Early this morning, I received a phone call from the Cottage Dreams people asking if I could sub for their after-dinner speaker (she's been ill) at a golf fundraiser being held this coming Monday in Uxbridge. I was delighted to be asked, and agreed I would do it as long as I did not have a physio appt scheduled - something I would only find out after my physio appt at 11. Turns out my next appointment does conflict, so there will be no speech from me - and this, after I had concocted most of it in this morning's shower!
Today was "assessment day" at Lifemark - the first day of a ten-session reconditioning program sponsored by my insurance company and conducted under the supervision of a physiotherapist/kinesiologist. I was very pleased with the outcome. Amber, the physiotherapist, was outgoing, confident and capable - her in-depth knowledge of the human body astounded me. She spent over an hour checking my range of motion and the extent of my neuropathy, and determining exactly why I am being woken up every night by pain in my back, hips and right leg. Not surprisingly, she focused on the osteoarthritis in my lumbar area and sacrum, which was diagnosed just before I found out I had cancer. Also not surprisingly, it hadn't disappeared, although it had taken a back seat (pun intended!) while I dealt with surgery, chemo and radiation. Amber also noted that my core - abdomen, pelvic floor, etc. - were very weak from a year without any exercise to speak of. She also remarked in a more colloquial fashion, that my body has been "put through the wringer" and I need to build up my stamina a bit at a time. My next appointment is at 4 pm on Monday, when she will complete her assessment and provide me with a treatment & reconditioning plan. I am very motivated, and want to get on with this, as I expect to return to work on a half-time basis on August 18th - a mere six weeks away!
This weekend, my colleague Vida and I are heading up to my former boss, Robin's, cottage for the weekend for some swimming (I hope), some wine (undoubtedly) and plenty of good conversation (a given with those two around). I am really looking forward to it!
On Sunday we had a "ribfest" at our place, and the ribs were amazing! Mom boiled them the night before, and Martin marinated them early in the morning. By supper time, a few minutes over hickory chips on the BBQ and they were delectable! Pierre, Tiff, Zoe and Alexander were here for supper, and here are a few pics from that day.
Then, on Canada Day, it was our turn to head to Pierre and Tiff's in Aurora for supper. Mom and Dad are going to be staying there for the remainder of their visit. They return to New Brunswick on Sunday.
Here are some pics from Canada Day.
We are now in Week 2 of my parents' visit. On Thursday, Mom headed to Bowmanville to stay overnight with friends of hers, and on Friday, Dad and I went there for lunch and to bring Mom back to Pickering. My parents, my brother and his wife & kids, and Martin and I were planning to go to Niagara this weekend, but after seeing the lousy forecast - two straight days of thunderstorms and rain - we decided against it. Wouldn't you know it? Yesterday turned out to be one of the nicest days so far this year! Our neighbour Tom is a weatherman for CTV, and even he had cancelled plans to go to the Festival of Fire fireworks display down at Ontario Place, thinking it was going to rain. Oh well, you just never know I guess.
Saturday was spent at the Scarborough Town Centre with my parents, while Martin headed to Henry's to buy himself a new camera. We took Mom and Dad out for dinner at the Red House (Thai/Malaysian) last night & had gelato afterwards. After walking the dog, we came in and watched the animated movie Persepolis, based on a book I described in an earlier blog entry. Dad's word for the day was "different" - at age 76, Thai food, gelato and a movie like Persepolis were new to him. It's fun to think you can introduce someone who has been on the planet for almost a century to something new!
We've invited my brother & his family to come down later today for a "ribfest" at our house. Should be fun!
Well, Mom and Dad have now been here a week and a half. We've gone shopping pretty much every day, which Mom loves to do, and I've been walking twice a day, which my Dad enjoys doing (not to mention our dog, Marley). All of the walking is finally starting to help my stamina, although I'll be even happier when it starts having an impact on my weight. My joints are really not holding up very well. The good news is that I found out yesterday that Sunlife has agreed to fund a 10-session conditioning program for me, supervised by a physiotherapist. I start July 3rd, and am really looking forward to it.
Last Friday was convocation day at the college, and it was a truly wonderful day. it was hard to stop smiling, not that I wanted to! I feel so much joy when I see students finally receiving their diplomas after years of hard work. Here are some of the photos from that day.
Here's Vanessa Perreira and I. Vanessa was in both my Marketing Analysis and Marketing Research classes. I met her parents and grandmother at convocation. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get a photo of her with her sidekick, Nathalie Bansavatar.
From left to right: Ritchie Yip, Amber Gauvin and Jason Melnick.
This is me with Amber Gauvin, a student I nominated for the President's Award - and she won! I met Amber's proud parents and her godmother at convocation.
From left to right: Janielle Loken, me, Navarre Bailey, Ritchie Yip and Jason Melnick.
Below is a photo of post-graduate students I taught in the Winter of 07, many of whom come from Chenai, India. In the middle of the photo is John Lille, who retired a few years ago from our marketing department, but who, thankfully, still returns to teach on a part-time basis.
I've always loved taking personality tests. I guess it is an outgrowth of my interest in psychology. I saw this one on Venus's site a few days ago. She and I share many interests and have similar, although not identical MBTI profiles (Myers Briggs). The test at www.ipersonic.com/test.html shares a lot of the same dimensions as the MBTI.
Here are my results. See what you think.
Independent Thinker (IT)
Independent Thinkers are analytical and witty persons. They are normally self-confident and do not let themselves get worked up by conflicts and criticism. They are very much aware of their own strengths and have no doubts about their abilities. People of this personality type are often very successful in their career as they have both competence and purposefulness. Independent Thinkers are excellent strategists; logic, systematics and theoretical considerations are their world. They are eager for knowledge and always endeavour to expand and perfect their knowledge in any area which is interesting for them. Abstract thinking comes naturally to them; scientists and computer specialists are often of this type.
Independent Thinkers are specialists in their area. The development of their ideas and visions is important to them; they love being as flexible as possible and, ideally, of being able to work alone because they often find it a strain having to make their complex trains of thought understandable to other people. Independent Thinkers cannot stand routine. Once they consider an idea to be good it is difficult to make them give it up; they pursue the implementation of that idea obstinately and persistently, also in the face of external opposition.
Independent Thinkers are not the type who easily comes out of his/her shell. Speaking about their emotional life is also not one of their strong points. Anyway, social relationships are not particularly important to them; they are happy with just a few, close friends who find it easy to share their intellectual world. They find it difficult to establish new ties. In love, they need a lot of space and independence but this does not mean that their partner is not important to them. Independent Thinkers often make a cool and reserved impression on others; but this impression is deceptive: they can hardly bear it if people close to them should reject them. They prefer a harmonious, balanced relationship with a partner who shares their interests and with whom they can realise their visions.
Adjectives which describe your type
introverted, theoretical, logical, planning, rational, independent, intellectual, self-confident, analytical, structured, dogged, witty, resolute, self-critical, visionary, inventive, independent, unsociable, reserved, nonconformist, quiet, visionary, honest, demanding, hardworking
These subjects could interest you
art, jazz, classical music, science fiction, computer, drawing/painting, spiritual matters, meditation, handicraft, writing, strategic games, politics
As a followup to my last post on the hailstorm, I forgot to mention that I sent the photos Martin took to CITY TV, Global and CTV. Both Michael Kuss and Anthony Farnell, weather guys for the former two stations used the photos in their broadcast, and acknowledged Martin as the photographer. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see either, although many of Martin's colleagues at work did!
The last few days, I have accompanied my Dad partway on his daily walk, taken my parents shopping, played some Canasta and Phase 10 with Mom, gotten in a few afternoon naps, and managed to get my overall walking up to two 15-minute walks per day. I also bought Mom an Ipod Shuffle and loaded it with 350 songs.
Mom and Dad are heading to Aurora this morning to spend a few days with my brother and his wife, as I have a couple of busy days ahead. Today, I see the physiotherapist at 8:30, I get my Herceptin treatment in the chemo clinic at 9:15, and I see the radiation oncologist for my followup appointment after that.
Tomorrow is convocation day for Centennial's School of Business. Several students I taught will be graduating, and I want to be there. I'm also planning a lunch with my colleague Drew beforehand.
Believe it or not, golfball-sized hail like I have never seen before rained down on Pickering, Ontario, Canada this afternoon at around 3:30 pm - and unlike the old days, thanks to Martin's photos, I have proof!
Check these out:
Mom and Dad arrived on Friday afternoon; their train was several hours late. I felt for them - rather than checking their bags once in Campbellton and having them arrive in Oshawa, they instead had to remove them at Montreal, and again at Kingston to transfer to other trains because of missed connections. Guess that means another pair of half-price tickets, which is what they were travelling with in the first place, as the same thing happened the last time they came up by train!
We had a steak dinner & a bottle of pink bubbly waiting to celebrate their arrival. Yesterday, we headed up to Aurora to visit my brother Pierre, his wife Tiffany and their two children, Zoe and Alexander. Here are some pics taken during our visit.
Yesterday, I took time out from cleaning the house and doing errands in preparation for my parents' arrival to take a walk along the Pickering waterfront with Eric, a student I taught some years ago. Since he was in my Introductory Marketing class, Eric has gone on to get a Marketing diploma from Centennial, a Finance degree from Ryerson, has gotten married and fathered a child, and is now working on his second startup business. He is a thoughtful person, involved with his church and the community, and generous with his time and his talents.
It wasn't until we met for lunch late last year that I found out that Eric's Mom died of breast cancer a few years ago. This revelation really struck me, as I recognized then that we often have no idea what our students are going through as we prod them toward higher achievement. I have always had the utmost respect for my students, as many work full-time jobs, go to school and raise children, all at the same time. They are hardworking to a fault, and I ask a lot of them. But it occurred to me as Eric and I spoke yesterday that a professor's job is to prod and push, irrespective of what is going on in a student's world, and that sometimes, it is better to not know what is going on, as it could hamper our objectivity. It isn't that I lack empathy - in fact, quite the opposite. But I also have a strong sense of fairness, and I want students in my class to be treated identically, irrespective of their circumstances. Seeing students like Eric go on to build a life for themselves, in spite of the many challenges life can present, is truly the best reward any teacher can have and remains the most compelling reason for anyone considering teaching as a profession.
On Monday, a representative from my insurance company stopped by for a visit. She interviewed me for about half an hour, honing in on the areas that need improvement before I can return to work. Not surprisingly, she identified "conditioning" as the major hurdle. Cancer really does wipe out your energy in a way that nothing else does. You are essentially inactive for months on end, and that inactivity causes your muscles to tighten, making your entire body difficult to move. She thinks a supervised conditioning program will yield the best results - her fear is that unsupervised, I will try to do too much, too quickly (boy, did she figure me out in a short visit!). She will be coming back to me with a formal recommendation in the next couple of weeks, and by then I will have met with the radiation oncologist to get his opinion on my planned return to work. I am hoping to go back at least part-time in mid-August, just before the new semester begins. I really miss being at the college, and have no desire to prolong this "detour". I am happiest when I am working, and want to get back as soon as I possibly can. That said, I wouldn't want to come back and start something I couldn't finish, so I do need to ensure I have some stamina first.
The good news is I am now up to twenty minutes of walking per day, and for the last two days, I have managed a short bicycle ride. I still get short of breath, but I am noticing that it is getting better with each passing day, so that's encouraging. Last night, I had a long talk with my friend Ann, who lives in Calgary. She has always been into dance, and had several excellent suggestions on how to "wake up" my body, including classes in something called "Authentic Movement". I plan to do some research on it today.
My parents are arriving from New Brunswick tomorrow for an extended visit. I am sure that just accompanying my 77 year old Dad on his daily walk, and following my 73 year old Mom around on her much-loved shopping expeditions will do wonders to increase my stamina!
