MySpace-February 16, 2009-A Bird In The Hand...

Is worth two in the bush, but certainly one in the apartment is worth like three in the bush!
I have like a 1000 things to write about and about a 1000 more to do before I go off to EFAST. I'm not sure what the internet/computer situation looks like down in Aurora, Missouri so you may not hear from me for about three weeks. I have all sorts of things to tell about food animal medicine and my weekend and then some private blogs that I just need the feel of writing. Sorry.
Anyway, Joe and I went up to St.Joe together even though I had literally a crap ton of things to do. I have a very long list that seems never changing. And I can't print it because the computer and printer are at war with each other. I am emailing India and seeing what they think. I know the printer can print. I made it do it under threat of a return to Staples.
Anyway, Joe and I enter the house on Sunday afternoon and I happen to look up and see a bird sitting on the ceiling fan! A bird! A starling! That's a fairly good sized bird! It doesn't need to be in my house so I put up the cat and the dogs get corraled into Joe's car. We open the front and back doors and Joe takes after the bird with a sheet. I meanwhile run around screaming like a girl afraid of the bird flying into me as it flies wildly about the apartment. Joe wants me to stand on a chair with the sheet and block the path over the bar at one point to which he was met with more screaming and me running outside. Eventually, I take residence outside occasionally watching and offering encouragement from the kitchen window. Joe does get the bird to perch on the open door but when going to shoo it out, it flies upstairs. I inquire about its location-my bedroom. I scream from outside and decide that I really, really need to pee right now. So I go to Amberle's with the promise of a great story when I get out. As I just get out and am telling her this bird tale, Joe knocks and says that he has the bird in the shoebox he's holding. Luckily, he didn't. The bird took refuge in the closet (my closet, with my clothes) and Joe swept it into a box and released it outside.
We figure that the bird came in through the dryer vent and somehow made its way out of the dark closet into the light room. Luckily, the laundry closet door was open and I didn't open it to be greeted with a starling to the face. We don't know how long it had been in the house but there were some feathers (its tail was crumpled too), some disturbed items (from it or the cat?) and poop on the sliding glass door. Luckily, it wasn't dead in the sink like Laura's bird. You may remember that from early December possibly.
So I called DBC this morning and left a message that they had to fix the dryer vent to prevent any further birds from coming in. I demanded that they do it early so as Joe could sleep. They didn't come today. Maybe tomorrow as I offered that as an option.
Anytime that I tell this story, I get freaked out. I was really scared that the bird might get me. Joe said that it could of been a rat but I see that as being better. Afterall, I have found two pet rats in the parking lot so odds are that it would of just been someone's pet. And I think Roosevelt could of caught a rat seeing as they DON'T FLY! But then again, had Roosevelt caught this bird or the worse case scenario (a rat) (depending on who you are) and I found it in my bed, that would of given me an even worse case of the yelling like a girls. And honestly, even if there had been a live rat, I probably would of screamed like a girl about that too.
Moral of the story: DBC needs to fix the dryer vents and I'm glad to be leaving for three weeks, though I wonder if Joe and a starling would live in mutual harmony seeing as I don't think that Joe would actually notice if there was a bird in the house, unless Roosevelt or one of the dogs was after it.

[EDIT-Orginially published to Blogger on February 20, 2011.]

MySpace-February 7, 2009-My Birthday

Today, I turned 26. I think that's it. I don't feel any differently. I'm tired (please read on) and I fought quite a bit with Joe over the past 24 hours or so. (Lady illness is coming on with a vengence. I think you could easily track our fights to being in the few days before lady illness with confident accuracy.)
Anyway. Joe took me to Hemingway's for lunch since I wasn't home in time yesterday for a fancy dinner. The place was very nice and I had a crepe with seafood in it and roasted potatoes. I had chocolate cake for dessert. Both were good. We went to the dog park for a while around sunset. I don't have any plans for tonight and won't have nachos brought to school on Monday. (We have a trip planned on production medicine.)
So I am pretty sore because we worked cattle for two days. On Thursday, we drove down to Lamar, Missouri and started at around 10am and finished about 7pm to the light of some headlights and a flashlight. We processed 125 'dairy' heifers. I was in charge of kneeling directly behind the cows' hindend and performing cultures. We also took milk samples, nasal swabs, retagged the ears, ear notches and three tubes of blood. I wasn't kicked and I only got pooped on once. The next day, I wasn't physically able to do the task of the day before so I took blood samples for most of the day. When I wasn't able to do that, I took over labeling samples and ear notching. On Friday, we started at about 7am and finished about 5pm and did the remainder of the 300 or so heifers. (About 175.)There weren't ready bathrooms available so I was forced to hike up to a barn and pee in that. It wasn't very pleasant, but I learned some significant lessons from it.
My house is a disaster and really, really needs to be cleaned. I think that I will do that tomorrow when Joe is asleep. Today is my birthday afterall and why should I have to clean?

[EDIT-Orginially published to Blogger on February 8, 2011.]

MySpace-February 4, 2009-New Computer and Udder Things

Well, I broke down and didn't make it through vet school without my own computer. After Joe's computer tried to self combust, he scrapped everything except for what he needed. That pretty much forced me to purchase this new shiny, purple computer. I have pictures of it sitting on my desk looking all cool but I don't know where the cord to load them from the camera to the computer is.

This is what it looks like. Of course, I had only taken about two steps away from the counter at STAPLES when I dropped the box it came in. The handle gave way. Why would you put a handle on a box if you can't/shouldn't use it?
Joe was mad that I didn't particularly listen to him when it came to the purchase of this computer. It has more stuff than he thought I needed. But maybe I do need it? I think that this cimputer is my grown up computer and could be a stepping stone to writing all those half done novels that will bring me the fame that veterinary medicine is unlikely too...unless I make the definitive connection between Crone's disease and Johne's or something. I'm not the biggest fan of laptops but I figured that at this point it made better sense. And it allows me to sit on the couch with the dogs and write blogs.
I finished up equine and I assumed passed. Grades aren't posted yet. I had several things that I intended to rant about but I can't remember them.
I've moved on to food animal. I am an elective student so I can do pretty much whatever I want. This has primarily consisted of going out with the production medicine students. 1) because Amberle is on production right now and 2) because it sees the most dairy cows. I like Dr.Marshall because she explains things well and doesn't seem to get too mad when we don't have the answers or step up to do stuff. If we are uncomfortable doing something she doesn't seem to mind. And she provides the right amount of instruction without hovering over you which makes me nervous. If I have to do something, give me directions, let me do it but be near by for questions and help if I need it. Tomorrow we are going down south for a couple of days to help with some research and the like. Today, we were out at Foremost and the day before we went to a calf raiser and dehorned. I set a calf's head on fire. It was scary. I might reenact it  (with cartoon pictures) using my new webcam. I'll be sure to record it.

I have another UTI and as before, I blame Joe. I got some antibiotics but only three days worth which doesn't seem like enough esp when my kidneys already hurt. And it lower strength than before.
Expect an increase in blogging. I have a couple that I keep meaning to post but now that I can write them in the comfort of my couch, I am more likely too. And more likely to screw around a lot more.

[EDIT-Orginially published to Blogger on February 6, 2011.]