Reality Check

I've had a pretty miserable week, with my thesis looming over my head, my inability to run thanks to my foot still hurting since the marathon, and some other issues I won't go into, it has been pretty easy for me to complain a lot lately.

Then this afternoon I got a reality check. This past weekend was Halloween, a weekend of fun, or at least what should have been. In Gastown (area of Vancouver) early Sunday morning there was a shooting where a crowd of people were shot at for no reason. 4 completely innocent individuals who were just enjoying their night out. One of these individuals is a friend of mine. Before I get to dramatic, I want to state that thankfully she was alright. I don't know the extent of the injury but it wasn't life threatening, but that doesn't diminish the fact that she was hit with a bullet and hospitalized.

This is someone who on Friday when being in lab was too stressful for me and I needed a break took two hours out of her afternoon to talk and then came over and enjoyed dinner with my roommates and I. Not 24 hours later, the shooting occurred.

I called her today asking if she wanted to come out with friends from school Tuesday night when she explained what had happened and that she wouldn't be able to make it. And then she asked how I was doing. I couldn't believe it. After everything that had happened in the previous 24 hours, she was still concerned for me and I realized that despite everything going on in my life right now, I'm really a very lucky person, for my family, my friends and for my health.

When she asked how I was, all considering, I had to admit things were going very well.

I finished today by doing my first run since the marathon. It hurt from being out of shape not running for three weeks, but my foot was better. And I couldn't say I've ever felt luckier to be running.