Goodbye, Anatomy.

Anatomy has come and gone. Thanks to the good will of our teacher, the final turned out much better than suspected. This left me to regret not putting more time into Physiology and Epi, but I'm happy to escape anatomy with a B. Tomorrow, I have my virology final which I haven't gone over too much. I don't suspect horrible difficulties, but I'm not terribly excited about being so unprepared. I also regret that tomorrow means I must spend the whole day and night studying Physio to try and catch up. >_< Here's to long nights!




The Final Countdown-5 DAYS!!!!:
Wednesday: Virology Final
Thursday: Physiology Final >_<
Friday: Epidemiology Final T_T
Saturday: Move to a new Apartment.
Sunday: Study for Parasitology
Monday: Parasitology Final
Tuesday-Sunday: Sweet Freedom.
Monday: Back to work at the clinic.

Smug As Pug With a Bug

Life: it sneaks up on you. What can I say? One day, you're ankle deep in mud pretending to be Godzilla, and the next, you are eight shots of espresso deep in an Anatomy book, wondering if you shall ever see the sun again. It's strange to think that there ever was another life besides this, and, yet, I'm always wishing that I had such a life.

As it stands, two study days are between me and my first final. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be enough time in the day for me to learn all that needs to be learned. I know that others in my class find themselves in the same difficult and taxing position of mediocrity that I find myself in, and that some sit in far more perilous positions. As we approach finals, my fondest prayer and wish is that my entire class and I shall emerge victorious from finals with our heads held high and be able to exclaim that we survived first year and made it to second year.



The Final Countdown:
Sunday: STUDY ALL THE THINGS! O_O
Monday: Study butt off for Anatomy. >_<
Tuesday: ANATOMY FINAL!!!!!!!!!AHHHHHHH!!!!! T_T
Wednesday: Virology Final
Thursday: Physiology Final
Friday: Epidemiology Final >_<
Satuday: Move to new apartment.
Sunday: Study for Parasitology.
Monday: Parsitology Final (AND SWEET SUMMER FREEDOM!!!!!)
Tuesday-Sunday: Sleep! <3
Monday: Back to work at the clinic. ^_^ Yay Monies!

"Whoa! Whoa! Whoa..."

"...Lois, this is not my Batman cup!"



FINALLY! A REASON TO POST THIS VIDEO!

I would like to announce to the world that today, March 21, 2011, I made my first B on a veterinary anatomy test. It was a joyous occasion marked by much Caramelldansen-ing. I ended up missing 7 points total on the 50 points test (an 86 for those that don't like to do the math). Our professor hasn't posted our new total averages yet, so I am not sure how much the grade pulled up my 68. I'm hoping that it pulled it up noticeably though.

I suppose that the study session actually did work, a fact that I find great comfort in. Not only did I actually learn material, but I had lots of fun doing it. I see this becoming a habit for future tests, even if I have to bribe the group with baked goods.

Tomorrow, I know the number of exams before finals down to 4 by taking my 2nd Microanatomy Exam. Bah.

On a sadder note, there was a boat accident involving the boyfriend of one of the girls in my class, and they have yet to find him. While I don't know her on a close level, I feel deep sympathy for her as I am sure everyone does and hope for the best, despite the odds. My prayers go out to them and their families. I know all of you are not religious, but if you would send out your prayers, well wishes, and thoughts to those involved, I'm sure they would be very much appreciated.

Countdown:
MTAC: 30 days
Summer Break: 48 days, 5 Exams, 2 Quizzes, and 5 Finals (Also, 2 Epidemiology HW's).

Studying for Anatomy Can Be Fun?

Today, in a move of brazen desperation, I barged my way into an anatomy study group for tonight. I have never laughed so hard or had so much fun studying for anything. To that group, if you ever read this, I appreciate you all so much and am so very, incredibly thankful. I learned more tonight than I have learned this entire time that I've been studying for the test and had a lot more fun doing it.

Now, to see if all my work pays off tomorrow. Wish me luck and send me prayers. I'm going to need them!

Countdown:
Spring Break- 1 DAY!!!!!!!!!!! AND AN ANATOMY TEST!! AHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Time to curl up in a carcass and take a nice nap.

THIS IS VET SCHOOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay. So, so my Sparta war cry is a shade lamer than the original. Cut me some slack though, how do you really make this interesting?

In 3 more days, I'll be eating dinner back at home with my family and packing to head to New Orleans on Sunday. Just 3 more days. Three brutal, unforgiving, lackluster, miserable, awful, horrible, mind-racking, soul-crushing days.

The second part of the physiology quiz is in the morning. I can't say I'm ready for it. I'm never ready for anything. It seems like a sad, recurring trend that is out to get me. No matter what I do or how I budget time, there just isn't enough in the day. So, it looks like another night without sleep for me. Goody.

On Friday, I have my 2nd Anatomy Exam. It's like physio only complete with pits of lava to navigate and giant man-eating sharks with lasers on their heads. I can't think about that right now though. For now, it's physio.



The Countdown:
Spring Break- 3 days, a Physio Quiz, and an Anatomy Exam.
MTAC 2011- 45 days.
Summer 2011- 62 days, 6 Exams, 3 Quizzes, and 5 Finals.

Since I Was a Little Kitten...

...I had a dream.

It's days like this that only watching Cats Don't Dance will suffice to ease my pain. Unfortunately, I don't have Cats Don't Dance up here with me. Forgive me while I go into a dark corner and be emo for several hours.

The past two weeks hav been most terrible, most terrible indeed. It started last Thursday with an Anatomy quiz from hell that I ended up making a 7.5/15 on. Yes, that is a 50%. As the class has very few points in total, it was a devastating blow to my average which is now a 68. (I feel I can be honest with anyone that reads this. I'm not going to pretend to be better than I am, afterall.) I have no idea how I'm going to pull my average up. I would have to make grades on the remaining 2 quizzes, exam, and final that I haven't made yet. Just pray for me. I really need it.

The horrible streak continued with the Epidemiology Mid-term on Friday after my two hours of sleep. I don't know how I did as we haven't gotten it back, but I just hope that I got a C on it. The Parasitology exam on Monday wasn't too bad in itself, but the continuing sleep deprivation finally paid its toll on the Physiology quiz on Wednesday. 40 questions in 30 minutes in a class that takes me longer to process than any other one. I didn't even get to finish the blasted thing! I just filled in circles to turn it in on time. Worst part? Round two is next Wednesday, and together they count for 25% of our final Physio grade.

I hate to rant and whine. I just feel so stupid and useless. I feel like everyone is doing better than me despite how hard I try. I just want to pass this semester and move onto next semester. I can't salvage this shipwreck and turn it into a polished turd. I just want to hit shore so that I can board the next ship, but I'm so tired of trying to scoop water out of this sinking hell hole. I can't stay ahead.


Now, back to Anatomy.

Countdown:
Spring Break in 9 Days, a Physio quiz, and an Anatomy Exam.
Summer Break (a.k.a.- Sweet Serenity) in 66 Days, 6 Exams, 3 Quizzes, and 5 Finals.

Comparatively Awesome

No day can be completely horrible when you get to stick your entire arm inside a cow's rumen. This fact is insurmountable, and no one can convince me otherwise. For anyone that's unfamiliar with cows, rumens, or the joy of fermenting microbes, I'll clear you up on the whole ordeal. First, you start with a cow.

Meet Ruby.



She has a port in her rumen. In addition to providing one with hours of uninterrupted conversation, she also donates rumen fluid to other cows in need as well as teaching countless students about rumens and cows alike. You could say that Ruby is one of the most respected teachers in the school, but you wouldn't think that when you met her. She's completely unassuming about the whole thing and content with just teaching for the love of it...and eating grass.

Now, rumens are tricky things. If you don't know anything about cows, like I didn't when I started school, you might not even know that such a thing as a rumen exists. (I'm not going to lie to you. I didn't even know of its existance. Rumen? Really?! What?!!?) A rumen is, for all intents and purposes, part of a cow's stomach. Being an herbivore, a cow must consume massive amounts of grass in order to receive the necessary energy content. For the cow, this means spending most of the day eating and digesting, a process that the rumen plays a very important role in. The rumen houses an extensive array of microbes which ferment and break down the grass consumed. Additionally, the rumen functions in absorption of these materials.

Here is Ruby's rumen port:



And here is the food in it and, if you look really REALLY close, you can see several friendly microbes waving at you. (A.K.A.- Nasty, Grassy, Death in a Hole):



To palpate a rumen, you first put on the longest plastic glove that you've ever seen in your life because...Let's face it, no one wants to free hand this shiznit. Once you are gloved and ready to go, approach the cow and prepare for the smell of the rumen. It's a very unique odor that I can't really describe for you. Given all the fermenting bacteria and methane they are producing, this should be unsurprising to you, but it still takes a while to get used to. While probing the cow with your arm, be prepared. If she coughs, she will splatter you and your closest colleages with her ruminal nastiness. I think cows do it on purpose. I know I would.

"Look Bessy, they are getting really close. Watch this!"

Please note, the smell tends to linger when you get coated in it. You can help to ward off angry stares you might receive from smelling like fermented grass by coming up with a heroic story about how you rescued small children off of a bus that was sinking in a swamp or some similar story.

According to my physiology teacher who was assisting in our palpation lab, the contractions of the rumen can be strong enough to break your arm if you have it in there at the wrong time in the wrong angle. More reasons why being a vet is way more exciting and hardcore than being a physician. ^-~

Altogether, a very awesome learning opportunity today. Now, tired and filled with soup, I retire to playing Ace Attorney and thinking about how I should be more obsessed with studying.

2nd Day Back...Are We There Yet?!

Today was my second day back to my second semester of my nine semester stint in vet school. On my first day back, my first teacher couldn't make it to class because he was snowed in his house. The class, of course, found this out after we got up at the butt crack of dawn and drug our sorry asses into school to sit there for another hour because lecture began.

In other news, the class of 2014 has picked up 3 new classmates that are layover students that did not finish 2nd semester last year. This is fine, but has created quite a seating problem as in...there are none. Every day, I show up and rummage through the entire classroom trying to find seats that don't exist. I get there about 10-15 minutes before class starts, but everyone else seems to have nothing better to do than to get there about 30-40 minutes early. Obsession, much?! >_<

Tomorrow, we have our first Anatomy quiz over the nervous system. And, no, I'm not sure what he wants to know about the nervous system. He really hasn't taught us that much about it, unfortunately. Alas, Day 2 and it's already begun its sucking the life out of me process. Oh well. What can you do?

Unequivocal Joy.

I could miss 13 questions on today's Gross Anatomy exam and still pass the class with a C. Today, I missed exactly 13 questions (12 as I discovered later because a question was thrown out). So, everyone who has been praying/blessing/hoping/wishing/good-lucking/thinking of me, THANKS SO MUCH! WE DID IT!

This joy so overshadows the fact that I have a microanatomy final tomorrow that I have barely even looked at, and I haven't slept more than 2-3 hours a night for a while now. *happy sigh*

3 more finals to go, and I'm home free. On Thursday, my boyfriend's coming up to spend a few days with me and go to Mecha's graduation, and then, Saturday after the graduation, I'm headed home to spend some quality time with my family, my animals, and sleep! <3

The Final Countdown: 3 DAYS!!!!!!

Tuesday: Microanatomy Final
Wednesday: P.D. Final
Thursday: Immunology Final
Friday- January 9-10thish: SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Clinically Blonde?

So, after a long day of studying anatomy and feeling rather dejected, I was delighted to find that Legally Blonde was on TBS tonight. I know it may seem rather silly, but it's always been one of my favorite movies. Something about it always makes me feel so good about everything. I guess I've always found myself to be an outsider. I've always been different and strange. I've never really fit in anywhere, not in high school, not in undergrad, and, to a certain extent, not in vet school. I'm just different. It's not a bad thing, by any means. It's something I've always appreciated and acknowledged openly. Sometimes, I think we let ourselves fall into the trap of hating how different we are from everyone else. I know that I do, anyway.

Like Elle conquered law school, at first being irrationally different from everyone else in her class, I know that I can conquer vet school. I may be off the wall at times. My zombie converses and cartoon tshirts might seem a little unorthodox as professional attire, but, in the end, I have a passion and drive for what I'm doing. This semester, my biggest struggle has been against Gross Anatomy. I have nightmares about it when I'm not studying it, actually. However, I want with all my heart to care for the medical needs of animals, and I always have. I just hope that I can do well enough on my exam on Monday to prove that.



The Final Countdown:
Sunday: Study ass off for anatomy....T_T
Monday: Gross Anatomy Final (T_T) (A.K.A.- D Day!!)
Tuesday: Microscopic Anatomy Final (Also, online C.C.E. Final is due.)
Wednesday: Physical Diagnosis Final
Thursday: Immunology Final
Friday-January 9thish= SLEEP!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheating= Catching a Raptor Wearing a Hood

Today, we had our avian Physical Diagnosis lab. While this lab wasn't as hands on as all the other labs (because birds have a tendency to drop dead if you look at them funny), it was still rather interesting and I found some pretty good recipes for cookies on stumbleupon. Our teacher did show off his lovely Harris Hawk that he's trained to hunt for him. She was a lovely girl. We also heard a great story about a guy that threw a blanket over a Great Horned Owl that was injured to catch it and picked it without restraining both of his legs. The owl decided to flip around and grab the first thing it could and refused to let go until they sedated him. Such a "ballsy" move. :3

It also gave me a chance to talk with several other classmates for a little bonding time. Apparently, there are quite a few other people in the same boat grade-wise as me in Anatomy. One of them actually talked to the teacher who told him that there were only two people that he was worried about passing the class. This is a very comforting thought although I really hope that those people are able to pull it out of themselves. I really don't want to lose anyone to anatomy.

For the last part of the day, Mecha-san and myself took a trip to a little pizza place next to a dollar theatre for tiramisu. It was pretty good, but I always enjoy our adventures and their ability to give me a small break from the reality that I must face.

Your Argument is Invalid Because I Have a Rocket Launcher

You know those days that stand between you and freedom? The day you have worked so hard to prepare for, and you are burnt out on. So you strap on your best pair of combat boots and prepare for the final assault. You know that you will probably not sequester the fiend to achieve glorious victory, but that doesn't mean you won't give it your best shot and head out, head held high and guns readied.

This is kind of how I feel about my anatomy exam tomorrow. When you have spent well over 100 solid hours studying for something, you start to not really care anymore. You know that you don't know everything you need to (most of us). Though how anyone can when your teacher hands you a 300 page lab book and just says, "It's all in here", I'll never know. At this point, I find myself wallowing in a field of information so vast that I could never pack it all in even if I spent my life at it. After all, very few clients walk in and demand a list of innervations for the muscles of the thorax off the top of your head. You have your base knowledge of commonly used/lost muscles, innervations, and vessels, but you have a huge stack of reference books to fill in the gaps. I guess that what I am saying is that I now have this base knowledge, but I am not a reference book. I have trouble remembering what I had for dinner last night. I'm more adept of employing skills over a long term. I pick up information and continuously apply it over a span of 3-4 years and then it's there if I continue to use it.

I know this probably all made no sense. It really doesn't have to. I have given it my very best (more than I've ever given anything), and I just have to leave it at that. Do I know everything? No. Will I ever? No. But I'm here for the long haul. That's what school is about, right? You learn pieces to add to an ever increasing mental library of information. It isn't in the short term that you see results, but rather in the long term. I have no doubt that I will someday be a fantastic vet, not because I know everything or made A's on all of my tests in vet school, but because I truly, honestly, madly, deeply, unfathomably love the animals I hope to treat, the people I hope to teach, and the medicine that I am learning.

So, Dr. Anatomy, don't work so hard to discourage us. I know you probably don't mean to, but it really drags some of us down. It's okay though because we're all going to be wonderful vets in different ways. I'm sorry that I could not live up to your standards in anatomy class, but I have learned a lot, and it will stay with me always.

(Also, 55 days left until the end of this semester....THANKS GOD!)

Addicted to Stress

Somedays, I wonder what I would do if I wasn't constantly stressed. There have been very few times in my life that I've actually experienced a stress-free environment, so I have a hard time thinking about things outside the realm of my stress. So, today when I found a Cowboy Bebop AMV to "Stress" by Jim's Big Ego, I thought it fit how I have been feeling recently pretty well. I posted the lyrics at the end of the blog so you all can enjoy it too. Pretty fun little song from the late 90s, but I'm always behind everything, so maybe you all are too.

Life is a strange little thing. We're born into a cold, cruel world out of a nice, cozy environment and thrust head first into the ins and outs of a very odd world. We go through a very needy phase and after a very short time are forced to realize that we can't get everything that we want when we want it. This would probably be our first life lesson. Even though at this point, we are under a year of age, it's a lesson that sticks with us the rest of our lives. We slowly learn to become independent. We crawl at first and, before you know it, we break out into a full run. From this point on, life never slows down. I know, you think, "But, Kitsune, time moved so slowly when we were young." But despite the feeling of slowly moving time, we were already beginning a journey on a downhill incline. I suppose this is something you realize at about 18 years. Childhood was but a fleeting phase of a (hopefully) much longer life. Then you start a job or college and time amplifies ten fold. Before you know it, you are married with a kid or walking across the stage at graduation (or maybe both). Then, the saps like me, head off to a graduate school or medical school because we can't quite face reality. By the time I graduate, I will have been in school for about 20 years of my life (Kindergarten to vet school graduation). If I live to be 100, that's 1/5 of my life. If I live an average life span, it ends up being about 1/4 of my life. I'm not really sure how I will handle not being in school. It's hard to remember not going to school, and even harder to remember not having the stresses that it places on your life. I may very well show up at a universities steps, begging them to let me sit in the back of a liberal arts class so that I can doodle and design cosplays.

Strange little blog over, I have approximately 35 hours and 30 minutes until my Anatomy Test of doom. I have studied for about 10 hours so far today and still feel no closer to my goal. I hope you've been praying, wishing, blessing, thinking, and/or offering sacrifices for my good luck on the test because I'll really be needing it! ^-~

"Stress" by Big Jim's Ego

I'm Addicted to stress
that's the way that i get things done
if I'm not under pressure then i sleep too long
and i hang around like a bum
i think I'm going nowhere and that makes me nervous
everybody's out to get me but i feel all right
everybody's out to get me but i feel all right
everybody's out to get me but i feel all right
Everybody's thinking 'bout me
its the little things that get you
its the little things that get you when you weren't paying attention
its the little things that get you
its the little things that get you when you weren't paying attention

trying to cut down on my caffeine consumption
so when i get up i just have one cup of coffee
and i like to have another cup of coffee with my breakfast
and on the way to work i like to get a cup of coffee
like the kind of cup of coffee that you get with the donuts
but i never get the donut i just have the cup of coffee
and when i get to work i have a cup of coffee
cause i like to have coffee when I'm talking on the phone
but it usually grows cold and i need to get another cup of coffee
and its lunch, and i have an espresso
and when i get back its not morning anymore so i have
a diet cola and another diet cola
but then I'm feeling fine and I'm feeling pretty sharp
and feeling pretty wired and I'm getting things done
but right about two i get this little tiny migraine
it starts behind my eyes and it moves to the back of my neck
and it moves to the bottom of my spine
but it doesn't get there until 5 or 6 o clock
which is the end of the day so I'm fine!
so I'm fine so I'm fine
except when i have to work late when i have to work late
which i usually do

I'm Addicted to stress
that's the way that i get things done
if I'm not under pressure then i sleep too long
and i hang around like a bum
and i think I'm going nowhere and that makes me nervous
everybodies out to get me, but i feel alright
everybodies out to get me, but i feel alright
everybodies out to get me, but i feel alright
everybodies thinking about me!

((talking to trumpet player))
hey, how ya doing...
looking good...
you been working out? yeah i can tell...
alright... see ya later...

i love to work i love to run i love to play real hard
i love to steal little things from the grocery store
like a piece of bubble gum or sometimes i just stick
my thumb in a peach and leave it there
i love to work i love to run i love to water-ski snowboard
jet ski skydive parasail hanglide rollerblade mountainbike
bungee jump well i mean i'd love to do these things if i ever had the time
i love to work i love to work i love to workout after work
i love to spend a little time with this woman I'm seeing
except uh, we never get the time to spend together
so we call each other up and we talk about work
but i think id really love is to get up by myself on a tiny little island
in the middle of the ocean with just me a book and a cellular phone
and a personal computer in case something came up
and i'd eat and i'd drink and i'd run and i'd sleep
and i wouldn't do nothing but swim all day
except i don't know how to do laps in the ocean
where there are sharks! where there are sharks! where there are sharks!
and there's this kind of anemone that sticks in your foot
and the poison goes up to your brain and you die
and sand fleas! sand fleas! yuck!
but actually i think would be really relaxing
just me by myself in the middle of the ocean
and thats what i'd really like to do more than anything else
except i'd probably hate it

I'm Addicted to stress
its the way that i get things done
if I'm not under pressure then i sleep too long
and i hang around like a bum
and i think I'm going nowhere and that makes me nervous...
everybodies out to get me, but i feel alright
everybodies out to get me, but i feel alright
everybodies out to get me, but i feel alright
everybodies thinking about me!

everybodies out to get me, but i feel alright
everybodies out to get me, but i feel alright
everybodies out to get me, but i feel alright
everybodies thinking about me!(x2)

"Pelvic Recesses- It's not what you do with your pelvis in your free time".

Gross anatomy is the bane of my very existence. Many nights, I actually have some pretty strange and vivid nightmares about the class. Honestly, I think I could tell you with certainty that without gross anatomy, first semester would have been pretty nonchalant. I'm not saying that vet school would have been easy by any means, but I wouldn't dread my days with a fear usually reserved for chaotic creatures of the underworld.

My second exam in the class is this Friday. I can tell you that I barely passed the first test, and that this test is very key in my passing the class. I've struggled with this material day and night, and still, I feel no closer to my final goal. I've always done rather well in school, so the idea of struggling so hard just to pass a class and move on is a foreign concept to me. There's nothing worse than giving something everything you have and still doing poorly in it. I can't seem to get my mood elevated enough to even believe I can pull it together for this one.

I guess all that I can do is pull out my very best and hope that I've brought enough to the table to make a passing (and hopefully, well above)grade.

Not to be such a downer with a first post on a new blog about vet school life. I hope anyone reading this that's new to the game and heading into the game of vet school soon will not find themselves discouraged. I suppose that we all reach our obstacles that stand ominously above our goals. We can sit and aimlessly chuck rocks at them for a while, but eventually our substance is made known by how we advance to climb over them or go around them (or maybe slide under them).

Life has never been easy. I've worked really hard to get here, and I'll be damned if I let a silly anatomy class kick my ass!