Happy Anniversary!

Three years ago today, Denise reluctantly agreed to date me. Happy anniversary hon!

A Sign Of Things To Come

October 18^th 2011 marks mine and Mark’s 3 year anniversary of non-married bliss.  We have been “debating” over whether or not we will continue to celebrate this date once we get married.  I say YES, because that means there’s one more opportunity for Mark to buy me a present.  Mark says NO because he sucks.  I am trying to space out all gift-giving occasions throughout the year, and failing to acknowledge our October-versarry creates a big, stupid, giftless, almost 5 month hole…

So, given that this might be the last time we celebrate the true beginning of our relationship, we should probably go out for a fancy dinner and a romantic walk on the beach or something like that...  

The expectation...

How do Mark and I actually plan on celebrating our anniversary?   The same way we’ll probably spend it for the remainder of our lives…. I’m in hospital all day, then I have a meeting at night, and then I will get home and be too exhausted to exist. 

Awesome.

The reality...

I told Mark that I felt bad that I didn’t have more free time on our anniversary, and he graciously said that he knew what he was signing up for when I started medical school.  So, the current plan consists of loading up on tasty snacks and watching back-to-back-to-back episodes of Battlestar Galactica.

Hey look!  There's a couple in there being all cozy!  Just pretend that's me and Mark.

Definitely not the most elaborate of anniversaries, but it actually sounds kind of perfect.


Denise.

Gobble Gobble 2011

Semester 4 so far has felt almost exactly the same as Semester 3.  Other than having a weirdo schedule that changes every week, it is overall pretty manageable.  I had my last Mini 1 Exam EVER on Monday….it went pretty well...well enough that I get to pick out an "I got an A" present for myself.  My next midterm is on October 31^st (on my favourite non-holiday holiday!).  I wish I was home in Vancouver for Haloween so that me and my bestie Vanessa could come up with some sort of awesome Halooween costume…

Monday also happened to be Canadian Thanksgiving (which is better than American thanksgiving).   This is mine and Mark’s second Thanksgiving in Dominica.  I honestly have no idea what we did last year.  This year though, we pulled out all the stops.  Here is a simple 4 step process for how to celebrate Thanksgiving in Dominica when you are both poor and lazy:

Step 1 – Get turkey

Mark and I were not about to go out and find and cook a full turkey.  No way.  That’s what moms are for, and neither of our moms were here.  So, instead we just loaded up on turkey-based products.  Close enough.

Step  2 – Get pumpkin

Pumpkin pie is my FAVOURITE pie in the whole world.   Mark hates pie in general, so he’s useless.  Since pumpkin pie isn’t readily available here (there is one restaurant that serves it on Thanksgiving, but we try to avoid this restaurant whenever possible), we decided to just eat pumpkin in non-pie format.  Again….close enough.

Step 3 – Get pilgrims Cook turkey and pumpkin

Self-explanatory, but here's a picture anyway.

Step 4 – Nom nom nom!

Tur-turkey-key monte cristo sandwiches (turkey slices AND turkey bacon) with mashed pumpkin!  Delicious!

As of right now, Mark and I have ZERO idea where we’ll be next Thanksgiving – maybe Chicago, maybe New York, maybe Detroit – either way, it most likely won’t be Canada.  Regardless, I’m sure that Mark and I will follow the simple 4 plan process again. 

In other, completely unrelated news, I currently have a series of countdowns going on my computer:

Legend:

31 days until Harry Potter World in Orlando!!!!! 68 days until we’re home for Christmas (and off this island for GOOD).

226 days until we get to put on expensive clothes and eat fancy food at our wedding!

This also means that in the next 266 days we will be living in 3 countries…which is bananas.....some people live in the same country their whole lives, and Mark and I are going to cover 3 in less than a year.  Although it is kind of exciting in that I-really-hope-this-all-works-out sort of way, I am REALLY looking forward to the day where we have a home...one home....for an extended period of time....preferably close enough to our moms......that turkey ain't gonna cook itself.

Denise.

Ten Day Blogging Challenge: Day 10

What will you miss when you leave Dominica?


There are lots of little things that I'll miss here, most of which have already been mentioned, but the thing I'll miss that I think is most under-appreciated here is the sweet-ass exchange rate. When I play poker here, we use Eastern Caribbean Dollars (which gives you 2.67 for every US dollar), and so the stakes seem naturally inflated. When I make a ten dollar bet, I feel like a big man. But when I lose ten dollars, I remember that it's really only a little less than 4$ US. It's a win-win situation, where if you win big at the end of the night you feel loaded, but when you lose big, you just shrug your shoulders and remember that it's worth very little anyways. When I go back to North America, I'm going to look like one cheap dude, making quarter bets over and over again.

Ten Day Blogging Challenge: Day 9

Has anything made this journey easier for you?


There's a nifty little phenomenon here at Ross, and it applies both to spouses and students, and that is that the community bonds here in a hurry. The population is in constant flux, with people coming and going, friendships and agreements starting and stopping at various points over the four semesters, so the entire place...

(Strangely, the rest of this post has disappeared.)

Ten Day Blogging Challenge: Day 8

Does your spouse like it here?


No.

Ten Day Blogging Challenge: Day 7

What is the best meal you've had on the island?


Denise and I actually ate it recently. We accidentally had the best meal we'd had in ages. It was fresh tuna steaks marinated in soy sauce, and rubbed with seasoning salt, then fried to medium-rare. We also made baked sweet potatoes that we doused with butter, and cheesy garlic bread made on six-grain bread.

Delicious.