Hurricane Day!

Hallo!
We are having a hurricane holiday over here! Hurricane Omar is heading towards the island and they have cancel school. But not before our 6:50 AM Physio test! Needless to say that after a trip to town to stock up on supplies, get gas, go to the bank and other errands I am curled up on the couch and obviously not studying and watching TROY. (yeah there is a parasit test next week I know...!) I am watching troy for its fabulous man candy! I own this dvd and yet I have no idea what the plot is! haha!

One of the errands that I ran was to go hunt down the electricity bill. We have been living here since august and I have never gotten a bill. Weird, I know. So after much confusion and searching, Val and I found the unmarked, white, square building where the electricity billing is done. Apparently nobody thought it wise to put up a sign. So I go and inquire about the bill only to find out that they are behind in billing. They are only current as of JUNE 2008. HOLY COW!!! how do people live or operate a business like that! We were told that we should get the bill for august in November or December. Bizzaro. Also apparently it is odd or something to go hunt your bill down because the lady who helped us seemed offended that we asked where the bill was as if we did not know that it comes four months late. Does anyone else get nervous when your bills do not show up?

it is officially less than two months till I go home for Christmas and in two months and 1 day i will be sans tonsils! Because of stress, bad tonsils, and the sinus infection from hell, my sinuses have been bleeding so I have had this disgusting bloody nasal ickyness that is about to push me over the edge.

Have a great day!
Laura!

if you are wondering I am taking the hurricane serious! I put my books on the highest shelf I could find so they will be protected in case it floods! No studying in a hurricane!

Interesting Article I Found....

Make no mistake: Dr. Dolittle is not my favorite literary figure. He is, however, the inspiration for many children eager to devote their lives to the practice of veterinary medicine. Hence, the title moniker for this blog. Plus, I get a kick out of comparing myself to Eddie Murphy and some goofy, old, white man with his stethoscope trained on a hippo’s ass.

It always impresses me how innocently (and probably prematurely) many like me make our career choices. To be sure, there are many other vets who more cautiously enter the field after a college experience fostered a love of science the human medical field couldn’t fulfill (given managed care and other pitfalls). But most of us have always felt a deep connection with our pets and other animals that seemed to point in one direction only.

And we’re not alone. I’m constantly introduced to people who tell me they had always dreamed of being a vet and would have pursued it but for: mediocre grades in college, a hatred of mathematics, an inability to abide the sight of blood, the unwillingness to perform euthanasia, etc.

So how many potential great doctors has my profession lost to a few technicalities I don’t even necessarily consider relevant? Way too many.

This blog is for all of you; and for all the still-hopeful, the serious wannabees, and everybody else out there who consider themselves pet-freaky, vet-curious, or medically inclined.

I hope all of you can slog through the gross parts and patiently indulge me my personal whims, whatever they may be. Who knows? Maybe this will inspire you to make a career change…or perhaps even tame your guilt at never having pursued your childhood dreams. After all, every profession has its downside, even one where you work with your first love and your days never fail to entertain you…At least that’s what I keep telling myself.

OPEN for business!

Sorry it has been a while since my last post. I have been uber busy! I had a horrific immunology test on Wednesday (made a B :), a presentation run thru that same day with my professors, a lot of neuro to catch up on and a parasite pop quiz on Thursday (boo parasites!). We are doing a lot better as far as electricity goes. It has been on for all most 24 hours straight but is not going to be fully fixed for a while yet. On Thursday night we didn't have water which sucked because I was trying to shower and it didn't work so well without water!

This weekend was good though! My volleyball team won our first game. I did manage to look like one of those cinnamon sugar covered donut because I fell in the ocean when I was chasing after a ball and then I dove into the sand to hit a ball and needless to say water + sand + me = sugar covered donut!

After the game, val and I went to Spratnets! Spratnet is this restaurant on the island with the BEST food. They serve lobster, fish, chicken, ribs, pizza, conch, and shrimp. You walk up to the counter and say I want fish and you may get snapper or mahi mahi or whatever they have that night and you don't say oh i want grilled fish or baked fish you just get fish however they feel like cooking fish that day! The shrimp are amazing because the are coated in a creole sauce and grilled. mmmmm yummmy! The garbage pizza is fantastic too! The put every thing you could think of on it and it is oh so good. But honestly the best thing they have are the johnny cakes which come with your meal and I love the coconut cake. I never manage to actually save room for the cake so I usually just get it to go and eat it the next day! I love me some spratnet. Like most places they were closed in the off season and have just reopened! Everytime i have ever gone there, I purposely order more food than I can eat so I can enjoy left overs all week!

I also had my first SCUBA lesson! I think that SCUBA diving is something I am going to really enjoy! We learned all about our equipment and how to set it up and tear it down, how to breath underwater, how to find our regulator if we lose it, how to clear our mask if it leaks on us and how to hover in the water using our lungs and breathing to regulate our depth. At first using the regulator was awkward because you are sitting in the bottom of the pool and all the air you breath out is bubbling in your face but once you get moving the bubbles move out of the way too. The part I had trouble with is when we had to self inflate our BCD and I floated up while holding my breath. Holding your breath when you are in a pool is no big deal but when you are deep underwater it is a problem because air is denser the deeper you go and if you are holding your breath and floating up the higher you go up the more the air expands inside your chest. This is not a good thing. I am much better at using my breathing to regulate my water depth. Hopefully after our first dive I will have pictures to show you!

LSU lost to florida this week and i really really wanted to cry. It wasn't just a loss it was a total team melt down :(

It has been a really busy stressful week and did I mention I went back to the doctor and got two more shots :( and I still don't feel 100%. I cannot wait to get my tonsils out because this is driving me freaking CRAZY being sick and not feeling good ever! After the immuno test and parasite quiz I slept for hours on thursday because of just sheer freaking exhaustion!

All in all it has been a really busy week and it is looking like next week is very busy too. I have a physiology test and a presentation on Wednesday!

have a good week!
laura

Question of the day: How many PSI is oxygen in the standard dive tank under?

Electricty? What is that?

Hello,

well if you are wondering why I haven't blogged in while it is because electricity has been erratic at best lately. The island is run by generators and 2 of them caught on fire. This means that the need for power is way above what can be supplied. They have been shifting around the power supply to different areas. Meaning that I may have power for only 6-7 hours each day and I have no idea when I will have power. It was really rough when it first happened. We lost power for about 45 hours straight :( Many of the businesses have generators but these have to have fuel to run so the line for gas is crazy!

More later!

Busy Bee!

Bleh!!! That is kind of how I feel since my last post. I cannot begin to describe all of the things that have happened since my last post. So here is a brief list....

• Anatomy Lecture exam - woo-hoo 95 A
• Anatomy Palpation exam (live animal) - 90 A
• Anatomy Lab - er not so good (yes I passed but lets just say there is a reason i needed to make A's on the next two exams.
• Parasitology Lecture Exam - B
• Physiology II exam - A
• and of course the daily neurology quizzes!

wait there is more to the list...

• the washing machine exploded with my clothes in it.
• Tonsil surgery scheduled (short version of this story...the dr. who was supposed to do it has retired and I had to find another one that could do a consult and surgery in a two day window when I am home for Christmas...thanks dad and anna for sorting that out)
• almost caught the microwave on fire (that one is kinda my fault)
• chased a cow off of the porch (completely true story: I came home between classes because I forgot my power cord to my laptop and this young bull was standing on my porch. He looked like he was just checking out the scenery! I have no idea where he came from but I was terrified he was going to swing his head into one of the glass panes on the French doors.)
• horrible sinus infection
• went to the St. Kitts doctor (I swear this guy is AMAZING!!! he was extremely thorough and very professional. He took his time to discuss options, side effects of options, concerns and did everything that a good doctor should!)
• got two shots from said Dr.
• played a volleyball game where i got hit in the head and bruised my knee :(
• grocery shopping and grilled some chicken.

I know that these things don't sound like a lot but it really is when you consider how much i study all the time.

I had meant to put up this picture of sea glass earlier. I had collected most of it a while back from the beach right down from my house. I really am starting to love sea glass because it is such a unique thing and probably the only thing good that ever came from not recycling!

A brief history of Sea Glass (from Wikipedia)

Sea glass (also known as beach glass, mermaid's tears, lucky tears, and many other names) is glass found on beaches along oceans or large lakes that has been tumbled and smoothed by the water and sand, creating small pieces of smooth, frosted glass.

The color of sea glass is determined by its original source. Most sea glass comes from bottles, but it can also comes from jars, plates, windows, windshields, glasses, art, flasks, containers, and any glass sources that have wound up in the ocean.

The most common colors of sea glass are kelly green, brown, and clear. These colors come the bottles used by companies like Heineken, Sprite, Canada Dry, Clorox, Anheuser-Busch, and others. The clear or white glass comes from clear plates and glasses, windshields, windows, and assorted other sources.

Less common colors include jade, amber (from bottles for whiskey, medicine, spirits, and early Clorox bottles), golden amber (mostly used for spirit bottles), lime green (from soda bottles during the 1960s), forest green, and soft blue (from soda bottles, medicine bottles, ink bottles, and fruit jars from the late 1800s and early 1900s, windows, and windshields.) These colors are found about once for every 25 to 100 pieces of sea glass found.

Uncommon colors of sea glass include sea foam, which comes primarily from early to mid-1900s Coca-Cola, Dr Pepper, and RC Cola bottles, as well as beer bottles. Soft green colors could come from bottles that were used for ink, fruit, and baking soda. These colors are found once in every 50 to 100 pieces.

Purple sea glass is very uncommon, as is citron, opaque white (from milk bottles), cobalt and cornflower blue (from early Milk of Magnesia bottles, poison bottles, artwork, and Bromo-Seltzer and Vicks VapoRub containers), and aqua (from Ball Mason jars and 19th century glass bottles.) These colors are found once for every 200 to 1,000 pieces found.

Rare and extremely rare colors include pink (used for plates during the Great Depression), gray, teal (from Mateus wine bottles and other places), black (very dark green glass from as early as the 1700s, made into bottles for gin and other substances. Some black sea glass is found around Australia, originating from 1940s beer bottles. Its rarity is due to the obscure materials that were used with glass to make the bottles, which increased its rate of decomposition.), yellow (mostly from Vaseline containers and used in the Depression era), turquoise (from tableware and art glass), red (found once in every 5,000 pieces), and orange (the least common type of sea glass, found once in 10,000 pieces.) These colors are found once for every 1,000 to 10,000 pieces collected. "Black" sea glass is rarely found and often originates from pre-1860 glass that is actually dark olive green.

So yeah that is about all that is interesting in my life right now! Sorry if I am boring but that kinda is the life of a serious vet student!

loving the caribe...
laura

oh and the question of the day: What is the single effect of the Loop of Henley?