3rd, 4th, and now 5th SEMESTER!

Well I have let a considerable amount of time pass since my past post, my apologies to the some odd 10 family members that read this (:  Lets see, since January I have completed 3rd and 4th semester and am now in 5th semester! I only have 2 more semesters after this and I know they are going to fly by! I cannot believe I am already in 5th!

I know why I was not able to post anything during 3rd semester because it was very busy and VERY stressful. I believe it was during 3rd that I coined the phrase "robot mode." Everytime RJ would call me and a test was coming up (which was pretty much all the time) I would simply tell him I that I had breached into "robot mode" and will not be as pleasant as I usually am. If you are unclear with the definition of this phenomenon I will clear it up for you =

Robot mode = complete focus and dedication to the 3x5ft space in my room full of books, notes, and information that all needs to compact its way into my brain -> no time for showering, only quick bursts of energy for a run and intermittent meals....

Luckily RJ, himself, experienced the "robotmode" this past summer when studying for his first board exam! Ahhh! I completely understood his lack of facial expression and passion for life during this time, as he was, indeed.......a robot.

It is funny how every semester ends because even though 3rd was so stressful, I received the best grades I have gotten at Ross -> pressure makes diamonds!!

4th semester was just a blur. It was a slight transition from more memorization to clinical application with the class clinical pathology, however, nothing too exciting. This semester is where IT IS AT! I am finally (after almost 2 years) learning some clinical small animal medicine!!! YAY! Though the professors are hard, and the concepts difficult, I LOVE it! We also have many many interactive labs this semester. I have already done my physical exam on a sheep ->

Can you tell I was excited ?? I get to put a sheep and dog under anesthetic in the next upcoming weeks. That brings up another interesting aspect of this semester, we have diagnostic imaging and anesthesia as classes and I find them highly enriching.....yet I am truely amazed at what I was allowed to do at the various clinics I worked at before vet school. Sorry to everyone that I exposed to scattered x-rays or anesthetic gas...I was not trained properly and had little idea of truely what I was doing.

I believe most of the class received their "Rossie" model last week. This is a model that we can practice performing a spay on. HOLY CRAP! My responsibilities just keep increasing as the months turnover. My anesthesia professor told our class that it will take us about 4-5hrs to perform our first spay...when the average surgeon in practice can do it in ~20min! Well considering that I will have to perform this magical surgery in less then 10 months I better get practicing on this model! Maybe I can bring it down to 3.5 hrs (;  This surgery on a live animal falls FAR short from the fake "Rossie" (spay) that I am required to do next semester in order to pass the ENTIRE semester! So again.....will pressure make diamonds???

Today was St. Kitts Independence day so we had the day off...the second "holiday" I have had off in two years. Anyways, no compaints here, as soon as I am done on this island the better. Don't get me wrong, it is a beautiful place where I met my love #2 (Arthur) BUT home is where I belong....and this is not home.