More from the New Intern...

Thank God today's over. There's excitement in finally being a veterinarian, but stress because I'm still so new at it. Today I was on day ER and although it was slow, what I did have to do was sad. I euthanized an older dog who likely had cancer. The owner was so nice, and I gladly spent a long time talking to him about his dog, his decision, and the process of euthanasia. I've done two of these, and even though I'm glad I can end pain and suffering, it's really hard for me. I was tearing when I spoke with the man, and when I was actually injecting the euthanasia solution I was crying. I apologized, but he said he was glad that it was me who did it, and I could show emotion. So even in such a sad state of affairs, I'm glad I was able to do something to make this man and his dog's day a little easier. Augh. Luckily, the ER was slow today so I had the time to tend to this client. Other than that, it was the usual stress of not knowing the hospital's protocols on who to talk to, what to bill, and all that great stuff that makes a seriously stressed intern even MORE stressed.

New Intern? No Mercy!

So I just finished my first couple of days on the ER floor technically "shadowing" the more seasoned interns...although that really depends on who you're with, because last night I got thrown into to it pretty good. Although I felt like a deer in headlights trying to make decisions on my own, in the end it was a good thing. Because in less than 2 weeks, there will be no more seasoned interns to follow! So far I've placed a drain in the skin to treat a bite wound and I, along with another intern, sutured the eyelid of a dog shut because his eyeball partially popped out after a dog fight. New experiences! I also saw a guinea pig for a digestive issue and saw a little dog with a draining tract from his rectum to his thigh! So feces was coming out of his thigh! That was horrific. Anyway...I'm tired. Today I'm off, so I'll try to savor it as much as possible...I hope I can hang on for a year of this because honestly I'm already exhausted! Apparently the picture above is from a real life medical intern's blog turned TV show from Japan...maybe that person made so much money from that show she doesn't have to be an intern anymore! Hmm...

Countdown to Reality...

Well, I'm back on the blog today. I just finished three days of "orientation" at my new job, as a veterinary intern at a very high volume referral hospital on "The Island". Needless to say, my emotions are a mixed bag of "what did I get myself into" to "I'm gonna be great!" to "wait I think I can do this" to "hmm...maybe I can still get out of this". Tomorrow is my first day on emergency....augh. I am pretty nervous, but at this point, I must accept my fate, since I can't stop time, right? The good news: my fellow interns seem pretty cool and one of them is a friend from Cornell---Gina. So thank GOD she's there, because it always help to have a friendly face there from the beginning...I don't have to try, I can just "be", you know? Well, I'm savoring my Friday evening here and we've settled into our apartment well. So has Gustaf. So I guess I should quickly review my emergency drug dosages in the event anyone decides to go into cardiac arrest on me tomorrow!

Saturday Afternoon

I'm getting ready to meet Marcus in the village to eat dinner at Otto. I'm very excited. He's been in midtown taking an exam all day to pass the last level of his CFA exams. He's been studying very hard, so it would be great if this is the last of them he ever has to take again! I've started watching Atonement...at first I REALLY was not in the mood, but it's gotten a little interesting, so I'll wait it out. Other than that, I think our vacuum cleaner is on its way out. On Thursday I went with a few of my vet school friends---Diana, Kim, and Mindy--- to a GREAT place in Flushing for yum cha! (Dim Sum). It was absolutely excellent and the mango pudding rivaled the kind I ate when I was in Hong Kong. It was really good to see my friends before we start our new jobs, although by that day, some of them had already started working. Diana informed me that her brother had that Playstation game "Rock Band" and I'm so excited for us to all play it one day!!! I asked if I could be lead singer and everyone was like "ya, go for it, no one else wants to"...AND Diana also informed me of a local karaoke joint...this is gonna be fun...

The Jury Is In

Today I went to Spa Castle in Queens with Stephen and it was great! We were there for about 5 hours...I highly recommend it. First you go to the locker rooms (men and women separate), take a shower, then hang out in the multiple "tubs" with different temperatures...my personal favorite was the hottest one, like 117 degrees or something. What can I say---I like it painfully hot. At that point, I went upstairs and met up with Stephen. We then went to the multiple saunas. My favorite was again, the hottest one, that had some clay or mud going on. There was also the salt one that was sweet. We then went to the massage chairs which were no joke, and finally made our way up to the rooftop for the pools with the massage jets and all. My favorite up there was the disturbingly forceful "waterfall" that drops on you to massage your neck. I had no idea what was coming and Stephen watched me as I got the mother of all splashdowns on my head. I was laughing so hard. Then we went back downstairs, ate some food, chilled out on some chairs and talked, then we left. A great day! I LOVE IT THERE! But I must say you better be comfortable being naked around people---the tubs in the lockeroom areas are a no clothes situation. But we're all adults, so no problem, right? Right.

Sex and THE CITY: YES!

Yesterday was my first day back in the city since my move to Long Island. I met up with Terry-a, Lauren, and Saifra in midtown, on the east side. We went to see the movie most women seem to be watching these days: Sex and the City. I really enjoyed it, because it was like a couple of episodes, but super-sized. Plus I had not seen my friends in so long. After the movie I went to Daffy's for a tiny bit and just walked around. Although midtown is not my domain by any means (I'm a below 14th Street kinda girl), I was just so, so happy to be in the city...and even if I had to return to Long Island by the LIRR, I was just so thrilled to finally be in the tri-state area...finally closer to my goal of one day (in the soon future) living in urban bliss somewhere in the boroughs, but not on Staten Island, of course!!! Yikes! On my agenda tomorrow: hang out with Stephen at the Spa Castle!!! This crazy asian inspired modern spa in Queens. Stephen has raved about it: multiple sauna rooms with different themes, waterfalls, outdoor deck, food...let's see, but it sounds great.