Another (Early) Merry Christmas

Somehow another year has come and gone and Christmas day is once again upon us. While it seemed like the year 2015 was an even steeper uphill battle, I have to look back in fond memory of what has transpired over the past 350 or so days. Granted, there was not a whole lot that I accomplished, but here are some of my most memorable memories from this year.

Work (August)
During the summer I worked as a waiter for a restaurant in North Vancouver and finally got to experience receiving my first paycheck and the stress of working. I stopped working when the school year started, but I gained a fair bit of money (for somebody my age anyways) and experience.

Baby Stephanie (September)
I found out that my aunt was pregnant sometime near the end of the school year, and got reasonably excited. After a few months of patient waiting, a very welcome and loved addition to the family was born in early September. Little Stephanie was brought into the world and she has brought nothing but joy and positive feelings to our family.

There's so much waiting for her when she grows up, and I find it hard to believe that I have the chance to be a significant part of her life. It's absolutely baffling to think that I can give a hand in the development of a baby girl who will hopefully grow into a wonderful and well-mannered woman.

FIGO 2015 (October)
The International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics was hosted in Vancouver this year, and somehow I obtained the opportunity to volunteer for this event. The event spanned a week but I ended up being shifted for the first two days (not including an initial training day). Over the course of my time volunteering at the Vancouver Convention Centre I racked up around 30 hours of creditable experience.

Days started early (we're talking 5:00 in the morning) and were tedious. I was thirsty most, if not all of the time, and in general felt terrible. While I definitely did not have the time of my life, I gained some invaluable experience working with foreigners and how a congress event runs.

Desktop (December)
Using the money that I earned from working this summer, I ordered my very first custom parts for a computer. I only got the email saying that the parts were ready for pickup today, so the desktop hasn't exactly been assembled yet, but nonetheless, it's happening. I'm proud that I was able to get enough to fully pay for my own parts (and still have a sizable amount remaining) and I'm super excited.

Merry Christmas!
It's a few hours early but I'll wish you a very Merry Christmas and safe holidays, seeing as I won't be able to do it tomorrow. Thanks for another wonderful year and for keeping up with this terrible blog.