Wednesday, February 23, 2005
WHEN SPIDERS ATTACK!!!
So the apartment has a bit of an arachnid problem... A rather unfriendly-looking spider (i.e. kinda looked poisonous) appeared in our bathroom a few weeks ago. It jumped out from behind the toilet at me. It took several attempts (on two days - it retreated behind the toilet where I couldn't get it), but I eventually killed it. Then, another jumped out of a shoe at Lisa last week. She thinks it's a brown recluse, which is VERY poisonous. (Looking at a picture, I don't think that's what it was - it was hairier, wolf spider-ish.) Luckily that one died much more quickly. Today, Morgan's nose and face is swollen and bothering her, so we're assuming a spider bit her (there's not much else that could have happened since she's in her kennel when we're not here). This is not a happy trend! We are really hoping that Raid will solve our problem... Luckily, wolf spiders are NOT poisonous, so we won't be losing limbs if we're bit. Morgan, however, is deathly allergic to bee stings, so we're guessing a spider bite gets a nasty allergic reaction out of her, too. Man, I am not usually bothered by spiders, but this has me feeling crawly!!
At Last!
Someone else finally showed signs of blogger life (thanks, Ruthi), so I am finally motivated to blog again. There's actually been a lot going on. I took all those exams that I listed before, for instance. They weren't fun or easy, but some were better than others. My anatomy grade was only a little lower than expected. I want to fight for points (3), but haven't done so because I don't think it'll matter much (i.e. I will only get a long tangential speech from Dr. Goshal about how hard he tried to fairly grade the exams). The Radiology quiz had every one very depressed, but I've been told I got the high score, even though I only got a 23/27 (and I have not confirmed my rank by reliable sources). Somehow I forgot about the Immunology worksheet, but they thought I had already turned it in anyway (it's just a completion thing, no grade) when I went to turn it in late, so I lucked out. I did surprisingly bad on the Neuro exam, so it's lucky that the rest of the exams are worth a lot more. The Histology exam was an interesting mix. One instructor asked nice, representative, answerable questions as expected. A second asked unrepresentative, wierd questions, as expected. The third usually asks questions about things she BLATANTLY emphasizes in class, but didn't do so on this exam. Most unexpected. We still don't have the scores back on this exam, and nobody really knows what's taking so long. As it is the vet school, and we have a VICIOUS rumor mill, there are many equally unfounded and unconfirmed guesses. (Instructor got behind due to other responsibilities, Instructor is ill, something bad going on in Instructor's family, etc...) Here's hoping we get the scores back before our second exam, which is only two weeks away. -Ruthi, be prepared for the vet school rumor mill. It's like living in a small town where most people are gossipy young adult females!!- The Immunology exam was very fair, but very detailed, as expected. I didn't do quite as well as I hoped, but still fairly decent. So that catches you up on past academic stuff.
Today, I took another Radiology quiz. It was very frustrating, so you will get a little rant here. I think Dr. Riediesel is a Radiologist because she doesn't have the greatest people-skills. The Radiologist can stay behind the scenes away from the "obnoxiously dumb owners" and just talk to the "equally intelligent" veterinarian and not get too annoyed. When she has to teach us lowly first years (and third years, I have been told), she seems to be mean and cranky. I don't mind that in a lecturer - she gives rather good lectures - but it's a really BAD trait when writing quizzes. She asks things in a way that CAUSES us to give wrong answers. It's like she ENJOYS it when we get answers wrong. We can point out exact parts in her notes that justify our answers and/or negate what she says is correct, yet she manages to insult us (subtley) and refuse to budge EVERY TIME! Here is just one reason why today's quiz really bothered me: the course is Radiology, and yet there were NO radiographs on the quiz. The closest thing was a schematic image of abnormal lungs and we had to identify which lobe was affected. That was probably the easiest question on the quiz... I may have had tough or uncaring instructors in the past, but I've NEVER had one who seemed to actively try to lower scores like this before. (Not even Dr. Beverly in undergrad - for as ill-tempered as he was, he at least asked very relevant and clearly worded questions on his exams.)
In other news, we have dumpster divers in Ames. I'd noticed some scattered trash by our dumpster a time or two before, but this weekend, I actually saw why. These random (and I assume impoverished) people drove up in broad daylight and started rooting through the dumpster tearing open bags. I assume they were looking for cans (to get the deposit you get back in IA), but I also saw them getting other things - an old blanket, etc. There was not one dumpster diver, but at least 3. Two in a van, and later one in a truck. This is why your parents tell you to rip up your name and address and other important info before you throw mail or receipts out!! Needless to say, I was a bit disturbed to see this. It saddens me to see people forced into that level of desperation. Part of me wanted to give them my collection of unredeemed cans, but another part of me was afraid it'd get spent on drugs or booze. Compared to Illinois, this is the first "cruel reality of the city" thing I've really seen in Ames (besides the bad driving and poor snow removal, that is).
This weekend, I wasn't alone in the apartment for once. Lisa and Steve were here because of a cat named Purrty Boy. He's the blood donor cat in the clinics at school, and Steve intends to adopt him when he graduates in May. (You can only use a blood donor for so long by law, and then you need to place them in a home and get a new one.) He wanted to test out how Purrty Boy would handle being out of the clinic cat cages and his dog, Brittany. However, his roommate is very allergic to cats, so we conducted the test-run here instead. It was quite the full house with three people, two dogs, a cat, and a rabbit and only one bathroom. I enjoyed having the cat around - he seemed to like me a lot, possibly because I was often where the dogs were not. He had a great time watching Gwennie (and she seemed fascinated by him at first as well), and crawling under my bed, in my closet, and in my laundry basket... Much of the rest of the time he was on top of the kitchen cabinets or refrigerator to avoid the dogs. They each got swatted a few times... Overall, it was a success, plus it was nice to have other people around. (Lisa even made a yummy dinner for us all on Saturday!)
Well, it's late, so I'm going to get to bed.
Today, I took another Radiology quiz. It was very frustrating, so you will get a little rant here. I think Dr. Riediesel is a Radiologist because she doesn't have the greatest people-skills. The Radiologist can stay behind the scenes away from the "obnoxiously dumb owners" and just talk to the "equally intelligent" veterinarian and not get too annoyed. When she has to teach us lowly first years (and third years, I have been told), she seems to be mean and cranky. I don't mind that in a lecturer - she gives rather good lectures - but it's a really BAD trait when writing quizzes. She asks things in a way that CAUSES us to give wrong answers. It's like she ENJOYS it when we get answers wrong. We can point out exact parts in her notes that justify our answers and/or negate what she says is correct, yet she manages to insult us (subtley) and refuse to budge EVERY TIME! Here is just one reason why today's quiz really bothered me: the course is Radiology, and yet there were NO radiographs on the quiz. The closest thing was a schematic image of abnormal lungs and we had to identify which lobe was affected. That was probably the easiest question on the quiz... I may have had tough or uncaring instructors in the past, but I've NEVER had one who seemed to actively try to lower scores like this before. (Not even Dr. Beverly in undergrad - for as ill-tempered as he was, he at least asked very relevant and clearly worded questions on his exams.)
In other news, we have dumpster divers in Ames. I'd noticed some scattered trash by our dumpster a time or two before, but this weekend, I actually saw why. These random (and I assume impoverished) people drove up in broad daylight and started rooting through the dumpster tearing open bags. I assume they were looking for cans (to get the deposit you get back in IA), but I also saw them getting other things - an old blanket, etc. There was not one dumpster diver, but at least 3. Two in a van, and later one in a truck. This is why your parents tell you to rip up your name and address and other important info before you throw mail or receipts out!! Needless to say, I was a bit disturbed to see this. It saddens me to see people forced into that level of desperation. Part of me wanted to give them my collection of unredeemed cans, but another part of me was afraid it'd get spent on drugs or booze. Compared to Illinois, this is the first "cruel reality of the city" thing I've really seen in Ames (besides the bad driving and poor snow removal, that is).
This weekend, I wasn't alone in the apartment for once. Lisa and Steve were here because of a cat named Purrty Boy. He's the blood donor cat in the clinics at school, and Steve intends to adopt him when he graduates in May. (You can only use a blood donor for so long by law, and then you need to place them in a home and get a new one.) He wanted to test out how Purrty Boy would handle being out of the clinic cat cages and his dog, Brittany. However, his roommate is very allergic to cats, so we conducted the test-run here instead. It was quite the full house with three people, two dogs, a cat, and a rabbit and only one bathroom. I enjoyed having the cat around - he seemed to like me a lot, possibly because I was often where the dogs were not. He had a great time watching Gwennie (and she seemed fascinated by him at first as well), and crawling under my bed, in my closet, and in my laundry basket... Much of the rest of the time he was on top of the kitchen cabinets or refrigerator to avoid the dogs. They each got swatted a few times... Overall, it was a success, plus it was nice to have other people around. (Lisa even made a yummy dinner for us all on Saturday!)
Well, it's late, so I'm going to get to bed.
Saturday, February 12, 2005
Happy Valentine's Day!
Yeah, so I finally have a little chance to write something more substantial in here. I've obviously been kept busy with exams, and I'm not sure about any results yet (there's an unresolved discrepancy with my anatomy lab score at the moment). The Histophys exam was unpleasant. Of the three instructors who have taught so far, I only felt confident that I did well on the material from one. The others wrote some rather unrepresentative questions mixed in with tough ones. I was expecting that from one, but not the other - I liked her questions last semester. Oh well, I know I at least passed and understand the imporatant stuff, and that's what matters.
On a side note, I am now completely vaccinated for rabies, so don't worry if I bite you. :-P
So here's the long-awaited details about Ryan's visit a few weekends ago. He came up Friday night and we went to movie night together shortly after he arrived. He got to meet Mimi and Tim and we all had a good time watching the movie together. Afterwards, we were pretty worn out, so we called it a night. Saturday morning I made Ryan a blueberry and cream cheese Butter Braid that I bought from a fundraiser at school (it's kinda like a coffee cake - very yummy). Then we went and picked up Mimi, Tim, and Tim's friend (her name escapes me - I'd never met her before, but she was very nice...) and we all headed over to Boone (about 15 miles west of Ames) to go snow tubing. It was fairly nice weather so we didn't have to worry about being cold, but the place makes their own snow, so we didn't have to worry about the lack of snow (there was still some natural snow around, but much had melted). It was funny, though, because they only made snow on the SLOPE part of the tubing area, so the flat at the bottom was more like a half-frozen muddy field with patches of muddy snow. It also smelled strongly of cow pasture, which Lisa later explained: there are cattle farms just beyond the hill we were on and the wind carried the odor over into the ski/tubing area. They had a cable system to pull your tube (with you in it) up the hill, which was nice. The line was short or nonexistent, at least once the group of ill-mannered school children left. The tubes really go quite fast down the hill, it was a blast! Other than a few bottom-of-the-hill-puddle incidences (Ryan had several), we all stayed pretty dry and got our money's worth. I had the only injury - one of the afore-mentioned school children didn't clear out of the bottom fast enough and had to dodge a speeding Ryan only to be whacked by my knee instead. It knocked the kid down and gave me an interesting bruise, which is finally almost gone (luckily it didn't hurt long). That evening Ryan and I drove down to Des Moines for dinner. The wait was about 75 minutes at Olive Garden, so we shopped at the mall across the street to kill time and get me some 2-Year Anniversary and Valentine's Day gifts. It worked out so perfectly - I found a nice shirt to wear at school (purple, of course), an eyeglass repair kit (to fix my ever-loose frames), and some adorable PJ pants from Aeropostale (purple with Angel Monkeys!!). I also got Ryan a Bears Football calendar for only $3. Then it was exactly the right time to head back to Olive Garden. We had a very yummy meal and took a piece of the oh-so-delicious Chocolate Lasagna home for dessert. We stopped in Ankeny on the way back to Ames to see "Coach Carter". It's a pretty good movie - I'd recommend it. I don't, however, recommend Yahoo! Driving Directions. They were not very helpful for getting to the theater. By the time we got home, it was very late, but I gave Ryan his presents: for the anniversary, a massaging squishy pillow for his back (and batteries and candy), and for Valentine's Day, some more candy, a tie-rack organizer hanger (he really needed one), and "Master and Commander". He also gave me one of his traditional adorably hand-made cards (with a big purple 2!). It was super-late, but we still stayed up to eat the Chocolate Lasagna. MMMMMMMMHHHH! Sunday morning we went to church (which he liked) and afterwards I showed him around school (what parts I could, anyway). Ryan thinks the Vet Med Building would be great to play Capture the Flag in (and I'm inclined to agree - it's very maze-like). Alas, but after that it was time for him to go back to Champaign. It was great to finally get to show him where I live and such. I hope he can come back soon!
On a side note, I felt motivated to give up things for Lent this year (being Protestant, this is not a strict yearly tradition for me):
1) Stop hitting the snooze repeatedly and get my lazy self out of bed after one snooze or less - no more turning the alarm off and sleeping another 20 minutes and running late all the time.
2) No more watching TV during dinner - it just makes me sit around longer at home before I go back to school and wastes valuable study time. It's not like I'm watching anything redeeming.
Please help keep me in line with these things!! I'm hoping they will create better life-habits for me to carry out beyond Lent. Thanks for your help.
Well, it's late, so I should get to bed.
On a side note, I am now completely vaccinated for rabies, so don't worry if I bite you. :-P
So here's the long-awaited details about Ryan's visit a few weekends ago. He came up Friday night and we went to movie night together shortly after he arrived. He got to meet Mimi and Tim and we all had a good time watching the movie together. Afterwards, we were pretty worn out, so we called it a night. Saturday morning I made Ryan a blueberry and cream cheese Butter Braid that I bought from a fundraiser at school (it's kinda like a coffee cake - very yummy). Then we went and picked up Mimi, Tim, and Tim's friend (her name escapes me - I'd never met her before, but she was very nice...) and we all headed over to Boone (about 15 miles west of Ames) to go snow tubing. It was fairly nice weather so we didn't have to worry about being cold, but the place makes their own snow, so we didn't have to worry about the lack of snow (there was still some natural snow around, but much had melted). It was funny, though, because they only made snow on the SLOPE part of the tubing area, so the flat at the bottom was more like a half-frozen muddy field with patches of muddy snow. It also smelled strongly of cow pasture, which Lisa later explained: there are cattle farms just beyond the hill we were on and the wind carried the odor over into the ski/tubing area. They had a cable system to pull your tube (with you in it) up the hill, which was nice. The line was short or nonexistent, at least once the group of ill-mannered school children left. The tubes really go quite fast down the hill, it was a blast! Other than a few bottom-of-the-hill-puddle incidences (Ryan had several), we all stayed pretty dry and got our money's worth. I had the only injury - one of the afore-mentioned school children didn't clear out of the bottom fast enough and had to dodge a speeding Ryan only to be whacked by my knee instead. It knocked the kid down and gave me an interesting bruise, which is finally almost gone (luckily it didn't hurt long). That evening Ryan and I drove down to Des Moines for dinner. The wait was about 75 minutes at Olive Garden, so we shopped at the mall across the street to kill time and get me some 2-Year Anniversary and Valentine's Day gifts. It worked out so perfectly - I found a nice shirt to wear at school (purple, of course), an eyeglass repair kit (to fix my ever-loose frames), and some adorable PJ pants from Aeropostale (purple with Angel Monkeys!!). I also got Ryan a Bears Football calendar for only $3. Then it was exactly the right time to head back to Olive Garden. We had a very yummy meal and took a piece of the oh-so-delicious Chocolate Lasagna home for dessert. We stopped in Ankeny on the way back to Ames to see "Coach Carter". It's a pretty good movie - I'd recommend it. I don't, however, recommend Yahoo! Driving Directions. They were not very helpful for getting to the theater. By the time we got home, it was very late, but I gave Ryan his presents: for the anniversary, a massaging squishy pillow for his back (and batteries and candy), and for Valentine's Day, some more candy, a tie-rack organizer hanger (he really needed one), and "Master and Commander". He also gave me one of his traditional adorably hand-made cards (with a big purple 2!). It was super-late, but we still stayed up to eat the Chocolate Lasagna. MMMMMMMMHHHH! Sunday morning we went to church (which he liked) and afterwards I showed him around school (what parts I could, anyway). Ryan thinks the Vet Med Building would be great to play Capture the Flag in (and I'm inclined to agree - it's very maze-like). Alas, but after that it was time for him to go back to Champaign. It was great to finally get to show him where I live and such. I hope he can come back soon!
On a side note, I felt motivated to give up things for Lent this year (being Protestant, this is not a strict yearly tradition for me):
1) Stop hitting the snooze repeatedly and get my lazy self out of bed after one snooze or less - no more turning the alarm off and sleeping another 20 minutes and running late all the time.
2) No more watching TV during dinner - it just makes me sit around longer at home before I go back to school and wastes valuable study time. It's not like I'm watching anything redeeming.
Please help keep me in line with these things!! I'm hoping they will create better life-habits for me to carry out beyond Lent. Thanks for your help.
Well, it's late, so I should get to bed.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Yippee!!
No, that cheer is not for how my Radiology "quiz" went today. It had some mean questions, but I survived. Instead, I'm cheering for our wonderful Immunology instructors who moved our exam from Friday to the 16th! Ah, sigh of relief. Well, time for me to rest my brain so it can soak up a ton of Histophys for Thursday.
Thursday, February 03, 2005
Plan of Attack
So here's my schedule for exams and such:
Today was Comparative Anatomy - I think it went okay, should get a B or better.
Weekend = Study Study Study
2/8 = Radiology Quiz (aka mini-exam for this class)
2/9 = Immunology worksheet due
2/10 = Histophys 2 Exam
2/11 = Immunology Exam and online Case Studies Quiz due
Weekend = Study
2/14 = Neurology Exam
That should be an interesting stretch. Ah well, such is living my dream!
Today was Comparative Anatomy - I think it went okay, should get a B or better.
Weekend = Study Study Study
2/8 = Radiology Quiz (aka mini-exam for this class)
2/9 = Immunology worksheet due
2/10 = Histophys 2 Exam
2/11 = Immunology Exam and online Case Studies Quiz due
Weekend = Study
2/14 = Neurology Exam
That should be an interesting stretch. Ah well, such is living my dream!
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