back into the rhythm already

it feels like i never left school. wait. i didn't ever leave - considering that i did my research there all summer. but it feels like i never left class, i suppose. other than the fact that we're in a new classroom - on the third floor - far removed from everybody else. it's kind of lonely being a 3rd year. the 1st and 2nd year classrooms are adjacent to one another, so there is lots of socializing in the halls between classes - with teachers, classmates, etc. the third floor is very dull. no other classrooms and we're so faraway from most professors offices that we never see anyone. we are across from the munchbox - so i expect to gain weight with breakfast always within 20 yards of my spot in the classroom.

the classes are shaping up to be interesting. i'm actually excited about cardiology - it seems neat - how the heart works and all the diseases that go along with that. radiology IS going to be as bad as everyone says it is. i can feel it sucking up all my brain space already. respiratory seems ok. a little dry to start. exotics i will love, of course. reproduction is going to be hard, but i think it'll be really interesting, as well. we had a reproductive pathology lab today and got to look at all kinds of plastinated and wet specimens of reproductive problems. including a "male" horse that came in last year and was euthanized. it was a pseudo-hermaphrodite. it had testicles, a rudimentary uterus, and a cross between a penis (the head) and a vulva directly under the anus (where the vulva should be), as well as teats (male horses do not have teats, unlike male cats).
so yeah, that was interesting. i could explain what a pseudo-hermaphrodite is, but at the moment - i can't remember exactly. we haven't started our behavior class yet (next week, i think), and we have 1 or 2 electives to choose from (which also don't start for a little bit). so i only have 5 classes right now, though i'll have 8 before the end of the semester. and none end early :(

that's all to report here. my life is fairly uneventful. i've gotten into a rhythm of class, lab, the gym, home, dinner, studying. mundane but already stressful.

did i mention that jim passed his prelim???!!!???!!?