since i am a vet student

i thought i'd post something that is related to being a vet student.

I ACTUALLY HAD TO WORK TODAY! YES! i had to get up at 8am and go to work. and tomorrow, i have to get up at 7am and go to work. amazing, isn't it? so, we're still working on the parrot research. over the course of the last few months, i have learned a great many new words and terminology used in research. for instance - the words 'changing our focus' and 'redirecting our interests' are nice ways of saying - well, plan A and B have failed miserably, let's try something completely different! my research has been "accomplished" in fits and stops. we haven't really had any success that we could take and use to start actual structured experiments. at this point, we're 'exploring our options' - which means ordering antibody freebie samples, bleeding a lot of quail and parrots, and figuring out something. it's been eye-opening. i never realized that research would be so frustrating. i guess it makes sense, though. we're starting with an idea that we hope will work, but that - in all likelihood - probably will not. and since this project is freshly started this summer, i'm here to see the labor pains. at any rate, i have learned a great deal, all sarcasm aside. i now understand flow cytometry enough to explain it to a layperson (i hope), i know a bit more about hematology (that's blood for non-nerds) than i did before, and other useful stuff.

i have one more week (not counting thurs/fri) and then i'm supposed to head to florida for the annual beach trip with el familio. after that, 2 more weeks of research, and i'm finished. i get a glorious 2 week vacation, then i start helping with orientation for the class of 2009 - and then - school. it seems both faraway and very near. i know how fast the time will go by, regrettably.

i'm looking forward to my 2nd year of vet school, though i feel a bit apprehensive. not because of the work, but because i'm just not sure yet where i want to go when i'm finished with school. i had the same feeling prior to graduating college - only much too late to do anything useful about it - say the day of graduation. i want to be prepared when i finish vet school, to have some concept of where i'm going with my life. but then - don't we all?

oh yes, the handsome couple pictured is myself and my hooband celebrating our 6th wedding anniversary. every year gets better and better. what did i ever do to have such a wonderful life?

uh. i guess that's all to say here. vet school is looming again. i'm ready. i think.