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.

dirty dog

Tomorrow I'll be doing my extra credit presentation in Lab Animal Medicine. The presentation will be on ECMO (Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation). It was briefly mentioned in one of Dr. Hankensons lectures. I decided to talk about ECMO because I know a little bit about it since I have a Respiratory Therapy background. Originally I wanted to do something a bit more applicable to Lab Animal Medicine like canine tooth cutbacks in piglets, but I changed my mind.

a little off-roading was necessary to get to the surf

Yesterday I decided to take a study break and joined my classmate Jonathan and a spouse named Art. They had an extra board for me but when we got to this beach it was riddled with lava rock and urchins for sure! It took John and Art about 15 minutes to carefully step to waste level water! I decided it would be best not to break someone elses board and took a few pics from the shore, the waves were knee high anyways.

saw these crustaceans on rocks on the shore their a gazillion years old!

these little chinchillas like dust baths

Really though chinchillas require dust baths because apparently it reduces the oils on their fur = healthy, happy chinchilla. So I decided now it's o.k. for Chump to roll in the dirt two nanoseconds after I bath him. . . . he must have a good reason!

Just had my first Pathology II exam last monday. After talking to a few classmates I guess I'm not the only one that made mistakes. On one scenario: 4 month old feedlot calf had diarrhea for four days then suddenly died with a picture of the ileum and focal hemorrhagic necrosis. I should have put BVD (Bovine Viral Diarrhea) however, I put the second best answer: Salmonella! I hope he gives partial credit because that question was worth about 20% of the total exam grade. Afterall, I did list the pathogenesis for salmonella to the T so it goes to show I know the second best response very well. It was rather frustrating however, because I could recite everything about BVD in my sleep. Oh well, atleast I have three more opportunities to improve. I better hit the sack because it's almost 1 am!

Goodnight or is it goodmorning?

Sergio

madmexican disease

ahhhhhh, nothing like a monday morning. Today wasn't too bad except for the fact that i was mad all day! i don't get like this too often (twice a year) but when i do don't you dare get in my way. It must be like PMS for men or something of the sort. Just about everything classmates were saying was pushing me on the edge ALL DAY!! Seriously though, on this day I'll rumble with anyone if provoked. Maybe it's some hormonal change; whatever it is I'm glad I didn't blow up on anyone.

Lately, I've been lifting weights on mondays, tuesdays, and fridays (run to gym) and soccer on tuesdays and thursdays. Our team is called "Rinderpest" and we won our first game this last Sunday. Here a pic of team Rinderpest in action.

All my classes seem to be interesting. Pathology II however is so subjective. Dr. Miller sometimes even repeats himself, often asking us where he left off. Our first lecture consisted of a thorough bio of each of his six children. I thought that was nice, but when he repeated his children's bio's for the third time I knew something was wrong. He couldn't remember their names, or what they did for a living. He almost forgot to mention his one and only daughter! I suppose that's what happens when one gets to the twilight years of life. We're learning morphological diagnosis and descriptions of lesions. So lectures consist of looking at various organs and describing what we see. However, (and I'm sure I'm not alone) often Dr. Miller contradicts himself and see's colors we obviously don't see. Anyhow I need to adapt to his m.o. and hope I can pull a passing grade on our upcoming exam. . . . we'll see.

even this little guy was getting on my nerves!

I hope I can get rid of this otherwise I might get in trouble. . . . maybe I should just stay home and rewash these dishes. Boy I must really want to be a veterinarian really bad! GoOdnight.

right about now

Last Fridays topic: GEM's "Genetically Engineered Mice"

I don't know what the deal is but today while reviewing some epidemiology I felt lonely. All I wanted was to be back in Oakdale with my little mocosa (Nicole) and my main squeeze Sharie. It doesn't help that I had a dream that I was tearing it up on the two-stroke on Groom's. I mean the jumps were like 10 times higher and the speed just insane. . . . then I woke up. Now I'm always thinking of my girls and that dog gone throttle...hmmmm. Look I even downloaded some awesome pics of some guys at Laguna Seca in harmonious formation down the "corkscrew". I've come down this in similar formation but instead we were all wearing spandex and going a fraction of the speed.....but just as close though.

I even downloaded this inspirational picture of some cool lookin' stranger hittin' a whoopti the right way!

And of course my little squinkledoodle taking her much need siesta with that baby that never closes its eyes to sleep.

This semester we are being taught Lab Animal Medicine by a heavy hitter research couple that teach at Penn State. Dr. Claire Hankenson is associate director of the lab animal department and also teaches residents and vet students. Her Husband Dr. Kurt Hankenson is a scientist/veterinarian doing cutting edge research in fracture healing, osteoarthritis, and osteoporosis. They are a cool couple with a little 2 year old boy and unfortunately are only here for the month long lab animal course. If back in the states I'd totally invite them over for some bruskie and tri-tip! We have some "who's who" professors here on The Rock, but this couple have the "one-two" punch in research period.

I'm hittin' the sack because I gotta get over this sore throat. Prayers for Sharie and little baby please. Little baby wants to come out at 34 weeks, but baby gotta take it down a thousand for a few more weeks atleast. Thanks for reading. Have a great week!

right about now I need this singletrack (sigh)

Sergio

trails, guns, and motopsychos

Boy that was refreshing! Started off with a visit to folks in SoCal. Mama Reyna once again enjoyed seeing us and Nicole. What is cool is that Nicole remembers all the places and people that we've visited.

What made the trip special was that for the first time we were able to spend some one-on-one time with Papa Juve in Delano. My stepmother and half-sisters were out of the country for the Holidays so my sis and I decided to crash Dads place.

Once back up in NorCal we had a dual family Uyeyama/Dobroff reunion at my father-in-laws place in oakdale. I don't know why but I agreed to be Santa for the kids, but it was worth it to see some of the kids excitement. Overall I think I talked to cousin Ron the most, lets just say we connected at the dirt level. It's amazing how many similarities exist between motocross and mountain biking.

Sharie and I went out on desperately needed and long overdue date: Aragon and mexican food. During the break I spent some time with Dennis and Matt. Dennis and I both like shopping and giving each other a hard time so the day was full of laughs. Matt let me shoot his clay pigeons with his shotgun. I also managed to try out the two stroke after an hour on the four stroke. That two stroke sure does command some respect and delicacy with the throttle. I'm definitely gettin' one of these bad boys once I'm settled.

Mountain biking was cold in SoCal and muddy in Norcal. Jen showed me Forest divide trail in Auburn.....sweet singletrack, a "beginners paradise". Jim, Billy and myself rode the Old Highway 38 trail in Angelus Oaks. I even got to ride in Hilda Crooks with el pelon y apestoso Ben. Good times I tell you......good times. Pete (father-in-law), Matt and I did a dry Mochi pounding run to make sure all was kosher for the Rancheria Annual Mochi pounding. Mochi came out a little stiff but I was nice to spend that kind of time with two great guys.

And of course the highlight was our snow trip up in Strawberry. I thought for sure the four granddaughters were going to be uncooperative and unsure of this thing called snow. To my surprise.. . .. .well a picture is worth a thousand words:

And the trail continues......

This semester: Pathology II, Epidemiology, Public Health, Lab Animal Medicine, Pharmacology I, and Avian medicine. Thanks for reading and Happy New Year!

4th semester

What a relief! I'm in Fort Lauderdale airport and just used Kerri's laptop to check. My heart was beating so fast, Edward and Kerri looking on anxiously for any hint from my facial response. I told Kerri and Edward I would either do a cartwheel or if I failed go take a few shots of tequila....I did a great cartwheel!

Many might think it's just finals, but it's a huge investment and commitment we make. No one except for like 5 classmates have the semester pretty much secured leading up to finals, but were not all brainiacs. So for the rest of us we play this game of finding out our fates on saturday by noon. Will I have to pack my bags (failed more than two courses)? Will I have to repeat the whole semester (failed one class and have a last and final chance to repeat the semester)?

So from here I can "officially" start my vacation. A layover here and another one in Dallas then a hop to S.F. It's good to be back in the states, it's cold.......a nice change.

Multi-tasking

Feline Infectious Peritonitis: Mortality 100%

This weekend was all about virology. We spent so much time together, She told me about all her diseases and I repeated them over and over. We talked about her on walks, mtn bike rides, and even on the trainer, repeating group listings: zoonotics, reportables, vesicular forming, and on and on. I'll confess half-way through the weekend I felt like I wasn't getting anywhere with viro. But today it all came together.....I started making connections and that's the key to alot of these subjects (parasitology, bacteriology, etc.). I mean come on, when you can rant off viruses while your anaerobic I'd say you know some viro!

I checked out another cane road this weekend, it was nice. I started off on the cane roads, climbed on the road to upper Cayon. Their in Cayon the pavement ended and after a series of forks I was in rainforest. After a nice descent it opened up to a cane field with the Atlantic on my right. I took some pictures but for some reason the laptop doesn't recognize my camera now that I replaced the hard drive.

This next week is the last week of lectures and then it's crunch time after that: FINALS! I'm already thinking of all the rides I want to do back in CA. History in the making here on St. Kitts, for the first time a 747 landed! The runway was extended, apparently when 737's land they only have 50 feet to spare? Sounds scary.

Sharie and Nicole and (Indie) are in Oakdale now. Nicole is so busy playing with her cousins that she forgets about her Papa :{ atleast she's have fun. But that's o.k. I let her hear me playing with her toys while on the phone!

Alright, I better study another subject before I lose balance! Have a great week!

Sergio

hard drive, hard times

Well, I've been computerless the last few weeks because our hard drive took a dump. So for now I'm reduced to using the LRC's computers to post my blogs. So I guess all the pictures are forever gone according the the computer technician. So for now please look at what I want for christmas.....

Come on Santa! It's only 6 gran!

We'll maybe a graduation present for myself. Anyhow, this is the best mountain bike money can get you, but way too much bike for an unfit vet student. Sharie and Nicole will be flying back to Oakdale this thursday. Everything has been going fine here, a few bumps on my last round of exams but nothing fatal. I'm most nervous about Immunology and Virology because when Dr. Giymah says cummulative he means it! Neuroanatomy, Physiology III, and Pathology should be too bad. I'm looking forward to visiting folks in SoCal and NorCal, especially the cold weather! Tropical climate is nice but only for your 2 weeks of vacation! Well I better go hit the books because finals are just around the corner!

Humble Birthday

sometimes I eat lunch here

Vet school has certainly surprised me. At first I thought it would be challenging and that's it, but humbling? I didn't see that one coming, as a matter of fact I experience that about every other day. Some classmates have experienced it more than others and it's not limited to academics.
For starters just coming to a foreign country where you are the minority is nice appetizer. We all share the same story of how we applied to the state side schools and didn't get accepted for this reason or that one. Trying not to wander off while hearing the sad story you've heard time and time again. However, after fightin' it in the trenches we grow closer and take it personally when one of us takes a hit. Word travels fast on the island, about how so and so failed 3 out of 5 exams or how so and so just packed their bags and left the island. We're committed now, we've jumped off the ledge so to speak. We're all in it together and we want every one to make it to the end. I relate the most to other students that have there family here on the island. When one of em' takes a hit I get down on my knees to pray for them, it's that tough.

The other day I had some time to calculate the educational debt we're incurring. I calculated that each student pays $60 per lecture for the 3.4 years of education. At the end of our education my class of 65 (assuming we all make it) will have a combined debt of 13 million big bones. But I'll tell you what we have the best instructors money can buy and of course throw in a dud here and there. Overall, I've had the best instructors here on the island. . . . brilliant, energetic, animated, excited, and passionate about their respective subjects.

It was Nicoles (chochita) birthday last weekend so we took her to the Marriot pool for the afternoon. We decided to trespass once again and play around in the pool, just a momentary delusion that we might just be back in the states. Nicole enjoyed splashing in the pool and eating ice cream and fries. . . I miss being a kid!

I'm two yrs old. . . . WOW! (look at those fries)

I can say that I'm truly proud to be in vet school, running with the best. I'm not the fastest, I'm not the slowest, somewhere in the middle. Sometimes I even fall on my face, but it's nothing I can't shake off. Sometimes the dirt in my teeth drives me that much more to try harder the next time around! Long live the Running Rossies!! Goodnight.