Diary of a Dick Vet

So this knitting thing, it is so addictive. I did finish those wrist-warmers:

But I didn’t stop there! I kept on going with a hat, which was distressingly tricky for me. I had to start over about 10 times, and the yarn was quite happy to tear or snag while frogging the project, so I grew increasingly distressed with each failed attempt. Finally, I set my needles down, and just as I was about to fall asleep that night, defeated, I had a moment of clarity, and realized the large, glaring mistake I had made in the pattern. It was easily fixed and finished a few days later:

To be honest, the hat doesn’t fit the way I want, so although I’m proud of finishing the beast, I’m much more excited about the next hat I made:

Back view of the vine lace pattern

Two things:

1. This was made with half of a 50p skein of yarn I found in a charity shop. Score! I’m not sure what to do with the rest of the yarn, but I could easily make a second hat with another, equally intriguing pattern.
2. These pictures are before I ‘blocked’ the object, e.g. shaped it, so the vine lace pattern isn’t terribly apparent. However, I sort of like the gentle waviness of the hat, so I didn’t change it too much.

Between knitting and class and orchestra, I’m quite a busy little vet student. Today, I woke up to an inch of fresh snow on the sidewalks, and the trees and fields were gorgeous out at school. The sun was shining, and inside Easter Bush I was so warm, it was an all-around pleasant feeling. As the days get longer and the classes and tons of information pile up, I hope I still get a chance to enjoy how beautiful winter in Edinburgh can be.

I have an awful habit of picking up hobbies and dropping them. Sometimes I will come back to them again later, reminding myself how much I enjoyed them in the first place, but again they lose favor with me, and I trade those hobbies for something else new and exciting.

Having mastered some very basic crochet since my freshman year at my first University, I thought I might take up knitting. So, with pair of US size 9 aluminum needles and some cheap acrylic yarn, I taught myself to knit over Christmas holiday. Not sure how long it will keep my fancy, but already I prefer it to crochet, and I have a long list of patterns I’m itching to try. I have a few things cast on but not finished, so I’m trying to discipline myself and finish one before starting another - just like I intend to ‘finish’ learning to knit, instead of dropping it for, I don’t know, embroidery. On a related note, I am currently reading 4 books right now!

The internet is an absolutely wealth of information, with so many free patterns and videos showing techniques, that it was quite easy to pick up the basics. I made my first hat and it ended up far to short, but it was just a practice go for my second hat, which went much better:

My 'Hot Head' hat

I have a scarf in the works, but what I’m enjoying the most right now is a pair of wristwarmers I started yesterday. Like the hat above, there is a ‘ribbed’ effect, which is very basic, but what’s keeping them interesting right now is trying to knit it the round. In order to make a tube-like structure without stitching a flat piece together, and thus to avoid a seam, you can knit with double-pointed needles, which is a very fun balancing act between 3-4 shorter needles.

Simple Wristwarmers

There’s something satisfying about juggling those little bamboo sticks, to create something useful and sorta cute. I just hope I can bring myself to make two of them!

I’ve come across a very interesting, but also rather tragic blog about a cat named Chase. When Chase was four weeks old, she was hit by a car and left. Luckily, after a few days, someone found her and brought her to a clinic, and after she was treated for her injuries (including amputation of a back leg) she was rehomed to one of the clinic’s technicians. However, her face later sloughed off due to injuries, resulting in the loss of her nose and the surrounding skin. To be frank, she is a rather horrific sight and I wouldn’t visit the blog if you’re put off by the thought of seeing her badly disfigured face. But if you can manage to bear her injuries, the blog is pretty remarkable. In an internet full of cute kitten pictures and videos, to find a cat that is the very antithesis of ‘adorable,’ and yet is so clearly loved and admired for her survival, is very heartwarming. Even more impressive is the outpouring of support she gets from her readership, including cuddly outfits and toys sent in the mail.

She’s a lucky cat. She’s mostly healthy, except for daily drops to keep her eyes from drying out, and has an owner that recognizes her as a source of inspiration rather than horror.

No Face Chase (again, be careful clicking!)

It’s Thursday night but in my mind, I’m already in Friday afternoon. With the rather seasonal snow all day and my general exhaustion from studying, I can’t seem to make myself study for that last exam tomorrow morning. Instead, the thought of enjoying a beer and sausage at the German Market tomorrow night is disrupting my focus! Can I board the plane home yet?

We’ve had assessments all week. Monday I had to tie a simple suture, which was nearly impossible due to shaking so much, and on Tuesday I had an easy assessment on instrument recognition, such as needle holders and different types of scissors. I’m so glad I took the time to revise with the example instruments they set out! I liked both of these assessments because they’re obviously testing useful skills: I will need to be able to tie a suture, and recognizing instruments will be useful in surgery and for communicating with others during an operation. I helped a vet dress a wound once during an internship and was very, very frustrated when he kept asking for different bandage supplies and I didn’t know what they were!

Yesterday was a ’spot’ exam, where we had to identify and describe different pathological lesions, which didn’t go too poorly, but today I took a big, scary exam. Something like 43% of the class failed the exam last year (normal fail rates for the first time exam for other classes are more like 5-10%) and judging from some of the questions they asked us this morning, that same figure might apply to this year’s class. We’re not stupid and we’re not lazy. Sometimes an exam is just hard! If I have to come back in August to resit I will appreciate the extra time to study, but obviously it’s nicer to enjoy your summer in full!

So, one more exam and I’m done! Plans include going to Glasgow for some Christmas shopping, reading the Sunday paper in bed (I am might be old before my time), and exchanging gifts with friends. And packing! I hope I have space for gifts for my family….

There are only a few meager weeks until we break for a week of studying and then sit a week of exams. On Thursday the course organisers gave us detailed information about exam formats, which made the end of the semester seem that much closer. It’s probably time to kick into super study mode, which is hard to do when we still have the same amount of classes as usual.

I do have Thanksgiving to look forward to. I made my first turkey last year, and I hope to do a better job this year! I’ve overheard the new class of GEPs making plans for their first American Thanksgiving In The UK. It’s a tradition that passes down the GEP generation: each year the new class has trouble finding canned pumpkin, calls home for their mom’s stuffing recipe, discovers that UK ovens are not suited for large turkeys, attempts to convince Canadians that American Thanksgiving is better and the British that Thanksgiving of any sort is awesome, and make a little family unit for the evening to celebrate what they’re thankful after the stress of leaving home and country. What a nice holiday.

Anyway, I look forward to turkey and a break from mad studying!

Ah yes, week 4. How much you feel like week 40! At this point, I feel like the amount of information they’ve given me to learn is enough for 10 exams, and yet I’m not even halfway through the semester. Worst of all, everything in our lectures seem relevant to actually being a vet, so unlike last year, when I would read an entire paragraph and (correctly) assume that I didn’t need to overload my brain with extra information, now I feel like I need to memorize each line of notes.

Today was fun, though. I had a practical on bandaging dog legs, and as the nurse demonstrated on one very cooperative springer spaniel (who had a certain Eeyore quality about him) two collies, a poodle, and a lab all chased each other around the room, nibbling and wrestling and generally playing like they were puppies. The terrier and lurcher couldn’t be bothered, but otherwise the room was a big raucous doggy pile of playfulness. After the demo we teamed up and each picked a dog to practice on. My partner and I picked the collie who was initiating all of the naughtiness, but he was really great to work with. He was curious about all the other dogs also being bandaged, and was a little sad when all of his buddies were finished and on the floor while he had to wait for my very, very poorly created Robert Jones bandage, but otherwise he seemed to enjoy the petting and cooing. I really wish I had thought to bring a camera!

Today we walked into lecture and there were free Royal Canin mugs, so woohoo!

Today was my first day as a 3rd year student*. Unlike last year, as a GEP, when I was chomping at the bit and ready to ace the year (little did I know!) this time around I’m not quite thrilled about starting another schlep of studies. Don’t get me wrong, I’m still excited and honored to be in vet school, but I am all-too-aware of the pain I’m getting myself into: the thousands of pages of reading and notes to sort through, the hours of wringing my hands in frustration, the hundreds of stupid questions I will have, and doubt - O, The Doubt!

However, that’s the wrong attitude to take, as it won’t help me survive the year. I must brush my brain off and remind myself of the good things. There are many. Some of the more simple ones:

1. Name badges! They spelled my name correctly, and I now have a badge insisting that I am an official RDSVS ‘Veterinary Student.’
2. Pathology! Okay, I know that my Path Fridays will end up being lots of work in a relatively short amount of time, but looking at diseased organs is fun.
3. Surgery! I’ve performed a minor surgery before, and I could tell it would have gone much smoother if I was actually trained in surgery techniques. Here’s my chance.
4. The school’s Orchestra is back and we have a little concert scheduled, so that’s a nice extracurricular to appreciate.
5. I’m in my new flat, which is comfy and full of plenty of space to study.
6. No longer having to endure the smell of Summerhall. I mean, it’s a great building, but parts of it…ewww.

Another bonus: being a real, integrated student, and not a member of a bizarre, relatively new and under-developed program. I hope my fellow ex-GEPs won’t need to badger the administration so much, because we won’t be the strange new group of mostly whiny North Americans trying to insist that the prix fixe menu turns into a buffet. Every University has a push-pull system between the Staff and the Students, but there have been 3rd years far longer than there have been GEPs, and I am prayin’ that the machine is pretty well oiled by now.

Tomorrow’s schedule: pathology of nasal cavities and sinuses, intro to surgery techniques, intro to anaesthesia, and 3rd year photographs. We’re done by 3pm, so I can go and officially register, sign over my student loans, print my notes for the next few weeks, and buy a few more school supplies. I love free time.

By the way, to everyone I was lucky enough to visit while I was home for a few weeks, I had a fabulous time back in the States and look forward to seeing everyone again during Christmas break! Although, that also means I will be sitting exams around that time, so I don’t look forward to December too much right now.

* To clarify, vet school in the UK is usually 5 years and is started straight out of high school; however, the ‘GEP’ programme combines the first two years for students with previous undergraduate degrees in the sciences, and then the students join the traditional ‘3rd years.’ So my second year at the University is called 3rd year! Logically!

…And now I am back in Edinburgh, unpacking, cleaning, watching Big Brother (with much guilt, I must add) and preparing for my sister to come visit. Then, on September 2nd, I am going hoooooome for two weeks - for the first time since I moved here on August 5th, 2008.

While I was down working in England, I had a chance to revisit Stratford-upon-Avon; however, this time I was greeted by sunny skies, warm weather, and bright cheerful gardens. And lots of other visitors, too! But for being a perfect English summer day, not to mention a Friday, the crowds weren’t too bad, and even made the trip a little more interesting, allowing me to watch families and couples and the odd lonesome Shakespeare fanatic share their time in the city.

Garrick inn and Harvard House

Guild Chapel - from the 15th century. I think it's the most beautiful church I've been to in the UK.

Last time I visited, I bought tickets that let me into Shakespeare’s birthplace and Anne Hathaway’s home, but this time I was too cheap to pay the £17 again to get into those homes and Nash’s Croft, which is next door to the where Shakespeare died. That house, ‘New Place’, is gone, with only part of foundation surviving, but its location had been turned into a garden. Next door to Nash’s house and garden is another garden which was free to the public.

The gardens, with Guild Chapel in the background.

Poppies! Poppies!

The gardens were lovely and fragrant, and I came back after lunch to spend a more time in them. But the gardens were on the way to where I was really headed, the River Avon:

Busy on the River

I paid £2 for a very pleasant boat ride on the river, with some very friendly swans.

After enjoying lunch on the lawn, I strolled over to the ancient Holy Trinity church, the oldest parts dating back to 1210, where Shakespeare, his wife, and several other family members are buried in the chapel. The most famous and well-respected English poet ever, and in death he is still just an abstract slab of stone and a plaque with a name.

Shakespeare's grave

He did have a last hurrah. His epitaph? (in slightly more modern English)

Good friend for Jesus sake forbear
To dig the dust enclosèd here
Blessed be the man that spares these stones
And cursed be he who moves my bones

What a wise ass! I love it.

The church itself was lovely, although I am obviously a glutton for Gothic architecture.

But my favourite part of it all was a little carving hidden in the corner and almost impossible to appreciate without a camera zoom. It’s a very early image of Christ that managed to survive the Reformation (when images of Jesus were destroyed), it being hidden until somewhat recently.

I think it's beautiful.

I hung out a bit longer, appreciating the architecture before walking back into town. After a fish supper enjoyed next to the River, I did a bit of shopping, stopped into Starbucks, and caught the train back.

Kudos to the people I stayed with taking such good care of me and giving me rides to and from the train station. It was hard work at the kennels, but rewarding.

Also, I got to spend time with the boss’s 9-month-old French Bulldog Mastiff (I do actually know the difference, I just had a brain fart), like the canine in the classic Tom Hanks dog-com ‘Tuner and Hooch‘. He had the unfortunate name of Tea Bag, which had been selected by the previous owner who had to rehome the poor beast. Upon first meeting Tea Bag, I was NOT impressed, since he nearly knocked me over by jumping on my chest and subsequently covered me head-to-toe in his special blend of slobber. But after a while, I couldn’t help but have a change of heart, and what had made him obnoxious and gross made him - oddly - charming. He weighs over 30kg and is a big stupid lug, but he has no idea that he’s too big to play rough. He’s just a puppy and a very affectionate one at that.

Who, me?

I mean, how could you not love him?

It's hard work being this slobbery

I received an email from a previous EMS placement looking for help at their kennels for the next few weeks. With summer vacation, the kennels fill up quickly and staff is short, so I’m taking the train down and staying for two weeks to help. I’m excited to return and not have to worry about filling out a pesky EMS form, and hopefully I’ll remember enough from my last time there to be useful. Plus, dogs and cats! Yay!

Before this popped up two days ago, I was facing two weeks of total free time until my sister arrives. I found the idea terrifying - how does one pass the time without classes to complain about and EMS to fulfill? I don’t think I have a workaholic bone in my body, but vet school so totally encompasses my life, that I can’t be fulfilled unless I’m doing something that somehow relates to it, even if I’m doing that activity for fun. In this case, I’m going to work, but it feels more like a holiday for me: returning to an old haunt, playing with animals, staying in the Most Comfortable Bed In The World, enjoying plenty of wine, and visiting friends.

I’m glad I can be useful. The couple I’m going to help have taken such good care of me in the past, inviting me to their boxing day and new year parties during my first holiday season away from home, and I’m pleased I can do something nice for them. Plus, um, I’m getting paid. Don’t mind that, neither.

My EMS is over, except for a few pesky forms to fill out. My final week, with chickens, went poorly for a number of reasons, but I made it through. At least it was a beautiful location. I took some pictures to prove it.

View of the farm from the road

A little waterfall. We had rain for a lot of the week after this, and the little waterfall ended up quite big.

In addition to chickens, the farm was also host to some cattle and lots of sheep. Thankfully no pigs!

I may not miss the chickens, but I will miss the truly beautiful walk to and from the farm.

I wish I had nicer things to say about chickens, but the truth is, they’re rather unpleasant. A few clucking around the yard might be nice, but a shed full of 2000 of them makes you quickly realise that they’re devoid of much personality. They’re certainly not as likable as sheep. Or cows, or horses, or dogs, or cats….

Still, they’re not pigs, either!