I mean, COME ON!

Good and not so good things happening lately. Feels like a lot of death has happened recently, none of it particularly personal to me but close enough that it is still weird and sad. Instances include, one of Lauren's friends from Scripps (graduated the year between us in '07) committed suicide a couple weeks ago and it is really sad to think of someone who seemingly has everything going for her to being so depressed that she took her own life. Last week while riding along with the vet I was informed that a 14 year old girl who rode with her daughter had died suddenly (within 48 hourse of first symptoms) of acute leukemia. I guess the funeral procession went by the barn and the trainers put flowers on her horse and led him to the end of the driveway while it passed. Then later that day I helped with my first equine euthanasia, and it didn't exactly go well. Horse euthanasias and notoriously unpredictable, you have to inject a lot of solution into the vein and horses can react very differently. Luckily, the owner decided not to stay and watch. The vet wasn't happy with the way the needle was going into the horse's neck and so she checked it a couple times and then decided to try the second needle. While she was getting it he started wobbling and I said to her "he's going down" and indeed he was, even though neither of us thought he had actually gotten any (of the 120 cc's) into his vein yet, well he had, and so he fell and then started seizing because he'd hadn't had enough to actually kill him, once she got his head under control I had to kneel on it and stretch his neck out, it still took several tries before the needle would go into the vein correctly and she could get all the solution in. So I guess that wasn't the greatest day ever. A big part of the veterinary profession is dealing with death, which I'm aware of and prepared for, but that doesn't make it any less hard to watch. See people, I do have a soul afterall (ok, mostly just for animals, but still it is there).

In less depressing news, I found an apartment for vet school! yaaaaaaaaaay. The owners call it a "cottage" but it is basically a one bedroom apartment attached to a house. The house is also converted into apartments, I think, or at least there is a basement apartment and then they rent out the rest of the house. It is officially mine in July (and once I start giving them money) so I'll take pictures then. It has a pretty good sized living area where I can put a couch and a desk and other furniture that I'm gonna have to buy, the bedroom is a decent size and since I plan on putting my desk in the living space I only really need room for the bed. The kitchen area is super tiny but that doesn't bother me much. It is a husband and wife who own the property, I met the wife who seems very Oregony, which I like, and her husband is a prof at OSU, in ecology or something? Not my favorite subject area, but they did install solar panels, so that's cool. There is also a cool backyard area where I'm hoping I can start a veggie garden and will probably be good for chilling/studying in. Next step: find a barn for Ina.

Speaking of Ina, got a show this weekend over in Bend so I'm hoping she'll be good. She was really really naughty for 3 weeks but she's kind of shaping up now. Right now is most definitely a "teenage" phase for her. That little mare has got some attitude. As a competitor you are supposed to volunteer at the show, I'm trying to but they aren't making it easy. The volunteer person sent an email asking for ppl to volunteer for a variety of positions and said she would work around whatever times we were competing. So I wrote her, said I'd be happy to volunteer for any of the positions sometime on Saturday. She writes back, wants me to do Saturday morning from 7:15-9:15. First off, I just do not want to get up that friggin early after having to drive 5 hours the day before (or rather my mom driving, but still) and more importantly, my first ride is at 10:30 and I need to get myself ready, get Ina ready, and oh yeah, also lunge and ride her before that. Working around my ride times? Try again. So I send a really nice email asking if there is perhaps something later in the day before my second ride (not till 5pm) that I could do. She basically says NO. Nothing left on allllllll of saturday, but oh hey how about Sunday morning at 7am? NO NO NO. BAH! that's why I asked for Saturday in the first place because I don't want to do it on Sunday, and 7am, methinks not! I don't ride till 12:30 and then we have to drive back home that night and won't be getting back till like 10pm because I have a late ride. INSERT EXASPERATED SIGH HERE. I'm trying to be nice here, I like volunteering at shows, but you people are not making it easy! I sent one back saying I couldn't do Sunday morning but would check in with the office and see if any positions needed to be filled on Saturday when we got there. Ok, that is the end of my rant. Sleepy time now.