August 15. The first day of class it rained non-stop and was overcast all day. I felt defeated. August is supposed to be hot and sunny, right? But I've learned anything is possible with Ithaca weather.
This week I did almost no schoolwork. But I did work in radiology, about ten hours total; volunteered on the Pet Loss Support Hotline about another ten hours; had a long doctor's appointment for myself; took Simon into the Community Practice Service run by the fourth year students because he was itching his right ear (he has an angry area of erythema but otherwise looks fine, I'm going to recheck him within the week).
I did finally get around to doing some work today and this evening called one of my classmates to discuss how woefully behind I am.
Me: I haven't gotten through even the first equine lecture on anemia.
Classmate: I haven't read those lectures. I think I'm going to just study them when I'm on my large animal medicine rotation, the exam questions won't be that detailed.
Me: What lectures? I don't know what you are talking about!
As it turns out, we were talking about the same set of lectures! Our professor gave us some lengthy handouts that far exceeded the level of detail she gave in her powerpoint presentation in class. I had somehow forgotten this and was studying the detailed handouts rather than the powerpoints (which we never got and weren't intially up on the website). Oops. The handouts are interesting, but I was finding them quite onerous to get through in a timely manner so feel relieved to find out that my classmate jettisoned reading them altogether.
This is one of the nice things about being a third year-- you have more confidence in your study habits, after all it got you this far. I think all of us feel far more comfortable being selective in what material we study. However, in the beginning I studied everything because I thought I wasn't smart enough to be in vet school. It was only after talking to my classmates later that first year that I realized many of us assumed that the admissions committee had let us in by mistake (never the case in vet school).
*
late summer
the night air is a perfect temperature
she luxuriates in the feel of air against bare legs,
bare arms
caressing her skin, enveloping her
she turns her face into the breeze
then winces
with its underlying iciness
goosebumps rising
late summer in ithaca
the betrayal foreshadowed
denial is her friend
but she can no longer pretend
this summer will last forever
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Sunday, August 14, 2011
The Night Before School
So my long summer vacation is over. Supposedly this is the last long summer vacation that I'll have before retirement. That sounds rather depressing, not that I don't like working.
I got to travel all over, from East coast to West, with a rare stopover in the Midwest. I did an externship in Madison, WI and really fell in love with the town and surrounding area. It is a lot like Ithaca but with a lot more going on!
The best part of summer, without a doubt, was having enough free time to read books of my own choice.
Here's most of what I read:
So, tomorrow it is back to the pressure cooker of vet school. I'm already looking forward to winter break. Which isn't to say that I don't love learning, just not at the pace I've come to expect from vet school.
I got to travel all over, from East coast to West, with a rare stopover in the Midwest. I did an externship in Madison, WI and really fell in love with the town and surrounding area. It is a lot like Ithaca but with a lot more going on!
The best part of summer, without a doubt, was having enough free time to read books of my own choice.
Here's most of what I read:
- The Spirit Catches You And You Fall Down-- abount the Hmong refugee experience in America and about how cultural differences impact medical care dramatically
- Merle's Door by Ted Kerasote-- about his free-roaming dog in Wyoming. Amazing. My favorite book of the summer. This man seems to know how to get inside a dog's head.
- Delivering Dr. Amelia-- about the therapy of an ob/gyn who makes a mistake that tears her apart and her long process to recover
- Goatsong-- a light read about a couple who acquires goats and an interest in cheese later in life
- Woodswoman-- about a woman who builds her own cabin in the Adirondacks and lives there year round-- a bit disappointing as she seems to skim the surface on many complex subjects and also uses antiquated language that I found offensive for referring to race
- Passing Cain-- about raising boys so they are emotionally literate-- I never got to finish this as I left it with Eb and D
- Food Matters by Mark Bittman-- again, I only read bits and pieces as I left this as a present for my mom but it was very intriguing and I plan to finish it someday!
- The Birds Of Heaven by Peter Matthiesen-- about the plight of the world's 15 crane species-- a bit dense for me but I slogged through it in time to visit the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo, WI
- And I'm ending the summer by finishing off the trilogy of The Girl With The Dragon Tattoo, the final book in this series-- which I began last fall!-- is The Girl Who Kicked The Hornet's Nest. I would have never read this series except that my step-dad said that the main character reminded him of me. Hmmm...
So, tomorrow it is back to the pressure cooker of vet school. I'm already looking forward to winter break. Which isn't to say that I don't love learning, just not at the pace I've come to expect from vet school.
Monday, June 6, 2011
Batty
Sorry for my long absence. I didn't have anything really interesting to say and repeating interesting things that other people said just wasn't doing it for me.
I am overdue for a jubilant post proclaiming that I passed block 5a. Because I did! Yay.
Summer is heavenly. Peaceful. I try not to think that this might be the last summer vacation of my life until I retire. Who knows, I could always go back to school yet again... just kidding.
At least I am making the most of it. I spent the evening outside lying on my back gazing up, Simon at my feet grazing on the grass. Sun-warmed earth beneath me, cool night air above me. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but was thrilled and surprised that long before the first star came out, two bats appeared fluttering, swooping, reversing course on a dime, chasing bugs around and around over the yard. Amazing. Of course, I was convinced earlier in the year that there were bats in the basement of where I am living. (I heard them. Really.) So perhaps these were them? I must remember to spend more time doing nothing but resting and looking up in the future.
In the background, the last spring peeper croaking and the resident red-bellied woodpecker chortling away.
The perfect ending to a day spent preparing a bird skeleton for display in the school's resource center.
I like life better without any exams.
I am overdue for a jubilant post proclaiming that I passed block 5a. Because I did! Yay.
Summer is heavenly. Peaceful. I try not to think that this might be the last summer vacation of my life until I retire. Who knows, I could always go back to school yet again... just kidding.
At least I am making the most of it. I spent the evening outside lying on my back gazing up, Simon at my feet grazing on the grass. Sun-warmed earth beneath me, cool night air above me. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, but was thrilled and surprised that long before the first star came out, two bats appeared fluttering, swooping, reversing course on a dime, chasing bugs around and around over the yard. Amazing. Of course, I was convinced earlier in the year that there were bats in the basement of where I am living. (I heard them. Really.) So perhaps these were them? I must remember to spend more time doing nothing but resting and looking up in the future.
In the background, the last spring peeper croaking and the resident red-bellied woodpecker chortling away.
The perfect ending to a day spent preparing a bird skeleton for display in the school's resource center.
I like life better without any exams.
Wednesday, May 11, 2011
Rain resumes
This week has been a nice break from the relentless downpours. But apparently it is not going to last. Here's the weather forecast for the next 10 days (below). Really! I miss California more and more.
Today
May 11
Mostly Sunny
69° high
46° low
0% chance of rain
|
Showers
Monday, May 9, 2011
Underwater, Figuratively And Literally
Dear readers, I am sorry for my lack of posts this spring. There has not been that much that has seemed worthy of posting. I study, eat, sleep, watch birds, read, spend time with friends and shop at my favorite thrift stores. Same old story. There are a few noteworthy funny and bizarre stories/facts to post from classes, which I will try to do soon.
I am mostly very excited that I only have two weeks of school left!!! While I enjoy school immensely, I am beyond ready for a break from sitting in lecture for hours and the stress of exams. I don't have terribly exciting plans for the summer-- work on rehabilitating my knee so I can run again, put together a bird skeleton or two that I have in the freezer at school, visit my friends in California and hopefully do an externship somewhere. What I'm most looking forward to is seeing the birth of S's newest goat kids while I'm back in California. I think goat babies are the absolute cutest babies in the entire world!
So for the next two weeks, I continue to slog through a daunting stack of lectures. Part of vet school is getting used to the fact that one is pretty much always behind. My first year, a second year student said something that really helped me adjust and was quite insightful. She said, "If you do laundry or shop for groceries, you are going to be behind." Meaning that it is inevitable you will fall behind in your work just by taking time out of your day for the basic activities needed to get by. There are some people who seem to stay on top of their work, but for the majority, being behind on your work at some point during the semester is par for the course.
Being underwater is usually a figurative term (and one commonly used by vet students to describe the sensation of being overwhelmed-- last year one second year described the work load in block 4 to me as feeling like she was lying on the bottom of a swimming pool staring up), but this spring the whole town has been underwater as we have received 3 times the normal amount of rain, perhaps more. For weeks now the weather forecast has included a dire red box at the top reading "flood warning." Luckily, the place where I live has suffered very little damage other than a large puddle of water at the bottom of the driveway. I don't think there has been much damage overall. My favorite story is how someone saw a blue heron fishing in the Wegman's parking lot. Bizarre!
So here's one of the latest warnings:
Issued by The National Weather Service
I am mostly very excited that I only have two weeks of school left!!! While I enjoy school immensely, I am beyond ready for a break from sitting in lecture for hours and the stress of exams. I don't have terribly exciting plans for the summer-- work on rehabilitating my knee so I can run again, put together a bird skeleton or two that I have in the freezer at school, visit my friends in California and hopefully do an externship somewhere. What I'm most looking forward to is seeing the birth of S's newest goat kids while I'm back in California. I think goat babies are the absolute cutest babies in the entire world!
So for the next two weeks, I continue to slog through a daunting stack of lectures. Part of vet school is getting used to the fact that one is pretty much always behind. My first year, a second year student said something that really helped me adjust and was quite insightful. She said, "If you do laundry or shop for groceries, you are going to be behind." Meaning that it is inevitable you will fall behind in your work just by taking time out of your day for the basic activities needed to get by. There are some people who seem to stay on top of their work, but for the majority, being behind on your work at some point during the semester is par for the course.
Being underwater is usually a figurative term (and one commonly used by vet students to describe the sensation of being overwhelmed-- last year one second year described the work load in block 4 to me as feeling like she was lying on the bottom of a swimming pool staring up), but this spring the whole town has been underwater as we have received 3 times the normal amount of rain, perhaps more. For weeks now the weather forecast has included a dire red box at the top reading "flood warning." Luckily, the place where I live has suffered very little damage other than a large puddle of water at the bottom of the driveway. I don't think there has been much damage overall. My favorite story is how someone saw a blue heron fishing in the Wegman's parking lot. Bizarre!
So here's one of the latest warnings:
Issued by The National Weather Service
Binghamton, NY
Sat, May 7, 2011, 1:06 PM EDT
Local Radar Map
Updated May 7, 2011, 5:55pm EDT
THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE CAYUGA LAKE AT ITHACA. * AT 11:30 AM SATURDAY THE STAGE WAS 384.9 FEET. * FLOOD STAGE IS 385.0 FEET. * MINOR FLOODING IS OCCURRING. * IMPACTS... AT 385 FEET... FLOODING IS LIKELY ALONG LOW LYING STREETS AND PARKING LOTS NEAR THE SHORE ON THE SOUTH END OF THE LAKE. THIS INCLUDES MYERS POINT LOCATED IN LANSING INCLUDING THE AREA NEAR LAGODA PARK DRIVE. IN THE TOWN OF ULYSSES ALONG TAUGHANNOCK BOULEVARD IN ADDITION TO FLOODING FROM THE LAKE ITSELF... THE HIGH WATER LEVEL OF THE LAKE WILL LIKELY CAUSE WATER TO BACK UP INTO SIXMILE CREEK. FLOODING IS LIKLEY IN LOW LYING AREAS IN THE SOUTHWEST BUSINESS DISTRICT ALONG ROUTE 13 NEAR WEGMANS AND K MART ALONG WITH TITUS FLATS.
More Information
... THE FLOOD WARNING CONTINUES FOR THE FOLLOWING RIVERS IN NEW YORK...
CAYUGA LAKE AT ITHACA AT ITHACA AFFECTING TOMPKINS COUNTY ONONDAGA LAKE AT LIVERPOOL AFFECTING ONONDAGA COUNTY PRECAUTIONARY/PREPAREDNESS ACTIONS...
SAFETY MESSAGE...
DO NOT DRIVE OVER FLOODED ROADS OR BRIDGES...
Saturday, April 16, 2011
Sick Euthyroid
So, I've spent a lot of my week dealing with Simon (my one remaining cat, a 10 year old indoor neutered male DSH). He's drinking a lot more than normal, and urinating somewhat more than normal but not markedly. He is a mystery at this point. His blood work was completely normal, not a single value outside the reference range on his CBC or chemistry panel. His urine is concentrated (> 1.050) and the sediment is not active-- there are a lot of lipid droplets, less than one white blood cell per high power field and an occasional epithelial cell (not unusual for sterile free catch-- we tried for a cysto but he just peed all over us, luckily one of the techs standing by caught it midstream in a red top). His physical exam is unremarkable, with the only notable finding being that his kidneys are on the small end of normal, with one at 3 cm and the other at 3.5 cm.
Just for kicks, we ran a free T4, which came back markedly low. (I ran a T4 last spring when he had a bout of vomiting and it was within the normal reference range then so I do have one point of comparison).
So he is sick euthyroid but we can't find a reason. Seriously, Simon, do you have to this difficult?
I decided to culture his urine despite no clear signs of infection, just to rule out infection.
The next step is measuring his daily water intake to see if he is truly polydipsic and then repeating his free T4 in a few weeks.
Why can't my animals have normal diseases? Lindy had chronic kidney disease from the time I got her at 8 months and then her last two years a giant cyst on her kidney that grew so large that it felt like a bladder and no one knew what to make of it. Now Simon... Yes, I'm relieved he doesn't have diabetes mellitus or chronic kidney disease but I wish it could be something simple for once, like sterile cystitis or a urinary tract infection rather than a mystery!
Just for kicks, we ran a free T4, which came back markedly low. (I ran a T4 last spring when he had a bout of vomiting and it was within the normal reference range then so I do have one point of comparison).
So he is sick euthyroid but we can't find a reason. Seriously, Simon, do you have to this difficult?
I decided to culture his urine despite no clear signs of infection, just to rule out infection.
The next step is measuring his daily water intake to see if he is truly polydipsic and then repeating his free T4 in a few weeks.
Why can't my animals have normal diseases? Lindy had chronic kidney disease from the time I got her at 8 months and then her last two years a giant cyst on her kidney that grew so large that it felt like a bladder and no one knew what to make of it. Now Simon... Yes, I'm relieved he doesn't have diabetes mellitus or chronic kidney disease but I wish it could be something simple for once, like sterile cystitis or a urinary tract infection rather than a mystery!
Thursday, March 31, 2011
Spring?
I realize I am woefully behind on blog posts. Life has been hard and I just seem to keep getting hit with stuff every time I finally begin to pick myself up. There are lots of stories and photos I want to post, so hopefully I will get around to it someday, even if it is over the summer. It is sad to see my blog fall by the wayside as I did such a good job keeping it up last year but such is life I suppose. School and my precarious sanity come first.
The beginning of this week was amazingly, wondrously sunny and even somewhat warm. I was talking to one of my professors in lab yesterday and she said she loved this time of year, the hint of spring, the tease of nice weather followed by colder weather again. I mentioned this to a classmate who said, "I don't need foreplay to enjoy spring." Me either. But it's snowing, grey and dreary today so I guess I'd better get used to the tease of spring in Ithaca.
The beginning of this week was amazingly, wondrously sunny and even somewhat warm. I was talking to one of my professors in lab yesterday and she said she loved this time of year, the hint of spring, the tease of nice weather followed by colder weather again. I mentioned this to a classmate who said, "I don't need foreplay to enjoy spring." Me either. But it's snowing, grey and dreary today so I guess I'd better get used to the tease of spring in Ithaca.
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