residency

So for the last 2 months I have been thining in the back of my mind that I would really like to compelte a residency. I initally didn't think so at the start of my internship, mainly for financial reasons. I was scared that putting off paying loans for three more years would be too much. But the more I have come ot love my internship, the more I realized I was thinking about wanting to do a residency, specifically in ECC (emergency and critical care).

Well, I decided to bring it up with two of the intern directors at our quarter year review last month. Luckily, my review went great, and I have been doing very well. And before I even got a chance to bring it up, all of the intern directors told me they thought I would do well in a residency and that they specifically thought I wa a great fit for ECC.

So it is decided! I am applying for ECC residencies.
If I don't land one, then I will apply for jobs, but if I do get one it looks like even though I will go another 3 years with minimal loans being paid off from vet school I should make a decent amount more when I finish the residency and as such it seems worth it.

For those of you who want to know a bit more about ECC, here is a link describing what an ECC vet does primarily:



Well, I am dreading the application process, but it should be totally worth it. Keep your fingers crossed for me in early February on match date!

update

sorry it has been so long! I am still going strong with my internship, I love it, but am tired and working long hours.

A brief update of things in my life other then the internship:
Mark and I took a 2 day trip to Washington DC a couple months ago (late August) and it was great. Got delicious mexican food at George W. Bush's favorite restuarant. Met up with an old friend, katie hancock, in virginia.

Mark and I also went to the informal lectures of the Ig Nobel Awards in Boston this year. It was HILARIOUS. We heard brief synopsis on the winners' papers, including how to turn tequila in to diamonds, how to stop intractable hiccups (by digital rectal massage), why naming cows actually increases their milk production and the farmer's profits, how women's spines shift when pregnant to accomodate carrying fetal load, and how panda poop has bacteria in it that are extremely efficient at composting your garbage from the kitchen! There was this cute young girl from the audience that thye used to stop the speakers from going over their allotted time as well, and she was adorable! She would run up to the speaker at the podium when the timer went off and yell "Please stop I'm bored" and get louder and louder until they stopped.

That's the most fun things I have done yet this year.

And I have halloween weekend off so I will be going to NYC then to see Christina and the Greenwich Village Halloween Parade, yay!

sleep

I just woke up from my nap and am about to head in to my shift when I was laying there in bed and realized "Hmmm...I honestly cannot remember the last time that I woke up, from a nap or sleep, when I truly felt rested and ready to get up." There is always some reason why I have to get up so I do, but even Wednesday when I got up with Mark in the morning and then went back to bed until 2pm I still felt tired when I woke up, I just also felt like a loser sleeping 12+ hours. I wonder when I will be in the groove again and able to feel rested after sleeping...I am trying to do these new yoga/pylometrics workouts to tone up muscles running doesn't help, and maybe if I do them before bed I will feel rested, but I am afraid it will get my adrenalin up and prevent me from resting well...we will see I guess.

shear exhaustion

I miss being able to write about work...my internship is really great with lots of great stories. But all I will write here is that I have never been so exhausted in my life. The hours are long and hence I sleep most of my days off. I know I have always been a busy body trying to fill up my days off with events and even cram in things to do on working days, but that has changed this year. I am seriously looking forward to my next 3 days weekend (in October) when I might go out to dinner with friends once but otherwise will probably relax...I seem to spend only one out of every 2-3 days off (which is rare that I get that many days off in a row lately) actually doing something other then relaxing. I think Mark likes the change though.

Speaking of Mark, he was a sweetheart and took a week off on vacation the other week when I had 3.5 days off, and we went to D.C. for two of them. I found a good hotel only 4 blocks from the mall and the white house for $150. We had a great time, and for once I didn't over do it. The only thing I said we had to do that I wanted to was the zoo. Otherwise we just walked the Mall, took pictures, went to the american history museum for Mark, and found a GREAT mexican restaurant for dinner. Actually, on the first night my friend Katie from vet school called...she is currently in an internship just outside of DC. We were able to drive to virginia where she as staying in less then 15 minutes a grab a couple of drinks with her and catch up. Katie is such an amazing person and I miss her dearly. So in 2 days we did what I would normally have done in 1, so it was a slower pace then usual and I needed that.

Then these last 3 days I had off (although one doesn't count since I had just finished an overnight shift and spent most of that day sleeping) have been spent in Boston. I drove up yesterday. Mark's friends Josh and Kaitlin came over and I made dinner for all: thyme-lemon gnocchi and a strawberry salad. It was delicious dinner and SUCH a relaxing evening. We split a bottle of wine, played some cards, and called it a night at 10pm. It made me quite sad though cause it made me realize how much I miss Boston and how happy I will be next summer when I can come back and spend more nights like that with friends.

Well, Mark and I can have dinner together again tonight but then I have to head back to Connecticut tomorrow for another weekend of overnights...I seem to randomly get all the overnights on holiday weekends which means it will be super busy, but that can be better since it helps me stay awake.

4th of july whirlwind

They say 4th of july and memorial day are the busiest holidays of the year. The weren't kidding. A 15 hour 6pm-9am shift quickly became an 18 hour shift, and despite some snafos, stupid annoying things here and there, being overwhelmed a lot, and getting less then 5 hours of sleep a day, I survived, and I LOVE my new job.

Overnights

Things are going well.
SoNo is starting to grow on me. I have no intention of staying there, but there are some things that make me glad I have made it my place to live for the next year. On my runs I love the smell of salt water in the morning since it is right on the Norwalk Sound which opens in to the Atlantic. I never thought my legs could get any bigger with the amount that I run, but there are so many hills they def. could, and I have start running intervals on the hills to improve my power for races.
I love my new job, and have a lot of potential great opportunities in the future because of it...I wonder how long it will be before I adopt a dog. I start on overnights, so I won't have a weekend off until October, and have to survive 6pm-9am shifts for the first two weeks, but I can't wait.
So except for that I will not have a social life until October, I am so glad I made this choice.

what to blog, what to blog

Bad news...my employment contract bans me from blogging about events that happen at work...so my blogs will probably be a little sparse, and since I use my blog as like a journal for myself, I think I might have to start writing a diary! I will still try to keep some good stuff in here though. And work is going well, tomorrow I start shadowing fellow interns for a week, on Monday they send us to NYC to meet all the northeast VCA directors, and then on Monday June 29th I am on my own on overnights.

" Gasp..this name tag says DOCTOR"

that was Kevin's first joke of the day on Monday. I am all settled in to my new apartment here in Connecticut, it is not Boston, and I miss Boston terribly, but it is a great apartment and the only thing that could make it better is if Mark were here. He came down with me on Saturday to help move, hangover and all since his friends had a pub crawl the night before and he had been out drinking way too much (an somehow convinced me to join him at 10pm after I got home from the train ride back from connecticut so he had someone to dance with, luckily I didn't drink much).

The move went VERY well, taking only an hour and a half at each place to load and unload the truck. By 7:30 on Saturday I had everything unpacked and set up. Sunday we relaxed, I had wanted to go to NYC but we were both sore and tired so didn't really function that well. Instead we went to SONO (which is within walking distance of my place) for lunch, which is right along the bay opening up to the Atlantic so it is really pretty, and then we drove up to the second clinic I will be at and got a tour so Mark saw more of what my job would be like.

Mark stayed with me until Monday morning, and then at 9am it all started. Granted, these first 4 days are nothing but orientation, labs, and paperwork, so they are simple, but there has been lots of talking by the doctors on what we should expect. We each got a huge binder with all the info in it and our name tags for our uniforms, which all say Dr. ___ ____ and that made my friend Kevin excited.

Last night Hill's took us all out to dinner, which was relaxing and a great way to meet my fellow interns and doctors. A lot of the doctors have Tufts connections so I feel right at home, and all of my intern mates are very sweet and pleasant (although I was shocked there are really only 4 / 14 in relationships, 1 married, me with Mark, Jon and his girlfriend also still back in Boston, and then Allison has a boyfriend back in Alabama., everyone else is single).

So I spend the next 3 days in wet labs, orientation, etc. Then Friday I start shadowing the interns from last year, and starting Monday June 29 I am on my own. I start on overnights (the shift goes from 6pm-9am), of course. I have my schedule through January, and my first 3 months suck since I don't have a single weekend off until October, but then from October to January I should have a total of 6 weekends off. Well, I am not going to love the long hours, but I know this will be a great learning experience.

moving sucks

ughh, just a couple more days and it will all be over. Saturday is going to suck.

over the hill

I know there would be a point sometime in my life when I felt old. I thought about sometimes too, how I was 25 and some people felt old then, but everytime I thought about getting old I didn't feel old yet. Well, that all changed this weekend. I went to salsa on Friday night with Shanna and felt young since the male to female ration there was 2:1 and 1/2 the guys were over 50. But then on Saturday Mark took me to the red sox game. It was a lot of fun, they won, and I loved fenway park, it is so old, small, and has so much character. But when the players on the red sox came up to bat, they listed their ages, and I realized about 1/3 of them were younger then me. When Dustin Pedroia came up and I realized he was a month younger then me I officially felt old. It was sad, and it was the first time I felt old.

a walk in the woods

This past weekend Mark and I met up with Heather and Denis for a camping trip in the Berkshires and it was a great time! The campsite Heather found was perfect, with a soothing stream nearby and hikes on the premises. We got there an hour late of course since Mark had been slow to get going in the morning (as I anticipated) but even though I wanted to be mad at him I couldn't since he knew just what to joke about to make me laugh on the car ride over.

We got there a little before 1pm and set up our tent, which I have last used 2 years ago when we went on a 3 day kayaking adventure in the Adirondacks. Sadly I had forgotten that it was wet when I packed it up 2 years ago, so when it came out of the bag it was still a little wet and moldy, but after airing out for the afternoon it was liveable at night. Mark had been dreading a difficult hike, but I reassured him we would do mainly flat walks...little did we all know the 2.5 mile trail we choose was 75% steep uphill. I was definitely huffing and puffing and sweating like everyone else, but I think my running kept my legs from getting to be like jelly and shaking. Mark was a trooper and survived, and even Tina did a great job. By the time we got back we had all worked up an appetite. Heather and I took a dip in the freezing cold stream trying to de-sweat since the "swimming area: looked like sewer water and was full of obese kids and adults.

We went in to North Adams for dinner, and found a cute little Italian place called "Red Sauce" via the iphone. Then we relaxed in front of the fire at the campsite with some (forbidden) beer and wine and marshmellows, amazingly for once the vegan counterpart trumped the regular marshmellows.

Our night's sleep was a little non-exsistent since Mark and I did not have an air mattress and the ground was full of small rocks. Mark first wanted to try climbing in to one sleeping bag and using the second as a mattress, but that resulted in me having my shoulders exposed to the cold air and being half on half off of the rocky ground with no pillows (Mark kept telling me to rest my head on his chest while he had the pillows). After an hour of that I couldn't do it anymore and made Mark fork over the other sleeping bag so we slept side by side. It was warmer then, but the rocks were worse, and Mark slid down the very minor incline to wake up in the corner of the tent. Despite all of that, I was surprised by Mark's optimistic attitude in the morning. Instead of being pissy and complaining, he just said "Hun, next time we go camping, we have to bring an air mattress". Maybe my optimistic, happy attitude rubbed off!

On Sunday we just did a short trip driving up to the top of Mt. Greylock, which had gorgeous views and made me think of the scene with the mountain in Bill Bryson's "A Walk In The Woods". We called it an early day and avoided another hike so that everyone would be well rested for work the next day (well, Denis at his new job, Mark on his important project, and then me doing nothing and Heather looking for jobs is more accurate). I had a great time, and it sounds like everyone else did too, so hopefully we can pull off another short weekend trip later in the summer if I actually get any decent time off.

a weekend free of commitments

Last weekend I promised Mark I would not plan anything for the 2 of us since the weekend before had been a whirlwind of various graduation events and parties, and the weekend after would be spent camping in the Berkshires with Heather and Denis. I figured he really needed some Mark time and would not be upset if he didn't want to do anything with me all weekend. He didn't really believe me and kept asking all week "So what are we doing this weekend?" and was shocked when I answered "Nothing that I know of" each time.

Saturday we relaxed together, then Sunday I went and ran the Boston's Run To Remember Half Marathon with his roommate Sean. We left an hour before the race started since it was only a 15 minute drive to the place, but sadly with the lines of cars for parking we ended up sprinting to the start line to get there on time. It was a good run in the sense that it was my first race since recovering from IT Band, and my knee was fine, but it was super humid and I was quite miserable in that regard. I don't know my official time yet, but I think it was something around 2:03. Mark had kept asking over and over again if I wanted him to come, but I stuck to my promise and told him to sleep in like he wanted. The way I see it, if we are together for a long time I will be running a few races every year, and I can't expect him to come to all of them, so I will save asking him to come to the ones I need someone to drive me to the start. ; )

Later that night we went out to dinner with Mark and Amy at Grasshopper, a vegan chinese restaurant that I have never been to and decided I needed to visit before leaving Boston. (Again, I told Mark he didn't have to come, but he wanted to, and we both had a great time chatting with Mark and Amy). It was, well, not bad, but very greasy. The foods were all fake meats smothered in sauce, the fake meats themselves were tasty but there was too much crap on the dishes and not quite enough flavor. Probably won't go back, but was glad I went.

By Monday (Memorial Day) even though we had gone to dinner the night before we were both pretty bored and the weather was great. Mark wanted to do something outdoors, so I suggested on a whim that we drive to Providence, RI to go to the zoo. It was the perfect day for the zoo, but of course hundreds of families thought that too, so we were overwhelmed by kids in strollers and crying babies. Even Mark who likes kids more then me started to panic. We saw the zoo in a little over an hour, and then I drove us in to Downtown for the best falafel I have found in the US yet at East Side Pockets. It was delicious and hit the spot. putting us both back in to a great mood.

So even though I promised to keep that last 4 day weekend Lindsey-commitment-free, we ended up doing a lot together on a last minute basis, and had a great time.

a good job

My vet school graduation was filmed this year and I am tempted to spend the $10 for the dvd when it comes out since I thought some of the speeches were great. Dr. White, our prof speaker, gave advice as always, but he also went off about how we were so lucky to be going in to veterinary medicine since all of us will most likely love our jobs and not think "Crap, I hate Mondays....Wednesday, hump day, and then THANK GOD it is Friday". Sure I will appreciate my time off a lot, but he was right that our career is very rewarding and that most of us will never want to retire unless poor health or something unforseeable occurs. I couldn't agree more. But there are two other possible careers I secretly wouldn't mind either. I will never be good enough, but I would love to be a professional marathon runner, training and running over 150 miles a week, and being pushed to the limit. I also think a second career (or additional career) might involve opening a vegan restaurant. Not all of my creations are restaurant-worthy, but I have gotten enough compliments and rave reviews that I think I could get a staple menu going. But hopefully I just land the perfect vet job and never have to worry about that while still having enough time to make dinner every night and run every day.

love the A/C, hate the money

I did it. I bought a new car. I had over $3000 of repairs needed for my car, so rather then do that I bought a new one. I think I got a good deal too, but it still leaves me with this sinking/nauseating feeling because it is still a lot of money. I traded my 2003 Honda Civic, they took it for $4600, and I got a 2009 Toyota Yaris, with all the features I wanted (power locks and windows, a/c, cruise control and 35mpg on the highway). I also got $1000 off because of being a new college grad. Then I added in the extended 6 year/100K warranty, so when all was said and done my monthly car payment is roughly $220. While it still makes me feel a little sick to my stomach that I just spent this money, I am sure I will be grateful in the 85 degree weather today having A/C again!

sometimes I feel blessed

Even though I don't believe in god, sometimes I really feel blessed and so lucky to have such amazing people in my life. I have so many close friends, not as many from vet school, but ones that I have been close with since high school. I have an amazing family, and my grandma is one of the kindest people ever. My boyfriend is incredible. And the veterinary school I attended had such outstanding doctors. I was lucky enough to get a job at the wildlife clinic from my first year, and have become very close with the clinic over the years, including doctors, volunteers, and staff. They have also been close with me. And the other night I received the "wildlife award" at awards night. They asked me to come over today and have a "proper good bye" at the clinic. I was expecting some hugs, maybe a small gift, and I brought a cake I made for them as well. I was not expecting a huge award. Elaine, one of the amazing volunteers at the clinic, donates $1000 every year to a student who works tirelessly at the clinic. And this year I was the recipient. On top of it, Elaine and I are both runners, so my gift basket was full of books on and by runners, all signed personally by the author with specific messages to me like "Good luck with all your Boston Marathons in the future" from Lorraine Morel, a famous female marathoner. I was shocked, and so grateful. I spent an hour chatting with them, and Mark Pokras, the clinic director, is going to put me in touch with some zoos/aquarium/wildlife places in Connecticut near me so that I can volunteer a couple days a month as the vet for those places, which will be SO rewarding (Heather, I might get to be a penguin doctor after all). After leaving the clinic and driving home, I truly felt blessed.

damn it feels to be a doctor

actually, it doesn't feel any different, it just feels great being done with school.

This weekend was a whirlwind, but quite a fun one. I got so many errands done last week on my week off. Then this weekend of graduation celebrations started off Friday evening, I had to pick Mark up from work, from there we drove to Grafton for the awards dinner. It was very large, and a lot of profs came, so it was nice chatting with them. Dinner sucked, but it often does at these big country clubs and hotels where they host a lot of our vet school formal events. I received the wildlife award, which came with the newest zoo and wildlife medicine text book, and meant a lot since the people at wildlife have been such a huge part of my life in the last 4 years.

As soon as the awards were over Mark and I booked it back to Boston, since it was his roommate and best friend's bday weekend and he was having a get together at the Bell and Hand, one of the most popular bars in Boston...so sadly when we arrived at 11pm we had to stand in line for half an hour. But it was worth it, and despite being DD I had a great time dancing the night away with Mark and meeting new people as well as becoming more aquainted with Mark's Raytheon co-workers. We left at 2ish, and as we walked down the stairs the lights when on and the bar started closing, so it was good timing.

Saturday Mark really wanted to go to Foxwoods to play some poker and de-stress, and since I didn't have any plans for the day I agreed to accompany him on the long drive. I spent most of my time there reading my novel and a veterinary emergency textbook. Mark won some money, so it was a very stress relieving trip, and we got home around midnight.

Sunday was graduation day. I was super nervous since Mark's sister had told him she had graduation on the same day only a week earlier, and with hers being in Rhode Island I wasn't sure if Mark would make mine in time, but as was the great trend with the weekend, it all worked out. I had wanted to go to her graduation too, but it started right as I would of had to leave for mine to make my set up/rehearsal in time. My family arrived in Medford around 11:30 (mom, grandma, and bro), and we went to lunch in Teele Square. Then we headed to Tufts in Grafton, explored to school store, and then at 2pm I had to leave them to go get my class picture taken and get all lined up.

At 3 it all began, and after skipping my undergrad graduation I was not prepared for all the cheesiness of the graduation, but it was still nice. We had to march in slowly, then there was about an hour of speeches. As the Dean started her intro speech I glanced back and saw my aunt, uncle, and two cousins had made it to join my family, and Mark was running in to the back of the tent, just on time. (I had expected him to be a little late, so that was a lucky plus). The ceremony was cute, if not a little long. Our dairy professor, Dr. Gene White, spoke, and as always, was hilarious! He is such a modern day James Harriot. Then Danielle Diamond, our outspoken classmate going in to the army after school spoke, with a laugh out loud speech. I especially loved her talking about how in first and second year "female students kept dropping off like flies, with more and more coming back from weekends married or engaged, but for single women like me we all know vet school is where single women go to die. Those of us who were single tried to balance our education and budget with just enough savings for a match.com supscription since we all know there is only one Kevin Koerning in vet school." Then we all got our hoods and diplomas (which is huge by the way) and became officially doctors!

After the ceremony my family and I went to Hisa in Westboro for some tasty Japanese, then called it a night. I was EXHAUSTED, but it was such an amazing weekend.

updates and parties

An update on the apartment hunting: I picked my favorite, the spacious one BR 2 minutes from one hospital, near south norwalk, with the condition that if I need help my grandmother will help cover any rent I can't afford all of it. I am so happy about that, I know I will enjoy things much more living in a place that I love and can call home.

Last week I finished rotations for good. I was on surgery, and while there were tragedies unrelated to me, I had a great time, and on Friday I neutered one dog, spayed one fat, in heat dog (it was a tough surgery since her uterine vessels were all engorged and friable due to her being in heat) and spayed on tiny little 2# kitten. It was great.

This past weekend was my graduation party, and it went wonderfully. I had decided rather then pick and choose who to invite, I just hit "select all" and invited all my friends on facebook, all 600+. Well, I didn't think much of it until my boyfriend called me a week before and said "My parents are coming to your graduation party" in a shocked voice. Ha! Well, it all worked out GREAT! Heather and Denis came from Montreal. Mark helped Ryan with ice and the grill. Mark's parents had a great time. A vegan friend started stimulating and enjoyable conversations as opposed to the argumentative conversations I was scared of. And Erik, Jenn and Alvaro all made it out from Albany! There were a lot of people there, and I think everyone had a great time. My sunflower shaped cupcakes were DELICIOUS. The rest of the food was awesome. The morning after I went to breakfast with Ryan, Mark, Alvaro, Heather and Denis at SoundBites in Somerville, which was tasty as always.

This week has been hectic despite being free. I went to the dermatologist on Monday, then drove to Albany with my kayak and bike. Went to dinner with the Krauses Monday night, was sad to hear my bro is a little down in the dumps, then back to Medford. Tuesday I had a financial aid meeting in the evening. Then Wednesday I drove to connecticut to sign the lease and start up my electric account. Today I spent an hour on the phone with various student loan lenders, got that squared away and worked out twice. Tomorrow I will be a work out guru again and try to get my iphone, then to the dean's awards dinner at night followed by sean's bday party. This weekend, graduation, will be CRAZY busy and juggling lots, I will be glad when it is over and I am a doctor officially!!!

apartment hunting

Toady was my first day searching apartments in Connecticut. It really reinforced how much I am going to miss Boston. My first appointment was in Bridgeport. I had heard parts of Bridgeport were shady. I drove up towards the first apartment and just kept driving, cancelling the appointment. I seriously was in the slums, it looked like all run down houses and crack joints, so I skipped that appointment.

The next apartment was in Bridgeport as well. It was a $1100 2BR. The apartment itself was nice, and the landlord was awesome, He was from London and we instantly got along. The street itself looked ok, but all the surrounding streets looked like the first apartment's had, so while I checked out the apartment, I know I won't want to live that close to that neighborhood.

The next two were right next to each other, in Black Rock, a small community on the outskirts of Bridgeport. They were $875 each, both 1BRs. One on the first floor, the other on the second. The neighborhood was ok, reminding me of Washington Ave. or Mystic Ave. in Albany, I guess it was where all the college kids from Fairfield University live. On the outside the apts. looked a little shabby, but on the inside they were nicer. They looked a little dirty, but nothing I couldn't fix with a vacuum when I move in. No washer and dryer. Very decent size. All pets allowed. I feel like if I want to live like a student and save some money, I will live there, but won't be proud of where i live.

The last apartments were all in Norwalk, which is more expensive, but I loved them all. The first was a 1BR, $1200 including heat and hot water, in a small brick building complex. It was spacious. Washer and dryer in the basement. Garage parking. Cats only allowed. But it was on the 4th floor (I would have to hire movers since I don't think Mark and I could handle 4 flights with all my stuff). Beautiful view of the connecticut River behind. The kicker: the last tenant was a smoker and the smell has not disappeared yet.

The next two places were in the same building. It was a 6 unit victorian house just outside of downtown norwalk, in a beautiful area. The place allows pets and has a washer and dryer in the basement and a parking lot. One unit was a $950 studio/loft, with a full kitchen and bathroom. I would have to put my bed up on the loft, and the rest of the studio is adorable, but there is no way I would be able to fit my stuff in it so I would have to use the storage in the basement for a lot of things.

The next was my favorite of the day, of course it was also the most expensive. It was a huge 1BR in the same house, for a total of $1200 (no utilities included). It was just outside of my range I originally was searching for, but I loved it. And if Mark were to actually come and live with me for some time (I know it is not set and I should not get my hopes up, but he is looking for possible jobs) it would be ideal for the two of us.

I need to do some serious thinking. I really want the $1200 1BR in the victorian, but if I am being smart I will take the scrappy 1BR in Black Rock since I will only be in connecticut for one year, and I will save some money doing that. hmmm....

another family weekend, this time with the Nielsens

Well I think I definitely over did it this weekend, but despite being overtired and exhausted Mark and I had a great time. On Friday I had the day off, and so did Mark. I brought my car to the shop to have the non-functioning locks in the doors and the a/c assessed...I didn't authorize any repairs until I got estimates...so the locks are broken and cost $700 to replace, and the a/c needs a new compressor and sensor which is $1200. That is just the cost of parts, not labor. It solved my problem...screw it, I need a new car. I am starting to look and will probably buy one in the next 3-4 weeks.

The Mark's co-worker threw a BBQ, and I got WAY Too drunk. I was so embarassed when at 4am I woke up at home with Mark and had no recollection of how I got there. The last thing I remembered was playing flip cup. Thank goodness Mark said I hadn't embarassed myself too much, and he wasn't upset with me at all.

Saturday morning Mark and I left early for Long Island. It was a tremendously long drive. But we got there early enough to enjoy a nap in our amazing hotel before the wedding.

We made it to the wedding, my cousin Alicia and her husband Angel, just in time. We met up with my aunt Carol and cousin Craig and Debbie. It was great, I hadn't seen them in several years, and it was such a nice experience catching up. I didn't get to talk to my aunt Betty and uncle Denny (the bride's parents) much, and I only talked to Alicia and Angel once, but Mark and I had a great time. The music was so fun. There was an open bar. We loved catching up with my family, and Mark got along with them great too. (I think he was quite flattered when Carol hugged him goodbye and said "I love you ! You passed the test" and when Debbie told me so he could hear "Linds, he is a keeper!". I def. am lucky and know I found a keeper : ).

The onyl strange thing for us was how late everything went. The wedding started at 7pm, and dinner was not served until 11pm. We left at midnight before the cake or bouquet.

Then on Sunday we went to Albany. We grabbed some food at bombers since I have been ranting about the bbq tofu there for ages, and then made it to be with my family for Easter dinner (late) at 530. By the time it was all over we were both exhausted, and disgustingly sweaty since the a/c in my car doesn't work. But we had a good time, enjoyed tasty burritos, and watched the infamous easter egg hunt my grandma does for the boys every year (I could totally imagine Mark participating some year with the other boys).

On the ride home I think I realized how burnt out Mark was, but I was too, and I was so proud of both of us for not getting cranky and just agreeing that if we did this again we would space it out over multiple weekends instead of drive 12 hours in 2 days thru 3 states to all these events (of course, the idea had been mine originally, but I think Mark was right and it was too much to pull off in one weekend). I really did catch a keeper. ; )

aspirations

Mark has been into the stock market since a couple months before I started dating him, but in the last year he has really started to take it seriously. He is very smart with money, and he seems to make small amounts every week, occasionally big wins too, but then there are the rare losses that are larger then he likes. He just finished a course thru his bank on trading in the stock market and was a star student. It was interesting this week when he told me how he wished he would make it big in the stock market, and that he daydreams about it a lot even though he is pretty sure it won't happen. I realized what I daydream about at the gym today thinking about our conversation while reading my "Runner's World" magazine. Ever since I started running a lot (when my dad got sick) I have loved it. A year after my dad died I ran my first marathon, and while my time was not great, it was a great accomplishment. Since then I have been improving with almost every marathon I run, and I even got over my IT Band syndrome in the last 4 months and this week was the first week in over 6 months that I ran over 50 miles in 7 days. It felt amazing.

I was reading an article on famous runners and not famous runners, and I realized my aspirations (as unrealistic as they are) are to be an accomplished runner. I don't want to run in the olympics, but reading about women marathoners who do made me jealous. Their full time job is running. They run 100-120 miles a week, and as such spend 3-5 hours a day exercising, and eat about 4000 calories a day or more. Then there was an article on qualifying for the Boston Marathon, which even though I could run it (and have twice now) via the charity route, one of my goals in life is to qualify. Until I am 35 I have the same goal, to run a marathon in under 3:40, which means I qualify for Boston. The article talked about how competitive it was, and how most runners average 10 marathons before they qualify (which is good since I have only run 5 now). Plus that only 7.9% of men and women who run marathons every year my age (between 20-34) have beat the qualifying time. I know it keeps things unrealistic, but I can dream. Like Mark, I am going to cling to a goal, and mine will be to qualify for the Boston Marathon, and Mark's can be to make it big in the stock market. I know we both have what it takes, but we will also need a little luck, and probably more free time.

P.S. I am still obsessed with Ratatat and can't wait to see them in concert again.

ratatat never ceases to amaze me

I saw ratatat at the house of blues in boston last night, it was my 3rd time seeing them and I still adore them so much!

I am on vacation this week, which has been much needed. I have gotten Tons of errands and chores done already, and had lots of doctors appts. Yesterday I had a follow- OBGYN appt. and I am so bummed I met my favorite gynecologist EVER. I got reassigned since my doctor was busy, and I loved this new doctor, she was great and we hit it off right away. Luckily, she spent her first two years in practice in Bridgeport, CT so she is going to recommend some of her friends who are OBGYN docs there for me when I go to Darien.

Yesterday was Marathon Monday and I was so bummed to not be running it, hopefully next year! And then in the evening Mark and I went to the ratatat concert. The first time Mark heard them he was not a big fan, and then he was a super sweet boyfriend who agreed to go to a concert with them last year, and I officially got him hooked. He loves ratatat now, and was just as psyched as me for the concert. His friend Josh and his girlfriend and a friend came with us. Mark and I were the only real die-hard ratatat fans, but the otehrs got in to it once we moved upstairs and had ample room to dance. Ratatat is SUCH good dancing music. Mark and I were soaked in sweat when we left, but it was a great time (except for taking the T home and running in the pouring rain back to his apartment at 12:30).

Today I had a podiatry appt. When I went to the PT in the fall and was diagnosed with IT band, they told me I needed to get my arches replaced (which were made by a podiatrist about 5 years ago and cost $400). Plus in the last 2 weeks I have been having more foot pain (but my IT Band is under control thanks to my obsession with pain and the foam roller, haha). Well, good news is I don't need new arches. Bad news is my feet hurt but there is nothing wrong with my feet. The doctor said my tendons in the calves and hamstrings were SUPER tight from running, and that it was extending in to the tendons in my feet. So I need to stretch even more in addition to my IT Band stretches...damn. But the good news is my arches are fine. He looked them over and had me walk in them, and he said they will be good for at least 10 years total, maybe even 15. He said the PT was referring to arches that they give patients, which are flimsy and not well made, but a podiatrist arches should last 10-20 years depending on your activity level. Yay!

The Big Buttinsky

I spent the last week at Mass Vet Referral Hospital in Woburn on ER and Cardio, and I absolutely LOVED it. If I end up back in Massachusetts I am DEFINITELY applying for a job there. I did pretty well too, but not great, they really liked me, but I think I am starting to beat myself up if I get a question wrong since I know in 2 months I will be the doctor.

Ryan has been in Cali all week, so I have been watching the dogs. It hasn't been too bad...the only down side was literally an hour after he left for the airport my internet gave out...it still isnt back either...Mark looked at it last night and thinks it is a problem with my computer, but we can't figure out what, and I feel like it was more then a coincidence that it gave out an hour after Ryan left (after taking his computer with him, and the airport networks in our house are through his equipment).

I have found a new pet peeve of mine...when people ask me for directions while I am running. It is one thing if I am walking, but to pull uyour car over while I am working hard and expect me to stop and give you all the attention in the world is obnoxious! This lady almost ran me over the other day to stop me on my run, I stopped, she asked where the train was...I explained how she needed to go to the end of the street, take a left, then to the end of that street, and take a right, then about a mile down the road would be the train. Instead of thanking me she started questioning me! She pointed to the right and said "No, the train is that way isn't it?" I explained that there were no trains that way for almost 3 miles, and they were in the city. Then she continued to argue when I repeated my directions. Finally she said rudely "I want the Everett train, it's that way, right?" pointing right. "No, Somerville is that way, the Everett train is the way I showed you." She finally understood and let me go back to my run...what an ungrateful lady!

The last thing I learned this week that I loved is the phrase "The Big Buttinsky". I need to remember that and use it sometime. One of the vets thought the tech and owners were taking too long in the room, so she said "Ok, I need to go split them up and do the Big Buttinsky here." and then she left to go barge in to the room. I like that phrase.

family weekend

This past weekend really turned out to be a family weekend. First my mom came to visit on Saturday. I had a ton of cat food stock piled for her, and she brought me some stuff for easter. We went to Whole Foods (there are no Whole Foods or Trader Joes in Albany so she wanted to buy a couple unique organic ingredients that she needed). Then we met up with Mark and went to Diesel Cafe in Davis Square for an amazing lunch. My mom bought for all of us, and I guess while I was scoping out the table Mark was assertive and said he would buy tickets to the art museum, and my mom laughed, smiled and told him she knew when to back down.

We went to the Fogg at Harvard. It was fun, my mom spent a lot of time telling Mark about art history, which I think he enjoyed. Sadly, it started pouring, and we were without umbrellas, so we ran over to TeaLuxe in Harvard Square for tea. Then I went in to the Harvard store to buy an umbrella (I was glad I found one without the Harvard name on it) and after that my mom said she was ready to go. I was bummed since I had planned on going to dinner in Boston too, but since we had a late lunch and the bad weather she seemed ready to leave after 5 hours. Still, I had a good time, so did she and Mark.

Sunday was Easter at Mark's parents house. I haven't ever talked to his mom so much in my life! Mark wasn't feeling to good, so he spent a lot of the time on the couch with his dad sleeping or watching golf, but I stayed in the kitchen chatting with his mom and helped her do all the dishes after dinner too. Mark thought it was amusing since Mark's mom and I both talk a mile a minute non-stop sometimes, and it seemed like a competition between the two of us to him of who could talk more. (Mark says his mom won). I still enjoyed it and talked to his mom about quite a wide variety of topics, it is so nice to really like your significant other's parents. But still, after 4 hours I was BEAT. We swung by Amy's new house in Andover to drop off a painting and got home after 9pm. What a fun but tiring family weekend!

wine tasting nights

Mark goes to "poker night" with the guys once a week, something that I think is common among a lot of guys. But then back in December Mark recommended that I host a weekly or close to weekly event with wine tasting as its theme. Mark, Ryan and I all love wine and it would be a fun way to have friends over to relax during the week and try new wines.

I started wine tasting night in January. Although the crowd was small for the first night, it was fun. It was on a Tuesday, and we all enjoyed the tasty food I made for dinner (vegan lasagna) and had a couple bottles of wine amongst the 6 of us.

I wasn't able to host another one for several weeks, but started the tradition up again a couple weeks ago. 3 weeks ago I hoted "Wine tasting: New England Style" where all the wines were from New England, and I made corn chowder, apple pie, and bread for dinner. The same crowd came, and it was another success. Then this past week was night # 3, this time "Obscure varietal" themed. And this time it drew a crowd...we had 10 people, a new all time high (it actually almost got too crowded, but it was still fun). I made a vegan fake cheese impasta dish, apple muffins, vegan cookies, and bread as always.

I am really glad Mark recommended this tradition, and I am hoping to keep it going in Connecticut once I move there. I will miss these nights out here in Boston...I will have one more before graduation in 2 weeks from now, with an african wine theme.

David Sedaris

This past weekend Mark and I finally got to use the last of my xmas gifts to him. I got us tickets to see David Sedaris at UMass Amherst. We drove out at 5pm and got some thai food for dinner. The show lasted from 830-1030. I LOVED it. He read several short stories as well as pages from his diary. I loved his story on the Obama inauguration and one about internet porn. He was really funny. Mark enjoyed himself too, but sadly the kid next to him was obnoxious and laughed too loud at everything, which I think annoyed Mark (it would of annoyed me too). Sadly it was a long drive home...we got back at 1am and I had to get up at 6am for school, but it was worth it. David Sedaris is quite a funny guy.

conservation medicine elective

The week after my avian elective I spent another week at the wildlife clinic, but this time in a didactic (lecture based) elective on conservation medicine. We covered two topics a day with various guest speakers (experts) from around the country. Most of the course grade was based on participation, and I was surprised that by the second day I had established myself as one of the most vocal in the class, and I also had knowledge of and had heard about every topic we discussed. It saddened me that getting an amazing job as a conservation veterinarian involves kissing ass and knowing the right people, which I am obviously not good at (example, my international program experience). Plus if not, then you get paid shit.

The various topics discussed included:
1. conservation medicine: the emerging new field (ask me about it sometime, I would love to tell you SO much about it)
2. chytrid fungal infection in amphibians (the fungus decimating out world's frog populations)
3. antibiotic resistance and its link to farm animals
4. lead toxicity (in wildlife and humans and pets)
5. bison and brucellosis transmission to cattle
6. sea birds as sentinals for health
7. the ocean's health and sea turtle conservation
8. wildlife trade and law enforcement

Then on the last day we had to choose a topic of our own to present a 1 page briefing and 5-8 page paper on. The topic had to be controversial and we would pretend that we were presenting it to congress and making an arguement for intervention (government participation) if warranted. We were given a list of 20 topics to choose from, or we could make up our own with the prof's permission. I was the only one of 8 students to choose my own topic: The Navy's SONAR Use and Its Impacts on Marine Mammals. I learned SO much. Mark Pokras had me email some colleagues of his to ask for articles on the subject, and they sent me 56 articles. I spent too long reading, and all thursday night writing. Mark reviewed my paper for me at 11pm on Thursday, which went over, well, ok. He basically tore my paper apart, and while I wanted to argue and tell him he was wrong, I knew he wasn't. He didn't comment on the subject matter at all, it was my way of writing. I write passive voice, and I am not a good arguer in articles...I use too many coulds and maybes. Mark helped me re-phrase the first 5 pages by getting rid of ambiguous statements. It was exhausting for both of us, but I think I was very mature about it and took his criticism well since it was deserved.

My presentation on Friday went GREAT! I volunteered to go first, and it was a huge hit. I had answers for ALL my profs and classmates' questions. Later in the day my prof pulled me aside to tell me I had done a superb job. And now I feel like an expert on NAVY SONAR use and Marine Mammals.....again, ask me about it sometime, I will tell you yet another reason why to hate the Bush Administration...at least you will if you like whales and dolphins!

advanced avian elective

two weeks ago I again found myself at the Tufts Wildlife Clinic, but this time in the senior class Advanced Avian Medicine elective. It is hosted every other year for interested fourth years who want to work with birds. Lectures occurred every morning on psittacines (aka parrots) and raptors (birds of prey) or passerines (song birds and finches). In the afternoons we had labs. In one lab several employees on campus who owned birds brought their pets in for us to learn basic physical exam, nail, beak, and wing trims and other basic procedures on parrots. Another lab involved cadavers (dead birds from the wildlife clinic) in which we passed catheters and did fake surgical procedures. One day we drove to Rhode Island to visit Foster Parrots, an amazing parrot sanctuary (not open to the public) full of HUNDREDS of abandoned pet birds. They are going to be featured on NPR's morning edition shortly on the economy and people giving up their pet birds. I loved the lab and learned a lot. The nice thing is once I graduate I will be allowed to practice on exotics as much as I want...hopefully I can drum up some pet bird clients!

bringing things up to speed...

it has been too long since I have posted, so what is about to follow is a series of short blogs on my last 3 weeks...enjoy!

damn drowsiness

MIDOL 20 tablets $4.99
active ingredients:
acetominophen 500mg
Pamabrom 25mg
caffeine

Generic Menstrual Pain Relief Midol substitute 40 tablets $4.50
active ingredients:
acetominophen 500mg
Pamabrom 25mg
pyrilamine maleate 15mg (Antihistamine)

which would you choose? Probably the generic, more pills, less money, basically the same ingredients, right? So I did. Then 30 minutes in to class (an hour after I took two pills) my eyes start drooping. For 3 hours I fought sleep realizing that I am WAY too susceptible to antihistamines and their drowsiness effects. Darn.

for the birds

What an interesting week....last week I did my advanced avian elective, a one week course in advanced avian (bird) medicine. It was great! We did some hands on with live parrots from the school's employees, and then did '"surgery" on cadavers from the wildlife clinic, and had TONS of lectures on various subjects from great lecturers. We took a field trip one afternoon to Rhode Island to visit Foster Parrots, quite an amazing site with hundreds of abandoned birds in a sanctuary situation where they can live out the rest of their lives well. I loved it, and was overwhelmed by all the sad stories of birds with mental issues or birds being given up for adoption for sad reasons...people should not be allowed to have birds for pets if you ask me, but I could see myself with one if it was adopted since I would know what to do (the only birds I would want for pets are chickens and ducks though).

Poor Mark's apartment has been being renovated for over a week now, and he has been living with me for the week. It has been interesting. I enjoy the opportunity to cook dinner and do other domestic things on a regular basis, but I also have grown tired of running the laundry every 3rd day since he is allergic to my cat, and while he has not had any problems yet I think it is mainly because keeping a fresh pair of sheets and blankets on the bed every 3rd day keeps him healthy.

I went to Montreal this past weekend. A nice thing about being with Mark all week was that while I would of liked it if he had come, I was able to have a great time doing girly things without him as well. On Saturday Heather and I went dress shopping and I got a hot purple and black short, professional dress for Alicia's wedding. That evening we watched Star Wars, classic, it is so awesome that Heather and I are both such good fans. Even though I never watch except when with Heather and Denis, I strangely like formula one and watching some of the race on Sunday morning was fun. Tina reinforced that I do in fact love dogs and my resentment towards my roommate's dogs is not me being a bad person, but that they are not the best dogs. Tina, however, is the perfect dog, I wish I could of kidnapped her. It was a long drive home Sunday in the bad weather, but I was able to enjoy it by listening to the first book of the twilight series on cd.

This week I am in the conservation medicine elective. A lot of the grade is based on participation, and I was surprised how confident I was and really me and one other girl seemed to dominate most of the conversations. I wasn't trying to keep other people from talking, but the other 6 classmates in the course are shy, and I realized I have a great background in this area, (too bad international didn't think so and kicked me out of their program).

google yourself

Yes, I have googled myself before, I find that I can find the most websites by putting in "Lindsey Nielsen Animal" since almost all my online publications are in regards to something animal related.

Well, I got a big boost of self confidence today. I have the list of all the interns I will be starting with at Darien in June. I googled all of their names followed by the school they are at and "veterinary student". Of the 9 I googled, I found stuff for 5, one is actually the daughter of a famous washington post columnist, so she wasn't on any websites, but her dad was and she was mentioned in some of them. Another was a co-manager at the wildlife clinic at her school. Another spent 2 months with the humane society on a mission in Latin America spaying and neutering dogs. And the last was on a veterinary school basketball league that one a tournament. I really wanted to find pics, but it was neat reading small parts about the people I will be spending most of the next year getting to know well.

Then out of curiosity, I googled "Lindsey Nielsen Tufts Veterinary Student" since I had never googled that before and wanted to see what others would find if they did the same for me. I was pleased that the first 6 slots were all publications or references in Tufts magazines to the things I have done around campus. I still wish I have done more in the last 4 years, but having that much come up on a google search made me feel a little better about myself.

MATCH RESULTS!

I matched at VCA Darien, my top choice, which is in Norwalk, Ct. 40 minutes outside of NYC. I am excited and nervous as hell. Time to start figuring out the living situation, etc., but I will have 3-4 weeks after I graduate to get it all settled. I am 95% happy, the 5% is a wish that no matter what Mark could come with me, I know things will work out no matter what, but I am bummed that in these financial times it will be difficult.

freaking skunked

I will try not to go in to a rant, but Sunday night was the worst night here since I moved here...Ryan's dogs started whining at 3am...he let them out and they immediately got skunked, he brought them in to bathe one at a time (while the second wandered the apartment dragging skunk smell everywhere). He bathed them wrong...I told him Tomatoe juice, he took a can of plum tomatoes and smeared tomatoe chunks over both dog...which did nothing for the smell and coated our bathroom from floor to ceiling with tomatoe chunks. Meanwhile second dog shit over the entire apartment (with pieces of sock in it). By 4am I could no longer sleep because the smell was so disgusting it burned my eyes, so I left for school over an hour early. I arrived and was the laughing stock of the hospital for 2 days since every I went reeked of skunk. I spent the night at Mark's on Monday to avoid punching Ryan and his dogs in the face, and Mark asked me to sleep on the couch due to my smell (but eventually he caved and let me sleep in bed with him). And the rest of the week was spent trying to "work things out" with Ryan because he refused to accept that we were horrible roommates. Thank god the week is almost over.

I have been on exotics all week, which is A LOT of work, but is rewarding and fun cause I am realizing I know more then I thought I did. The only frustrating part...there is a student on with us who is from the local technician school (being a vet tech is equivelant to being a human nurse). She is very nice, but pushy and controlling. I arrive at school at 6am to start Physical exams on my patients, and paperwork, requests, etc. She shows up at 10am and jumps in to all the procedures, taking control and getting to do more then me. She scrubbed in to our two surgeries today (rat spays) and totally pushed me out of the way to actually participate while I stood to the side and handed the doctor instruments (she was in my traditional place assisting with surgery). I was a little upset, esp. when after surgery she disappeared and I was left to recover the patient, get all the drug RXs. in, paperwork, orders, etc. I was trying not to be pissed, but then one of the vet techs on anesthesia pulled me aside and said "Lindsey, you better stop letting that girl do whatever she wants. You bust your ass off here and she gets to do all the fun stuff while you are stuck with the aftermath and paperwork for 2 hours after." That made me feel better, but I still couldn't change it today. And sure enough, 4pm rolled around, all the procedures for the day were done, but there was over 2 hours of paperwork left, and the girl left for the day considering it a job well done. It must be nice to come in, get more hands on with the animals then most, shove yourself in to get hands on for the coolest procedures, and avoid all the paperwork, client communication, and follow-up for each case. But on a good note, every time this pissed me off, I told myself "Well, in 3 months I will be the doctor calling the shots saying who can do what, so she can have her fun now." I know I never want to be a controlling doctor or bossy doctor, but I get things done very efficiently, and I will be good to my techs, but I will let people who need experience most get it only if they are willing to tackle all the hard work associated with it. Of course, hard work will never go unrewarded if I have anything to say about it. : )

S.A.D.

I think I have a serious case of seasonal affective disorder (S.A.D.) right now. I feel so depressed and lonely, and no matter how hard I try to lose weight, organize events with friends, ask people to take care of me, not get angry at people, find things to keep me from getting bored and depressed, I feel like I fail at all of it. I am not sure if all this upcoming elective time will be a good or bad thing for me. I don't want to be overworked and stressed, but I am finding all this free time daunting and oppressive in a weird way. I am sure it is just a bad case of the blues and it will pass soon, but wow, I HATE feeling like every waking minute is tough. I need some more stimulation to get me in a better mood.

bostonian friends

There are so many reasons why I am so glad that I moved to Medford so close to Boston, and Mark, and a social life. And I really don't regret it at all, I know I made the right choice even if things can be rough at times. But there is one thing that is nagging me, that is bothering me a little. It is a lack of friends. Quite frankly, my vet school friends can drive me nuts at times...I am in school with them for 8-12 hours a day, and when we hang out things all too often become conversations of vet school, and it just makes me anxious and stressed outside of school. So when I lived in grafton I hung out with them more, but wanted to go in to boston to destress and de-vet school. I still have that problem on the rare occasion I hang out with friends in my class, and I wish we could be friends without the whole vet school pretense. But now that I live in Medford I find myself missing them since they are all so rarely willing to come out to visit and hang out in Boston. I have always been a planner and am usually pro-active about rallying friends and organizing events for us all. But now that I live in Boston I find that it is nearly impossible, hardly anyone ever wants to come out! Even when 6 friends encouraged me to host a st. patty's day party, only my roommate and I have RSVPed positive for it so far on the facebook invite, and 4/6 of the original encouragers now have said no, they can't come!

On a good note, I have met some new people here in Boston, but they are mostly Mark's co-workers and friends. I like most of them a lot, but feel bad whenever I ask Mark to arrange something with them. I know i am the annoying pro-active planner who wants to organize, and I think it might seem weird that I ask to plan events with them since they are technically not my friends. But again, I feel like I have no friends out here sometimes, and being a social being I want to organize and have social gatherings with people. I wish I could throw more parties and have more people come, but vet school people are too busy and pre-occupied if already in clinics, and all my other friends live all over the country (or in canada). So I feel like my best bet is to become closer friends with Mark's crew. I guess I will just have to see what happens, but we all know with my upcoming free weekends (every weekend starting March 7) I will find some way to fill up my free time. If my damn IT Band will hurry up and let me I will gladly fill each day with 3-4 hours of running long distances.

v-day and playing with dead animals

Thank freaking god my pathology rotation is almost over. It has been rough, but fun at time too. Tomorrow is my last day, but I might be in on Sunday since I am on call that day from 8-5.

Valentine's day was amazing. On Friday the 13th I took Mark to the Boston Wine School as a surprise gift for V-day and our anniversary. It was for a 3 hour course called "in love with wine and chocolate". It pared 5 types of wine with 5 different chocolates (4 of which were vegan, and one that I think might be a new favorite, this tazo brand that has a cinnamon flavor). They also served cocktails and bread with bruschetta in the beginning, and then dinner after the tasting. It was so much fun to learn how to properly taste wine, I LOVE swooshing and spitting now. And smelling, and swirling! It was such an experience. We also met some interesting couples. An older couple across from us was very friendly, and I made the mistake o telling them I was a soon to be vet, since the older man LOVED vets and started going off on the usual tangents of animal stories. Sadly, another middle-aged couple was interesting but the husband worked for a company that did nothing but test on animals, and even though I tried to spin things in conversation to make it sound like he was not someone I secretly hated, he almost bragged about all the animal testing and killing that happened at his practice. I bit my tongue and didn't start an argument, but I was presently surprised after when Mark told me he was disappointed that I hadn't spoken up more and told him he was wrong, so next time I will not be so quick to hold back for appearance sake.

I have realized that even though I LOVE having almost every weekend off and working regular hours, I am WAY too bored. I have been reading an average of one novel a week. I am drawing in my sketch book on the weekends. I am going to the gym for an hour every day. Yet I still have too much free time. I don't know what to do with myself on these weekends. I started baking various vegan desserts on the weekends too, and lots of chores, I need a new hobby! My mom encouraged me to start writing a novel again. We'll see.

class video fun!

Tufts V'09 2009 Class Video from AndrewQ on Vimeo.

I can't stop watching our amazing class video, it is HILARIOUS!!!!

new migraine studies

I saw a thing on the news this weekend that started getting me nervous, since I get migraines, am on birth control, and smoke the occassional social cigarette (I know, I know, I shouldn't, but it is a bad habit to break despite my manic exercising).

This study is scarey, even makes me wonder about my increased risks with birth control and if there are alternatives I could pursue. Aside from being vegan I feel like I have all the risk factors.

so much for international

I have been in the international certificate program here at school...basically it is an extra program you apply for, finish a project abroad and write a paper on, attend every other week seminars until clinics start, and complete yearly written reports on your progress with your chosen mentor, finished up by a final oral exam with three faculty members in your senior year.

5 of my classmates and I are in the program...and it just gives you a written slip when you graduate saying you did extra in this veterinary medicine field while in school, so no worries if you don't get it. All of us in the program have been completely disappointed with it. There is no guidance, no structure, no organization. And sadly, my mentor happens to be the only mentor whom the entire international staff fights with all the time. All of our projects abroad were fun, but did not result in publishable results (surprise surprise). I published a paper the year before on similar research but it was not the direct culmination of my trip abroad. All of us started to think the program was a joke in our second year. But of course, I became known as the dork who attended every forum (you are allowed to miss two a year) and who read all the chapters of our required text ahead of time instead of an hour before the lecture on it.

So the letter I received yesterday had a lot of irony to me. All my other classmates got emails last week saying they should schedule their oral exam soon. I didn't, and I thought that was weird. I also talked to Katie about it, one of my best friends in the program who jokingly became known as the slacker in the program since she was frequently late to the seminars and never read ahead of time. We all discussed our written reports that we wrote this past summer for the year before, and I was bold and did not hold back that I was disappointed the program did not support its students, and that it could use some more organization. The report asked us to reflect on our progress as well as our opinion of the program, so I tried to give them some constructive critcism. Even more ironic was that I started contacting them in October asking when to schedule my oral exam, and they never replied to me, while my classmates forgot about the exam and decided "They will contact me when they want me to take it, if they forget that is their problem."

My letter basically says "Dear Lindsey, We regret to inform you that we have decided to drop you from the international certificate program. We feel that you have achieved tremendous amounts in veterinary school and have always been impressed by your activities and academic achievements in school. Sadly, we do not feel that your international project and subsequent paper are of publishable quality and have unanimously decided that it is not sufficient to complete your international certificate." blah blah blah from there.

Funny things was I was not mad. This is not going to affect me in any way, it just means that I wasted my time for 3 years attending all those seminars and reading that book. It was not a total waste, I learned something, but I could of done other things instead.

And my mentor got a copy of the same letter. She has not been the best mentor. She is always at odds with the program. She is supposed to be in the program, which is funny since she did not hear of this "unanimous decision" before the letter came to her, and she freaked out. She emailed me and immediately wanted to go to the Dean and once again start a battle trying to get one of the faculty members of the program that she hates kicked off, but I asked her politely to not pursue this. I am tired and in clinics and am not in the mood to stir up any thing on campus before leaving. I felt their letter was respectful and not rude in any way, although all of my classmates in the program flipped as well since they felt I was one of the hardest workers in the program. I guess I have taken the whole "it is one less problem for me to deal with" approach. But I do secretly wonder how much my frankness in my last written report as well as having the one mentor that every other faculty member openly hates affected the decision. Oh well.

pathology...ick!! Dead Bodies!

I am having a rough time on my pathology rotation. Generally the hours are good...for three week it is usually 8-5 with weekends off...tonight was the once a week exception where we had two random autopsy requests come through at 4:45pm so we were there until after 8pm. But the thing I am struggling with is the afternoon necropsies in general. We spend 2-5 hours every afternoon performing necropsies on animals, which is quite a brutal thing. So far I have done 3 dogs, 1 horse, and 1 duck. Being a vegan, meat is unfamiliar to me, and we use meat knifes and scalpels and shears and bone saws, etc. to cut through the skin, bone, tissues, muscles, etc. We take samples from all over the body, which is why so much needs to be cut open or detached and thoroughly inspected. And there is something repetitive, OCDish, and nauseating about slicing through all the tissue with a meat knife. I have found that almost every night I fall asleep thinking of that slicing motion since it is so repetitive and it works well for my OCD, even though it makes me want to vomit at the same time. I have had nightmares for 2 days in a row now, normally about slicing things, dead bodies, and in one I accidentally cut my fingers off while slicing meat (which is so odd since slicing meat in itself is a nightmare for me being vegan).

Today was even more troublesome since we had two late necropsies to start, and when I started reporting all the external findings on the one case, I kept thinking "Hmm..this dog looks familiar...this is like dejavu." Suddenly it dawned on me, and I looked at the dog's name tag and realized he had been one of my patients less then a month ago! I had admitted the sweetheart to the ER, taken care of him for 8 hours, transferred him to medicine, but then followed up on his case for the next two days after that since he was such a sweet dog. When he first came in through the ER with me it was obvious he was a deathly ill dog when you looked at his physical and his labwork, but he wouldn't let you know that with the way he ran around carrying his leash in hi mouth, wagging his tail, and searching for human attention. He had been doing well with medical treatment at home until today, when he went downhill fast...and ended up in pathology.

I know there is a need for veterinary pathologists, in fact, so much so they get paid TONS, but it is not for me. I hope I can make it through the next 2 weeks with less nightmares then usual.

grrr...dogs

seriously, I feel like EVERY day I come home to the dogs doing something bad. Today one of them decided to climb on the counter and eat my last muffin and the aluminum foil, while leaving tiny bits of foil throughout the house. Ryan used to claim that his dogs never ate things off the counter, but even he had to agree that that was a myth today.
Then I went to put my dvd to the Scrubs first season away today, and found that it was under another sheet of paper. When I pulled the case out I saw it had been chewed to pieces, half the cover and back were missing. Amazingly, the dvds were ok, but I freaked a little on Ryan. Not just cause his dogs ate it, but because he hid it on purpose under the paper from me (he admitted to that too, he thought I would of found it earlier since he told me the dogs did this two days ago, and said he would buy me a new copy if I wanted, but I told him I was more pissed he hid it from me then that his dogs ate it).

I would hate to be responsible for telling him that the dogs need to stay in his bedroom all day when unsupervised, but I am starting to think that is the only option I can live with. I hate the idea of two big dogs spending at least 12 hours a day in his tiny bedroom, but honestly, if his dogs eat one more thing of mine in the next week, I might ask him that. This is getting unbearable. EVERY day it is something else...the trash all over the apartment half eaten, the food up high on the counter, my dvd cases! Ughh.

love songs

funny what people like as their love songs...but growing up listening to the Moody Blues as a kid, I will forever love "Lean on me Tonight" by said band.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8B3GEnHvgvg

I can't believe I found THAT on Youtube. I actually saw this band during this tour, when this album was released. Nice. Good old memories.

sad stuff

after passing boards there were many people I wanted to tell, or so I thought...I was so excited, but I called to tell Mark, then my mom, then I realized other then Heather and Christina, not many people would know what it meant to pass boards. I told Christina at dinner, and got a call from Heather that night in response to my blog, and the initial excitement is over now, but I hate to admit it...I keep thinking, several times a day, "I want to call my dad and tell him I passed my boards." and then I get this sick sinking feeling knowing I can't. Sorry that sounds so depressing, but I have been thinking about it too much.

Other then that, things are great. I am not dealing with my weekends off great, I need to stay busy so bad. I read two novels already this week, and am officially addicted to the Twilight vampire series now. I hate this free time, and not being able to run for 3-4 hours a day due to my knee injury makes it even more difficult. Instead I go to the gym for an hour and a half and feel much less satisfied.

Well, off to laser tag with the vet school girls tonight, YAY!

I PASSED BOARDS!!!

YAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Knowing I will be a DVM in May is one of the best gifts ever.

winter blues, busy weeks

Despite the fact that my clinical rotations are very lax now, normally monday to friday, with generally 8-5 days, I have been super sad and stressed. I am blaming it on the weather. I think we are having our 6th big storm of the winter today...it sucks, the snow just keeps piling up!

Well, I have to comment, Ryan has been trying to clean more, and he now vacuums the rug one-two times a week. But more and more I think I do NOT want dogs of my own...maybe, it's just, how likes to come home to their work all day? I will see dogs and cats all day, and then to have a dog of your own in your face when you arrive at home is like a continuation of work. I guess it could work if I have a very calm and well behaved pooch, maybe a greyhound, or a bassett hound. I do plan on adopting more rats once I move, I love rats and they make phenomenal pets.

Last night was our first wine tasting night. We had a pleasant surprise...Amy, Mark, Ryan, Christina, Mark and I all made it. I made vegan lasagna and asparagus rolls and pound cake, Ryan bought cheese, crackers and vegan chocolate. We had 4 bottles of wine between all of us. It was very relaxing and stress free.

Tomorrow is trivia night in Allston with Mark and Christina. This weekend I am sure there will be superbowl parties. Then next Thursday is trivia night again, but this time for Pete's birthday. Next weekend is the infamous vet prom, for which Mark and I got a room. Then the weekend after is Valentine's Day, also about the time of Mark and my anniversary. I can't write what I got in case Mark reads this, but I did get two tickets to a special event on Friday the 13th for our anniversary and Valentine's Day. Yay!

dogs

I am starting to think I might actually want my own kids before my own dogs. Wow. Who would of ever though that from me. But living with two big dogs has re-exposed me to the hassles and responsibilities of having them. At least once a week they do something I find annoying, like get in to the trash or chew up something they shouldn't or track mud throughout the house. And it doesn't help that their owner (my roommate) doesn't clean after them much, and openly admits he hates cleaning and won't do it most of the time. The dogs are good dogs, but I do think they are a little neglected. And after spending my long ass day around animals, I hate coming home to be greeted by two poor lonely dogs sniffing and following me everywhere. I think I almost burst a blood vessel today when I got home and someone left the bathroom door open (Not me, Ryan warned me when we moved in the dogs will go in to the trash if the door is left open so I never leave it open, yet once a week they get in there when he leaves it open). This time they had dragged ALL of the trash contents out in to the hall, AND Ryan's friend who is staying at our place for the next four days, well she moved herself in to the bathroom, and the dogs destroyed half of her make up, which amounted to about 15-20 pieces of blush or cover-up or mascara or lip balm etc. Of course, Ryan and said girl were MIA. Not what I like to come home to at 9pm after being at work for 14 hours.

HOUSE

Speaking of House, I normally watch one episode every other day, Ryan always hears me and comes to join me since he hates to actually work and would love an excuse to procrastinate, and then Ryan always wants to watch multiple episodes once he watches one....but I am so tired and need to get up so early I call it quits by 10pm most nights despite his protesting and begging I watch more. Well, last night I was watching the season finale to season 4, which was two episodes in a row. I could only watch one episode, and Ryan wanted to watch both, I just asked him not to tell me what happened. He still had to leave me a note in front of my door at 1am that "It was all it could of been, answered all your questions, you will love the episode. : )" Ok, thanks, but I can watch it on my own and decide then.

Then tonight I got home and decided to watch it at dinner. Ryan's friend from Cali arrived earlier today, she is staying here until Sunday, so the house is even more crowded the normal (and I have been warned that I should stay with Mark this weekend if I don't want to hear things sounding like a porn coming form my roommate's bedroom, nice). Ryan still made it out to watch the second half of the last episode while I watched even though he saw it last night, and couldn't help himself, everytime someone made a different diagnosis suggestion for Amber, or asked a question, he had to answer yes or no before they did on the show, and he had to dance to music, and ask me in the middle of a good scene "aren't they great actors? This is such a tear jerker" so that I missed half of the scene. He even came out and started shouting differential diagnoses at one point and asked me medical advice while I was watching as they started a different treatment for Amber. Nice...again, I hate to be a bitch, but I think I might have to ban Ryan from my dvds until I watch them on my own. He can watch them after me, since I don't need simultaneous commentary and I like to watch things on my own in peace and quiet. Damn, I am such a bitch.

roommates

I keep trying to figure out why living with Ryan irks me so much, and I think I finally hit the nail on the head. Ryan is an awesome, supportive friend. He is an amazing person and is super fun. However, he is a bit dirty, actually, his dogs are, and I am OCD and have a hard time dealing with dog hair, and being a guy Ryan never cleans. But still, I don't mind cleaning, so I don't think that is the problem. I have always had roommates since undergrad, and never before have I dreaded coming home so much sometimes.

I think I figured it out this week. Living with Ryan is like living in a mini-frat house. It's always slightly dirty. I am the one who remembers to do the chores 80% of the time. And I work all day long, but yet Ryan's schedule is so flexible, he is ALWAYS home. I think he is not fully stimulated by his job, so when I come home he spends ALL his time in the common areas of the house, and kind of follows me around analyzing everything I do. I had Monday off this past weekend, and I realized this when he too did not work on Monday, and followed me around a bunch asking "what you cooking?"..."What you doing?", etc. etc. Never leaving me alone. He is such a happy guy, he loves to sing out loud about what he is doing. I am glad he is happy, but am not getting peace that way. When I shut my door to my room to read or be ALONE he knocks and asks "what is wrong and why is the door shut and is everything ok and why am I anti-social?" I like to watch House on dvd on my own, but he must join me when I do and analyze it and make commentary and laugh so loud at points I can't hear the TV. So Ryan and I are both social people, but I think Ryan takes it to a new level because unlike me he is not overwhelmed by work all day. I come home and need some down time, alone time, ME time. I want to watch my TV on dvd alone, uninterrupted, without other's comments. I want to go to bed early since I get up at 5am without hearing someone singing in the other room. I want to make dinner without someone coming in and asking if they can try a piece or analyzing what type of fake gross food that is, gross, you will eat that?!

So yeah, I love Ryan to death as a friend. He is an amazing person. And I am so glad I am living closer to Boston and have a healthy life outside of work/school. But for roommates, we are a little incompatible. I think he would be great living with someone more his speed. Again, I feel like I am living in a sort of frat house with no relaxing alone time. I will survive, but I feel like such a bitch always asking Ryan to change something since I can't handle the over stimulation from him, and yet Mark and most of my friends think of me as one of the happiest people they know. Hopefully if Mark and I end up living together next year we will be a little more compatible, but since I love to cook and Mark hates too, and we both like to keep things clean, I think it will be fine....if I get lucky enough to live with him.

good luck Patches

They talk about those cases that stick with you for many reasons, but ones that meant so much to you that for the rest of your life when you see a patient with that name you will think of that special case. I had one of those this week. Patches.
Patches came to the ER with an ATE, or arterial thromboembolism.

Let me give you all some medical background first:
cats get this type of heart disease where their heart's walls get thick and blood flow becomes more stagnant, creating a perfect environment to form big clots in the heart chambers...with bad luck and progression of the disease these clots can break off, fly through the blood stream, and lodge at a distant site, stopping blood flow to that site with a huge blood clot. Most of the time these cats seem fine to owners, they have no idea they have heart disease, until they throw the clot. Most of the time the clot is thrown to the legs, often back legs. The cat's blood supply to his or her legs is cut off. You can imagine, this makes it so the legs are non-functional, and as the cells die from loss of blood supply it is excruciatingly painful. Commonly the cat develops congestive heart failure within 12-24 hours of throwing the clot. If the cat survives the episode with extensive critical care in the hospital (which they will have statistically a 50% chance of doing) they then have 40-60% chance that they will have another similar or worse episode in the next 9-12 months. Naturally, you can imagine, most owners when told this on presentation to the ER decide to euthanize their cats. Additionally, most vets tell owners to euthanize upon arrival cause they know the prognosis is poor. But still, if owners have the money and the vet is not pushing to euthanize a painful cat, the cat could survive and do well, its just that the odds are against him.

Patches was one of those cats. The ER vet who admitted him at 11pm on Tuesday urged the owners to euthanize, but they wanted to try and hold out for their sweet boy. He was transferred to me on cardiology on Wednesday morning.

He was on tons of pain meds when I first met him, so naturally he was happy. Our cardiac evaluation including a PE and echocardiogram did reveal the usual underlying severe heart disease. Despite our discussing the poor chances and the likelihood that Patches would develop congestive (and possibly fatal) heart failure in the near future, the owner loved him and wanted to give him another day. Patches was a brave boy, and I began to believe that while he had lost the function of both hind legs, his caring owner would help him become one of those few survivors with lots of TLC and intensive home care.

The next morning I came in to find Patches' cage empty. At first I thought "Hmm, he must of been doing well, so they moved him from ICU to the general ward." but after seraching there I got more nervous...I found him, in the oxygen cage hooked up to EKG monitors, IV fluids, and other monitors in ICU. Not good.

Patches had reperfusion injury. Sometimes when cats get through the clot part, their body can develop collateral vessels to their legs, and even regain some function (though minimal). The sad part is that when the vessels reach the dead legs all the breakdown products from the dead muscles circulates the entire body, causing all sorts of changes to the bloodwork, severely slow and abnormal heart rates, and multi-organ damage or failure. Despite this horrible turn for the worse, Patches owner was excited that he might be regaining some function to his legs, she wanted us to keep trying. We put Patches on SO many drugs to manage all the horrible things happening to his body, and through all this he continued to love my affection and visits to his cage.

I was sad, and was told yet again that my patient would probably die overnight, but I arrived the next morning and found that he was starting to improve. It seemed the worst of his reperfusion had ended. His right leg still didn't work, but it looked like some of his left and at least two toes on his left leg were functioning. However, his kidney values had slowly been rising ever since he had first come to the hospital, and that morning was the first morning that had reached dangerously high levels. After all this, Patches was in renal failure. Of course, with aggressive IV fluids we might be able to reverse it, or at least slow it so he could live comfortably at home for quite some time. But, when a cat has heart disease and you give him too much fluids you can easily push them in to heart failure. And we had Patches on a very high rate of IV fluids this whole time since we had been watching his kidney values slowly rise.

And for the first time since I had known him, Patches was acting depressed. Instead of his usual exuberant greeting when I came to check up on him, he only had the energy to open one eye and acknowledge my presence. If I was kind enough to place my hand near him, he would gently use his paw to pull my hand closer so that he could rest his head on my hand. After all this, we discussed Patches bad state with his owner again. Amazingly, he had survived the worst of his heart disease, but now his kidneys were failing. His owner then revealed that she did not want Patches to die in the hospital, nor to be euthanized. Instead, she wanted a "natural death" for her cat. She decided it was time for him to come home. I would of been fine to have his owner take him home for a day or two to spend his last hours with his family. But instead she was taking him home to slowly starve to death and have his kidneys give out on him over the next two weeks, or if his heart disease flared up, he will drown in the fluid in his own lungs. I have never been so sad. Euthanizing great pets is hard, having patients you care about die in the hospital despite your care sucks. But to make it this far, to pour all our work in to saving this cat against the odds, and for him to pull through and do it too, only to have him taken away to suffer and wither away, was heart wrenching for me. I cried so much last night for him. I hope that maybe he will continue to defy the odds, and while the chances of him surviving to be a semi normal cat (without back legs working of course) are about 1 out of 200, he might be the one.

Good luck Patches, you have definitely left an impression on me, my heart is with you, and whenever I meet a cat named Patches I will think of you.

ER 3pm to 2am

I spent this past week on ER from the 3pm to 2am shift, which is my favorite, Typically the ER is busiest from 5-10, so you see the most, and then things usually slow down so you can finish your paperwork and leave by 2am....not so this week. I had a great time and did really well, but I am exhausted. Thank goodness it was only a 4 day week. Several of my classmates were on their core rotation at the same time, and they all pissed me off since most of them avoided taking cases and left them for me since all of their shifts ended earlier then mine. And to top it off the clinicians loved working with me so they kept signing me up for their cases while I still had other cases going on, so it was a little overwhelming but flattering. The earliest I got out was 3am. So Monday I was there until 3:45am, Tuesday until 3am, Wednesday until 3am, and yesterday, Thursday, until 3:30am. For some reason every night was slow until 10pm, and then every owner brought in their emergencies between 10-1am. ughh..

Again, the best news was despite it being an elective week I was showered with compliments by the doctors. When I started the week Russell was so excited I was back on since he had so much fun working with me before. I worked with a new doctor, Kristen, whom I absolutely LOVED. She was a great teacher, every night she told me great job and thanks for your help, and last night she was so upset my week was over and she told me that "I was one of the best students she had ever worked with, that I had a very wide knowledge base, that I wrote the best discharges and transfers she had ever seen, and that she couldn't wait for me to come back to the ER for more elective in March."

The cases I saw? Let's see if I can remember them. These are the ones that stick in my head as being neat and complicated and rewarding:
1. 5 month old kitten with a pyothorax
2. 10 year old rotti with a brain tumor that came in in status epilepticus (seizing non-stop)
3. 3 month old duck that prolapsed his phallus- this was the most rewarding. No one in the ER knew anything about birds, and I ran the entire case. Russell kept joking with the other doctors how great it was working with me cause he could just sit back and let me be the doctor and I made him look good. The next morning exotics got the case, and the exotics doctor came to see me to tell me how I had done a superb job and it was one of the best transfers she had ever gotten from the ER. Russell came to find me yesterday to tell me that exotics had come to him to compliment him on a great job treating the case for the night, but he told them to find me since I was the brains behind the operation.
4. 12 year old shih tsu with a slipped disk and an anal gland abscess
5. 12 year old wheaton attacked by a coyote with about 7-8 lacerations that I got to clean and stitch up
6. 4 year old black lab in liver failure, probably from cancer
7. 8 year old cat with a perforated cornea
8. 2 rat terriers also attacked by a wild animal, one needed a laceration stitched, one with a scratch to her cornea
9. 1 year old cat squished by a bed when it broke from under its owners
10. 12 year old sheltie with an anal mass and uncontrolled heart failure
11. 4 month old boston terrier with cerebellar dysfunction, most likely from meningitis
12. 3 year old persian cat with 1 day history of vomiting
13. 5 year old poodle with 1 day history of vomiting, uriinary incontinence, and pain
14. 10 year old bichon with severe back pain and right leg pain
15. 2 month old shih tsu with an esophageal foreign body that was compressing his trachea
16. 2 year old terrier mix with bloody firm stool that was badly constipated
17. 3 year old shiba inu with ibuprofen toxicity
18. 6 year ols cat with an arterial thromboembolism at the level of the renal arteries
19. blocked cat that presented dead (CPR performed)
20. HBC boxer that had a neck and skull fracture and was bleeding out in to both her abdomen and her chest

In 4 days I think those are most of the cases I saw, not sure. Could be more I am forgetting. But not bad considering I was working with 5 other students, and on average we would see 10 cases a day during my shift only. So out of about 40 cases, I saw 20, even though there were 6 students total working. Nice and productive. Now I can catch up on sleep since driving and getting home at 4am, followed by being woken up at 8:30am by the noise from your roommate and his dogs, is not the most fun.

things I have done

Things I have done... Just copy and paste this to your blog and bold (or highlight in a different color) the ones that you HAVE done and make sure to put your score at the end.

I am obviously bored today. Stolen from Jess.

1. Started your own blog
2. Slept under the stars
3. Played in a band
4. Visited Hawaii
5. Watched a meteor shower
6. Given more than you can afford to charity
7. Been to Disneyland
8. Climbed a mountain
9. Held a praying mantis
10. Sang a solo
11. Bungee jumped
12. Visited Paris
13. Watched a lightning storm at sea
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch
15. Adopted a child
16. Had food poisoning
17. Walked to the top of the Statue of Liberty
18. Grown your own vegetables
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France
20. Slept on an overnight train
21. Had a pillow fight
22. Hitch hiked
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill
24. Built a snow fort
25. Held a lamb
26. Gone skinny dipping
27. Run a Marathon
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice
29. Seen a total eclipse
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset
31. Hit a home run
32. Been on a cruise
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors
35. Seen an Amish community
36. Taught yourself a new language
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person
39. Gone rock climbing
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David
41. Sung karaoke
42. Seen Old Faithful geyser erupt
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant
44. Visited Africa
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight
46. Been transported in an ambulance
47. Had your portrait painted
48. Gone deep sea fishing
49. Gone without food or water for 24 hours or longer
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling
52. Kissed in the rain
53. Played in the mud
54. Gone to a drive-in theater
55. Been in a movie
56. Visited the Great Wall of China
57. Started a business
58. Taken a martial arts class
59. Stayed up for 24 hours with NO sleep at all
60. Served at a soup kitchen
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies
62. Gone whale watching
63. Got flowers for no reason
64. Donated blood, platelets or plasma
65. Gone sky diving
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration Camp
67. Bounced a check
68. Flown in a helicopter
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial
71. Eaten Caviar
72. Pieced a quilt
73. Stood in Times Square
74. Toured the Everglades
75. Been fired from a job
76. Changed a lightbulb
77. Broken a bone
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person
80. Published a book
81. Visited the Vatican
82. Bought a brand new car
83. Mowed the lawn
84. Had your picture in the newspaper
85. Read the entire Bible
86. Visited the White House
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating
88. Had chickenpox
89. Saved someone’s life
90. Sat on a jury
91. Met someone famous
92. Joined a book club
93. Lost a loved one
94. Had a baby
95. Seen the Alamo in person
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake
97. Been involved in a law suit
98. Owned a cell phone
99. Been stung by a bee

58 total