1989 - 2008

By my 19th birthday, what will I have experienced/learned/accomplished?

-a pretty darn good childhood with lots of BFF's
-the loss of an uncle, and dealing with death
-having surgery and staying overnight in a hospital
-graduating grade 7! DC whaaat?
-took a martial arts class for 4 years
-seeing Backstreet Boys X2, Britney Spears, The Temptations, Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Big & Rich, Emerson Drive, Terri Clark, Shane Yellowbird and Paul Brandt in concert!
-worked at TacoBell for 2 years and learned how to manage my own money
-watched 3 of my siblings being brought into the world
-rode a quad to the top of a mountain (a little mountain, but still)
-learned how to fish, thanks to my uncle and our 4am fishing trips when I was little
-I learned that TOO much saliva is a big turn off in kissing someone
-talked to Aaron Pritchett on the phone!
-overcame my self consciousness about acne
-had to deal with pets dying when I was little
-conquered my fear of scary rides by going on the hellavator @ the PNE
-raised $1100 for the Captains for Kids charity when I was 16
-experienced what its like to have a close friend die
-had about a million crushes all through highschool
-skinny dipped
-cried myself to sleep
-got tattooed and pierced
-walked hand-in-hand with someone I loved...in the snow
-experienced what it felt like to be so sick from drinking too much the night before
-successfully peed in the bushes without it running down my leg while camping
-redecorated my entire bedroom to deal with heartbreak
-got my drivers license (late, but whatevs)
-graduated highschool with a 3.4 GPA
-sailed under Niagara Falls
-traveled to L.A., Idaho, Whistler and Chehalis with my Jazz class
-went to Disneyland
-fell in love
-lost love
-been to a canucks game
-watched team canada win gold at the olympics!
-worked a lame-ass waitress job and told off my douchebag of a boss/walked out of work
-worked through my step-dad's accident with my family
-educated myself on brain injuries to better understand my step-dad
-spent many late nights talking/crying/ranting with girl friends about guys
-had the most perfect kiss. I'll never forget my grad cruise.
-got accepted into college
-passed my nursing assistant program with a 92% average

I'll add more as I think of them.

Catch Up!

So, it's been an entire month since I've updated my blog. Eeesh. I've had 1 or 2 people say "Melissa, your blogs are too long", so, I'm doing you guys a favour and am gonna make a couple SMALL blogs instead of one big one haha.

Whats up with me lately? hmm, good question. I'm on my 4th week of practicum. I can't believe how fast time has gone. In 3 weeks time, I'll be a certified nursing assistant...and I'm not even 19. I have to say. I'm proud of myself. My practicum facility is in North Burnaby, so it's about an hour long commute each morning, but it'll be worth it in the end. For the first 2 weeks of practicum, I was staying with my great gran in Burnaby. Her house is like a 4 minute drive from the facility, so it was easy to get to, but after 2 weeks, I needed to come home. I love my gran to bits, but working with elderly people all day, then going home to an 85 year old was physically and mentally draining. I needed my friends back. I needed my BED back.

My residents, needless to say, are a hoot. One gentleman asked me if I was going to put his weiner in my salad. Another man told me that his sausages at dinner tasted like spiced erasers. A lady I talk to frequently told me that gorillas were outside her window and another told me that everyone in the facility is a "faker". That they aren't really sick haha. Comments like that make my day. But there are also comments from my residents that really hit home. One of my residents told me she wanted to die, and that she was tired of her life. I can't wait to get my career started, but at the same time, it's going to be hard to leave my residents.