Fun Weekend: Trip To The Syracuse Zoo

Above: Ocelot (taken without a flash).

It was a nice weekend. I started out Friday afternoon with a chicken dissection, solo, in the prep room of the gross anatomy lab. It seems that every time we do dissection for the class, there is at least one extra chicken left over. I always beg the professor for an extra chicken and each time he's given me one. I then go back and do the dissection again on my own when I have a block of free time. I always learn more the second time around, especially when I can go slowly, at my own pace, and take time to really ponder things.

I went straight from gross lab to radiology, where I helped do a barium study on a 130 pound rottweiler! His head was huge. So handsome, a show dog. We almost never do barium studies at Cornell, thankfully, as this one went late into the night. I learned how to take DV and lateral standing radiographs since he growled if he was forced to lie on his side but was quite used to standing on platforms, probably from being shown, and was very cooperative and well-trained as long as he got to stand.

Saturday I got up early to go to the zoo. I got to observe an ultrasound of both a female and bull elephant's reproductive organs. It was absolutely amazing beyond words to witness the trust and bond between the elephants and their keepers. The zoo does not use any negative reinforcement, the elephants are trained by receiving awards for desirable behavior, paired with commands. The bull was well-behaved, but unpredictable according to the keepers. The females seemed so gentle and docile.

I also got to see the newborn sloth-- only 4 days old-- up close. However, we were asked not to post any photos of the elephants or baby sloth online, hence the ocelot photo.

I went out for lunch afterwards with several classmates at Dinosaur's BBQ, which I'd never heard of, but which is apparently legendary. It was a cultural experience. Crowded beyond crowded with a definite biker crowd. The food was OK, but not my type-- heavy, mostly meat and very American whereas I like ethnic, spicy and vegetarian.

In the afternoon I went to visit SyracauseSurrogateParents who indulged me in making a recipe I had long been wanting to try for carrot ginger beet soup (you can find it here). It was delicious and an aesthetically pleasing magenta color. SyracuseSurrogateMom had also made her delicious biscuits, which we had with various assorted jams made from fruit they had hand-picked. I got to spend time talking with them as well as skyping with EB, D and Ianite after dinner. And I got to go home with two containers of soup and chocolate chip cookies! They also had the foresight to offer me a cup of coffee before I left as it was getting late and this ensured I was wide awake for the drive home. I don't usually drink coffee but was grateful for it then. (Thanks:)

This morning I worked in radiology again. I got to take radiographs on the sweetest little chihuahua, which was awesome because we hardly ever see chihuahuas in Ithaca and I really miss working with them. I had a funny moment with the intern whose case it was when I told her that I miss living someplace with lots of chihuahuas and more cultural diversity. She looked at me blankly and said, "You mean diversity of dog breeds?" And I said, no, in California a lot of Mexican immigrants own chihuahuas and so I associated having more chihuahuas with having a good sized Hispanic population, which sadly Ithaca does not. (Ithaca is without a doubt the whitest and most homogenous town I have ever lived in).

I also got to take rads on a Newfoundland with GDV. I was quite proud that I got a diagnostic rad on my first try. My radiographs are definitely improving, I know my landmarks and can even predict where the stomach will be on a foal-sized Newfie that is torsed on my first try. I'm also getting much better at estimating the settings when they are beyond the range of the technique charts.

And now, it's time for bed so I can get up for 7:30 am radiology rounds.