I'm Off!

I can't believe it but I am off on my Australian adventure. I came out the other side of the bar alive at least and can't wait to forget it until November. Ugh, like they actually read all those essays.

First up, exploring the north and barrier reef with Kristal. I land in Brisbane on Sunday and can't wait to soak up sun instead of rain. Sad that their winter is warmer then our summer this year. Well I hope to post as I travel but I'll only have my itouch so detailed descriptions will have to wait until my return. Wish you all the best!

Wow - it has been way too long

I can not believe how long it has been. apologies to both of my readers. ;-) I let of go so long that it seemed like to much to catch up but that is a silly reason to continue not to keep you all updated on my life. Here is the quick summary with details and photos to follow.

- I put my condo up for sale
- my job got postponed (if anyone knows of some temporary vet jobs let me know)
- I sold my condo, closing on Aug 1st
- I graduated, yep I am a doctor, vet and LLM
- I started studying for the NY and MA bar exams, miserable and seem to be 4 weeks behind on Barbri even though we are only 3 weeks in. Go figure.

Well that is about it. I'm sure I forgot something but nothing too important. Since my computer is broken no quote for this blog. Takes too long to type on the iTouch. Hope you are all doing well.

[Posted from my iPod touch]

Liz’s 30th

I got to be a surprise for Liz. Her hubby through a 30th for her – we went to a roller derby where the Albany team kicked some major ass and then to a local brew house and restaurant. Mucho fun was had and I got to spend two weekends with Liz!!!! Ed and I even managed to surprise her, she had no idea I was going to be there. Next morning I woke up to some great French toast courtesy of my mom; I love French toast.

Quote of the Post:
I wanna be thirty. Thirty and flirty and thriving...
- Jenna Rink in 13 Going On 30

Jenna: Wait, listen to me. I'm 13!
Lucy: Jenna, if you're gonna start lying about your age, I'd go with 27.
- 13 Going On 30

NYC

I headed to NY for a fun end to Spring break (I had to take a few days to catch up on classes and finish a sheep & goat exam (which took approximately forever). I was staying with some buddies from Firm’s summer program and got to see another friend from undergrad. I was also intending to do some apartment shopping but that got nixed due to a change in Firm’s plans for me. Ugh, but more on that later. I did manage to get convinced to buy some fun earrings, guess I have to go out to wear them now.

Quote of the Post:
There are two million interesting people in New York and only seventy-eight in Los Angles.
-Neil Simon

Reliving Undergrad

Two weekends ago Liz came to visit and we relived college – we walked campus for three hours with our pups, ate late night Hot Truck, saw Cornell Hockey cream RPI (Go Big Red), ate great Wegman’s Pasta, saw old cheesy movies and basically had a great time. We even got to celebrate her 30th – yeah to 30 and fab (borrowed from my other lovely, Jenan, who is doing her 30th year in style). Yep, I’m finally old enough to relive the good ol’ days.

Quote of the Post:
This is my house. I live here, Beanie. I'm 30 years old. None of us are enrolled in the college.
-Mitch Martin in Old School

Dragon Day

It’s one of my favorite Cornell traditions. For those who don’t know – the 1st year architecture students build a large Dragon and parade it through campus surrounded by architecture students in all sorts of crazy outfits (my favorite this year was a faun who I later found out was arrested, go figure) with the engineers attempting to stop it with a Phoenix before it all ends on the Art Quad with the 5th year architecture students lighting the Dragon into a large bonfire – except this year, thanks to changes in NY open fire law, the Dragon couldn’t be burned. So sad. They did light a bonfire but it wasn’t the same without the dragon going up in flames.

Quote of the Post:
It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.
-J. R. R. Tolkien in The Hobbit

Agreeing with a Republican

I never thought it would happen but a recent column in The Cornell Daily Sun captured my anger and position on where stimulus money should and shouldn't be spent. All that and it was written by a Republican. Well, enjoy the article and here is hoping for a better tomorrow.

Quote of the Post:
The worst generation enjoyed all of the fruits and plenty of the labor, hardship and sacrifice of those that came before.... Despite that privilege, they’ve indulged this nation in social values that should make us all cringe: a greedy pursuit of unlimited individual financial accumulation, mocking of collective rights and responsibilities, militarism over intellectualism, and war in the name of democracy. To that worst generation, I ask: please stop squandering our future.
- Matthew Ricchiazzi, The Cornell Daily Sun

Depression II and the Dark Ages

I feel like I'm either in the dark ages or the 1930s and neither one is particularly appealing. It's appeared for a number of weeks at least that this is a true depression rather then a recession. I wonder if a renaming is in order. You know how the Great War got renamed WWI when we (we as in humanity) were stupid enough to have a second one? Well here we managed to debt ourselves into a possibly even worse depression the the original. Guess we don't learn very well.

Well, as to what really inspired this early morning rant. My quote of the post was the NY Times quote of the day. It actually made me sit back with my jaw hanging. I know there are men that still think that way but wow, really? A public official not only said that but implemented such a program. Our welfare system looks so modern and supportive now. And I'd like to point out, relating back to the first topic, exactly how many female CEOs have you seen coming for stimulus money and have to come back again because they spent it on bonuses? None, really? Yeah, me too. Must be becuase they are so fiscally irresponsible. Anyway, love to all and have a great day.

Oh, wait. One last question. Is the US paying for this great new welfare system in Baghdad? Yes would be my guess, but I'll have to look into that.

Quote of the Post:
If we give the money to the widows, they will spend it unwisely because they are uneducated and they don’t know about budgeting. But if we find her a husband, there will be a person in charge of her and her children for the rest of their lives.
- Mazin al-Shihan, director of a city agency in Baghdad, on his plan to pay men to marry Iraqi war widows

Speed Dating

So I tried out a whole new world last night, speed dating. I had more dates in an hour and half then I've had in the last year! 25 in total I think, bit overwhelming by the end but I had a good time. Went with a couple of friends. It was hosted by the grad program but half the girls were from the vet school; yep, we are male deprived. Haven't heard if I matched with anyone, but it was a good time either way.

I also managed to somehow break the "," on my keyboard. It won't fully depress and I have to press it hard at a specific angle to get it to work at all. I never realized how often I use commas until now.

Quote of the Post:
Interjections (Hey!) show excitement (Yow!) or emotion (Ouch!).
They're generally set apart from a sentence by an exclamation point,
Or by a comma when the feeling's not as strong.
- Schoolhouse Rock!

Testing the iTouch

I am trying out a new toy, which I hope will let me keep in touch and even blog while I travel Australia. This program should allow for picture uploads soon. If not guess I'll change to blogpress but it costs a lot more. I spent all night shopping for fun applications but now I am out of time to try them. Ces't la vie. Guess there is always tomorrow. Thanks for reading.

[Posted with iBlogger from my iPod touch]

Gone ... to the Gym

So every year I make a bunch of resolutions but never seem to keep them. This year I decided not to make any and yet, for some reason, I felt inspired to join the school's gym this morning. We get a foot of snow dumped on us, so, logically, I decide to get up early, shovel myself out and go to the gym. Despite the weather, it felt good to get out and exercise. I haven't had time since clinics started a year ago so I hope that I keep this up. Maybe I'll slim down by graduation, that would be nice.

Yesterday I had my first (and hopefully last) photo shoot. You can catch my great look in the law school's spring edition of the alumni magazine, complete with interview. Yep, I'm a celeb ... "This morning I caught up with Lena for coffee at the vet school coffee cart. She seemed relaxed in her white coat complete with stethoscope and I just had to ask ...." ;-)

Anyway, hope you are all doing well despite the weather and economy. I've high hopes that Obama might come through on some of his talk; what a concept for a president!

Quote of the Post:
Step into any supermarket and you're accosted with stupidity. Has anyone ever wondered why magazines feature the same celebrities at every single checkout counter? Why not a magazine about finding a cure for leukemia? Or a magazine about solving world hunger?
- The Genius Club

I PASSED BOARDS!!!

I just found out that I passed the NAVLE, North American Veterinary Licensing Examination. This means I'll be a licensed doctor when I graduate, one who can actually write prescriptions, do surgery and charge money to see patients! Yep, a real doctor. I really thought that I was going to fail since I never actually studied. There was too much going on with clinics and I had tough rotations right before the test. I did manage to complete about 25 vetprep questions, but seeing as your suppose to do about 2000 questions two times each to study, I was a little short. I guess sitting through all those lectures, I learned something. A thank you to the great professors at my school for that! Well, now I just have to reconquer the MPRE and learn to conquer the NY and Mass bar exams.

Quote of the Post:
Personally, I have always felt the best doctor in the world is the veterinarian. He can't ask his patients what is the matter — he's got to just know.
- Will Rogers

Australia - Here I Come

One of the places I've always wanted to go is Australia! It's a country, continent and island complete with animals and plants like no where else. I even have family there; my uncle and his kids are there in the Brisbane area so I'll have a home base for my month of exploration. The problem is there are too many things I want to see - the Great Barrier Reef, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Tasmania, the Red Center/Alice Springs area and even Darwin. I think I'm going to just have to forget seeing Perth and the Western half if I'm even going to see half of what I want. Anyone who's been or knows someone there - I'd love advice and tips.



Quote of the Post:
AUSTRALIA, n. A country lying in the South Sea, whose industrial and commercial development has been unspeakably retarded by an unfortunate dispute among geographers as to whether it is a continent or an island.
- Ambrose Bierce, The Devil's Dictionary

Man in Black: You've made your decision then?
Vizzini: Not remotely. Because iocane comes from Australia, as everyone knows. And Australia is entirely peopled with criminals. And criminals are used to having people not trust them, as you are not trusted by me. So I can clearly not choose the wine in front of you.
Man in Black: Truly you have a dizzying intellect.
Vizzini: Wait 'til I get going... where was I?
Man in Black: Australia.
Vizzini: Yes, Australia, and you must have suspected I would have known the powder's origin, so I can clearly not choose the wine in front of me.
- The Princess Bride

Woo-Hoo, again

So I finished clinics this week, actually Monday at 8 am (I was on-call Sunday). That probably doesn't mean much to most of you, but to me it means I get my life back! I get to decide what to do, where to go and when. Mainly I'm going to classes but if I don't feel well or want to play hooky, I can not go. I can even leave Ithaca on weekends now that I won't be on-call anymore.

As for classes, I forgot I had a floating 2 cr for an Animal Law course I took that had not been applied to either school so I only need 23 credits but with the way my schedule is shaping up it looks like I'll be taking 25 to 26 credits. Still not too bad compared to the last year. Yep, gonna be a good semester. I'm loving my law classes so far, I even understand what is going on! I'm taking Evidence, Patent Law and a clinic - working at the US Attorney's Office in Syracuse. The first week has been really nice, though it's weird, I don't know a single person in my classes. Well, one actually, a very nice 2L that my Firm (aka they might not want to be listed here) heavily recruited but she ended up choosing the competition because they have a better record of placing people at the court she wants to clerk at.

Quote of the Post:
Mr. Sheffield: Ah, Miss Fine, you seem to have listed the Queen Mother as a reference.
Fran: Lemme see ... oh, no, that's not the Queen Mother. That's my mother from Queens!
- The Nanny

Grrrr!!!

In exactly one week I return to classes and leave clinics behind! I've got about 25 credits to finish the three degrees left and I can't wait to get started ... so I can get done! As a result of finally finishing up, I'm starting to check up on things that need to get done for taking the bar exam, moving, etc. One thing I though I had gotten out of the way was the MPRE (Multistate Professional Responsibility Exam). I took in 3/05 and got a score that was good enough for NY and Mass (the two states I'm planning on taking the bar for). Well, it looks like it's fine for Mass still but NY changed their policy in the last few years so now the MPRE score must be taken within 3 years of taking the bar. Ugh, I hate paying for pointless tests, even more, I hate paying for, studying for and taking them twice! Well, enough ranting for the day. I'm on pathology, so I work with dead animals all day; I think it's affecting my brain and rational thought process. Only one more week, only one more week, ....

Quote of the Post:
Brennan: An autopsy on an animal is called necropsy.
Booth: Yeah, it's pretty crucial we get that straight right off the bat. Meanwhile, about the dead human being?
-Bones, The Man in the Bear