HOW TO PLAY HOCKEY // belated January re-cap

[photocreds to this guy]

1. Put on your gear [in order: jill shorts, knee/shinpads, socks over shinpads, then wiggle into hockey pants; put skates on at this point because later you won't be able to bend over to tie them, ask a pal to tighten your skates; chest/shoulder pads, elbow pads, neck guard (optional), jersey, and finally, helmet! and then grab your mitts and stick].
2. Waddle out onto the bench.
3. Burst out of the gates when someone yells at you to change. 
4. Skate. Skate fast. Faster THE OTHER GUY'S GETTING AHEAD!
5. Keep your stick on the ice while you skate, such that you're prepared to receive passes.
6. Miss all passes because your stick is too short.
7. Skate too fast.
8. Run into people, particularly the other team's star player.
9. Slam into boards to stop.
10. Race back to the bench when someone yells at you to change ("HURRY YOU'RE OFFSIDE!")
11. Get back out there ("SHORT SHIFTS!").
12. Park yourself in front of the net to pick up rebounds.
13. Miss all the rebounds.
14. Win a couple of face-offs.
15. Try to go top-ched in the shootout.
16. Fail to score in the shootout.
17. Tie for 3rd in Corneal Cup!

I was going to write about all this back at the end of January, I swear. But things got crazy, as things do in the second year of optometry school.

A long time ago (maybe... three years ago?), my new year's resolution was to be brave - to stand up for what I believe in, to go after what I want, to not be afraid to meet new people, and to not be afraid to try new things. And, as someone with low self-confidence, it's still something I'm still working on today.

So when I got into Waterloo and learned about Corneal Cup, and that "all skill levels are welcome", I told myself to do it. It didn't work out in first year - I didn't have any equipment, and I had sprained my ankle in September, so I told myself... maybe next year.  

And then next year came, and things lined up pretty perfectly - one of our classmates wasn't going to return to the roster, so I filled in for him. Fast forward to January and I was lugging around a 50 lb hockey bag with smelly equipment; and absolutely draining myself every night for four nights (my poor legs!). I was a little worried at first about making a fool of myself. And, I mean, I did, but it was an absolute blast and is by far one of the best things I've done during optometry so far. You know... besides the learning, and stuff. The 'legit stuff', as one of my high school teachers once said. 

I also participated in the Sands of Sahara tournament - an annual indoor beach volleyball tournament. I played pretty poorly (I really take advantage of the "all skill levels welcome!" tenet), and sadly our team came last, but it was fun.

Education-wise... things are ramping up. Our coursework is becoming more and more relevant and our clinical techniques are more complicated; and there is not a day that goes by where I can't imagine that after two more years of school, I'll be out there doing all "this" (assuming all goes well). It seems really, really soon, and I'm still not good with a slit lamp; but I'm telling myself that it will all come with lots of practice. Now if only we actually had time to practice..... 

Really, they should make an optometry school like Hogwarts where the students live in the school. Think about it - if I was ever bored after dinner and wanted to practice BIO, I'd be able to find a classmate so easily, and we'd be able to hop down to the clinic in like two minutes.

Anyway. Hope it's sunny and warm wherever you are, and that you're not sleep-deprived.

HOW TO: USE UP A BOX OF BABY SPINACH // I can cook?

Hello! Once again, I write again from swamped-in-tasks-and-responsibilities land; this time, to talk about food. Yes, I "cook" and "grocery shop" from time to time, particularly at times when I am out of prepared food that had been frozen. And one of the things that pains me ever so deeply - one of the worst things that can happen after a grueling grocery trip is when I can't finishing my fresh produce before they rot. Not only is it gross to find soggy and mushy veggies and fruit, but it's also literally a pain because wasted food equals wasted money, which really hurts when you're a poor university student in $30k+ of debt.

Something that I frequently pick up at the grocery store is a box of pre-washed veggies. I usually get the spring mix, or baby spinach because all the other veggies are very foreign to me (arugula? kale? I mean, they're probably in the spring mix, but I would not be able to tell you what leaf is an arugula). They're pretty convenient and versatile; and my absolute favourite thing about them is that they're pre-washed, which means less time in the kitchen and more time to waste! for studying and doing important, optometry school things...

This time around, I picked up a box of baby spinach and for probably the first time ever, I was able to finish it all before too many leaves got soggy! Here's what I did with it:

1. Sandwiches: for some reason, it always never occurs to me that there are a lot of things that can go into sandwiches. Usually, my go-to sandwich combo is literally a slice of cheese and a couple slices of chicken breast in between two slices of toasted bread. Yes, sad. But this time, I remembered that vegetables can go in sandwiches, so I threw in not one, but two - yes, TWO! - layers of spinach into my chicken breast 'n' cheese sandwich, along with some mayo and black pepper (because pepper is the best seasoning ever. EVER. This of course, is coming from a girl who eats her food bland most of the time).

2. Stir-fry: this was actually the first thing I did with my box of spinach when I got it. Boiled myself some pasta; cooked some ground pork with onions; stirred some spinach around for a bit; and then threw it all together in the pan. Doused it all with some sesame oil, soy sauce, and Sriracha sauce (my go-to combination of sauces for... some kinda of sauce for whatever food I'm making) and topped it off with some black pepper. This was decent.

3. Omelette: today was the last day of my spinach box. I stir-fried the rest for dinner, but in the morning, I made myself a simple omelette. Really simple. It was literally a beaten egg (+ black pepper) with some spinach thrown on top. It was also really pretty because I folded it over like a pro, i.e. no egg-breakage and no spinach-spillage. Should've taken a picture...

The box lasted me......... a week (?! Really? It's only been a week since I grocery-shopped?!), which is great considering the whole darned box costed me only around three dollars!

Anyways, subscribe to my channel and follow my blog for more recipes and randomness!!!!!!!!!

Disclaimer: this post was honestly not meant to be helpful at all to anyone, because you all are probably more mature adults than I am, who can cook real food with real spices and recipes. This is mainly for myself to remember what to do with spinach next time I buy it because going through Pinterest for recipes - or anything - is super overwhelming. Also, I do not have a Youtube channel. Actually, I do. But actually, maybe there'll be more random food blogs?

MIDTERM SEASON SURVIVAL GUIDE

1. Start studying early: for me, that's about a week before the test. It's probably not enough time, but a) I need that bit of pressure in order for me to be productive, and b) it's better than leaving everything to two or three days before.

2. Start studying early: yes, I did list the same thing twice. But, what I'm getting at here is, start your study day early. My brain is usually fairly fresh (assuming its had a good night's sleep) in the morning. Also, getting up early means having more hours in the day to do everything you want to do.

3.Sleep >> studying: ever since undergrad, I've prioritized sleep over studying. There's no use staying up and cramming because a) your brain is already tired, b) when you wake up, you will be tired, and c) how much of that stuff are you actually going to remember when you're studying with your eyes barely open?

4. Stay healthy: don't skip meals, stay hydrated, and, like I've said already, sleep. You really don't want to get sick during a time where you need to be healthy and alert enough to cram a zillion lectures into your head; and you don't want to compromise your immune system when there's a billion of germs around.

5. Take breaks: walk away from your laptop. Look out the window. Talk to a friend. Grab a snack. Do a chore. Or watch some Youtube. Just, whatever you choose to do, focus your energy on something less intensive. You won't be able to stay sane or alert if you go at it for too long.

Now go kick those midterms' asses!

Love,
Yourself