Back to reduced chaos

I started off the day seeing my children, as my wonderful husband and mother retrieved them from doggy boarding. I was extremely relieved to see that Ender had not ripped off any nails or broken teeth attempting to escape from her cell. So now Henri will more readily agree to boarding them.

New York was a great trip. Not perfect, of course - mom and Henri had a few battles, but it was all okay in the end. We went to visit my cousin and best friend, Emily, in her new Manhattan apartment. She just graduated nursing school and landed a job at one of the top hospitals in the US as a pediatric ICU nurse, because she's a badass. So Em and her fiance rented an apartment on the upper East side (right before it gets scary). I was really impressed that all 7 of us fit in that tiny apartment. Manhattan is a crazy place. Affordable apartments are tiny, and it's akin to the dorm life, except that your neighbors aren't as friendly. It's unrealistic to have a car, but my subway experience has been positive. We only had one scary experience, and it involved my big camera that I shouldn't have been flashing around. These two men nearby were acting really sketchy, so we switched subway cars and they didn't follow. Lucky for them, I didn't hafta get cruuunkkk H-town style :P

Obligatory NYC Subway Pictures

Josh doing what Josh does best - giving us all a heart attack

It's definitely a lifestyle I could adjust to, if I really had to, if there was a really great job in Manhattan, etc. But at this point in my life, I am just a little too spoiled by my two room duplex with a backyard and the winter temperature range of 65-75 F.

The highlights of the trip were:

• Billy Elliot, a musical on Broadway about a kid growing up in a coal mining town who wants to become a ballet dancer. It was the first musical for Henri to see, and he was amazed - which is a difficult thing to make happen for him. He's quite the skeptic analyst. But the stagehand work, music, and vocal and dancing talent were all up to his standards. My heart goes out to the kids in that show - most 8-12 year olds can barely get their homework done, much less deliver a stunning Broadway performance.
• The Comic Strip, a comedy club on the upper east side, and one of the places where Jerry Seinfield started out. My favorite part of the night was when one of the comedians said, "I've been missing Lil Wayne since he went to jail, he was the source of a lot of good material." Someone from the crowd: "Actually, he won't be in prison until February." Comedian: "What are you, Lil Wayne's attorney?" Same person: "Well, one of them." Haha, it was the only time I saw any performer that night at a loss for words. What are the odds? Of course, I also got harassed since it was my birthday and my lovely family members weren't willing to keep it a secret. He asked me what my occupation was and I told him I was going to vet school, which prompted questions about rectal examinations. Lovely. My mother also got harassed. One of the comedians was telling the audience, after a joke that went over most people's heads, "You know, you guys have to KNOW some things in order to laugh at my jokes. Otherwise, I'm just a black man dancing in front of a bunch of bricks. And you're sitting there thinking, ooh, those are nice colored bricks... cinnamon?" My mom found this last part hilarious, chuckled loudly and then repeated "cinnamon." Of course, that got her some attention. And when asked whether she liked her son-in-law, she paused a realll long time before answering "yeeeahhh." Comedian: "So, I guess he wasn't your first choice?" Lol.
• For New Year's, Henri and I walked to Central Park to watch the fireworks. There was also a 5K run that started at the very first second of the new year. What a great way to start off the new year - with a run. We were content just to watch, however,
• We did go running in Central Park. When it was 21 degrees. Crazy? Yes. Fun? Maybe. Worth it? Definitely.

Em and I running around Jackie O's reservoir in Central Park

Fireworks in Central Park

It was a fantastic trip, and I'm sure I'll have a few more things to share. But it's always good to come back home, back to chaos.

It's that time of year...

Henri and I made the drive from Austin to Houston - with 4 animals. With the dog cage, two cat carriers, and accounting for NY clothes, we just barely fit everything in the car. Parka meowed the ENTIRE three and a half hours (which should have been two and a half, but there was traffic, then impatient Henri, then a quite scenic route involving our GPS TomTom and out-of-date maps... oops). But it's definitely worth it to see my mom, Josh, and Henri's family.

Last night we visited our friend from high school/junior high. He just moved from California and bought a house in Austin. It's well built and quite amazing. AND he and his girlfriend can park their cars in the garage. Since they have real jobs, they have had the opportunity to become wine snobs, and so we had a little wine tasting party at their new house. Well, they wine tasted, and Henri and I wine gulped. That's how we roll. I have to admit, Henri and I are a tad jealous. We are both getting post-graduate degrees so we can "pursue our dreams" or whatever. Our friend just told us to throw in the towel and sell our souls to a corporation. Haha. It's tempting, but I think I can deal living in Bryan, TX for 3.5 more years next to my drunk white trash neighbors, and studying 24/7. Torturing yourself for a good cause always has a happy ending. And Henri and I will be so, so much happier when we buy a house in 5 years than if we bought one now. Side note: my friend got an undergrad degree in computer science, while mine is in biology. I probably couldn't even get a job right now, much less afford a house, if I had taken the other route. :) Plus, eventually my job will be saving animals; who can argue with that?

Insomnia

I guess the title "making bad choices during the day" would be more appropriate. I got mad at Henri because I thought he was being a dude, so I slept from 6-11 pm and now here I am. It's 3 am and I can't sleep and I have to wake up at 6:30 to go to work. Thus is life.

Today I worked at Emancipet for the first time in almost a year. They have moved into a new building and it is very nice. There is even hot water, which I am not quite used to yet. I keep just turning on the freezing cold and then remembering halfway through that I could be having a much more pleasant handwashing experience. Anyway, I had a point... I watched surgery for the first time since I had anatomy. It was really cool to acually know what was going on. I think it was my first true realization that I'm actually going to be a veterinarian in three and a half years. Working also reminds me of how amazingly dedicated the employees are. I understand that almost every vet tech job is going to be mentally and physically challenging, but an Emancipet tech has it a little more difficult. There is absolutely no down time, no time to catch your breath. Speaking with my new classmates, it was interesting to learn that some other clinics are not under this constant high stress environment. I can see why this would cause a high turnover rate for techs, but it also forges an environment where the staff that does work there does an amazing job and has a laudable work ethic. So kudos to you guys, because I'm not sure which is harder - vet school 5 days a week or Emancipet 4 days a week (which is considered full time). Y'all rock my socks off.



- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Break

Finals are over. Somehow I managed to be a B student this semester. I think.

My goal for the next month is to learn how to relax. And be a better planner. For instance, do not invite friends from 4 different social groups to an ADD social environment such as Dave and Buster's. You might have fun but it will leave you anxious and beating yourself up at the end of the night for not having spent enough time with each person. Then you end up taking social planning advice from an antisocial nerd who has no friends because he's too elitist (and he also happens to be your husband, who you love more than anything, and you just hate it when he's right). Oh, the poetry of my life.

So what is it that I am supposed to be working on? I should start a list:

1. Learn how to relax
2. Think before you jump off of a planning bridge with no bungee cord
3. Don't assume things. Talk more than you think you should.
4. Don't leave Ender out of her crate for more than thirty minutes with a full bag of unopened cat litter
5. KITTEHS

Anti-Thanksgiving

This year, we were supposed to go to Corpus Christi for two days for Thanksgiving. But Henri decided he was more interested in vomiting for 6 hours. So instead of Thanksgiving, we had anti-Thanksgiving. At least Henri did. I secretly ate. And slept all day. So we have been sleeping and generally unproductive (in Cypress) for the past two days instead of the traditional holiday. Lots of snuggling has made everything turn out okay.

Whenever I start packing to go on a trip, Kraken realizes that a car trip looms and quickly finds a hiding spot. Usually, I am privy to her scheming, but this time she found a really good hiding spot under my "new" recliner. Although it would not have been impossible to get her out, I decided to let Kraken have a win and let her stay there while we are in Houston. Luckily my awesome friend Kat is checking to make sure she doesn't turn into a pumpkin. Or a stapler.

I always thought that vet school would make me more focused. Like magic. But all that vet school has taught me is that magic doesn't exist, that there is no one magical thing I can do to make all my problems go away. The answer is always hard work. Boo! But vet school has taught me to "find the joy". This semester I have been finding the joy in:

• my 4! animals
• my 5th animal (Henri)
• my vet school "fill-in" friends
• hearing the whole class WHOOP after "beat the hell outta t.u.," then following up with a singular "hook 'em"
• actually knowing the definitions of words spoken on the TV show House
• passing grades (well, except that one Immuno test... and Physio test. oops)
• studying-induced dementia
• sangria
  

Conquering anxiety...

is a lifelong battle. Of course the therapists would tell me not to fight it, just to accept it and move on. But I'm a really combative person. Guess I'll have to work on that too. By the time I conquer OCD, I'll just be a perfect person all-around.

I never thought that moving or a change of scenery would initiate my concealed panic attacks. I just moved to College Station, and started my first vet school related class, and went from living with Henri to living by myself. I'm a little crazy right now. Now that I think of it, all of my worst obsessional episodes started with a similar change: moving to Austin for undergrad, moving back to Houston for the summer, starting Longhorn Band, studying abroad, moving to Port Aransas. I've always considered myself to be a nomadic person, but apparently moving stresses me out more than I thought. For such an introspective person, I really don't know myself that well. I'm getting better.

One thing that is keeping me human here is Ender. She is becoming a total sweetheart post ovary removal. This morning I put food out for her, but she just sat and stared at me until I laid down and snuggled with her for a few minutes. Then she ate.

Reasons Not to Get a Puppy

(get a dog instead)

1. morning face chomping
2. new ear piercings
3. cat weight loss (from running so much)
4. poop
5. poop
6. poop
7. poop on your backpack
8. urine in your suitcase
9. urine on your backpack
10. urine on your cat tent
11. urine in the bathtub (I can't even be mad about that one)
12. urine on the puppy's face, when she sticks it in another dog's stream
13. your socks are permanently a yellow shade
14. holes in the bottom of every single pair of pants you own
15. your water bowl doubles as a lap pool
16. your toilet bowl doubles as a diving pool
17. you fully understand the reason behind pet deposits
18. your puppy continuously uses the "outdoor button" aka door stop
19. she only uses the bathroom 30% of the time you respond to said button
17. she uses the bathroom inside 100% of the time you don't respond
18. your puppy barks the entire hour of puppy class
19. afterwards, the trainer asks you if you realize what you got yourself into
20. and you have to admit, yes, and we're really that stupid.

or lucky ;)




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