Back!

What an intense course Biol591. I have never worked so hard. It seems like a microscope should be attached to my face. Though it was a lot of hard work, the experience was definitely worth it and if anything the friendships that were created from it were great!

Kananaskis Field Course

I signed up for a summer course this year and thought that it would be cool to not be stuck in a class at the U of C campus. So I opted for a graduate class in the field regarding Entomology (The Study of insects). Though my major is not in this direction I still thought that it would be a great experience. The class started on the 6th of August out at the U of C Biogeoscience Station out by Barrier Lake (Formerly known as the Barrier Lake Field Station) and ends on the 15th.

Initially I really didn't think about the course load and just thought that it would be great experience having a class outside of Calgary that was hands-on learning and finished in 10 days, without a final test to boot! Well I was partially right in my expectations...except for the course load. Being outside is great, and having little day hikes to catch insects is cool too. But waking up at 7AM-> eating at 8AM->having a lecture at 9AM-> then going on a Day Hike until 3-4PM (for the past 2 days)-> having super at 5:30PM -> Another lecture at 7PM -> then from 8:30PM and onwards you are in the basement lab sorting/classifying/pinning insects for your collection (worth 45%) that you have caught (which is probably 12-1AM). On top of that you are either studying for a quiz or writing a paper (I have had a quiz and a paper due in the last 2 of 3 days). But in the end I suppose it is a cool experience, definitely not a "vacation" class though.

Today's hike was pretty cool though, we covered aquatic insects, so we went to a beaver damn, a creek, a lake and a few still ponds. My favourite catch today was a Dragonfly nymph (~1.5-2 inches) and a huge Dragonfly Adult. The only crap thing was being in the 29 degree weather, gross.

7 more days, 4 more days until my collection is due...ack!

P.S. The inset picture is that of a Dragonfly Nymph

I also thought this picture was kind of funny...for an Entomologist.

Crazy Summer!

Wow have I ever been busy this summer. I didn't take spring classes this year and just focused on work. For May, June and July I worked as the Junior Athletic Therapist for the Calgary Junior Maverick's Rugby Club. They are the elite developmental Rugby team here in Calgary and only 1 of 2 teams in Alberta (Edmonton has the other team). It was a great opportunity since I got to work along side the Senior therapist and learned a lot of things from her. I really enjoyed learning how to assess and treat soft tissue injuries (hamstrings, IT bands, etc.) and learning athletic taping was great (especially from someone that was so experienced at it).

At first I didn't think I would be busy with this at all, but in the end it ended up consuming about 3-4 nights a week and at least every other weekend. Add this to my schedule of covering other Rugby teams as a back up AT and covering the Junior Rugby teams as an on field medic and it proved to be quite a demanding schedule for these past few months. However the Jr. Maverick's ended up losing the Western Finals vs. the Vancouver Wave mid July and my schedule since then has really eased up. Now I am just prepping for a Biology Field Class that I signed up for the Summer Semester (I'll talk about it a bit in my next post).

An interesting opportunity has come up recently. The U16 Alberta Rugby team is heading out to Ottawa in the middle of August (right after I'm done my field class) and needs an AT. So I put in my application for that and am awaiting for the response. I have worked for them once (just last week) and it seemed like they liked me. And hey, a free trip out to our Nations Capital can't be that bad.

Backstreets Back... Alright!

They are coming to the C-spot on September 2, 2008. I can't wait!

My New Toy!

Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM
 
 

Do it again

Busy!

Hockey season was over at the end of March and since then I haven't had a training job to do until the beginning of May. Now I'm covering Rugby. Apparently I did so well with hockey (and received good reviews) that I got the junior athletic therapist position with our local elite team! My first day with them was on Monday and I was super nervous, but pulled through. Tomorrow I'll be traveling to St. Albert to cover a Division 1 game (not with the elite) team. I didn't feel like traveling for this one, but oh well, it's a favor. Hopefully I don't come back too late, I have more rugby to cover early Sunday morning! I'm a busy man!

Changes

Well I haven't written in this for AGES. I want to get back to doing it. I think I will have to do a whole new look though. So Good bye to this look and time to find a new one!

Chicago!

So I just recently started a new job as a hockey trainer for a Midget AA team here in Calgary. My responsibilities are to take care of the kids on the team and attend to their first aid + sports injuries. On my very first day I was asked to come with them to Chicago! Awesome eh?! Even better is that the all the expenses (room and food) for the trip are paid for by the team! All I have to bring is spending money for miscellaneous things. It's a 4 day trip that starts on the 22nd of Nov. I hope we get to hit up the cool stuff in the city like Soldier's Field, Sears Tower, Aquarium(largest in USA), the original Chicago Chophouse, Deep dish pizza and some shopping!

It Begins!

I just checked the snow report at Sunshine...


Absolutely freakin' awesome!!!!!!

A few cool snowboarding teasers!

ACP certified!

I wrote my EMR Provincial Registration Exam through Alberta College of Paramedics last month on Sept. the 7th and have been eagerly waiting for my mark ever since. The test I took was over a span of 2 days in Red Deer. The first day was the written exam which was a 100 MC question test and the second day was a practical test where I had to stand in front of 2 examiners and go through a medical/trauma scenario within a 10 minute time frame. After a grueling 2 hours of waiting I found out that I passed the practical but had to wait 4-6 weeks before I got my written exam marks back.

So I waited and waited and waited and nothing ever came in the mail. I was about to give up and then I checked the mail on Friday after I got home and to my delight there was an ACP letter sitting in the mailbox. I was so happy yet so fearful to open it. But when I did I was so happy because I read the following line: "Dear Mr. Le: Congratulations you have successfully completed the EMR Provincial Registration Exam." Woohoo!!! Now I just have to pay them more money to Register as an EMR and perhaps I will look into getting my EMT through SAIT afterwards...we'll see if I have the time to do it though...

Side note: The trip to Red Deer was a bit stressful trying to cram in as much knowledge as I could before I had to write the written part. But it was also fun because I dragged my brother with me and we had a fun time chillin' in Red Deer's Marriot hotel that Friday night. The waiting before and after the practical exam was a killer on the nerves but worth it in the end!

VM Season 3!

Yay! The final season of one of my favorite television series is being released on DVD on the 23rd of October! It's too sad that a good show like this got booted from the CW. In my opinion it is much better than the new shows on CW such as Reaper. Oh well we (I) will be seeing more of Kristen Bell on Heroes this upcoming Monday...so the Universe is somewhat balanced again :)