So, I think I might be able to do this...

I got an A on my first anatomy test!!! yay!! Now, I know this is only one test, in one class, in the first semester, but I must be doing something right, right?!?!

Whew, last week was pretty stressful, just the thought of the first test turned me slightly green. But after many, many longs hours of studying I rocked that test! lol. It's funny though, after the test I felt this amazing sense of relief, the type of relief from finishing a week full of finals, not just one exam, oh well, it was a good feeling nonetheless.

After the fina-- I mean first exam, we went for lunch and beers to unwind. My parents arrived slightly later that night. It was so wonderful to see them. We had a fabulous weekend together. Dad even entertained several classmates with his 'war stories' of veterinary medicine in the old days.

One thing I learned this weekend..Light as a Feather, Stiff as a Board, does NOT work on grown men. I don't think I'll even forget our attempt at lifting Chris though. What a night.

The long weekend concluded with a visit from Uncle Mike and a lot of work done around the house. My living room is finally starting to look like I want it too, and my bedroom is actually organized (although not decorated). There is still a lot to do but I'll be here for 4 years, so I'm not into big of a rush. Oh! And my front porch is simply adorable, I'll post pictures soon.

I must throw a little football in there...the Gators won their opener (and Muschamp's first game as the Gator head coach) against Florida Atlantic. We were better than I thought we would be, so I'm even more excited about the rest of the season. Auburn won too, barely. Against Utah State. Yikes.

Finally, I leave you with the saddest story of the weekend, Romeo and Juliet...Fortunately they are together again in armadillo heaven...oh Alabama, and its vet students...

Later Gator!

What fills my days...

So I realize it has been over a week since I last posted. I'm sorry but I can't say its for lack of trying. Everyone said vet school would be hard and would suck away all of your free time, I had no idea how serious they were being... I think I have studied more in the past 2 weeks than I did my entire graduate degree (maybe not, but pretty close)!

For those of you who do not have a loved one in vet school I thought I would run down the list of classes I am taking this Fall...

Physiology

Cell Physiology (no, not the same thing)

Anatomy

Parasitology

Histology

Ethics

Problem Solving

Ethology

Whew! Where is the underwater basketweaving?! Now, fear not it was not so long I didn't know what all of these classes were all about so if you are lost, I'll break them down for you...

Physiology: the study of the functions of organisms and their parts, for example, we are learning exactly how muscles contract and the heart pumps.

Cell Physiology: the study of all the functions of the cell. Lots of cell signaling to initiate and action and genetics!

Anatomy: Just small animal this semester, mainly the dog with a little cat. Its only been two weeks and I know every nook, cranny and bone in the canine skeleton! We got our cadavers today! Unfortunately (probably fortunate for the viewing audience) we are not allowed to take pictures of our dogs, so I can't show you what we've been up to!

Parasitology: Study of all the parasites that can live in domestic animals. Think tapeworms and hookworms!

Histology: Possibly my least favorite. We look at slides all day long and identify the different organelles and parts of the cell...Eventually I will be able to tell the type/function of a random cell. Like this:

Ethics: pretty self explanatory.

Problem Solving: the jury is still out here...they give us cases and we have to figure out what is wrong without knowing anything about the problems/conditions etc. It sounds like a good learning experience if you have nothing else to do...

Ethology: The study of animal behavior. This one doesn't start till later in the fall semester so I don't really know how it will be.

Whew. Just thought I'd give you a little inside look. Plus you have to add in life! Clubs, friends, family, puppies! I love it, I really do, I'm not complaining. Promise. :D

Anyway...two quizzes tomorrow so I really should stop procrastinating and go study! Have a great night, and hopefully I'll check in more often!

Later Gator!

One week down! How many to go?!

Well, I'm happy to report that I have officially finished my first week as a veterinary student! I even managed to do very well on my first two quizzes! I'll be honest though, I think I studied more this week than I studied a whole semester in undergrad! Whew! Its going to be tough, but I as I sit in class, almost everything we learn is applicable in real life...I'm truly enjoying learning, and that's really exciting. :)

Another first...I was finally social! I went to the 80's Prom Social, which was a little slow to get going but finally started rolling and was fun. I know I need to be more social, just need to get everything in order first. :)

The rest of my furniture arrived today!! The living room looks great. i still need to put together the dresser, but pics coming soon!

Lots to do this weekend, reading, cleaning, studying, and hopefully some sleep!

Later Gator!

Step 1: Orientation...Check!

Well, I made it through orientation unscathed. Friday was quite possibly the most boring day with many lectures, including a two hour one on getting your PhD or Masters during vet school. Can't we just enjoy our soon-to-be DVMs before we try to tackle another one?! Plus, I already have one masters, and that's enough for me!

Just random chores and A LOT of reading this weekend. Tomorrow is the one week anniversary of being an Alabaman, so I found it only fitting to make it official by changing my license plate...

Lord have mercy...who ever who have thought?!

Have a great Monday!

Later Gator!

What I learned on Day 3...

You probably don't want to get stranded in a desert with me, however, if you do, make sure you bring your compact mirror (apparently it's the most important thing you could have...who knew!?!)

Later Gator!

Orientation Day 2

Well, today was just as exciting as yesterday...We had lectures in the morning and team building activities in the afternoon. It was quite hot but they didn't make us run or anything, whew! I'm meeting some really nice people. There are so many different personalities in our class, it will be very interesting to see how we will all fit in and work together. We all voted today that we didn't want any drama, ha, we'll see how long that lasts!

We also had a talk on evidence based medicine by the public health professor! He seems like an awesome professor, I can't wait to have him in class!

After class, it was my class' time to go to the bookstore! I bought my dissection kit and nitrile gloves! I know just what everyone wants to buy when they go shopping! I still need to get lab coats...

Tomorrow, the Christian Vets Group is sponsoring breakfast from Chick-fil-a, YUM! Can't wait!

Proud Owner of a Tablet and a Bone Box

Well, 2 months of no posts and now 2 in one day!?! I gotta keep this up!

Orientation Day 1:

As Daddy and my dear friend, L, put it, "Today was the first day of the rest of my life!" I've never really understood that because any tomorrow can be the first day of the rest of your life but I suppose I understand what they were trying to say. And it was a good day, I met all of my new classmates!! There are 120 in my class, about 100 girls and 20 boys...lots of introductions!

At my college of veterinary medicine (CVM) we all must have tablets, laptops that you can swivel and actually write on the screen. We had a 3 hour set-up and orientation on our new toys. Honestly, I thought, timewise, this was a little excessive, boy was I wrong! These things are pretty crazy! This computer has the potential to make vet school completely paperless. They even have a program that allows you to make your flash cards!! I'm a pen and paper kinda girl though, so its going to take some time to get acquainted with all this technology!

After lunch we were introduced to the anatomy lab and given our very own bone boxes!! That's right, tool boxes filled with bones...jealous?!

I also answered a question correctly and won a box of dental chews, so Dylan got presents today too!

Tomorrow is pictures and team building...we'll see how that goes! Hope the rest of your life has started well too! :)