Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Tea Bag Wisdom
I've been feeling a sore tickle in the back of my throat, so in addition to overdosing on zinc, I've been drinking Cold Season herb tea. Today's tea bag says:
Travel light, live light, spread the light, be the light.
Time to listen to the state of the union while writing my surgery report.
Saturday, January 28, 2006
Nyah Nyah Nyah. . .Now Come Get Us!
I'm all about freedom of press, keeping the public informed, and keeping abreast of what our government is doing, but one thing gets me: if a pentagon-commissioned report indicates that our military is weak right now, shouldn't that be classified information? I've heard it all over NPR this week.
I can actually say I agee with
something Mr. Rumsfeld did: denying that our military is "weakened" is the right thing to do at this point. Whether it's true or not, why would we want the press to spread the word that our military is overwhelmed, especially at a time when we're supposedly still living under threat of terrosim (and with us worrying about China's military power and with Hamas winning Paestinian elections and all. . .)?
Why don't we just put up signs that say, "Hey, enemies! Come get us now while we're vulnerable!"
Some things are important for the public to know, but certain things are important to keep classified. The fact that congressional Democrats also released similar reports makes me suspect that this is more about saying "nyah nyah, Bush and Rummy, we told you so" rather than enlightening the public. It's done, we went there, we can't undo that fact--revealing our weakness is not helping anyone (what can you and I do about it but complain and worry?), and certainly isn't worth revealing our vulnerabilities to potential enemies.
If our military is momentarily weak, I can sacrifice knowing that, if it means that potential terrorists won't know it, either.
Friday, January 27, 2006
The scrotum is such an interesting flap of skin
Setriously, guys, I don't know how you can walk around with a set of major endocrine organs and essentially the hub of your manhood hanging outside your body, unprotected, vulnerable and cold.
I assisted in removing the testis from a cute Border Collie mix on Tuesday leaving him with an empty, sad sack, blowing in the wind.
The surgery went well, and we had one bleeding vessel that we ligated by tying some catgut (acutally made from cow intestine?) suture, and the closure went well. We checked on him later Tuesday, and he wasn't licking at his incision site and he didn't seem ouchy, probably due to the anti-inflammatory drgs we administered.
Wednesday morning he looked fine, but Wednesday evening he had a big fat seroma in his scrotum. The poor kid's scrotum was filling with blood like a baloon, and some of that blood was clotting.
I'll spare you the image, but imagine a very distended, purple scrotum. (actually, I googled for images of scrotal seromas and scrotal ablations, but I should have known better. . .)
The surgeon was very careful and as gentle as could be on the tissues, and the closure had no complications. We didn't understand why this seroma waited over 24 hours to appear, but some of the residents said that sometimes things like this just happen.
Oh, and I forgot to mention--I got to perform
my first dog castration last week. I've done cat castrations before, but since the shelters sent so many extra females last semester, I never got around to a castration.
Popping cat testicles out of the scrotum is much like shelling peanuts, but that dog last week was well-endowed, so his were more like plums (purple, even!). And yes, Susan was right. . .popping them out feels quite satisfying. I guess I would compare the experience to that of slipping tender, steamed
edamame beans out of their tender, fuzzy pods. But on a larger scale.
Here's something Miss Behavin' sent me a while ago that I saved: (It's also posted on one of course Web sites at school.)
Why Pets Don't Live as Long as People
(Author unknown)
Being a veterinarian, I had been called to examine a ten-year-old Irish Wolfhound named Belker. The dog's owner, his wife, and their little boy were all very attached to Belker and they were hoping for a miracle.
I examined Belker and found he was dying of cancer. I told the family there were no miracles left for Belker, and offered to perform the euthanasia procedure for the old dog in their home. As we made arrangements, the owners told me they thought it would be good for their six-year-old boy to observe the procedure. They felt he could learn something from the experience.
The next day, I felt the familiar catch in my throat as Belker's family surrounded him.The little boy seemed so calm, petting the old dog for the last time, that I wondered if he understood what was going on.
Within a few minutes, Belker slipped peacefully away. The little boy seemed to accept Belker's transition without any difficulty or confusion.
We sat together for a while after Belker's death, wondering aloud about the sad fact that animal lives are shorter than human lives.
The little boy, who had been listening quietly, piped up, "I know why." Startled, we all turned to him. What came out of his mouth next stunned me. I'd never heard a more comforting explanation.
He said, "Everybody is born so that they can learn how to live a good life - like loving everybody and being nice, right?" The six-year-old continued, "Well, animals already know how to do that, so they don't have to stay as long."
Monday, January 23, 2006
He's going to kill me for posting this
but I'm so proud of him I can't resist!So, Gregg's co-worker nominated him for a local radio station's "Hot Geek" contest. She compiled a list of his geeky virtues with the help of some high school students.
He wouldn't have forwarded it to me if he wasn't at least a little proud of himself.
(names have been changed to protect hot geek from his Web-surfing students)
From: Gregg's colleague and friend (maybe not for much longer. . ?)
Subject: Hot Geek Nominee
Sent: Wednesday, January 18, 2006 4:19 PM
To: geek@local-radio-station.com
Cc: a bunch of colleagues
In the attached document, you will find a school photo of Gregg LaBong. Gregg is an English teacher at Lala Palooza High School in Rosedale. Upon learning of the Hot Geek Contest, Gregg seemed to be the obvious choice amongst his colleagues.
Here are some reasons courtesy of his high school students:
1. flannel shirts, sometimes Hawaiian
2. Styx fan--frequent concert goer
3. vaguely resembles Conan O'Brien or Shaggy from Scooby Doo
4. shops at Farm and Fleet
5. known for sharing obscure family stories and childhood memories for the purpose of inspiring his students to work hard or (at the very least) stay awake
6. mismatched socks a must
7. quotes random lines from movies, poems, plays, and stories on whim
8. laughs at his own jokes
9. hair cuts bi-annually (Parent-Teacher Conferences)
10. wears tennis shoes and hiking boots that are older than his teenage students
11. breaks into his colleagues' e-mail accounts and sends ridiculous messages to the department
12. favorite restaurant is Kappy's, a haven for blue-hairs
13. his idea of fine dining is a restaurant that serves beer in a water glass
14. makes the pizza delivery guy deliver to his bedside
15. bums money off of his colleagues & students
Gregg is both endearing and witty--a great guy all around. He's the perfect candidate to receive the award as hottest geek.
The picture she attached did justice to the geeky but not the hot.
Just to be fair, here's a more accurate representation.
Besides
Shaggy Doo, his students have also compared him to
Woody from
Toy Story (due to a particular yellow flannel shirt) and
Topher Grace from
That 70's Show.
Aww, I'm just so proud of him! I wonder if his ego will explode if he wins. . .
I put so much frickin time into studying this weekend, I've decided to take the night off. I already put in 90 minutes in radiology this afternoon.(I love barium! It just makes that GI tract pop out at you!)
So, tonight I'm going to blog a little, practice my blues and major scales, then I'm going to open up the fireplace (the TV's in there) and watch
House while I do some painting.
Yay!
Sunday, January 22, 2006
Sunday Afternoon Delight
I've tried taking prescription muscle relaxants for my recurrent shoulder, neck, and jaw pain, only to discover that they render me dopey, unproductive and apparently quite entertaining for 48 hours straight.
University insurance does not cover massage or physical therapy unless I've hurt myself participating in university or intermural sports, or exercising at the rec center (which I just might do pretty soon), so I've been living with very annoying pain for a few years now.
But lo and behold, I've discovered a tasty and less debilitating alternative to cyclobenzaprine: Bailey's on ice. Not only does it soften the steel cables in my shoulder and neck, but it helps me focus when I read or study.
Wannabee's Recipe for Muscle Relaxation
1 ice cube
1/2 oz Bailey's Irish Cream
2 Tablespoons half & half
1 heaping table spoon Reddy-Whip
Cinnamon or Hershey's syrup to garnish
Place ice cube in froofy little shot glass. Add Bailey's and half & half. Swirl (both the glass and yourself). Top with whipped cream and garnish.
Sip while reading something enjoyable. (I suggest a current issue of Mental Floss.) If studying, double the recipe.
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Well, when I vowed last month during finals week to stick to healthy habits to minimize stress. . .well, I stuck to it! I ate fresh fruits and veggies in lieu of candy and packaged snacks and opted for soy-based fruit smoothies instead of sugar- and caffiene-loaded lattes. Wow for me.
And over break (which was way too short) I bought
Raw, the "un-cook" book I've been eyeing for over a year, with the bookstore gift card from Diggerblue's dad, Mr. Steve (along with a bunch of breed books and fun reads). I may actually try some recipes soon.
So, in this spirit of healthy habits, I've dramatically cut back on my consumption of cookies. (No, I haven't moved to Bizarro World.) Fortunately, I don't have to give up my regular fortune-posting since I found a brand of herbal teas that includes a little proverb on each tea bag tag. So, the new weekly feature is now renamed
Tea Bag Wisdom
Spiritual expansion is found in the trust we have in each other.
So, I guess when we learn to trust someone, or when people worthy of our trust come into our lives, we experience a litte heaven on earth.
That's really nice.
Ahh. . . three weeks into the semester already, and one exam and six online quizzes down.
I didn’t blog much last semester because a) I always felt I should have been using my time to study or work (even though blogging a little each day doesn't really take any more time than my daily staring at the wall) and b) I would always think of something to blog when I was away from my computer, then just didn't feel like blogging once I actaully got to computer (a reason to get a Blackberry? Nope--I'm just not that hard-core) and c) Since this is a "veterinary student" blog, I wanted to blog more about school but just didn't feel the motivation. There's only so many ways to say "I'm exhausted" and "My arm is so frickin sore from being in a rectum all afternoon." In fact, you could say both in one sentence: "I'm pooped!"
Also, I had a lot of gripes, and I didn't feel like griping too much on the blog.
But, to
briefly sum up a few of my gripes:
--I wish we started surgery lab earlier in the curriculum so we could get to actual medical procedures beyond the spay and castration.
--I think we'd benefit from some more clinical experience in school. We cram it all into the last year, but other curricula at other vet schools spread it out over two years, giving stuff a chance to soak in.
--I wish the education of veterinary students was a priority of the veterinary school and teaching hospital. Yes, we had some wonderful professors last semester that totally love teaching and put their students first, but I don't feel that's the overall priority of the school and hospital. I think just a general lack of faculty and staff or efficient management that's the problem, even though the individual professors and some of the residents really love teaching.
--Since we're three weeks into the semester already, it would be nice to know our class schedule.
--We need a cardiology professor. Or I can wish big and hope we someday have a cardiology department? Cardiology is kind of an important part of medicine.
--Ditto for radiology. According to the syallabus, the class is to be split in half (into groups of 50) and each group gets two hours of lab time each week. Instead, we're going to be smooshed into one big group of 100 and are given only one hour of lab instruction a week. So our time is getting cut in half by cutting the time, and then the resident's attention is cut in half by giving her twice as many students to deal with in that hour. And believe me, our class has a lot of questions to ask--any beginners in radiology would. That poor resident is so busy seeing patient cases that our education is yet again being short-changed. Radiology is kind of an important diagnostic tool, and interpreting this information is kind of an important skill for any doctor. It would be nice to learn this stuff thoroughly.
. . . and so on.
Well, my gripes done, at least I really enjoy radiology (despite the lack of lab instruction) and the surgery lectures and most classes (except Swine). We have online quizzes for both large and small animal surgery lectures, which really helps direct my studying. I think our professors are wonderful this semester, as they were last semester.
Coming soon: third year, second semester curriculum
Imagination is more important than knowledge --Albert Einstein
. . .especially when you're a clueless vet student looking at poor projections of radiographs in SAC 80. --Me
