New roommate!

That’s right, I’ve got a new roommate for my last 2 months in the big city. She’s my friend’s sister-in-law and was really struggling finding a place on short notice since she found a job here. It should actually work out really well. She’s going to be heading to Vic on weekends (my prime study time) because her partner is staying there. Having a furnished place is pretty ideal for her and for me it means I have to do less advance packing prior to the post-exam push on December 22 (assuming I’m not writing the remedial exam that day). Maybe if I’m lucky, I’ll even be able to get her to bring a box or two over for me on her travels to and fro. ;) On a completely different topic, yesterday I interviewed a man who suffers from a debilitating and disfiguring chronic disease for one of my courses. The goal of this assignment (via a 10 page paper I have to write) is to get a feel for the effect of a chronic disease on the person’s life beyond the physical pain or typical medical issues. It’s more about how they’ve had to adapt their lifestyle and their social lives to cope with their illness. This man told me some terrible stories about how he was picked on growing up, beaten up by groups of kids, and practically disowned by his family because of his illness. And yet, he told me about how after years of having an explosive temper resulting from all of this abuse, he decided he didn’t want to live that way anymore. He decided to change his perspective. Over a period of about 10 years, he completely changed his attitude to be extremely positive just through shear force of will. No fancy meditation courses or self-help books, just positive self-talk. Now, he is a very active walker despite considerable mobility challenges, he socializes with a large network of friends and is an avid learner of seemingly anything – algebra, chemistry, poetry and more recently, he is teaching himself Cantonese & Mandarin. Given all the challenges he faces, he still spoke of his concern for the homeless and how he wishes he had more to give them than his welfare cheques allow. He was testament to the power of a positive attitude and was very inspiring for me. I feel fortunate to have been paired up with him for the assignment. Hopefully this marks the beginning of a career in which I meet people I learn from everyday. And who inspire me with their strength and their wisdom. (Yes, I know, there will be lots of "worried well", lying drug seekers and the like but let me bask in the glow of ignorance for a while please.)