The adventure begins... or continues!

Well, somehow, amazingly, probably through the sheer force of chaos, things seem to have come together in time for my departure to Bangkok tonight!  This morning, I submitted my CaRMS applications for family medicine residency next year (location to be determined), said goodbyes to relatives and friends, and even made it out for a run in the beautiful Edmonton rivervalley.  The colors are incredible right now, leaves fallen and falling all around, and the smells... I breathed in as deeply as I could, trying to take in as much of this beauty as possible, so that maybe some will come with me on my travels around the world.
It's times like this that I wonder why I'm leaving the places and people that I love and the relationships that ground me, and planting myself in yet another foreign context.  I've come up with no answers yet, but there's some whisperings of adventure, growth, exploration.  It's like that fish, being pulled out of water, that suddenly realizes "holy moly, I'm a fish!  and that's water!" - sometimes it's when I'm most out of my element, that I find the most clarity.
So, I"m off!  Love to you all.

Laughing is a good way to begin!

I"m really not sure which picture is funnier...

 Well my friends, this is my first-ever venture into the blog world!  As someone who is stubbornly stuck in the pre-cell phone, pre-facebook era, this should prove an interesting and, hopefully, entertaining endeavor.  Luddite-Laura enters the 21st century...
Mostly, I hope that this blog can help us keep in touch while I'm galavanting in far off places.  And, you all know how I dislike being at the center of attention, so don't make me a spectacle - keep the stories coming from your end too!  I'll be checking my email pretty regularly.

So, for all of you who have been asking, here are my whereabouts:
September 29: flying to Thailand!
October 4-Nov 14th: Mae Tao Clinic, Burmese/Thai border (http://maetaoclinic.org)
Nov 14-28: Travelling in the Chiang Mai area, returning to Muvikhi, the little Karen village where I lived five years ago...
Dec 1-Jan 1st: Travelling in India with MOM!!! We'll be yoga-ing, oogling, salivating, exploring and for sure giggling!

As for these two photos - confused?  which one is more confusing?  Yes, I am getting married to the lovely and wonderful Ben Laurie (June 2011), No, I won't be wearing a train.  No, I haven't grown a moustache.

How's that for a first post?
xoxoo