A little pick-me-up

What does a vet student do when they are stressed, unhappy, and just need *something* to brighten their day?

Why, get a puppy of course! At least, that is what a bunch of my classmates tend to do during midterm and finals weeks.

But, you know me, I am much more rational than that! I would never go out and get a living creature on a whim without actually thinking things through, would I?

Yeah, I would.

He's an African Dwarf Frog

Look at his cute face!!

So yeah, I might be a bit crazy. I'm happy with him though. Sport likes him a lot too! I do need to figure out a name for him, so suggestions are appreciated!

A new, shiny week

I have started to see my life in five day blocks. Every one of those five days holds something different, but some constants remain.

I will always hate Mondays, even if it is grand rounds day (like today! Interesting lunch lecture about anticonvulsants... which reminds me that I need to email Kenya's mom... but it wasn't as interesting as the Littlest Lemur topic from a few months ago). I will always have to pack a lunch on Tuesdays as the Wildlife Medical Clinic rounds are held every Tuesday during our noon period. I will always feel like Wednesdays drag on FOREVER. I will alway be excited about Thursdays, even if my bereavement issues class makes me really depressed in the evenings. And Fridays can never come soon enough.

Right now we are learning about reproductive...everything. It's really interesting but it reduces everyone to middle schoolers - even the professors. One of my professors told us that we should have had egg harvesting parties when we were 17 because we chose our careers over our fertility. Today, his lecture turned quite a few girls off of ever giving birth. He is, for all his craziness, my favorite professor. Not only is he fun to listen to but you can absolutely tell just how much he enjoys his subject and most importantly, teaching it to others. I also like to daydream that he is like Indiana Jones and has crazy adventures when he isn't here teaching us about placentas and testicles. The middle schooler bit is getting a tad old though. It's making me annoyed and irritated with school in general. But that's probably just an excuse for my own laziness.

However, Mondays are always hard for me. Today moreso, since we just returned from spring break and I went from lazy days in beautiful northern Arizona to the crazy whirl of vet school in drab Chambana (that's Champaign-Urbana for you uncool people). I miss the Boyfriend. I miss the Boyfriend's dog. I miss nature.

The hardest part of moving to Central Illinois/the Midwest was not leaving my family, my friends, the only state I have ever lived in, even my job. The hardest part was leaving this:

I miss taking my dog for a quick walk and ending up on a hiking trail. I miss seeing the most beautiful sunsets in the world. I think my heart will always be in Colorado, even if I don't plan on going back for a while. I might even be like my sister and never return permanently. But I am thankful that I lived in such an amazing place and I will always dream about going "home."

Being in Flagstaff with the Boyfriend really reminded me of what I am missing here in the cornfields and cow patties. You can see the stars there. You can smell the pine trees. You can walk out your front door, down the street and BAM! You are on a lovely hiking trail. You can go outside at night and not be afraid that you are going to get stabbed (yes, a real problem in my neighborhood here).

But some things I am in love with/looking forward to in Chambana: The Farmer's Market! The dog park (and most of the people that frequent it)! The different wildlife species that I see in the clinic! Um... that's all I got, really. I still miss the West.

Okay forgive me if I haven't given proper background info for this post. I was just feeling melancholy. I promise to bring you up to speed in the next few days.

Okay, okay okay

So...

It's been two years.

I've never really said that I was good at this sort of stuff, did I? Things came up. Things got complicated.... Life changed.

Two years.

A lot has happened in those two years. Would you like to know about them? Probably, if you are still reading this you know about them all. But for those who don't, let's bring you up to speed:

Since my last post:

-Lacy got adopted. She is spoiled rotten. Literally - she is a nasty ankle biter now and her new mama loves it. :/

-So did Empress, then she got returned. Then she went to a different foster home. Then she was sent back to the shelter. For the last two years, that is where she lives. Go and adopt her. She needs it.

-I did graduate from CSU (yay!). I am now a Biologist and a Zoologist. thankyouverymuch.

-The shelter and I parted ways. I worked there until August of 2009 and left it to pursue another job. I still fostered for them for a little bit and I am still in contact with them a lot.

-I fell in love with a boy. He is now the Boyfriend.

-I worked from August 2009-August 2010 at Olde Towne again. I was the head vet tech and it was amazing. I owe everything to Dr. Muench.

-I got into the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois.

-I moved to Urbana, Illinois. (Sport came too)

-Life is wonderful.

So that's life in a nutshell. I am currently finishing up my first year at UIUC (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign). I adore it, but I'll post another entry about that later.

Future posts will include:

Updates on the awesome Sport dog (and pictures! I promise.)

A look into life at UIUC

An intro to the boyfriend and his dog, Maddie

A review of this past school year

And lots, lots more!

Let's hope I post again before March 2013!

ETA: I changed the look of the blog. Let me know if it is too much.