Adventures in Ottawa – Day 2

Didn’t get much sleep last night due to the cricket sounds outside my window. I’m sure I’ll get used to it after a while though. Bussed to the main campus early in the morning to get some administrative stuff done to get ready to be a student again. Met an aspiring med student while I was there and was happy to find out from him that the wait time to get the student card today has been reduced by at least 20 fold compared to the past two days – sweet. Breakfast: campus food. Picked up the rental car, then off again to go furniture shopping with my roommate! First stop – mattress store! Got my bed – yay!! Feeling much better about this whole moving thing now. Can’t wait to get my bed tomorrow. Then off to Ikea to buy other household goodies. Lunch: Ikea food – perfect poor student diet. Off to pick up more household goodies from a friend then off to do more shopping. Home time. Performed a coin toss to determine the room allocation. Can finally unpack - yay! Dinner then some cleaning. I think it’s time to call it a day. Last thought: having a car makes life so much easier in an unfamiliar city!

Day 2: much better.

Adventures in Ottawa – Day 1

So it all started with my flight being delayed because of the emergency disembarkation of a guest; however, it was a smooth landing in sunny Ottawa. Arriving at the airport we grabbed all 5 of our luggages and headed towards the car rental companies hoping to get a car, only to find that there were none left – not surprisingly. Why it didn’t occur to us before - I’m not sure – my bad. Went with plan B – cabbing, only to find out that we got a taxi driver who doesn’t know how to get to my house and blamed us for not knowing the way – my bad. Called the landlord to find out that he won’t be arriving until an hour later despite our prior arrangements – my bad for not confirming with him before I left. Off to look for dinner. Found the way to the hospital campus and settled on hospital cafeteria food – my bad. Due to the “easy to navigate” nature of hospitals and our neighbourhood, our 10 minute walk home turned out to be more like 20 minutes – my bad. It’s just strange how 3 normally very organized and prepared individuals managed to pull this one off. For those who have asked whether I’m ready, I can tell you now – I’m totally NOT!! Help!

Only consolation: seeing my friends at the airport and having my parents by my side.

Day 1: epic fail.

Being content

You can try to please everyone, but at the end of the day, you cannot be friends with everyone.

You can try to change yourself to be someone else who seems to be "better", but at the end of the day, you need to be yourself.

At the end of the day, do you reflect upon what you've done wrong or think about your accomplishments?

Live in the present, not the past. Be content. You actually have more than you think. People can be greedy and want something more when they realize they are losing it, whether or not this thing may be suitable for them. You have to realize that you can't have everything, and it's ok not to have everything :)

One small step at a time

Thinking of a big, faraway goal, I once again reminded myself (and acted on) making one small step towards it, just like breaking a problem into smaller ones. It's easier for the brain/body to handle and it's more encouraging when you see small results.

Distant

It's a real shame we can be very close to someone in one point of our lives, then realize the next time we bump into this person that we can never be as close as we used to be. I mean they haven't changed, we sure haven't changed but why the change in the interaction? How can close friends become strangers with the passage of time?

How is that even possible? You might not be aware of it but we all change. Sometimes, we change so little everyday we might not even know it; hence, great chemistry one minute can become clashing personalities the next. Or the more cynical side of me says that sometimes people become close to others for a reason. When they have derived their benefit from this other person, they move on. Whatever the reason, life is full of intimacy then distancing. Remember to cherish what you have now and to keep in touch with those you care about.

Priorities

ACTION
FOCUS
GOAL

Seriously, I have this posted on my wall, in front of my desk. I've just proved to myself today that I can focus on the most important task at hand even though I was tired and wished I were doing something more relaxing.

Counting my blessings

I might not be outgoing, but I'm blessed to have amazing friends.
I might not be pretty, but I'm blessed to not be disfigured.
I might not be wealthy, but I'm blessed with a home.
I might not be a size 0, but I'm blessed to be healthy.
I might not be great at talking, but I'm blessed to be able to talk.
I might not be a prodigy, but I'm blessed with an education.
I might not be satisfied with my decisions in the past, but I'm blessed to have a chance to make better decisions in the future.
I might not be happy, but I'm blessed with the choice to be happy.