Break recap and the usual school stuff

Ok time really needs to stop flying by - it's been almost a month since my last post!

Christmas break went way too fast but it was a great break from school - I squeezed in hangouts with as many friends and family as possible, caught up on sleep, ate and drank way too much, and did absolutely zero school work. There was one day that I was feeling like a good student and I literally opened a set of notes, looked at the first page, and promptly closed it. 

Here are some pics from the 2 weeks of holiday break where I actually had a life!

Christmas parties :)

New year's eve breakfast with my mom and brother - there is a waffle under there somewhere!

Another Christmas party - we ran out of room so had to improvise 

The struggle to take group photos..

New year's eve :)

Matt is obsessed with Gordon Ramsay so this was part of my Christmas gift to him

Matt's Gordon Ramsay inspired steak - vegans beware

So now we've been back to school for not even 2 weeks and I'm already counting down til the end of the semester. Sitting in class all day is killing me, especially after the break, and I'm looking forward to getting into clinical things. Thank god for the group of friends I have at school because if it wasn't for our group chat full of ranting, I may go nuts (it's always good to release anger, right?) Classes this year are much more relevant and interesting, but this is my 8th year of post-secondary education and lectures in general are starting to test my patience.

We're already getting back into tests and assignments, the silver lining is that overall this semester has less class time - there are a few long weekends, reading week in Feb, and then classes actually end before the craziness of finals begin. I'm looking forward to getting more surgery experience too :)

This weekend Matt and I are going to Ottawa for a weekend getaway to celebrate our 9 year anniversary (damn, I really am old) and then after that it's back to weekly tests so I'm going to enjoy the next few days!

That's it for now :)

Christmas break :)

Another semester of vet school complete! Just one more semester of classes and clinical things begin :) Not gonna lie, I am beyond ready to get out of class - mainly because I may go crazy if I have to listen to one more person complain about how unfair exams are or how hard vet school is (but I'll end my rant there..)
I just got home (London), wrote my last exam this morning and got outta there ASAP! We've been hit with quite a bit of snow which I'm happy about because 1. last year was a green Christmas and it was depressing, and 2. I don't care how much snow we get because I have no plans for the next 2 weeks other than sleeping and watching movies. Although I should catch up on some notes because my to-do list just keeps growing.
Not much has happened since my last post, I came home one weekend to go to Matt's work Christmas party and also saw Fantastic Beasts (loved it), and then December was just full of studying since I had 4 tests and 2 online quizzes and an assignment and labs - the usual! It's been tiring but the busier we are, the faster time seems to go, and we always survive it somehow :)

The end of Movember - thank God that's over with now

We've been doing more 4th year stuff, ranking elective rotations and such. It's crazy that in a month or 2 I'll have my tentative schedule for 4th year!
My group had a great Secret Santa/hangout and we took some festive group photos as we do every year. This time it included some horses :)

Other than sleeping I plan on seeing all my London friends over the next 2 weeks; we have a Christmas party tomorrow and I'm looking forward to dusting off my makeup and actually looking like a normal human for the first time in awhile :)

That's all for now!

Costumes and castrations

Helloooo! :)

Since my last post I've done 3 tests, 2 surgeries and have been to 2 costume parties - and November isn't even over yet!

My wonderful surgery group mates and I have successfully completed a kitten spay and a dog neuter and both of our patients have been adopted from the humane society :) Although we were nervous, it was awesome to see how all of our surgery labs and independent practice time paid off - we really do know how to do spays and neuters! We have 3 or 4 more surgeries next semester and I'm so glad I'm getting the chance to practice my surgery skills since I am going to be doing them on my own during my externship. Eeeek time is flying by - in a year I will be writing my NAVLE (board exam)! But let's not think about that ~6 hour, 360 question exam right now hahah

So. Damn. Early. (only for animals!!)

Halloween was a blast, our group dead/zombie Disney costume was awesome and Trump showed up as well (foreshadowing?) - Matt's costume got a lot of laughs, some people wanting to take pictures with him, and one "fuck off" from someone in the bathroom (damn girl, take a joke!). I feel like I've spent a lot of time at Value Village lately because this past weekend I went home and then to Windsor for a friend's 70s and 80s themed birthday party :) I went for 80s so there was a lot of pink and a lot of spandex involved.

Surgery group aka Jesse from Toy Story, Kida from Atlantis and Elsa from Frozen :)

Zombie crew

Make America Great Again! (lol so gross)

Birthday boy :)

I'm heading home again this weekend to go to Matt's work Christmas party (I finally have a car so commuting is so much easier) and we don't have a test this upcoming Monday (unlike the last 3 Mondays in a row) so it's time to catch up on all of the notes I've been putting off. Just a few more weeks until Christmas break!

Anther month complete

Hey! I have the morning off (yay for sleeping in!) so I figured I'd post an update while I have some time.

In my last post I mentioned the doghouse challenge - it was so much fun! The 5 of us painted non-stop for the entire 2 hours and our final product turned out great and will hopefully make a northern community dog happy and warm in the winter :)

Santa and her helpers built a gingerbread/candy house :)

Thanksgiving was a nice 4 days of relaxing and eating, my best friend also got married! I'm super thankful that vet school is only an hour's drive from my hometown so that I can be home for things like that :)

I told myself I would do some work while I was home...but of course that didn't happen hahah it's ok though, my brain needed a break!

We've had 2 more tests this month and are heading into November which means a test every Monday. This weekend is our last free one for while, which is perfect because it's the Halloween party! My friends and I have not been able to stop talking about it - we clearly don't get out much! We spent this week shopping for our costumes and tomorrow night we will turn ourselves into zombified Disney princesses (because normal princesses are too basic). Matt is visiting this weekend as well, and is going to be Trump - I'm scared for that one.

Other notable news - I secured my externship for May-June, so I'll be spending 8 weeks learning about dogs cats and horses! I went to visit the clinic and got along great with everyone, the main vet was very laid back and told me that I would definitely be doing lots of surgery which was super exciting - I can't waittttt to get as much clinical practice as I can before 4th year rotations begin. I'll also be there during the season of baby horses which is the best!!

I can start working on my surgery skills as early as next week - since that is when we have our first live animal spay! Nerve-wracking but so exciting!

Needless to say the next month or so is going to be hectic! It took 2 months but I think I'm finally back in school mode - after Halloween is over, bring on the craziness!

The Craziness Continues

Hi! 2 more days of class this week (one half - yay! and one full day) and then we get a much needed 4 day thanksgiving break :)

3rd year is pretty crazy. The amount of lecture we have had in the past month is overwhelming, especially when I look at my desktop and see ~20 lectures that I have yet to review. I study by going through the lecture slides + the notes I took during class and make my own summary/review notes. It's the system that works best for me, but daaammn I'm behind this year! Oh well, I'm slowly chipping away at it and I'm hoping to get it (mostly) done this weekend :)

We've gotten one test and one assignment out of the way already - things move fast here. We've had quite a bit of lab time too: reviewing our surgery and anesthesia skills and also learning some fish stuff! Add in the chiropractor appointments that I've recently started (they are saving my back) and the time that I need to make meals and sleep, and the consensus is that there are nottttt enough hours in the day! It's times like these when I really really really love coffee.

This is the Instagram-famous Maddie the Coonhound <3

Last weekend I took some time off (oops) and visited my best friend in Toronto - we went to the makeup trade show that we went to last year (didn't spend as much money this year but it was just as fun!) and ended the weekend with a trip to a Tiki bar which was awesome and full of strong ass drinks.

Kat Von D had the best booth - complete with a liquid lipstick throne

Tomorrow night my vet school friends and I are participating in a Purina Doghouse Challenge where we paint doghouses that are later brought up to the northern communities for dogs who live outdoors to keep them warm in the winter :) I've always loved art and of course I love helping doggies so I'm looking forward to it!

Other than that, I'm excited to be going home this weekend to see friends and family (+ the family cat Alan who my mom has had for 2 months), eat a ton of food, and finally get around to catching up on notes!

Bye for now :)

Handsome guy :)

Phase 3!

Hiiii!

Well I'm ~48 class hours into third year and I'm still alive! Third year?! That sounds craaaazy to be saying out loud. Today there was a phase 2 to phase 1 info lunch talk and I was like "I'm not in either of those". Eek! The end is in sight!

Anyway, brief overview of my past week - I'm living in the same apartment this year so moving back in was quick and easy. It was (and is) super weird not having Daisy here - on one hand I can take advantage of not getting up early and missing lunch talks, but the cons definitely outweigh the pro s and I'm dying for another dog. Not gonna lie, I've been hardcore stalking greyhound rescues because they are the perfect dog for a lazy person like me...but I think I need to wait until the craziness of 4th year is at least mostly finished.

Like come on....I need

We got right back into the swing of things with 8:30 - 5:30 class all last week. I may have worked 40h weeks during the summer, but being mentally tired is a whole different thing (fellow students, you get me). It's ok though, coffee and naps will get me though :)

Each year the program gets more and more clinical and I love it. We have an entire course on medicine and surgery of dogs and cats (and one for horses and another for food animal - damn!) in addition to our surgical exercises course and I'm looking forward to feeling more and more "vet-ty" as the year goes on :)

This year's courses

I'm in the process of finalizing an externship for the summer and already have a list of to-dos for this weekend (aka notes I was too tired to make last week). Hot dates with the library coming right up!

My actual desktop sticky note...it keeps growing

Overall, we've heard multiple times this week that third year is a lot of work but also a lot of fun, and that balance is basically what I strive for all the time :) let's do this!!

Summer Update: Ups and Downs

Hi! I thought I'd sneak in a little update while I have a day off and no plans :) That's a rare situation nowadays!

I'll get the sad part over with first: my summer began with me having to say goodbye to my little Daisy. She fought hard against kidney failure for a year and really didn't show many signs until I got home from school this summer. She had zero appetite (unheard of for her) and we did some bloodwork and her kidney values were almost double what they were 2 months prior. She was also showing some signs of heart disease, she was recently diagnosed with a murmur and it got worse very quickly. She lost a lot of weight and was just not herself. When Matt came over and she didn't run to him and then she refused a McDonald's cheeseburger, I knew I was making the right decision to end her pain. I'm really glad that I was able to be in London for all of this - the clinic I'm working at this summer is also the place Daisy has gone for vet care for most of her life, so I felt comfortable with everything and my co workers were beyond understanding (shout out to them!). Once we sedated her it was the most relaxed I had seen her look in weeks, and the whole thing was very peaceful. 

Had to bug her with one final photo shoot on her last day :) Miss you baby!

Apart from that, I've been working non-stop and learning a lot - although I'm just an assistant, being immersed in the vet clinic for 40h a week has taught me so much. I'm getting better at reading radiographs, gotten the chance to practice blood draws, and have seen some pretty cool procedures and diseases. Getting referred to as "our future veterinarian" also feels pretty damn good! I'm definitely glad I chose this as my summer job and it has helped keep my mind off of my sadness. It has also made me so thankful to be a part of a field where we have the ability to relieve animals' suffering. Euthanasias are always tough to experience but when it is truly time, then it is the best thing we can do for them.

Like the nerd I am though, I'm ready to go back to school! Someone at work asked me where I'd rather be, and I said school. Sure I'm loving the $$$ aspect of working, but I'm soo used to being in class that I don't know what to do with myself when I'm not! I know 3rd year is going to be a ton of work but I'm super excited to get back into the swing of things and learn even more.

I have a month of work left and then 2 weeks off before I head back to Guelph. This summer has flown by! I'll talk to you all at some point before I get back into school mode. Thanks for reading! :)