7th

I made it to seventh! Now I get to park in the exclusive seventh semester parking. Sixth semester was brutal and it will take a while to forget it. The learning curve was steep in sixth but looking back on it there was no other way but straight up! Mentally I was embracing failure before I checked my grades on the computer. Sharie kept talkin' about all this plans and I had to remind her we had to pause until we found out the results. As I've said before here at RUSVM one day your a vet student the next day your not.

Word is that seventh should be a little easier....well maybe a lot. Lets hope so because I'm just recovering from sixth (12 days later). We had the Palitang's visiting from CA about a month ago. The girls had a blast it seems. Dennis I'm sure got a kick driving on the wrong side of the road St. Kitts style.

The Palitang's

This break I will once again be an orientation leader for the incoming students. If anything I'll be a testament that vet school is possible if you apply yourself resiliently. People fall many times, it's just a matter of getting up fast every time.

It's funny but I keep checking my grades to make sure I passed....as if it weren't real. It must be real, otherwise this is a super long dream. Alright, talks to ya laters.

Sergio

squeezing by

This semester is by far the toughest. Other semesters tested my determination, consistency, etc. This semester is testing my faith! I don't think I've ever gone into finals feathering the edge, a sneeze away from failure. I got so wigged out a few weeks ago that I couldn't focus on my studies. So far the semester feels like I'm all over the place. What makes this semester so challenging is that we have to start "bringing it all together". I'll admit I've been feeling quite stupid lately. Somehow vet school is chipping away at my confidence with a jackhammer. I hope I don't crack!

So many new things are thrown at us. Taking history's, SOAPing, surgery, surgery reports, anesthesia, paperwork, machines....it's too much! We are always under the gun and expected to know everything, amazing I tell you. Sometimes I have to split my time between studying for an exam and learning everything about the surgery I'm performing. I remind myself "I signed up".

Well lets hope for the best. I'm going to try and find the drive, determination and faith to make it through these last few weeks.

Sergio

Primera

Primera ("first" in spanish) was our first surgery dog. Chosing to do this was an unsettling decision. Nonetheless it was a decision I made a while back when I decided to attend RUSVM. We were given PCV (packed cell volume) and TP (total protein) and a brief signalment two days before surgery. This of course was 1 of 2 terminal surgeries we will perform this semester. After getting the results I quickly walked over to the kennels to meet my patient. She was a middle-aged, thin, timid dog with pendulous mammae, a far too common site on the streets of St. Kitts. All I could think about was her last sunset, her last meal, her last walk. I'm a sensitive kind of guy I'll admit that, but as Dane (my surgery partner) and I knelt down petting Primera I could see he was certainly thinking the same thing. Thanks Primera.

Desperate measures

This semester is proving to be tough. I'm enjoying it except for the part when I see my test scores. Currently we are taking our first rounds of exams and I'm starting to feel the burn. We will start our first surgery in two weeks. I will be running the anesthesia machine while my two lab partners do surgery.

Last week we had a lab practical exam. It was intimidating because they only allowed one student at a time. Walking into the lab we had four stations to be tested on. The first one I had to demonstrate gowning and gloving to the Dean. Now, I've known the Dean from swimming we usually pace each other. So naturally I had the added pressure of not messing up and he had the added pressure of not being too harsh.

Anyhow, next station was with Dr. St. Jean of whom I've cycled with on numerous occasions. Here I had to chose from one of five blank 3x5 cards. Upon turning it over you find out which suture pattern you will have to demonstrate. Once again I was a little shaky about proving to St. Jean that I can bust out a Horizontal matress like I can ride a bike.

Next station Dr. Bruhl-Day a gentle giant from Argentina and perhaps the best Surgeon on campus. Here I had a bad draw and chose the card with Halsted suture pattern. I started out right, Bruhl-Day questioned, I hesitated thought too much and ran out of time!!! But hey he's from Argentina that's close enough to Mexico and I'm Mexican-American...perfect!

Last station was with Dr. Pope my small animal surgery professor. Here I had to demostrate quartering off a pillow with huck towels followed by securing them with towel clamps. I breezed through this station and probably resonated with confidence as I swiftly finished. Later I found out I pretty much did everything wrong. The next day I went to Pope's office to find out where I went wrong. To my surprise there in the corner a yellow Trek road bike!! To think that I could have gone on ride with Pope was a chronological frustration!

In my opinion this lab practical was a crapshoot. I've never been the type of person who does good on anything concerning luck. For exampe, if I have to guess on a true/false question I usually do the following:

Choose the answer I believe (gut feeling) is the right one, then choose the opposite. Anyhow, this semester is proving to be very very tough. It's a tall order but I'll do as much swimming, pedaling as I have to. Shoot I'll even sing the Argentinian national anthem.....well maybe not a good idea. As they say "desperate times call for desperate measures". Well I better get back to my studying because that's all I'll be doing all weekend. Thanks for reading.

Sergio

6th Sense

Boy! This brings back memories. Go Coyotes!

I was just reading about my HS alma mater and came across a recent XC article on the Coyotes. In a nut shell it said how this XC program has come so far since the early 90's. The HS team is now synonmys with cross country in the US. It's regarded as one of the top programs in the country. The Coyotes are also known for their trademark paceline/pack formation. I remeber doing that 90-93' but thought it was just the thing to do as a team, it evolved naturally. The XC team at MHS pretty much did everything together: carpooled, trained, hanged out at lunch time and weekends, etc. so I'm not surprised it's probably still the same. I'm just glad I was a part of something that is now a powerhouse!

Well I made it to sixth, by many it's considered thee toughest off all semesters! I'm 4 weeks into the semester and already I feel overwhelmed. I'm trying to keep my head above water so we'll see. What makes this semester so challenging is the constant barrage of new things to learn on top of the book work. For example so far we've learned bandaging techniques, casting, and suture patterns. I've enjoyed it a great deal but it definitely makes the week that much more hectic. My classes include: Small Animal Medicine II, Small Animal Surgery Lab, Small Animal Surgery Lecture, Diagnostic Imaging, and Large Animal Medicine I.

So Far I'm enjoying LAM I. At the time I'm leaning towards large animal medicine. I seem to like the internal medicine aspect of large animal so far. But I'll wait on deciding until we do large animal surgeries next semester. For that matter I think I like internal medicine in general whether it be large or small animal medicine.

The usual suspects:

Dr. Pope: just starting teaching small animal surgery (SAS). I believe he joined us from Missouri. He is tall, thin, bald and sounds like Tom Brokaw. He is obviously well experienced and has alot to offer. I've just heard his test questions aren't the best.

Dr. Yvorchuk: she's been LAM here at RUSVM for over ten years. She can come across as being mean, but boy can she deliver LAM in a captivating manner. I like the way she keeps us all actively involved in the lecture.

Dr. Graves: she's a former Ross grad and joined us here a few years ago after a residency. She teaches us SAM II along with UC Davis Aggie Dr. Yaphe. Dr. Graves keeps us involved in lectures but it's more elementary. She uses a list with pictures and asks questions throughout the lecture....not an effective teaching method in my opinion, but does keep some awake.

Dr. Page: also a former Rossie that joined us after a residency in radiology.

Dr. Spackman: she's the SAM boss.

Dr. Naylor: double boarded LAM guru. I don't agree with everything he says when it comes to breath sound nomenclature or respiratory mechanics for that matter. It's just tough to change when I've known differently for the almost ten years of being a RT.

Well I better get to cracking because I have a feeling that how I manage my time now will be critical a few weeks from now. Oh, and the prospect of doing surgeries in 3 weeks time is intimidating. I believe we will be starting with a gastrotomy followed by an intestinal resection & anastomosis, and on to ovariohysterectomy and cystotomy just to name a few. Alright laters and thanks for reading!

Sergio

retinal pleasure

rainbow after the rain

boogie boardin' at Leeward Cove

dinner at Marshall's

granpa relaxin'

fish in training

go to pool everyday = fish

dinner at Shiggidy Shack with the Henekes'

granpa fresh off the plane from NorCal

Nic at Caribel Batik

you know you study too much when......

semi-sixth

It looks like I passed 5th semester. We had a bit of confusion with hurricane Dean coming by during finals week. So the brass here at Ross decided it was best to postpone our anesthesiology exam until we return from our 2 week break. Anesthesiology is not a huge worry but I will still take a few days out of my break to study for it. So technically I'm not in 6th semester yet. However, after squeezzzing by the Small Animal Medicine (SAM) final exam I feel like I have. Somehow I don't feel like I deserve to have passed SAM. Going into this final I had a nice cush of 85% for both of Dr. Kelly's test. Dr. Grave's a former Rossie covered the last 1/3 of the semester. I tell you she covered the same volume of material that Kelly covered in half the time....Mach 3!!! I'd heard of students going into the SAM final with 85% and failing the final which is weighted at 50% of the final grade. I ended up dropping a whole letter grade but hey I made it.

Assuming anesthesiology is going to go smooth I can't believe I will be doing surgeries in 6th!! I just wished I had more hands on surgical experience, but oh well. My sister put together a slew of surgical supplies and instruments together for me. Chump is doing great in MX and is missed a great deal. Grammy is over visiting and so far is enjoying spending time with the lil' ones. Next week Grandpa will join us here on the rock. The day after Grandpa arrives I will be going to Lexington, KY. There we will have an all expenses paid 4 day trip courtesy of AAEP called OEPS (Opportunities in Equine Practice Seminar) http://www.oeps.com/ .

Hurricane Dean feathered us for a few days....it was nice to have a change in weather. I compared it to SoCal's Santa Ana gusts of 60 mph winds, but the cool climate was great. Now that all 600 + students are off island the traffice seems so light. It's definitely different staying here during the break. It's more relaxing to stay rather than travelling especially with two little ones. Well I suppose we will go snorkeling, surfing, or boogie boarding today, but it's not always fun n' games like this. I'm just glad i'm semi-6th semester...wow!

A little bit of home

Here on the island we drive little, disposable nissans and the like. It's always nice to see or I should say hear a Chevy or a Ford. It's probably as comfortable as hearing someone speak english in some remote, unexpected part of the world....just a little bit of home.

On the school front I have good news for a change. I turned around my scores in Pharmacology and Toxicology! I think I'm starting to understand how to study efficiently as is critical in any professional program. I'm the type that dwells on the details and thrives on understanding the steps involved in anything. In the process I forget to step back and look at the "big picture". So now I have a nice buffer going into finals for all my classes. Before our second Pharm II exam my classmates and I were just kidding around about wanting to meet the person who would get an "A". This particular test had TONS of information and I'm just glad I paced myself....the A speaks for itself. Tox was the same...each question was quickly figured out without hesitation, bang, bang, bang....nice feeling. Tox is the most nerve wracking because it's computerized and you find out your grade after hittin' the "enter" button.

My role as treasurer for AAEP has expired. Today we had club officer elections and it was nice to pass on the torch. I learned many things, amongst the many things the most important was teamwork. I also learned that just because you get along with someone at the social level doesn't mean your going to necessarily work well together. We can find a lesson in every experience, we just have to slow down and reflect. Good times.

My running legs are coming back. I took my cross bike back home and have been reduced to my running shoes. My stride and form are back and it feels great! I still have my off days, but when I'm "on" I'm "on" to the max. Why doesn't that happen when I slap on the bib race number?

The girls are doing great. Indee is starting to look more asian I think. Nicole is starting to swim on her own in the pool! Maybe we'll get her snorkeling before we leave the rock. Alright, I better get a little more studying in before I call it quits. Wish me luck for finals in 14 days!!

Serg

biggies

Indee is growing too fast

Round two. That is the second round of exams for two weeks. Last week we had anesthesiology and clinical pathology. This week are the "biggies": small animal medicine, pharmacology and toxicology. Pharmacology should be taught all by itself .....a whole semester. I haven't counted the drugs were memorizing but I'm sure it's upward of 300. I made flow diagrams to not lose track of the "big picture". Just memorizing the flow diagrams is a task and that of course is just the surface. Oh, well I signed up and asked for it!

I haven't been taking any pictures at school because I guess it's against school policy to do so. Otherwise, I would have posted pics of our labs. Apparently a few students ruined it for the rest as usual by posting terminal surgeries on You Tube, go figure!

The fourth of July was short-lived here on the rock. The fireworks I believe were a little over five minutes long, atleast we got something. We had a few friends over and watched the fireworks from our balcony. Nicole was throwing a fit so I stayed behind to get her situated. By the time we went out it was the grand finale!

Every semester without fail (around this time) I start counting points. How much do I need to pass?? It starting to get on my nerves because it doesn't matter how hard I try I'll always be playing this game. It seems like the further along we get the more pressure there is to NOT fail! It's easy to say that things will be different next semester, but each semester has it's own personality.

This weekend I pretty much sat my arse at the desk 12+ hours a day to get ready for the "biggies". Don't get the impression however that I'm a last minute procrastinator. I put in my time every day! Sometimes I wonder if I'm trying too hard....sound like I'm in a relationship with vet school! Sometimes I'd like to just experiment to see how I'd do just studying the night before like some of my classmates. But you know vet school is not the place to be experimenting. Alright, better get to bed tomorrow is a big day.....no pressure.

LD 50

Chillin' in our back yard

Lethal dose 50: the amount of poison that under certain circumstances will cause toxic effects. Yup, I didn't expect it but I received a dose of LD50 from the first toxicology exam last week. I barely passed the pharmacology exam II. I must add however, that I kicked some gluteus maximus in small animal medicine, anesthesiology, and clinical pathology. Hey, I gotta look at the positive right about now! Our pharm professor (Dr. Shokry) is funny too:

Dr. Shokry (middle-eastern accent): "OK, I have question now that we are talking about toxicokinetics" "Which ehdruhg is used to treat open-angle glaucoma and is also used to treat atropine poisoining, ehhh?" (followed by complete silence). "Come on guys!" "I test you on this two semesters ago you should know this estuff."

Lately, coming out of Shokry lectures I feel like I don't know jack. He keeps drilling us and drilling us about minute information we covered on day one.....frustrating. This is frustrating because we have so much other "new" information to internalize. We aren't just taking pharmacology! Dr. Shokry can however, rattle off drugs and their facts like the days of the week! I have a feeling he lectures in his sleep about the mechanism of action of cephalosporins.

Now I'm working double time to master toxicology and pharmacology (Shokry teaches both) for the next round of exam. After round two there's nothing left but finals, so it's my last chance to rack up points going into finals.

The girls are growing so fast. Indee is starting to look for us whereever we move, she found her feet, and smiles when she sees big sis. Sharie is kept extremely busy with the girls, and Nicole is getting comfortable in the pool and boogie boarding with Papa.

Right about now I'm going through mountain biking withdrawls. The first thing I'm doing when we're back in the states is to jump on the mtn bike and tear up some sweet single track! Can't wait!

Laters

Wow

Yo Papa! Can you do something more productitive during your study breaks?

These last three weeks have proven to be metamorphical. I've been so busy that I've neglected posting anything for the last 4 weeks or so. I don't know if you've noticed a pattern but I normally like to post to the beat of every week around Mondays. Anyways, I'm feeling the rush of knowledge flowing, it's all starting to merge together. The first 4 semesters of vet school felt so irrelevent because of it's exclusivity. Now I'm finding that one class is overlapping with a current one and a previous semester class. And of course repitition has it's way of making one remember things that would otherwise just get a half-hearted yawn.

So we had our first hands on experience in Intro to Clinics. It was way cool getting to do things we've been reading about for what seems like eons. Inserting chest tubes, drawing bone marrow samples, pleurocentesis, starting jugular catheters, taking charge of CPR, anesthesia, and inevitably euthanasia. If one has the slightest respect for the sancitity of life the last part gets your spirits exhausted and your throat cramps up into a ball.

So far my favorites class is a tie between Small Animal Medicine, and Anesthesiology. In third it's Clinical Pathology, followed by Pharmacology, and coughing up dust is Toxicology. Ah, don't forget Intro to Clinics, well it's not really a class per se (pass/fail). Intro to Clinics is more of a way to get us acquanted with hands-on procedures in preparation for clinical rotations in the states.

The girls are growing so fast. Indee is nicknamed "Tortilla Gordita", and Nicole is still Chochita. Indee now cries when Nicole (big sister) cries....bonding I suppose. So far this semester I'm on a roll with my first round of exams (knock on wood), but I still have two more this week! It's amazing what a few words from the right person can make. When Dr. Stimmelmayer told me "Now is the time to start practicing being a good clinician" you didn't have to tell me twice! Alright, I better stop blabbing and get back to some of this Pharmacology for tommorows exam then it's a few hours of sleep!

Laters!

Shifting Gears

"It's time to practice being a good clinician", that's what Dr. Stimmelmayer told me as she "high fived" to my starting 5th semester news. The shift in how we think has been clear and present from one class to the other. We're starting to throw around a term....diagnosis! My first experience of doing this was during our first clinical pathology lab where we did cell counts, packed cell volumes, and urine analysis. We were presented with a case and blood samples to then analyze.

Dr. Kelly also held a wet lab on physical exams and this coming Friday we will have another wet lab on ultrasound. I got to work on a dog named "Rosa" where I did a head-to-tail physical exam....good times. I hope that someday I can look back on this long journey and only wonder how we did it.

Today we hosted Dr. Casey a racetrack specialist from Maryland. He shared a wealth of information about the latest in joint injections in race horses. Tommorow we will host Dr. McClure an expert and authority in shock wave therapy.

Last Friday we got to do rectal palpations on the cows. Compared to my first experience before I started Ross it was like night and day. Back then I had no idea what I was looking for, all I knew was that the I was supposed to slide my arm all the way IN and feel around. Friday I had a greater appreciation for the anatomy, and got to feel ovaries, and a fetus. You can tell who has done this before: I was covered in cow poop = beginner, other's where clean as a whistle = experts.

I was impressed by a story Dr. Casey left us with: He mentioned various stories about his veterinary school experience in Tuskagee. One of them was regarding a professor whom was known to be super tough on his exams, and not the nicest of professors by far. But what stuck with him was his professors willingness to meet with his students at 4 am twice a week to squeeze in extra surgical practice. Now that's dedication, nice or not, being their when it counts!!

Ready to Roll

shottin' clay pigeons at Matt & Cherie's

Well I made it to 5th semester!! This semester we will get to actually touch an animal. We'll start off with rectal palpations on cows this coming Friday.....heeeeehaaaww! Just gimme some lube and I'm good to go, I've done this a few times. My two week break was all over the place, from NorCal to SoCal to Mexico and back! I had to take Chump to my mom's place in El Ranchito, Michoacan. Chump has been there before and he quickly picked up where he left off with his girlfriend "Leyvee". Before I left to MX I shadowed the vets at Pioneer Equine in Oakdale. It was great to see the vet profession in action, it always gets me excited!

Auntie Mek fixin' the hair and Nic

While in MX I got to see many cousins and their teenage sons and daughters I hadn't met. Given that my trip there was only 24 hrs I got to visit with my grandmas and grandpa, and many aunts, uncles and aunts. I even got to drop by my uncles bar "El Caminero" around midnight. It was a light night so I talked to him for a few minutes. I told him that Sharie and I would like five kids, so he leaned over and said:

Nic flyin' her first kite

"mijo", "I'm gonna give you the secret recipe". "If you wanna have a boy go at day 15 or 16". "If you go day 17 it's a girl, day 14 it's a girl".


My uncle has about 30 kids between 7 wives at the age of 66 so I suppose he has some credibility...we'll see.

Mami and Indee at Leeward Cove

Now on St. Kitts Sharie and the girls are enjoying the new place at Leeward Cove. We already have plans for family and friends to visit. So those of you who haven't booked a date better hurry up! This semester is a rainbow of colors as far as my professors are concerned:

Dr. Beths: French (super duper thick accent): Anesthesiology

Dr. Shockry: Egyptian (super thick accent): Toxicology, Pharmacology II

Dr. Sedon: Kiwi (kate = cat, taste = test) Clinical Pathology

Dr. Kelly: Australian (not too bad) Small Animal Medicine I

I'd have to say Small Animal Medicine is the most interesting to me so far. Toxicology just doesn't do it for me but I'll manage. Anesthesiology I haven't figured out if I like yet, but I'll let you know as soon as I can figure out what Dr. Beths is trying to say.

We'll it's time for a diaper change, a few notes and hit the sack!


Laters,

Sergio

since we live on St. Kitts our nicknames are "joker" and "giggles"

our mechanic: "happy"
our maintenance guy: "blaze"

Paul Bandemer

Life is quickly put in it's place when tragedy strikes. On April 27th a very good cycling friend died in a car accident. Paul Bandemer was a father of two and husband who lived in Oceanside, CA. He taught Sharie and I to surf in Carlsbad where he was born and raised. Paul was kindly referred to as "Big Paul" because he was unusually tall and muscular for a cyclists. He was soo tall that I remember him standing in the surf and pushing Sharie on her surf board so she could catch a wave. I also remember doing a ride with him on highway 2 near Wildwood, CA. He descended fast because of his build, easily dusting all us light climbers. On that ride we started the downhill and I tried my best to draft off him. However, soon he opened up a gap of about 200 yards on me. Down the road I noticed Paul was weaving left and right on the road and then he tumbled. As I slowed down to check on Paul I had noticed a deer limping away!!!! Yup Big Paul hit a deer and lived to tell about it! I hadn't talked to him for about two years now but I always remembered Paul because he has a son about the same age as Nicole. He was the type of guy that I would trust with my family a great guy. We will miss you dearly Paul.

the curve

these notes are only up to third semester!

So I got my pathology exam 3 test back. Nervous I was with good reason, this was a crucial result for me. I dug deep for this exam, bustin' out the reserves you know what I mean? Naturally I felt like a high B or low A was not asking too much. The feeling of commanding material before you go into a test is surreal. Just lettin' the big words roll off your tounge like you're just saying "hello" to a stranger....no thought. Say what! 74%jeeezz! Well, I'm not complaining atleast I passed this time. I calculated a minimun of 72% was needed to go into finals with a passing grade. Peeking at Julie's test I noticed she got 4 more points but her grade was a 10% difference!!! Wow, let me calculate that again? No that's right, Miller just accidently gave you an extra 10%! Ssshhhhhh!

Later I found out he gave the whole class a 10% curve! So I went up to Miller and he denied me just like that! I thought hey it's April 1st so this must be a joke right??? No! Later I explained to Dr. Miller and after a great deal of reluctance he gave me the curve! Wow, maybe I shouldn't go out this week, I might get struck by lightning!

Tonight the student association organized a feast at Ziggy's bar for Dr. Hutchison and his wife Dr. McNeal. They've both been here since day one and they are retiring. I have a feeling they will return to teaching, they're too good to retire in their early fifties! Dr. Hutch has so many stories from the early days, he always tells us "you have NO idea" so shut up and be happy! Apparently it was soo bad back then students used to not even leave the airport, get back on a plane and go back home! What's interesting is that Hutche's wife Dr. McNeal went to vet school here at Ross. So Dr. Hutchison was her instructor how weird is that! I can already see it, his wife studying for a Hutch anatomy exam after fixin' him some dinner! Come on, you know he gave his wife some major hints!!

This is the home stretch baby! Two more weeks and we'll be all wrapped up with fourth semester. I guess technically I'm in the beginning of my "junior" year! I hope I make it to fifth semester because that's when the "hands on"/fun begins. Alright, back to some more epidemiology/zoonosis. Laters.

there is some beauty here afterall

Sergio

low maintenance "LM"

my girls

Three more weeks and 4th semester will come to a close. I'm trying my best in the hopes of jumping this 4th hurdle. Fifth semester will be more clinical based, meaning we will have some hands on experience. For now I just need to focus on successfully getting through 4th.

This week started off pretty good with pathology's 3rd block exam. I studied so much for this exam to make sure I got an A. We'll find out next monday once Dr. Miller grades the tests. What was interesting is that when I handed in my test he remembered me and asked how I felt with the test. . . I said "good".

Yesterday we were visited by the AVMA's vice president. Dr. Hendrix's is a professor at Auburn State University School of Veterinary Medicine. It was interesting to hear from one of our leaders that we Rossies are regarded as "LM's" by many. Apparently high maintenance "HM's" students from the states complain about many things.....we just get er' done. It was good to hear that, we now have the responsibility of maintaining such reputation.

Next month I will be moving to our new place. We're moving to the other side of the island "Frigate Bay". It's a nicer place with a dryer and a much needed extra room. This will be nice just in case one of you decide to visit.

I feel a change in my points of view in regards to human vs. animal medicine. I guess I'm feeling more comfortable with the idea of animal medicine. After nearly a decade of human medicine I felt out of place, but I'm starting to assimilate. I still stand to my original idea of integrating the two somehow whether it be education or research.

Domino Effect

The Cricket World Cup event is currently underway here on the island. I don't understand the sport and truthfully have no interest in it. It looks like a cross between baseball and horse shoeing? Needless to say it's rather busy on the island at the moment. We've also had another notable addition to the island...dominoes pizza!!! I was blown away that they even deliver! So of course I picked up the phone and explained to them kittian style how to get to my place... turn at the bird with white birds on it, go down to the third street without a name and go left. I wasn't surprised to find myself meeting him at the entrance to the neighborhood....victims of their own or I should say lack of public order.

I swallowed my pride and decided to hire a tutor for pathology II. Of course I've been rockin' all my other classes except this one. I went in to talk to Dr. Miller about my test and it was painfully frustrating. Look I'm sure he was the shiznik back in his youthful days but today I'm afraid it's coming to an end. While in his office I had to remind him every minute why I was there and what we were doing. As soon as he turned his attention to look up a slide or information on the computer its as if a "reset" button was pressed. After a while it felt like that movie Groundhog Day, some twilight zone deal. I've heard this is last semester we'll see. I've been doubling up on path and refuse to go down like this. So you know what I better get back to this cardiovascular section. Laters.

Sergio

little packages

Indee....so shleepy

swingin' on the Oak

checka my new soccer ball!

CA was great! I got to see little Indee, spent some time with my lady and played around with Nicole. Boy, that girl is growing soo fast! In the seven weeks I was gone she can run, skip, hop, climb, and chatters. We went to Baby's R Us to shop for Indee's exer-saucer. On my way in I noticed a soccer store (score!) so I made my way over there with Nicole 007 style. While Sharie was in shopping heaven I rushed over to the soccer store with the intentions of buying me a soccer ball. However, plans changed somehow when we walked out Nicole was holding her first soccer ball and cleats and I didn't score me a ball! It's amazing how being a parent has a way of being content in seeing your little ones be happy. I know she's got me wrapped around her little finger, oh well.

I got to see Mika, Maya, and Manami they are growing up fast too! Somehow I convinced Mika to cook me some breakfast. I was kiddin' around with her and never thought anything of it until my sister in-law Kimmie called me the next morning. I guess Mika woke up saying she needed to make breakfast for me! Good times I tell ya!

Mika helping with breakfast!

I'm truly blessed to be a part of such an awesome family. I just hope I can give back as much as I've received. On my way out I booked a place at the Hyatt (4 star). This was the first time I would stay at such a place and unfortunately it was anti-climatic. It was nice don't get me wrong but not "drop jaw" "pinch myself" experience. The funny part was our sleeping arrangement, that is all four of us on a king. I thought no problem mucho real estate for everyone. WRONG!!Sharie and I were on the ends and the kids in the middle. Nicole, like here Papa when I was young wrestled in her sleep, kickin' me left and right. Everytime I woke up to "foot on my chin" I thought I was having a nightmare starring Hulk Hogan womps on skinny mexican Sergio. Except when I woke up it was real and somehow managed to sleep on the edge of the bed without falling off!! I think I lost that match.

On the school front I went down in a blaze of glory with pathology 2 exam. This I'm afraid is my worst performance in vet school thus far. It is VERY frustrating because I dedicated every waking moment three days leading to that test!! I have two more test left in this class and need to pull a rabbit out my &*% somehow. I've officially reached for the "panic" button and must double up my efforts in this class. The scary thing about it is that in retrospect I would have done nothing different for that test. What is frustrating about this exam is that apparently almost half the class got A's, and 13 bot B's??? Vet school has a way of mixing a bunch of emotions and putting all in your head at once: panic, confusion, frustration, fatigue, and hope all wrapped up in one little package. Times like this I always remind myself "Sergio your family is healthy, your alive, there's more to life than vet school so get over it!" I've been doing alot of that lately. Oh, and we got 3% back from our last Pharm exam, phewwww!

Laura and Nicole doing patellar reflexes

One of the best professors Dr. Hutchison

My C Student

On my way out of todays pathology II exam I overheard Dr. Kainer talking to Dr. Miller about an old student of his. As he was holding up a research journal he said "this guy used to be one of my students", "he was a "C" student". I thought hey there's hope because guess what I'm a C student too!!

We took our first pharmacology exam last Friday and word on the street is that 1/3 of the class failed!! I even heard that the dean and our professor along with the academic assistant dean had a meeting on Friday, hmmm? Anyways I ended up with a 73% and I usually fall around the average give or take a percent or two. Regardless, I felt like superman coming out of that test and felt in complete control of calculating volume distributions, ionizations, dosages, plasma concentrations, and excretions. I should add that when I handed in my test there were still about 50 of the 120 students! Dr. Shokry called "time" and 40 students were still working on calculations, 20 were asked directly by the professor to "hand in the test NOW" or else. I was even told by many classmates that they were forced to straight out guess for the last 5 to 7 questions because time ran out!!!!

conclusion: too many calculations, too little time.

On to pathology exam 2 today and the frustration level is starting to get to broil. I made a few mistakes, but my quarrel is with the format. But before I start complaining I'd like to give credit to semester 3 professor Dr. Gyimah. He tested objectively, from page 1 through 99. Dr. Miller does the exact opposite: he weighs the majority of the test on some obscure disease process that wasn't even emphasized; buried somewhere below all the highlighted information. Oh well it's over for now, lets just hope I can turn this C thing around....or maybe I should just settle and someday be a "big shot" researcher that way Dr. Miller can say "hey this used to be my C student"!

California don't blink because here I come for four days: March 1st - 4th!

Oh, and Chump killed a poor ol' neighborhood chicken....shame on him!!

Indee

She's finally here!!! Little Indee graced us with her arrival on Friday, February 16th. Sharie called me around 1 pm my time and said she was on her way to the hospital. I thought for sure she'll be there till Saturday or Sunday. Thirty minutes later I got a call while in the canned food isle: "I'm 6 cm and having frequent contraction". EEEEKKKK, gotta go home so I can sit down and focus on welcoming Indee. Get in the check out and zip on home, but no luck I had to pull over half way home to hear the great news! It happened soooo FAST!

I've posted a short video clip that Dennis sent me, hopefully it will work so check it out!

http://www.savefile.com/files/498830

Last weekend was action packed: As an AAEP student officer I was helping organize details in preparation of our visiting lecturer Dr. Trotter. From planning out dinner details to taking care of accomodation and airfare expenses. Dr. Trotter is a well respected Equine surgeon with 2o years experience at Colorado State University. Recently he moved to TX and is now venturing into an area hardly explored by veterinarians: acupuncture and chiropractic work. The cool thing is that we had a large turnout and even a handful of professors showed up. What's funny is that Dr. Trotter is semi-retired now and Dr. Horowitz (his anatomy professor as well as mine) is STILL teaching! Dr. Trotter however went to school in Canada where Dr. Horowitz taught before. I enjoyed talking to Dr. Trotters wife Judy, she's was cool.

Dr. Trotter, his wife Judy and of course me.

The Dean even had something to say about AAEP officers:

I wanted to let each of you know that Dr Trotter and Judy where very impressed by each of you. They said you where the greatest bunch of students they had ever interacted with. Your hospitality was the best they had seen and they appreciated it. The water, snacks and drinks on arrival was fantastic ( I guess I better start doing that too when I pick people up at airport late at night) Thank you for representing RUSVM and yourselves so well.

Dave DeYoung

Good news is I rocked on Avian Medicine exam, Epidemiology, and Veterinary Public Health!!! Now if I can keep it going for Thursdays notoriously tough Pharmacology class! Then on Monday I get a go at Pathology exam #2, then two days later Cali here I come!!!

Lyle and Paul working the grill this weekend

broken, busted, bitten, and beaten

I guess I'm a proud owner of a 7'2" Isle surf board

Boy the B's sure did give me a beatin' today. I went out to coconut cliffs with the usual surf crowd (Art, Jon, Shauna, and Eric). Yesterday we barbecued on the beach, I took some USDA Costco certified beef cuts with my homemade teriyaki sauce....yummmy! However, back to today, I caught some nice fast, steep, waves (one foot overhead). After an 1 1\2 I said "laters" to the surf gang and paddled out. You have to understand getting to "coconut cliffs" takes about 15 minutes of careful, tactful walking across lava rocks, algae rocks, sand, scrambling up volkswagen size rocks, etc. So I'm on my way back to the car and BAAMMMM I slipped!! I put a big gash in my shin and a horrific dent in Jon's board. The feeling of frustration mixed with pain is unexplainable. Anyhow I'm going to talk to Jon tomorrow about how I just purchased his board for the price he was previously asking. Except now I have a jacked up shin and a defective board in desperate need of repairs of which I have no idea how to do.

ouch!

Before I loaded up the board this morning I got bitten by about 10 ants. I thought I was a fast learner until I unloaded the board (with gashed knee and defeated spirits) and got bitten AGAIN by probably the same ants!!!

On to todays soccer game:

Brian: boy Serg we're going to womp on this nerd team for sure!

Sergio: Brian don't get too confident now (speaking from experience)

later of course we suffered a humiliating defeat. We must of shot at their goal ten times more than they did to our goal. The only difference being that none of our shots were going in!!!

If you want a good burger round' here you gotta do it yourself!


Anyhow, when I got home I was cutting up vege's for dinner and poked myself with the sharp cutco knife!!! All in all not a good day at all, but I must put everything into perspective with my vet school motto: "It can ALWAYS be worse"

Hey good news: I got a B+ in avian medicine! Epidemiology is coming up on Friday so I started hitting the notes.

Three more weeks and I get to see my girls!!

Let's hope I have a better day tomorrow......one day at a time.

Goodnight

99%

St. Kitts

this is where i do my grocery shopping... no plasma screens here though!

Lab Animal Medicine is all finished! The course is offered in one month (crash course) so now we get out by 11am!!! This means maybe I can squeeze in a run or some surf time. I did my presentation on ECMO and it went really smooth. As usual I felt in control and confident at the front. I owe it all to my mother who as kids pretty much forced us to go do song service every sabbath morning for church service!! What gave my presentation some extra flare was Dr. Rojas input. Dr. Rojas is a human cardiac surgeon and he gave me some cutting edge, latest in technology, not approved by the FDA information. It was cool to talk to him because with my Respiratory Therapy background we were speaking the same language. On the other hand Dr. Bartlett also from Michigan State didn't pull through at all. This guy is the father of ECMO and is retired now but I imagine involved in some capacity. His email: "All the information you need is available from ELSO. Check thepublications on the internet". Well said Dr. Bartlett, oh and thanks very inspirational! Anyway it's the 99% like that ruin it for the 1% like Dr. Rojas. One of the many reasons I decided human medical school was definitely not for me. Why so I can develop "God's greatest gift to mankind" complex? uhh uhh.

I swear I saw these while surfing....Is that a cowphin??

Path results are back now. It looked very grim for the whole class, I usually score right on the average and my grade was 70%! On one hand I feel so bad for Dr. Miller, the class was not having any of this and they were very vocal. Dr. Miller I'm sure wanted to go home and cry because he sure looked like it.....very disrespectful on many of my classmates parts. As a class we've never behaved like this it was embarassing. On the other hand I want to learn pathology and it seems like Dr. Millers questions leave LOTS of room for interpretation and thats not good. This was only 25% of the grade, three more to go before the quarter is over so lets try harder next time around. I'm just glad he breaks it down to four test instead of having one big midterm and a final that would be really BAD!

Today I went surfing to "concretes" with Jon, Art, and Shauna. Waves were about chest high and it was a corral reef break...so very consistent. I caugt a few good waves on Jon's 7' 2" board but forgot my rash guard....OUCH, can you say chest wax job?

concrete's (because concrete company nearby)

Paul (5th semester) is my co-officer for AAEP (American Assoc. of Equine Practioners) student chapter. This last saturday he gave a demo on hoof trimming, I learned alot. Four point trims, 60/40 ratio for weight distribution, and many more.

Alright, I better get back to studying avian medicine because tomorrow we have exam #1. For the sake of Dr. McNeal lets just hope she's fair, otherwise protective gear might become standard issue I'm afraid.