Mid Term Progress Report

So the semester is half over and I thought I would let everyone know how I am doing. TIRED is how I am doing! Right now I am doing 3 things at once in addition to writing this blog. At least I have become better at this. Last year during my first semester I felt this tired from about the fourth week on. Today I am tired because I spent the last couple of days studying until all hours of the night, getting little sleep and being stressed about tests. But usually I am pretty good. I think the key is just not worrying about that which I can do nothing about. For example, the hell hole that I call a home with the piled up laundry, dishes, and mail I will get to it when I can and until then it isn't going anywhere (unfortunately). The amount of hair on the floor in the corners is probably pretty damn close to the amount of hair on the animals themselves. I am really glad I have lost some weight (due to stress, work and the fact that I rarely have time to eat) because now I have more scrubs to wear to work so I can to do laundry less often. Most days I get enough sleep and I have gotten in the groove enough that a lot of things can be done on auto pilot. My backpack and my coffee travel mug are some of my only friends.

Most of my classes are going well I have an A in my computer class because everything is online and all of the tests are open book taken at home…Thank goodness for this class! I don't have to really go if I don't want to and that has afforded me extra time in the math lab before tests (the only time I miss this class). There are some weird people in there like the guy who sits behind me…he has a glorious mullet and is really nice but rather odd. I moved away from the computer nerds with no books so it is better but still painfully boring most days. It was really hard to stay awake today.

A&P lecture class is going great! I love this class I am learning so much and love going even though it is my early class (9:30 am on Tuesday and Thursday). I made a 96.8% on my first exam and took the second one today...I think I did just as well as the first but we will see. This class by far takes most of my time. I try extra hard here as well because I will get bonus points toward my application to the RT program. Lab is not going as well as lecture however; I took my first of two lab practical's yesterday and got a 75% on it. I am more than a little bummed about this right now. I thought I did better than that and I studied a lot. It isn't the end of the world I guess I just need to study harder and spend some time in the Science Learning Center at school reviewing before the next one. I can still get an A even with this C as Lab is only 30% of my grade.

Math Class is not going well at all right now. I got an 87% on my first test but D's on the last two...I plan on spending more time in the math lab studying and hopefully can save this grade. Rather than give myself an ulcer over this I have already resigned to sticking it out no matter what and if I have to take it again in the spring instead of College algebra then I will. Math is hard for me and I can't realistically expect to just sail through it.

Government class is alright, my teacher is really old and kind of strange…some days I wonder if she knows what is going on but she is sweet anyway. I have a B in that class and am going to study harder the second half of the semester to bring it up to an A. I took my mid term on Wednesday and I got an A on it so that will help.

I am anxiously awaiting the end of this semester so I can have a break. Six whole glorious weeks of freedom from school! I can hardly contain my self. I am also planning on taking one of those weeks off of work so I can do absolutely nothing but hang out with my family, friends and dogs for a week. Since I went to summer school this year I have not had a break since last winter break. I will stock up on good beers and hopefully get to go out and have some fun in public with other humans.

So there you have it, so far so good, just tired today. I will keep you all posted in the blog and on facebook. Thanks for reading leave some comments if you want! I will try to find some time for some more meaningful blogs (I don't have high hopes about this).

More School?

Here is the second paper I wrote for my government class. Hope you enjoy it and please feel free to leave me some comments!

Link for the article… www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33054056/ns/us_news-education/page/2

I found an interesting topic during my daily review of the news pages on MSNBC today. President Obama is proposing a longer school day for our nation's children. The article is titled "More School? Obama could trim summer break, President, education chief want to lengthen days, keep schools open later". The article was published by The Associated Press on Monday September 28, 2009. The reasons the President cites for his proposal are; kids spend too little time in school which puts them at a disadvantage with other students around the world he also states that schools that are open later provide a safe haven for kids. Arne Duncan, the Education secretary, says that our current school schedule is based on an agrarian economy and we don't have very many farming students these days.

Some statistics mentioned in the article explain that kids in other countries spend more days in school than we do (US 180 days, Taiwan, Japan, and Hong Kong 190-201 days) but not more hours (US 1,146, Asian nations 903-1,050). However kids in those countries consistently beat us in math and science scores. The article goes on to cite studies of charter schools in the US that make a strong case for longer school days and year round school. These kids go to school three hours longer than a typical student. The fact is that kids attending charter schools exceed the school district average on state tests.

The article mentions that underprivileged kids would have a better academic experience if they were in school during the summer rather than at home where they are seldom encouraged to read or learn. Also mentioned in the article, is the cost of these programs, which is of course substantial but says that federal stimulus dollars will pay for much of it.

As I was reading this article I could not help but remember my own childhood and school days. I went to school usually on the bus from eight am until three pm and had time to read or study before dinner and bedtime. I also thought about my summers and the family vacations we took that I would never trade for extra smarts as the memories are priceless. I grew up in a typical suburban, white, two parent family where I was encouraged to read often and was always a member of the summer reading program; however I did very poorly in math. I can't help but think about my math troubles as I watch my niece and nephews navigate through their grade school educations. I wonder if I had received the same opportunities and help that they enjoy, would my life and my grades turned out differently. As an adult I have lived in a place where year round school is mandatory and then moved here where kids still get their summer vacations. I am not a parent so it would be hard for me to say which is better for little children; however, I do believe that education is of the utmost importance and should be cherished. Anything that helps this nation become more educated I am all for, even if it means shorter summer vacations. I know it to be true that educated people do better in life; they raise better human beings, hate less, appreciate more, smile more often and tolerate better. Couldn't we all use more of this?

Simpler times…

Tomorrow I will have been on this earth for 37 years and today I can't help but think about the simpler times of the past, times when things weren't so hard. Back in the days when the hardest thing I had to do was get out of bed in the morning or decide what I was going to wear to school, or who my friends were going to be. Mom and Dad drove us everywhere and we could sleep when ever we wanted, although we never did. When little presents were the greatest and we looked forward to every new day. I remember when it seemed like an eternity until my next birthday and Christmas couldn't come soon enough.

Now I have to worry about mortgage payments, car payments, bills, where my next meal or tank of gas will come from and the never ending politics at work. I worry that I will never have a family other than the one I was born with and what that means for me when I get old. I worry about global warming, credit card interest, politics, housework, my dirty car, laundry, where I will be in 10 years and getting A's in all of my classes. I worry that I am not good enough to master life and that I will never be the person I see myself as. I have to watch what I say in the company of other adults, and my behavior is watched and criticized by everyone.

I look at my niece and nephews and see how hard they think life is and I want to shake them and tell them to enjoy it while they can. That it's never going to be this easy again. That someday they will have to make impossible decisions that affect the lives of others. To enjoy the simplicity that is theirs at this time in their lives.

Oh what I wouldn't do for just one day back in that life. When my Father was still here and we were all together, sliding in mud after it rained, eating peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with out filthy fingers, catching boxes full of snails or bugs and bringing them in the house to the dismay of our mother. Wasting away the days in the swimming pool or playing "horsey" in the yard.

Tomorrow I am closer to 40 than 30 and I am feeling older everyday. I guess all I can do is keep trucking along and grasping at the simple things in life, a great shower, a beautiful day, a new flower in my yard, unexpected rain, clean sheets, cat fur on my feet, the smell of dog feet and knowing I am still alive.

Trying Out Office 2007 Blog Thingy

This is probably going to be pretty uninteresting as I don't have much to say.

I am taking a computer class at school as a prerequisite for the radiology program I would like to get into (I am very excited it is almost time to start the registration procedure) and in said computer class, we are learning how to use 2007 version of Office®. Microsoft Word in the newer version, so far, is pretty cool. We have the 07' edition on our computers at work and I have used it to type up stuff I needed at work but I just fumbled through it and really had no idea what I was doing. Well now I have a better idea of how to use this program and have discovered a bunch of cool things.

Like this blogging feature. You are supposed to be able to type this in Word 07' (which I am doing now) and then when I am done it is supposed to just publish it to my blog. Some of you may be wondering why I think this is cool and so here it is, the sorry excuse for a word processor at BlogSpot SUCKS! So I usually end up typing my blog in Word anyway and then copying and pasting the whole thing to the blog…..as you know when you do this sometimes things get a little wonky and for me (who has so little time as it is) that is really frustrating. There have been multiple instances of weeping and gnashing of teeth. In fact you have probably missed several of my blogs for this reason. I just give up after spending a couple of hours on a blog to have the computer eat it up. Hopefully this helps…if you are reading this on BlogSpot…then it worked. This feature alone would make me want to buy Office 07'.

The computer class is going well, in spite of a few hitches. When the manufacturer packaged the books I spent over $200 on, they failed to include the "Case grader". One of those little codes you must have to do some of the assignments for class. Oh and while I am thinking about it, This whole textbook thing is a racket!!! I am not sure who is making the gazillions of dollars off of us poor unsuspecting students but when and if I find them I will sic my entire Pit Bull pack on them (they will die a slow death from slobber poisoning). But I digress. Anyway the case grader debacle has been trying to say the least. They finally got them into the bookstore today and the whole time my anal retentive brain is freaking out because there is an assignment due on Thursday and I still don't have my Case grader!…this normally wouldn't be such a big deal except that my first A&P exam is on Tuesday of next week and I should be devoting all of my time to studying A&P and not messing with this stupid computer class. On top of that you are supposed to get a 180 day trial of Office 07' with it, which I did but it is on a DVD ROM and not a CD ROM… My computer doesn't read DVD ROM's. So I was able to find a 60 day trial of it online…so that will last until November but I am not sure what to do after that. I am beginning to think it is time for a new computer…as my Computer instructor tells us relentlessly you can get a good one for under $300 these days.

Wow I sure did say a lot for not having much to say.

Hopefully this works….here goes PUBLISH!

Health Care Reform Paper for Government Class.

Hey all of you awesome blog readers. School is back in session which means you get to read pretty much everything I write and turn in. This assignment is for my U.S. Government class. The assignment was to find an article any article that had to do with the Federal Government and give a summary paragraph as well as a paragraph that includes our opinion of the article as well as our opinion of the subject matter. I can be pretty long winded when it comes to health care (see my health care paper I turned in for English Comp) I hope you all read this and the attached article and form your own opinion....a well informed opinion.



Here is the link for the article I read: www.newsweek.com/id/214254/output/print



It seems these days you cannot flip on your radio, TV or computer and not hear about the Obama administrations proposed Health Care plan. I found the article “The Five Biggest Lies in the Health Care Debate” by Sharon Begley writing for Newsweek, in my daily news reading on MSN’s homepage. It details the five biggest lies about health care reform that are currently being circulated around America. The lies cover a vast range from; having our choice in health benefits taken away, illegal immigrants will get free health care, the government will set doctors wages and the last two are my personal favorites, that a “death panel”, one of Sarah Palin’s claims, will convene to determine when old people should “throw in the towel” and that anyone over 70 years of age will not be eligible for chemotherapy should they need it. The article states where exactly the lie started as well as the individual who started it. This is where it gets interesting. Almost all of these lies were started by right wing conservatives that picked one sentence, on one page, of the 1.017 page bill and skewed it to fit their lie. The author of the article goes on to defeat each lie in turn and give the actual facts as well as where to find correct information that is surrounding the myth.



I am a huge proponent for universal health care so of course this article caught my eye. I always want to know what the other side is talking about and what they could possibly be so upset about. I believe that we should adopt a single payer system; I know that I may not see this in my lifetime and I am prepared for that however, I do believe that this administrations plan is a step in the right direction. I believe that the health of the nation is the responsibility of the nation and a basic right that we all deserve. The President just wants all Americans to have health insurance. He wants to stop the needless suffering and death of hundreds of thousands of people. When I see articles like this I am encouraged that perhaps someone who believes these lies will read it and rethink their position. However, I would also love to think that common sense would take over when you read something that says the government is going to refuse seniors chemo therapy if they are over the age of 70. I would hope that no one would believe something so ridiculous. The article at the end mentions that some believe that health care reform is unconstitutional; the author did mention that we should disprove these ourselves and look at Article I, section 8 of the constitution. So I did, having never read it myself, and sure enough it says in the first paragraph of section 8, “The Congress shall have the power to … provide for the common Defence and general Welfare of the United States …” I tend to believe that “general Welfare of the United States” includes the health and well being of our entire nation and not just that of the ones that are wealthy enough to afford it.

Start of the Fall Semester 2009

So... school started on Monday August 24th for me, and seemingly everyone else in North Texas! The first day of the Fall semester is so different from any other semester. There are Freshmen everywhere!!! None of them know where they are going, know how to drive, park or observe the driving rules. As I am doing my best imitation of a Sherpa lugging around 100 pounds of books, I get stopped about 3 times a day with questions about where things are, which I don't really mind answering (unless I am late for a class)however, I can't help thinking about my first day last fall and that I figured it out myself. The parking lot is ridiculous! It takes me longer to find a spot than it does to drive to school. I don't remember having this problem during the spring semester but by then most of the freshman have decided that college is not for them, in fact throughout the fall semester the herd thins and by Spring only the serious ones are left. I try to remember when it was my first day of school and how I felt but it is hard. I can't believe I have been at this for a year already!

My classes this semester are OK. Not spectacular but OK. I have a Federal Government class on Monday and Wednesday from 12:20pm until 1:40pm. This class is amusing on so many levels. The students I am in this class with are mostly 18-19 year old teenagers that are still spouting off Mom and Dad's political views they learned at home (which in Texas means mostly ultra conservative, pro gun, pro life, and for the most part, anti anything Democrat). My instructor for this course is quite humorous as well. She is an older lady that grew up in the 60's and didn't start college until she was 47 years old. Her favorite thing is arguing ...and even better for her (but not so much for me) watching opinionated people argue. So as you can imagine she stirs up conversation in class that is inevitably going to lead to arguing. All of this would be fine except these are passionate teens who think they are right so instead of having a discussion and presenting each others side in a calm collected manner they immediately start getting defensive and yelling. Now normally this would be quite amusing, unless it is Monday morning and I am tired and have a headache in which case I want to stab my eye out with a pencil. We will see how this class progresses.

Next is Tuesday and Thursday morning bright and early 9:30am to 10:50am (those of you that know me know how early this is for me), Anatomy and Physiology II lecture. I love this class and my instructor!!! Nuff said! Except I think there will be a lot more "I want to peel my skin off rather than study this" moments this time. We are starting with the endocrine system... hormones are pretty cool actually (such a nerd I know).

My computer class is from 11:00am to 12:20pm Tuesday and Thursday, and makes me want to take a nap every time I go. In addition, I have no idea what is going on in that class I just do the assignments that are posted. The only humorous thing about this class so far, are my two neighbors. They are your typical computer gaming nerds that think computers are the coolest thing on the planet. These types make me a little nutty (they don't generally smell very good either) as they don't really want to help you, in fact they are far more interested in you thinking they are cool because they know how to do it and you don't... I think it is important to point out at this time that neither of them have the book for class and so, of course, want to use mine.

Math class is from 12:30pm -1:50pm Tuesday and Thursday. I haven't decided how I feel about my Math teacher yet. He is a cool, "I was brought up in the 60's" kind of old guy. But his way of teaching math is unlike anyone I have ever seen. This is either going to be very good or very bad for me. I am hoping that this guy is finally going to make me understand math in a way that makes sense to my artistic, scientific brain. He keeps referring to our math class as not a real math class (as in, we are not at Harvard or Princeton) and insists that he is just trying to teach us how to evaluate things for ourselves and not believe everything that teachers and grown ups tell you. I learned this lesson a long time ago and don't really need it again, but whatever.

On Wednesday at 10:10 am before Government class I have my A&P lab. My instructor for that class is awesome as well. She is really straight forward and keeps things simple. I am not sure what could possibly be uncool about this class...or looking at transverse sections of testicles under a microscope for that matter.

All in all the first week of the Fall semester was good. It was kind of cool being the one who knows where everything is and feeling like I have accomplished something good, I have finished one whole year of school and have a 3.87 GPA. I am looking forward to learning a lot this semester and will keep you posted on the cast of characters at school and how I am doing. As usual thanks so much for reading and your comments are always appreciated!

In Memory of "Joe"

I have been a veterinary technician for 13 years now and the question I hear most often is "How do you deal with the death and suffering you see"? Well most of the time I put my emotions aside and remember that I am there to do a job. Most of the euthanasia's we do are quite humane, to end suffering and therefore easy to deal with. Of course occasionally there is one that breaks my heart and makes my day pretty hard.

Yesterday there was just such a case.

A dog came in very early Saturday morning, you could tell at one time he had been quite handsome and I am sure he used to have the gleam in his eye that I know so well. He was a Pit Bull that had been hit by a car. A good Samaritan stopped to help him in the middle of the night and when he asked the onlookers if they knew who he belonged to; they snatched his collar off, said they had no idea whose dog it was, and drove off into the night. The good Sam (our vet hospital lingo for good Samaritan) brought the poor guy in. He looked beat down and depressed and because he was a Pit my heart instantly went out to him. He was a nice chocolate brown color but his coat was scruffy and unkempt. While he appeared to be unharmed from the car hitting him, his skin was covered with some sort of mange, his cropped ears were full of ticks and his face was badly scarred probably from fighting. I am sure he was full of heartworms and intestinal parasites, as you could see all of his ribs.

I looked at this poor dog and couldn't help but feel sorry for him. I know what kind of dog he could have been if someone hadn't used him for their own selfish pleasure and actually gave him the great life he deserved. We gave him some pain meds, food and a warm bed. He gratefully ate the food and slept soundly and comfortably, probably for the first time in his life, all night.

The next morning it came time to decide what to do with the poor guy. After some calling around to rescues, and asking a bunch of people to take him we realized what we already knew. No one was going to take a mangy, dog aggressive Pit Bull that was covered in mange and full of parasites and heartworms. We decided it would be better to euthanize him at the hospital where he would be surrounded by loving humans than send him to the shelter where he would spend 7-10 days alone, in pain and afraid.

I tried hard to ignore what was going on and decided to stay away from the euthanasia as it was breaking my heart, however the other techs were having a hard time finding his vein and so I was called upon by the doctor to euthanize this poor guy. She sited the reason as being "wouldn't one poke with a needle be better than getting poked several times"? I had to agree, and with an extremely heavy heart I euthanized him and watched as the tiny light left in his eyes drained away. My tears started immediately and I had to leave and compose myself. I secretly named him Joe, after the prize fighter Joe "the Brown Bomber" Louis.

Joe's euthanasia was the hardest I have had to deal with in a while, this poor dog had no chance for a happy life, I am sure he spent his days chained outside with minimal human contact and definitely minimal care. This is one of the reasons I preach so hard about responsible Pit Bull ownership, and pet ownership in general.

That night when I got home I kissed all of my dogs and gave them each extra treats. I couldn't help but think about poor Joe as all of my spoiled dogs settled into their warm soft beds, their bellies full of good food. I wish I could save them all but I realize that I cannot. All I can do is keep going to work and educating the public on responsible pet ownership, as well as set a good example with my own dog pack.