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.