Clinical pathology professor teaching the last section of cytology; we are discussing transmissible veneral tumors and she is explaining that you don't see many TVTs in Colorado but there are other areas where they are really common:
"There are some places in the world where you can just stand in the street and watch dogs copulating. If you have nothing else to do."
Friday, December 11, 2009
Wednesday, December 9, 2009
I'm cold!
7:23 am. Current actual temperature = -15 degrees. Current windchill puts us at -27 degrees.
Can it be spring now??
Can it be spring now??
Saturday, December 5, 2009
Good times
Nothing quite like a nice Saturday evening spent at home studying the intricacies of dog urine. We vet students sure know how to have a good time (me more than most, I'm sure).
Thankfully, things are looking up now that it's the weekend. It's weird how blogging about stress tends to decrease it...
Thankfully, things are looking up now that it's the weekend. It's weird how blogging about stress tends to decrease it...
Friday, December 4, 2009
Thursday, December 3, 2009
I wish I could speak British
I am listening to NPR and they just had a BBC segment where the anchor was talking about "melting glaciers" except he pronounced it "melting glassiers." Awesome.
Logic? I think not.
Every semester of vet school, every student is required to pay a $120 fee for class notes. This isn't included in our tuition. It doesn't cover any of our textbooks or other supplies. It's just so we can get about a ream and a half of paper printed with all of the PowerPoint slides and supplements we'll need for the semester.
The price seems a bit high, but we begrudgingly pay it every semester. Admittedly, it is convenient to have everything printed out that you'll need (at least in theory). Plus, they don't exactly give us a choice.
The other thing we are supposed to get with our physical notes is a CD containing PowerPoint or PDF versions of everything that is printed -- so that we have a back up in case we lose anything, or a digital version if we just prefer that.
In mid-August, we all trooped over to the vet school bookstore, picked up our notes, and paid our $120 plus the several hundred additional dollars we owed for textbooks.
Shortly after, we received an email explaining that "Sorry, we did not get the CDs with the digital version of the notes made up in time. Some technical difficulties. We will get the CDs to you asap."
And, at long last, with a whopping 6 days remaining in the semester.... the CDs appeared in our mailboxes today!
-->sarcasmfont<-- Everybody is so excited about all the wonderful things we can do with this marvelous technology that has finally arrived! -->/sarcasmfont<--
But really, why do things logically? We'd much prefer that you wait till we are all stressed, and then rub it in that we haven't had this tool that we paid for, for 95% of the semester... People wonder why vet students are so picky and finicky and whiny when things don't go right. Well, it's because some of us are paying $48,000 in tuition and fees and we expect to be treated well.
(Do I sound stressed? I think I might be. Note to self: stop being so crabby all the time.)
The price seems a bit high, but we begrudgingly pay it every semester. Admittedly, it is convenient to have everything printed out that you'll need (at least in theory). Plus, they don't exactly give us a choice.
The other thing we are supposed to get with our physical notes is a CD containing PowerPoint or PDF versions of everything that is printed -- so that we have a back up in case we lose anything, or a digital version if we just prefer that.
In mid-August, we all trooped over to the vet school bookstore, picked up our notes, and paid our $120 plus the several hundred additional dollars we owed for textbooks.
Shortly after, we received an email explaining that "Sorry, we did not get the CDs with the digital version of the notes made up in time. Some technical difficulties. We will get the CDs to you asap."
And, at long last, with a whopping 6 days remaining in the semester.... the CDs appeared in our mailboxes today!
-->sarcasmfont<-- Everybody is so excited about all the wonderful things we can do with this marvelous technology that has finally arrived! -->/sarcasmfont<--
But really, why do things logically? We'd much prefer that you wait till we are all stressed, and then rub it in that we haven't had this tool that we paid for, for 95% of the semester... People wonder why vet students are so picky and finicky and whiny when things don't go right. Well, it's because some of us are paying $48,000 in tuition and fees and we expect to be treated well.
(Do I sound stressed? I think I might be. Note to self: stop being so crabby all the time.)
Life attack!
I feel as though all the activities and stresses of life spent several weeks in hiding and geared up over Thanksgiving break to ambush me this week.
We have 6 days of class remaining, mostly with no assignments (one quiz due earlier this week, another couple next week).
Finals are looming. They are Dec 14-18. Mostly cumulative/comprehensive. Need to study, but when do I have time??
Fortunately my grades are good enough in most of my classes (actually, all of my classes except toxicology) that if I don't get to study a whole lot for finals, I should still be just fine.
We have an extra cat in the house. She is a sweet, petite, stray little girl but is shaking up our routine. Several people interested in her but most of them are sketchy folks who saw her on Craigslist. Send responsible adopters my way!
I am trying to get registered for the next business class for the spring semester. The curriculum coordinator emailed us when we registered for classes and told us not to worry, we wouldn't be able to register for the undergrad business class just then because they needed to put in an override for us. She said she would email and let us know when we could register. She emailed a couple weeks later to say, "Just checking to see if you have been able to register yet?" None of us have. All the sections are full. Bleh.
Handbells is starting to consume my life. In the next 3 weeks, we have 5 concerts (2 in Cheyenne, 1 in Windsor, 1 in Fort Collins, 1 in Loveland) and 2 rehearsals (1 in Windsor, 1 in Cheyenne). Next Tuesday is our last pre-concert rehearsal. We need about another month of rehearsals! The director mistakenly thought we actually had 2 weeks left. He was running late this week so I led the first hour of our 90 minute rehearsal. I'm playing in 2 small ensembles that require extra rehearsal every week, and I'm accompanying on piano for a bell solo and a bell duet. Our first concert, Dec 11 in Cheyenne, is with several other musical groups including a winds ensemble and percussion ensemble. Our director composed a piece for us to play with them, and I saw the music for the first time two days ago. They didn't have an extra copy so I have nothing to look at before the next rehearsal ("dress rehearsal") unless I can borrow one from someone, and the piece is hard! I think I have the hardest part. I have to simultaneously thumb-damp G7 and A7 shelleyed in my right hand to simulate sleigh bells for most of the song, while playing G6 and A6 four-in-hand in my left hand as part of the melody. Occasional transitions to G flats and A flats. Arrrgghh.
Also trying to work out a conflict between handbells and pet hospice. The one mandatory hospice meeting of the year happens to coincide with the Thursday night when we are supposed to be having a handbell rehearsal up in Cheyenne. Still not sure how we're going to work that one out... have not been able to get the pet hospice person to respond.
I can look forward to several extra trips down to Denver in the next few weeks for CLH's choir concerts. One of them was last night, and again on Dec 16. Got to learn some new piano accompaniment before then.
Just realized I haven't put anything on my word blog for over a week.... good thing nobody is clamoring to get their daily word! I know how popular that one is. :-)
We are doing lots of new Advent & Christmas music at church, most of which I have not sung before, and I am missing most of the Thursday night rehearsals due to various other activities. Extra Christmas Eve service between Sunday services, plus an extra choir rehearsal that week since Christmas Eve is on a Thursday!
The Christmas tree is up with most of the lights on, but almost no ornaments and we haven't gotten any further in the Christmas decorations (although the boxes are sitting in the living room).
In-laws coming to visit and stay with us later this month. I would love to not have to clean the entire house on the day before we have company, but that may end up being when it gets done.
In the meantime, I get to try to not fail my classes and also try not to go crazy. I have memories of being a kid and thinking of May as the worst and busiest month of the year.... but I think December will win for the current academic year.
We have 6 days of class remaining, mostly with no assignments (one quiz due earlier this week, another couple next week).
Finals are looming. They are Dec 14-18. Mostly cumulative/comprehensive. Need to study, but when do I have time??
Fortunately my grades are good enough in most of my classes (actually, all of my classes except toxicology) that if I don't get to study a whole lot for finals, I should still be just fine.
We have an extra cat in the house. She is a sweet, petite, stray little girl but is shaking up our routine. Several people interested in her but most of them are sketchy folks who saw her on Craigslist. Send responsible adopters my way!
I am trying to get registered for the next business class for the spring semester. The curriculum coordinator emailed us when we registered for classes and told us not to worry, we wouldn't be able to register for the undergrad business class just then because they needed to put in an override for us. She said she would email and let us know when we could register. She emailed a couple weeks later to say, "Just checking to see if you have been able to register yet?" None of us have. All the sections are full. Bleh.
Handbells is starting to consume my life. In the next 3 weeks, we have 5 concerts (2 in Cheyenne, 1 in Windsor, 1 in Fort Collins, 1 in Loveland) and 2 rehearsals (1 in Windsor, 1 in Cheyenne). Next Tuesday is our last pre-concert rehearsal. We need about another month of rehearsals! The director mistakenly thought we actually had 2 weeks left. He was running late this week so I led the first hour of our 90 minute rehearsal. I'm playing in 2 small ensembles that require extra rehearsal every week, and I'm accompanying on piano for a bell solo and a bell duet. Our first concert, Dec 11 in Cheyenne, is with several other musical groups including a winds ensemble and percussion ensemble. Our director composed a piece for us to play with them, and I saw the music for the first time two days ago. They didn't have an extra copy so I have nothing to look at before the next rehearsal ("dress rehearsal") unless I can borrow one from someone, and the piece is hard! I think I have the hardest part. I have to simultaneously thumb-damp G7 and A7 shelleyed in my right hand to simulate sleigh bells for most of the song, while playing G6 and A6 four-in-hand in my left hand as part of the melody. Occasional transitions to G flats and A flats. Arrrgghh.
Also trying to work out a conflict between handbells and pet hospice. The one mandatory hospice meeting of the year happens to coincide with the Thursday night when we are supposed to be having a handbell rehearsal up in Cheyenne. Still not sure how we're going to work that one out... have not been able to get the pet hospice person to respond.
I can look forward to several extra trips down to Denver in the next few weeks for CLH's choir concerts. One of them was last night, and again on Dec 16. Got to learn some new piano accompaniment before then.
Just realized I haven't put anything on my word blog for over a week.... good thing nobody is clamoring to get their daily word! I know how popular that one is. :-)
We are doing lots of new Advent & Christmas music at church, most of which I have not sung before, and I am missing most of the Thursday night rehearsals due to various other activities. Extra Christmas Eve service between Sunday services, plus an extra choir rehearsal that week since Christmas Eve is on a Thursday!
The Christmas tree is up with most of the lights on, but almost no ornaments and we haven't gotten any further in the Christmas decorations (although the boxes are sitting in the living room).
In-laws coming to visit and stay with us later this month. I would love to not have to clean the entire house on the day before we have company, but that may end up being when it gets done.
In the meantime, I get to try to not fail my classes and also try not to go crazy. I have memories of being a kid and thinking of May as the worst and busiest month of the year.... but I think December will win for the current academic year.
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