Matt in Calgary

My Guardian Angel

I dont know how spiritual you are.. or how I am but after what happened this week.. I think I am ready to believe

its been super cold up here in Cgy with the temperature falling to below minus 20 at night... and my flatmates have this annoying rule that the furnace goes off at 11 when everyone goes to bed...

so KC ( a cool friend) lent me his electric blanket that I snuck into my house and have been using for the past few weeks..

well last Thursday I was snuggled up under the blanket and at 11 the house began to freeze... kinda like in the movie "The Day After Tommorow" I could literally feel and see the rapid cooling in the house.. but I was all toasty under the duvet and electric blanket and doze off all peacefully

I had a dream about my Grandma (Momma was what we called her for those who dont know) and I cant remember the last time I have ever dreamed about Momma.... its been a while since she had passed away... and I remember feeling bad that I wasnt able to afford to come back to her funeral.. but for the weeks that she was ill I would pray every night at a 1400 yr old temple by my old apt in Shimousa Nakayama - Japan.. ( pic included)

anyways.. in the dream Momma was sitting in a big arm chair at my Aunt Roseanne's house.. and by her feet was Amber ( my aunt's deceased ShihtZu) and they were both looking at me with a big smile... and Momma kept saying " Get up... Get up.. Matt get up"... in a very calming voice... and then all of a sudden my Aunt appeared beside Momma and they were both asking me very calmly and quietly to "get up".. it was soo sureal... because I knew I was dreaming...

and I woke up... and looked around.. and of course was all groggy...and as my eyes started to focus. I noticed my room was lit up and very bright... and I thought to myself "im sure I turned my lights off"

and then I noticed a flicker and looked down.... and

MY BED WAS ON FIRE>... there were flames on me... my Duvet Cover was engulfed in flames from the waste down

so I quickly jumped into the air.. and with the upper part of the duvet I put the flames out....
and pulled the electric cord out of the socket.. and ran the sheets, and bedding outside and thew them in the snow..

and then quickly went back.. and threw a big glass of water on the mattress just in case
...well talk about crazy...

my room still now smells like a fire..

I had to get all new bedding and a mattress...

that day when I went to work I could still smell the fire,,, everything smelt like burnt bed...

all the doctors were making fun of me...saying.. that the Evil Nurse Hatchet (me) is soo evil that I cant even burn...
a really cute resident gave me a check up and said I would be smelling the burning bed for several days as the smoke got into my nose and lunges.. crazy eh?

im so glad im ok...its soo amazing that I came out with not one scratch or mark except for the smoke inhalation... I cant believe how much smoke damage I did to my room.. and the front yard looks soo funny now.. you can totally tell where the burnt duvet and bed sheets melted in the snow.

I have to say a big thank you to Momma, Aunt Roseanne and Amber.... If I hadn't woken up at the moment... im sure I wouldn't be here to write about this.. and nor would my roomates..

HUGS

posted by matt @ 4:52 PM

Moving to Internal Medicine - Hematology

Well things up here in the artic keep changing on dime of a hat...

One day I went into the mall and it was nice and sunny out... and when I came out there was 8 inches of snow .. Calgary truly has some crazy weather...
and on the work front... These keep changing.. I wont be teaching in the classroom a lot anymore... They are moving me to provide unit support for the Internal Medicine units... More specifically for Hematology... Which is an interesting move since I don't know a whole lot about diseases of the blood but I am sure I will learn heaps and heaps..

its been a bit confusing at work lately... Cause in the matter of a few hours people's expectations about what my job entails changes frequently... But I keep on smiling and rolling with the punches... When someone tells me what they want me to do... I just say.. Sure sure its all "Written in Jello"... cause I know if I give them a few minutes it will all change..
There has been a lot of tension at work lately,,, we have had several units on shut down due to a Norwalk outbreak, staff shortages, and tons of Medication errors...and lots of finger pointing...

but I cant complain as I was the one who trotted off to this frozen land to peruse a new career....I have learned how with my shaved head and how I carry myself and walk into a room with strength and purpose .. It can really earn me a bit more respect than being the "nice, smiling guy".....I had a meeting with this one truly nasty PCM (Patient Care Manager)... she had short cropped hair like me and looked like a bulldog...well the meeting went on for a good hour.. and she was arguing with me over different things.. and after 45 minutes of ripping into me about new EMAR protocols... she looked me str8 in the eyes.. and said..


I truly miss Circles and the amazing group of people there... we had some amazing potlucks..

I think my Sunday dinner parties are turning into a bust...we have two new roommates... and the one east indian dude thinks that I am suppose to buy the food, prepare it, cleanup and do the dishes for him while he sits there and makes "ed bundy-ish comments"...and well you know what sort of things I would have to say to someone like that... I totally understand its part of his culture..but its annoying,.... Especially when he finished off the Banana Cream Pie I made from scratch and no one else gets to have a piece.,,

but I am loving to cook and bake and I do it every day now.... its the one thing I do that helps centre and relaxes me...Im even thinking of investing in a Kitchenaide Mixer...crazy I know but I think its better than doing Crack or starting to drink...

It has been a Winter Wonderland here... and it is very pretty... with all the trees, houses and people covered in snow...Calgary can be very postcard pretty... but the one thing that is hard to adjust to.. is that they dont plow or salt the roads, walkways or parking lots here...only on the mainroads do they throw down gravel rocks.. which totally destroy ones' windshield..
I bought myself some really good winter tires figuring they would useful up here in Calgary... and although they are great on the ice... (note: we dont get patches of black ice so much as entire roads of black ice) the new tires dont do a whole lot since the snow is never removed... and when the snow freezes at night.. it becomes rock solid and driving in the city becomes more like off-roading up in the mountains... my house is the only place I have seen anywhere in the city that has its driveway and sidewalk sholved and salted... with being run over by cars and slipping on the ice... im bound to have a broken hip soon enough

On the dating front.. I have not yet thrown in the towel.. as I am meeting tons of really cool people... and one guy in particular has got my eye... we have done a lot of baking together... he is a total sweetie,... drives a pick up truck, loves his hockey.. your typical small town corn fed Albertan...I just fear we are turning into good friends than rather boyfriends... which is cool too... as I think I really do need to start making good friends here as I wont be able to drive home till Calgary thaws out again in the Spring.. but I will be home for Christmas for sure.. for two weeks..
still trying to figure out what days I can get off and for how long...

also I have been debating.. should I just write off this whole "dating" thing.. maybe just get a dog... I know they are tons of work... but one of the nurses I work with.. is in her 60s and still practicing.. and she has been married 3 times.. and she keeps saying,,, "

posted by matt @ 9:45 PM