Cadavers

I just had the most fabulous evening. As a 1st year member of the Pathology club I got to attend a suturing lab this evening. About 15 students were in attendance with one of the small animal surgeons and a couple interns. Every student got a cat cadaver from the local SPCA. We learned how to perform laparotomy's (exploratory gut surgery), spays, neuters bladder stone removals. We then got to stitch up our cadavers to our hearts content. This was the first time practicing on real tissue and it so different then our Styrofoam. Real tissue is so elastic, and all the different layers are so near how they vary in texture and density. Learning how to sew each individual layer and the preferential stitch pattern was amazing! Unfortunately this was held in the pathology lab which is a bio secure area so I couldn't bring in my camera but wow! I can't wait till 3rd year and we learn how to do these kind of things for real on live animals!
Got all my midterms back finally, marks ranged from 69 to 85. Never failed and was only below average on 2 out of 6. Survived round 1, round 2 is knocking.....

What time is it??

BAR NONE TIME!
Now that that is out of my system........

Went home early Friday for the biggest party of the year, Bar None on the weekend. Hit up the warm up dance Friday night. Got to see all my friends as the Aggie's were there to party, the U of S Agros came down, and the pre-vetters were hosting the party. All my favorite 200 some people all rolled into one big night. Danced with more guys than I can count and had a blast!
Saturday went to Ceres Pancake Breakfast. Ceres is a Women's Agricultural Fraternity that I used to be the president of before coming to Saskatoon and I miss the girls so much. I then had a Ceres alumni association meeting that went fairly well and we had a record number of alumni present seeing as it was bar none weekend and most were in town. Pre-Drank and partied it up with some friends on campus before a very fun train ride to the agricom that involved beer and chanting dirty Aggi songs.
Bar None itself was amazing. Brett Kissel opened and was amazing, had a beautiful 9 min rendition of Amarillo by Morning. Gord Bamford was the head liner and also did an amazing job.
Spent Sunday recovering from the party before being picked up by my fellow vet-school Bar None Junkies and came back to Saskatoon.

Awesome weekend, miss my friends tons, and now down to the books.

Pictures!

My "creativeness" for the weekend

The angry colt just minutes before I got kicked......

Out for a battery recharging with my buddy

All dressed up for the CFR!



*** Plus just found out I got 85% on my anatomy mid term. Who Hoo!

Gotta love a holiday and money!

It was a 4 day weekend this weekend so I flew home for the weekend! Saw my horses Saturday. Worked with my yearling Eurus and after not seeing him for a month could not believe the size of him! He is bigger now than my 8 year old gelding. He had a brain-fart moment though and I wound up getting kicked. Nice bruise now as a reminder of his love..... Rode my gelding too on a nice trail ride. Riding completely recharges my batteries and I miss it so much when I am away.
Went to the CFR Saturday night with my aunt and uncle and my mom. Had fun shopping and the perf was awesome! Went Sunday as well as I was a recipient of the Bill Kehler Memorial Scholarship and was awarded it during the performance. Sunday night headed back out to the farm.
Spent Monday at Onoway Vet. Reminds me why I am in vet school. I did a pile of blood work and was amazed when I could not only analyze but also understand all the results. What a great feeling.
Woke up Tuesday to snow and headed off early to the airport for my flight home. Have not studied 1 second over the last four days for my physiology midterm this week so it will definitely be time to buckle down to work when I get home.
Will add some pictures later.....

What year is it?

What the kitty thinks of the birdie

Nah Nah!


Who Hoo! Embryology down, only physiology left to go! Spent the afternoon in lab learning how to work a horribly outdated ECG machine that we will never encounter outside of the college. The results is the same, but man do I thank god for technology, those things we use are using are beasts!
Between outdated profs and machines I feel like I spent the day in the 80's.
Another picture of Louie! Convinced him to sit on my hand.....

Meet my new room mate Louie!

Well I finally bought a lovebird! I had been wanting one for quite a while and had been waiting for just the right one, and I think Ive found as close as I am going to get. I am sick of only ever handling dead animals and need a companion, so meet Louie! Louie is a 6 week old fischer love bird who has taken up residence in the far corner of my bedroom. He is a shy little fellow, but I caught him sneaking a peek at himself in the mirror and head bobbing along the Garth brooks all ready. He still has his juvenile down on his back and his colours will really birghten up with time.

Attack of the midterms!

Arghhh! Midterms! What I first thought would be a nice midterm schedule has turned into hell. 1 midterm a week for 5 weeks in a row is not so nice as 5 midterms in 2 weeks as you have that much more time to stress and worry about them. The attack started with animal behaviour which I though I had done well on, however after receiving my mark Thursday I didn't do so well. This professor is very fanatical and not really forgiving of how things have been done historically or in a private practice when it comes to things like dehorning and castrating calves. we kind of butted heads a bit over some things so I think our difference of opinion led to my sub standard mark. 2nd was biochemistry, a subject I really detest, though I found out today that I didn't do as poorly as I had thought I would. Yay for one good mark. Last week we had anatomy. The amount of material on that exam was astronomical and I think I stressed myself out too much for that one. I did fine I think on the lab poriton, but I misread a question on the written and drew the stay apparatus of the equine forelimb instead of the support apparatus of the fetlock. I have embryology this week and physiology the week after. Then I believe we get a 2 week break before they start again before Christmas.

On to better news, we had a great Halloween party. The 2nd years put on the Halloween happy hour in our buffeteria and sold alcohol and supplied a potluck dinner for everyone. Lots of faculty were out and tons of students with amazing costumes. I went as a peacock, which turned out really well. We then all crammed into the lecture hall and watched all the 2nd years skits again which are even funnier when you have been drinking. We then proceeded to a big pup-crawl for the rest of the night. It was great fun.

It has been 4 weeks since I have been home and I am so excited to fly out this Friday and visit. I miss my horses tons as well as my family and auntie sherry. and my fish, and dog and birds, and so on and so forth......... I better get back to studying embryology, wish me luck!