Done with classes!

Okay, technically we still have 3 more afternoons of lecture.

But psychologically? We are so, so through.

Yesterday afternoon marked the final set of lectures that all of us third year students, whether large, small, or general trackers, would ever have together as a class.

And yes, I'm talking about everybody's favorite course: Applied Animal Behavior!

Yesterday also coincided with the start of roof construction on the VTH, which, cleverly enough, they decided to begin directly over the lecture hall.

So, after two hours of small animal dermatology lecture, during which the entire lecture hall shook violently for about 5 seconds every 5-10 minutes, our hilarious exotics professor arrived to lecture on behavioral problems of birds, small mammals, and zoo animals.

Two minutes into his lecture, we encountered yet another simulated earthquake. The professor made a lame joke about "I didn't realize we had moved to Japan," which was met by widespread giggling with a not-so-subtle edge of hysteria throughout the student attendees.

"My," he commented. "Aren't we giddy today?" Cue more inappropriately long and loud laughter.

Thankfully, the lecture was about things like how not to let your male cockatoo masturbate on your arm, how to feed your sugar glider correctly so it doesn't have the body figure of a bulldog, and ways to stop zoo-kept polar bears from pacing obsessively -- i.e. a lecture with just the level of information we could handle.

Everyone is so completely fatigued, mentally and physically, this week that the idea of continuing to have afternoon lectures is pretty much a joke.

At least our instructors seem to realize that and are doing their best to speak slowly in simple, short sentences. (That's right, just call me Ms. Silver Lining!)