Ok, so here I am again, finally posting after several months. I am currently on a 2-week vacation block and need to be studying for my national board exam (December 1st), but I'm sitting here blogging instead. That test cost me $550 to take, so I hope that I am not gonna flunk it, b/c that would seriously chap my ass. Our state exam is in May after graduation, and that is $150. Depending on where I get a job, I may have to take additional state examinations. I'll be sooo glad when I get a job and start making money.

Our state veterinary conference is in two weeks, and I have been feverishly working on my resume. I have to go and get it printed and get some cover letters done. We are having some vets coming down to participate in a job fair during the conference, and I'd really like to get the ball rolling on my job search.  Heck, I'd even like to maybe do some clinic visits and have a job offer by February. That would make the next three months until graduation smooth sailing.  I really do like large animal work, especially the camelids (llamas and alpacas). I'm also a fan of goat and sheep. I just returned from a two-week externship from Oregon where I did a rotation at Oregon State University's Vet school.  It was totally worth the time and money to go. We did sedations, belly taps, catheters, castrations, farm visits, etc.; all of the stuff they don't teach us at my Vet school.  Three of my classmates are from Holland and one of them has a kick-ass photo site where she put a lot of the pics from our trip with the things we did.  If you'd like to see them, this is the site:  http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotosesther/sets/1079578/

Just to warn you, some of them are of dead animals and some necropsies we did. 

Anyways, still having a car crisis. I bought a new engine for the car and it has leaked oil twice and been in the shop almost a month now. That was well and good while I was in Oregon  but now that I am back and need a car it sucks. I have spent over $500 on rentals so far. I just want my truck back and I am sure the garage folks want it out of there. Since I have no sugar daddy, I am stuck paying it myself with financial aid money. This totally sucks.  Ok, I need to get off of that subject before I get any madder.

So the state fair is in town. I dragged myself over last night since I'll most likely be moving next spring. I ate popcorn, a fried onion, and a huge cinnamon bun - ugh.  I have lived here in Raleigh now for 10 years almost and I'm not sure how I'll feel about leaving, but I am ready to get out of this apartment situation.  My neighbor is decent enough, I guess, but he has three cars parked out front, works on his son's car in the parking lot, has burned things and poisoned my birds, and plays weird-ass polka-type music early in the morning.  After spending two weeks in a house in Oregon sitting on twelve acres, I am definitely getting an itch to move.  There is one job that is a possibility that is in the mountains of NC. I could get a decent house and 10 acres for a little over $100K. That would be sweet, but I am not sure it'd be the best place for a single female.  There is a town about 20 miles away, though.  One thing I'm not sure of is the racial atmosphere. It is primarily white, which is fine, but I am not sure if they are hard-core types. It is close to where Eric Rudolph was found hiding out.  I have talked to a realtor and some other folks and they love it there, so I guess I'll find out if/when I consider moving there.  I would like somewhere affordable where I can have some land for my cow and goats. 

Well, not much to say. I have another week off, then I pull two weeks' of night emergency duty. I then have another three week vacation, during which I take my boards. After that, I go home for a two-week externship at a nice practice, then I return to school. After that, I have a three week small animal orthopedic rotation and equine medicine. Both of those require about 15-18 hours per day at school. Ugh I dread it.  After that, however, I have four rotations with small ruminants or cattle, including a two week externship during calving season w/ a beef vet. Should be fun.

Happy Halloween to everyone!