First Round Of Blocks

Woof for wellness - Thank you to who organized the event and everyone who came out, especially to those who danced with me!  I hope you enjoyed yourselves!

Monday was our 1st round of blocks...only three more to go before finals....this is going to be a long semester. We all went out to a bonfire at Gong beach that night and then afterwards to Chinchillias. Tuesday was a relaxing day, with a preventive healthcare lab in the afternoon.  It was basically a simulation of a wellness visit and we got to give the dog a vaccine and run through an entire appointment with one of the kennel dogs.  I have finally gone to dinner at La Belle Vie! I highly recommend it.  The wine and food was phenomenal!

  Wednesday, I had practice for the aseptic lab practical.  I was also finally able to clean my apartment. I've been craving Jimmy Johns, so I  just went to buy the ingredients and make one of the "unwiches" myself.  It was heavenly!  I almost made two it was so good!

  Friday I will be going out to volleyball since I wasn't able to go last week and it will hopefully be a low-key weekend from there.  It is my friend's bachelorette party this weekend (the wedding that I will be a bridesmaid in June) that I wish I could be there for, but I will be thinking of her!


Type A, More Like Type Awesome

Things You Need to Accept About Your 20s

Mr Ross/Beachfest

Mr Ross was very entertaining and luckily didn't get rained out this time!  Even though my semester didn't place, we still had a ton of fun with all the skits.  Check out the videos below and look for me!

Best Fight Scene:

Boy Band:

Vet Malpractice:

Here is the boy band from Blue semester (no I'm not in this one):

Beachfest was a lively time as always and luckily the weather held out for us so we could get a little sun.

Blue semester (7th) found out their clinical placements this past weekend!  I'm incredibly excited for them, especially my longest friend here, Jess, who got into where she wanted (Texas A&M)! She has worked her butt off and is a huge inspiration for me. I'm proud of all of them for working so hard.  Even to those who didn't get where they want, it's only for a year and you are still going to get an amazing education!  I am going to miss seeing each and every one of you! This is blue semester's flag:

My roommate left this week which is incredibly upsetting and frustrating. I will miss having her around and having someone to gossip with and help keep me grounded.  I know this process is incredibly overwhelming for her and all I can tell her or anyone else going through what she is going through,  is to keep your head up and you don't have to have everything figured out right now.  I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason.  I can only imagine the many emotions that you are experiencing, but I do know that this isn't the end, it's just a step to making you a stronger and an even better you.  I'm happy I was able to have dinner with her Monday night.  It's hard to find a roommate this late in the semester, so I will probably be leaving alone, luckily not moving, for the rest of the semester.  Next semester my landlord might not let me live alone, so I might have to either move or find a roommate for my last few months.
The same night my roommate left, I attended a goodbye dinner (sigh) for another friend of mine.  I already miss having her here.

I had a bandaging lab on Tuesday.  I have bandaged limbs before, so this lab was more of a review but it was still exciting to work with the dogs.

The majority of the week I will be locked in the library studying for my blocks next Monday.  In 6th semester instead of having exams from different classes on different days throughout the semester, all of our exams for every class are on the same day in a two hour period.  So there is less questions, but it forces you to stay on top of all of your classes at once.  Luckily, I still find the material pretty interesting, so hopefully it won't be too drudging to study.

This weekend there is a Woof for Wellness fundraiser for Josh Project and SAFE. There are several types of dance/workout classes that will be taking place and I was asked to teach a belly dance class.  So that will be my two hour study break.

On another note, I've gotten emails from people who have been reading my blog and they are inspired by it.  I'm grateful to hear things like that!  I appreciate all my readers whether you are reading for fun or reading to gain information about vet school or St Kitts, or just to see what adventures I've been up to.  Thank you for keeping me writing which helps keep my sanity!

Rain

Unfortunately, Mr Ross was canceled last Saturday due to the rain.  We were back stage about to go on when they called it.  Luckily, it was rescheduled for this Friday, so we will try this again!

I was afraid that our cat trip was going to be canceled as well since there were looming clouds that morning, but luckily the weather turned out to be ok and we had a great time.  It's crazy to think that cat trip might be one of my last ones.

This week it was catch up time with the little studying I did last week.
I had a cadavor lab on Wednesday where we practiced placing drains and suturing actual skin.  That night a few of us went to dinner at Sprats.
On Thursday, the 6th semesters were all invited to take the PAVE exam.  The PAVE is what the students here use to have to take before they were able to practice in the States.  They wanted us to take it as a practice for the NAVLE exam.  So we were in the exam center from 7:45 - 1:30pm.  I had to do a video of myself showing the proper technique to enter an isolation stall for LAM on Friday.

I was pleasantly surprised that I got paid for  the research work that I did last semester.  Unfortunately, I don't know how much research work I will be able to help with this semester though.  It was definitely a great opportunity and experience and I have Dr. Ketzis to thank for that.

This weekend is beachfest, if we hopefully don't get rained out!

6th Semester!

Onto 6th semester!  I am so relieved and excited to be moving onto my next semester!  I am that much closer to finishing! 7 months left on the island! This is also the hard part of the semester, where you lose friends due to this demanding curriculum.  That part will never get easier.

This semester I will be taking Small Animal Medicine 2, Large Animal Medicine, Small Animal Surgery, and Veterinary Professional Fountains 2.  I will have a similar lecture schedule that I had last semester.

 

Classes are interesting so far and I still enjoy my schedule.  I can already tell which classes I will have to work harder in (Large Animal Medicine)  I have my aspectic technique demonstration and practice on Friday.  This is just making sure everything is sterile and not contaminated when performing surgery. We are tested on it in a few weeks and it will be part of our Rossie.

I think I've said this before, but these first two weeks of the semester are always the most fun.  There is minimal material to study and lots of fun events.  This week was the semester olympics (Tues - volleyball, Wed - soccer, Thurs - kickball, Fri - football).

This weekend there is PAWS adoption day, Mr Ross and a catamaran trip.  I will probably stop by the PAWS adoption day and see my little cuties!  It is a relief to not have to be the one in charge of it this semester with my course load.  We've had a few Mr Ross practices this week, which was very beneficial considering I'm in all three of our skits.  It should be a lot of fun! Videos/pictures to come!

Break

I had a very nice relaxing break.  I ate way too much food ( I need to start back on my healthy eating when I get back), shopped way too much, slept way too much, and watched way too much TV, but it was a much needed break!

 

I also took a trip to South Hill, VA to visit a winery and a small state park.

 

I also went to a cooking class and a winery with my family. 

 

I was able to visit with some friends too.  It was great to catch up with them, but it always feels way too short.  I feel like I need another week before I go back.

FINALS 5.0

Monday: 10:30-12:30 Tox final

Tuesday: 10:30 - 12:30 SAM final

Wednesday: 7-9am Ans final

Thursday: 7-9am DI final and my flight home!!!

 

Friday I should get my grades so wish me tons of luck that I will be moving onto 6th semester!

Part One of Finals

Josh Project video:

Lyrics:
"I’ve never seen a monkey in the flesh

I cut my teeth on leather sans in the union

I’m very proud of my address, all my friends back home they got postcode envy.

But every day is like

Lab coats, green scrubs, freakin bout the Rossie, blood smears, block tests, what did Dr Soto say

We don’t care, we driving Samurais in our dreams

But everybody’s like  

Brinleys, Carib, (don't know what he said), Jet planes, Nevis, puppies on a PAWS leash

We don’t care we all got a little sand in our hair

But we’ll never be MDs

It’s just not in our blood

That kind of med just ain’t for us

We like our hair a little rough.

Let me be your teacher

And you can call be Dr Kibs.

Baby I’ll teach about anatomy

My friends and I wear pretty robes

We spent our money on some cats in the ocean

And everyone who knows us knows

That we’re fine with this

It’s Uncle Sam’s money.

But every day is like

Lab coats, green scrubs, freakin bout the Rossie, blood smears, block tests, what did Dr Soto say

We don’t care, we driving Samurais in our dreams

But everybody’s like  

Brinleys, Carib, (don't know what he said), Jet planes, Nevis, puppies on a PAWS leash

We don’t care we all got a little sand in our hair

But we’ll never be MDs

It’s just not in our blood

That kind of med just ain’t for us

We like our hair a little rough.

Let me be your teacher

And you can call me Shokery

Baby I’ll teach about toxicology.

Ooh

Poorer than I’ve ever been

Has anybody seen the dean

Ooh

Scream without a care

7^th you finally made it here

But we’ll never be MDs

It’s just not in our blood

That kind of med just ain’t for us

We like our hair a little rough.

Let me be your teacher

And you can call me Dr. Reich

Baby I’ll teach about that kidney."

Weekend:

My favorite part of finals (yeah right) is taking these pictures, so you back home can appreciate my study load (pen on left for scale):

Monday:  Happy 14th Birthday Buffy!   We had our last SAM class and our Ans Lab final.  I also had my tour of our professor's toxic plant garden for the final on Monday.

Tuesday: We had our last DI class, our DI quiz, and the Ans Lab review.

Wednesday:  I am now officially done with classes and it's time to start cramming! My last PAWS meeting is tonight!  I have officially adopted out over 50 cats in the 5 semesters I was a PAWS officer.  It's bittersweet to leave; I am thankful for the opportunity to work with such a passionate organization but also thankful for the free time that I will now have to study.
This is also me right now: What Day Is It?

Thursday: I had to clean the aviary, go to a DI TA session, and meet with my anesthesia professors.  The 7th transition ceremony was tonight, so I went to say goodbye and good luck.  Like I said last week, it's crazy to see them leave because I started this crazy adventure with them.  I'm incredibly happy for them for making it so far though!

Friday: We have a Tox review. If you want to learn some plants with me for my Tox exam, here's my professor's toxic plant garden on campus.   Toxic Plant Garden

Weekend?