Semester 4, Week 3--Life Takes a Turn...

The rock sure finds a way to beat you down emotionally and mentally sometimes... even with things other than school and life down here.

JoBeth left the island a few days before her birthday.  It was a very sad time for Jen and myself, as we lost a close friend to the rigors of veterinary school.  I have absolute faith that she'll find something to do with her life that will make an impact, though.  For those of you who know her--keep her in your thoughts--she undergoes surgery for a torn rotator cuff tomorrow morning.

The AAFP brought down Dr. Maza, a Ross University graduate that now works at Cornell, the week that JoBeth left.  It kept us busy, running to dinner with him every night and attending his lectures on spaying/neutering and feral cat management.  I have to admit, I had a few moments of thinking "OH CRAP!  I'M GOING TO BE DOING THAT SOON!?!" during his surgery talks, but it somehow seemed a lot less scary having a stronger understanding of anatomy than I did a year ago.

I also found out a week or so ago that a very close friend of mine in England has cancer and is undergoing radiation therapy for it.  Luckily, it's only stage 1 ovarian cancer, but it's still a scary fight for all of us involved.  I have the utmost faith in her to pull through, however--she's a very strong fighter although she doesn't like to admit it.

The school recently began offering a business certificate program through the VBMA (Veterinary Business Management Association), which is a 15-credit hour program that involves sitting in on lectures that fall within certain categories, like employee management or personal finance.  I figured it's the closest I can get to an MBA while down here, so it couldn't hurt--especially since I hope to open my own practice someday.

Bonnie, Robert, Jen, Mia, and I have all united to work on completing the P90x program this semester as well--we just finished week 3 and are almost into our "rest week."  Man, it's exhausting, regardless of HOW many times you've made it through the whole thing.

The only other really noteworthy bit of news was that Elvis, the owner of one of the main bars on the strip (the area where we play volleyball) was shot and killed this last week.  Volleyball was cancelled, and many of the students went to the bar to have a drink in his memory.  I may not have known him as well as some of the Ross students did, but he was always happy to be there when students were around.  He was one of the guys that made everyone feel welcome on the island and jumped out there to cheer on everyone.  Volleyball won't be the same without him...

I guess that's about it for the time being--so, until next time, keep my friends in your thoughts (or prayers if you're more apt to that).

Semester 4, Week 0.5--And So It Starts... Again...

Study fun-time with Jobeth and Jen, now with
super-strong coffee and queso!

It was a rough nail-biter waiting for those exam grades to be posted, but I came out with three B's and one C (in pharmacology I) at the end, which means I made it on to semester 4!

Did you know that by the end of last semester, we lost power a total of 27 times with only 15 days as our longest stretch with power?  We made 93 days without a centipede sighting.  I'd be interested to see how this semester ends up, but this time we're also watching how many times the ATM on campus breaks as well.  (I'll have a picture of the new board up soon.)

I went home this break to see the family for the holidays--it was nice.  Busy and a bit too warm after spending 6 months straight down on the island, but nice.  I had a decent amount of things to bring back as gifts and needed to return with two bags despite telling myself I only needed the one.  :(  Honestly, it gets harder and harder to come back here each time. 

Nicholine moved on to her clinical year at Purdue, which left Jackie to move in.  She's a fun roommate so far--very laid-back.  I enjoy having her in the house... and (sorry, Nicholine... I mean no offense here) I've gotta say that having the big room is pretty nice.

Classes so far (although it's only day 2 of this term) are AWESOME.  There's a shift from not knowing much to being treated almost like an equal.  The instructors expect you to know so much already and it's amazing to see how far  you've come.

Sorry for keeping it short--I'm pretty drained tonight, and will have to see how my friends fare with their appeals tomorrow, so I need to get some sleep in, because I'm sure some will need consolation.  :/

See you guys on Sunday!