GAS

I posted something about guitar acquisition syndrome (aka. GAS) a while back. I went on about how I didn't really understand how people could own like 10 guitars - especially say five Stratocasters. I mean sure, you could argue that variables like different woods and different pickups make them all unique instruments. Maybe if you're a professional musician...

I went through a bit of a scare back in November when I was told that the guy who's garage I stored my stuff in was broken into. Someone had gone through my boxes of stuff and he thought that some of it might have been stolen. Among the things of value were my G&L Legacy, my Roland MicroCube amp, and my textbooks. By the grace of God, none of the stuff I could think of was taken.

Since I've been back, I picked up another G&L. My excuse was that it was mainly for my brother who has been using a very cheap Fender Squier strat that doesn't stay in tune through one song. I ended up going with an ASAT Special from their Tribute series (made in Korea) with two high-output American made P90 pickups. It's G&L's version of a Telecaster and has an F-hole. I really liked the feel and the sound of it. For the price, it's a great instrument and almost feels as good as my Legacy (which was made in the USA).


For whatever reason, my parents decided to get a drum set. It's a Christmas present for both my brother and I. But the catch is that I'm only home for another 2 weeks. I spent about 2 hrs yesterday playing along with some worship songs and it was awesome!

Where to next?

Browsing blogs has been a procrastination habit of mine for quite some time now. Most of the time I just visit blogs of people I know to check-up on what's going on in their lives. A lot of people I met in Australia were avid bloggers and it has been great to see what they have to say. I came across this amusing picture that shows some of the possible options for post-med school. I would display the picture here but I don't want to violate any copyright laws or steal someone's bandwidth...

1st Year Officially Done!

I can't believe it's December already. The days seem to be blazing by at light speed and I'm left wondering where all my time has gone. My "summer" holidays are half over - yes, half over according to the pessimist within - and just when I'm starting to get settled back at home.

Last Friday I wrapped up my 4 week elective doing community pediatrics. I had originally wanted to split my time between doing something in a hospital setting and community setting but the University of Calgary school of Medicine made a big stink about not taking 1st year students for electives and the potential preceptors I contacted at the Alberta Children's Hospital insisted I had to go through the electives office. Thankfully, I was able to secure something at a pediatric clinic.

Like many things, I think it actually worked out for the best. It was just myself and my preceptor for basically the entire month and I had ample opportunity to ask questions, interact with children (and their parents), and get right to putting my clinical skills into practice. If I was at the Children's, I'd probably be one of many students/clerks/residents vying for attention and would have had much less patient contact. I definitely wouldn't have been able to develop a comfort with looking into ears, listening for heart sounds, and estimating testicular volume by palpation.

Looking ahead at the coming years, I'm not so sure I'm ready for the bumpy road ahead. There doesn't seem to be much to look forward to for the clinical years after talking to people about their experiences as a clerk. Who wouldn't be stoked to combine a full time day job with full times studies? Sounds like sooooooo much fun...