i bet you never thought you'd hear these words out of my mouth

equine surgery isn't that bad.

*take a deep breath now, recover from the shock...*

maybe it's because i know this is my last rotation ever. maybe it's because equine surgery takes all the lameness cases, so i spend a good 2-3 hours outside every day doing lameness exams on horses and basking in the glow of the late april sunshine. maybe it's because we have the new senior students - who are taking essentially all of the cases now. maybe it's because the clinician gave me and my fellow rotation-mates (class of 2008) the entire weekend off AND guaranteed us that we'd also have next weekend. most of us aren't taking cases as the primary student anymore but hanging back and letting the new students take the cases. we oversee them, help them figure out the paperwork, order tests, organize their time efficiently, etcetera. i'm still working all day, but as more of a supervisor than anything. the resident (whom we spend 90% of our time with) is excellent. he enjoys teaching, he's always in a good mood, he loves students, and he's very pro-senior. he's made sure to let us off for senior events like the making of our roast video and the honors convocation.

speaking of the honors convocation, i was awarded the Ophthalmology award this year. i feel gratified that of all my classmates, i was chosen for this award. mainly because it was my very first rotation as a 4th year veterinary student - an entire year ago - and they remembered me all that time. there were some surprises at the honors convo - some awards didn't go to those we all expected. i suppose that's the politics and BS of vet school, though.

the kitten i took in 3 weeks ago (see older post) is thriving. he was so young then, i didn't really think he'd make it. but he's hanging in there and has gotten to be a fat sassy little thing. his name is metan (pronounced mi-tan).

i went shopping today and bought my graduation dress and shoes. it's only 11 days away.

ELEVEN DAYS.