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.