So, anyone who's heard the 'Pink Materia' episode of Crisis Perverted would know about the song 'Cat's in the Cradle'. Dad and I were bonding over some oldschool music this morning (eg. Smoke gets in your eyes, Father and Son, Unchained Melody, etc etc), and it occured to me I haven't actually heard the whole Cat's in the Cradle song. So I searched it up on Youtube (the Harry Chapin version, of course), and it made me so sad I had to do something about it.

Clicky for song

( Clicky for picture )

Mon 9 Nov - Pharmacology
Wed 11 Nov - Parasitology
Fri 13 Nov - Pathology Theory
Mon 16 Nov - Pathology Practical
Wed 18 Nov - Animal Health, Management and Welfare
Fri 20 Nov - Bacteriology and Mycology
Mon 23 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Written
Wed 25 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Oral

YAY. Yay yay YAY.

It was okay, but the examiners were so nice you don't know whether you've done bad or not. xD; I know I messed up a lot of drug effects...but hey, it's all over now!

TOMORROW IS LETTERS DAY. <3

Peace out, everyone! Thanks again for being there for me through the last three weeks!

EDIT: I am. So angry. With the faculty right now.

Looks like we won't be getting our lecture-free final year after all. Thanks for going through EVERYTHING and making us BELIEVE we had ACTUALLY changed course structure.

I was so looking forward to final year being like real work. :(

Mon 9 Nov - Pharmacology
Wed 11 Nov - Parasitology
Fri 13 Nov - Pathology Theory
Mon 16 Nov - Pathology Practical
Wed 18 Nov - Animal Health, Management and Welfare
Fri 20 Nov - Bacteriology and Mycology
Mon 23 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Written
Wed 25 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Oral

It was alright... I left an hour early and sat outside enjoying sunshine. |3

Apparently the oral won't be that bad either, because it's our first. Fingers crossed everything will go okay!

But I am so totally gonna spend tomorrow WRITING FIC and NOT STUDYING. B|

Why did I initially put 'five down' in my title? Weird.

Mon 9 Nov - Pharmacology
Wed 11 Nov - Parasitology
Fri 13 Nov - Pathology Theory
Mon 16 Nov - Pathology Practical
Wed 18 Nov - Animal Health, Management and Welfare
Fri 20 Nov - Bacteriology and Mycology
Mon 23 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Written
Wed 25 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Oral

I haven't done an open book exam since highschool, I think, but that one went alright. In any case, another subject in which the exam isn't a hurdle, and I only need to have gotten 30% or thereabouts again to pass the subject.

And, I'm sorry for making you worry about me. Emo post has been De. Le. Ted~

( Please accept this hopefully amusing cut as a form of appreciation/apology )

Mon 9 Nov - Pharmacology
Wed 11 Nov - Parasitology
Fri 13 Nov - Pathology Theory
Mon 16 Nov - Pathology Practical
Wed 18 Nov - Animal Health, Management and Welfare
Fri 20 Nov - Bacteriology and Mycology
Mon 23 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Written
Tue-Thur 24-26 Nov? (date unconfirmed) - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Oral

IT WAS HORRIBLE JUST LIKE I IMAGINED. D8

Consolation: I only need to have gotten like 30% max to pass the subject. Lucky my intrasemester reports were well-written...

How's everyone doing? I haven't been keeping up with my flist too well lately. Big, big thanks to everyone for continuing to give me encouragement. I know I whinge about the same things over and over and it must get tiring having to listen to me bitch. >.<

You guys are all super! <3

Here is where you say: Heidi, aren't you meant to be studying?

( To which I'd reply, but this IS studying. Kinda. )

( Plus an RP-related semi-rant )

Mon 9 Nov - Pharmacology
Wed 11 Nov - Parasitology
Fri 13 Nov - Pathology Theory
Mon 16 Nov - Pathology Practical
Wed 18 Nov - Animal Health, Management and Welfare
Fri 20 Nov - Bacteriology and Mycology
Mon 23 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Written
Tue-Thur 24-26 Nov? (date unconfirmed) - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Oral

Now, onto the ones I'm REALLY worried about. B|

Mon 9 Nov - Pharmacology
Wed 11 Nov - Parasitology
Fri 13 Nov - Pathology Theory
Mon 16 Nov - Pathology Practical
Wed 18 Nov - Animal Health, Management and Welfare
Fri 20 Nov - Bacteriology and Mycology
Mon 23 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Written
Tue-Thur 24-26 Nov? (date unconfirmed) - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Oral

I don't think I've been this happy about an exam since first year. :)

It's getting to that part of exam period where I start dreaming of all the things I want to do when exams are over... The day immediately following my last exam has already been dedicated to writing/sending letters. I also need to shop. And practice Copics more. And overambitiously try to do at least three pages of the doujin per day.

Not too loaded on placements this time 'round - three days at an abattoir in January.

Then some vet friends and I are off to the Gold Coast for six days to go to Dreamworld/Movieworld! :D So excited!

Getting there, getting there~! Just gotta stay awake and focused through this heat wave... And big thanks to everyone for supporting me~ <3s you all!

Mon 9 Nov - Pharmacology
Wed 11 Nov - Parasitology
Fri 13 Nov - Pathology Theory
Mon 16 Nov - Pathology Practical
Wed 18 Nov - Animal Health, Management and Welfare
Fri 20 Nov - Bacteriology and Mycology
Mon 23 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Written
Tue-Thur 24-26 Nov? (date unconfirmed) - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Oral

Should have passed that one no problem. Funny thing is, there was an essay question covering LAST SEMESTER'S MATERIAL in THIS SEMESTER'S EXAM.

Lecturer (who was there, because it's an internal exam): 'Do the best you can. The fact that the material's from last semester will be taken into account.'
Everyone: ......... D:

I remembered enough to get me half the expected marks for the question. :/ Which is frightening, since it just goes to show how much dribbles out of your head as soon as you don't have to keep it there.

Many many thanks to in_elixile for this birthday present! ^________^ (Addressed to Simon Hojo, from Reeve, with a letter to Tseng inside it, no less. xD <3)

Cosplays will ensue! :D ....when it's not heatwave week in Melbourne. >_> (And how Tseng managed to RUN at Costa Del Sol in all his Turk gear, I'll never know...)

HEARTS, ELI!

Mon 9 Nov - Pharmacology
Wed 11 Nov - Parasitology
Fri 13 Nov - Pathology Theory
Mon 16 Nov - Pathology Practical
Wed 18 Nov - Animal Health, Management and Welfare
Fri 20 Nov - Bacteriology and Mycology
Mon 23 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Written
Tue-Thur 24-26 Nov? (date unconfirmed) - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Oral

Exam itself was...meh. Should have passed, but not well. :/

Am more worried about my good friend who fainted and had to be escorted out, and wasn't allowed back in! D: Ridiculous, trying to take an exam in 34 degrees C, compounded by stress, and bad things happen (so warm outside today it was hard to breathe...). She said she's okay now, but she has to take a supp... :(

In other news,

in_elixile, YOU ARE SUPER.

More about this tomorrow, I suspect. >D

And for peeps in Melbourne, keep hydrated and don't get heat struck!

It's 33 degrees C outside and all I want to do is sleep. -____-

Instead, here is a list of household items that might kill your pets, from two of my toxicology lectures. The cuts will lead to the notes I took, which you medically-inclined people might be interested in. :3 (I was re-typing my notes for studying... Oof exam tomorrow! D:)

In the kitchen: grapes and raisins, macademia nuts, onions, marijuana (hash brownies, anyone?), coffee and chocolate.

( In the kitchen... )

In the bathroom: antibiotics, antidepressants, anti-inflammatories, zinc.

( In the bathroom... )

In the laundry: detergents, essential oils, moth balls

( In the laundry... )

In the garage: pesticides, heavy metals and car products, lead.

( In the garage... )

In the park: blue/green algae, lilies, mushrooms, fertiliser, glyphosphate, garbage/compost, iron, metaldehyde, carbamate, sodium fluroacetate (1080), rodenticide.

( In the park... )

SWOT VAC always drives me insane. Especially when conversations like this happen:

Me: I never end up doing any work in SWOT VAC - I just stare at my notes a lot. Right now I'd say I'm averaging around four hours a day.
Friend: ...Four hours a day?
Me: ...Why, how many hours do you do.
Friend: Uh...around ten.
Me: TEN???!! @___@

HOW DO YOU KEEP YOUR BRAIN AWAKE FOR SO LONG?! D8

Edit: I have bumped my average up to six but that's really my limit. ._.End edit

Funnily enough, SWOT VAC is also when I'm most artistically active, since generally there's nothing to do but study and procrastinate.

And Jenjen, before you ask - yes, I have started procrastinating with your letter. :3 ("Started, Heidi? STARTED? It's been several months and you've only just STARTED WITH MY LETTER?!" - I can hear you in my head. Is this a good thing or a bad thing, hun? xD;)

( And then there are these other things- )

Remember my exam timetable from last semester and how much I complained about it? I've had friends tell me that looking at my countdown made them feel better about their own exam timetables, and striking the exams down one by one certainly made me feel good too, so here we go again, for this semester.

It's not so bad this time 'round! Eight instead of ten. :)

Mon 9 Nov - Pharmacology
Wed 11 Nov - Parasitology
Fri 13 Nov - Pathology Theory (and that's not the first path assessment to fall on an unlucky Friday, either. o.O)
Mon 16 Nov - Pathology Practical
Wed 18 Nov - Animal Health, Management and Welfare
Fri 20 Nov - Bacteriology and Mycology
Mon 23 Nov - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Written
Tue-Thur 24-26 Nov? (date unconfirmed) - Introduction to Clinical Sciences Oral

WISH ME LUCK! *Hides under rock during SWOT VAC* And good luck to everyone else in assessment mode too~

The other thing I wanted to mention was a huge change in the structure of our course for the next two years. More about this later when I suss out details for myself, but basically it involves a lecture-free final year, whereby we do clinical rotations in small groups for the whole year instead of having some time in the week dedicated to clinics, and other parts to lectures and practicals. It'll be like working! Except....supervised and unpaid... This means they're condensing two years worth of lectures into one year (ie, next year), which will mean next semester will have a timetable alike last semester's (plus some extra hours). Heavy...but I think I'll manage.

I'm moving out to Kendall Hall next year! More about this later, also.

Hugs for all, and see you at the end of the tunnel! :)

Paul wrote fic for meeeeeeee!

Y'know, the two of us have quite different character preferences usually,

( But at least we both agree that Reno and Rude are made of awesome. )

Thankee! x3

What I will always remember from the Black Saturday period is one of our clients - a forty year old man - standing in the middle of the clinic bawling his eyes out. He pointed to one of the cages - 'that's my dog' - pointed to another - 'that's my cat' - then pointed behind him - 'and there's my family. I've got nothing else left, but what else do I need?'

From a part of the speech a vet gave last night at Halfway Dinner, talking about the bushfires that had destroyed the districts around his clinic and killed twenty clients he had called friends. For three weeks, they worked twenty hour shifts and treated animals for free.

I wanted to jot that particular line down. I have a feeling it will be important one day.

And after the applause, I looked around the table at my friends, at the slideshow of photos of the past year and a half, showing all of us in our matching green overalls and the animals we had seen, the distasteful displays of black humour where we've held up severed dog limbs to our mouths and frozen horse eyes to our own, and we've stained our labcoats and danced drunkedly and dressed up and provided photographic evidence of throwing paper planes in lectures. Around the table were ties and dresses, and the menu read 'AVA-VSSV Halfway Dinner' and I suddenly - suddenly - realised where in time I was.

I'm going to be a vet. We are going to be veterinarians. In little less than two years time we will go out there and start living life for real, and we will make numerous mistakes and kill things accidentally and save lives and livelihoods and become counsellors and doctors.

It was one of the most surreal feelings I've ever had.