Oh Dear

"Tilters and Rollers: Understanding Canine Vestibular Diseases"
-heading for neuro lecture

Pre-Thanksgiving Treat

Some stallions could care less. They'll breed anything with four legs. -equine repro

The cartilage is gone, like a balding head. -orthopedics

That's what's nice about neuro patients; half of them can't walk so they can't run away from you. If the other half gets away, they'll circle back. -Neuro

Dribbling of feces. -Small animal med

Wow, that's a remarkable looking butt. I will not take your temp today. I will respect your butt. -small animal med

Factor III is a bad boy, if you will. -eq med

Wow, I see lots of bacteria. Well, woop-dee-doo, that's s*** for you. -small animal med

German Shepherds love perianal fistulas. -small animal med

Profs say the darndest things...

This is the Bart Simpson version of the citric acid cycle, which is just fine by me.

Don't believe anything owners ever tell you. -food animal medicine

Embarrassing case examples. Hmmm, I have a lot of these. -food animal medicine

Fun with involuntary movement disorders. -heading in neuro lecture notes

Happy cows

"The cows are eating all the M&Ms out of the trail mix!" -food animal medicine

For reals?

So I voted today, like a lot of other Americans...and it didn't feel very official. I arrived at my polling place and picked up my ballot, which was handed to me in a "secrecy folder," otherwise known as a 15 cent manila folder. It actually had a "secrecy folder" sticker on the front. Right. Next, I was given a black scented marker to fill out my ballot. That's right, the nasty licorice-scented marker no one wanted to use in 3rd grade ("So that's where they all went!" I exclaimed internally). I walked up to my polling booth (no curtain, just a metal, freestanding structure), filled in my selections, returned the ballot to the "secrecy folder," and headed over to the poll volunteers. They stuck the secrecy folder halfway into the ballot box and shook my now-unpleasantly-scented ballot into it, then handed me a souvenir ballot and an "I Voted" sticker. Question: what would have happened if my ballot had fallen out of the "secrecy folder" while it was being shaken into the ballot box?
On my way back to school, I considered stopping by Ben and Jerry's for a free scoop (if you prove you voted, you get a free scoop of ice cream), but alas, no free scoops until after the polls close...unfortunately I had lab and am now at work, so no ice cream for me. Starbucks is also offering free coffee but since I don't drink it, I guess I'm out of luck.
Are the freebies supposed to be incentives for people to vote? Honestly, I don't know if I want someone making decisions about the future of this country if their primary motivation to vote was to get a free snack. Come on. I'm probably the most politically apathetic person I know, and even I care enough to get to the polls without needing the promise of a sugar high.
I could buy the argument that B&Js is just being philanthropic and meeting the needs of hungry voters (my blood glucose was definitely low after my 4 minute voting adventure), but I'm not so sure about the 'Bucks. Oh well. For those of you who enjoyed a free cup of coffee or ice cream cone, well done! As a starving student I have to commend you for taking advantage of corporate America.

And now, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Ridiculous quotes and Halloween pics to be posted soon-ish.

Ridiculous

I won't get to play tonsil hockey anymore. (pause) Because I won't have tonsils. -Kristin

Snot Funny

It's slicker than snot. -equine repro

Uplifting

"Anatomical barriers can be overcome!"
-food animal medicine notes

Did ewe know?

To get ewes to urinate:
Hold off nose; causes momentary panic and urination occurs.
-food animal medicine

Awesome.

Post-less

It seems like no one has been posting lately. It's really cramping my style when I'm looking for distractions during class. Get to it, people!

A few updates:
-My first surgery is tomorrow! We're neutering a dog, I'm the anesthetist.
-Our lecture hall is flippin' FREEZING! Apparently they're trying to cryopreserve us during class to make up for the 4 years of our lives we've sacrificed to vet school.
-Little has a harness and tie out. She's officially a guard cat. Feel free to swing by our place and laugh at her!

Also, some quotes:

"This is a 6 month old Charolais with her colleagues."-neuro

"How do you estimate total body potassium? The best way is to grind the cat up in a meat grinder."

"Wellness isn't sexy." - eq med

"I don't want to walk" looks exactly the same as "I can't walk." -neuro

"They're running out of dope!" eq med

"Manx cats are an abomination." -neuro

"When you do the 5th rib resection, you reach your hand into the space and you have the heart beating in your hand (looks expectantly at class, silence)...and that's very special." -FAM

For Better or For Worse

So I went to a wedding on Saturday. It was beautiful, etc, but I realized weddings have some weird traditions.
-Why is cutting the cake such a big deal? Yes, the bride and groom are capable of using utensils and feeding themselves...possibly making sure they'll be able to take care of each other in their old age??
-Two words: bouquet toss. Definitely my LEAST favorite part of every wedding.
-Retrieving the garter...hmmm, not so sure I want to be felt up in front of my grandma. But maybe that's just me.
-Toasts: Not so good when toasters are toasted. Moral of the story: taking 4 shots before making a toast is probably a bad idea. Yeah.
-Some excellent quotes: "Some people see the shape of the rings, and they like to get philosophical and say the ring is a symbol of unending love and all that. But really it's just the shape that fits best on your finger." (that's my kind of pastor!)
-"Steve graduated from college, and soon found the love of his life....golf." -best man's toast

Back to Reality

Some quotes from the end of last year and the first two weeks of school. Enjoy!

I think that's what my mitral regurg looks like, and you can see what a stud I am. (class laughs) Shut up.

When you're grappling with the pig, it's not going to give you warm fuzzy feelings.

Imagine your 80 year old grandma going to the doctor and having a wrestling match.

I was like a tennis ball.

I'm a licensed vet, I can diagnose anything I want!

Me: What do they put in footbaths?
Becca: Feet.

I'm not going to try to trick you in lecture. That would be a bit inhumane.

Babies are not going to choke if they're on their back. Unless they're drunk, and that's pretty rare at that age.

Your rolodex's are frickin overflowing.

Diet Turkey

Here are just a few selections from the 8 gazillion pics from Turkey. If you want to see the rest, come over and have tea with me and I'll tell you stories.






Jon, Dave and I enjoying the sunset.















The Aya Sofia, a beautiful mosque that was originally a church. There is an interesting mix of Christian and Muslim artwork inside.














Having tea with the students at a local Tea Garden. Seriously, come over and drink tea with me!














My second host fam. Gulsen (second from the left) was one of my students. I miss you!















Christy shopping at Elma, our local grocery store. Those peaches will CHANGE YOUR LIFE!!















The last day of class! Clearly, we took the teaching seriously. Super serious.

From the left: Kevin-shish, Gulsah, Gulsen, Ali, Muhammed, Yesim, me, Semiha.

Also, it's a good thing Ataturk got in the pic (framed photo to the left of Kevin).

Gobble Gobble

I return to the US tomorrow.  Turkey has been AMAZING!  And also difficult/challenging/exhausting.  I'll post a series of pics once I get home (dang it, I left my camera cord in CA).  Also, J Bo let the proverbial cat out of the bag...I finally got my tattoo!  I've actually had it for about a month and a half now, but, once again, I'll post pics once I get home.  :) 

So basically you get hints about all the cool stuff that's going on but no pics to supplement.  Sorry.  I'll rectify the situation ASAP.  

Summer Blues

Bummer. I'm already bored. What are you up to this summer?

Work hard, play hard.

A few highlights from the quarter:





Black and White formal with my favorite Creeper and future roomie (Lizzy)!

















Megan participating in the tortilla toss at Bay to Breakers, rockin 80s workout gear.














Lizard and "Candy for Snacks," our favorite drink that we invented for her birthday Cocktail Party.















Amber, Jason and Lizzy enjoying Brewfest at Raley Field (I was the DD).










Ginger Spice and Sporty Spice at the Smoker 2008 ("Party like a Rock Star").













Little squeezing herself into her new favorite toy, providing comic relief while Annie and I study for finals. Seriously, she barely fits in that box.










Equine Locomotor Anatomy: the perfect excuse to color!!

Grief

Interesting stuff from our doctoring course:
-For thousands of years, people came from families with 12+ children, some of whom died before the age of 4. More died before the age of 24 or 25 from cuts and scrapes that got infected. If we were not able to deal with the grief of multiple losses of people we loved, if we were not hardwired to get through those times, we would be extinct. So thinking that you have to say exactly the right thing to get them through their grief is a bit ridiculous. If the world depended on you saying the right thing, it would be a sad world.

Funnies

As finals approach, the profs are getting crazier and crazier...

Exercise intolerance in a cat. What an oxymoron.

It's no fun drowning in your own fluids. Find another way to die. There are plenty of them out there.

Your heart can't get larger forever. It's limited by your chest wall. Haven't you all seen Alien?

When a pig takes a dump, if you will...

Vegetarian owners that feed their cats vegetarian diets...just shoot 'em.

Some are very very dead, some are very very healthy.

All they knew was that I went to slaughterhouses and collected chicken s**t. Or I stuck my arm in the cows and went, "Mmmhmm. Fifty bucks."

Puppy!

This is the dog we anesthetized in lab. Pretty much the sweetest dog ever. Seriously, his tail was wagging so hard when we tried to put in a catheter than he knocked all of our supplies off of the table. When we turned off the anesthesia machine, his tail was wagging as soon as his eyes opened. I wish I could adopt him!

Cardio

This was just WAY too out of control.

From our equine medicine syllabus, chapter on cardiology: "There are no known drugs that increase skeletal muscle contractility. Spinach is the only make-believe agent able to do this. Kryptonite is a make-believe example of a skeletal muscle negative intropic agent fur Superman."

Also, we anesthetized our first dog today. And it woke up afterwards. Success!!

Wow. A month.

Hard to believe. A few quick updates:
-I'm half way to my fundraising goal for Turkey! Thanks everyone!
-I got hired as a C Barn nurse (food animal barn) for next year. I'll still be working as a B barn nurse too (horse barn).
-Drove out to see Tyrone Wells in SF (also got to see Mark (buddy from high school) play drums for him).
-I've consumed a RIDICULOUS amount of Diet Coke. Some people drink coffee, I drink Diet Coke. Yum. Also eating a lot of yogurt (+ frozen fruit and granola...the frozen fruit acts like ice cubes and keeps it cold, plus it's ultra tasty!).
-3 more weeks of classes, then finals week of doom, then I'm half way finished with vet school!
-Summer: home for a week-ish, month in Turkey, month-ish in Visalia (yeehaw!), Annie's wedding, start third year of school.

Quotes:
There is diarrhea of every orifice. What would diarrhea of the skin look like?" -FA med
It sounded like the Count on sesame Street...prototheca...ah ah ah!"-FA med
To get into the party you have to have an LDA"-clin path
They put Ernie in the endotracheal tube. They were lucky Ernie didn't end up in the horse's airway.-eq med
When death is the alternative, there are no rules. -eq med
If it looks like a duck and fights like a duck, it's probably a duck. -eq med
You may get the fracture fixed but the leg is going to fall off afterwards.-anesth
It's one of my talents. I've always been able to sing heart sounds.-eq/SA med
TFMA. Too something much anesthetic. -anesthesia
The four F's: food, fight, flight and reproduction. -neuro
Sinus tachycardia. I had that on the elliptical this morning. -eq med
If you stop these beats, they stop forever. And you know about forever. -eq med

student: How small of a dog you can put a pacemaker in?
prof: A couple grams.
student: What?
prof: Oh, uh, yeah we've put them in mosquitoes. Bzzzzzz.

Being a boxer, he'll jump back up and go "(shakes head) Whoa! That was cool. Can't hardly wait for the next one." -eq/SA med

Obviously when you "thump" things you cause a little consternation. -eq med

Let the good times roll...

It is unlikely that the diarrhea will stop just because you show up on the farm. -Food animal medicine

I think the good Lord put gutteral pouches on horses just to help us make a living. -Equine medicine

Just think about these macrophages trying to make their way through these cobwebs, they're just covered with cobwebs, jellyfish tentacles everywhere... -Food animal medicine

He'll kick your head off. -equine repro

My recommendation is to put some Pink Floyd on and let them sleep. -pharm

Doxie Derby!

The class of 2010 VPs have put a lot of work into the 2008 Doxie Derby, so if you're in the Davis area this weekend come on out to Picnic Day and make sure you stop by the Rec Hall for the races!
Other quick updates:
-Turkey planning: we've started fundraising...I feel like a sketchball sending out fundraising letters. I've been thinking about it a lot, so here goes...after reading THIS, I've realized my main love language is "acts of service." Any sort of self-sacrificing, taking-time-out-of-your-day kind of thing is VERY meaningful to me. I would include sending money in that category. So sending out a mass of letters requesting money freaks me out. I feel like I'm begging for love. Throw in a pretty fierce independent streak and I almost can't handle it. Even though I understand the benefits of fundraising (people getting to be a part of your trip, getting a chance to express generosity, etc), I still can't shake the feeling. That being said, please don't tease me if I send you a letter. :)
-I quit my job as a tour guide. Sad, but I have NO time. As in, zero. Period.
-I set up my first externship for senior year. CRAP CRAP CRAP 4th year is coming up soon!!!
-I was surfing job listings online, and someone mentioned that there are some practices in the Midwest that will pay off your vet school loans if you commit to food animal practice with them for a certain number of years...hmmm....must look into it...

Just keep swimming!

Sometimes it's hard to stay positive, but I'm doing my utmost!

On the bright side, the demands of school are teaching me to be more selective with my time. On the one hand, it doesn't make me a bad person when I decline invitations because I'm tired/have to study/just need a night to myself. On the other hand, there are times when school can no longer be priority number 1.

Great news! I just acquired a horse limb of my very own!! It's currently chillin in the lye tank at school, so that in a couple weeks it will be a lovely set of bones for me to learn/teach. Woohoo!! Right now I only have a front leg, but by the end of the quarter I'll have a hind leg too. Pictures will be posted once the bones have dried.

Back in Action

I bought my bike on Saturday...I went for a solo ride that day, and Annie and I rode today. Ultra fun. We look like huge nerds on our matching bikes...luckily our outfits weren't coordinated.

Today was our first day back in school and it was pretty intense. 6 straight hours of lecture. But not to worry! Our profs were out of control, as usual:

Anesthesia: One human being poisoning another human being in a caring and reversible manner. The half-asleep looking after the half-awake while they are being half-murdered by the half-witted.

And from our anesthesia course notes, the first bullet point under the History of Anesthesiology:
"And the Lord God caused a deep sleep to fall upon Adam, and he slept; and he took one of his ribs, and closed up the flesh instead thereof" Gen 2:21

More firsts:
-Cruise
-road bike ride
-FONDUE!!! tomorrow night
-Bay to Breakers

Sorry about the randomness of this post. I'm a bit frazzled after the first day back in class. How are you?

Poppies will put them to sleep!!!

Oh spring break.

Nan and I went on a cruise to Ensenada for the weekend. We took every dance class available (70's line dancing, swing, salsa, country line dancing), played bingo, had margaritas and an all around good time. Pics to be posted on facebook.

In other news, Les and I grabbed some lunch at A Town Deli (thanks for the directions Nate...sorry for waking you up!) and went hiking in Auburn. Stellar sandwiches, perfect hiking weather, poppies everywhere and good company (including salamanders/newts and a banana slug)...honestly, it couldn't have gotten any better. I LOVE spring break!

Also, I'm planning to buy my road bike this weekend. I've been shopping around and so far this is the one I'm most interested in (but last years model, so with a significantly different price tag). Any thoughts/recommendations?

Funnies

Because everyone needs a laugh during finals...

"Cu deficiency of damn during pregnancy."
-sys path lecture notes

When in doubt, cut it out!! -sys path

Heaven forbid you should learn something clinically important in the second year of your schooling. -radiology

Cor pulmonale. If you translate that from the Pig Latin... -sys path

Brown stuff that indicates badness is here... -sys path

They both tend to eat your face off, so that distinction is not of much prognostic value. -sys path

One solution is made up in absolute alcohol, so you get them drunk and anesthetized.- pharm

It sounds like a factory. I'm sure you all worked in factories as children. -sys path

This is like a heart with its t-shirt off. -sys path

Geeked Out

It's official, I'm the biggest nerd at the vet school (and possibly the universe).

I definitely had a dream about lung pathology in horses last night. Yep. I dreamt that I was going to rescue this horse, and I thought so myself, Self, we should radiograph this horse's lungs. So we did, and there was a diffuse interstitial pattern, and I started going through differential diagnoses in my head. !!!! Um, and I actually came up with some. !!! We never figured out the disease in my dream, but I elected to euthanize the horse because it had such bad pneumonia. Yesiree, vet student dreams.

Other dorkiness: I was eating a slice of focaccia bread yesterday and thought it looked just like a slice of lung from our pathology lab. Then I thought it would be a cool idea to make focaccia with stuff in it to make it look like it was a rhodoccocus lung (ie put olives in the bread to represent the abscesses). Too gross?

I'm still here. Sort of.

Studying like crazy. Some updates:
-Anne (my roomie) and Travis are engaged!
-Chickens are sensitive to photoperiod (length of daylight). They sense photoperiod by light shining through their skulls into their brain. Seriously.
-Little is getting fatter. She's rockin a softball-sized pooch, despite her new weight management diet.
-I'm going to Turkey for a month this summer!
-Girl Scout cookie consumption tally: one box of tagalongs, once I've finished my lunch.

Busyness

Lots of things going on...


Brewfest!! Good times all around in MI. It was snowing when we (Nate and I) arrived, and then it was sunny ALL weekend (notice squinting and blue skies in the pic...woot woot). I even got a little sunburned. Yes, you read that last sentence correctly, I got a little burnt in MI in February.






FAB FIVE REUNION!!! Our Bible study from college (Nan, Renee, Mel, Abs and I). Although I don't have a pic of all 5 of us, the presence of 5 can be inferred from the pic (4 in the image, me taking the picture...genius!). We went to Burgers & Brew (new restaurant in Davis) and spent time catching up. I love my girls!






Little is officially a Piece of Trash.
At least she's recyclable, right?



Class field trip to PAWS...lions and tigers and bears, OH MY!

Sex, Drugs and Rock & Roll

Tuesday: Reproductive Physiology exam.

Thursday: Pharmacology exam.

Thursday afternoon: MICHIGAN!!!! YEAAAAH!!!


That is all.

Cheeeeeeeese!!

So, Photobooth is probably the most entertaining computer program I've ever seen. Some samples:


Good, old fashioned family fun!

Staring at walls

I really could watch this for 3 hours instead of studying. What does that tell you about my mental state at this point in the quarter?

Brett and Nathan, my apologies in advance...this could be an interesting weekend.

Thrill Seeker

So I've been trying a lot of new things this past year. Some highlights:
-surfing
-hiking Half Dome
-swing dancing
-salsa dancing
-tasted haggis

I added two more to the list this week:
-llama/alpaca wrangling
-snow skiing (pics will be up soon on facebook)

It's been a good year. Any suggestions for future adventures?

Don't hold back

Our profs have been out of control this week:

The stuff you breath in is like drunks on bikes: they just don't go around corners well. -path

The male is constant, he's always like, "Come here come here come here come here. " The female is constantly changing, like, "Come here come here come here, get away get away get away, come here come here." -repro

There's psychosomatic diarrhea, or in more vulgar terms, scared s***less. -path

Enough preaching, back to pestilence. -path

Prof: Hey guys, does podcasting mean video too?
Class: No
Prof: Cause then I'd have to start showering. -radiology

Sidebone. Or siiiiiidebone if you're from VA. -radiology

This horse does not shed properly. He doesn't walk into his shed. -radiology

I think my imaginoscope is malfunctioning. -radiology

Also, it's a good thing everyone brings their computer to class so that we can circulate gems like this during our sys path lecture on diarrhea. So good.

Whine and Cheese

Pet Peeve:
When people my age/younger call me "Sweetie." Are you my mom? I thought not.
Caveat: close friends can use sweetie, but sparingly.



In other news, I personally feel that Chevy's in Dixon has the best Happy Hour ever.
-CHEAP!
-Margaritas and floutas. Oh baby.
-Who the heck is in Dixon? Nobody. Hence, no crowds, excellent service.
-Socializing! Well, if you count whining about vet school as socializing.

We usually go once a week (the day changes)...how long do you think it will take before they memorize our order?

ps If you're in the Davis/Sac area, definitely jump on the Happy Hour bandwagon with us!!

Keep the Quotes Rolling!

Each of the bones has a lot of important sticky-outy parts. - radiology

Diarrhea is like pornography. It's hard to define, but you'll know it when you see it. -sys path

Lecture slides:
Follow the course of dinner
-oral cavity, including teeth
-esophagus and forestomachs
-stomach/abomasum
-intestinal tract
-diarrhea
Les: Does dinner always end in diarrhea? - sys path

This is important. Tattoo this on the back of your hand or write it on the back of the person in front of you. -pharm

Spelling errors in text/lecture slides:
-thrombocytopenis
-toot impaction

An abscess is an abscess, whether it's on your liver or your butt. -path

Trematodes, they're awful. A face only a mum could love, I guess. Although they don't really have a mum and dad, they're one and the same since they're hermaphrodites. -path

If the dog pukes on your shoes, stop the drug. If his eyes start doing wiggly things, stop the drug. You're giving too much! -pharm

We're looking at a basement membrane here, not a bowel movement, although you may feel like you need a bowel movement after taking the exam. -repro

Faith Rediscovered

So I've been filling out an application for church, and (of course) they asked for my statement of faith (hereafter referred to as SOF). I haven't actually written out my SOF since high school, so I thought, Hey, here's a good opportunity to take stock of what I believe and why, etc.
Thinking about my testimony was kind of disappointing...in the past I've tended to stick with cliche and Christian-ese: I grew up in church, chose for myself in high school, and here I am. Not particularly useful for anyone, really. It seems like I believe just because that's how it is. There's no indication that faith was required for any part of that journey.
But not to worry! I've been spending a lot of time revisiting my faith, starting at square one. I'm not questioning my faith, just nailing down what I believe and why, and spending a lot of time in scripture with the purpose of coming up with a concise SOF for my application and to share with other people. Good stuff.

Oh, vet school, my old friend.

"Dogs with more severe heart disease went into heart failure. Duh. Dogs with a louder heart murmer went into heart failure sooner than those with a softer heart murmur. Duh again."

"This is an unstable free radical. That means it lives in Berkeley."


-path

I still love pathology...

...always and forever.

Prof: "We need the image to be on the screen"
Tech: "The projector is warming up."
Prof: "I have that problem too."

"If you take aspirin and your headache goes away, one interpretation is that you have an aspirin deficiency." -systemic pathology

Kidneys

"The problem is, kidneys are stupid." -pharmacology

Cool Ranch Doritos = Manna from Heaven

Tasty. Prepare for the madness. Fiesta at my casa on Saturday, complete with Coronas, Margaritas, and a cut-out cactus. Because really, what fiesta is complete without a cactus? I mean, if we were doing word association, and you said, "Fiesta," I would instantly respond with "Cactus." Wouldn't you?

In other news, pics from Scotland are being posted on my facebook for your viewing pleasure.

Radiology humor

"This is a pathologist's version of a CT scan. They use a bansaw instead of a CT scanner."
-radiology

It's good to be back in school.