I'm a thief.

I totally stole this from my friend Jen's MySpace page, but it was just so appropriate I felt the need to post it. I guess being around all of these people who have NO clue what it's like to grow up in Florida, I feel kind of proud that all of these apply to me... (except one: where the heck is Mt. Dora and why should I know that?).

Enjoy! :)

A Floridian
*Socks are only for bowling.
*You never use an umbrella because you know the rain will be over in five minutes.
*A good parking place has nothing to do with distance from the store,but everything to do with shade.
*Your winter coat is made of denim.
*You can tell the difference between fire ant bites and mosquito bites.
*You're younger than thirty but some of your friends are over 65.
*Anything under 70 degrees is chilly.
*You've driven through Yeehaw Junction.
*You know that no other grocery store can compare to Publix.
*Every other house in your neighborhood had blue roofs in 2004-2005.
*You know that any hurricane under a Category 3 just isn't worth waking up for.
*You dread love bug season.
*You are on a first name basis with the Hurricane list. They aren't Hurricane Charley or Hurricane Frances. You know them as Andrew,Charley , Frances , Ivan and Jeanne.
*You know what a snowbird is and when they'll leave.
*You think a six-foot alligator is actually pretty average.
*'Down South' means Key West
*Flip-flops are everyday wear. Shoes are for business meetings and church, but you HAVE worn flip flops to church before. (more than once!)
*You have a drawer full of bathing suits, and one sweatshirt.
*You get annoyed at the tourists who feed seagulls.
*A mountain is any hill 100 feet above sea level.
*You have a bumper sticker: 'This car climbed Mount Dora ', and you know where and what Mt Dora is.
*You know the four seasons really are: hurricane season, love bug season, tourist season and summer.
*You've hosted a hurricane party.
*You can pronounce Okeechobee and Kissimmee ...
*You understand why it's better to have a friend with a boat than have a boat yourself.
*You've worn shorts and used the A/C on Christmas and New Years.
*You recognize Miami-Dade as ' Northern Cuba . '

Finals are in Full Swing.

For those of you out there who care (i.e. aren't my classmates), the following is my dreaded Final Exam Week(s) Schedule:

Tues Dec. 2..........Parasitology Lab

Fri Dec. 5.............Anatomy Lab

Mon Dec. 8..........Anatomy Lecture

Tue Dec. 9...........Parasitology Lecture

Wed Dec. 10........Physiology Lecture

Thur Dec. 11........Immunology Lecture


Around 5pm on December 11 I will be completely done with this semester. I will also be pretty well aware as to how I did this semester, and thus will know to pack light or heavy. It will also be an indication of how many beers I will consume that night. Ah, who am I kidding...the number will be the same either way.

I fly home Saturday, December 13th for those of you at home who are waiting. Not sure of my flight schedule, but for headache's sake let's just say I won't be available for autographs or photo opps until late Sunday. Maybe even Monday. Unless you bribe me with food. We'll see how things pan out.

Happy Anniversary! .....and Congrats Mom!

Since I let her down by not giving a Shout Out a few days ago....I'll make it up with this:

Happy 38th Anniversary Mom and Dad!!

...oh, and also....

Happy American Citizenship Mom!!

Congrats!!

For those of you who don't know, my mother has lived in the US for the last......we'll just say 'X' number of years.....as a Legal Alien (although dad and I occasionally threatened to throw her back). As of Monday, mom was sworn in and is an Alien NO LONGER! Unfortunately I was not present as witness to said swearing in, however I am assured it was a legit and official process and I am no longer a child of a foreigner. Well, sort of...

Good job, mom! You finally worked through that procrastination thing and got 'er done!

Thanksgiving on The Rock

Last night we Island Orphans got together for a potluck Non-Traditional/Traditional Thanksgiving Dinner. Amber hosted, Vanessa did most of the cooking, and the rest of us ate. The last few days have become progressively colder (and by colder I mean an occasional chilly breeze and potential for jeans at night), which added to the festiveness of the occasion as it actually felt sort of like Fall. Minus the leaves changing, snow on the ground, Macy's Day parade, and snuggly knitted accessories.

Enjoy the pics, and I hope you all had a wonderful Turkey Day!

IGA only had Golden Delishious, but I found Granny Smith at Ram's. Went with a mix. That's a lot of cutting/peeling when you don't have an apple corer or peeler.

Apples cut, peeled, and spiced. Awaiting yummy sugary syrup.

Yummy sugary syrup. The kitchen ants were going bonkers!

This is how we roll. St. Kitts Rolling Pin = bottle of Brinley Gold Mango Rum.

Starting to come together...boy that's a lot of apples...should've cut them smaller, but whatev.

Crazy mound of pie!

Apples baked down quite a bit, foil prevents overbrowning of the edges (should've put some at the top, too!).

Looks pretty good...

Baker with her contribution.

She didn't even have to use her hand to draw the turkey.

Jane and Vanessa setting up the buffet.

Anna 'double-fisting' it. Hee hee...

Check out that spread!



Ron, Cora, and Kate with a little Vanessa and Jane in the background.

Amber's new dog Jasmine. She was an absolute Doll all night. Even with the retarded pink undies.

Just had to show one more pic of the food...mmmm....

Ron promptly crashed out post-meal. It's sort of his "thing".

Dessert Anyone?

Giving a new definition to Bobbleheads.

This was the entertainment in Parashit today:

Ron and Mike's heads literally bobbed here and there and everywhere for about 5 minutes. If I weren't giggling so much I would have taken a video. Tres Cute!

(names changed to protect...blah blah blah)

Swift Kick in the Rump.

Recently I was reminded of what it is like to have someone do something for you. Not like when you ask someone to do you a favor, or when it's a special anniversary. No, I mean something sweet and thoughtful and competely and utterly unexpected.

I won't go into details. I don't need to. But I will suggest....nay, demand...that all of you out there, every single last one of you (that means you, mom and dad...and Joanne), take a few minutes after reading this post and think of someone in your life that maybe you have overlooked recently for some reason or another. Now I want you to think about what you can do right now to show them you care. I know it sounds cheeky, but really you have NO idea what is going on in that person's life and your bit of kindness could come at the absolute perfect time. And what do you have to lose?

Yeah, this is corny. I admit it. Just do it anyway. Get over yourself! ;)

PSA: Gambling is Addictive.

Wow! This is what I get for not updating more regularly: a super long blog entry with lots of fun pictures! :) Let's hope I can keep the timeline in order....

Friday

After completing a ridiculous combo of exams culminating in a [insert choice curse words here] 'pop' quiz in parashit, it was time to go out and leave all our books behind!

First we hit volleyball at Timothy Beach. This has become my favorite past time here on The Rock. It's just so casual, good food, good beer, and good friends. With some volleyball thrown in for kicks.

Arvind lent me his hat and snapped this shot.

Arvind also snapped this shot, which I think is fantastic.

Some of the girls and I went to dinner at Diamond Cut, where I had what was the BEST steak I have ever eaten. I think my body was fed up with all of the pasta and chips/salsa because when that porterhouse came out I swear it was screaming "Iron! Oh Blessed Iron!". And not only was the steak fantastic, but the service was as well!

There was a mound of mashed potatoes as well, but the steak was just too big to show them.

YUM!

After dinner we hit Ziggy's for a night of beer and fun! A bunch of alumni were in town for the veterinary convention, making for an interesting evening of swapping stories and watching people go down memory lane.

(Sorry no pics, try not to take the camera places where I plan on partaking of large doses of libations.)

Wednesday

In the morning we had our last exam of the semester before finals (Parashitology). We were thoroughly exhausted as we sat in anatomy lab listening to a lecture about chicken anatomy. Evidence of exhaustion:

He even laid out his lab coat as a blanket. Note the look of pure enjoyment on my classmates' faces behind him.

I, of course, was fascinated by the lecture. That is, until I glanced over out the window to my right and realized that an absolutely gorgeous day was forming outside and we were stuck listening to a beloved old German man explain the reproduction system of a female chicken. It was like a scene out of Summer School, minus the bikinis in class.

Note the dolphin skeleton framing the top of my pic.

On the days that we have exams, we are not required to attend the lecture for that class later in the day. Parashit lecture is from 1 - 2, with immunology following from 2 - 3. Our wonderful class rep was inspired to have a chat with our immuno prof, who agreed to move our scheduled lecture from Wednesday to next Monday. This meant we were FREE after physio got out at noon!! And what do 89 incredibly worn out second semester vet students going on no sleep do when they get a free afternoon? Why, The Marriott of course.

This view by far outshines the view from the anatomy lab.

That evening I had dinner with Karen and her family at Marshalls. The lamb was superb, as was the company.

Thursday

For Parashitology we were each assigned a parasite at the beginning of the semester that we would have to present in class. Some of these presentations get very creative. A recent example:

Justin's nematode infected chickens. Too bad I didn't catch a shot of Terry dressed as the nematode. There were many tears from laughing so hard.

Thursday night there was an annual wine event called Beaujolais. I did not attend, but was told later that it was a fabulous evening. Instead of attending, I chose to literally sit at home, watch movies, and knit. And drink a 1/2 a bottle of Merlot. It was quite possibly the most relaxing evening I have had here to date.

Friday

This week I've been helping out the dog walking group a few afternoons since they lost a few members. As a reward for all of our sweat and tired muscles, a couple of us went out to dinner at Formosa Gardens, a nice Chinese restaurant near the port. The food was pretty good and the ambiance was nice, but the service left something to be desired. Course, we've also learned that if you have more than four people at a table, servers here on The Rock tend to get a little nervous. But overall, the dinner was super fun. How can it not be with the yahoos sitting at the table?!

After dinner I headed over to the Marriott Casino with some of my dinner mates. Dr. Danny was there, playing Roulette (as always), and he took it upon himself to give me a tour of the casino slot machines to teach me about gambling. At his suggestion, we sat at a machine relatively close to the door with lots of crazy lines on the glass and went to town. Big Players at $10 starting bet, we ended up turning that $10 into $50!

Just in case you needed proof. Or in case I needed a reminder in the morning as to where the nice fifty came from in my wallet.

They even gave me a crisp new $50, not a random crumpled up previously soaked from a pool $50 that some tourist left with them.

Since we three were on a roll, we tried another $20 at the same machine. And wouldn't you know it turned into $75?!

And they say there is no such thing as a Money Tree.

I disagree. There is such a thing, and it is called The Royal Beach Casino at The Marriott St. Kitts Resort.

Which brings us to today, Saturday

Today is a lazy day filled with anatomy lab and library madness. I will be re-entering Hibernation Mode shortly until the end of finals (Dec. 11). So stay tuned, updates when I am able. But don't expect anything super spectacular, since I am grounded until the 11th. Well, with the exception of Thanksgiving. That will probably be a laugh riot.

Hope all is well with all of you, and Happy Thanksgiving for those of you lucky enough to enjoy it!

Shoe Box Life.

Sometimes when the moon is big and bright and the clouds are low and full I look around and get the feeling that I'm just this little plastic figurine within a colorful diorama sitting on the shelf in some twelve-year-old girl's room. And maybe one day, perhaps when she goes on to high school and turns her interests in other directions, that little girl is going to tire of this silly childhood dream and toss it in the garbage.

Which is disheartening, really, because I kind of like it here.

Fluffy White Pillows

Ron (names have been changed to protect identities, yada yada) and I have taken to studying at the Marriott lately. They’re open 24 hours, the coffee is yummy, the power is always on, and there is no internet to rudely distract me from my studies (now there is only Ron). This past week was a veterinary conference here in St. Kitts (sorry vet friends…didn’t even know until they swooped down and took over my Marriott) and this place was packed! Large hotels are my new favorite place to hang out; there is a lot of people watching to be had. Especially fun is people watching at an island resort – you get all kinds. At one point we saw a large group of people walking out of the casino carrying pillows. We had a lot of fun coming up with explanations for that one.

Tonight there was one lone hippy guy walking around clutching his pillow as if it were his life preserver. I have to wonder if he’s been wandering around this enormous hotel for days looking for his narcolepsy support group, occasionally putting his pillow down when the need to sleep overtakes him.

While I love studying here, I cannot help but occasionally think back to a time when life was so much simpler (a whole 3 months ago in first semester). I am, of course, speaking of Marriott Madness. I cannot wait for this semester to be over, whatever the outcome, so that life can return to that sweet time of blissful sun and good times with friends.

Oh well, nostalgia must wait. Back to parasitology, in all of its mucopurulent putrid green profuse watery projectile bottle jaw air hunger moroccan leather beaver fever glory.

Gotcha.

Tonight I caught some pictures of the fantastic moon and clouds on my way to pick up Steph for our Indian Dinner. No, there was no driving and snapping pics at the same time, nor did I stop in the road or anywhere that would encourage a carjacking. All of these were snapped on campus or at my apartment.

The photo quality is not fantastic, but I did learn a few new tricks and managed to come out with some pretty nice shots. I hope you enjoy them as much as I did! (You can see them bigger if you click on them, though that doesn't necessarily enhance the quality...)

Duck, Duck...Goose...on the horizon! (yes, those are duck shaped clouds!)

Passing the cow pastures on the way to get Steph. This is disappointingly blurry, but you get the effect.

Pretty neat shot, get the effect of the full moon. It was as if the sun were shining at night.

This is after dinner, when I dropped Steph back at the dorms.

The clouds were swirling, making some fantastic designs!

Almost like a whirlpool...

Back at my apartment, beautiful.

It was so bright!



This one is my favorite, saved it for last.

Steph says this sky reminds her of pre-snow skies back home....wonder what that means for us? Hurricane?

Well, that's it for tonight. I have some studying to do for Parasit (pop quiz will most likely be tomorrow, hooray!) and then it is off to bed. I really need to work on turning my brain off at night. Maybe I'll spend an hour knitting and watching a movie first...can anyone say Jurassic Park?!

Mentors, Inspirations....Friends.

Ode To An Inspiration

Roses are red
Violets are blue
JoAnne is the most awesome vet ever
And she's a damn good friend, too.



Yeah yeah...what were you expecting? My brain has turned to mush; vet school has sucked all of the creativity out of me.

I just realized this evening that I have written many blogs about my support staff here on The Rock, but I haven't said a peep about the one person who writes comments for 75% of my blog entries! I'm sure all of you out there (who don't already know this crazy cat JoAnne) were wondering just Who Is this Mysterious Lady who writes in ALL CAPS?

She is none other than JoAnne of the DMV fame (no, that's not a typo; you had to be there). When I was nothing but a fledgling groupie making $12/hr as a supervisor at the Humane Society it was JoAnne who saw promise in my curious gaze and convinced me I was smart enough to become a vet. When I stood over that metal table and pointed at various internal organs it was JoAnne who yelled "Don't touch the BLUE!" (and thus my introduction to sterility). When I helped out in the exam room too much (seriously? shelter staff can help TOO MUCH?), it was JoAnne who ruthlessly mocked The Hand so my anger would dissipate quickly. And when I needed anything, anything at all, it was JoAnne who would answer my call.

JoAnne's seemingly endless energy and constant drive for doing what is best for animals and people is what inspired me to become a veterinarian. I've worked with other vets, and they have ALL influenced me tremendously. But JoAnne's friendship, dedication to my goals, and support have been immeasurable.

I miss her every day that I am here, and cannot wait until the day we are working together again. I just hope we are both on the same side of the table when that day comes. And I only hope that I can be half the vet, half the person, and half the inspiration to future vets that she is for me.

I love you kid.

It's the Little Things.

No words are necessary.

Focus for the Month: Small Celebrations.

So I got up late this morning and vacillated about going to the tire place because:

A. I was worried it would take FOREV (like every other freaking thing on this Blasted Rock) and I had physio at 11am. Dr. Reich would never forgive if I were late, even if it were for safety of new tires.

B. I technically had no idea where the place was located, only typical island directions: drive towards the port, on the left side (duh, ocean to the right) between the fork where Fisherman's Wharf is and the entrance into the port area. Course, every building along that stretch looks exactly the same.

C. I wanted to stay asleep. C'mon, it's a rare commodity around here.

As per my new chosen attitude of positivity and Can-Do-ness (ha!) I chose the mature, responsible path and drove into town. Trust me, it's not a path with a very clearly labeled street sign. The tire place is this literal hole in the wall; you have to drive very slowly past to be sure it's the right place. There is a narrow drive into a concrete walled-in space that barely fits my teeny jeep. I pull in, assuming that is how this works, and go inside to find the place actually appears similar to a local garage back home (complete with musty muscle-man smells). I tell the guy I need four new tires, and he comes out to inspect what I have currently. He tells me my two rear tires have really good tread and I should just replace the two front. Seriously? This place is soooo assbackward; the mechanics are the honest ones and everyone else is out to scam us!

After thirty minutes (NO JOKE - I can't even get a take out meal ordered ahead of time in thirty minutes!) and $520 EC ($193 USD) I had two new tires and my alignment was fixed.

I can totally feel a difference! She's more stable, no more random swerving due to hitting a bump in the road (of which there are plenty). Yay New Tires!

Well, back to Immuno. Two more midterm exams left (Immuno this Wed. and Parasit the following Wed.) and it's on to Final Exams! [insert foreboding music here]

The Moon was Huge Tonight.

I know, I know. That's what she said.

But really now.

It was absolutely gorgeous. So impressive that I was inspired to drive past my road, into town, and around the roundabout just so I could drive back with the moon filling the sky in front of me.
Trust me - those of you who are trying telepathically to yell at me about driving through town at 2 am alone because it is dangerous are so wrong - it was far more dangerous to drive forward while staring backwards. Yes, it was just that beautiful.

Be happy I didn't try to take a picture while driving.

Tonight was filled with philosophical conversations for me (with a little Immunology thrown in for shits & giggles). I'm not sure if I'm just too introspective right now, and am therefore expecting that of others. But it seems the people around me are seriously resistant to the idea of looking inside. How can we expect to build our lives, relationships, dreams if we have no idea who we are inside? If we're afraid to find out?

I've recently reconnected with a number of old friends from years past. The memories have made me quite nostalgic for the days when things were simple and happy and secure. A part of me would love to go back to sixteen years old: getting my license (ah, freedom), going to the prom (I had the best dress that year), looking forward to becoming a senior (and therefore invincible). But geez, I was so retarded in those days. I had absolutely no clue what possibilities were out there for me. If I had it to do again, the absolutely one thing I would change is to take more advantage of the opportunities that knocked. I missed out on a lot of possibilities due to fear and the fact that my priorities were so screwed up back then.

Perhaps one day soon I'll crawl out of my head and be content with the person I've become. Perhaps not. Stay tuned.

Sweet Sixteen.

Last night I hopped into a Delorean and went back to 1994. Or at least that's what the RossU vs. Windsor soccer game last night felt like. I stood on the sidelines amongst my classmates screaming my head off for our boys and feeling sixteen again. The only thing missing was face paint and cute little pleated skirts. There's always next time.

I was also impressed with the turnout of fans from RossU. Windsor, a local nursing school on The Rock, had about 1/2 of RossU's groupies....and none of the unadulterated pride.

The game ended with Windsor lucking out in overtime. Our boys put in a valient effort, and when they play again I am will be there front and center. With the pleated skirt. And maybe face paint.

Happy Endings.

Seems our little stowaway has been reunited with her owner. The pups name is Baby, and she is owned by a local woman who lives in our neighborhood. In the words of Kristin: "Dog about came unglued when she saw her".

Happy Endings All Around.

Our Little Stowaway.

The good little vet student sits down to prepare herself for the biggest exam of her life. She has her notes and review sheets strewn all over the table, her computer at the ready for researching questions, and her head in the game. Then her phone buzzes with a text message that reads: "Your shower is overflowing and the entire house is flooded".

What is this student to do? Does she just ignore a blatant call for help from her roommates and remain in study mode? Does she pack everything up and rush to the house?

She heads home in the pouring rain, through two major currents of run-off from the mountains to her left, biting her nails at the very image of the damage at home. She runs up the walk to find the front door wide open, an inch of water covering the floors, and four very tired people desperately trying to push the water out of open doors with small mops and brooms collected from neighbors. As an added bonus they are all working in completely darkness stabbed here and there by weak beams of light from various phones and book lights as the power went out shortly after the flood began. She grabs a mop and digs in, feeling the fruitlessness of the effort every other minute as she walks outside to squeeze the drenched mop.

This is how my shower floor looks after every significant rainfall.

Mostly dirt/silt, with some little pieces of food occasionally.

The floors are NEVER that shiny. Taking a break in the humid heat.

It took forever to get rid of all of that water.

Part of this is my clean laundry that hadn't been put away, the rest was stuff off the floor.

Just when the girl finds herself feeling the depths of despair (she desperately needs to pass this exam), she sees movement out of the corner of her eye in the living room. Upon closer inspection she finds a small dog staking claim to the only remaining dry place near the floor – the bottom shelf of the entertainment unit. Initial disbelief leads her to think surly this is a stuffed animal; however the pup turns her eyes towards the girl with a look of utter terror and confusion.

Cristin extending a hand of welcome to our new little friend.

She was seriously terrified. We left her while we finished the house. After all of the commotion ended she came out of her shell and ran around with glee only seen in an animal that has no worries.

The girl asks the landlady (who, along with her husband, are working diligently with us in bailing out the water) if she brought her dog along. When she replies that she had not, the girl and her roommates stare in disbelief at the little pup shivering in their living room and erupt in maniacal laughter at the very thought of this dog finding its way into their home while 5 people are present – and no one has any idea when or where she came from! The girl thinks to herself, perhaps in the midst of this low situation, when most people would quietly lose their minds, this little bundle of fur was sent to our home to remind us of why we are here. Why we put up with the crazy locals and the crappy roads/cars and the flooding showers. We are here to become veterinarians. The rest doesn’t matter. Better yet, the rest matters only in that it will make us better veterinarians for having had these experiences.

Performing a physical exam on our new friend. She's very needy (not Kristin, the dog) and submissive. Loves to sit as close as possible to you - or preferrably ON you.

After two hours of seemingly endless circles, the floors are finally…merely damp. What did the vet student and her fellow mates have to show for it? Wet, stinky clothes, aching backs, beds full of items that were once on the floor, unease about whether the flood water was clean or dirty, and an adorable little refugee to raise our spirits and give us perspective.

Investigagting the surroundings.

Getting some ear love.

Looks a little dark over there...not so sure...

How about I just stay here and let you love me?

I intend to pass this exam tomorrow with flying colors. And the one after that, and after that, and so on…because I intend to be a vet. And nothing can take that away from me.

We decided to toast the evening with a cold drink.

Yes, I realize how unattractive this picture is. No need to comment.

Kristin took this video of the shower beginning its flood. The video is long, but at least watch until the world goes black. That should give you a chuckle.