Throwback Time

Happy Halloween! A few blogs ago, I mentioned Marcus' popularity during the parade a few years ago, so in commemoration, I included our photo from that day, which yes, ended up as a Christmas card. I love my french maid outfit because I made it. Sewing is cool! Speaking of which, last night I was studying with Stacy at a bookstore and saw the greatest book! The Apron Book. As some already know, I LOVE aprons...and find their domestic-ness incredibly sexy...especially the vintage ones! Saris are sexy, too by the way. Well, I better get to studying. I heard some disturbing news lately, about how people are trying to get politicians to pass legislation to stop the slaughter of horses for meat consumption in foreign countries. Then I thought, well, yes, it's disturbing that horses are getting slaughtered, but it's just as disturbing then, that any animal is getting slaughtered. The whole slaughter thing, even when done "humanely", is really something I struggle with...it's a major part of the reason why I became a vegetarian. It really bothers me that when an animal is no longer useful, it can get sold for slaughter...But I'm not going to go off on a rampage now. But I really want to visit a slaughter house, especially as a future veterinarian. Don't know if I'll get the chance to before I graduate. I did see a video on swine slaughter in class once...woah. Well, on a lighter note, happy candy collecting! I hope my New York friends are making it down to the parade...

Countdown to Halloween

It's almost Halloween. Marcus bought candy for the non-existent children that will knock on our door. I begged him to please buy candy I hate, so that I'm not tempted to eat it in times of desperation. I don't eat candy much, but I DO eat chocolate. Even though I am a choco-snob, when times get rough, my standards drop drastically. Marcus had bought some Hershey's Kisses, and let's just say there's not much left. Oh, well. I randomly stumbled upon this Britney Spears and Snoop Dog gem. I find it quite hysterical. Go Britney! You nasty! Well, better go, it's almost Oprah!

The Origins of Oi

I love that expression "oi" that the Brits and Irish use. I don't know why it's so amusing to me, but it is. Part of it is because it doesn't sound like an English word, so it's funny that English speaking people use it, but then again, it sounds really European. Apparently it's also used in a number of languages. And "oi" is also a sub-genre of punk rock that started in the '70's. I didn't know that. Well, last night I watched "In The Bedroom". It's about a young man who gets involved with an older woman who has kids and a violent ex-husband. I enjoyed it because of its pacing, the scenery, and the acting. I don't think I'd watch it again and again, but I'm glad I saw it. If you're in the mood for something solemn, I'd recommend it.

Is It...Perfection?

Marcus and I brunched with Stacy and Casey today. Great food! Then we came back home, and I was supposed to start studying. But then Marcus turned on the TV, and "Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle" was on TV...I LOVE this movie! It's...perfect?! So I had to watch it before starting to study, I couldn't help myself. Last night we went to the movies and watched "Michael Clayton". I really liked it a lot, and would recommend it. I think it's directed by the same guy who wrote the Bourne movies. I really wanted to watch Ang Lee's latest flick, "Lust, Caution", but Marcus wasn't interested. I don't think he's a big fan of Asian cinema (I know, Ang Lee makes movies in America, but this one's Chinese). Speaking of Asia, Stephen emailed me an amusing New York Times Article about new crime preventing inventions in Japan. It's entertaining, but so telling of the japanese culture. I love the Japanese...I really do. Speaking of more off the wall J-culture, if you want a backdrop on which to laugh, even if you don't know what's going on, check out Tokyo-Decadance (not to be confused with the seedy J-flick "Tokyo Decadence", aka "Topazu"). When you click to get to "Tokyo-Decadance", a prompt comes up. Just click on "cancel" when they ask to install Japanese characters. Not needed to enjoy! Turn up the volume.

The Flies Won't Go Away

This is Musca autumnalis, a fly that transmits the eye worm, Thelazia, mainly to cattle and horses (in veterinary medicine)...and also humans, of course, but a different worm is involved. It's so gross I LOVE IT! But that's not the reason why I entitled my blog "The Flies Won't Go Away" this morning. It's because ever since the crazy warm weather started about 2 weeks ago, we've had an influx of flies in our apartment...all acting strange...I guess the temperatures have them all messed up. I don't know, but it's gross. Anyway, last night we watched the french film "The Page Turner". It was "blah". Can't say that I'm too excited about it. It's about a child who bombs an important piano audition because one of the judges distracts her. Years later the now young woman ends up working with the same judge and getting revenge by playing mind games with her. But what I can say is that the revenge was subtle; definitely not a style of American revenge flicks for the most part. So that was refreshing that it wasn't all about "you screwed me, so I'm boiling your bunny!", you know?

Autumn is Finally Here in Central New York

I went to the gym bright and early this morning and on my drive home I noticed how incredibly gorgeous the scenery was. The trees look like something out of a painting. Very nice in this idyllic setting. The color change in the leaves seemed to happen really suddenly. I've been running around taking care of all the materials I need for my internship applications, like getting letters or recommendation, working on my resume, a letter or intent, my transcripts, and all that good junk. I'm only now (1 P.M.) getting to studying today! Yikes...but the internship stuff is necessary, and I'm just lucky that I'm off from school and even able to take care of it. I've noticed since being home this past week that Twinkie keeps jacking my comfy seat in front on the computer where I study...as seen in the photo above. So now I have to drag in another chair for myself so I don't disrupt his multiple daytime sleep breaks! Sometimes having background music helps me study, or atleast keeps it bearable. It's been the legendary Led Zeppelin, traditional Indian music, and Ithaca College's radio station online, WICB. It's a great radio station! Alternative, jazz, latin, rap, sans the country and elevator jazz music. Love it. And by the way, up here people really DO listen to country...disturbing...This weekend Marcus is finally around, so we'll get to hang out. Stacy's boyfriend Casey (yes, Stacy and Casey) is coming into town all the way from Washington state, so we're all going to meet up for brunch on Sunday. My very talented and beautiful friend Karen Gayle is going to be in a play down in NYC! So if you're interested in checking it out, it's called "The Exonerated", playing from November 1-11.

The Great Expanse

Last night I was watching Anderson Cooper 360 on CNN. I really like that show, and by no means am I a news person. Then after I watched "Planet in Peril", a news documentary about global warming, deforestation, overpopulation, the polar ice caps melting, and the effects on the polar bears. Highly recommended! I missed the first part, but CNN is re-airing both parts of the series I believe starting tomorrow night and through the weekend. So after that show, for whatever reason I became temporarily obsessed with Greenland. I was perplexed as to who lives there, how they live there, and what it's like. So I went to Air Greenland's website to see how much it costs to go there. I kept trying to book a fake ticket, but couldn't get it to work. Apparently they make direct flights from Baltimore...random. BUT I found out some very interesting factoids about Greenland. Like: Greenland was once under Danish rule. It is not considered a European country. The largest city, Nuuk, has a population of about 15,000. Greenlandic people are of Inuit and/or Scandinavian descent. The Inuits invented the kayak. If you have the need for acute treatment, health care is free. The Greenlandic people are predominantly Lutheran. And of course as all of us know, unfortunately the ice caps are melting there at an alarmingly fast rate. It was very interesting for me...but it was late, and I had to just shut the computer off, because I would have kept going...and I don't know why! Then when we were trying to fall asleep, I started obsessing about Iceland, and asking Marcus a billion questions about it. Apparently, heating is free there because of the many geysers all over the country. Then I started up on Lappland, which comprises the northern most regions of Sweden,Finland, and Russia. Marcus trained up there when he was in the army. Finally, since he was trying to fall asleep this whole time, I stopped. We do want to go to Iceland one day, though. Speaking of travels, here's where I've been in the world so far...

VH1 in the Morning

8:15AM...I am about to embark on another round of studying. I was drinking my coffee and eating breakfast while watching VH1. I'm not a Maroon 5 fan, but I really found their new video "Wake Up Call" entertaining! It's modelled after a movie preview, with all the tantalizing "preview musts": an NC-17 rating, guns, cops, women, and sex. Ha Ha. Speaking of great videos, another GREAT one is The Beastie Boys' "Sabotage" ...don't like the Beastie Boys, but love the video! 60's cop show inspired, cinematography and wardrobe is perfect! Hmm, other ones are Eminem's "My Name Is" and "Without Me"...just because they're completely hysterical. Finally, there's also the remix of "It's All About the Benjamins" where Puffy, the Lox, and Lil' Kim crash a prom...be patient and the video gets entertaining. (Sorry you have to watch a quick commercial first...I couldn't find another version!) Well, I really should be studying, but before I go, here's a multiple choice study question I stumbled upon and just had to share because one of the choices is completely laughable (I hope you can tell which one!):"Many young (<9 months) rams in a herd develop swelling and edema around the head and neck. You diagnose Clostridium novyi Type A. What is the treatment? a)Surgical excision of the head (decapitation), b)Wound debridement and penicillin, c)No treatment is necessary, the disease is self-limiting, d)Cull or isolate affected animals".

Dreary Tuesday

I just finished my marathon of studying. Phew. Just watched Oprah, my guilty pleasure. I also spoke with my Cali-based cousin Norrel who had to evacuate her house because of the wildfires. Luckily she's fine, her neighbors are fine, and so far it sounds like her house was spared. I asked her when she evacuated if she grabbed the things she wanted to keep, in case her house did burn down, or did she think it was going to be fine. She told me she left her house assuming the worst...which makes sense considering the severity of the situation, but that's intense. I'm glad she's doing okay. It makes me wonder what I would be thinking if I was in that situation. I've been in some "situations" before and in retrospect sometimes my reactions have surprised me.

The Dentist, Sales, and Parasites

I finally finished in the large animal hospital. Luckily this morning, not too many of my patients gave me a problem. Brutus the 1 year old bull went to surgery today. It's one of a number of surgeries he's had because he tried to jump a fence on a farm and ended up ripping his prepuce (OUCH). And he's supposed to be a breeding bull, so I guess his owner wants to make sure everything is up to speed. Brutus had a breeding soundness exam the other day which consists of taking measurements of his scrotum, getting him to ejaculate (ya...a whole other story for another time), and assessing whether his sperm work and look the way they should under a microscope. And the theriogenologist said the results were normal, which is good news. So hopefully after his surgery, he'll lead a happy, prolific breeding life filled with tons of feed and good times! Other than that, I went to the dentist, I sold the two benches, and we're picking up our new coffee table tomorrow. That's exciting. I've been attempting to study for my boards exam...today was parasite time and after a while all the nasty tapeworms, roundworms, whipworms, pinworms, lungworms, fleas, mites, and lice blend into one super-parasite. AAAHHH I am drowning in a cesspool of parasites! Okay. I need to stop.

Priced to Move...and Haul out of the Large Animal Hospital

Sunday early afternoon. I had a day off from the Large Animal Hospital yesterday and that was great. I slept in, got some studying done, and went out to dinner with a bunch of vet school friends. And one of my friends brought her husband. It was funny because we were all complaining about our usual vet school issues and then he chimes in to complain about the fact that he has to hear all his wife's complaints. It's true though, I definitely give it up to spouses and significant others who have to hear it (on a daily basis) from people in stressful professional programs. Thank you Marcus for withstanding all this crap for so long...seriously! Anyway, I had to go into school today and almost every patient was being a pain in the @#$%. The colt started freaking out in the stall when I tried to medicate him and it got a little scary...then my other patient was being shady as usual, then another horse freaked out when I tried to give him his medications. The only one that was good was poor Northern Desert, the sweet Thoroughbred, and he would actually have good reason to freak out if he wanted to considering one of his eyes is practically swollen shut because of surgery. So this morning was frustrating. But that's okay. So now I'm studying again. I listed two benches we have (in the photo) on craigslist and we've gotten tons of responses. We figure we want to start getting rid of furniture way ahead of when we move back to NYC, because let's face it, we won't have tons and tons of space there (we currently live in a lofty three bedroom apartment)and because I really don't like them anymore. I love craigslist! We've sold a bunch of things on it, it's great. So hopefully these two benches will be outta here soon...and I am outta the Large Animal Hospital by tomorrow morning! YES! Of course until I have to return to it in a month...but that's in a month...

Hello Kitty!

I just thought about it, and Halloween is just around the corner! I love designing and sewing my costumes and going to the one and only Parade down in the Village. I hope my friends in NYC still go! Before we moved up here, we went to the parade with Stephen and Erwin and had a great time. Marcus was incredibly popular as Crusty the Clown (I'm talking dozens of people wanting photos with Krusty on the street, and shout outs to Krusty) and I was a french maid, which seemed to go perfectly well with the shady Krusty. I will likely not be able to participate in the Halloween festivities this year, but hopefully I can we when move back. I know a few of us wanted our own float for the parade....that would be hysterical! Well, anyway, it's Friday night. I am happy about that. Today my surgery patient was a very sweet Thoroughbred horse. His name is "Northern Desert" and he's very laid back. Then I had to treat the Salmonella alpacas in isolation and that's never fun. First, who wants to work with anyone who has Salmonella (that I can get from them!)??? And suiting up in the Tyvek outfit is annoying. Anyway, I'm almost done with the large animal hospital for now...but I will miss Brutus the Brown Swiss bull and Northern Desert the sweet horse.

Almost Friday...And It Can't be Soon Enough

I CANNOT wait until tomorrow's over. Then I'll just have to come in once on the weekend, once Monday morning, then no more large animal soft tissue surgery. Not that it's been all bad, because I've gotten to do some stuff in surgery and become a wee bit more "comfortable" with horses, plus most of the people in the large animal clinic are so nice and friendly, plus my rotation mates are pretty laid back...but I just need it to end. Won't get into it now, but let's just say that someone almost made me snap today. But onto more pleasant topics...Marcus finally returned last night from Canada. It's great to have him back home (even though he's leaving again tomorrow...But a man's gotta make a living, so I understand!). We watched "Dirty Filthy Love", a made for TV Brit-flick about a man living with obsessive compulsive disorder and Tourette's syndrome. I thought it was really interesting, with a great portrayal of a man becoming more aware of his condition. I'd recommend watching it. I'll get back to my regular blogging schedule, just need to shake this week off first...

Welcome Back to the Tropics, Apartment 7

WOOOO!!! I came home today and it was hot...like at my parents' house (and they keep ambient temps in the mid 70s at times)! The heat is definitely working now. Life is good again. And I had a great day at school! Still at the large animal hospital...augh, but I got to do part of a surgery...yeay!, and I LOVE surgery. It was a foal with an umbilical hernia, so we went in there, sliced it out and sewed it back up..well, it was a little more complex than that. The cool thing is that I got to do some of the slicing and suturing. And apparently my technique was pretty good. I am really interested in small animal surgery, and have been for a while, so who knows. The photo above is from my junior surgery last year. I'm still a student, so it's hard to tell what I'll end up doing, but I really do love cutting, suturing, using the surgical instruments, visualizing and manipulating the anatomy... it's all so cool! Well, it's also a ridiculously competitive specialty, to the point where some people don't get residencies. Another potential is anatomic pathology, again, probably because I like cutting (when you do necropsies), seeing the anatomy and seeing the disease, versus just talking about it. But again, I digress...I need to pass boards and graduate first, right? My sisters informed me that they've got new clients, a business down in Wall Street, which is exciting for their newly formed interior design firm. They just started up and they're trying to build clientele, so spread the word. They're on the move. On a random note, have you ever heard of time strips? GREAT idea if you're like me and are obsessed with expiration dates on food! Did you know that most foodborne illnesses in the U.S. are due to viruses? Hey, as a future veterinarian (and technically a guardian of the country's food supply...bet you didn't realize that about vets!), I have to know these things.

Saturday night at the Igloo

Brrr...the heat still doesn't work. Me and Twinkie are cold. Today I was once again at the hospital dealing with the horses, cows, and alpacas. I came home and started to watch "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer", but I just couldn't bear to finish it. It's set in the 1700's and the story's about a boy with an incredible sense and appreciation of smell. He ends up killing a woman and tries to capture her scent in a perfume. I read the book, which was so-so. While I'm on the subject, Fresh has some really great fragrances! I LOVE their Sugar Lemon, and their Pear Cassis. But I just went to their website and it seems as though they don't carry my Pear Cassis anymore?!? I hope that's not true...because I'm on my last bottle. They also make this warm milk and honey scent called "Mukki", and although I wouldn't want to smell of that, I love the smell of warm milk and honey (and I like drinking it)...it's so comforting! But my personal favorite is Theirry Mugler's Angel...it's strong, sickeningly sweet, and over the course of wearing it, the different layers are "revealed". But you either love it or hate it! Back to movies, I also watched "Hostel" the other night...I was really hoping to get freaked out because Marcus is out of town (I love getting scared watching movies by myself), but it was gory more than anything. I am craving chocolate big time, but there's none in our apartment...and we're 15 minutes from the closest grocery store...so I guess I'll have to survive....

The Emasculator!

Friday night. Today was a long day! Taking care of my patients both medically and farm-ly...like giving Brutus the bull his flake of hay and heifer feed mixed with beet pulp...I helped to castrate a horse and that was fun! We use a tool called the Emasculator...no joke...it's the tool in the photo and that's its real name! It has a cutting and crushing surface so you can cut off the testicles, and crush blood vessels to decrease bleeding. And when you crank down on it to cut, you hear it crunchin' and cuttin'! I was thinking about it and I feel as though my blogs this week have been a little gory, and potentially a little much for some. I was about to include a photo of a castration, but I decided not to! This weekend I have to be at the hospital doing treatments all day and Marcus is still gone fishin'. It's gotten cold and we've been having problems with the heat, so me and Twinkie have been sleeping in the bed together trying to conserve body heat. More later from Farmer Michelle!

Pigs and an Interview

Today I saw a Vietnamese pot bellied pig who walks on a leash and apparently sleeps in the house. That was interesting. Then I had an interview with a big veterinary corporation regarding internships for next year. I hope it went well. Honestly, I had the dates wrong and I didn't realize until the night before that I had the interview! Plus I had to run from the equine and farm animal hospital to change, look presentable, and collect myself for the interview. I wish I could read the interviewers' minds! But at the least, it was practice for more interviews in the near future. It's getting cold and we don't have our heat...better call the landlords! I'm going to bed soon. I just watched most of Ingmar Bergman's "Virgin Spring". So far, I really like it; it's set in Old World Sweden and is about a young virgin who gets raped. I don't have too much experience with Bergman's films, so I'm trying to get a better handle on it. I think I've only seen a handful of his stuff. But I'm tired, so I'm saving the rest for sometime this weekend. This week Marcus is up in Canada doing some fishing with a college buddy of his. I'm glad he's having some fun, but since he's in the wilderness, he has no phone reception, and it's a bummer not being able to say hello to him.

My Life as a Large Animal Vet...wacka wacka!

I'm on my new rotation: large animal (horses, cows and assorted farm animals) soft tissue surgery. Although it's laid back, I really don't feel comfortable working with horses, nor am I familiar with "horsey" terms, how to deal with horses, or anything. We all are required to learn about them in class, but for those of us who haven't dealt much with them outside the classroom, it can really suck! Well, my current patients are a Brown Swiss bull named Brutus, and a 950 lb. pig named Finn. Both are super sweet and super cute, so I'm glad to have them. The week is dragging on, though! Last night we got home to find out that our cat Twinkie (in the photo, the handsome redhead on the right with our late, great Peter) apparently has tapeworms...NOT COOL. We ended up getting him de-worming medications. What disturbs me the most, more than seeing wriggling little white worms in his feces, is how he got them. Cats can get these nasties from mouse hunting, ingesting a flea that happens to harbor tapeworms, or from meat that has tapeworm eggs in them. Well, Twinkie doesn't have access to the outdoors nor do we have any evidence of having mice...which leaves the option of the fleas. He's never had fleas, doesn't seem itchy, and doesn't have flea dirt on his fur. So sadly, maybe I had brought some from the hospital...or maybe he got a few when I brought him to the hospital for the day! Or maybe some of our meat at home had some eggs and sometimes we give him tiny pieces...AUGH GROSS. If you want to learn a little more about tapeworms and humans, click here. Sorry for those of you I've completely freaked out!

The Fab Five: Their Final Frontier

This morning we watched a new episode of "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy", the final season. I love this show! Months ago I was so sad when I heard it was cancelled...I didn't realize that they had one last season (episodes are airing now). I love them. I wish I had these guys around to make me fabulous 24-7 in every way. I wonder why the show got cancelled. Anyone know? Anyway, last night Marcus and I watched "The Kingdom" in the theatres. Intense movie! It's about 4 FBI agents to head off to Saudi Arabia to investigate a shady mass shooting and bombing.

Two Things That Are Alive and Well right here in the USA

#1: The plague, as in the bubonic plague. Here in the states, it's found in the southwest, like in New Mexico. In addition to humans, other mammals like cats can get and do get the plague. A bacterium causes it (Yersinia pestis) and it's transmitted by fleas.
#2: Mullets. Yes, up here in Western New York, they're alive and well. I was reminded of this today when Marcus returned from running some errands and asked the rhetorical question "why is it when you go into Walmart the hairstyle of choice is the mullet?". I went onto wikipedia and they have not only a historical overview of the mullet and its origins, but sub categories of the mullet, like the skullet. It's great! I think my most memorable and disturbing mullet moment is last summer when Marcus and I were in the Phoenix Aiport on a layover and I witnessed a middle-aged Filipino man with a mullet.

The Pug Puppy in MRI

My last day on anesthesia was a good one! I felt comfortable, was on top of things, and my patient did great under anesthesia! She's a 6 month old pug who has a SEVERE vertebral malformation, and when I say SEVERE, I mean SEVERE. I tried to copy and paste a shot from the MRI or her x-rays, but it didn't work. But just imagine this: if your spine literally made a 90 degree angle, like the shape of a step. OUCH. Anyway, I didn't hear the final word from the neurologists, but there may be a chance this malformation can be surgically treated. Don't know. I even googled around trying to find a photo, even a human one just to get the point across, but I couldn't find one. But I did stumble across a strange website that chronicles malformations in the cat like a cyclops kitten and a two headed kitten. Although these sorts of things are definitely possible and do occur I am not sure if any of the photos are doctored. But they can occur---I've seen some freaky stuff in my neurology courses. Back to pugs...these dogs are brachycephalic, meaning their faces are squashed; other examples of brachycephalics are the boxers and the bulldogs. Of course, humans have bred these dogs to be this way, and have created anatomic abnormalities that are now built into these breeds. As a result they inherently have difficulty breathing (the snorting, for example) relative to other breeds and have slightly different needs in terms of anesthesia.

Indian Summer

Thursday night. I'm on call and I'm REALLY hoping I don't get called in tonight...I have a lot of studying (and hopefully relaxing) to do. I cannot believe the weather we're having in October. Although I detest the winter, isn't it really scary that we've having such mild weather NOW??!? It makes me wonder how the Earth will be in just 20 years. Very scary. Have you seen An Inconvenient Truth? Most people have. If you haven't you should! Just be in the right mood for the ugly truth. Highly recommended, very informative. On a brighter note, tomorrow is Friday. I am so happy. This weekend Marcus and I will hopefully go watch a movie, or brunch or something. I just want to relax (and study though). And hit the gym. Unfortunately, due to "runner's knee", Marcus opted out of running the NYC marathon this year, but he's guaranteed a spot for next year, so that's good news!

Counting Sheep can be Challenging with a Bad Mattress

It's Tuesday morning. I have to go to school in a little while. I have been swearing I would get up early to study, but it honestly hasn't happened. Marcus and I are seriously considering getting a Tempur-pedic mattress. My parents have one and seem to swear by it. I never realized a not so great mattress could really affect my sleep until recently when I was tossing and turning, therefore not sleeping very well. So we may take the plunge and buy one of those mattresses, since we figure if it's that wonderful, we shouldn't want to get rid of it anytime soon. But there are so many models in different price ranges, which leads me to ask "is more expensive better?". Because as you go up in price they get more complex. I guess I wonder if there's more benefit in the upper end models or maybe it's all about what's comfortable to us. Actually if that's true, then the Hastens (another Swedish mattress company) "Vividus" mattress must be the ultimate mattress since it runs at $49,500! Marcus went to a mattress store yesterday and tried some Tempur-pedics out and were a few models he liked. Maybe if we have an incredible mattress, then miraculously I will be able to get very concentrated periods of high quality sleep, be able to sleep less hours as a result, and THEN be able to actually wake up early to study!!!