People and Trauma and all of the Beauty in between.

So I finally unpacked today.

Yeah, you heard me right. Don't judge.

I have good days and I have bad days. When they are good, there's love and happiness and puppies and smiles and laughs. When they are bad....there's anger and frustration and tears and confusion.

Confusion. A lot.

The worst is when I am alone. Particularly when I am lying in bed at night trying to fall asleep. For the first month or two after I got home, I had some serious insomnia that was more than likely a subconcious attempt to not be in that position to lie awake and think.

As time went on, I began to forgive myself a little bit more each day. I got myself some melatonin and Bach's sleep remedy and peppermint tea to help with the over-thinking in the night. I am by no means complete yet, but I am working on it. Baby Steps.

Some of you out there may have no idea why I am so 'hung up' on these friends from Ross. I can understand, I really only knew them for less than a year when I left. Logic says the bond can't possibly be that strong. I have friends that I have known since high school; we rarely see each other, speak sporadically, and that's just how it works. I'm not sure why this time it is different, why these people are different. It could be the struggles we shared, the support they gave me (and continue to give), the intimacy in which we played out our lives. When we moved down to that island, we all left everything we knew and loved and held dear.

All we had was each other.

And when I came home, I had nothing. Or so it felt.

I realize quoting a show like Grey's Anatomy at a time like this may lead to a perception that my previous words are not as serious as they seem. Please do not allow that thought to enter your mind. Because as the little old lady tried to die to satisfy the schedules of her terribly distracted relatives, she said to the frustrated doctor:

They are my people.

People keep you going.

People are better are than no people.

And I had to work very hard to hold back tears gushing from my eyes This is why I still mourn the loss of my people. And yet every day these same people continue to reinforce the belief that it was not in any way a loss by their continued communication and support and love. And that is why I love them.

Last night I had a very serious and completely wonderful conversation with my friend Karen about our fears and depression and Basket Full O Crazy (that last part might have been more me). In the end, we made the promise to try and see something beautiful in each day. Totally cheesy awesome goal to have, and I decided that today my beautiful would be my room. Or more importantly, the potential of my room once all three bags were unpacked and stored properly.

So yes. Today I unpacked my bags.

It was cathartic and necessary and revealing and slightly torturous. There were moments when I had to stop; a sweet note from Jen, a shirt I bought in The Circus with Kristin, the little doctor bear JoAnne gave me before I left, my stethoscope. All reasons I didn't unpack earlier. And all things that had to be dealt with.

So like I said. I have good days, and I have bad days. Today was an interesting blend of both.

My life right now can be summed up with Alex's parting words on Grey's. Perhaps I should get one of their writers on retainer, this shit is pretty good. They're probably the same people who work for the Quoteable Cards company.

Trauma is what pushes us forwards.

Maybe we have to get a little messed up.

Before we can step up.

And by the way, I am completely and utterly ruined for any future man due to Derek Shepherd in the elevator with the CT scans. For serious. Fuckers. Screw giving them a retainer after all.

Seas of Change.

It's funny, for days now my dogs have been staring at me in some sort of anticipation. As if they expect me to do something. Cute.

Anywho, it's official: I am heading off once again for school (see newly updated blog description just under title of blog). We make mistakes, we learn from them. This time will be different.

The situation is similar; I will be going off to vet school, living on an island, etc. This time the school is St. Matthew's University and the island is Grand Cayman. Class sizes are significantly smaller, the island is significantly pricier, the beaches are pristine and the diving is divine. Oh, and did I mention the uniforms? At least I look good in red.

I plan to keep up with the blog, considering I'm just as likely to loose my mind on this adventure as I was on the last. But I will be leaving the needles & yarn at home (I promise Sugar Bear) and will be bringing with me a renewed sense of determination. On the plus side, I might find an apartment in Hell.

Failure. Rejection. Loss. Sadness. Terrible Emptiness.

Okay, enough about that stuff.

It’s been just about a month since my last entry. I’ve caught nothing but crap from people for not writing. I’m sorry for the delay, but for the first time in almost a year I really couldn’t think of anything to say.

Most of you know the details of the last month, so I won’t dwell on that. For those of you in the dark suffice it to say I am now back at home for a brief hiatus until my next adventure. I’m not going back to St. Kitts (at least not as a student) and I am not sure what the future holds for me.

I love encountering forks in the road. They can be very daunting, scary even. But it’s all in how you choose to see them. At first, I admit, I was terrified. Still am, quite frankly. It’s not every day when your world seems to crumble around you. I could sit and cry and scream and stomp my feet, but that wouldn’t be very effective long term. Plus it just makes me look like a sissy.

Instead, I choose Vodka Faith. Hope. Determination. And wine. Lots and lots of wine.

To my friends across the ocean, I miss you all terribly. You meant more to me than I can ever say in words. Thank you for all of the love and support you showed me, not only recently but since I first stepped foot on that rock. I cannot imagine a world without each and every one of you in it. Take advantage of every opportunity you have there to get to know yourselves and each other better. You aren’t just in vet school; you are in a major transitionary period in your lives. You will only get out of it what you put in.

Ron: feel free to leave as many mocking comments as you like. I’m rubber, and you’re glue…etc. etc. You know how I feel: Hate. Hurry home...my folks do not appreciate my 'singing' in the car nearly as much as you did. PS – how’s my pillow? Snuggling with my blankey I hope.

Jen: you have a focus and determination I can only hope for. I am so glad I got to know your “gang”; makes it easier to know I’ve left you with some fantastic friends. I’m so sorry I’m not there with you, but I promise I will survive. WE will survive.

Firsties (now secondies, not nearly the same ring though): take care of my Jen. She may not go out as often as you kids, but she’s a fierce friend who would put a spoon in someone’s eye if they hurt you. And take care of yourselves, because each and every one of you have some fantastic qualities and will make such unique and awesome vets.

Karen: keep drinking those beers. They’re cheaper and will put hair on your chest. Or something like that. And work on your classic movies. Everyone needs a well-rounded, if not completely unrealistic, romantic view of life. On that note, stay away from boys. They only bring heartache and distraction. Even the cute ones.

Amber: keep smiling and mass texting. You are and always will be my hero. And yes, I believe you tie Kristilee for Best Hugs. Has to be a tie, because I’m pretty sure Klee could kick my ass. I fully expect to receive a hug and brownies every break.

Anna: I will make it to Vermont one day, I swear. And I promise I will even try snowboarding, despite my fear of broken bones and looking ridiculous in oversized goggles. Give Skyla some love for me (just not on her Ringworm spots). And take care of my beautiful Kate and Meg. They have no idea how much I envied them from afar as well.

Vanessa: I have never known anyone like you. Please don’t ever change. I will always think of you when drinking Shiraz (which isn’t half bad, actually) or hanging out in Ikea. OR drinking Shiraz while hanging out in Ikea.

Rachel: wear that dress with pride, it looks good on you. I cannot wait until we meet again unleashed on the streets of NYC. I've got some bar hookups with eye candy bartenders if you're interested. What am I saying...of course you are. Take care of the Marriott for me, I don't want her to get lonely.

Arvind: what can I say about my dearest? Life just gets in the way sometimes. I cannot imagine dancing with anyone else ever again. Please finish the pages, there is something in you that should absolutely be shared with the world. Do not hesitate to live (like you need to be told that) and please stay in touch. I want to know where life takes you.

Kristin: do not let a little speed bump get you down. You are known as the laugher, the giggler, and you bring happiness into people's lives. Don't forget that, despite what some people (and by people, I mean jackasses of the sort you and I are familiar with) may say. Smile in the face of adversity, it tends to confuse him.

Cristin: you have a determination that I admire greatly. Seeing you and Jim together makes me smile even now. Take care of Princess White Heat/Suzy/Piece-of-Crap, she means well even when she doesn't show it.

Kristilee: Ah, the Best for last. I’m so very sorry for letting you down. I can’t believe I won’t get to see you every day for the next two years. Don’t for a second think you have lost me…I’m like a cestode who just hangs on forever. We will be together again; I will listen to your advice unequivocally from now on; and I will follow my heart in this next adventure…promise.

To all who were not mentioned here personally…don’t be hatin. Trust me, this was hard enough to write as it is. And there’s love enough to go around.

On! On! To another damn Personal Statement. Yuck. Think I can just submit my Blog?

Sigh. I do miss those stars.

The stoics considered passionate emotions to be the result of errors in judgment, and that a sage, or person of "moral and intellectual perfection," would not have such emotions.

Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha.

Haven't Packed Yet.

Yeah, it's 1:30AM. And I haven't packed. Probably because I have a real sense of doom for grades and feel like I should be packing heavy.

As an alternative to packing, I am bringing you these fantastic pics of Dr. Danny in his new hat! (thanks Kristin)

I'll be home in less than 24 hours, for good or for bad. I fully expect an order of Bang Bang shrimp and a gin & tonic to be awaiting me (someone notify Bonefish Grill for me please).

Toodles!

Completed scarf

Wrapped up in my donkey reproduction notes

I think the green suits him.

We'll miss you Dr. Danny!



Random pic of Kristilee and I at the port after our last final.

Awesome full moon tonight

I think the goats like the full moon...

Day Three: I Had To Pee.

There I was, sitting in my physio exam having a mild heart attack as I filled in the last few bubbles, when my body decides to compensate for my hypertensive state by sending out the signal to pee. (signal induced by what physio graduates all?)

[Yes mom, I'm talking about having to pee on my public blog. I'm sure you are sitting in front of the computer aghast. Readers: please note my mother taught me better than this. I'm just a stubborn little girl and don't listen.]

Anyhow, I tried desperately to fight the need to hit the bathroom as fast as I could in exchange for just a few more moments to review my exam answers. Unfortunately, I only got to #3 before the urge was just too great and I could literally feel the bruising in my bladder.

Turns out my renal urges were the best thing that could happen, since in those three questions I changed one of them to another answer and ended up missing that question even though my original answer was correct. Who knows how many more answers I would have missed by doubting myself if I hadn't had a case of The Exploding Bladder?

This is a syndrome I am well acquainted with...called Doubtacoccus retardus. I cannot tell you how many professors (and my father) have told me to go with my first instinct. It's all good and well to hear that over and over, but really when you're hopped up on stimulants and haven't really had your head on straight for days its not so easy to follow that advice. Logic and reason go out the window when Dr. Reich comes in the room.

I have this screensaver that slide-shows a bunch of quotes that I downloaded, and this one sums it all up:

It was like Joanne was sitting there with me channeling her thoughts into my computer...creepy.

In the last few days it seems every time I looked up at my computer that quote was flashing across the screen. So much so that the very first thing I did when I got my exam this afternoon was to write that quote across the top. Just a gentle reminder to myself that all of the answers were there, I just had to find them.

Whether I did that successfully, however, is anyone's guess. But its done, only one more to go. And that one is covering all of the things I love and adore (immune systems and vaccines and hypersensitivities Oh My!).

As Anna said to me earlier this evening, I've gotten off the Stress Train (she took my seat, mind you) and am now standing on the platform at Delusion Depot. Waiting for tomorrow afternoon to come so I can break open my extra large bottle of Grolsch in the fridge. You know the kind...with that snazzy flip stoppered top thingie. Oh yeah.

[Sorry again mom, this time for publically talking about being excited for drinking.]

Less than 17 hours.

Day Two: I Smell Like Poo.

Yes. I said I Smell like Poo. Or at least feel like it.

Day Two of The Worst Week of My Life is over. I'm pretty sure I got a B+ or higher on my parasit final. Which should make me ecstatic. I should be over-the-moon and all that jazz. And I would be...if the next two days of my life weren't going to determine My Entire Life's Direction.

That's some Major Pressure.

It's really hit me tonight. I could seriously lose my place here. I could seriously lose all I've worked towards for the last four years. I can't stop thinking about it, can't stop worrying. I realize that this is detrimental to performance in high stress situations, and I will probably fret for the next thirty minutes before channeling that energy into making sure I rock these F-ing exams.

But for now: ohmygodimightfailoutofvetschoolpleasemakeitstopican'ttakeitanymoremylifesucksi'mprettysuretherewillbemassiveamountsofpeoplelosingtheirmindsinthenexttwodaysi'mnottheonlyonewhereisthewinewho
needsaglassjustgivemethebottle.

Phew.

Alright. I am prepared. I have been preparing for this for four years. I have all of the answers. They are all there. I just have to focus, have to BE the exam, have to BE the answers. I can do this. After all, I've been through worse, right? Anyone remember Organic Chemistry? I mean at least Physio is in English.

Immuno isn't, but whatev. That's just memorization. Lots and lots (and lots and lots) of memorization.

Okay. Back to work. To all at home: I will see you in T minus 4 days, pretty much to the hour. Lynn: I'm looking forward to getting absolutely snookered with you Saturday night. Be forewarned: I plan on drinking on the plane.

Day One: Oh So Fun.

Test 1 of Finals Week:

(can I just interject here and say how sad I am that when you Google Image search "check mark" ALL of the images you find are RIGHT-HANDED check marks? I mean c'mon!

There are loads of Lefties out there....represent!)

Today was my first Final Exam for The Dreaded Second Semester. I am now completely finished with smelling like formalin (at least until we get my grades back...but we're working on that positivity thing right now so roll with it, okay?). Next up, Parasitology. So for this evening's post I shall share with you my favorite parasite of the semester:

Heomonchus contortus

Superfamily: Trichostrongyloidea
Common name: Barber pole worm
Appearance of the ADULTS:

Present in abomasum

2 – 3 cm

White ovaries spiraled around blood-filled intestine - hence "barber pole" apperance

Males:

Asymmetrical dorsal lobe

Barbed spicules

Cervical papillae

Lancet inside the buccal capsule

Females:

Cervical papillae

Lancet inside the buccal capsule

Appearance of the EGGS:

Typical trichostongyloid

85 µm

Thin shelled

Shell surface smooth

Contain a morula

Life cycle is DIRECT with infection by L3.

This parasite undergoes HYPOBIOSIS - L4 encyst on gut wall and overwinter

Site of infection: Abomasum

Pathogenesis/lesions:

Acute hemorrhagic anemia

ACUTE haemonchosis:

Anemia – 2 weeks

Decrease in packed red cell volume

Continual loss of iron and protein

Hemorrhagic lesions on abomasums

Contents are dark brown

Pale/edematuous carcass

Hemorrhagic gastritis (hyperacute haemonchosis) leads to sudden death

CHRONIC haemonchosis - typically due to a deficient pasture:

Weight loss

Weakness/inappetence

What are some clinical signs? Hyperacute:

Lambs die from hemorrhagic gastritis

Anemia

Bottle jaw

Ascites

Lethargy

Dark colored feces

Loss of wool

Diarrhea NOT typically seen

PPR occurs with this parasite.

How is this parasite diagnosed?

Season

History

Clinical signs

Fecal worm egg counts

Trichostongyloid L3

Necropsy

How is this parasite treated/prevented?

Selective chemotherapy

Major resistance to all anthelmintics

FAMCHA

What is FAMACHA? (KNOW THIS and ASSOCIATE W/ THIS PARASITE!!)

Ocular mucous membrane chart

Determine level of anemia and thus appropriateness for treatment

*****THIS PARASITE IS RESISTANT TO ALL TYPES OF ANTHELMINTICS*****

Whew! All of that for just one of 42 bagillion parasites we're expected to know for our final! Guess I should get back to work. Night kids!

(oh...and in case you were curious it's my fave because A) the name is super fun to say and B) spiral ovaries? that's freakin cool.)

I am officially sequestered in the 24-hour reading room for the next seventy bagillion hours.

Finished the last of my classes for The Dreaded Second Semester as of about an hour ago. Grabbed a table in the Quiet Reading Room, have my many various snacks, caffeine, and water....between now and Thursday night at 4 PM I am incommunicado except by email. Which I will check frequently. And I'll update the blog. Probably frequently as well. Since I'm pretty sure I have ADD.

I am feeling a little better about this semester than perhaps just a few weeks ago. Sort of like that half-empty glass didn't sprout a leak after all, and in fact instead has a leaky faucet above it. Each little mini-victory in the Study Struggle is a little droplet more. Hey, I might even move on to third semester. It's just going to take forfeiting the next, oh say 8,580 minutes of my life.

But what's a Life Goal worth without a little Sacrifice?

Make that 8,574 minutes. Took me 6 minutes longer to write this entry than I originally calculated.

The Key.

I had it in my hand.

Literally. Or so I thought.

There I was, standing at question 15, casually minding my own business answering one of seventy bagillion questions on our anatomy lab exam, when my gaze fell upon some papers sitting on the windowsill. Papers with red writing. Papers that looked remarkably like my test form. Red writing that looked remarkably like my professor's.

The page was obscured by a sheet above it that documented what specimens should be laid out for the exam. Our exam. The one we were taking.

I might not be able to summon up the names of the muscles innervated by the Left Recurrent Laryngeal Nerve (duh, totally answered that after the exam with no problem) or the proper term used to describe that auditory cavity thingie in the half head specimen (seriously?)....but I can put 2 and 2 together and folks, this time they equal Exam Key. Sitting on the windowsill. Plain as day.

What's a girl to do?

I will admit, I probably spent at least one minute of my precious 120 minutes allotted for the exam (which in reality should be more like 500 minutes, but whatev) debating my next move. Do I gently shove the top sheet over and make sure that I get at least some of the questions on this exam correct? Do I leave it there and move on like I saw nothing? Do I turn it in to the profs, wasting another minute or two of my precious time?

Kinda climactic, isn't it? Sort of like a Choose Your Own Adventure book (God I loved those).

In the end, I turned to page 52 and turned in the sheets. Without even a tiny peek. What can I say? I want to earn my own grades, even if they aren't fantastic. Or even passing.

Course, this story would have been a lot better if I hadn't been told by Dr. Moffatt later that it ended up not being the key but actually just a list of specimens to be laid out for Dr. Berg's section (he hand wrote them vs. typing like the rest of the profs). Maybe I should just keep that little tidbit to myself. Course, she reads my blog so all of the points I might have won for being honest with what I thought was the key will be lost with lying.... ;)

Random Large Pink Bull's Penis.

Catchy title, huh?

Tonight was a madhouse in the anat lab. They have us put out all of the specimens that will be used on the exam the evening before so we can work off of them (and also help arrange things, manual labor I believe it is called). And what do our wandering eyes behold?

A random large pink bull's penis lying on one of the exam tables. With a matching pair of pink testicles.

Did I say pink? As in MAGENTA? Yes.

Apperantly someone in a previous semester wrapped one of the reproduction speciments with a burgundy towel.

Unwashed burgundy towel + tupperware with formalin = all specimens within dyed MAGENTA.

I would have promptly taken pictures for all of you to enjoy, however I'm pretty sure that would get me kicked out of school, or at the very least slapped on the hand pretty hard. So you'll just have to live with the terrible version I made for you in...yup, you guessed it: Microsoft Paint.

Okay...so this is actually a pic of a fossilized walrus penis that I painted pink. But you get the drift.

This is about as exact I can get you without actually photographing the Real Deal. Mind you, it would have been a whole lot funnier if I had actually been able to get a shot with Cristin holding it...she was quite befuddled by the entire experience.

Good night my friends, I am back to the Land of Dead Carcasses until 8AM tomorrow during which I will hopefully (fingers and toes crossed) be taking my very last anatomy lab exam ever. And after that....blissful naptime. Cannot wait.

Double Rainbow.

Okay. So first our new mouse. And then a Double Rainbow. Spanning over the entire freaking island. The first thing I saw after leaving my first exam of the semester. This is turning out to be an interesting Final Exam Week.

All I can really say about the rainbow is that the colors were more vivid than anything I've ever seen in nature (perhaps a slight exaggeration, but where would we be in life without a few exaggerations?) and the sheer size of it was amazing - truly like nothing I've ever seen before. Sometimes I've been lucky enough to catch the start and end of one. But nothing like this.

And then to top it off - a Double Rainbow? Do those even exist in the Real World?

Those are rain drops on my lens...

You can just make out the second rainbow just to the left of the bright one. No, it's not a double exposure. It was really there. I swear.

And no, I was not drinking.

The building this is spanning over is the Ross Library. Conveniently the location of our exam. Coincidence?

That last one is my Ghetto version of a panoramic shot, courtesy of crappy Windows Paint (since I never found my copy of Photoshop that somehow mysteriously disappeared).

And I Shall Name Him George.

I promised myself I wouldn't allow my mind to migrate back to the internet for the rest of the evening, as the quality of my posts dramatically decreases in proportion to how bored I have become with whatever subject I am studying.

BUT.

I came home tonight, about a half hour ago, and thought...let's make a little evening snack of healthy pasta. And I'm standing there at the stove, minding my own business watching the water boil (as an alternative to parasit that is a treat!) when out of the corner of my eye what flies by? A cute, adorable, pestilence-filled MOUSE.

Now, I've never lived anywhere with mice. Well, correction. I've never lived anywhere with mice that make themselves known. This little guy came flying out of the living room and scurried under the fridge as if he owned the place. I really have no problem with the little guy, even started chatting with him (named him George if you must know). Wouldn't you know as my water starts to boil he bee-lines it right under the stove? So of course, I admonish him for being so brutally stupid as to run under a gas stove that is in use when he starts squeaking back at me! And by squeaking I mean the cutest damn noises you have ever heard! I didn't even have to squeeze him first. I'd say it rivaled listening to a litter of newborn kittens screaming for mom.

Back to George. I am going on the assumption that since those squeaks were obviously ones of delight and happiness at meeting me (and not burning hot torture), our new friend Little George is going to hang out in our place for a little while. I seriously debated leaving the little tyke a snicky snack, but thought better of it since snacks have a tendency to attract other creatures of a not-so-beloved kind.

Good night, I am off to study more parasites. And listen out for my new buddy.

He must be Speedy's Caribbean cousin....

The Times, They Are A Changin'...

NOTE: This was written Monday evening, but being without internet until today means no posting on time....

“Hurricane Days” have turned into “Power Outage Days”

When I was in high school and undergrad, the best days were when large storms conspired against higher education and caused cancellation of classes. We Floridians were like a secluded little club in the states, complete with our own language (ya’ll) and handshake. Someone should have scheduled a soccer game against those “Snow Days” Northerners.

Anywho, the new and improved method of befuddling our educators here on The Rock seems to be power outages. They attacked often and without prejudice; they are random and unplanned; they are a pain-in-the-ass and a blessing all rolled up into one. It seems the frequent island blackouts in the last few months have done severe damage to our electrical system on campus, which has been scheduled to be repaired according to Island Time (meaning the electricians shrug their shoulders and say Whatev). Today around noon this culminated in an explosion (which sad-to-say I did not witness or even see the carnage) that left ¾ of the campus without power and all of us without server access. It is unknown how long this will be a problem, but as of now (around 8 hours later) there is still not power in most of the buildings and no internet available.

The Silver Lining, you may ask? Our first final of the semester, Parasitology Lab, was scheduled for Tuesday afternoon. After much (inane) debate in a dark and ever-growing-hot classroom, it was decided that our future exam would remain up in the air until further notice. Which we just received via The Grapevine about thirty minutes ago: our exam is cancelled until further notice and will not occur before Wednesday. How was this information given, you might ask? Um, yeah, that would be via The Grapevine Text-Tree. And Facebook. See? All of that time spent checking Facebook every ten minutes finally paid out. Course, it would help if there was internet access to allow the students to access Facebook in the first place. Details.

And thus begins what I can only imagine will be an interesting and supremely challenging Second Semester Final Exam Week(s). Let's all hope I don't OD on caffeine.
___________________________________________________________________

Addendum: Following is an email from the school. Another email talked of a lightning strike. One of my professors today jokingly apologized for not watching where he was urinating. Ah, Island Life.

Oh, and the power went out again today around noon for an hour or so. Just in case you thought the problem was "fixed".
_____________
Hello,
At approximately 12:00 pm yesterday, one of the large electrical breakers on campus failed. The failure resulted in the destruction of several key components. Replacement components were scavenged from two other breakers on campus and power was restored. However, a significant amount of electricity is now coursing through a single breaker. The situation is stable, but it will behoove all of us to lower our consumption of electricity for the next few days. Please avoid energy use (office lights?) when possible.
Replacement parts have been ordered and should be arriving soon. I have spoken with some of the electricians, who are aware of the temporal proximity to final examinations. When the time comes, they will replace the necessary parts as quickly, but safely, as they can.
In regard to IT issues, we lost one server during the power outage. A replacement server is being shipped to the island as quickly as possible. When our overall system rebooted, some memory pertaining to recent software upgrades were temporarily lost. The system was booted a second time and the applications are returning. At the present time, the system is stable and functioning normally.
For faculty with impending examinations, having contingency plans in place, as best they can be arranged, would probably be wise. We anticipate that the electrical grid will be completely restored by the beginning of finals week. I am sorry for the inconveniences all of us have borne. Our people are working hard to keep us functioning normally.

Thank you,
RossU
_______________________

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.

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)

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!