Semester 6, Week 7--The Eye of the (Tropical) StormS

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I love when I can get a good pun in like that.  :P

I had gone down the street to check
on Jesse's dog in the middle of the
storm... got DRENCHED!

Studying by candlelight and the light of the laptop...
or at least attempting to!

Tropical Storm (Hurricane?  I don't know.. there was a lot of confusion with that amongst the student body apparently) Rafael crept over the island on Friday, pretty much at the start of volleyball.  Yeah, we were playing in the midst of some pretty heavy winds... but, I must admit, it adds a certain level of fun to the game when the wind knocks the ball out of the trajectory you had originally planned for it to travel along.  By the end of that evening, the rain began.  Nothing out of the normal for a rain storm out here, however.  Saturday was full of torrential rain and wind.  Then, the SIREN (emergency network through the school) messages started via text messages--"Flash Flood Warning!" "Remain off the roads!" and so on.  I swear some people take that as a challenge sometimes.  :P  My roommates both took that as their indication to flee West Farm--Jackie went to school and Dan trekked his way to Frigate Bay.  Well, there's a ghaut in the road about a block and a half from our house that floods with heavy rain.  Jackie, although worried with the rushing water, has a SUV, so she blew through it with no issue, minus the fear of being washed away.  Dan, who left a few hours later (once we lost power), just walked through it to get to campus and told me later that the water nearly washed him off the edge of the road, partly from the sheer force of the water, and partly from the rocks coming down the ghaut.  I elected to stay home with Lia and Reese (and Jackie's cats) despite the power outage.  It wasn't so bad--my laptop had 5-6 hours of battery power, and my Kindle had enough so I could read 3 books (two of which were for the Practice Management and Jurisprudence class).  I went to bed relatively early, once all my devices lost their battery power.

This is from a road looking towards the ocean... the two vans
are pushed along a bridge while they got caught in a flash flood.
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Woke up Sunday morning with no power yet.  It was nearly 15 hours before it finally came back.  (Although I must say that my house cleaned up fairly quickly, cause I was so bored.)  I took advantage of the power--washed all the towels that I had used to soak up water coming in through the porch door, took a warm shower (which was also quite difficult due to the low water pressure coming through the water main), etc.  Dan and Jackie came home for a bit... or at least until the power went out again.  In that interim, Jackie and I took her computer apart--her heatsink had fried the motherboard... things far beyond my capabilities in basic computer repair/maintenance.  Once the power went out later that evening, everyone went their own separate ways again--Dan went to Frigate Bay again (until the power came back later that evening) and Jackie went to work an ER shift at the school clinic.  As before, I sat at home with the animals and kept myself entertained and busy... and at least attempted to study for a little bit.

This is from the main portion of downtown, just on the
way to Port Zante.
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Monday was interesting--we got even more of those SIREN messages... including a wake-up phone call around 6:30 telling us that classes were still on.  So, we all went to class.  Crossing that ghaut was pretty terrifying--there were rocks the size of grapefruits coming down the 2-foot-deep river.  There were torrential rains all through class... we lost power multiple times (luckily the school has a generator), and, as an old friend from my Pine Banks days said:  "I love the ominous sounds of thunder while the professor is lecturing.  It's like a horror movie."  It's never a dull moment here.  By 12:30, we were sitting in Grand Rounds (7th semester presentations) when everyone's cell phones went off again.  Another SIREN message.  Campus was being closed at 1:00.  *sigh*  So, when the last group finished up, well, Kevin said it best:  "THIS IS NOT A SAFE PLACE (even though it should be one for students).  FLEE, FLEE FOR YOUR LIVES (all at the same time."  It was a mad dash to get off campus... and I'll admit, I was really worried I wouldn't get home with how urgent the messages sounded.  The ghaut was really no different... if anything, it was better since the rains had been letting up over the course of the day.  It was actually so clear on this side of the island that Bonnie, Karim, and I went grocery shopping... despite the half-flooded roads.  :P  Jen, on the other hand, wasn't so lucky--she lives on a dirt road, which had significant chunks of it washed away.  Well, the power was out by the time I got home again, but it came back relatively fast this time... so spent the afternoon studying.  Jackie came home not long after I did after I did my food shopping and took a nap for a bit (can't blame her after being on the overnight in the ER), but when she woke up... we pretty much lost power again.  We Ross students are pretty good at adapting--we invited Jesse, one of Jackie's classmates who lives a few houses down from us--to come by for tea and some Uno by candlelight, which also then included some Epidemiology quizzing since they have a test today.  On a random side-note, it's VERY difficult to tell the blue and green cards apart by candlelight.)

Life is pretty much back to normal now, although the National Hurricane Center is watching the development of another storm brewing out in the Atlantic.  On a good note, despite all the cars that got washed away and accidents and mess, I haven't heard of any deaths from the storm... so that's always a good thing.  We're all looking forward to the weekend--not only does it already feel like it's Thursday, but it's also midsemester break, so we'll have Monday off!  For me, this is a busy weekend if the weather cooperates--dinner for Bonnie's birthday, the Extra-Life 2012 Gaming Marathon, a paintball game, our usual bi-weekly gaming session, my birthday, and we might be squeezing in a birthday dinner for Heather as well.  Phew!  Somewhere in all that, I also need to study and would like to run through the ROSSie procedure again.

We had our second set of block exams last week--and boy were they tough compared to the first set.  Our Large Animal Medicine I and Small Animal Medicine II test averages dropped slightly, but were still around the 80% mark.  Small Animal Surgery, however, dropped by over 10%... and we had an 82% on the first block.  That means the class average was under 72%... just barely passing (as our pass grade is 70%).  I'm at least in a comfortable spot taking these figures into account!  Can't give up though--set #3 is coming up faster than we all would like (can't believe we're at midsemester already!)

Well, hope you enjoyed the update--but I must head back to studying.  I'm planning on using a blog post here on Saturday to update my donators on my Extra-Life marathon, so if you don't want gaming updates, you're welcome to check back in a week.  :P

Semester 6, Week 3--Where Has the Time Gone?!

What was the last time I updated everyone on the goings-on down here?  Almost a month and a half or two months ago sound about right?  Sheesh.  I need to get better at that!

So, I passed 5th semester with flying colors and managed to pull my GPA up overall yet a little bit more--which now leaves me with 4 choices when it comes to choosing a clinical year:

• Oklahoma State University
• Louisiana State University
• Purdue University
• University of Illinois

Out of these, OSU is at the lowest of my list at the moment, but my GPA is high enough that I'm not excluded from any of these.  :)  More will come of this as time passes, I'm sure.

I went back to Boston for the break between semesters this time and spent some time traveling out to Ohio to visit some old friends, going to King Richard's Faire, going shopping at a REAL grocery store (Stop and Shop almost felt like a Target or Walmart to me!), and just getting my fill of the 'real life' back in America.

Two weeks passed far too quickly for everything that I had wanted to get done... but semester 6 started with a... rather eventful start.  Labs.  Oh, boy, do they bog you down with labs.  In the three weeks (and a few days), I've already had my ROSSie practice (a fake spay that we do on a sweatshirt model) twice, a lab to practice drain placements for surgical wounds, a bandaging lab, and asepsis practice.  And that's in addition to the 3-4 lectures per day. 

As for classes, the majority of them aren't too bad--Small Animal Medicine II, Large Animal Medicine I, Practice Management & Jurisprudence, and Small Animal Surgery.  With the exception of Large Animal Medicine I, the classes are interesting and I finally feel as though the last 2 1/2 years are making sense and fitting into place.  Horses... well, they break ALL the rules... quite literally.  

This semester, they introduce a new method of testing--the dreaded block exams.  Honestly, I didn't think it was too bad.  You're given an hour and a half to take 3 exams of about 20 questions each.  Yes, I ran close to time, but I didn't think it was any more difficult to study for them or anything like that.  At least it's 3 classes worth of tests... and not 4 anymore.  We only have 3 final exams this term too, so that's a plus!

Well, I think it's time to stop procrastinating for the evening.  See you next time.

Semester 5, Week 14--Where Did the Semester Go?

I... really have no words for how crazy busy this semester has been.  In this last week alone, we had a laboratory final for Anesthesiology, 2 communications exercises, tutor groups, and a Diagnostic Imaging laboratory.  The week before that, we had a practical physical examination for sheep, horses, and dogs.

I've been feeling very isolated from everyone in the US (even though most of it had been self-inflicted) and am counting down the days until this break.  I need some time on American soil and to visit my support network back up that way...

But, before I get to that point, I have the FinalsBeast to deal with:
* Monday:  Anesthesiology - 8:00-10:00am
* Tuesday:  Diagnostic Imaging - 2:00-4:00pm
* Wednesday:  Toxicology - 8:00-10:00am
* Thursday:  Small Animal Medicine I - 8:00-10:00am

And the following Wednesday, I'll be on a plane to JFK!

Semester 5, Week 7--Midsemester Break!

For once, we had a true midsemester break!  No tests this upcoming week... so a chance to finally get some R&R in.  :)  Well, at least that was my hope--but with the way I keep my schedule, I was busy.

The Evil League of Evil--Bonnie, Jackie, Meri, Jesse, and myself.

Friday night was volleyball night, as usual.  Unlike the last week (which was an AMAZING win--everyone was in synch with one another and we were an unstoppable force), we didn't win.  Trent, Robert, and I had a nice chat with Dr. B, however, regarding professionalism, life in clinics, etc.  After several days in the past few weeks of wondering if I really want to do this as a career, that conversation was very helpful.  I don't know what it is, but during my live animal labs, I sometimes wonder if I really want the responsibility or if I'd rather just be a technician again.  (No need to worry--I have no plans on dropping out of the program... just the usual "growing pains," as Trent has told me.  Everyone goes through them.)  It's interesting, because as a technician, you want nothing more than to have more control, more understanding, and more of an ability to help, but as you begin learning more, it sometimes seems overwhelming.

I look intense!  ... or like a terrorist...

Saturday was BUSY!  The morning was filled with my class' paintball tournament.  Sixteen teams showed up  to play.  Unfortunately, the Evil League of Evil was wiped out in our first round, but the opposing team went on to win the tournament overall, so we felt somewhat better about the loss.  It was a BLAST despite coming out with 6 welts (even though it was a single-hit elimination)!  It's been years since I had played, and that made me want to get back into it.  Next semester, Team Awesomesauce will triumph!  We plan on a once a month practice session up to that point.  With it being a fundraiser for the class, Mike (the class clown), volunteered to dress up in a green man suit (a-la It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and have people pay to shoot 20 paintballs at him.  A hundred paintballs later, I think he must've been hit at least 25 times.  I'm surprised he could put up with that, honestly!  Overall, it was a good fundraiser for the first run--we earned about $2000EC for the class with it (a little under $800USD).

My knee.  3 shots in a row.  Ow!

Robert and Mia's birthdays were this week as well, so we went to Rock Lobster for dinner (they wanted the sangria).  Kristi and I made a very quick appearance--long enough for some appetizers--and then went off to Cayon-to-Keys Beach for leatherback patrols.  My team didn't see anything (sadly, yet again), but Kristi and the rest of the 7ths that were joining us got brought over to North Friar's to see a nesting female.  It's been one of the slowest seasons that Dr. Stewart has seen in the last decade... she's even considering ending the season early.  Not to mention, the hatching rates are really low this season.  :(

Sunday was full of sleep... at least for a bit.  Nerds Anonymous took a field trip out to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.  Taking it as an entity separate of the book, it was excellent... but it did take a lot of artistic liberties with the storyline.  Regardless, it was definitely a good movie.  I'd see it again.

Monday was a glorious day off.  Nerds Anonymous attempted to have a gaming day... a rather sizable one, but only 6 of us showed up.  Disappointing, but we made the best of a bad situation.  Koby, Jackie, Bonnie, and I played a 6 1/2 hour game of Arkham Horror.  6. HOURS.  We won, but DAMN!  Robert and Billy were playing random Wii games.  I was hoping to get to it at some point, but things happen.  Throughout the course of this, people were in and out of the apartment--I had a plumber fixing my toilet, an electrician looking at our water heater, and had to pick Jen up from the airport (I basically made her go home for midsemester break).  Busy, busy, busy.

... and here we are.  Tuesday.  Back in classes in... 5 minutes.  *sigh...

Semester 5, Week 5--Doing Medical Stuff!

While this semester isn't initially very busy when you get the first schedule (which showed we were generally out of classes at noon), your personal schedule is quite different.  You get smaller group labs scattered throughout practically the ENTIRE semester.  To this point, I've had:  suturing labs (3 different ones, practicing different patterns and ties), phlebotomy, catheter placement, dog physical examination, sheep physical examination, radiographic positioning, anesthesia case studies, and ultrasound.  I'm sure I forgot something somewhere too!  I do like the hands-on aspect of this semester for the most part... even if my fingers swell from holding the surgical tools for hours on end... and I can't hit model veins very well at all... and even if the sheep are royal jerks.

On that note, I don't like sheep.  At all.  During the lab, we had to practice restraining the sheep on its butt ("rumping," I think it's called).  There are two ways you can do this.  Stand on the sheep's side and reach under its belly/neck and grab the legs closest to you and then swing the sheep onto its butt... or you can turn its head so it's looking behind it, and pull down on the flank as you spin to get it to sit.  Well, my sheep decided he wanted to buck while I was doing this, so I stumbled backwards as the sheep walked backwards on its hind legs in the same direction. If I didn't hit the fence, I would've been on my butt on the ground with a sheep on top of me.  Mister 495 also had horns... and when he decided he didn't want to go back into the pen, he headbutted my knee.  Jerk.

Classes are rather dry, but our instructors really try their best to keep us interested.  It's not the material that's boring, either... it's all clinically relevant.  It's just hard to stay interested sometimes.  :(  On that note, we're starting to see a shift within the class now--the ones that could cram and study book work very well are having a harder time with examinations... and those of us that struggled because we're hands-on or experiential learners are doing much better.  Any guess as to which category I fall into?  :P

Starting the clinical nutrition elective this week as well with Dr. Hammond.  All clinical cases so far.  Loving it... it's a great review of what we did in the first semester.

Next week is my group's canine anesthesia laboratory.  I miss those days at the clinic!  We have to turn in our drug protocol to the pharmacy this weekend.

Photo courtesy of Dr. Stewart's facebook wall.  Yes, that's her  IN the cloud of sand...

Leatherback season is REALLY slow this year.  I've only seen 6 turtles... 4 of them were all on one night last semester.  Seems we may wrap up in early July--which will give me weekends back again.

I think that's about it for the time being.  Gotta give my wrist a break, too... all this writing/typing has been hell for it lately.

Until next time!