It’s not that I didn’t have anything to write about, though. I was getting beaten mercilessly by my organic chemistry classes, and I seriously considered switching majors to something completely opposite…like communication. Me, the introvert, who does something along the lines of hissing at people who invade my personal space. However, I stuck it out and am now a junior, still studying biomedical sciences.
I can say, quite happily, that my motivation is renewed after this past summer. I went back to Fort Worth to live with my mom, get my physics courses out of the way, and get a job at A-Animal Clinic. There, they trained me to be a veterinary technician, or an animal nurse (for those of you not familiar with animal medicine terminology), so I was taking dogs’ vitals, staining cytologies, obtaining pain management scores from post-op patients, and doing just about any other thing that didn’t require senior technician experience. It was a fast-paced job that kept me on my feet the whole time, but the busier I was, the more useful I felt I was. Anyone who knows me well understands that when I’m useful, I’m happy, so I found working at the clinic to my liking as long as there was always something going on. Quiet days drove me crazy, reason being that I’m ADD and OCD at the same time, meaning that I need to be busy constantly with a variety of tasks, and when I’m working on one task, I’m solely focused on that since I cannot multi-task. Essentially what I’m saying is that my personality disorders make me an ideal candidate for that kind of job. However, I also realized I need a variety of experience, so I’m going to try to get my foot in the doors of large-animal and emergency facilities, which I hope the Pre-Vet Society will help me do.
Before I get too off-topic from veterinary things, I remember that I made a very sentimental thank-you note in my last blog about vet work to the people who hired me and worked with me, so I want to do something similar now. First of all, I worked with five amazing doctors, all of whom were graduates of A&M (whoop!): Dr. Spikes (owner of the practice), Dr. McCorkle, Dr. Pugliano, Dr. Buchanan, and Dr. McBroom. I did not work very much with Dr. McBroom since she worked on Wednesday's (when I usually was not in), but the few times I did see her, I remember she was very kind. Dr. Buchanan was probably the most gentle and sympathetic of all the doctors when it came to handling patients, so I could understand how owners who were overly concerned about the treatment of their pets would prefer her. Dr. Pugliano was the most serious and most efficient of all the doctors, and I had the privilege of observing some of the surgeries she performed. Dr. McCorkle was the comical one who many technicians were at ease around, and he was also the best about explaining what he was doing. I actually preferred working with him (and got to observe many of his dentals), because I was never afraid of asking too many questions. As for Dr. Spikes, she has my highest respect, because she managed to achieve my dream of owning a practice. She and her husband (who heads up the clinic’s finances) bought A-Animal Clinic from a retiring vet, fixed the place up, and got it running smoothly enough that Dr. Spikes no longer has to work there all the time. In fact, mid-summer, she took a sabbatical so that she could be with her kids at home. Obviously she worked very hard to make this possible, and I always admire people with successful ambitions. Also I feel I should add that she was very kind to me and answered my questions fully and without frustration. In addition to the doctors, I have to explicitly mention one other person: Sherry, who was in charge of the kennels. I was very intimidated when I first met her, but my impression of her then was wrong. She’s actually the person I saw many upset vet techs talk to when they were having a bad day, and I learned that along with her caring side, she wanted people to learn how to do things properly for the benefit of the animal being handled. She worked one-on-one with me on a few occasions and made sure I got experience in medical practices I was not familiar with. To all of these people as well as my other coworkers, I extend my sincere thanks for the opportunity to learn from them…and perhaps an apology for being annoying and slow at times (What can I say? I’m half blonde.).
It’s hard to believe that I’m back in CStat already and that it’s the end of the third week of the fall semester. However, I’m looking forward to the duration of my classes, especially microbiology and biochemistry, and I’ve joined two clubs which will give me both skills and an escape from the college routine which all too quickly can become mundane. One club, which I mentioned previously, is the Pre-Vet Society, and they offer many volunteer trips and social events. I’ve already been on one volunteer trip to Haven for Humans and Horses, an up-and-coming therapeutic riding center run by a sweet, older woman who has 19 horses she wants us to socialize with and train so that one day they’ll be able to handle being around a bunch of kids with mental and/or physical handicaps. The other club I joined is one that may come as a shock to people who haven’t known me for very many years, and that is the TAMU Belly Dance Association. Believe it or not, I’ve been interested in belly dancing ever since I first saw a performance in ninth grade (while I was living in Saudi Arabia), but I didn’t have the guts to become involved with it until this past summer when I practiced to a workout DVD. This association has performances on occasion, and yes, I do plan to be a part of these.
In the meantime, be on the lookout for more posts, as I do plan to be active again. This blog’s purpose will more or less stay the same with the idea of sharing my life experiences and all two decades’ worth of my accumulated wisdom, but the tone of it will be more honest and less sappy. Let’s face it; I don’t really feel like I’m riding on a cloud (or however that expression goes) about anything except Halloween. At best, I feel content, at worst, irritated. So brace yourselves, y’all; I’m about to get sassy.
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