Misdiagnosis

Welcome to December. There are many reasons why I type today. I have homework stacking up, American Horror Story to watch, and I have to eat. BUT there's the catch. If there's one thing that I love to do- it's eating. As the Oliver Twist movie laments "FOOD GLORIOUS FOOD". That's the huge issue. I cannot eat food. My stomach ache will take it up and destroy my stomach. I've been to the doctor twice in the past ~2.5 months and have yet to go in to get a ultrasound on the darned thing. Doesn't matter what I eat... raspberries, rice, cheese, crackers, bread, potatoes... I can assure everyone around me that a stomach ache will take place within 15 minutes. 

I still love food though, I'll just whine like a puppy after eating cause it hurts. Yesterday was my all time low. I may be going to a crazy amount of concerts but I cannot dance off yesterdays binge. I won't go into the gory details of my prey but I still felt full (+ stomach ache) in the morning. 

So the punchline of this post would have to be my desire to start working out. I told myself that I would walk the dog once a day but failed to walk the dog on the very first day I issued the order. That order was given yesterday but the cold state of the outside is really discouraging. How's my hooping you may ask? I'm at a depressing state. It could be Seasonal Affective Disorder or it could just be me being sad about being the only one in the hobby. I look up and admire these amazing hoopers but when I try to recreate, I fail hard. Frustration is a sword to my pursuits. I won't give it up though, no worries there. 

I found a website that will help me. I haven't read all of it yet (I have far more to read in my homework) but in this post I will assure myself that I will read it by this weekend. HOW TO EAT HEALTHY. Along with this healthy eating, I might as well put in a small effort of exercise. I'll set a goal of 5 minutes a day directed specifically for it. Since 5 is so small, hopefully I will feel very happy when I end up exercising 10 minutes a day! 

The last Post Script per say, is my DVC final! Finally I will truly have the real iQuest feel. Today was the official last day of class and my final is on Monday! After Monday, what am I going to do on my Wednesdays and Mondays? I guess I'll see. Maybe I'll implement a new change of lifestyle.

Toodaloo! 

Jane Goodall

I decided to do my research on Jane Goodall. iQuest requires me to research about someone in respect to the field I'm currently in. Jane Goodall has worked with monkeys/chimps for a long time, trying to learn more about them and save them from human destruction. I wasn't entirely thrilled, but last night I did a little extra research to pump me up for today's seminar and learned that Jane is also an Environmentalist and (I'm pretty sure) a Humanitarian!

Before my friend recommended Goodall, all I knew was that she worked with monkeys or chimps. I'm not a huge fan of monkeys but this environmentalist/humanitarian stuff really catches my eye. I really want to learn about her journey to become who she is today. Right now she looks like Gandhi to me- she believed in something and promoted it to the max extent. She gives no crap about what others think of her and easily brushed off a comic that mocked her that was distributed to a mass of people. I'll be looking forward to seeing how she dealt with her failures and how she impacted people all over.

Lacking Enthusiasm?

There has been very little to say lately. My internship frustrates me. I went on Friday and it took me a few minutes to realize... my mentor was missing! Quel domage! I didn't know what to do so I asked the vet techs and I ended up shadowing the doctor covering for my mentor. I introduced myself and what not but I don't think he's had a person shadow him before because he went on into appointments without telling me! I spend a lot of my time watching vet techs in between appointments so Dr. Dowd usually comes around to warn me when her next appointment arrives. AHHHHH. I didn't want to barge into an appointment! I had 20 minute intervals where I wasn't learning anything. There wasn't anything to do. On the upside however, there's a kitten up for adoption that's SUPER nice. Her name's Anna she's maybe 3 months old and cuddles like no other. 

Hoop wise- also disappointing. I did indeed get a polypro hoop off of hoop mamas about one or two weeks ago. I'm not very sure. It's been very hard to transition from a clunky hoop to a feather light super small one. I can't do half the tricks I used to and now my old hoop is practically useless to me, it's way to heavy to go back to. The thing that's bugging me is that I can't dance for my life. I'm proud of what I can do, but I cannot incorporate everything into a smooth looking dance. 

Also, I've been feeling disconnected. There's nothing to do, then there's a lot that I haven't done that I need to get back onto. I think I'm using this blog as a decoy, I want to stay on the internet and do nothing. I need a personal motivator or a life changing event for insight into what I need to do next. 

Instead of leaving this post so dreadful, I think I'll make a few goals for myself.
1. Finish the last college application

2. Enjoy company

October Goals

So... At the beginning of October all of us 'questers' set five goals that had to do with our internship.

1. Learn how to express the anal glands on a dog
ACCOMPLISHED. Indeed, my very own dog needed her glands expressed so my mother brought her. Kathy drew me a picture of a simple dog's butt anatomy and gave me lube and gloves. She put her finger into my dogs butt and told me to feel where her thumb was. I felt a bunch of tension and she told me to stick my finger in and do what she did. I did, but I couldn't seem to actually squeeze the crap out. I let her do the work and nasty stuff came out. She told me that my dog's left gland didn't seem to express when she was going to the potty and that her right gland was fine so if I needed to, I just needed to empty the left. I'm sure I'll try eventually, but the stench was terrible!

2. Learn the differences of a cat and dog exam
ACCOMPLISHED. I've been to a few cat exams and a lot of dog exams. They don't stick out as much to me as the problem situations, but I'm almost 90% sure there is no difference. Heart rate, stomach palpitations, teeth check, range of motion, eyes, ears, temperature.  I think my next big goal would be to remember the bpm difference between dogs and cats. I think dog's can range from 90-140 but I'll need to double check.

3. Figure out how to learn more about this field outside of the internship
FORGOTTEN. I totally forgot about this. I go into my internship and focus on that and when I leave I'm exhausted. I just absorb everything that happens and I tell it to a whole bunch of people and sleep it off. I will most definitely continue to work on this mainly because I'm going to UC Davis this weekend and my friend will be able to show me the facilities they have and talk to people who are in the field.

4. Talk to Dr. Codner to see if I can look at skin diseases under the 'scope
ACCOMPLISHED. I didn't need to ask Dr. Codner because Dr. Dowd showed me some cool stuff. I saw eggs of a worm that a dog pooped out and I looked at a malignant tumor sample. The eggs with worms looked like hard boiled eggs and the malignant tumor looked like a whole bunch of scrunched together circles.

5. Learn all the Friday vet tech names
ACCOMPLISHED. The ones who are very open to me: Receptionist- Tammy. Vet techs- Kristin, Stacy, and Kathy. I know one other girl but for some reason her name is slipping my mind. It will come back to me!

Mid October Update

So yesterday was about a month into my internship. Mrs. Sekera asked me how I was doing and made me realize that HEY I wasn't doing much. I was simply shadowing my mentor for 4 hours, nothing else.

I think my mentor must be some other-worldly creature though. Yesterday I learned lots. I walked in on Cathy (head vet tech) teaching Jennifer (college vet tech earning hours to graduate) how to get the bpm off a dog. I also learned the differences between sub Q and IM (inter muscular), and learned that almost nothing is ever injected into the vein. Even the shots we get at the doctors are inter muscular. The vet techs showed me how to identify the bladder on the ultrasound and they explained how a male dog's doggy parts worked.

Dr. Dowd let me go off and HELP for the first time. It's almost as if she knew about my conversation. Instead of her running out to ask for help, she let me run out and ask. It's not a lot but it made me feel so much more helpful. Another reason why I think Dr. Dowd is a miracle worker is the fact that I asked her how to help me with my chickens bald spot. My chicken has had a bald spot on her butt for a good 6 months. I'd been treating her with blu kote for two months but the feathers didn't start growing in until a few days after I asked her. It could be a coincidence, but.... I'd like to think otherwise. I'm so happy my chicken's growing back her feathers.

Update on hooping? I've also learned a lot. I went to decompression SF last week and made small arm hoops that are practically child arm hoops. They're made of poly-pro material and feel so nice when I'm just hooping on my hands. The smallest body hoop I've made now feels like lead. I'm dying to get a body poly pro hoop. I haven't put the lead hoop to waste though, I've learned how to do rising suns, some cross vertical arm trick, double hand isolations, reverse and regular escalators, and I'm practicing on my left shoulder hooping and vertical cat eyes. I'm just counting the days to Christmas!

Song of the last two weeks: Dreams

Ethics

Out of the six pillars of important characteristics, fairness is my number one. Fairness is described as playing by the rules, taking turns and sharing, being open minded and listening, and not blaming others.  Although all six are important, treating all people fairly is the foundation of a good relationship. Relationships help open up all the doors to our future.

If we were biased and dove into any budding relationship with that attitude, we would not have an accurate idea of who the person was. In respect to my internship, I go into every appointment with no judgment to the case. If a situation looks bad, the owner will prove to me through his/her explanations that it was or wasn't their fault. I should keep an open and positive mind towards everyone I meet.

If fairness did not exist, we would all be self-absorbed nit-wits. We would wage wars and solving problems would not be easy. Fairness is compromise and without compromise we wouldn’t be able to get the things we needed. 

Strictly IQuest

For IQuest, I am interning at Tassajara Vet in Blackhawk every Friday from 1:30 to 5:30. My mentor is Dr. Dowd, a very smart woman who actually owns the veterinary clinic. I decided to work in this field because it's devoted to something that has been prevalent in my life since I was little- a love for animals. This internship should show me whether I have the guts to go through vet school to become a veterinarian.

POSITIVE POLLYS

• Tassajara Vet is in close proximity to where I live
• Dr. Dowd and ALL the vet techs are nice to me! There's no drama!
• I see a whole array of different medical cases every 20 minutes
• Everyone's patient with me
• I can watch anyone do anything and they will explain what they are doing!

NEGATIVE NANCYS

• There's not much I can do outside of the clinic in terms of learning
• I'm not quite sure how to act when I'm around clients/ when my mentor goes out to formally address an issue
• Long amounts of walking and standing in an upright professional manner hurts my back
• When there's nothing to do, I still don't know what to work on and who to ask for work from

I have learned that I have a lot of patience and willpower when it comes to being professional. When drawing blood, one will stick a needle through the vein in a dog's neck, not it's arm. The arm vein is needed when the dog is older and might need fluids or surgical work that requires arm needles. 

Do what you love.

I just came back from my second day shadowing Dr. Dowd. I've learned a lot in the 8 hours I've been watching her. I now know a lot of the causes for some of the problems my dog has every now and again. I saw my first cat client today, which was a change from the constant dogs. The vet techs are all nice, I haven't quite learned the names but there are two in particular that include me in a lot of the things they do. Perhaps this will be something I'd rather do. I think they don't have to go through the full length of vet school and it looks less stressful than diagnosing. I learned about hunting dogs and what goes on during the hunt. The big 'OH MY GOSH' moment was when Dr. Dowd revealed that she has 3 chickens! Almost just like me. My chickens woke me up at 7 today and I forgot to ask her how to get them to shut up.

Some issues arose with a few of my friends today. One in particular just pissed me off so much. She and I started hooping around the same time and while I know I was ecstatic about it, I don't think she felt the same way. We both attended a class together and I continued to practice while she was stuck without a hoop. She has been asking me to make her one but it's hard to find time and she doesn't talk to me- it seems like she only talks to me when she needs something. I can read a lot of friends and judge how often they check up on their friends and she doesn't ever check up on our friendship. She is now pursuing hooping for her theater project. She's going to buy a hoop (finally... although it has only been maybe 2-3 months since I started, but it seems like forever ago) and learn. I have nothing against her learning hooping because I LOVE it when people have similar interests, however it feels forced. I want her to love it too, I want everyone to burst with happiness. I guess I'll see where this goes. 

The three things I love:

Animals
Hooping
Food

--Make sure animals and food are NOT intertwined.   

BONUS SONG

Busy Weekend

Weekends are normally an exhale of relief. This weekend, however, has been non stop go go go-ing.

Friday was my first day at Tassajera Vet to intern with my mentor, Dr. Dowd. I went in and nothing was really busy. Starting at 2, however, Dr. Dowd starting getting patients every twenty minutes. It went as I expected, even if anything, I had some deja vu going on. Right away Dr. D immersed me in the medical language and it was hard to follow along without asking questions every five minutes. I watched and learned that non anesthetic teeth cleaning isn't as controversial as everyone makes it to be. I wore my fancy clothes and ended up putting a scrub shirt over it. A few things especially stood out to me in those hectic hours. An emergency dog came in with blood in his stomach and a dog came with maggots on its back. The emergency dog was diagnosed in less than five minutes and there wasn't much that the staff could do. He didn't die, but when I left he was in poor shape. He needed to be shuttled to the bigger hospital in Dublin. The dog with the maggots showed me how people are different from me. His maggots got shaved off and his diet was addressed as well as his future. He had a slipped disk in his spine and would become paralysed in a short duration of time. His owner didn't want back surgery. I left feeling tired, but right after the internship I went to babysitting three boys who did not give me respite when it came down to bedtime. I ended up coming home around 9 and was fast asleep by 9:30.

Saturday I woke up bright and early for the ACT. Afterwards I test drove a Honda Fit and attended an amazing concert with Twenty One Pilots, Panic! at the Disco, and Fall Out Boy. Everything went smooth, except the little hiccup which happened when we were on bart. My friend Madi got her brand new Iphone 5c stolen by a man with grills and a joint on top his ear. We filed a police report and moved on, quite irked by the experience. The concert was great. We met people and took pictures with photobombs all over behind us. In and Out ended my Saturday and started my Sunday.

Sunday I got to sleep in for the first time in weeks. Sunday is today and today I got a brand new car. No longer do I drive the space oddysey. Today we drove home with a brand new 2013 Honda Civic. White. I cannot wait to tell Tony. I will now be able to park in the Senior lot, drive over 100 miles more than my old car and feel okay driving as much as I do. I'm already missing my oddysey and all the memories I left behind. I feel bad because my parents have been spending so much money in the past year. I hope I can help pay for my growing insurance to lighten the thousands that are coming from this leased car.

I hope this relieves me of any desire to boast or moan or talk about my weekend. I've been very disconnected and I want to know why. I walk around dazed looking towards the future not really knowing what I'm doing in the present. I hope I can resolve this feeling and get back to focusing on others.

Long-Term

It’s very interesting to see how the different aspects of my life intertwine. Just last week I learned about goal setting in Social Psychology and now I’m doing just that. Although I touched on a few goals on my first post, I'd like to expand.

I said I wanted a strong follow through, but I learned that that’s an intangible goal and that I need to add small steps in order to achieve it. By the end of senior year I want to know what I want to do in college and maintain the grades to get into the college I want. I don’t’ want to go into college blind with no knowledge of myself and my preferences. I know I get really excited for things and drop others and this can be a huge pitfall in my success. Hopefully this blog and my friends can help me work through the large plates I tend to pile up.

In respect to IQuest, I would like to keep my internship no matter my feelings towards it and learn as much as I can. Knowledge is power. As before mentioned, my new discoveries and lack of attention to other activities in my life can lead to a minor disinterest in becoming a veterinarian. Once again, I hope to power through these struggles. 

I want to become a person who I can respect and whom others can respect. Someone who is well composed and knows what she wants in the moment and in the future. I know a lot of what I say is a reiteration of previous statements but to me it's important to find this balance of stability while doing what I love and believe in. Finding the "flow" not just in hooping, but in daily routines is going to be the key to achievement.

Bonus music track of the post: click here

The 30 Tips

An overview of How to Win Friends & Influence People by Dale Carnegie for my future use.

How I'm Starting Out

I had a blog before this but it didn't work out. I've been writing journals for the last five years but I never seem to finish any of them. I love learning and doing new things but it seems like the chemical reactions that take place in my brain never let me stay on one thing. My main (and first) goal in this class is to create a strong follow through. I want to be able to say that I finished my projects and had an awesome time doing it.

My main project this year is going to be an internship with a veterinary office. I'm excited to say that my initial meeting with Dr. Dowd will be in one week. It has been a dream since I was little to be a veterinarian. Although I see more doubt in the possibility of getting into vet school, I think this will be a stellar opportunity for me to see if I have what it takes to go through with six (to EIGHTTTT) years of college. I'm actually currently taking a class at DVC- social psychology. So far it's been easy and fun to learn about, which makes me draw a conclusion that the level of difficulty in college does not waver much from the difficulty of high school. The colleges I plan on applying to, I think, won't be as easy as DVC but I don't think I'm going to visit any one of those just yet. 

Most recently I got into a hobby that makes me feel good and empowered- hooping. Although it will not be my project, I want it to be seen by others so I can hold myself accountable to any thoughts of dropping the thing that I'm most proud of at this moment. The other thing on my fun plate is being an officer for E2. Everything environmental intrigues me and I hope that I'll be able to create that same emotion for others in our school.

I'm very scared of my time management this year and I think that figuring out my "flow" is crucial. I think when January comes around I need to focus most on keeping a strong GPA. I have a seasonal job at a Bretons School for Dogs and Cats with Jillian so I hope to squeeze extra money for extra concerts for the early 2014 year through my last summer as a free duckling.