Summer Stage

My last few tests have been going really well, and I'm somewhat at a loss as to why considering that I've been rather lazy lately. The apathy and exhaustion has settled down on myself and my classmates. I think that next week will be the wake up call when everyone collectively realizes that there is only one week until finals. If you're looking for me next week I'll be holed up in a stifling corner of the library or the anatomy lab probably undergoing a mild panic attack.

Apparently some of the professors have been expressing their disappointment at the performance of my class this year. Last year's class were superstars that set the bar for high grades in every class. Our class has set the bar for number of students that have dropped out or failed out in one year. Some of the faculty have described us as "whiners," "unprofessional," "a disappointment," and essentially the cause of a complete renovation of the selection and interview process. Yikes. I am rather saddened by this because I know that most of the people in my class work really hard and deserve to be here. We can't help it that a lot of losers managed to sneak in under the radar. Another thing that they haven't taken into consideration is that our class has an extra 4 hour class on it's schedules compared to the previous classes. One extra class doesn't seem like a big deal, but it's the difference between a 17 hour semester and a 21 hour semester. Regardless of the reason, I say if you can't take the heat get outta the kitchen. Bitches.

I found out that my kitty Queso has early stage diabetes and has to go on a special diabetes management diet. I'm glad that I get it cheap at school because it costs 3 times as much from the vet. Poor old man.

Fun fact of the day! My physiology professor told us that the little white M on the m and m candies is made of a highly toxic titanium paint. But since it's such a tiny amount that you are actually ingesting it's considered safe enough to eat. Fun times. (side note: I've found that the longer I'm in vet school, the more I want to become a vegetarian. I already switched from cow milk to soy milk when I found out that a lot of bacteria including the organism responsible for Johne's disease and probably Crone's disease survives the pasturization process.) Anyway I've got another test today so it's time to squeeze in a few more precious minutes of cramming.

My latest musical obsession: The Walkmen

That's the way we get by

16 days until summer break.

I haven't been sleeping well lately. Consequently I have been imbibing large amounts of caffeine. It helps for a little while but I've been falling asleep in my afternoon classes. If my camomille plants were still alive I could brew a nice relaxing cup of tea. Apparently they didn't like living on my front porch because they died only a few days after I bought them. The rest of my new herbs are doing well, especially the lavender and thyme.

I took a test today which gives me a small break before finals. I'm going to use the precious free time by taking Rita for a walk, cleaning my apartment, and watching an instructional dvd on reflexology. I don't have a wierd foot fetish, I'm just interested in holistic medicine.

Everyone seems to be suffering from massive amounts of drama in their lives lately. Except me. Do I lead a boring life or am I just oblivious to the maddness circulating around me? Perhaps it is for the best. I did meet a former nemesis today. In the five or so years since I've seen her she's actually become a decent human being. Vet school seems to have a way of changing people, although usually they become more of an asshole not the other way around.

At this exact moment I'm listening to "The Leaving Song" by AFI from the Sing The Sorrow album. Rock on.

I wish I was her

The semester is winding down but my stress level is still running strong. I got a nosebleed after my test today which is a good sign that I need to chill out a little bit. Looking back over the past year amuses me to think about how dependent upon caffeine I have become. I used to drink a cup of tea once, maybe twice a day. Then I graduated to 4 cups of tea a day, then coffee, and now red bull. I was scared of trying the "energy" drinks but after the first one I was hooked. How quickly we fall to the dark side.

In other news I've had the fourth plague descend upon my apartment. (That would be flies and not frogs or locusts or the black death which would be quite a story but more problematic) I wouldn't be surprised if God decided to rain his wrath upon me, but I think my uninvited guests are a result of all the holes in my window screens.

I also caught my stove on fire again. I was boiling some water while unloading my dishwasher, and when I turned around there were flames coming out of the burner. (I have an electric range by the way) Panicking as usual (See the "Burning down the house" entry) I neglected to remember that I had a fire extinguisher, or that I could even use the pot I was holding in my hand to evert over the fire and smother it. So I poured water on it which made the grease on the burner flare up even higher. The flames did subside and I was left with a smoke filled apartment and had to open the windows, which was the leading cause of the previous scenario.

I'm listening to the new Placebo album and Buena Vista Social Club at the moment.

Try me again

My test went really well today, and I have to admit that I'm a bit surprised. It's been a busy week but I've gotten a lot accomplished. Needless to say I'm feeling pretty good about myself. I'm also in a good mood because I found out today that The Walkmen are coming to Numbers on their tour through Houston this summer. I decided to celebrate by listening to "Bows and Arrows" their 2004 release.

My class had it's fifteen minutes of fame last night when we were filmed for a piece on vet school for channel 11 news. Some of my classmates were interviewed, but thankfully I'm just a tiny head in the background. If you want to see the story here's the link. http://www.khou.com/topstories/stories/khou060404_cd_aandmvets.38b63e3.html
They make you sign in to the website before you can view the video though.

The movie star...

I had a busy weekend, and the pace hasn't stopped so far this week. Last Friday I had a ceremony at school where we get presented with our white clinic coats. They're all pretty and embroidered, and it's supposed to represent our surviving the first year of school. My parents drove up to see it and I'm standing on the stage all dressed up waiting for my coat when the speaker calls out..."Ginger Dewbek"...I was kinda pissed, especially since I had told them how to pronounce my name prior to the event. Sigh, how embarrassing.

The rest of the weekend was nice though. I drove to Houston and saw Marc. I couldn't convince him to go out to Numbers but we had a nice evening at home, and it was good to see him nevertheless. I had to drive back to College Station for a reptile wet lab which was pretty cool. We dissected some snakes and an iguana, and then did some procedures on live animals. One girl got bit by an anaconda, fun times.

I'm pretty busy this week too. I've got a horse palpation test coming up next week, so I'm practicing every chance I can get. The practice horse is kinda feisty though. I think he can smell my fear. I have a test this week too, kinda worried about it. This weekend is the vet school open house so I won't be able to drive to Houston. Alas. Well that's all that's going on in my world at the moment.

I just bought Broken Social Scene's "You Forgot It In People" and Goldfrapp's "Felt Mountain." I'm gonna give them a listen and let you know what I think.