Better get back on it.
Fun Fun Fun
Duncs wanted me to post something, this is all I have to post right now...
We (my friends and I) spend a ridiculous amount of time studying. Unfortunately, we often have trouble balancing work and play. I guess it's a product of being in vet school.We just finished our last exams ever (besides the enormous Board exams in Dec) so we had reason to celebrate. We (8 of us) went to Rosarito Beach, Mexico for some rest and relaxation and to celebrate my friend Lindsay's upcoming wedding. We rented a house in Las Gaviotas which is a beautiful gated community right on the ocean just south of Rosarito. Apparently, it is also a famous surf spot. The house we rented was spectacular. It had a rooftop patio that overlooked the ocean and all of Rosarito. I sat up there all day and watched the surfers. It was fantastic.
Here are some fun pics...I am off to beautiful Fresno, California for Lindsay's wedding (that's Lindsay in the sash).
Not Just a City Girl
Ok, Ok, I know. I started a blog and then dropped the ball. Funny how I am cramming for some final exams and I start it up again! Procrastination at it's best. I just returned from spending a month in central California on a clinical rotation doing large animal medicine work. What a life changing experience. Up every day with the sunrise, in the vet truck, in my coveralls and rubber boots, and sticking my arm up cow rectums over and over again. Why would someone do that you say? Well, it's actually quite an amazing thing. The purpose of this skill (called rectal palpation) is to feel for the cow's uterus through the rectal wall and determine if she is pregnant and if so, how far along. It truly is a skill that takes a lot of practice and is quite tiring. The best part about it is feeling a calf and then having it kick you. Dairy cattle are either pregnant, milking, or both and are dried-off (not milked) for a very short period of time before they give birth again. They truly are highly efficient milking and baby making machines. Some of them can make 120 lbs of milk a day.
Oh, and by the way for those of you who live in Cali and see those 'Happy Cow' commercials. It's all bogus. No dairy cow in California lives on a green pasture. You can see where they actually live in the pictures I attached. Are they happy? who knows, but it is true that stressed cows won't make milk and most of these cows are making LOTS of milk.
Anyhow, hopefully (if anyone even reads this) I will keep going with this blog-I need to do it mostly to keep in touch with my sibs who are all over the world living life to the fullest. I can't make any promises though,exams only come once every 8 weeks.
My Mother's Style
My Mother has always had style. Ever since I was a little girl her living space has been straight out of a magazine. She puts the guys on Extreme makeover, home edition and Ralph Lauren to shame.The combination of taste, an eye for color and combination was, unfortunately, not handed down to me!
She is also a tremendous gardener. She has 175 rose bushes and she knows the names of every single species (David Austin's, Tequila Sunrise, etc). She tends to them daily, it's quite impressive. She has also created for herself what was supposed to be a dirty, potting shed but is now a beautiful, tranquil, meditation garden house. See the pictures and you will understand a little about my mother's style.
Garden house photos
Cute Little Disease Infested Raccoons
I don't know about where you live but at my house there are raccoons everywhere. I see them on rooftops, in gutters, and more recently on my front porch. They come for the cat food (I feed a stray cat named Abe-love him). Well, I have been acting like a typically uninformed member of society lately-oblivious of the disease risk to myself and my animals. I have been putting off calling animal control to remove the raccoons because they are sooo cute and they provide daily entertainment for me. They are extremely tame and I can stand 2 feet away from them while they eat and they are not scared.They are not even scared of my barking dog. At least I have refrained from naming them.
Why does this matter? I recently learned of this interesting parasitic disease that raccoons carry-Baylisascariasis (say that 5 times fast). This disease is very prevalent in raccoons and causes very serious neurological problems, even death in people. Raccoons living under my house have probably been depositing feces everywhere and exposing my cats to this parasite. Granted we have to eat contaminated dirt (watch out 2 year olds) to contract the parasite but still once you see signs there really is no treatment.
So, I need to be a responsible pet owner and call animal control. They will take the raccoons to the mountains, which I'm sure will make the raccoons happier. Although they will probably miss the yummy cat food. 
Elephant immobilization in South Africa
This is a picture someone took of me when I was participating in SYMCO 2004. SYMCO is a 2 week wildlife medicine and conservation course designed for veterinary students. It was a fantastic experience. This elephant was darted from a helicopter with a tranquilizer and we were able to examine her, take measurements, fit with a collar, and send her on her way.
