roaming dooshima: uprooted and replanted

... coming to you now from the heart of
'the true north strong and free',
i am tucked in along the shoreline of Superior,
feeling incredibly blessed and thankful
for this life i am given by God
and the opportunity provided to be me!

this new blog will accompany me throughout my northern odyssey, which is scheduled to continue for at least the next two years as i journey through a family medicine residency based in Thunder Bay.

the foreword is that thus far in 2006,

i travelled from coast to coast over a couple of weeks for residency interviews in Jan and Feb, enjoying rich fellowship with friends along the way and enduring the rigors of CDN winter (snowbound days and associated complications in TBay and Halifax added to the adventure).

winter turned to spring as i ranked programs (with much inner turmoil and fervent prayerful consideration throughout the process), matched to Thunder Bay, enjoyed the last few months of med school, and buckled down to prepare for my licensing exam in early May


after the exam and graduation, Carrie and i loaded up my fabulous voiture (Mazda 3 Sport in Copper Red Mica, in case you are wondering) and set out to roam about on the East Coast of our beloved homeland.

:In Ottawa,
we visited RJ, Michele, their boys and Kodak, as well as Caro, Ma'n Pa Doyle, and Plato

:We stopped near Truro to deliver an orchid and some grandkid art to our cousins' mother-in-law (and had a great cup of tea and some birthday cake, and a fabulous storied tour of their 200+? year old home)

: We continued on and stayed for several days with our amazing aunt in Charlottetown, and were delighted by the opportunity to meet up with an old friend of mine from TWU who married into a potato and tulip empire over there and is busy with a growing family. We also did some cycling (it seems we found the hilliest roads for our 100km touring route!) and a lot of strolling during our stay on the island.

: on to Nova Scotia, where my friend Alex from BC flew in and joined us for a week. We journeyed on around Cape Breton at a leisurely pace, until the start of the Cabot Trail Relay (we were part of a cobbled-together-at-the-last-minute team with a lot of spunk and enthusiasm, and varying degrees of speed and stamina. Once the relay started, our pace increased considerably and further sightseeing happened while we were driving from one start/finish area to the next, cheering for our teammates, or surveying the landscape on our respective legs of the run. We did respectably well as a team, and sure had a lot of fun in the process!

: then it was time to move on to 'the rock' - we took an overnight ferry to Port-au-Basques, and Alex stayed with us as far as Deer Lake, and then Carrie and I continued as far as Trinity, Elliston and Bonavista before turning around an making our way back (the long ferry from the other end of the big island wasn't yet running for the season). We toured about, enjoyed local lore and libations and fare, we hiked and cycled, we drove and looked and photographed, we talked and laughed and learned.

: by the end of our stay in NFLD, we were nearing the end of our allotted 20 days of available time for roaming, so we drove and drove and drove with just a few stops along the way for walks, fueling up (us and the car), and a good night's sleep before the final stretch across ON to London and then on to Wiarton, where we rested (briefly, before the next adventure).


Several of my med school friends got married, and i was able to join in the wedding festivities for Elaine & Fabian, and for Loretta and Jag. it was also great to spend time with med school friends again, but bittersweet as many of them i won't see often anymore as our paths diverge.

then it was time to pack up and leave 'the forest city', and make the move to Thunder Bay. I'm living with my friend Ruth (also from UWO Meds '06 and now in the same program as me here), in a spacious half-a-house we're renting here, so we also shared a UHaul. Hi-yi-yi - that was a FULL 26' of truck! many thanks to Mom, Jody, Jim, and Ruth's parents for helping us so much with the move - and also to Jim for driving the truck for us - and for Val and my Dad lending their moral support in absentia and sending their prayers along with us! Ruth's parents and my mom stayed for several days, helping us unload and move in to our new home.
and a home sweet home it is at that...

We had a week to settle in, and then a week of orientation activities before we started working full time, which facilitated a smooth transition into residency. We have a fun, eclectic and supportive group of fellow residents (in our own year, and in the group ahead of us), and i'm enjoying these new friendships.

I started off with 8 weeks of internal medicine as my first rotation, and it was very busy and challenging - a valuable and good experience overall, but certainly tiring at times! it's taken some getting used to, this whole actually being a doctor part, more in terms of getting used to the title than anything else - although the increased paperwork, dues, fees, etc are worth noting as well. being paid to work is great, although between loan interest, rent, various insurances and fees, utilities, food and gas... there's not much left for 'incidentals' at the end of the month, and certainly not much remains for trying to make a dent in the debtload! anyway... i try to remind myself to seek first the kingdom and trust that these things shall be added as the need arises!

i enjoyed a couple of trips back to SW ON over the summer, for Ang and Bryan's wedding in July (and associated WHSS 'flawless girls and friends' reunion), and for a week of vacation in Hamilton and at Glenmount before J left for her southern odyssey in Chile. It was such a blessing to fellowship among family and friends, and catch up on some much-needed rest!

Currently i am doing a family med rotation in Marathon, about 3 h East of TBay along the shoreline of Superior. I was here for a month during my 3rd year of med school, and it's great to be back. I was delighted when one of my first patients was a 15-month old that i had delivered during my last rotation here! It was very reassuring to realize that i do love family medicine in a small-town setting (there was a L-O-N-G interval between making my program decision and actually being in the midst of what i chose). It is generally a good thing to figure out that you love doing whatever it is that you signed up for...

anyway - you are now more or less updated on the recent roamings. more of the little thoughts will follow.

peace & joy,
dooshima