I'd be the first to admit that I've never been thrilled about this "Professional Writing for Veterinarians" course we freshmen are required to take this semester.
Lectures thus far have been a mixture of tedious information, irrelevant facts, and useless exercises. (Although I must admit that we've had one, maybe two guest lectures that were actually sort of interesting and relevant to the subject of the course.)
Today's class was pretty much the straw that broke the poor, beleaguered vet students' collective back.
We started with our instructor (for the sake of simplicity, let's call him Mr. Smith) reading yet more of the students' essays on our inspirations for entering the field of veterinary medicine. We wrote these essays weeks and weeks ago, and at the beginning of nearly every class since then, Mr. Smith has been reading some of the essays he really liked. No discussion of what these students did really well, or how we could take an element from the example writing and apply it to our own writing. No, Mr. Smith instead remarks to us about how reading our essays is useful in satisfying his own curiosity about veterinary medicine.
Following the reading of the essays, Mr. Smith played us a video clip about 10 minutes in length from a television show he taped. The clip told the heartwarming yet tragic story of Jerry, a German Shepherd dog who had a leg amputated due to bone cancer and now his cancer has spread, and his owners. Was it cute? Yes. Was it entertaining? Of course. Did it have any relevance to professional writing for veterinarians, or any type of writing at all? It surely didn't.
Next we were presented with a chart showing various characteristics of communication and culture in different countries, including aspects like how "authoritative" that country is or what the power balance is between men and women. Mr. Smith informed us that on our upcoming final exam, we will be required to regurgitate the United States' scores on each of these 3 or 4 characteristics. For example, on such-and-such a scale, we should say the U.S. is 91. Or 42. Or 65. Or whatever. Do we need to know what that scale means or represents? Or how the U.S. compares to other countries? No, of course we don't.
The "best" part came when Mr. Smith put up a chart listing 5 countries or regions of the world, and 5 colors. The chart showed what each color means in each country (e.g. anger, joy, royalty, etc.). Mr. Smith then stated that on our final exam, he will give us the name of a country and a particular color, and we will be required to tell him what that color means for that country. Here's MY question: does this in any way pertain to writing? What am I going to do, make a decision based on this chart about what color paper I should type my letter on if I'm sending it to China? Well, I was planning on using black print on white paper, and sadly white isn't on the chart, so I guess I'm out of luck.
I was thrilled when one of our class's most mature and analytical students raised her hand and posed the question to Mr. Smith of how any of this was relevant to the course subject. She pointed out that, as first-year vet students, we have a heavy courseload with incredible amounts of information to learn and memorize, information that will actually be applicable to our daily lives as practicing veterinarians.
Mr. Smith's response was along the lines of: Well, this is a writing class, so we should probably have a final exam that requires writing. But we can't grade 134 written final exams, so I have to ask you about things that can be answered quickly and graded quickly. I realize that you may not think some of this information is very relevant.
And that's it. He moved right along to the next topic.
I understand that writing is important, even for veterinarians. I know that Mr. Smith is not a veterinarian and does not have a veterinary background. I know that it may be difficult for him to teach a writing course to veterinary students who know the field better than he does and who at times may treat him condescendingly. I am sure it is frustrating to have to give a final exam for a writing course when you feel you cannot have a written final exam.
I also know that two of the requirements for admission to vet school are taking a college-level English class or writing class, as well as an oral communication or public speaking class. We also have to write multiple admissions essays that must be coherent, interesting, and free of grammatical and spelling errors. If we hadn't fulfilled those requirements, we would not be here.
I know that annual tuition and fees for us non-resident students is about $44,000. Let's make that $22,000 per semester. This semester's tuition is divided among 20 credits. That means we're paying roughly $1100 per academic credit.
Professional Writing is a 1-credit class, so I'm paying $1100 to take Professional Writing this semester. We have lecture once a week, with 15 weeks of lecture. That means I'm paying about $73 every week when I spend 50 minutes sitting in Professional Writing. (Disclaimer: I realize that not every dollar of tuition and fees is spent directly on classes. However, I think I'm making my point nonetheless.)
Based on my rant above, I cannot justify spending $73 a week to learn such completely irrelevant information. If we have to have a writing class, there must be some better way to spend our 50 minutes a week and our $1100. Writing IS important for veterinarians, and there are a variety of things they could be teaching us that will directly help us to be better vets. I cannot afford to spend $1100 to allow Mr. Smith to fulfill his curiosities about veterinary medicine and the inner workings of the minds of vet students, without any real gain for myself.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009
Parasitology: passed!
Weeks after taking our second and final parasitology exam, grades were finally released yesterday and the good news is: I passed! Actually I did about as well as I expected on the exam - about an 84%, leaving me with approximately 92% cumulatively for all of the parasitology stuff (including homeworks and quizzes). But as always, the best news is that it's over!
Monday, March 30, 2009
Quote of the Day, Vol. 4
Professor in Biology of Disease (sure get a lot of good quotes from him) has just defined "bacteremia" as the presence of bacteria in the blood.
Professor: Do any of you all have bacteremia today?
(No one responds.)
Professor: If you brush your teeth or take a bowel movement, you become bacteremic. (Pause.) I suggest that you do.
Professor: Do any of you all have bacteremia today?
(No one responds.)
Professor: If you brush your teeth or take a bowel movement, you become bacteremic. (Pause.) I suggest that you do.
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Brain... feels... sloooowww....
As I sit here wasting time on my blog, I know I should be writing my book report. It's due in 5 days. I've known about it since the beginning of January. I finished the book weeks ago. There's nothing keeping me from writing it, except.... writing seems SO hard!
Last fall, and probably in my last couple semesters at ASU, I wasn't really required to write anything. Sure, I did worksheets, homework assignments, lab reports... but nothing requiring eloquence. I think I'm still a good writer, deep down inside. But man, am I out of practice.
I'm a little over two pages into my report (max of 5 pages, thank goodness), and the first paragraph was just painful to write. I knew in my head what I wanted to say, but the words on the page weren't write (and still aren't). Thankfully, as I've plowed through it, the words have come more easily and seem to make more sense and sound less awkward. But who'd have thought the part of my brain responsible for good writing would have withered away so quickly?
Last fall, and probably in my last couple semesters at ASU, I wasn't really required to write anything. Sure, I did worksheets, homework assignments, lab reports... but nothing requiring eloquence. I think I'm still a good writer, deep down inside. But man, am I out of practice.
I'm a little over two pages into my report (max of 5 pages, thank goodness), and the first paragraph was just painful to write. I knew in my head what I wanted to say, but the words on the page weren't write (and still aren't). Thankfully, as I've plowed through it, the words have come more easily and seem to make more sense and sound less awkward. But who'd have thought the part of my brain responsible for good writing would have withered away so quickly?
Friday, March 27, 2009
Can I run 2 miles?
Heck yes, I can! I am proud to say that today, for the first time ever in my life, I jogged for two miles without stopping, and I didn't even fall over or have a heart attack or anything afterward! I have always sort of hated running and jogging. Doing "the mile" in middle school gym class was pretty much the most dreaded event of my middle school years. But it is pretty cool to finally have worked hard enough and persisted long enough to be able to do something that may not seem remarkable to some of you, but that I consider pretty awesome for myself.
The vet school has a 5K run / 1K walk called "The Fast and the Furriest" scheduled for April 18. I hope to be there, running my first 5K ever! (Okay, I will probably walk for at least part of it... but I'm excited to give it a try.) It's a fundraiser for the vet school and a program that helps animals seen at the VTH who needs emergency care - a good cause.
The vet school has a 5K run / 1K walk called "The Fast and the Furriest" scheduled for April 18. I hope to be there, running my first 5K ever! (Okay, I will probably walk for at least part of it... but I'm excited to give it a try.) It's a fundraiser for the vet school and a program that helps animals seen at the VTH who needs emergency care - a good cause.
Free afternoon!
Our field trip this afternoon was cancelled after all, not because the roads were too bad but rather because apparently the farmers had their hands full cleaning up the snowy mess. Too bad, but we'll get another chance in 2 weeks.
Instead I got to do some studying, come home early, and play some board games with CLH. Then we headed back over to FoCo, walked around Old Town for awhile, and went to CLH's friend's choir concert at the university.
Now I'm looking forward to bed and sleeping in tomorrow!
Instead I got to do some studying, come home early, and play some board games with CLH. Then we headed back over to FoCo, walked around Old Town for awhile, and went to CLH's friend's choir concert at the university.
Now I'm looking forward to bed and sleeping in tomorrow!
Groan...
I checked the university's webpage this morning to find a disappointing 5:30 am announcement that all university operations and classes were open and on schedule for today. Guess I'll have to live with a half a snow day! Still not sure if our field trip is still a go for this afternoon.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
A new blog for your reading pleasure
I just started a new blog (yes, I might be addicted to blogging) and you can check it out at: http://vetword.blogspot.com.
Snow Day!
As of noon today, the university was officially shut down, with classes cancelled for the remainder of the day, and we were advised to go home (while driving slowly).
They've been forecasting today's snow for a few days now, but apparently they didn't realize quite how hard it would hit. When I got up at 7:30 this morning, there was only a light accumulation on the ground but it was really coming down. By the time I left at 9, several inches had built up.
The roads were pretty decent... my biggest challenge was getting past the timid drivers crawling along the interstate at 20 miles an hour. I was surprised and pleased that my morning commute was only extended by 10 minutes or so.
But things were obviously worse in FoCo. They had accumulated probably 5 or 6 inches of snow by the time I got there shortly before 10, and driving visibility within the city was down to about 100 yards.
At the end of my 11 am Nutrition class, the professor announced that the university was closing at 12. (Party on, Rams!)
I promptly headed out, knowing that my drive home would probably be worse - and it was. I made it back to Windsor in about 70 minutes. The biggest challenge was getting up the off-ramp from I-25 onto Hwy 392 that takes you into Windsor. Two cars in front of me were pretty much stuck on the side of the ramp with their wheels spinning. They were trying to get moving and I wanted to let them go, but if I'd stopped, I'd probably still be stuck there with them...
Surprisingly, the roads and weather were a lot better in Windsor than in FoCo. It sounds like Greeley is getting hit pretty hard, too. The University of Northern Colorado (in Greeley) was closing too, and our church cancelled all our music activities for the night.
Can't say I'm especially bummed about having a few extra hours to study! My biggest hope for tomorrow is that: (a) the snow is so bad that our field trip gets cancelled (seeing as we are supposed to be driving ourselves to a farming operation somewhere out in the country, possibly as far as a normal 45 minute drive from campus), or (b) everything melts and we get a nice sunny day for learning about sheep!
They've been forecasting today's snow for a few days now, but apparently they didn't realize quite how hard it would hit. When I got up at 7:30 this morning, there was only a light accumulation on the ground but it was really coming down. By the time I left at 9, several inches had built up.
The roads were pretty decent... my biggest challenge was getting past the timid drivers crawling along the interstate at 20 miles an hour. I was surprised and pleased that my morning commute was only extended by 10 minutes or so.
But things were obviously worse in FoCo. They had accumulated probably 5 or 6 inches of snow by the time I got there shortly before 10, and driving visibility within the city was down to about 100 yards.
At the end of my 11 am Nutrition class, the professor announced that the university was closing at 12. (Party on, Rams!)
I promptly headed out, knowing that my drive home would probably be worse - and it was. I made it back to Windsor in about 70 minutes. The biggest challenge was getting up the off-ramp from I-25 onto Hwy 392 that takes you into Windsor. Two cars in front of me were pretty much stuck on the side of the ramp with their wheels spinning. They were trying to get moving and I wanted to let them go, but if I'd stopped, I'd probably still be stuck there with them...
Surprisingly, the roads and weather were a lot better in Windsor than in FoCo. It sounds like Greeley is getting hit pretty hard, too. The University of Northern Colorado (in Greeley) was closing too, and our church cancelled all our music activities for the night.
Can't say I'm especially bummed about having a few extra hours to study! My biggest hope for tomorrow is that: (a) the snow is so bad that our field trip gets cancelled (seeing as we are supposed to be driving ourselves to a farming operation somewhere out in the country, possibly as far as a normal 45 minute drive from campus), or (b) everything melts and we get a nice sunny day for learning about sheep!
Wednesday, March 25, 2009
Bad monkeys!
Johnny & Simon (often semi-affectionately referred to as "the monkeys" at our house) are in big trouble.
They have always had this thoroughly annoying obsession with food: hunting for food, smelling food, finding food, stealing food, licking food, eating food... (and you can replace the word "food" in the previous sentence with "anything that remotely looks, sounds, smells, or tastes like food, or meets none of the above criteria but nonetheless fits in their mouths").
Having lived with J&S for about 16 months now, we've learned to make some accomodations and special arrangements to help keep this food addiction under control. Carefully measured meal portions, with supervised feedings to ensure everyone only eats his own food. People food is never left anywhere accessible, ever. Dishes must be washed or put in the dishwasher immediately. For months and months, the cats were put in their carriers whenever we were eating.
But now I fear the monkeys have at last learned how to knock over the garbage can in the kitchen. We had a problem with the garbage in our apartment. They knew it contained food of some sort and I suppose they thought it smelled really delicious. So the garbage lived in the cupboard under the sink. Eventually, they figured out how to open the cupboards, so we got some of those child-proof latches. That pretty much solved things.
Fast-forward to our condo. The cupboards in our kitchen are smaller, and no reasonable size of garbage can will fit. So we got a big plastic garbage can with a pop-top that sits in the kitchen. Since we moved here in August, the kitties have occasionally managed to knock over the garbage can and send the contents flying, but this has been mostly an unintentional action. (Picture 2 hyper adolescent cats wrestling and chasing each other all over the condo, and accidentally running smack into the garbage can with remarkable force.)
The last few days, however, the garbage has been knocked over regularly. I fear the monkeys have at last learned how to knock it over whenever they want. Which is really annoying, gross to clean up, and not safe for J&S (because really, none of us should be eating rotting food). Plus, it's just a plain old bad habit. Not sure how we're going to remedy this situation, but something will have to be done, or a little monkey cat might just end up strangled soon! (Probably Johnny. I'm pretty sure he's the instigator.)
They have always had this thoroughly annoying obsession with food: hunting for food, smelling food, finding food, stealing food, licking food, eating food... (and you can replace the word "food" in the previous sentence with "anything that remotely looks, sounds, smells, or tastes like food, or meets none of the above criteria but nonetheless fits in their mouths").
Having lived with J&S for about 16 months now, we've learned to make some accomodations and special arrangements to help keep this food addiction under control. Carefully measured meal portions, with supervised feedings to ensure everyone only eats his own food. People food is never left anywhere accessible, ever. Dishes must be washed or put in the dishwasher immediately. For months and months, the cats were put in their carriers whenever we were eating.
But now I fear the monkeys have at last learned how to knock over the garbage can in the kitchen. We had a problem with the garbage in our apartment. They knew it contained food of some sort and I suppose they thought it smelled really delicious. So the garbage lived in the cupboard under the sink. Eventually, they figured out how to open the cupboards, so we got some of those child-proof latches. That pretty much solved things.
Fast-forward to our condo. The cupboards in our kitchen are smaller, and no reasonable size of garbage can will fit. So we got a big plastic garbage can with a pop-top that sits in the kitchen. Since we moved here in August, the kitties have occasionally managed to knock over the garbage can and send the contents flying, but this has been mostly an unintentional action. (Picture 2 hyper adolescent cats wrestling and chasing each other all over the condo, and accidentally running smack into the garbage can with remarkable force.)
The last few days, however, the garbage has been knocked over regularly. I fear the monkeys have at last learned how to knock it over whenever they want. Which is really annoying, gross to clean up, and not safe for J&S (because really, none of us should be eating rotting food). Plus, it's just a plain old bad habit. Not sure how we're going to remedy this situation, but something will have to be done, or a little monkey cat might just end up strangled soon! (Probably Johnny. I'm pretty sure he's the instigator.)
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
My "large animal outfit" is complete!
After a quick trip to an outdoor sports store this afternoon, my outfit for doing "large animal things" (i.e. going on my field trip on Friday) is now complete. Today's purchase was a pair of slip-on rubber boots (well, rubber shoe covers). At a cost of $30 (!) they better work out well! Unfortunately they were out of size small, so I went with a pair of mediums and I really, really hope I don't trip over the toes and end up facedown in a pile of manure. Really hope that doesn't happen. (But if it does, you can trust I'll write a post about it.)
A friend and I signed up to visit the sheep meat and fiber operation on Friday. Should be interesting! I think sheep are pretty cute. Hoping to be able to visit one of the dairies next time.
Anyway, I can't wait to see how red my face turns when I show up for the field trip dressed in boots and coveralls... gee, that won't look out of place on me at all! Ah well, gotta take the plunge sometime. Maybe someday it will seem like nothing unusual. (???)
A friend and I signed up to visit the sheep meat and fiber operation on Friday. Should be interesting! I think sheep are pretty cute. Hoping to be able to visit one of the dairies next time.
Anyway, I can't wait to see how red my face turns when I show up for the field trip dressed in boots and coveralls... gee, that won't look out of place on me at all! Ah well, gotta take the plunge sometime. Maybe someday it will seem like nothing unusual. (???)
Monday, March 23, 2009
The extreme weather capital of the world...
...as my sister calls it, is the Fargo-Moorhead area in northern Minnesota. For some interesting weather updates and stories of what a neat little person my little sister is, check out http://fargoflood.blogspot.com/. Good luck, Concordians! (or, Cobbers!)
Coveralls make an awesome fort
We're having our first Food Animal Production & Food Safety field trip on Friday, where we'll be visiting a food animal production operation and thus need to arrive dressed in coveralls and boots. For the large and mixed animal students, this is no big deal. For us small animal folks, we are all feeling pretty silly right about now as we prepare to meet with the rest of the class on Friday dressed in our brand-spanking-new coveralls and shiny new boots.
I'm not especially eager to spend much money on garments that I won't be using much at all until the minimum required large animal rotations in my junior and senior years, so I was glad that a friend gave me a pair of coveralls that had shrunk in the dryer and no longer fit her. I brought them home today and dropped them on the floor (intending their location to be temporary).
Much to my surprise, Johnny & Simon have decided that coveralls lying in a heap on the carpet make an awesome hiding place. They took turns crawling inside the bib part and down toward the legs, then turning around and poking their faces out. I swear Simon was lying in there for what was apparently too much time, because Johnny came over and meowed at him, like "Get out of there, it's time for me to have a turn!" They are too funny sometimes.
I'm not especially eager to spend much money on garments that I won't be using much at all until the minimum required large animal rotations in my junior and senior years, so I was glad that a friend gave me a pair of coveralls that had shrunk in the dryer and no longer fit her. I brought them home today and dropped them on the floor (intending their location to be temporary).
Much to my surprise, Johnny & Simon have decided that coveralls lying in a heap on the carpet make an awesome hiding place. They took turns crawling inside the bib part and down toward the legs, then turning around and poking their faces out. I swear Simon was lying in there for what was apparently too much time, because Johnny came over and meowed at him, like "Get out of there, it's time for me to have a turn!" They are too funny sometimes.
Teleradiology, a.k.a. the coolest job ever
I've been pretty interested in radiology (that means the study of X-rays and their interpretation, for all you laypeople) ever since I joined the diagnostic imaging club at the beginning of the fall semester. It's a cool area of vet med that you really have to practice regularly to get good at. And being good at it is fairly important in clinical practice - how else are you going to see what the inside of a dog or cat's body looks like without slicing them open?
The diagnostic imaging club sponsored a dinner lecture tonight, given by a board-certified radiologist who used to teach at the vet school but left a couple years ago to take on his own consulting business full-time. What I gather is that he pretty much does whatever he wants, within reach of a computer and an Internet connection, and interprets digital radiographs that vets send to him. He has contracts with some vet clinics, which then send him every radiograph they take so he can help them interpret the image. He also takes on individual case submissions, say from your average practitioner who usually feels pretty confident in analyzing radiographs on their own but has a case that they're not sure about and would like a second opinion on.
With a high speed of interpretation, combined with fees that are affordable to pet owners but still add up significantly for him, this "teleradiologist" has a pretty darn awesome job. It's really neat where technology has taken vet med in recent years.
The diagnostic imaging club sponsored a dinner lecture tonight, given by a board-certified radiologist who used to teach at the vet school but left a couple years ago to take on his own consulting business full-time. What I gather is that he pretty much does whatever he wants, within reach of a computer and an Internet connection, and interprets digital radiographs that vets send to him. He has contracts with some vet clinics, which then send him every radiograph they take so he can help them interpret the image. He also takes on individual case submissions, say from your average practitioner who usually feels pretty confident in analyzing radiographs on their own but has a case that they're not sure about and would like a second opinion on.
With a high speed of interpretation, combined with fees that are affordable to pet owners but still add up significantly for him, this "teleradiologist" has a pretty darn awesome job. It's really neat where technology has taken vet med in recent years.
Back to school
The first day back from spring break is nearly over and was pretty uneventful. Last night I was all pumped to get back to the daily grind, but my enthusiasm was markedly decreased when my alarm went off at 5:25 this morning. Surprisingly, though, I made it out of bed by 5:35 and started feeling the endorphins on the treadmill by 6. (Thank goodness for endorphins, the body's morphine!)
It was nice to see my classmates again and feel not quite so isolated from being stuck in Windsor all week. Classes, unfortunately, did not get much more interesting over the break. We did get to dissect a dog ear in neurobiology lab, and got an extra free hour since the professor couldn't get the presentation to work for the second half of lab. Lunch (a.k.a. finance class) was followed by our first 2 hours of virology, which was more pleasant than parasitology but less pleasant than eating a piece of chocolate cake and taking a nap (which is what I would have rather been doing). The virology prof seems nice and very enthusiastic, which helps. He hasa somewhat pronounced Indian accent which means you have to make a focused effort to understand him.
But overall it was a good day, and I tried to use my free time pretty wisely to start studying for next week's big neuro and BioDz exams. On to Tuesday!
It was nice to see my classmates again and feel not quite so isolated from being stuck in Windsor all week. Classes, unfortunately, did not get much more interesting over the break. We did get to dissect a dog ear in neurobiology lab, and got an extra free hour since the professor couldn't get the presentation to work for the second half of lab. Lunch (a.k.a. finance class) was followed by our first 2 hours of virology, which was more pleasant than parasitology but less pleasant than eating a piece of chocolate cake and taking a nap (which is what I would have rather been doing). The virology prof seems nice and very enthusiastic, which helps. He hasa somewhat pronounced Indian accent which means you have to make a focused effort to understand him.
But overall it was a good day, and I tried to use my free time pretty wisely to start studying for next week's big neuro and BioDz exams. On to Tuesday!
Sunday, March 22, 2009
12 hours of break
Just about 12 more hours left in my spring break, till I wake up tomorrow morning to start the remaining 7 weeks of class. It's been a fun though not especially productive break, and I'm ready to get back to school. As you all know - I need to be on a schedule! I'm really looking forward to getting back to my routine and continuing to learn. And I don't even care if that makes me sound like a nerd! I'm embracing it.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Breeds exam... done!
I am finally finished with the last of our three "breeds exams" that we had to complete during freshman year. Basically, each "exam" involved identifying breeds of animals based on online pictures. You don't get any points for completing the exam, but you have to do it anyway and you lose points if you don't do it by the deadline.
For the first breeds exam, I learned all about breeds of dogs and horses. (Ok, I already knew every one of the dog breeds and many more that weren't included, but about the only horse I could ID was the Arabian...)
The second breeds exam was actually more like a species exam. You had to learn what a hamster, gerbil, rat, chinchilla, etc looks like as well as some species of pet birds.
The third breeds exam covered 12 breeds of beef cattle (including the "Brangus," which just sounds like a redneck who needs a grammar lesson), 4 breeds of dairy cattle, 8 breeds of sheep, 19 breeds of cats (fortunately I already knew most of the names, if not exactly what they looked like), and differentiating between South American camelids (llamas, alpacas, guanacos, and vicunas).
I am proud to say I passed the test with a score of 100%, and I even have it done almost a month ahead of time. One more thing I can check off my giant spring break to-do list.
For the first breeds exam, I learned all about breeds of dogs and horses. (Ok, I already knew every one of the dog breeds and many more that weren't included, but about the only horse I could ID was the Arabian...)
The second breeds exam was actually more like a species exam. You had to learn what a hamster, gerbil, rat, chinchilla, etc looks like as well as some species of pet birds.
The third breeds exam covered 12 breeds of beef cattle (including the "Brangus," which just sounds like a redneck who needs a grammar lesson), 4 breeds of dairy cattle, 8 breeds of sheep, 19 breeds of cats (fortunately I already knew most of the names, if not exactly what they looked like), and differentiating between South American camelids (llamas, alpacas, guanacos, and vicunas).
I am proud to say I passed the test with a score of 100%, and I even have it done almost a month ahead of time. One more thing I can check off my giant spring break to-do list.
Wednesday, March 18, 2009
Back to bloggin'
So life has gotten a little busy since my last post.... but I'm back!
Last Thursday was our last day of classes before spring break, and as such, it was entirely unproductive. More like trying to stay awake just enough to make sure you didn't miss any crucial piece of information a professor might throw out there.
On Friday, CLH drove me down to the Denver airport where I proceeded to enjoy a 100% on-time flight to Minneapolis-St Paul. (A+ to United!) Mom & Dad ferried me to Rochester for a relaxing yet activity-filled weekend.
Highlights of Saturday included a trip to Lake City to see my sister's college choir give a concert. (They rock! Check them out: http://concordiachapelchoir.com/.)
Sunday included listening to my dad's choir at church perform the Faure "Requiem"... pretty well, actually.
There was plenty of time for vegetating in front of the computer and TV. (TV! My old friend! Now I remember what it was once like to have about 10 functional channels, merely 9 months ago! And full cable access at ASU, only 2 years before that! Ah, how my productivity has soared since moving to Colorado...) Mom showed me a new game: http://www.puzzle-shikaku.com/. Thanks a ton for that, Mom!
The weather was nice all weekend. We spent plenty of time with my poor old grandma (hangin' in there but not 100%...). Throw in several meals of Dad's homemade chili, three pairs of newly hemmed pants to take home, and a second on-time flight back to Denver (A+ to Frontier!) and you've got a good trip.
But anyway, after Monday's travels including....
- 70-75 minute drive from Rochester to the airport
- 60 minutes waiting in the airport for the plane to board
- 96 minutes on the plane
- 70 minutes waiting in the airport for CLH to come get me
- 1 hour and 50 minutes driving home from Denver (including 45 minutes sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic... was it really my idea to drive home during rush hour??)
.... my butt was tired and I was definitely glad to get back home.
So then, of course, we woke up at 5 am on Tuesday to drive to Fort Morgan! Highlights of that trip include a Tuesday morning nap from 8-10 am, beautiful weather, sitting on a bench outside the library and reading for an hour, getting CLH's high school choir concert over with (they did a great job, mostly), sleeping for 12.5 hours on Tuesday night, finally applying for a Colorado driver's license (and successfully completing the eye test, which is always the scariest part), and finally getting to come home for good this afternoon.
I am totally thrilled to now be back in my own house and my own routine, even though merely 4 days remain of what once seemed like it would be a fantastically endless spring break.
Additional goals for spring break include:
- Actually studying. (I have a big list of things I wanted to do, school-wise, and I have tackled approximately... zero of them thus far.)
- Taking Johnny to get his vaccines (now that his bowels seem to finally be a bit happier)
- Figuring out more car stuff, possibly including but not limited to a Colorado title, Colorado registration, Colorado license plates, and Colorado insurance (why the heck do they make this stuff so complicated?)
- Researching stethoscopes (I need one at some point, and birthdays are approaching!)
- Continuing the exercise/jogging program (the scale that was so helpfully placed in the lobby of the driver's license office was not especially kind today)
- Actually framing and hanging up some of those pictures that I had printed over Christmas break (me, procrastinate? no way!)
Last Thursday was our last day of classes before spring break, and as such, it was entirely unproductive. More like trying to stay awake just enough to make sure you didn't miss any crucial piece of information a professor might throw out there.
On Friday, CLH drove me down to the Denver airport where I proceeded to enjoy a 100% on-time flight to Minneapolis-St Paul. (A+ to United!) Mom & Dad ferried me to Rochester for a relaxing yet activity-filled weekend.
Highlights of Saturday included a trip to Lake City to see my sister's college choir give a concert. (They rock! Check them out: http://concordiachapelchoir.com/.)
Sunday included listening to my dad's choir at church perform the Faure "Requiem"... pretty well, actually.
There was plenty of time for vegetating in front of the computer and TV. (TV! My old friend! Now I remember what it was once like to have about 10 functional channels, merely 9 months ago! And full cable access at ASU, only 2 years before that! Ah, how my productivity has soared since moving to Colorado...) Mom showed me a new game: http://www.puzzle-shikaku.com/. Thanks a ton for that, Mom!
The weather was nice all weekend. We spent plenty of time with my poor old grandma (hangin' in there but not 100%...). Throw in several meals of Dad's homemade chili, three pairs of newly hemmed pants to take home, and a second on-time flight back to Denver (A+ to Frontier!) and you've got a good trip.
But anyway, after Monday's travels including....
- 70-75 minute drive from Rochester to the airport
- 60 minutes waiting in the airport for the plane to board
- 96 minutes on the plane
- 70 minutes waiting in the airport for CLH to come get me
- 1 hour and 50 minutes driving home from Denver (including 45 minutes sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic... was it really my idea to drive home during rush hour??)
.... my butt was tired and I was definitely glad to get back home.
So then, of course, we woke up at 5 am on Tuesday to drive to Fort Morgan! Highlights of that trip include a Tuesday morning nap from 8-10 am, beautiful weather, sitting on a bench outside the library and reading for an hour, getting CLH's high school choir concert over with (they did a great job, mostly), sleeping for 12.5 hours on Tuesday night, finally applying for a Colorado driver's license (and successfully completing the eye test, which is always the scariest part), and finally getting to come home for good this afternoon.
I am totally thrilled to now be back in my own house and my own routine, even though merely 4 days remain of what once seemed like it would be a fantastically endless spring break.
Additional goals for spring break include:
- Actually studying. (I have a big list of things I wanted to do, school-wise, and I have tackled approximately... zero of them thus far.)
- Taking Johnny to get his vaccines (now that his bowels seem to finally be a bit happier)
- Figuring out more car stuff, possibly including but not limited to a Colorado title, Colorado registration, Colorado license plates, and Colorado insurance (why the heck do they make this stuff so complicated?)
- Researching stethoscopes (I need one at some point, and birthdays are approaching!)
- Continuing the exercise/jogging program (the scale that was so helpfully placed in the lobby of the driver's license office was not especially kind today)
- Actually framing and hanging up some of those pictures that I had printed over Christmas break (me, procrastinate? no way!)
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
The end has come...
...for Parasitology, and can we all just say, it's about time!
Despite countless hours of studying (conservatively, at least 15 hours), I still wasn't totally prepared for today's brutal exam. One of the complicating factors was that, despite very similar material, today's exam emphasized completely different aspects of parasitology than the first exam did, and we had approximately zero warning that that would be the case. After all, why wouldn't you think that the second test would pretty much be similar in emphasis to the first test??
But the most important thing, of course, is that it's all over. I certainly passed the test today, and I'll be fine in the class at this point thanks to my A on the first test.
Following spring break, stay tuned for: Virology!
Despite countless hours of studying (conservatively, at least 15 hours), I still wasn't totally prepared for today's brutal exam. One of the complicating factors was that, despite very similar material, today's exam emphasized completely different aspects of parasitology than the first exam did, and we had approximately zero warning that that would be the case. After all, why wouldn't you think that the second test would pretty much be similar in emphasis to the first test??
But the most important thing, of course, is that it's all over. I certainly passed the test today, and I'll be fine in the class at this point thanks to my A on the first test.
Following spring break, stay tuned for: Virology!
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Be careful what you wish for...
My desire for more snow this season was fulfilled... in exchange for which my commute to school (normally 25 minutes) was extended to 70 minutes this morning. Good thing my exams are tomorrow, not today. Frankly, we got less than an inch of snow, but by some natural phenomenon, it got packed into what basically amount to sheer ice by the time I hit the roads at 8 am. I almost didn't make it up the hill toward I-25, and I spent several minutes spinning my tires before I got all the way up the off-ramp into Fort Collins. (While images flashed through my head of how I'd get my car off the road if it refused to go, and if it would be safe to hitchhike the remaining 4 miles to school. Answer = sure! People are nice here.)
But at least it was pretty! And not freakishly warm out - though the snow pretty much all melted by the end of the day. Here's hoping tomorrow's commute is a bit more normal.
But at least it was pretty! And not freakishly warm out - though the snow pretty much all melted by the end of the day. Here's hoping tomorrow's commute is a bit more normal.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Egotistical me
Hehe, the last few posts have been all about how AWESOME I am! But really, I am just proud of myself for getting my life together and doing some things I don't always like to do, even if they're good for me. I'm sure it will fall back apart at some point. :-)
Feeling healthy
Oddly enough, during the last few months of vet school I've felt the healthiest I can ever remember feeling in my life. I'm exercising regularly (currently jogging about 8 miles a week and walking another 4 or 5 miles), taking a daily vitamin, getting mostly a good amount of sleep, trying to eat healthy foods, and trying to keep up with my studying to decrease the stress. I haven't gotten sick since September when evil germs infected about 95% of the freshman class. (Hey, we spend 40+ hours a week in close proximity in the cubes and lecture hall... no wonder everybody got sick.) This spring, I've thus far been immune to all of the circulating bugs. (Okay, but now I'll probably get sick since I said that.) I have an adequate amount of energy and am rarely tempted to fall asleep in class (about twice a month, always right after lunch, despite the amusing quips from the professor).
Last semester we spent an unbelievable amount of time being lectured about "life balance" as relates to stressful and often time-consuming careers in veterinary medicine. It was mostly annoying to listen to the same advice week after week, but one thing that stuck with me is that things probably won't get remarkably easier after this. It's not as though we'll graduate from vet school and life will be simple and full of free time. They pointed out that if you want to develop good habits, the time to do it is now. So I'm trying!
Last semester we spent an unbelievable amount of time being lectured about "life balance" as relates to stressful and often time-consuming careers in veterinary medicine. It was mostly annoying to listen to the same advice week after week, but one thing that stuck with me is that things probably won't get remarkably easier after this. It's not as though we'll graduate from vet school and life will be simple and full of free time. They pointed out that if you want to develop good habits, the time to do it is now. So I'm trying!
The value of studying
Looking back, I was a tiny bit freaked out for our last parasitology exam. I didn't start studying until not long before the exam, so I ended up cramming more than I wanted to and not learning things as well as I'd hoped. The story had a happy ending (= an A) but I knew I wanted things to be different for the next time.
So I started studying parasitology again the first day that we learned new material. And I've been studying it pretty much daily ever since. (Note: one thing I've learned about being in vet school is that sometimes you just cannot have a day off. Was your test stressful? Yes. Does that mean you now get a break? Heck no. The studying/exam cycle just keeps going.)
Studying for parasit this time has meant updating my personal study guide three times a week (after every lecture) and studying for 25-40 minutes every morning that I get on the treadmill, 5 or 6 days a week.
And this will seem really obvious, but WOW! Turns out that studying regularly helps a whole lot. We are now two days away from our second (and final!) parasit exam, and a significant number of my classmates are flipping out, just like they (and I) did before the first exam. But I'm feeling pretty good about it. Still need to brush up on hookworms and lungworms, but I mostly know everything. It's sort of fun to be sitting on one side of the cubes studying nutrition, and overhear other students quizzing each other on parasitology, and realize that I know it. Now if only they'd review a little more quietly while I'm trying to study...
So I started studying parasitology again the first day that we learned new material. And I've been studying it pretty much daily ever since. (Note: one thing I've learned about being in vet school is that sometimes you just cannot have a day off. Was your test stressful? Yes. Does that mean you now get a break? Heck no. The studying/exam cycle just keeps going.)
Studying for parasit this time has meant updating my personal study guide three times a week (after every lecture) and studying for 25-40 minutes every morning that I get on the treadmill, 5 or 6 days a week.
And this will seem really obvious, but WOW! Turns out that studying regularly helps a whole lot. We are now two days away from our second (and final!) parasit exam, and a significant number of my classmates are flipping out, just like they (and I) did before the first exam. But I'm feeling pretty good about it. Still need to brush up on hookworms and lungworms, but I mostly know everything. It's sort of fun to be sitting on one side of the cubes studying nutrition, and overhear other students quizzing each other on parasitology, and realize that I know it. Now if only they'd review a little more quietly while I'm trying to study...
Slacker!
CLH's middle school is having standardized testing this week, so he gets a lot of time off to be a slacker! He had to work today, but has tomorrow off, and doesn't have to work in the mornings for the rest of the week. Here's hoping he sleeps in a lot and makes up for the chronic lack of sleep due to regular 5 am wake-up times for the last 7 months. Enjoy your break, CLH, you deserve it! Feel free to clean the house while you're home. :-P
Thursday, March 5, 2009
The week I've had
Looking back at Monday, I was pretty darn excited for this week and how easy and stress-free it was going to be.
Well, it rapidly turned into one of "those" weeks.
Tuesday started okay, with no class till 9 am, as is usual for Tuesdays. But the lectures were frankly pretty boring and long, and the day was made even longer by a lunch lecture. Pro: free lunch. Con: feeling obligated to stay and listen to the lecture, rather than eat-and-run. Other con: they didn't tell us beforehand what the lunch was going to be, and it was pre-made Qdoba burritos, which are great, if you like beans, rice, tomatoes, and lettuce in your burrito. But it was actually sort of an interesting lecture, about Bovine Viral Diarrhea, which a lot of people in the U.S. are working pretty hard to eradicate.
Tuesday classes ended with writing, which is never a good end to a school day. That class is so pointless. Did I mention, on one of my assignments I got docked a point for two sentences that "sounded awkward." The grader recommended that I combine those two sentences to make things flow better. Why yes, kind grader, if I were taking any other writing class or just writing in the real, grown-up world, I would have absolutely combined those sentences to create something resembling mature writing. However, in this class, any sentence over 25 words in length is forbidden, so apparently I was docked a point for not making a 31 word sentence. If I had combined the sentences, I bet I would have been docked a point for having a sentence that was too long. Just can't win.
So after class, I studied for awhile in the cubes. I had a whole list of things I wanted to get done, but it all took a lot longer than I expected.
I left at about 4:50 pm to head to our pet hospice meeting, which was a discussion and tour of a pet crematorium down in Loveland, scheduled to start at 5:30. I'd never been there before and didn't exactly know where it was, so I planned to get there a little early. However, I evidently neglected to take into account just how far Loveland is from CSU, and the fact that it was rush-hour traffic, and the fact that I would totally miss the desired street the first time around, so I didn't get there till 5:45.
The crematorium tour was sort of cool. I'd never been to a crematorium before so I was a little apprehensive, not sure exactly what to expect. Well, fortunately it didn't smell like dead animals or anything. We actually had a really good discussion with the owner about end-of-life issues and grief counseling. You hear a lot of horror stories about crematoriums and how they handle animals and people get their Great Dane cremated and end up with two teaspoons of ashes, so I think that you'd definitely want to get to know your crematorium owners and tour the facility if you were selecting a crematorium to use for your clinic.
So that was neat. But then I didn't end up leaving until 7:05 (meant to leave a little before 7, at the latest), so I sped over to Windsor and arrived at 7:29 for my 7:30 pm handbell rehearsal. (Keep in mind, I haven't been home since 8:00 am and I haven't had dinner yet. Also, it was that time of the month and the hormones were a little wild.)
Needless to say, I was a little hungry and crabby during the rehearsal, and we spent a lot of time on the song that is the hardest for me, and I just didn't have much patience or focus. Frustrating, because usually I love that handbell group and rehearsing with them.
Finally got home at 9:15 pm and really, all I wanted to eat was macaroni and cheese. Go figure. So I had my dinner at 9:45 and hurried to bed.
Wednesday looked like it would probably be better. Maybe it was, a little. Certainly not as busy.
Class from 8 am-3 pm straight. Our topic in neuro lecture was acupuncture, so one of the medical acupuncturists from the VTH came over and gave a talk. It was sort of interesting. The natural healing department at the VTH has done a lot of research to prove that acupuncture actually works, and to try to figure out how it works.
After neuro lecture, half of the class trooped into the gross lab for... not lab, but more lecture, of course! Let me tell you, sitting on a tipsy metal stool, hunched over, trying to write on your lap for an hour is an easy recipe for a backache. Plus, why are we having more lecture during lab time??
The second half of the lab time was used for an acupuncture demonstration on some of my classmates' "broken" dogs. That was pretty neat. The acupuncturist took a pretty hyper young lab mix who had had leg surgery about 6 weeks before, and by the time she pulled out the acupuncture needles about 20 minutes later, the dog was almost asleep.
But then, finance. Oh yes, finance. Not my favorite class. At all. To make things even better, the teacher started lecturing 7 minutes late, and let us go 7 minutes early. There go 14 minutes of the valuable total 50 minute period for which we are paying tuition dollars. Of the remaining 36 minutes that were actually used for lecture, we spent 12 of those doing clicker questions, which means 90% of the class answers the question in the first 30 seconds, and we all sit around for the next 3 minutes waiting for the last 10% of the class to get their act together and answer. Last but not least, we learned a new financial application that we were supposed to be able to do on our special financial calculators (which I refuse to buy on principle, unless I absolutely have to). To this point, I've simply been inserting numbers into the algebraic formula that the teacher has provided, and doing the calculations on my regular calculator (and frankly having a whole lot less trouble getting the right answer than the people who try to use financial calculators). But this time, the teacher didn't give us the algebraic formula, so without a financial calculator, I was sort of stuck. Seriously, why is it more valuable to know how to put numbers into a calculator, rather than being able to visualize the formula and see what variables go into it and how changing one of those variables will change the overall outcome?? I think I am too old.
Anyway, classes ended with Biology of Disease, then Parasitology. I studied for a little while then headed home with enough time left to feed the cats and wash the dishes --- fun --- before getting in the car, again, to drive to Greeley for church. I spent about 20 minutes practicing the handbell music I didn't do very well on the night before, plus a four-in-hand quartet I apparently volunteered for (though I have no recollection of offering).
Oh, one of the complicating factors in my bad mood was that CLH had had to stay overnight at work on Tuesday night, so while I was feeling mopey and hormonal and crabby, I was also alone for a couple days. I really just wanted to spend some time with CLH when we finally got home at 8 on Wednesday night, but he wanted to go on the treadmill so I just went to bed early.
Today, Thursday: another lengthy day but now at least it's over and I don't have enough energy to complain much more! I did end up doing plenty of driving, including 30 minutes to school this morning, 30 minutes home this afternoon, 65 minutes to Fort Morgan for CLH's middle school choir concert, and 65 minutes home. On the plus side, I thought CLH's choirs did really great, especially compared to his first concert last fall. Was the pitch great? Not so much. But they were trying, and paying attention, and the rhythms were really good. Good job, CLH!
(Here's another mini-rant: At CLH's middle school, choir classes are only one quarter long. So CLH has one group of kids for about 8 weeks, then they have a concert at the end of the 8 weeks, and then the following week he gets a whole NEW group of kids to work with. Repeat 4 times. So he never gets much time to work with them, and by the time they are finally starting to get good, they move on to another class. The really strange thing is that the band and orchestra courses go all year long, so as CLH pointed out, the band and orchestra keep getting better and better over the academic year, while he has to work basically four times as hard just to get groups of different kids up to an acceptable level of singing before they disappear. But anyway, stop whining and go to bed now, right?!)
Well, it rapidly turned into one of "those" weeks.
Tuesday started okay, with no class till 9 am, as is usual for Tuesdays. But the lectures were frankly pretty boring and long, and the day was made even longer by a lunch lecture. Pro: free lunch. Con: feeling obligated to stay and listen to the lecture, rather than eat-and-run. Other con: they didn't tell us beforehand what the lunch was going to be, and it was pre-made Qdoba burritos, which are great, if you like beans, rice, tomatoes, and lettuce in your burrito. But it was actually sort of an interesting lecture, about Bovine Viral Diarrhea, which a lot of people in the U.S. are working pretty hard to eradicate.
Tuesday classes ended with writing, which is never a good end to a school day. That class is so pointless. Did I mention, on one of my assignments I got docked a point for two sentences that "sounded awkward." The grader recommended that I combine those two sentences to make things flow better. Why yes, kind grader, if I were taking any other writing class or just writing in the real, grown-up world, I would have absolutely combined those sentences to create something resembling mature writing. However, in this class, any sentence over 25 words in length is forbidden, so apparently I was docked a point for not making a 31 word sentence. If I had combined the sentences, I bet I would have been docked a point for having a sentence that was too long. Just can't win.
So after class, I studied for awhile in the cubes. I had a whole list of things I wanted to get done, but it all took a lot longer than I expected.
I left at about 4:50 pm to head to our pet hospice meeting, which was a discussion and tour of a pet crematorium down in Loveland, scheduled to start at 5:30. I'd never been there before and didn't exactly know where it was, so I planned to get there a little early. However, I evidently neglected to take into account just how far Loveland is from CSU, and the fact that it was rush-hour traffic, and the fact that I would totally miss the desired street the first time around, so I didn't get there till 5:45.
The crematorium tour was sort of cool. I'd never been to a crematorium before so I was a little apprehensive, not sure exactly what to expect. Well, fortunately it didn't smell like dead animals or anything. We actually had a really good discussion with the owner about end-of-life issues and grief counseling. You hear a lot of horror stories about crematoriums and how they handle animals and people get their Great Dane cremated and end up with two teaspoons of ashes, so I think that you'd definitely want to get to know your crematorium owners and tour the facility if you were selecting a crematorium to use for your clinic.
So that was neat. But then I didn't end up leaving until 7:05 (meant to leave a little before 7, at the latest), so I sped over to Windsor and arrived at 7:29 for my 7:30 pm handbell rehearsal. (Keep in mind, I haven't been home since 8:00 am and I haven't had dinner yet. Also, it was that time of the month and the hormones were a little wild.)
Needless to say, I was a little hungry and crabby during the rehearsal, and we spent a lot of time on the song that is the hardest for me, and I just didn't have much patience or focus. Frustrating, because usually I love that handbell group and rehearsing with them.
Finally got home at 9:15 pm and really, all I wanted to eat was macaroni and cheese. Go figure. So I had my dinner at 9:45 and hurried to bed.
Wednesday looked like it would probably be better. Maybe it was, a little. Certainly not as busy.
Class from 8 am-3 pm straight. Our topic in neuro lecture was acupuncture, so one of the medical acupuncturists from the VTH came over and gave a talk. It was sort of interesting. The natural healing department at the VTH has done a lot of research to prove that acupuncture actually works, and to try to figure out how it works.
After neuro lecture, half of the class trooped into the gross lab for... not lab, but more lecture, of course! Let me tell you, sitting on a tipsy metal stool, hunched over, trying to write on your lap for an hour is an easy recipe for a backache. Plus, why are we having more lecture during lab time??
The second half of the lab time was used for an acupuncture demonstration on some of my classmates' "broken" dogs. That was pretty neat. The acupuncturist took a pretty hyper young lab mix who had had leg surgery about 6 weeks before, and by the time she pulled out the acupuncture needles about 20 minutes later, the dog was almost asleep.
But then, finance. Oh yes, finance. Not my favorite class. At all. To make things even better, the teacher started lecturing 7 minutes late, and let us go 7 minutes early. There go 14 minutes of the valuable total 50 minute period for which we are paying tuition dollars. Of the remaining 36 minutes that were actually used for lecture, we spent 12 of those doing clicker questions, which means 90% of the class answers the question in the first 30 seconds, and we all sit around for the next 3 minutes waiting for the last 10% of the class to get their act together and answer. Last but not least, we learned a new financial application that we were supposed to be able to do on our special financial calculators (which I refuse to buy on principle, unless I absolutely have to). To this point, I've simply been inserting numbers into the algebraic formula that the teacher has provided, and doing the calculations on my regular calculator (and frankly having a whole lot less trouble getting the right answer than the people who try to use financial calculators). But this time, the teacher didn't give us the algebraic formula, so without a financial calculator, I was sort of stuck. Seriously, why is it more valuable to know how to put numbers into a calculator, rather than being able to visualize the formula and see what variables go into it and how changing one of those variables will change the overall outcome?? I think I am too old.
Anyway, classes ended with Biology of Disease, then Parasitology. I studied for a little while then headed home with enough time left to feed the cats and wash the dishes --- fun --- before getting in the car, again, to drive to Greeley for church. I spent about 20 minutes practicing the handbell music I didn't do very well on the night before, plus a four-in-hand quartet I apparently volunteered for (though I have no recollection of offering).
Oh, one of the complicating factors in my bad mood was that CLH had had to stay overnight at work on Tuesday night, so while I was feeling mopey and hormonal and crabby, I was also alone for a couple days. I really just wanted to spend some time with CLH when we finally got home at 8 on Wednesday night, but he wanted to go on the treadmill so I just went to bed early.
Today, Thursday: another lengthy day but now at least it's over and I don't have enough energy to complain much more! I did end up doing plenty of driving, including 30 minutes to school this morning, 30 minutes home this afternoon, 65 minutes to Fort Morgan for CLH's middle school choir concert, and 65 minutes home. On the plus side, I thought CLH's choirs did really great, especially compared to his first concert last fall. Was the pitch great? Not so much. But they were trying, and paying attention, and the rhythms were really good. Good job, CLH!
(Here's another mini-rant: At CLH's middle school, choir classes are only one quarter long. So CLH has one group of kids for about 8 weeks, then they have a concert at the end of the 8 weeks, and then the following week he gets a whole NEW group of kids to work with. Repeat 4 times. So he never gets much time to work with them, and by the time they are finally starting to get good, they move on to another class. The really strange thing is that the band and orchestra courses go all year long, so as CLH pointed out, the band and orchestra keep getting better and better over the academic year, while he has to work basically four times as hard just to get groups of different kids up to an acceptable level of singing before they disappear. But anyway, stop whining and go to bed now, right?!)
Quote of the Day, Vol. 3
Professor in Biology of Disease (I sure seem to get a lot of good quotes from him...):
(professor has just finished explaining something)
"Do you all understand that?"
(silence)
"....Y'all're lookin' at me like I'm retarded."
(professor has just finished explaining something)
"Do you all understand that?"
(silence)
"....Y'all're lookin' at me like I'm retarded."
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
Happy Square Root Day!
During my drive to school this morning, I was informed by NPR that today is... Square Root Day! (3-3-09, get it?)
Here are some other exciting March holidays to add to your calendar:
Here are some other exciting March holidays to add to your calendar:
- March Forth --- March 4
- Pi Day --- March 14
- The Ides of March --- March 15
- St Patrick's Day --- March 17 or 18 or something like that (really, who cares... with all the other awesome holidays in March, St Patrick's Day just seems boring)
Monday, March 2, 2009
All together now: "Aaaaaahhhhhhh...."
(If you couldn't tell, that was a good kind of aaaahhh, not an "Aaarlglghhhhh.")
The exams are past. And passed. The assignments are finished. If I want to study today, I can. If I don't want to, well, no worries. Same goes for tomorrow. And Wednesday. And Thursday. I guess I should probably start studying again by Friday.
There is nothing like a series of intimidating, stressful exams to make you appreciate the beauty of being able to relax and hang out with your husband and clean up the house and play with your cats and update your blog and enjoy the warm weather. And not study, if you don't want to.
The poor schlubs in the elective exotics anatomy course have their first exam (one of only two during the semester) on Wednesday. They are all a little freaked out. For once, I am seriously glad to not be fully overachieving and taking every course in sight.
As for me, I'm thinking ahead toward my finance and parasitology exams a week from Wednesday. Following that is a blissful 9 days of spring break. Then another entire week of classes with no exams! Life should be good for awhile. (Okay, life is good all the time. It will just be less stressful for awhile.) Hooray!
The exams are past. And passed. The assignments are finished. If I want to study today, I can. If I don't want to, well, no worries. Same goes for tomorrow. And Wednesday. And Thursday. I guess I should probably start studying again by Friday.
There is nothing like a series of intimidating, stressful exams to make you appreciate the beauty of being able to relax and hang out with your husband and clean up the house and play with your cats and update your blog and enjoy the warm weather. And not study, if you don't want to.
The poor schlubs in the elective exotics anatomy course have their first exam (one of only two during the semester) on Wednesday. They are all a little freaked out. For once, I am seriously glad to not be fully overachieving and taking every course in sight.
As for me, I'm thinking ahead toward my finance and parasitology exams a week from Wednesday. Following that is a blissful 9 days of spring break. Then another entire week of classes with no exams! Life should be good for awhile. (Okay, life is good all the time. It will just be less stressful for awhile.) Hooray!
Record highs!
Well, it's 70 degrees right now in Windsor, and yes, it's still early March. We also have a forecasted high of 72 tomorrow. Is that a record-breaker? Why, yes, it is!
The weather is really beautiful. It's so nice to walk outside and not be cold.
(But secretly, I want more snow... spring and summer will come soon enough... but where was winter??)
The weather is really beautiful. It's so nice to walk outside and not be cold.
(But secretly, I want more snow... spring and summer will come soon enough... but where was winter??)
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