Bring Snakes

To avoid being accused of 'not keeping the blog anymore' I shall attempt to update more regularly. Since I am living the life of the semi-retired there is very little reason to avoid posting - once you exclude naps, walks, socializing, reading…...

We have had winter weather - surprise - it is January and February, the past few weeks. A power outage which was mercifully only about 12 hours and with the generator hooked up, isn't really noticed here. No internet for netflix so we watched Captain Phillips which I'd downloaded on my laptop. What a powerful story! The fact that the Somali pirates dialog was subtitled in Mandarin was a bit of a detraction - memo to self….gotta be more mindful of my pirating of online movies. After the outage however there was no internet, so wrangling with Eastlink - a VERY unsatisfactory pastime should you consider engaging it in - resulted in the purchase of a new router. Once set up, the router dropped the signal after about 10 - 15 minutes. Contact the (previous computer geek) now shore captain's employee who made a house call, manually setting up the router. Although functioning when he left, he was likely not a km down the road when it failed. He suggested purchasing another router. Thankfully my northern backup Apple Airport Express worked when pulled from the action packer. Technology! Not as annoying as thinking we needed a new fridge - came home with $200 worth of groceries and found the light bulbs in the holder had detached and cooked food on the top shelf. After clearing everything inside out and putting it in the outside cooler aka veranda and cleaning off the exterior (which now means I need to purge tomorrow) it decided to arise from the ashes (overheating) and begin working again, for which I am grateful. I refuse to allow the light bulbs back inside as this is both a food safety and fire hazard. Personally, I don't miss the light, but then again, I am not one who stands in front of the fridge with the door open as if it is a TV I am watching. Sad.

Last week as I drove to an appointment I was listening to a segment on CBC about the media and politics, especially as it relates to our conservative (in all senses of the word) PM and how the PMO has stifled the relationship with the press, limiting opportunities to speak to them or even to reply to their questions. The journalist described how he had in the past been a "scrum monkey" and it took me a moment to understand he meant one of those reporters/cameramen yelling at politicians in the halls of parliament hill. And yes, now that I think about it, you really don't see a lot of those scrums on the evening news since Stephen Harper do you?

The snow covered roads on my way were a bit of a challenge, but not as bad as I'd expected. The shore captain's 4 wheel drive truck, and my not usually stirring if the white stuff arrives, means that not much plowing gets done here. One of the shore captain's employees had done a swing by and plowed the bank from the end of the driveway so my little car could make it out for my scheduled appointment. As I settled in to wait, another lady arrived and replied to one of the staff "yes I swam the moat and slayed the dragons to get here this morning" which made me smile. 

How to build an igloo

Afterwards I continued along to the city to read to the teacher daughter's grade primary class for literacy week. I had chosen to read about the arctic and with limited options for books I had created an individual book for each of the 16 students. I found a teacher source online about building igloos, printed, cut, folded, taped the pages back to back and sewed the centre of each booklet. I made a brief slideshow of northern photos to cover the concept of no trees, 24 hrs of darkness and sunlight and community photos, I collected up some traditional carvings and took along my Canada Goose parka and sealskin mitts. The children, a number of them new Canadians, were very well behaved and engaged - what a wonderful year they are having. 

After school was dismissed and the planning for the next day completed, we set out on our shopping mission as I was looking for some new threads. This daughter is very positive (you have to be to encourage five and six year olds) and doesn't say (as did her more critical younger sister) when asked for fashion advice a few years back "well, if that's all you have"…. It's a bit discouraging to clothes shop as I am wearing a posture support brace around my shoulders which makes it unfun. The necessity of wearing two layers - it's like wearing hockey shoulder pads and just about as comfortable so an undershirt with at least medium sleeves, difficult to cover requiring a tighter neck on the overshirt, and it puts the search up another size on a later years generous body shape, generally an unattractive look. I have a new sympathy for those who wear prothesis now. Actually when I took the (metal filings filled) brace off for TSA scanning in Savannah airport the security asked me if I had any other 'prothesis'? But enough whining...

We scored a pair of skinny jeans early in the search and since Reitman's markets to their audience meaning I took a size 3 sizes smaller than usual, the price on the tag wasn't even examined. I found a pair of leather riding boots for 50% off to go with them. While searching for a top the clerk who was trying to assist asked me "what's the occasion?" meaning casual or dressy sweaters. To which I replied "I bought a new pair of jeans". We all agreed this was the best occasion we could think of.  Managed to find a tunic in bamboo marked down to $20 from $80 and leggings (yes I've decided I dare wear those if the top is long enough) before calling it in and heading home in the snow of rush hour. 

The next morning after the working folks left I spent some quality time with the grand dog - he got an extra run in the yard full of snow and a treat before being crated. I headed off for some more retail therapy where I found a very nice tunic/dress to wear over my leggings which sadly will be good to wear for an upcoming memorial service of a former coworker, Moving on I scored an $80 marked down to $15 top with the help of a Lebanese saleslady. She an another customer were discussing how long they'd been in this country (38 and 13 yrs respectively) and how they'd gotten used to the snow and cold. I thanked them for choosing Canada. I picked up the shore captain at the Avis office where he was returning the rented cube van which had transported lobsters for the past two months. We joined a former northern nurse co-worker for lunch at Jack Astors as she had agreed to be a courier for some lobsters to someone north of 60 who provided a positive reference. Got to settle my scores. A very pleasant drive home as I chauffeured and the business mogul conquered empires on his cell phone. Time to get the dog out for a walk before the sun set and it was nice to stretch legs in the fresh if brisk air after all the sitting.  

FaceBook can be a royal pain but it does connect us all and I had a message from a local lady who winters in Texas (apparently with parents of another northern nurse - but as I explained the north is a BIG place) saying "your parents would be so proud of you". I stopped to consider that and agreed that yes, they likely would - my father for the adventure and my mother for the nursing part. 

Speaking of northern work, I had an online chat with my job share partner this afternoon. Asked her if she was on call and it was quiet? These two descriptors go together in that community as she disclosed our last chat that she'd only had one call in the three weeks she'd been in community and that was a phone call. She replied "I'm on call….. that's all I'm going to say" so apparently the tranquility continues. My heart be still. I told her I was stocking up on crafts and downloading ebooks to which she typed "bring materials for a large project and snakes" I stared at the screen for a bit and typed 'snakes'? Arrgggh she replied "snacks, that friggin autocorrect I hate it". Made my afternoon - would be hard for a snake to make it in the arctic - it's -46c with the wind chill there today. 

Another nasty couple of days forecast with snow, wind, freezing rain, rain so fingers crossed for the power to stay on. Will soon enough be putting on ALL my layers of clothes to head out a few steps. Lots of winter left at 72 degrees north. 

Job Share it is!

After sleeping in, walking the dog and doing a very minimal amount of domestic duties….I'm sipping strawberry rhubarb David's tea, settled cozily on the couch gazing out on the grey harbour as a few snowflakes fall,  with the cat purring next to me, dog settled across the living room in the armchair and the lots of time to update the blog. My only decision is whether to turn on the fireplace or not. As you can tell, I am very much enjoying being at home for a while as it's been August since that has happened in segments measured in weeks not days and with a return to work date of March 11th or so (more on that later) life is good. 

The previous posting was just before New Years and highlighted the DTN course which seems a lifetime away now. In case you were wondering…I DID finish the essay, submitting it before the planned girls getaway. And although it was quite an effort, I do have to admit that I learned a great deal about malnutrition, feeding centres, humanitarian work and myself - in addition to the intense information of the on site lectures. According to my classmates (who are apparently more concerned about their marks than yours truly) the provisional results for exams are to be released tomorrow, the papers on Feb 6th, I'm still sticking with the plan to announce I made a 98% and have one LARGE celebration next month. Then again, there are no FB postings of me having a send off celebration before heading to an ebola treatment project in Africa either, such as the younguns are sporting so we'll just celebrate in our own ways. 

I am however, doing a free online course on ebola this two weeks. This one is through the London School of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene but there are various (all free) courses offered through 

www.futurelearn.com

An interesting one that began while I was vacationing (so I put my name on a future list) focuses on crime scene forensics….next time. I did register for one in March called Medicine in the Arts out of Cape Town. Although they're free you can opt to purchase a certificate of completion. I suppose if you have a spot on your wall that needs covering…

After January 7th my activities have been social versus academic though, as a buddy and myself headed out to Savannah for a girls week to celebrate my course ending. It was winter in Georgia too, but certainly a much milder version than the NS one, and since their cold 

Savannah Airport - can you imagine?

St. John the Baptist

season is so brief, most of the tourist attractions were open (Mrs. Wilkes Boarding House will have to wait for another time as it closes for January) and very uncrowded. We were the only passengers on the free ferry across the river and had most of the free bus to ourselves as we hopped on and off the people mover. As tourists we took the narrated city hop on and off tour, a riverboat cruise, toured the Ships of the Sea, Civil Rights and Telfair Art Museums, Visitors and Jepson Centre, First African Baptist Church, scenes featured in Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil and Forrest Gump, attended a dance recital at the Lucas Theatre and shopped through the riverfront (the smell of those praline candy factories still haunts me), city market, Broughton St, areas and several 

Riverboat Tour

museum shops of spots we didn't tour. Savannah is more historic than Atlanta (as it wasn't burned in the Civil War) and a very friendly place. Highly recommend it if you're considering a visit. Spent a few hours sitting on the plane in Savannah while the mechanic checked the brakes before we left and a good number of the passengers missed their connections accordingly. We were pleased that only did the brakes work in the drizzly landing in Atlanta but we were able to grab something to eat on the way to the plane and actually connected to LaGuardia and onwards. Overnighted and saw a local Dr and his wife at the hotel in the am (small world moments) then dropped off gifts along the way and stopped for errands on the way home. 

Enjoyed having a 'crowd over for crustaceans' on the weekend. The shore captain saved 20 lobsters and 12 of us devoured them with greek salad, bread and beverages. Lots of catching up for us all. I was particularly pleased when the German pastry chef guest complimented me on the apple pies I made for dessert. It's one thing to receive a thumbs up from amateurs but when someone who's a professional baker thinks I hit the target, well…. Last night we had a double movie date and enjoyed The Imitation Game which was excellent. I managed to get the life partner there on time by (as required) subtracting 15 minutes from the departure time, allowing him to yak on the cell phone several times en route  then insisting he leave it in the vehicle. I drove and as we exited the car he was still sitting in the back seat engrossed in a work call so I said to other female "just pull his door open will you so I can lock  it electronically, hard to tell how long he'll be" and the three of us headed in to the ticket machine. He was saved by the two senior techno wizards attempting to (painfully) purchase tickets ahead of us and rushed in as we headed in the doors. We left him standing in line to buy snacks and as we headed in to the theatre the other male asked where the shore captain was "shall I call him?" he grinned - obviously didn't get the memo that guys are supposed to stick together. Was a good time. Promises all around to do it more often. These last two social events were more successful than the much anticipated New Years Eve celebrations. Note to self - do not take a sleep deprived non party animal with you if you'd like to party. Nuff said. 

Was trying to distract myself from the sad news this week of the RCMP member who was murdered out west. Always hits too close to home with the RCMP history of the life partner. And as his name was released I was shocked to find that I knew this policeman. He had been a paramedic in this province and a previous Red Cross first aid instructor / instructor-trainer with me. Always sad, but worse when they're known to you. As I watched his wife weeping at a news conference, I remembered him sharing the story of how he'd met her. As a paramedic they have to do a certain number of deliveries and he met her in the case room as he delivered her baby. They got together, married and he adopted the boy and they had two more sons - good story for  the baby book. 

Now as promised earlier, here are the details of the position I accepted. I felt I had to wait until I signed on the dotted line and (politely) informed my former employer (never burn any bridges - even at this age) of the development. Beginning March 12th (well the 11th if you consider the commute) I will be job sharing a CHN (Community Health Nurse) position in Sachs Harbour, NWT. As you can see from this map on the right, it really is at the top of the world at 72 degrees north latitude. The flights run Edmonton - Yellowknife - Inuvik - Sachs Harbour and medevacs are out to Inuvik. There are flights three days a week from Inuvik to Sachs Hbr but a Thursday departure adds an extra day to the commute home (three in total) as the connection is too late in the day. The Wikipedia overview gives you the basics:

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sachs_Harbour

The sun hasn't returned yet - another five days before sunrise according to this website:

www.timebie.com/sun/sachsharbournt.php

My job share partner (who is in community now) tells me there are usually approx. 70 people in community as the kids go out to school from grade nine and people are out working, so ignore the pop, 120 part. Also according to my partner (who is doing the research) this spot is very laid back, slow, fun, able to spend time with patients, whatever descriptor you choose - and she's a bit of a hard sell so I am already getting pumped to go. Especially as it met my primary criteria of apartment attached to health centre - these -47c days it is a bonus to have that 14 stair commute. The food mail option (my on the ground researcher tells me) means that your grocery list is phoned to Stantons in Inuvik with your credit card info, they pack and ship your order which arrives on the flight the next day, then Lloyd delivers it to your door which is better than walking to the store. Better than the $16 for 2L of coconut water she found at the grocery store for sure. She (having been a previous roommate) has shown me the way on many things, including applying for this job share - so I shall continue to learn from her. 

This is a two nurse station with a CHN and a NIC (nurse in charge) so staff are only first call every other night. No, there is no second on call nurse because….there is no need. If the bad thing happens, the 'other nurse' will just be located. Since it's a small fly in community, clearly that won't be too difficult. And apparently when on call it is customary to leave a message on the phone / note on the door if required to say "gone to the COOP" which is the only grocery store or "walking down by the shore, come find me if you need me" The collective agreement states GNWT reimburses for 225 kg of luggage every 8 wks and will pay the shot for my spouse to come in for a for a wk or so to visit every rotation. In addition to the usual government benefits there is a $2000/yr personal professional development budget (half of the full timers).  And I was pleased to learn that the health centre has a vehicle now as previously there were just a skidoo and an ATV. How would you transport a medevac patient? Tell the team to arrange themselves however they wished, layer themselves up and put the patient on top? I'll plan to get a work restrictions letter from my physio if there's a hint that this old gal be expected to drive off road vehicles. So I think all in all that this shall suit an old nurse who likes to do crafts and study a bit right down to the tundra. Might be the last 'paid work' job I have. Mind you, I've uttered those words before….

On my errands this week when I was buying craft supplies, I picked up some yarn so that a neighbour (who loves to do so) can knit some mittens for the teacher daughter's grade primary class and I have sourced some small winter hats. Winter weather requires hats and mitts for the little people who often lose or forget them and although Frenchy's is a great source of the former, the latter tend to go missing. Hats are (of course) non returnable to the collection (as the retired teacher who helped me dig in the bin reminded me) due to fear of that L word. I'll watch the weather and plan a trip to deliver the mittens when they're ready. Such is the ability of the semi retired nurse. Ahhhhh

I survived the three weeks of DTN

The last update was as we left for the DTN (Diploma Tropical Nursing) course in Liverpool and here I am a week home and working on my final paper so taking a break to post. Well…..actually, I'm having trouble motivating myself to get the darned thing done so I'm procrastinating but the blog is badly behind so…..  That there has been no blog posting for the pst three weeks of very intensive DTN course and a rushed Christmas celebration should come as no surprise. And since I am looking at a New Years holiday and submission of my paper by the first of January, things are not slowing down in the near future, so here goes. 

My travel buddy and I 'enjoyed' the overnight flight from Halifax to Heathrow and although she had enough sense to nap, I watched the movie Jersey Boys which I don't regret. Great music and I was going to be sleep deprived regardless. An early morning arrival in London, quick processing through Customs and my travel mate's friend was waiting for us as we exited. An efficient trip to the little village she lived in. The weekend was a whirlwind of sightseeing, shopping and tea shoppes in Ely and Cambridge. Lovely scenery, great food

Cambridge at dusk

and company. Sunday after a walk around the village and a proper British lunch at Poachers Pub we were off in the rental car for Liverpool. After an extended tour of the city from Albert Dock to downtown  while we were lost (Liverpool has really been fixed up a LOT since the 80s my travel mate decides) and eventually by asking for directions at the local bar we found our residence of Beacon Building. Straight up three steep stairs (no elevator) and we are settled in our rooms. We meet a classmate who is next door to our rooms and she helps with the settling in routine - internet, grocery stores and we'll head to class in the morning. 

About a two minute walk to the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine (LSTM) for registration and the first day routine. Haven't brought my log in information, the online process is p-a-i-n-f-u-l (my sympathies to IT) and in a state of frustration we are finally herded into the lecture hall. A glance around tells me that 50/57 classmates are under age 30 and we are told 58% are Canadian, the rest mostly from USA or UK. Not what I'd envisioned when thinking of the demographics. I later learned that the DTN course is a requirement to work with MSF (Doctors Without Borders) so that explains the young average student age. After attending one of their information sessions a couple of years ago and realizing a nine month initial contract is required, I'd passed on that organization. A handful of international students from Nigeria, Ghana, Somalia, Australia, Norway and South Africa add to the depth of the attendees. We are asked to post a copy of our photo to two world maps - one where we live, one where we have worked and the visual is quite striking. 

The cultural immersion of living in England for over three weeks, studying in a British system with various accents as in "hello my name is Claire" which I can interpret as "hello my name is Cla hair" or scenario which translates to see nah ree o, or trying to figure out which coin was which at the grocery store - holding out my change in my palm so the clerk could help herself as if I was eight years old, was a bit of a learning curve. Although it was fairly mild and we had some nice days of sunshine, for the most part, it was as might be expected in Liverpool in December….kind of drizzly and grey, the travel umbrella didn't languish in the bag for sure. The description of the course was 'intensive' and it sure lived up to the name. Classes from 9am - 5pm daily with lectures, group work, labs and abbreviated breaks and lunch hours meant a LOT of information delivered. Although feeling overwhelmed, I thought how intense the experience would've been without the preceding ten years of being a tropical health groupie, attending three tropical medicine conferences, webinars, reading whatever I could my hands on for the topic etc. 

The first week also brought the intrusion of my paid employment life. A number of frustrations with my present employer as I have been wrangling since August with the other two regions in the territory to try and find a spot with attached housing. Yet to get my name on the casual list and I am already a GN employee - what a disorganized bunch! As I was on my way out the door for the airport I had received a call from the HR clerk in NWT regarding a phone interview for an 8 wk job share I'd applied for and I promised I would try to source a phone for the hour required. With the time zone differences the 1:15 pm interview slot translated to 8:15 pm and the caretaker very kindly gave me the door code to their office for the event. I was so distracted with the first few days of class, time change, travel etc. that when I discussed the interview a few minutes later with my travel mate asking "what would you do for a six month infant?" she immediately said "I'd do the weight, length and head circumference" and I sighed a huge sigh and said "well, I didn't even remember to say I'd weigh the baby!" I assume they thought I was nervous and not a complete idiot as I have since had a verbal offer for the position….more on that later. The first week flew by with great lecturers. One who is a runner spoke of the difficulty exercising in the tropics (the same but different as lack of exercise north of 60) in conflict zones - never mind the heat and dust, if someone sees you running….everyone may run. Several of the lectures were heard to say "I'll come on to that

St. Georges Hall

later" meaning "I'll get to that". We took an evening and shopped in the downtown which did give us a bit of the Christmas spirit. Lovely old buildings, some like the one on the left built on slave trade money. Before we knew it, we were shortly making plans to travel to Oxford for the second weekend. 

Blenheim Palace

Oxford was a scenic drive through beautiful British countryside as the Cotswolds are lovely. We met my travel mates nephew who is a lecturer at Oxford and entertained us in grand style. We walked the grounds at Christ Church seeing skulling on the Thames (Isis) River and enjoying the architecture. We toured Blenheim Palace which was stunning, decorated for the holidays and a wonderful way to spend the

Christ Church, Oxford

 afternoon. We dined at High Table in Christ Church (yes the prototype for Hogwarts if you're a Harry Potter fan) where our host 'presided' in his robes (Latin benediction) and had a wonderful meal prepared by the Michelin rated chef. I was seated next to an Irish mathematician (all of the academics were early 30s PhDs) who asked how I knew the host. I replied that I didn't, had only met him that day and in answer to "what brings you to England?" I explained about the LSTM - DTN program. "Are you lecturing?" the young fellow asked and with a grin I replied "no, I'm a student, do you think I'm too old?" which caused some stuttering on his part. When I realized on the final days of the course that I actually WAS the oldest student it caused me some angst but as a colleague reassured me "someone has to be the oldest". We stayed at

Alice in Wonderland 

Radcliffe Camera

Christ Church in lovely rooms, enjoyed breakfast and then a private tour with our host of such areas of the college as the garden where Alice in Wonderland was written about - the door through the wall and the tree where the Cheshire Cat sat. After a pub lunch with some friends of my classmate we headed back 'home' to Liverpool. 

The under 30 crowd had a relaxing weekend apparently too as one was exhibiting her new tattoo which she'd gotten in a bar after a number of tequila shots. The more sedate had travelled to Chester in Wales or explored Liverpool itself. The second week included a lecture and visit to

Green mamba

the venomous snakes laboratory, TB, anemia, maternal/child, learning about FBOs (faith based organizations) and various acronyms. Surprisingly, the younger set were most freaked out by the maternity aspect of the course. When the midwife lecturer questioned "who is a midwife? who worked maternity? who has seen a delivery? as we raised our hands in various patterns, then asked "who has never seen a delivery?" and a large number of hands were raised. I was gobsmacked - every one of us in that lecture hall writes RN after our names. I have been so lucky in my experience over the years to have had the opportunities I've had. 

Castle Howard

The third weekend of exploring took us to Yorkshire where the views are just out of a scene from the James Harriott novel All Creatures Great and Small with rolling hills, stone walls and sheep dotting the green hillsides. There we visited a friend of my classmate in Harrogate. It's a lovely little town and we travelled to Castle Howard for Saturday afternoon and then a walk on the grounds of Ripley Castle on Sunday. All three of the various castles we visited were privately owned and opened to the public with tea rooms and gift shops as a way of maintaining them. The brisk morning walk followed by tea and toasted teacake, some market shopping then some retail therapy in Harrogate on Sunday and a stop for lunch at Betty's tea room before heading back to Liverpool. By the third trip we were able to locate our residence with ease. 

The final week brought a lot of freaking out about the exam vs an overview of the content from the younger majority. One of our midst had celebrated her 23rd birthday (yes you read that correctly) meaning she was over two years younger than my last child. When we did a wrap up during the final class and shared some of our thoughts of the experience I stated that although I would do my best on the exam, I wasn't going to stress as no one knew what I was doing at LSTM anyway, I was going to tell folks I'd passed and have a big party to celebrate in February as I'd learned a great deal in a short time and it exceeded my expectations. The younger folks who were focused on the diploma to show to MSF were not reassured by my attitude. One of the class who had travelled/worked extensively for MSF, is a midwife, taught English overseas etc. asked what my plans were and I replied "something to do with maternal/child health as I have some talents to offer in that direction" and we discussed the length of contract as I explained about my northern job share, workaholic husband etc and she said "oh I forgot, you have a real life" as she and her husband live in Sicily sometimes, she goes home to Nebraska, they do MSF contracts etc. The final exam was a challenge as it's been over 20 years since I 'wrote' an examination as multiple choice is the North American way and writing non stop short answer questions for 90 minutes was not easy. There was very strict invigilating of the exam, immediate relief afterwards and a group photo, then a sponsored lunch with beer and wine served - you would NEVER see that at a Canadian university, even for a longer program. Lots of visiting and goodbyes before getting the luggage out by the door for the sherpas, I mean caretakers. 

A decision to reward ourselves with a trip to the Beatles Story and since it was sprinkling (and my travel mate isn't a hiker) we sprang for a cab. The Liverpudlian cab drivers are an entertaining lot and this one was chatty and very opinionated (not a fan of Princess Kate or various entertainers etc) but as we made our way to Albert Dock he explained that the traffic was heavy as it was 'Mad Friday' which is the final one before the Christmas holiday when all the students are out of class and employees heading out on days off to drink. As we stop at a light, he looks in the rear view mirror, pulls up on the emergency brake, jumps out of the cab and with his arm raised yells "you there 'ere put your finger down and get over yourself then" as we're trying to

Sgt Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band

figure out what is going on. Apparently the guy behind us made a gesture at him after being cut off. Good thing he was on our side. The Beatles Story is well worth visiting and we spent at least 90 minutes having a major flashback with the music, photos and the backstory. The ferris wheel ride in the pouring rain and stiff winds was as exciting as the cab ride but with a wonderful night time view of the city. 

Back to pick up a classmate and head downtown for a final supper. We settled on Mowgli which is a Nepalese restaurant which had wonderful (and very different) food. As we arrived back at the residence we opted to sort out some last minute details before our trip to the bus depot and our classmate headed out to visit at CLV (which we believed to be a pub). As I was posting photos on FaceBook, my travel mate arrived at the door to my room with an ashen face to confess that she'd given the paper with the door code to access the office where the luggage was stored to our classmate as there was a phone number for a cab on the paper. I made a decision in my mind that I had my passport and the luggage could be shipped to me after the holidays as I was getting on the plane in Heathrow tomorrow morning with or without baggage. My travel mate tried frantic combinations of what she thought the number might be and I chuckled afterwards about the staff reviewing the closed circuit footage in the morning of her escapades. A search up and down the street for a pub named CLV was (no surprise) unsuccessful, but we noticed on our way back that an apartment building had CLV on the front and  questioned a smoker outside who admitted it was a student residence. A quick glance at the sign in log revealed her name and the creaky security guard quickly agreed to summons her. Whew, luggage freed, cab to the bus depot and we settled in to wait. There was entertainment in the form of an irate customer berating the night station clerk (who we interviewed to discover was from Gambia, had 3 children and a wife and a brother in North Carolina) repeatedly until the threat of calling 999 was made and he disappeared. A phone call from HR offering me the job share position and giving me 48 hrs to consider before deciding was a nice way to start my journey home. Details on the location when the start date is worked out after the holidays. 

I quickly settled into a nap on the midnight bus and completely missed the trip through the tunnel to Merseyside and across to Chester in Wales, waking only at Birmingham and completely out as we (so I was told) stopped in Oxford, arriving at Heathrow. A nice breakfast, some shopping in the duty free shops and then it was time to board. Lots of turbulence across the pond which didn't prevent me from sleeping (lots of practice), clearing customs in St. Johns and a wait then a short flight to Halifax. Met at the airport and a quick visit with the travel mates family then an uneventful trip home. Arrived to the smell of burnt lobsters and a sleeping spouse who couldn't be awakened to move to the other side of the bed. Welcome home!

Having only four days to prepare for the holidays was enough with the scaled down version we created this year. A family dinner on Saturday night at the in-laws, some house decorations (no tree) put up over the weekend, a trip for some groceries and last minute errands and some family visits. The gifts were downsized this year to donations according to the talents of each of the offspring CUSO (as I couldn't get the website for Electricians Without Borders to work for a donation - next yr.) Teachers Without Borders, Ecology Action Centre (sustainable fishing) and Operation Smile (facial repair surgery) for the nurse. The good feelings and the good work will last for longer than something they could provide for themselves as they're all functioning adults. 

The lobster season here is in full swing and the catches are record breaking - in the first week the shore captain had bought an equal amount of crustaceans as he'd done in the full six month season last year. The boy captain has had incredibly high landings and has purchased a new truck as did his hired man. The addition to the market of the Chinese importer has kept the price up as well as moving a perishable, luxury product. Fingers crossed. 

The shore captain has been up the past two nights at 3 am so is hoping to sleep through tonight. Saturday was a planned rendezvous to retrieve lobsters from a boat arriving during the night and would've gone smoothly except he left early forgetting to shut off the 3 am alarm so I had to pull the plug on the clock, hoping he hadn't woken our grand dog and his parents who were visiting. Last night was a frantic call from fishermen who noticed 'blue smoke' in the bait shed as they picked up their bait for the day and wondered if there was an ammonia leak. No ammonia there, but apparently someone had poured Javex-12 (double strength bleach) onto the floor. So another early morning and chance to go duck hunting by daylight. After a lengthy chat with the electrician brother-in-law who came to check on the heating system settings it was past the shore captains bedtime. They were both warned "it had best be fixed as I pay the power bill" and of the two of them the electrician was (as usual) the most compliant. 

Time to wrap this up and head to bed as I have my research completed and need to begin drafting my paper tomorrow. Plans are to take a short New Years Eve break in the city for supper, a movie and the show at the Grand Parade with fireworks at midnight - look for us on TV with the countdown. Times Square for midnight is on my bucket list but I've got to ease into such grand plans slowly. 

thespiritscience.net/2014/05/29/10-choices-you-will-regret-in-ten-years

Catch you in 2015…..

A university student again…..

So, as I leave supper on the stove and wrap the shredded wheat bread for the shore captain…I shall update this blog. The shore captain title is actually a misnomer at least for the first day of the lobster season as he has been press ganged (due to a serious illness of one of the local fishermen requiring immediate and long term treatment in the city) onto a boat. The plan is that he will get the traps set and then have to be ashore buying lobsters at the closer to home buying station (all green staff there this year). I think cloning himself is the only option but what would I do with two of him? I have enough trouble handling one most times. The season has been postponed five days at this point , there is still debate about tomorrow or Saturday being the first day and a conference call for LFA reps is scheduled for 4 pm. I do feel slightly guilty to be leaving him with the busy schedule as I usually keep the home fires burning and really do want to be close with both the boy Captain (and now the senior version) on the water, especially as it is very rough after the past few days of wind. I have warned them both to "BE CAREFUL" and reminded myself this is the way they make their living, whether I am across the pond or not.

The final wrap up in Nunavut was as per the usual routine. I did a handover to a male nurse (farmer up from Saskatchewan) who was learning to be a CHN. While we were getting the STI program sorted out - with all the attendant social dysfunction that unearths he frequently said "wow". Am sure he'll say that a few more times before his contract is over. He'll do just fine. This is the first time in two years that I've left the north without a return date for the next contact as I've been holding out for a health centre with an attached apartment. I have been persistent in my pursuit of the other two regions (at the moment of this writing, still unsuccessful) for such a spot and have ignored the Kitikmeot HR email asking if I want to return to Kugluktuk for Jan/Feb. Not because I have anything agains this placement but I'm not a fan of dressing up in parka, wind pants, mitts, hats, scarf, boots, unplugging the vehicle, warming it up, driving in -55c temperatures to the health centre, unlocking the door, getting out of the winter gear and….on exit, a reverse repeat performance. If I can't find a spot which suits by the end of January, I'll look at NWT as I've paid my $917 RN registration which will allow me to work in either territory.  I have decided I am too old to do things I don't want to, especially if it's just for the money, so will think positively and wait. It actually feels pretty good to say "I'm going to take some time off". 

It was -35c on the afternoon I left and so I'm finding the 'down south' climate very balmy. I flew out with several elders and the premier of the territory Peter Taptuna who had been in the community doing a meet n greet. He nodded but didn't waste energy on me as I clearly wasn't a voter. The flight to Yellowknife was uneventful but the second leg was more of a struggle. Several delays at the gate, over an hour for de-icing and we weren't in to Edmonton until after 10 pm. The baby daughter met me at the terminal (nice to not have to struggle with the shuttle) but most of the meal planning sites had closed by that hour. We had a late supper, short sleepover and she put she back on the plane in the early am. Nice to even have the short visit though. The Air Canada gate clerk was really not nice as I checked in (I'm thinking she didn't pass her customer service exam) and insisted I pay $105 for the third bag so I smiled anyway, put my oversize totes through the baggage and off through security. Uneventful trip to Toronto, short layover there spent in the Maple Leaf Lounge with all the executives heading home on Friday pm and off to Halifax. The flight was actually on time and my booked taxi was waiting but….I arrived with only one action packer and the duffle bag. NOT impressed. Had to file a claim for the bag - did you know that Air Canada has outsourced its call centre to India? Not an easy procedure. Nice visit with my nursing school classmate (who stores my car) and I headed out late for home, arriving by 1:30 am. 

Spent the weekend getting caught up on the news, visiting with friends, running errands and settling in. The Cloud Nine Shuttle arrived with my missing action packer on Saturday pm and was I ever glad to see the other BOGS boot - having one just makes you really cranky when you look at it. So, it's been a busy few days of appointments, lunching with friends, and the Bob Seeger and the Silver Bullet Band concert in the city which was amazing!!!!

So, no photos this posting as I'm out of time due to trying to handle the logistics of an interview with a 7 hr time zone difference…. more on that next update. I am very excited to be a university student again, got good feedback on my pre-course assignment and am looking forward to travelling/studying with my buddy. I am all set to go and have my textbooks in my carry on knapsack because…..I'm flying Air Canada tonight. Updates to follow from Liverpool, UK. A link for you to educate yourselves with:

http://positivemed.com/2014/09/29/15-facts-human-body-will-astonish

Bed head packing shirt hair

I often end a blog posting with the quote of the day, so instead I'm leading with quotes, 60 of them to put you in a positive frame of mind:

marcandangel.com/2012/06/08/60-quotes-change-the-way-you-think

I am in a very positive frame of mind as I hit send on my 16 page pre- course assignment last night and I'm not sure who decided that it was 18 hours of study but I found that a very conservative estimate. I had to go to the clinic last evening and use the computer in the office as I don't have Word on my Mac, just a Text Edit program. Needless to say the alignment was all messed up between the two so I picked at it until 9 pm.  As I walked home in what felt like milder weather as it had moderated from -35 to about -13 c, I noticed that the northern lights (aurora borealis) were putting on a wonderful show for me as the green lights danced over my left shoulder all the way to the apartment. My excuse for not continuing with the readings this evening is that I am first call and don't want to have to leave them and come back. 

And mostly that there's no point in trying to retain anything after a full day of call. We had the usual busy day back after being closed yesterday, drew bloods first thing and there was a full list of regular appointments in the middle of the waiting room of lab patients. I had a few calls, then a few more when people got up just before noontime. The afternoon was well child immunization with its usual screaming plus we do walk in flu shots from 3 - 4:30 pm from now until the vaccine is gone. Planning on getting mine tomorrow so I'll be protected when I go across the pond.  In between this I kept busy with walk ins and calls - a lady called for husband who got tired and took a nap…..okay, thanks for letting me know. One of the flights (Canadian North) flew over  here this afternoon leaving a number of patients booked with medical travel so that was a bit of scrambling. One of my roommates headed home to BC today and was fortunate to be on First Air which did land and take off before the ice fog struck. Just think that'll be catching a First Air flight a week from tomorrow. Ah, tis time. 

The latest smiles on the local front go a bit like this…..the very cute one year old who belongs to the

travel clerk came with her mother to work and even knew how to take a handful of papers and tap the bottom on the desk to line them up. She's a smiley girl and when I patted the back of her head with some frizzy hair, her Mom explained that it was "packing shirt bed head" as she wears her on her back and Emilia naps as she works or the six month old baby with a full head of black hair or "millions of hairs" as one of the clerks referred to it or an overhead page is heard at least once a day saying "sewings for sale, sewings for sale in the lobby" and if you investigate you find someone displaying slippers, wall hangings, decorative zipper pulls, kamiks etc. or the request to "have my tubal out" was a bit disconcerting at first, thinking that someone had written 'informed consent' when the procedure was done and obviously the permanency of the situation had not registered but….when I realized that the slow patient requesting it, surely needed it for that very reason - it made sense or the very cute sixteen month old who came in with a parent and was very taken with one of the class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">

 'babies' in the waiting room. There is a black one (Femi the Nigerian mental health worker says it's his) and a white one in a display to discourage fetal alcohol syndrome. She insisted on bringing the dolly with her to the office and very carefully picked it up when I made a move towards it. What a good momma she is. Another full day tomorrow and then I'm on call Friday again. Getting into the countdown with only two more first call days left this time around. Almost there. And to close off the work related quotes, here is a link to something we already knew, although it's not an issue here, I'm sure we can all identify at one point in our lives:

washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/is-your-boss-making-you-sick/2014/10/20/60cd5d44-2953-11e4-8593-da634b334390_story.html

The days are certainly getting shorter here as we head into the 24 hours of darkness. Sunrise is at 9:45 am and sunset at 3 pm tomorrow. It feels as if it is time to go home from work as the dusk appears. Some of the more northerly communities are already into the 'no sun' days now. By the time I'm outta here we'll be having only a few hours of light. One more week, one more week. 

Welcome Nunavut Baby

So at about the two week mark since the last post, I am ready to update you. I was ready to update you many times before the two week mark but…..northern life got in the way. The eight week contracts take on a rhythm of their own where as you ready to travel in, you don't really want to leave - kind of like looking at the last day off before heading back to the next set of shifts - but once you start packing and actually get going, it's not all that bad. Once you're 'in community' you just settle in and make up your mind to make the best of it and then….. I've found that the third week in of the contract is the longest, where it seems like I've been here a long time and still have a long ways to go - this feeling only lasts for a couple of days and is akin to losing sight of one shore while not being able to view the one I'm headed to. I am past the mid-point marker with only three weeks remaining and as the slide to the finish edges closer, the time seems to speed up. Such is the life of a transient person. 

We had (another) blizzard last week and as we were in day two of what looked like four snow days….we delivered a baby at the health centre. A prenatal (who was booked to travel out the next week) having her fifth baby and was about 35 weeks gestation, slept through the labour and presented herself with regular contraptions about 5 minutes apart and almost fully dilated. I was giving a lady the antibiotics for her chest infection I'd diagnosed, when my roommate appeared at the pharmacy door and said "you're the maternity nurse, we're having a baby, come on" and….away we went to the OBS room. I decided not to share that it had

Jakson

been at least 20 years since I'd been an OBS nurse. The physician (although only 28 yrs old is one of those wise souls) had delivered about 100 babies and the room was all set up. Now, a blizzard, in a fly in northern community is not where you'd choose to have a premature baby but….this was one of the smoothest and easiest deliveries I have seen and that lusty cry was the most welcome sound! Jakson who must've wanted to be a Nunavut not a NWT baby arrived at 11 am, was a good size, very vigorous and both he and mother were stable. The nicest part was that although it was their fifth child, the father had never been present for a birth (as prenatals wait at least three weeks and deliver - usually alone - in Yellowknife) and Dad was very supportive and emotional. The siblings came with their grandmother an hour or so later and weren't told they had a baby brother - the looks on their little faces when they realized he had arrived was priceless. We called for a medevac that afternoon after he didn't feed well and his sugar dropped and somehow….the pilot landed about 8 pm that evening in just about zero visibility. I couldn't find the door of the plane to drive up to on the runway, the wind took the door of the SUV from my hands and we plowed our way through huge drifts on the way to the health centre with the medevac crew looking out each window to see the edge of the road. As I returned them to the airport and the flight nurse took ahold of that mother to help her walk across the polished ice surface with a premie in a Snuggli under her parka, I found myself getting emotional. I struggled over

loading equipment 

to the door of the King Air where the pilots were arranging equipment in the cramped cabin with the flight paramedic as the wind whipped snowflakes into my face, stinging my cheeks and making me squint and said "I want you to know how much we all appreciate the fact that you made this flight tonight"walking quickly away as my voice faltered. As I beat my way back through the walls of drifts, fishtailing on the slick icy roads, peering out through the frosty windshield hoping I was still on the road, I though of the wild ride for crew, mother and child on their way to Yellowknife. 

5 pm sunset towards the airport

It's well and truly winter now and the snow machines are out in full force. Still a few Hondas around as they'll still start, but the roar of skidoos is the predominant sound. Very disconcerting when you're first call to see and hear them whipping by. As I was walking home from the store the other day, the smell of snow machine exhaust from two that passed me caused me to feel 23 yrs old on the back of ourskidoo in Labrador. Smell is such an evocative sense isn't it? I went for a walk after work tonight (clearing my mind after wild child afternoon aka well baby immunization clinic) and the 5 pm sunset was beautiful, even at -16c with the wind chill. 

One of the good things about working in a more relaxed northern setting is laughing WAY more than in a traditional 'southern' workplace. For example, as the A/SHP (acting nurse in charge) and I were standing outside the pharmacy door, one of the local staff approached to say there was a lady wanting something. We both heard "she wants some NIX for her knees" and responded in unison "What? Nix goes on your head!" but Edith clarified "NO, she wants some NIX for her niece". Nix of course being the treatment for head lice. The Mental Health Worker was explaining that he led with the things no one wants to talk about "hi I'm Femi, I'm 55 years old and I weight 220lb. now that we've got that out of the way we can get along". I explained that I wasn't telling anyone how much I weighed, but my age wasn't a problem. I am the STI (sexually transmitted infections) nurse - meaning I'm supposed to be testing, treating, tracking down contacts then doing test of cures. I was discouraged to find last week that there were enough new cases of STIs that I would need to take my socks off to count them, couldn't just use my fingers. There were several cases of 'the immaculate chlamydia' where married couples each named only the other partner as their sole contact…..ummmm I don't think so. On Monday, when I was first call (the health centre is closed for lunch and first call nurse puts on the answering machine and takes the cell phone home) I received an emergency call wondering if anyone wanted to buy sealskin kamiks. A coworker had a call from a rather slow person who babysits and she was describing the child's sore throat, when she was told to "come in to the health centre" she said "should I bring her?" Ummm yes I think so as she's the one you're calling about. It's not all fun and games as I got 1 hour and 45 minutes of sleep (not consecutively either) on Thursday night and had to work the following day. Mind you, Rosie the CHR (community health representative) often makes us bannock fried in a cast iron frying pan and served warm with jam at the end of the week and so we've come to look forward to Bannock Fridays. 

We of course, as any employees do, look forward to paydays, especially those of us who haven't received a direct deposit since July. I am never impressed when I see the amount of income tax deducted but if I'm doing well enough to have that bother me…..it's a first world problem. We have been working short so with fewer nurses the call is closer together and it's been fairly busy so... lucrative. Next week with additional nurses arriving we'll be down to one in five. Since we're on the topic of the filthy lucre I should mention that I was casting about for various employment options and discovered that the agency nurses are paid according to the size of the health centre + a standard per diem. This translates to $650/day for a CHN in a two nurse centre, $620/3 nurses and $590/5 nurses per 24 hr shift (callbacks aren't compensated) which is comparable to the $600/day which my ACP (advanced care paramedic) buddy earns on contract in the oilfields. I have at times considered doing OHN work there as it sounds equally lucrative. I have applied for an 8 wk job share position in a small (140 souls) hamlet in NWT but am not sure if I'll go through with the process as a colleague tells me the pay will be about half of what I'm earning now. And speaking of money and contacts…. my roommate committed to a 9 wk contract over Christmas and her hubby (who was going to join her for 2 wks) can't get Aeroplan flights in - would cost over $4000 to get in and out from Ottawa. I haven't dared ask what their plans are. I know her long term plans include working in remote BC locations vs coming back here. 

It's not as if I am without non work activities to fill my time. As I mentioned to my roommate today "your knitting is coming right along" and she replied "about the same as your crocheting". Meaning neither of the projects had been handled in any way except to move them from one side of the coffee table to the other. I did read a book I found in the nightstand entitled My Mountie and Me which was not even a long publication and have made a thank you card from my scrapbook supplies but….only one. 

I am at present procrastinating from doing my pre-course assignment for the Diploma of Tropical Nursing course that I'm attending in about a month. The multiple pages of the over one dozen readings (381 page books, 165 page PDF documents and 18 page articles for example) are barely begun. One additional chore will be learning to use the Harvard referencing system, which in all the studies I've done is not one I've used (of course). I was eating my lunch and reading about worm burden (only a nurse can write that truthfully) this weekend and realized….this is a LOT of work….what was I thinking? I am using flash cards I've created with the various worm names on the front and I am sure there will be lots of discussion about EVD (ebola virus disease) in Liverpool as many of the lecturers at the LSTMH work in the field in Africa. I have decided as I watch events unfolding in the media that fear-bola is worse than ebola itself. I've tried to review a couple of webinars but those will have to wait until I'm in a location with more bandwidth. I ordered the two course textbooks from Amazon and they should be delivered this week at home. I did however register online for the University of Liverpool and uploaded a photo - likely will look like one of those distorted mirror shots by the time they get in on an ID tag. I am not concerned. My roommate was looking at photos of fruit in a third world food market and I told her the rule is….peel it, cook it or forget it….and she said "the lettuce looks great" and I screamed "lettuce and sprouts are THE worst" and she sighed and pronounced "this course is really twisting your mind". Now that I'm not arguing with. 

The physician, her husband (who has been substitute teaching here) and their dog flew out today. They'll be back here in February for another locum but we already miss her. One of those great Dr. you not only trust but like and yes you can have various combinations of those two descriptors. When the little guy we delivered arrived for his well baby checkup as he was home from Yellowknife yesterday she had us take her photo with him.  Nice to have someone like that be on the other end of the phone when you have to call for help. 

So….I must get my act together and read another article as tonight I'm not on call and the days are slipping away. 

Snow machine season

Hello? hello? Can you hear me down south from up here in the great white north? Oh good, then let me fill you in on the past 20 days. As you have deduced….I have arrived in Kugluktuk and am all settled in. Well, as settled in as a transient person can hope to be. It's been a busy start of up most of the night on calls, extended waits for a medevac flight, long weekend days of call after call and frantic clinic days. 

Sharing a chair

Started out with a gastro bug that went through the community and although I'm almost certain it wasn't noro virus, just a regular tummy bug, there was a LOT of drama. As in….falling on the floor screaming in front of the front desk, being found lying on the floor of the entryway to the health centre, groaning so loudly that office doors must be shut to hear answers to assessment questions, yelling "I need an IV" and then further questioning shows they vomited once four hours ago. There were votes by nursing staff as to who should be awarded Oscars for the best performances. Since the gastro bug has moved on, we are now seeing lots of respiratory symptoms. Colds and coughs with those who think they have pneumonia (usually the smokers) or the frequent flyers who don't hesitate to come see a nurse (most often outside of regular clinic hours) with a VERY well child - the one running up and down the halls with the other kid who is waiting for the dentist, or the one tearing your office apart. Often this happy, smiling, squealing child morphs into….evil kidlet. Screaming, lying on the floor or running around the office, clamping two hands over their mouth (they already know where you're going to examine) requiring both parents to wrestle them into a partially submissive state while you attempt to see eardrums and tonsils on a moving target. And don't get me started as to how you auscultate breath sounds in such a situation. These two lads above were very cooperative but they were just hanging out with someone else, not actually needing to see the nurse. 

Have had a run on human bites (very nasty) which have required aggressive antibiotic treatment, some opening of wounds to explore and some partial closing of a large deep one - had to get the Doc up one night to put an upper lip back together as it was a full thickness (through to the inside lining of the mouth) 3 cm x 2.5 cm ragged gash - have never seen a human bite like that in my 40 yrs of nursing. Apparently teeth have become the weapon of choice. I'm purposely not including in the stats the four toddler boy victims who came in over the past two weeks from the preschool - I'm thinking the female biter has been dealt with (root cause analysis) so the visits have ceased. 

I'm the STI (sexually transmitted infection) nurse here this contract and it's a busy portfolio. I knew that from my previous gig last year and still switched for it with my roommie - better the devil you know…There is a three inch binder of two page forms in a community of 1420 souls since……July. We should just test everyone at every visit. It does help that I enjoy doing family tree work when you're doing contact tracing. You can tell if someone is frequently treated if they say "where are the pink pills?" referring to the zithromax which from another supplier is now issued in white. Hmmm, I thought that too when I opened the bottle but wait…..you're not a nurse! I am determined to get a handle on the status of the program - who tested positive? is the treatment and contact tracing done? have they had test of cure after 4 wks? are the reports / results faxed to the communicable disease coordinator? STIs are reportable and syphillis is making a comeback. Clearing using a small shovel to put out a fire but just stacking the lab reports in a pile (as I found them upon arrival) is not helping. I find that I do remember some people from my last time here - that is not usually a good thing as it means they were either sick, badly behaved or both. 

A lot of the frustrations are mediated by having a good roommate - my demographics - who describes herself as  "it's not my first rodeo". She's worked north since 2001, has a wealth of experience and has been in this community multiple times, so is a great resource. She also has a pretty wicked sense of humour, great work ethic and a good deal of common sense. Lots of organization needed here as it's a pretty jumbled spot but with an experienced team of nurses we're making some headway. We're not exactly twins though as she is a vegan and is now eating some kind of weird Gwenyth Paltrow regime to fit in to a very form fitting dress she bought for renewal of vows ceremony in Bahamas in December. Myself, I am of the school of thought that if you promised 'till death do us part' once, it doesn't come with an expiry date. Mind you, they've been through a lot the past two years as her hubby is a cancer survivor and this was a promise. Her husband had post op complications and put their small dog in the kennel and it was mauled by a bigger dog, had to have emergency vet care with IVs, x-rays, exploratory of wounds, antibiotics etc (which the other dog owner paid for) and he is taking home tomorrow. So an upsetting week for her. 

I walked home tonight from work with big snowflakes softly falling and

6 pm walk home

snowmobiles whizzing by and realized that the snow which came the end of September will be here until May. Snapped a photo of a little cutie in a parka her Grannie made her. We are slipping into darkness as the 24 hr. night approaches and today we were an hour later in the morning getting light than NS and were dark half an hour earlier. We have been weathered a few days and had a 24 hr. delay for a medevac flight (14 mo old who swallowed a lithium battery into his esophagus 24 hrs before the mother casually mentioned it to the nurse at a appointment for herself) so we were thrilled when they finally arrived. I stopped at The Northern and gave in and bought parmesan cheese. I have searched several times through all my bags and have never found the container of it I bought in NS, packed into an action packer and zip tied / duct taped securely in. The life partner saw me pack it, although he did graciously look at home when I asked. I think it entered a Bermuda triangle somewhere. 

Had a brief chat with my tropical nursing course classmate as she has decided to rent a vehicle for the first two weeks of our UK adventure - I told her that she was in charge of the social arrangements and I will contribute my half.  Trips to Cambridge, Oxford and Leeds fill the weekends and we have the Beatles Museum and some pub visits on the agenda. So many choices, so little time. We heard from the accommodations in Liverpool that we can stay for the three weeks for a total of $665 Cdn in a residence with private room and shared kitchen / bath i.e. nurses residence which is a two min. walk from class. Less than six weeks now, so getting excited. Or at least I was until I opened the email LSTMH sent today with the pre course assignment (16 pages of instructions). We have a month to get it done. I will start tomorrow……perhaps. 

When my travel classmate asked how long I was home for I explained that I arrived (hopefully with weather etc) on November 21st and we leave for England on Nov 27th but….I am going to the Bob Seeger concert in the city on November 24th with a buddy (first day of lobstering so no music for the shore captain). She said "oh don't tell them in England about Bob Seeger they won't think you're cool". As if they would anyway? Made me giggle. 

Am closing with a photo of the Heritage Visitors Center which is shaped like an ulu (women's knife) and houses some exhibits. The link below is a great local resource. Will attempt to to get in there before I leave. So, you're all caught up to date and I'm heading to la la land.  

nunavuttourism.com/regions-communities/kugluktuk