It's nice to be appreciated. I appreciate being appreciated. It really can make an otherwise stressful and upsetting few days seem all better. Case in point: The last couple of days at work, its not been as busy as it should be this time of year, therefore I think our boss is stressing out about how to pay the bills (and taxes!)...and inevitably, when someone is stressing about major stuff like that, they can be a bit moody at times. A couple of criticisms later...wifey got upset and stressed, doubting her abilities as a vet, etc. When I hear her talk that way...I get PISSED the HELL off. Noone makes my girl doubt herself. NOONE.
Well, you can probably tell the mood that put me in. In any event, we were pulled aside today and told how much we are appreciated, how we do an excellent job, etc. That was all it took to make the anxiety and stress go away...a few kind words. No longer did Angela doubt herself, no longer was I angry. Amazing, isn't it, the power of kind words. Maybe we should all use them a bit more frequently...
Tuesday, March 29, 2005
Wednesday, March 23, 2005
Shaving...
I really hate shaving. My skin just detests it. I have tried everything: electric razors, Gilette Sensor, Excel, Mach 1,2,3,4,5, etc. I have purchased over 5,000 different types of pre-shave, intra-shave and post-shave creams, gels, sprays and dips...and nothing friggin' works. EVERY morning, I wake up and try to prolong the inevitable. I have a seat on the throne, read a few stories in my "Uncle John's Bathroom Reader," just trying to get my mind off of what is about to happen. When I finish "dropping the kids off at the pool," the struggle begins. I scrub my face with a pre-shave scrub, apply the "sensitive skin" shaving gel, and proceed to rip the hell out of my neck. Then, after the massacre, I apply some "healing" cream. When I walk out of the bathroom, I look like a god damn leper or something, my neck all red and bumpy, as if I had just rubbed some sandpaper across my skin. As the day progresses, my skin starts to heal (unless I wear a shirt with a collar that is too high, snug or stiff, which irritates the hell out of it all day long), and by the time I go to bed at night, my neck looks decent. Then I get to wake up the next day and start the whole process all over again. Can NOONE, in this day and age, where we have such technology that allows us to watch video tape from the surface of Mars as well as create Italian Ices in a multitude of delightful flavors, create a god damn razor blade that doesn't destroy a man's skin??? PLEASE?!?!?!
That said, I was thinking about what I would look like with a completely bald head...which obviously would necessitate using the previously mentioned razor on my HEAD...and thinking of getting razor burn all over my skull basically drove the idea out of my brain. For now. Until someone creates "the perfect razor." Maybe I should look into that....
Laters,
-B
That said, I was thinking about what I would look like with a completely bald head...which obviously would necessitate using the previously mentioned razor on my HEAD...and thinking of getting razor burn all over my skull basically drove the idea out of my brain. For now. Until someone creates "the perfect razor." Maybe I should look into that....
Laters,
-B
Monday, March 21, 2005
More Reality TV...
So last night there was NOTHING on television, so we were flipping thru the channels and came across "Intervention" on Discovery Channel. Basically, this show interviews and follows people around, having told them that they were being taped for a documentary about their particular addiction. What they don't know is that they are actually being set up for an intervention to try to get them help for said addiction. The whole idea of broadcasting this very personal and emotional event sickened me, but I just couldn't seem to turn it off....
This particular episode dealt with 2 women - one was addicted to pain-killers, the other cut herself. It was extremely disturbing to watch this program, seeing as I have never actually seen anyone perform such acts as slitting their wrists, belly, etc, and then swirling the blood around like a demented form of fingerpainting. This woman also started to punch holes in a door and smash a mirror with her fists, kept screaming "OW!" and continued punching and crying all at once. Conversely, the drug-addict was pretty much a zombie the whole episode, emotionless until her boyfriend told her to choose between him and pills....she chose the pills and started crying briefly.
At the end of the show, both women agreed to go for help. The cutter actually did great and hasn't cut herself in something like 6-7 months. The drug-addict ended up getting kicked out of her rehab center for continual drug use while residing there. Now this I don't understand: kicking her out of rehab for the exact reason she was put there?!? Go figure.
All in all, a disturbing show that I hope never to get drawn into watching again. I do think that reality television is going too far these days, this program a perfect example of the current trend: a complete exploitation of a very serious situation for these people; they use the guise of "wanting to help," however it is painfully obvious that the entire process is shown for shock value, and thus good television. When "Who's Your Daddy?" - a show that has a girl trying to choose her birth father from a group of 12 men - is on Fox in a primetime slot, you have to question what the hell is going on in TV these days. I am hoping the reality trend is on the decline, and the next "Seinfeld" or "Friends" or "ER" will be on the way, cuz if I have to see one more commercial for a god-damn midget dating show, I am gonna have to take a sledgehammer to my TV. And that would just be a crying shame.
Back to "Family Guy,"
-B
This particular episode dealt with 2 women - one was addicted to pain-killers, the other cut herself. It was extremely disturbing to watch this program, seeing as I have never actually seen anyone perform such acts as slitting their wrists, belly, etc, and then swirling the blood around like a demented form of fingerpainting. This woman also started to punch holes in a door and smash a mirror with her fists, kept screaming "OW!" and continued punching and crying all at once. Conversely, the drug-addict was pretty much a zombie the whole episode, emotionless until her boyfriend told her to choose between him and pills....she chose the pills and started crying briefly.
At the end of the show, both women agreed to go for help. The cutter actually did great and hasn't cut herself in something like 6-7 months. The drug-addict ended up getting kicked out of her rehab center for continual drug use while residing there. Now this I don't understand: kicking her out of rehab for the exact reason she was put there?!? Go figure.
All in all, a disturbing show that I hope never to get drawn into watching again. I do think that reality television is going too far these days, this program a perfect example of the current trend: a complete exploitation of a very serious situation for these people; they use the guise of "wanting to help," however it is painfully obvious that the entire process is shown for shock value, and thus good television. When "Who's Your Daddy?" - a show that has a girl trying to choose her birth father from a group of 12 men - is on Fox in a primetime slot, you have to question what the hell is going on in TV these days. I am hoping the reality trend is on the decline, and the next "Seinfeld" or "Friends" or "ER" will be on the way, cuz if I have to see one more commercial for a god-damn midget dating show, I am gonna have to take a sledgehammer to my TV. And that would just be a crying shame.
Back to "Family Guy,"
-B
Wednesday, March 16, 2005
Reality TV
Man, was tonight a friggin' spectacular night of reality television programming!!! Honestly, I haven't laughed so hard in a while. Let me explain...
First we started watching "America's Next Top Model" on UPN. This show CANNOT MISS in my eyes. I mean think about it: a bunch of hot chicks strolling around in skimpy clothes...that alone would be enough, but the icing on the cake is that it is a competition - girls competing = CAT FIGHTS. Bound to happen. In any case, at the end of the show, some chick was standing there getting criticized about her walk or makeup or some bullshit...one of the judges was telling her that she needs more "presence" and I noticed the girl's eyes rolling up in her head. I thought, "Man, that is rude, why the hell is she rolling her eyes at that judge??"...that is until I noticed the girl tilting backwards. Then hit the floor, almost lifeless. I immediately burst into raucous laughter. This girl literally fell back as if someone inside her head yelled "TIMBER!!!" - she looked like a tree cut down by a lumberjack. It was the funniest god damn thing I had ever seen. Turns out she has some weird unknown medical condition - since she was 3 years old, she will occasionally just pass out for undetermined reasons. You should have seen her hit the deck, man was that priceless. Not only was that funny, but the looks on everyone else's faces was absolutely incredible....the look of shock on some, fright on others, one girl even turned away as if someone's head exploded. Meanwhile, they all left her lying there on the floor for a good 30 seconds before anyone did anything. I laughed so hard I almost vomitted my dinner on the carpet.
Next was "American Idol". I really hate this show, but at this point I watch it as if I were watching a bi-weekly train wreck. I just like to see these idiots embarrass themselves and Simon tell it like it is. This is possibly the worst bunch of "singers" to date, in my mind. Anyway, the funniest part about this show is that the producers decided to have the remaining finalists sing an original song together each week for 3 weeks, then have the public vote on which they like the best. The one that wins will be released as a single...well, the first of three was "sang" tonight. Again, I almost hurled I was laughing so hard. What a bunch of SHIT. It sounds like it was a collaboration of Richard Marx, Kenny G, and John Tesh (with a special verse written by Yanni) which was performed by a bunch of out-of-tune mental patients. Just watching them all looking into the camera so seriously, so intently...and singing the worst song ever created, I could not help but laugh my god damn ass off.
Oh, and let me make my American Idol predictions....the next one to get kicked off will be the chick with her eyes too close together who has the horrendous deep voice (Mikayla?), and the one who is going to win will be the long haired rocker dude with the long hair and deep voice (Bo). My favorite in the competition is the fat retarded looking guy with the ghetto facial hair and clothes. There is no way he will win, but he's up there singin' it for all of us chunky bastards. REPRESENT, brutha.
Then I put on "Celebrity Poker Showdown," and the laughs drifted away....
Now I am watching the new "South Park" in the hopes that the laughter will reappear. So far, no luck....this may very well be the end of Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny if these guys don't start stepping it up...this season's new episodes have SUCKED. But I digress...
New DMB album out May 10th!!!! YEAH BABY!!!
-B
First we started watching "America's Next Top Model" on UPN. This show CANNOT MISS in my eyes. I mean think about it: a bunch of hot chicks strolling around in skimpy clothes...that alone would be enough, but the icing on the cake is that it is a competition - girls competing = CAT FIGHTS. Bound to happen. In any case, at the end of the show, some chick was standing there getting criticized about her walk or makeup or some bullshit...one of the judges was telling her that she needs more "presence" and I noticed the girl's eyes rolling up in her head. I thought, "Man, that is rude, why the hell is she rolling her eyes at that judge??"...that is until I noticed the girl tilting backwards. Then hit the floor, almost lifeless. I immediately burst into raucous laughter. This girl literally fell back as if someone inside her head yelled "TIMBER!!!" - she looked like a tree cut down by a lumberjack. It was the funniest god damn thing I had ever seen. Turns out she has some weird unknown medical condition - since she was 3 years old, she will occasionally just pass out for undetermined reasons. You should have seen her hit the deck, man was that priceless. Not only was that funny, but the looks on everyone else's faces was absolutely incredible....the look of shock on some, fright on others, one girl even turned away as if someone's head exploded. Meanwhile, they all left her lying there on the floor for a good 30 seconds before anyone did anything. I laughed so hard I almost vomitted my dinner on the carpet.
Next was "American Idol". I really hate this show, but at this point I watch it as if I were watching a bi-weekly train wreck. I just like to see these idiots embarrass themselves and Simon tell it like it is. This is possibly the worst bunch of "singers" to date, in my mind. Anyway, the funniest part about this show is that the producers decided to have the remaining finalists sing an original song together each week for 3 weeks, then have the public vote on which they like the best. The one that wins will be released as a single...well, the first of three was "sang" tonight. Again, I almost hurled I was laughing so hard. What a bunch of SHIT. It sounds like it was a collaboration of Richard Marx, Kenny G, and John Tesh (with a special verse written by Yanni) which was performed by a bunch of out-of-tune mental patients. Just watching them all looking into the camera so seriously, so intently...and singing the worst song ever created, I could not help but laugh my god damn ass off.
Oh, and let me make my American Idol predictions....the next one to get kicked off will be the chick with her eyes too close together who has the horrendous deep voice (Mikayla?), and the one who is going to win will be the long haired rocker dude with the long hair and deep voice (Bo). My favorite in the competition is the fat retarded looking guy with the ghetto facial hair and clothes. There is no way he will win, but he's up there singin' it for all of us chunky bastards. REPRESENT, brutha.
Then I put on "Celebrity Poker Showdown," and the laughs drifted away....
Now I am watching the new "South Park" in the hopes that the laughter will reappear. So far, no luck....this may very well be the end of Stan, Kyle, Cartman and Kenny if these guys don't start stepping it up...this season's new episodes have SUCKED. But I digress...
New DMB album out May 10th!!!! YEAH BABY!!!
-B
Tuesday, March 15, 2005
Monday, March 14, 2005
Flying the Friendly Skies...
Decided today to book a trip to Florida, Angela and I are heading down April 3rd-6th for a 4 day Vitamin D recharging session. Very excited, as usual, to see the grandparents as well as my vet school friends Carl and Rachel. Hopefully we can see Angela's good friend Amber as well, its just a bit more difficult as she is on the other coast. We will see if we can swing it!
Also, 2-3 days ago, we booked our flights, hotel and conference registration for the American Veterinary Medical Association conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July. Should be a good time, I just love going to different places for a change of scenery, even if it is for a conference!!! The best part about this trip is that it is paid for by our boss. SWEET.
Why is it that we call it "taking a dump" when you don't actually take it anywhere, rather we leave it in the bowl? The everlasting genius of Beavis and Butthead will never cease to amaze and astound me...
ZZZzzzzzzzzz....
-B
PS--> Just watched one of the best movies ever for the zillionth time, Mr. Holland's Opus. If you haven't seen it and you were in band in middle/high school....rent it. Or buy it. Or whatever.
Also, 2-3 days ago, we booked our flights, hotel and conference registration for the American Veterinary Medical Association conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota in July. Should be a good time, I just love going to different places for a change of scenery, even if it is for a conference!!! The best part about this trip is that it is paid for by our boss. SWEET.
Why is it that we call it "taking a dump" when you don't actually take it anywhere, rather we leave it in the bowl? The everlasting genius of Beavis and Butthead will never cease to amaze and astound me...
ZZZzzzzzzzzz....
-B
PS--> Just watched one of the best movies ever for the zillionth time, Mr. Holland's Opus. If you haven't seen it and you were in band in middle/high school....rent it. Or buy it. Or whatever.
Sunday, March 13, 2005
Apologies
Sorry it has been so long since I have written - my little lady has been ill with a bad cold, so I have been attempting to nurse her back to health. It all started a good 3-4 days ago, when at night she started coughing. Didn't think too much of it at the time, just thought it would pass quickly....NOPE. I don't think I have ever heard anyone cough so hard in my life....I keep expecting to find her lungs in a heap next to her after one of these fits. The last 2 nights, she could barely lie down without coughing. Needless to say, neither of us slept a wink. We must have tried every friggin' cough remedy stocked on the pharmacy shelf, to no avail....until this afternoon, when we tried some new cough-suppresant strips that dissolve on your tongue coupled with a "vapo-rub"-type substance impregnanted in a strip that you tape across your nose, which is meant to clear out your sinuses. BINGO!!! Literally about 15 minutes after this new combination-therapy, Angela was passed out on the couch and stayed that way for about 3-4 hours. I tried to take a nap myself, however I got caught up in watching National Lampoon's Vegas Vacation. Who can resist that?!? Afterwards, I decided to make some dinner (Shrimp and Chicken Jambalaya - sounds more impressive than it was, it was a Zatarain's Mix, all pre-made, just add the meat!), and by the time that was done, it was 6:45pm. No time for napping....
So, haven't heard a cough out of wifey since, here's to hoping we both get a well-deserved good night's sleep.
Oh, before I sign off, I figured I would quickly chat about last night's Texas Hold 'Em marathon at Wayne's house. Angela was feeling ill, and told me I should go out and join some of the boys in a poker night. Went down to Long Beach, met up with Jared, Lenny, Stu and Wayne at Wayne's apartment. To make a VERY long story short, we started playing at 8pm.....and finished at near on 1am......! The final 2 were Wayne and myself, he probably had double the chips that I had. It was just the two of us for probably about an hour, and the same amount of chips changed hands about 25 times. At one point I think we may have been nearly equal in chips...as it got to 1am, after 5 hours of sitting on my ass, I couldn't bear it anymore. I decided that if I got a decent hand, I was going to go all-in, and either lose and go home or make a huge dent in Wayne's chips. I was dealt a pair of 7's, and I decided to go for it. Wayne agreed, so we were on....I had my 7's, he had an Ace and a 9. I had my fingers crossed for 5 random cards, or even a 7 thrown in for good measure. The flop consisted of a 10....and two 9's. DAGGER THROUGH MY HEART. The last 2 cards were not 7's, so I lost. For those of you who have no idea what Texas Hold 'Em is (or anything I wrote in the entire last paragraph)....suffice it to say I lost, and I was kinda pissed off, although I was totally ready to go home to bed. Not that interesting of a story, but it is my blog and I can write about whatever the hell I want. So there. Na-nee-na-nee-poo-poo....
PEACE,
-B
So, haven't heard a cough out of wifey since, here's to hoping we both get a well-deserved good night's sleep.
Oh, before I sign off, I figured I would quickly chat about last night's Texas Hold 'Em marathon at Wayne's house. Angela was feeling ill, and told me I should go out and join some of the boys in a poker night. Went down to Long Beach, met up with Jared, Lenny, Stu and Wayne at Wayne's apartment. To make a VERY long story short, we started playing at 8pm.....and finished at near on 1am......! The final 2 were Wayne and myself, he probably had double the chips that I had. It was just the two of us for probably about an hour, and the same amount of chips changed hands about 25 times. At one point I think we may have been nearly equal in chips...as it got to 1am, after 5 hours of sitting on my ass, I couldn't bear it anymore. I decided that if I got a decent hand, I was going to go all-in, and either lose and go home or make a huge dent in Wayne's chips. I was dealt a pair of 7's, and I decided to go for it. Wayne agreed, so we were on....I had my 7's, he had an Ace and a 9. I had my fingers crossed for 5 random cards, or even a 7 thrown in for good measure. The flop consisted of a 10....and two 9's. DAGGER THROUGH MY HEART. The last 2 cards were not 7's, so I lost. For those of you who have no idea what Texas Hold 'Em is (or anything I wrote in the entire last paragraph)....suffice it to say I lost, and I was kinda pissed off, although I was totally ready to go home to bed. Not that interesting of a story, but it is my blog and I can write about whatever the hell I want. So there. Na-nee-na-nee-poo-poo....
PEACE,
-B
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Snow Day pt 2!!
I LOVE SNOW!!! :) Yet again, the snow hit us here, this time a bit more unexpectedly. It was raining before it started to snow, then the temp dropped like 20 degrees in an hour, the roads froze and the snow stuck to the thin layer of ice.
We were at work, in the middle of our spay/neuter day, and the snow started coming down HARD. By 1pm, we couldn't see 10 feet out the front of the building. Appointments were cancelling left and right, and the boss started sending everyone home. We were home by 2:30pm, had a nap, and have been chillin' since.
Now how lucky are we?? Most bosses would likely go home themselves, leaving the people lower down on the totem pole to close up. Angela and I also are lucky enough to get to work together, work the same hours and get the same days off. I don't think we would be able to find a gig like this again if we searched for a year.
Day off tomorrow, we'll see if we can wade through the ice and snow to get to the gym...Angela is feeling ill, so I will probably brave the elements alone, all in search of physical fitness. Who would have imagined, a year ago, that I would have made that last statement?? Not me...
Out!
-B
We were at work, in the middle of our spay/neuter day, and the snow started coming down HARD. By 1pm, we couldn't see 10 feet out the front of the building. Appointments were cancelling left and right, and the boss started sending everyone home. We were home by 2:30pm, had a nap, and have been chillin' since.
Now how lucky are we?? Most bosses would likely go home themselves, leaving the people lower down on the totem pole to close up. Angela and I also are lucky enough to get to work together, work the same hours and get the same days off. I don't think we would be able to find a gig like this again if we searched for a year.
Day off tomorrow, we'll see if we can wade through the ice and snow to get to the gym...Angela is feeling ill, so I will probably brave the elements alone, all in search of physical fitness. Who would have imagined, a year ago, that I would have made that last statement?? Not me...
Out!
-B
Monday, March 07, 2005
Oy vey!
I heard an advertisement the other day on the radio, that there was going to be a charity walk in support of Breast Cancer research in NYC this summer. Now, I figured since I was in probably the best shape I have been in since high school, that this would be a nice thing to do - I have several family friends + other close friends that have had breast cancer affect their lives, so I thought taking part in this event would show my support. It is actually a marathon-length walk, so it is no small task.
I went online, wanting to look into it a bit, see how to register, etc etc. Now as far as I can tell (and anyone please correct me if I am wrong),in order to take part in this event, you not only have to pay a registration fee (which I wasn't bothered about at all), but you also have to raise a MINIMUM of $1800......!! I mean, I am all for charity and all that, but where the hell am I gonna be able to raise that kind of money!??! It's not like I work in a big office with a hundred employees. There are about 10-15 employees at my pleace of business. And I doubt any of them are going to give up $100-150 to support me....what the hell am I expected to do, go around door-to-door for donations??? It's one thing to do that when you are in a high school band, selling oranges to fund your annual trip to Florida. But an adult banging on people's doors?? Would YOU open the door if you saw me standing there? Or would you think I was a Jehova's Witness???
Basically, I guess I won't be able to do the walk, and thus another attempt at kindness thwarted by red-tape.
Typical!
Peace,
-B
I went online, wanting to look into it a bit, see how to register, etc etc. Now as far as I can tell (and anyone please correct me if I am wrong),in order to take part in this event, you not only have to pay a registration fee (which I wasn't bothered about at all), but you also have to raise a MINIMUM of $1800......!! I mean, I am all for charity and all that, but where the hell am I gonna be able to raise that kind of money!??! It's not like I work in a big office with a hundred employees. There are about 10-15 employees at my pleace of business. And I doubt any of them are going to give up $100-150 to support me....what the hell am I expected to do, go around door-to-door for donations??? It's one thing to do that when you are in a high school band, selling oranges to fund your annual trip to Florida. But an adult banging on people's doors?? Would YOU open the door if you saw me standing there? Or would you think I was a Jehova's Witness???
Basically, I guess I won't be able to do the walk, and thus another attempt at kindness thwarted by red-tape.
Typical!
Peace,
-B
Saturday, March 05, 2005
As promised...
Here's the previously mentioned article, again in uncut, unedited form...because I couldn't be bothered to edit it. I hope you get a kick out of it.
The Final Countdown
The Journey Begins…
The alarm clock was set for 7 am on that morning of February 18th, 2001. Didn’t need it though, as I hadn’t slept very well the night before. Rotations were starting! Rotations!! I couldn’t believe I had made it – once I saw that I had passed my fourth year exam, I was in absolute disbelief. I had an ENTIRE WEEKEND to prepare for rotations…lucky me.
I attempted to study up on principles of equine surgery (which was my first rotation!), and got through approximately 4 pages of my notes before I got bored. “Ah, never mind,” I told myself, “I have just studied for and passed my fourth year exam. I am sure there’s still enough info in this thick skull of mine to get me through!” So, I proceeded to put the books away and enjoyed my last weekend of peace, relaxation and freedom.
When that morning arrived, I bounced out of bed at approximately 5:45am. Went in to the shower and had a shave, and noticed that all of the rest of my housemates were also awake at the same ungodly hour. By this time it was around 6:30am, and I had an hour and a half to kill, so I picked up a good ol’ equine surgery book, proceeded to read the same sentence 346 times and closed it again. I was too excited to retain any info, I was about to start the elusive ROTATIONS!!!
I attempted to get some food down my neck, but that too wasn’t happening, because I was too nervous to eat. I put on my newly purchased olive green boiler suit and put my shiny new name badge on perfectly straight. I made sure I had a pen torch, thermometer, haemostats, scissors, pad, and about 4 pens (just in case). Oh, and I couldn’t forget the flash new stethoscope I bought!! I opened the door and headed out to start a new and exciting day…
I arrived at the introductory session run by one of the equine nurses. She handed us a 40 page booklet which had tons of scary rules and regulations in them, dress code, etc. She then proceeded to dump me with a clinician who I had never seen before, and I stood quietly aside while she examined a horse, not once looking in my direction or acknowledging my presence. We then took this horse in to x-ray, took approximately 14,000 x-rays of its legs, went down to ultrasound to look at some tendons, and planned to bone scan it the following day. I still had no idea what this horse’s problem was. The clinician finally turned to me and spoke. She said “This is your case. Take it to the top barns and read up on proximal suspensory desmitis.” My first case!! How exciting! I immediately took the horse up to a stall, carefully put her in, made sure she had water, closed the stall door, checking 3 times to be sure it was closed, and left. I saw some of my fellow rotation-mates wandering around like lost puppies and said, “Hey! I have a case! What are you lot up to??” They all had cases too, and were thinking of going to the library. Good plan, I thought, so off we went.
As we sat there in the library, with books open to pages talking about proximal suspensory desmitis, neurectomies, colic and teeth extraction, we immediately got f**ked off with reading and decided that this would be a good time to sort out the out-of-hours duty rota. How exciting!! We would be solely responsible for treating these sick horses overnight! How grown up and vet-like! I immediately volunteered for the first night’s shift. We examined the duty rota, and were hard pressed to figure just what the hell it was going on about. How many of us were supposed to be on duty per night? 3? 4? Some of the duties were supposed to be covered by the equine medicine rotation group, but how many? What about weekends? How many people per shift? After an hour or so of arguing, we managed to sort it out, and had our first week of duties scheduled. We each had to do approximately 3 shifts per week – including one weekend shift – in order to be fair. I would do that first night, as well as Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning. Sorted.
After pissing about in the library for another few minutes, we saw that it was nearing noon. Time for our 12 o’clock checks! Yippee!! Responsibility!
Off we went to our respective horses, being sure not to dare enter the horse box without one of our classmates present as well – that would be unsafe! Upon examining the files of our horses, we were confronted with 4,000 different coloured papers. After 30 minutes of attempting to figure out what the f**k each of these papers was for, I finally found the appropriate sheets – the yellow ones to write our daily SOAP’s and any other comments on, and the pink ones to see what drug dosages to give and when. All the rest might as well have been loo roll as far as I could tell. We carefully administered our respective drugs (how cool to be giving IM injections on our own!!!), and took their TPR (temperature, pulse, respiration rate). Then off we went for lunch.
After lunch, 3 new cases came in. Two lameness work-ups and a colic. The colic obviously had to be sorted first – it was determined to be medical, chucked in a stall and observed. The lameness work-ups took us well beyond 7pm – both had to be trotted, lunged, x-rayed, nerve blocked, trotted and lunged again – and were both scheduled for further work up in the morning. Just as I was about to head home, completely exhausted…the colic decided to go from medical to surgical. Seeing as I chose to be on duty that night, I had to stay and help.
Equine surgeries are interesting events – seeing as how they are usually emergencies (in the case of colic especially), they routinely take two to three hours TO GET STARTED. Yes, that’s right. By the time the surgery was over, at 2 am, after lots of standing around while the clinicians cut, cursed, yelled, cursed some more, did some maneuvering and suturing, cursed a few more times, and closed the poor horse’s abdomen, it was time to call it a day. I got home at 2:15 am, shoved some food down my throat, and passed out, just to awake 4 hours later to do it all again.
By the end of my four weeks on equine surgery, I would roll out of bed at approximately 7:40am (to be in for 8am), brushed my teeth, ate a breakfast bar, and put on my smelly, dirty, barely recognizable overalls. My nametag was all beaten up, I lost all of my pens, and my haemostats may have been left attached to some bloody mess somewhere for all I remember. I stumbled in to my horses’ stalls alone and gave them their drugs. Their TPR was routinely 38.5/32/12, as I couldn’t be bothered to measure it. When I left the stalls, I slid them closed behind me, never bothering to check how well they had shut. Any free time I could manage, I slept. Social life? Ha! However….I could recognize a lame horse and identify the lame leg. I could tell you all about colic. I could tell you about location of nerve blocks. I could tell you about tendons. I could tell you about bone scanning, xraying, and ultrasound. The amount of practical information I had learned astounded me.
Rotations. The privilege to bust our arses all day long, all night long, and all the hours in between….for free. Some call it an exciting learning experience. Others call it slave labour. In truth, I think it is a combination of both. In retrospect, although it was extremely hard work and you often get frustrated, the times I have spent with my rotation group have probably been the most fun I have ever had. You bond quite closely with your group-mates, as you are going through the trenches together. Not only is it fun, but you learn so much more than you ever could from books. Responsibility. The practical stuff. The good stuff. The Vet Stuff. And that’s what its all about, baby.
Ah the good ol' days, when all that mattered was responsibility, graduating vet school, and becoming a doctor. Now I am married, and starting to think about buying a house. Amazing how priorities shift, isn't it?
Til tomorrow,
-B
The Final Countdown
The Journey Begins…
The alarm clock was set for 7 am on that morning of February 18th, 2001. Didn’t need it though, as I hadn’t slept very well the night before. Rotations were starting! Rotations!! I couldn’t believe I had made it – once I saw that I had passed my fourth year exam, I was in absolute disbelief. I had an ENTIRE WEEKEND to prepare for rotations…lucky me.
I attempted to study up on principles of equine surgery (which was my first rotation!), and got through approximately 4 pages of my notes before I got bored. “Ah, never mind,” I told myself, “I have just studied for and passed my fourth year exam. I am sure there’s still enough info in this thick skull of mine to get me through!” So, I proceeded to put the books away and enjoyed my last weekend of peace, relaxation and freedom.
When that morning arrived, I bounced out of bed at approximately 5:45am. Went in to the shower and had a shave, and noticed that all of the rest of my housemates were also awake at the same ungodly hour. By this time it was around 6:30am, and I had an hour and a half to kill, so I picked up a good ol’ equine surgery book, proceeded to read the same sentence 346 times and closed it again. I was too excited to retain any info, I was about to start the elusive ROTATIONS!!!
I attempted to get some food down my neck, but that too wasn’t happening, because I was too nervous to eat. I put on my newly purchased olive green boiler suit and put my shiny new name badge on perfectly straight. I made sure I had a pen torch, thermometer, haemostats, scissors, pad, and about 4 pens (just in case). Oh, and I couldn’t forget the flash new stethoscope I bought!! I opened the door and headed out to start a new and exciting day…
I arrived at the introductory session run by one of the equine nurses. She handed us a 40 page booklet which had tons of scary rules and regulations in them, dress code, etc. She then proceeded to dump me with a clinician who I had never seen before, and I stood quietly aside while she examined a horse, not once looking in my direction or acknowledging my presence. We then took this horse in to x-ray, took approximately 14,000 x-rays of its legs, went down to ultrasound to look at some tendons, and planned to bone scan it the following day. I still had no idea what this horse’s problem was. The clinician finally turned to me and spoke. She said “This is your case. Take it to the top barns and read up on proximal suspensory desmitis.” My first case!! How exciting! I immediately took the horse up to a stall, carefully put her in, made sure she had water, closed the stall door, checking 3 times to be sure it was closed, and left. I saw some of my fellow rotation-mates wandering around like lost puppies and said, “Hey! I have a case! What are you lot up to??” They all had cases too, and were thinking of going to the library. Good plan, I thought, so off we went.
As we sat there in the library, with books open to pages talking about proximal suspensory desmitis, neurectomies, colic and teeth extraction, we immediately got f**ked off with reading and decided that this would be a good time to sort out the out-of-hours duty rota. How exciting!! We would be solely responsible for treating these sick horses overnight! How grown up and vet-like! I immediately volunteered for the first night’s shift. We examined the duty rota, and were hard pressed to figure just what the hell it was going on about. How many of us were supposed to be on duty per night? 3? 4? Some of the duties were supposed to be covered by the equine medicine rotation group, but how many? What about weekends? How many people per shift? After an hour or so of arguing, we managed to sort it out, and had our first week of duties scheduled. We each had to do approximately 3 shifts per week – including one weekend shift – in order to be fair. I would do that first night, as well as Wednesday afternoon and Saturday morning. Sorted.
After pissing about in the library for another few minutes, we saw that it was nearing noon. Time for our 12 o’clock checks! Yippee!! Responsibility!
Off we went to our respective horses, being sure not to dare enter the horse box without one of our classmates present as well – that would be unsafe! Upon examining the files of our horses, we were confronted with 4,000 different coloured papers. After 30 minutes of attempting to figure out what the f**k each of these papers was for, I finally found the appropriate sheets – the yellow ones to write our daily SOAP’s and any other comments on, and the pink ones to see what drug dosages to give and when. All the rest might as well have been loo roll as far as I could tell. We carefully administered our respective drugs (how cool to be giving IM injections on our own!!!), and took their TPR (temperature, pulse, respiration rate). Then off we went for lunch.
After lunch, 3 new cases came in. Two lameness work-ups and a colic. The colic obviously had to be sorted first – it was determined to be medical, chucked in a stall and observed. The lameness work-ups took us well beyond 7pm – both had to be trotted, lunged, x-rayed, nerve blocked, trotted and lunged again – and were both scheduled for further work up in the morning. Just as I was about to head home, completely exhausted…the colic decided to go from medical to surgical. Seeing as I chose to be on duty that night, I had to stay and help.
Equine surgeries are interesting events – seeing as how they are usually emergencies (in the case of colic especially), they routinely take two to three hours TO GET STARTED. Yes, that’s right. By the time the surgery was over, at 2 am, after lots of standing around while the clinicians cut, cursed, yelled, cursed some more, did some maneuvering and suturing, cursed a few more times, and closed the poor horse’s abdomen, it was time to call it a day. I got home at 2:15 am, shoved some food down my throat, and passed out, just to awake 4 hours later to do it all again.
By the end of my four weeks on equine surgery, I would roll out of bed at approximately 7:40am (to be in for 8am), brushed my teeth, ate a breakfast bar, and put on my smelly, dirty, barely recognizable overalls. My nametag was all beaten up, I lost all of my pens, and my haemostats may have been left attached to some bloody mess somewhere for all I remember. I stumbled in to my horses’ stalls alone and gave them their drugs. Their TPR was routinely 38.5/32/12, as I couldn’t be bothered to measure it. When I left the stalls, I slid them closed behind me, never bothering to check how well they had shut. Any free time I could manage, I slept. Social life? Ha! However….I could recognize a lame horse and identify the lame leg. I could tell you all about colic. I could tell you about location of nerve blocks. I could tell you about tendons. I could tell you about bone scanning, xraying, and ultrasound. The amount of practical information I had learned astounded me.
Rotations. The privilege to bust our arses all day long, all night long, and all the hours in between….for free. Some call it an exciting learning experience. Others call it slave labour. In truth, I think it is a combination of both. In retrospect, although it was extremely hard work and you often get frustrated, the times I have spent with my rotation group have probably been the most fun I have ever had. You bond quite closely with your group-mates, as you are going through the trenches together. Not only is it fun, but you learn so much more than you ever could from books. Responsibility. The practical stuff. The good stuff. The Vet Stuff. And that’s what its all about, baby.
Ah the good ol' days, when all that mattered was responsibility, graduating vet school, and becoming a doctor. Now I am married, and starting to think about buying a house. Amazing how priorities shift, isn't it?
Til tomorrow,
-B
Friday, March 04, 2005
Idiocy...
People never fail to amaze me. Picture this: I am handed an appointment at work yesterday, and am greeted by a 7 yr old cat. This cat (who will remain unnamed to protect the innocent) is normally brought in and sedated in order to shave the matted fur on its back...so you can imagine I was getting into battle mode as I went into the exam room. Keep in mind, I had never seen this patient before. So I took the cat out of the carrier and put it on the scale. It was 12.6 lbs. Looking back at the card, the last time it was weighed (in 2003), it was 25 lbs . OK, so this cat has lost half of its weight. This is abnormal. The cat also is drinking and peeing like an elephant. Also abnormal. Diabetes was on the top of my list, because of the cat's age. Checked a blood sample, and indeed the kitty is diabetic. The owner was informed of this fact, and were told that this was probably the best of all possible outcomes, because diabetes can be treated fairly easily and cheaply.
The owner then declined treatment.....basically opting to let the cat die.
Now all I have to ask is...why bring your cat to the vet and spend a bunch of money if you are unwilling to follow through with our medical advice?? Why? WHY???
Like I said, people never fail to amaze me.
But then, for every case like this, I get 2-3 cases of people who will do anything I suggest in order to give their pets the best care possible. This makes me happy, and does give me some renewed faith in people's love for their animals.
I sometimes get into these funks where I wonder what the hell made me want to be a vet. I am not currently in one of these funks, I am actually very pleased with everything right now....but the funk can hit at any time. When I get funkdafied, I often think back to vet school and get happy. I suppose those days truly were the time of my life. Of course I am happy now, married and looking forward to married and family life, but things will never be the same as the RVC days. Those days were different, they were, at the risk of sounding super cheesy, magical. Reminiscing about them makes me happy, and the knowledge that I could call any of the 118 people in my year and talk with them about anything, picking up right where we left off at graduation (in 2003) is just an amazing thing. So, basically, to sum it up, my vet school classmates serve as an inspiration to me in many aspects of my life. I can only hope that they all know this to be true.
I was looking through some more of my old articles I wrote for my vet school website again, and I thought the first one I ever wrote was quite funny. Perhaps tomorrow I shall post it for everyone's perusal and enjoyment. It discusses the first day of rotations, the naivety we all had, and how we came crashing down to earth very shortly after starting. Its a good laugh for all of us vets, and hopefully entertaining for the non-vet.
This post has rambled on long enough, so I won't post it today, but unless something really interesting happens tomorrow (or some epiphany strikes me which I feel compelled to rant about), it will be posted.
Bedtime!
-B
The owner then declined treatment.....basically opting to let the cat die.
Now all I have to ask is...why bring your cat to the vet and spend a bunch of money if you are unwilling to follow through with our medical advice?? Why? WHY???
Like I said, people never fail to amaze me.
But then, for every case like this, I get 2-3 cases of people who will do anything I suggest in order to give their pets the best care possible. This makes me happy, and does give me some renewed faith in people's love for their animals.
I sometimes get into these funks where I wonder what the hell made me want to be a vet. I am not currently in one of these funks, I am actually very pleased with everything right now....but the funk can hit at any time. When I get funkdafied, I often think back to vet school and get happy. I suppose those days truly were the time of my life. Of course I am happy now, married and looking forward to married and family life, but things will never be the same as the RVC days. Those days were different, they were, at the risk of sounding super cheesy, magical. Reminiscing about them makes me happy, and the knowledge that I could call any of the 118 people in my year and talk with them about anything, picking up right where we left off at graduation (in 2003) is just an amazing thing. So, basically, to sum it up, my vet school classmates serve as an inspiration to me in many aspects of my life. I can only hope that they all know this to be true.
I was looking through some more of my old articles I wrote for my vet school website again, and I thought the first one I ever wrote was quite funny. Perhaps tomorrow I shall post it for everyone's perusal and enjoyment. It discusses the first day of rotations, the naivety we all had, and how we came crashing down to earth very shortly after starting. Its a good laugh for all of us vets, and hopefully entertaining for the non-vet.
This post has rambled on long enough, so I won't post it today, but unless something really interesting happens tomorrow (or some epiphany strikes me which I feel compelled to rant about), it will be posted.
Bedtime!
-B
Thursday, March 03, 2005
Tired....
....so...tired...need...sleepy.
Not much to report today, just worked 9-9, now home and am tired, my entire body is sore from yesterday's gym session, and I am ready to collapse. So, I shall collapse, now that there is no ER on this week....
So, sleepy time for poppa. Day off tomorrow. Will sleepy. Sleepy good for poppa. Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep time.
Out,
-B
Not much to report today, just worked 9-9, now home and am tired, my entire body is sore from yesterday's gym session, and I am ready to collapse. So, I shall collapse, now that there is no ER on this week....
So, sleepy time for poppa. Day off tomorrow. Will sleepy. Sleepy good for poppa. Sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep time.
Out,
-B
Tuesday, March 01, 2005
Snow Day!
God damn do I love the snow!! Yesterday, we were supposed to get slammed by a big snow storm - they were predicting 6-10" - so, after morning appointments, at around 11am, my boss gave us the rest of the day off!! Even though the snow didn't start til 3-4pm!!! How awesome! So, I went straight to the gym (for the 4th day in a row), and after 30 minutes on the bike, my legs were non-functional, so I decided to call it a day. Went home, de-funked (i.e. showered), ate lunch, and passed out for a few hours. Afterwards, I made some dinner for my lovely wife and I, and we watched TV and went to bed.
Woke up this morning, and this "massive snow storm" probably dropped 3-4". The roads were clear as a bell. No problem, mon. Headed to work, banged out a bunch of spays and neuters, saw a couple of appointments, and back home! Then, we got a phone call from our wedding photographer, who said he was gonna drop off the proofs from the wedding photos!!! That made Angela and I very excited - the pics came out great, and now the job before us is to decide which ones to pick for our wedding album, thank you's, prints, etc etc. Angela is chomping at the bit to get started...
That's about all for today, another day off tomorrow, which I will put to good use by sleeping and....just sleeping. Sleep = good. Maybe I will look into making a prototype for my previously mentioned mini-camera for my previously mentioned experiment....Nah, sleep sounds like the way to go. I shall now scan and post a few of our wedding proof photos....like you haven't seen enough pictures of my wedding already....
Big-Poppa...out!
-B
Woke up this morning, and this "massive snow storm" probably dropped 3-4". The roads were clear as a bell. No problem, mon. Headed to work, banged out a bunch of spays and neuters, saw a couple of appointments, and back home! Then, we got a phone call from our wedding photographer, who said he was gonna drop off the proofs from the wedding photos!!! That made Angela and I very excited - the pics came out great, and now the job before us is to decide which ones to pick for our wedding album, thank you's, prints, etc etc. Angela is chomping at the bit to get started...
That's about all for today, another day off tomorrow, which I will put to good use by sleeping and....just sleeping. Sleep = good. Maybe I will look into making a prototype for my previously mentioned mini-camera for my previously mentioned experiment....Nah, sleep sounds like the way to go. I shall now scan and post a few of our wedding proof photos....like you haven't seen enough pictures of my wedding already....
Big-Poppa...out!
-B
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