Big & Tall

The sun had set by the time we pulled into the R Ranch, a group of cabins located in the Sequioa National Forest. The beauty of the surroundings more than made up for the strangely inadequate ranch name as we settled into a cabin that was much closer to 'nature' than Jennifer prefers to get. It is a strange tradition that any trip into the 'wilderness' (well compared to LA) must be accompanied by the consumption of sufficent alcohol to fill a small swimming pool. This aside, the next day we set off on our hike through the Trail of 100 Giants...a stunningly beautiful path that provided sufficient time and natural splendour to make us all feel wonderfully and rightfully insignificant in the grand scheme of things. Convening with nature is an exhausting task...and thus we returned to our cabin and made our way to the swimming pool to greet our fellow nature lovers. Everyone has their own way of appreciating nature of course...the 15 year-old security guard for instance liked to show everyone the dead rat he had just found in the pool you got out of, while regailing you with local ghost stories...brillant. As night fell once more we were greeted by some more locals, including a fox and an over-confident racoon, and then it was back to civilization and reality. 

Working Holiday

As I believe I have mentioned previously ~ graduate students sign 13 month yearly contracts when they enter the program...in effect agreeing to be working...or at least pretending to work...the entire year. This is ironic really given that the majority of graduate students have continued their education for the very reason of avoiding full time work. This said, as students, we are afforded the luxury of the summer break...three months of the year during which we are excused from classes and seeing patients. Of course, it is during this three month break that we are expected to work fervently on our research and papers...and it thus with guilty and mischievous looks that students discuss their summer plans.

It is thoughts such as these that drift through my mind as I sit next to the pool in Southern California. My research making fleeting appearances as I remove my shirt to reveal a second sun…a chest so magically white that it could only come about with the special combination of a Scottish bloodline and four months of a Midwestern winter. For the coming week Jennifer and I will be catching up with friends and family in LA ~ then…wait for it…my parents arrive on their first visit to the USA. After five years together, our parents will finally meet...after which we will be road trippin’ up the West Coast…a wonderful combination of “Meet the Fockers” and the Griswald’s Summer Vacation.

Quote of the Week: Jennifer ~ “I think I want to work as a medical interpreter at the hospital…how do you say ‘interpreter’ in Spanish?”