Friday, September 28, 2012

First time shadowing

Last weekend I worked up the courage to ask the head doctor at the hospital I work at if I could come in and shadow during the week, and he said yes! I didn't expect him to say no, really, but still it was a frightening thing to ask. So I came in Thursday morning. When I got there, there was only one tech and the Doctor, who I shall call Dr. Stork. I haven't worked closely with this tech or Dr. Stork before but I quickly learned it wasn't all that bad. Everyone was willing to explain things to me, even if I felt incompetent cause I had a hard time getting their heart and respiration rates by the end of the day! (Multitasking is something I've never been good at.)
Dr. Stork gave me the 'lecture' when I first got there, explaining how difficult it is to get into the veterinary profession (he said you needed a 3.5 to even really have a shot... I'm working on it, I swear! I'm currently at a 3.37) and he told me his journey to vet school, working ridiculous hours for no pay, etc. It wasn't anything I hadn't heard before, but it was interesting to hear his personal story.
Of course it got me thinking about my own ability to do this... Part of me feels like I'm in too deep to turn back now... but I know I don't really want to turn back. I realize I've chosen a difficult path, a path that doesn't necessarily end in wealth and health,  but I'm holding out that it will at least end in happiness, a sense of fulfillment and the chance to work with science and animals for the rest of my life. But with this stepping stone, I feel more prepared than ever to carve my way into the veterinary profession. Although, I am regretful that it will be difficult to get experience working with large animals... The more I see the small animal side of the profession, the more I want to experience the large animal side. I can see myself doing large animal work more than small animal work at this point, but of course it's impossible to say without trying everything out first. But for now, I'll take what I can get.
So by the end of that morning I had about how they anesthetize an animal for surgery (pre-medication, induction agents, gas for maintenance), I got to see the ear drum of a dog, and about the whole respiration/heart rates. It was a slow morning and only a couple of dentals were there but I thought it was a good first day.
I'll be coming back every Thursday so I'm looking forward to this being a very informative adventure!

Wednesday, September 26, 2012

3 exams in 2 days and other silly tales

That's right, I just took 3 science exams in 2 days. Cell phys, biochem, and genetics. So far I know I did well on my genetics exam, but it will be awhile before I get the other grades. Its a relief for it to be over, but I'm already on to new adventures! Tomorrow I shadow a doctor at work. I'll update on that next time.
But now Doom and I have something to look forward to: a 10 day vacation on the east coast visiting my grandparents in December. I'm ecstatic! We just bought the tickets today.
Also, I bought us the second collection of Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood since netflix doesn't have those episodes available and we got hooked on this series. 
Since I have little else to share, here are some doodles:




Thursday, September 20, 2012

Another tumultuous bend

As I get older and my life continues on its ever-winding course of rapids and waterfalls, I wonder: is my life getting more stressful or am I just letting myself get hit harder and harder by it? This week has been yet another tumultuous bend- a depressing mix of chaotic hormones, the release of Borderlands II, three volunteer events and 3 looming exams that will land on planet Munster next week.
So, where to start? Hormones. Yes. I have them. I like to think I'm a fairly stable person, but every once in awhile it's like WHAM! and all of a sudden the world is crashing over my head. I feel as if girls are wired together through invisible hormone-amplifiers, cause of course when I'm feeling low, others decide to stoop down with me and next thing you know... well, all I can say really is that someone decided to step all over me this week, leaving me thoroughly upset. I don't know if I'll address the issue, but let's say for now I'm not happy with a certain friend of mine.
Then, the release of Borderlands II. No, I do not play this game. I rarely play games. The issue is that Doom decided to disappear off the face of the planet for 3 days in order to play this game, leading to a massive miscommunication. It did not end well. But things are on the mend(I hope).
Volunteer events were just bleh and were more like the icing on this shit-cake of a week. They stressed me out too because I'm an idiot and scheduled myself for the wrong times. But, I met some cool people I suppose.
Aaaaand I'm gonna wrap this summary up with exams! Yes, 3 of them. All science exams: biochem 1, genetics, and cell phys. With this load, I feel as if it was study week because having so many tests so close together makes it feel like finals! I've got quite the weekend ahead of me.
Hopefully I will have more exciting things to say next week.

Saturday, September 15, 2012

Students who hate their major

I always see students who hate their major, and it makes me sad. Why commit 4 years (or more!) to something that you despise? I feel that those kids who are biology majors just to be called "Doctor" somewhere down the road should either reconsider or at least change their attitude. I'm not saying you have to love everything about biology, but as a future doctor, don't you think you should appreciate the foundations of the field you hope to become a professional in? (I know of one kid whom I believe is doing it only because his parents are making him!) Personally I love biology. I don't love everything about it-- I find the molecular stuff to be a major headache sometimes and genetics is also difficult. But I always appreciate it, even if I don't understand. Quorum sensing? Sounds complicated, but how cool is that?
I've seen pre-med students who hate anatomy, have no interest in microbiology, etc. These subjects at least seem to have a lot of relevance to their field!
I tend to have blinders on sometimes as far as my major goes-- I hate my general requirements, suck at math, I'm bleh about chemistry, but bio I just adore. So perhaps that reveals a flaw in my own character. But hey, I would have taken art classes for fun but they are expensive, take up time, and I'd have to start at the beginning with 3 hour long beginners classes! I've resigned myself to letting art be a hobby.
My favorite bio-related subjects are ecology and evolution, which we touched on in my general bio 2 class. I adore learning about the variety of life, the similarities and the development over life's history. However, since that class I've found I enjoyed microbiology and I'm currently enjoying cell physiology!
Here are some neat critters I enjoyed learning about back in the days of gen bio. :) 


    Friday, September 7, 2012

    Where there's family...

    This week has been one of the busiest/craziest/most stressful weeks of my life. Worse than finals week. I can handle school, I realize. School is my neighborhood, I know the ins and outs. I'm comfortable with that. Everything else in life seems to throw me off though! We had family over this whole week, my cousin, her husband and their kids, along with my aunt.
    Now, I have never been a kid person. Not even a little. As the youngest child in my family, I can say that I RARELY encountered children growing up, therefore I don't know how to handle them. Having 3 children in my house ages 3 and under was a learning experience. First of all, they didn't know how to behave around my dogs and my dogs didn't know what the heck they were! First, Fei was terrified of them (he gave a loud "back off" bark from behind the gate) because they SCREAM at the dogs and run around like crazy. Ti just tried to tackle/growl/herd/wrestle them. All of these reactions are obviously unacceptable so they had to be separated the whole stay, which in itself is a chore. Then, there's the fact that our house may be puppy-proof but it sure isn't child-proof. They got into everything and only really listened to my mom.

    But I don't want to make this visit sound horrible because it really wasn't! I had a great time with them, the kids liked me and they LOVED Doom. I also got to try some things I hadn't done before, like visit some places I've never been and riding in a helicopter, zip lining and experiencing my town like I hadn't really before.

    So, all in all I had fun but I'm glad this week is just about over! I need to work on settling into this semester, as well as preparing for the future!
    Where there's family, there's food!
    Helicopter ride!