First snowfalls and Santa Claus parades

The lights on Princess Street (the main downtown street of Kingston) have now been changed to red and green ones and placed alongside shooting stars, appropriately signifying the approach of the Christmas season (and the looming prospect of final exams). On Saturday there was also the first (albeit short-lived) snowfall and this inspired me to pull out my Christmas decorations. I adore my $3.99 blinking icicle lights from Canadian tire and my now festive balcony, which is adorned with a fake evergreen garland and three big red bows. Much to my delight, on Saturday I also got to see the Kingston Santa Claus parade! It was my first parade ever, and let's just say that while I was in awe with the floats being pulled along by big rigs, I think some of the small town folk were in awe of my non-Caucasian identity. I don't usually like to comment on this or make a big deal out of it, but sometimes I just get the weirdest looks and I wonder what I've done to elicit them. I was with Mike at the time (his last visit before my exams - boo!) so maybe it's an anti-interracial coupling thing.

Anyways back to the Christmas spirit! I'm looking forward to caroling, listening to Christmas jazz, stuffing my face with holiday goodies, making snowmen, attacking my little sister with snowballs AND the end of exams!!!!!!! If I haven't already broadcasted my little sob story to the world, once again my birthday falls on the second day of a three-day course of exams. To put it bluntly, it blows. If there's anybody that really feels sorry for me and wants to replace my pain with material things, by all means, please feel free to peruse my Amazon wish list. (To my siblings and new brother-in-law - hint hint). True to my nerdy self, my wish list is adequately populated with much-needed medical literature.

I don't want to overly emphasize that school is the bane of my existence or anything, but there's only one good thing about Sunday, that awful day when the weekend ends and school begins anew - and that is the broadcasting of the show Grey's Anatomy. I love this show to death. Since I've effectively ruled out any surgical specialty due to the circadian rhythm I've been endowed with that mandates I need to get at least ten hours of sleep to be a productive member of society, I can now live vicariously through the characters of the show. Oh and it's no coincidence that the first season of Grey's Anatomy is on my wish list and that you will also find on there the actual textbook Gray's Anatomy which inspired the show's name (and which I would find very useful to own).

Now that I've done enough blatant advertising on what anybody who would like to should get me for Christmas (and yes I do realize it's not all about the commercialism), I shall get back to studying.

Today's newly discovered medical diagnosis: Inarguably, snow is the most versatile and fun form of nature's precipitation offerings, but be careful! Reflections of the snow can cause snow blindness, in which ultraviolet radiation can result in painful, superficial keratitis of the eyes (minute epithelial defects on the cornea). When you're making your own version of Frosty and realize you don't have sunglasses, don't fear! You can improvise: