middle of the forest where grizzly bears roam around freely.








HI Jasper. View from the outside in the morning.











Icefields Parkway. View from the back of the van.












Random photo of mountains.









The prairies in Canada.

Me after the shower.

Edmonton City Hall.

Lousy and disappointing Chinatown.

Photo taken at a viewpoint near Fairmont Hotel and with the background of North Sasketchewan River.

2nd week. *sob*

It is 9.30pm now and the sun has just begun to set. It is still rather bright outside and I would love to stay out a little later, but I am just too tired.

Anyways, this week has been great. Was really busy though, that is why there isn't much updates. On Monday evening, I got back from Banff/Jasper tour. On Tuesday evening, went to Chilli's to watch a hockey match with 4 other Canadians and CY. One of the guys tried to hit on me I think. -_-" Not bad for an Asian, who is completely new on a foreign angmoh land eh. Heh. Then on Wednesday evening, I was busy doing work and studying. Thursday evening, I finish work at 8pm and got back not wanting to do anything else besides sleeping. Then on Friday evening, Prof Cox drove us all to the nearby Elk Island National Park. Of course, someone actually thought it was supposed to be a zoo. I'm not sure whether I should LOL on this. But still. There's just so much of ignorance one can have.

Anyways, here is a picture of a buffalo we saw along the way in Elk Island. He was happily munching on the grass, then looked up with a whatcha-starin'-at look when we slowed the vehicle down and watched. Well, contrary to the name of the park, we did not see any elks at all! Grar.














So today we went out to explore the downtown of Edmonton. Nothing to shout about. Just buildings after buildings and we easily covered the whole area in like 45 minutes. Very small. And CHINATOWN was a great dissappointment. There is NOTHING resembling a typical Chinatown there and buildings were not even compact. It looks and feels exactly like a ghost town. What a pity.

Work at the pharmacy was great, now that I am more involved in the processes. It is really fantastic being able to be involved in the management of people's health. So far I have been doing counseling in stuff like antibiotics (amoxicillin, penicillin, cephalexin, tetracyclines, nitrofurantoin, metronidazole, macrolides and clindamycin) , NSAIDs (naproxen, diclofenac, ketoralac and ibuprofen), painkillers with narcotic ingredients (Tylenol #3), antihistamines, some sedatives (zopiclone and cyclobenzaprine), OTC products and non-oral dosage forms (MDI, diskhaler, eye and ear drops and topical creams (including corticosteroids)). So that is really a lot of stuff eh. I will be handling some diabetic patients next week, so I hope it will go well. There is not much time left for me...only 2 more weeks!! And there is still so much to learn!

So that is all for now. There is still work for me to do. I'm contemplating whether I should do it tomorrow morning when I wake up bright and early. :)

Banff and Jasper

The weekend just past was a long weekend in Canada. Victoria Day was on Monday so we went on a trip to Banff and Jasper on Saturday and got back to Edmonton on Monday night. It was a fabulous trip. Made a few friends a long the way and experience "roughing" it out in the wilderness.

Just a few pictures here to whet your appetite. There's like hundreds of photos, but I have yet to organise them and post it up.

Johnston Canyon











Columbia Icefields













Beautiful and famous Lake Louise















Athabasca Falls













Snocoach















Columbia Icefields. Was cold that day!












Hostel we stayed in for the first night. No running water and electricity.














Bighorn Sheep we saw along the highway to Jasper.












Athabasca Falls again.














View on the hiking trail to Siffleur Falls.