Pumpkin cheesecake. Gingerbread cookies. Cinnamon
and pine. Deck the halls. Gobble 'till you
wobble. And, most importantly, being thankful. This is
my absolute favorite time of year, and, thankfully, I have some
time to enjoy it!
The past couple of weeks have been pretty crazy. I still
am in shock that it's November, what with the plethora of tests
from Pharmacology, Parasitology, and Pathology, and a BP Cattle
Handling Seminar, the Student Chapter of the American College of
Veterinary Internal Medicine (SCACVIM), Small Animal skills lab,
and Vet School BBQ in between (and all in the same day)! Our
Pharmacology and Parasitology tests were on Halloween week, and
Pathology was the following week. Although the Saturday in
between was a day of non-stop activity that started by waking up at
6:50 a.m. and ending around 12:30 a.m., it was a nice break from
the stress and anxiety that comes with studying (even if my oven
did break down the night before the BBQ when I had a green bean
casserole and brownies to bake). It's also nice to have a
reminder every once in awhile of why I am stressing myself out to
learn 230 pages of parasites, which ones have festoons or thin
shelled segmented eggs, and the reasons why you shouldn't eat
poop.
At the BP Cattle Handling Seminar, I learned the techniques used
for low-stress cattle handling. We were introduced to these
techniques in our Correlates class, but repetition is always
nice! Also, we got to learn from one of the experts in the
field, Dr. Tom Noffsinger, as well as become Beef Quality Assurance
Certified! After the Cattle Handling Seminar, I had to run
over to the Small Animal Clinic for the SCACVIM Small Animal skills
lab. Since I am the Small Animal Chair for SCACVIM, I was in
charge of helping set up and run the skills lab. Through the
help of some amazing technicians and residents from the hospital,
we learned how to do female and male urinary catheters, joint taps,
abdominocentesis, and how and when to place nasoesophageal and
esophageal feeding tubes. From the skills lab, I went
straight home, showered, and got ready for the Vet School BBQ,
which is a night full of fun, games, and having fun with your
colleagues! It was definitely another night that reminded me
of how much I love the Class of 2015!
After our Pathology exam last Wednesday, we second years don't have
any exams until finals, hence the time to be able to enjoy the days
leading up to Thanksgiving! In Correlates this past Friday,
we worked in partners and got to do some "goat wrangling." We
learned how to properly handle and restrain goats, trim hooves, and
take blood samples. Emily and I would like to think we are
experts after that, but I guess the ultimate test will come when we
try to wrangle her goat, Rigby, and trim his hooves (to be
continued…). Overall, it was an enjoyable weekend, as I got
to go home and spend some time with my family, go to the Nutcracker
Market, and love on my two kitties, Cookie and Pickles. And, let's
not forget A&M beating Alabama! WHOOP! Until next
time…