Announcement!

My cat friend, formerly and very briefly known as Maxine Bean, has turned out to be a neutered male. I discovered this just now. I went out to our lathe house to water some young trees and I spotted friend Cat. I backed out, talking all the while, and ran to get some smelly canned food. Returning to the lathe house, I lured the kitty in. Said cat actually brushed by me (after I had laid down on the ground), and the tail was high, so - yeah. No fuzzy balls. Clearly not a female. This guy was someone's pet. I have sent out the requisite notices to area vet clinics and SPCA. He let me pet him. I put this in a separate paragraph because it's a big deal. Someone has failed this little guy, by horrible mistake (maybe he is lost and people are seeking him - I can't even imagine my upset if Shelby went missing), or by unfelt mistake, or maybe they just didn't want him anymore. At any rate, he is very skittish, very untrusting. It was a privilege that he trusted me to pet him, however briefly. I wish I had more time than I do. It's wonderful that he let me touch him. ----------------- Ok, enough. Probably I would write about animals and plants all day long, given the opportunity. Weekend time now. Talk to you next week.

Friday

I don't have a lot to say (such is the nature of posting every day, and also my predilection for not being able to write anything meaningful)... but here goes, anyway. I'm about to go back out to the orchard to continue putting weights on saplings; it causes them to grow their branches more laterally, doing this. Before that, though, I am going to try to isolate some sort of wild bacterium that is decimating a set of cherry trees in a local orchard. Thankfully whatever this is is only affecting one variety, but the sad part is that these were big, healthy trees. I haven't before isolated from deep within the bark of a cherry tree, so I need to make sure I'm isolating from the correct tissue. It'll take some time, but this is actually my favorite part about this job (aside from the part where I get to be outside for large parts of the day) - I love trying to isolate an organism from a lesion on a plant. It's really interesting and I enjoy it a lot. Miss Maxine Bean has been a no-show today, but her food was gone this morning and there was cat hair on the bowl. Off to work with me. ta.

Thursday!

This'll be quick, as I have to get going... I am SLEEPY today. So tired. I really need to adjust to this new school schedule. Miss Kitty - tentatively named Maxine Bean for the moment - put in two appearances today. I couldn't get near her the first time I saw her, but she was hanging around the parking lot and meowing loudly at me. Later, she stopped in for a bite to eat outside my office door (dry food), so I approached her with a dish of canned and she let me set it down. She'd been about to run away, but I think she both smelled the food and also recognized the stretched out arm holding a bowl and stayed put, though warily. After I set the dish down, I stayed near; she stretched her body out as long as it could go to sniff the food, and then looked at me and meowed. She wanted it but I was just too close. I backed off a few feet and she came in for a nibble, but didn't want to settle in until I completely retreated. It's a start. Worked outside all day today. Am now a hot, sweaty, dirty mess. I am very much not looking forward to having to cook dinner tonight. Ah, well. Until the morrow, best to everyone!

Whoa...

...two entries in a single day? GET OUT. Indeed, my second entry of the day! I'm sure it will be equally as thrilling as any. I'm stopped at my office on the way home from class. I wanted to check on the status of the kitty I've started feeding. I took the chance of leaving some canned food out, something I really shouldn't be doing. It's too stinky and quite likely to attract other critters. Of course, I have been leaving dry food out, and given the noses on said critters, that's probably just as stinky. At any rate, the food is gone, so she's probably been here. I really hope I'm able to get my hands on her sooner than later. Class was incredibly monotonous tonight. It was the first day of clinicals, ostensibly; we met on campus and went through all the protocols necessary to start working at the hospital next week. We had to take a test that the hospital assigned, a bunch of stuff referencing a 67 page handout we were given. It was a bit of a crock - there were typos galore, missing sections, missing test questions, and missing answer spaces. It was obnoxious. On one level, I understand the need for it (it addressed everything from HIPAA to radiation safety to CPR to MRI safety, to my favorite - Erik Erikson's developmental stages)... but really? If you want to use such a test in a serious and just manner? You should probably make sure it's actually put together as it should be. Just a wild notion on my part, perhaps. Moving on. Speaking of Erik E., I am beginning to think that I am really going to have to pay attention to his bloody stages of development. I have now learned about them in two psych classes, and nursing seems to really stress them as well. It's annoying. Maybe I am the problem here (lightbulb moment?). Clearly his work is important to other people. Mayhap I should take notice. His stages of development do have merit, and I understand that merit. I think what annoys me is that so much of what he says is pretty much common sense, so it irritates me to have to memorize specifics, over and over and over again, to be able to answer test questions correctly. His theories are beginning to remind me of the Kreb's cycle. I can't even tell you how many times I've learned that damned thing and I still don't remember it. I understand what it means, its importance, and I can certainly look it up with assurance and am quite capable of explaining it, but I couldn't write it down even if my life was threatened. Well, maybe bits of it. The point is, I seem to be resistant to keeping certain kinds of information in my head. So, yeah. If the nursing school thinks I need to have a close acquaintance with E. Erikson, I suppose I should make sure that happens. Hmm. What else to say? Nothing on the possible new employment front. The veterinary practice where I've been working has no hours for me in September beyond this coming Saturday, according to a message the practice owner left on my machine last night. Which is really a bummer. He says that could change, and I'm sure he'd like to keep me around, but his obligation is to his current employees, which I understand. He said we'll talk on Saturday. It's been such a relief to work there, if I have to work at a veterinary hospital, because they actually let me do the things I know how to do. Speaking of which.... (warning: snark ahead) one of my classmates is a licensed vet tech in this state. I've talked to her before, kind of trying to be friendy (ed. - and I do mean friendy, not friendly... just a style note!) with her... she's been ok, but she's always struck me as rather stiff and... hmmm. Angry? Irritable? I'm not sure. At any rate, I haven't gotten to know her very well because she's never been in my lab or clinical groups, just lecture. Last night, I tried again, telling her that I've been working at a veterinary practice once more. I thought this would spark conversation. Really, all it sparked was her making remarks about how hopefully I was being supervised in what I do because I'm not licensed in this state. Yeah. Ok. Up yours, uptight classmate. That's just annoying. No more veterinary talk with her. Well, that's about it. The more I write, hopefully the better I'll be, and the more readable. If you want, bear with me. If not, that's ok too. Until the morrow, ta.

Experiment

While driving home from class last night, my mind was full of thoughts to blog about. Of course, now I can't remember a lick of what I was thinking, but one thought did remain - how about I try to write a little bit every day (well, every week day) for two weeks? I am very very busy, so I don't know if now's the time to start such a project... but if not now, when? Even if it's just a blurb. Which, given my past behavior here, it probably will be. So... starting today (looks at calendar) through the 12th of September, I will attempt to post something every week day. Today I'm doing lab work (subcultures from diseased leaves and twigs) in an attempt to figure out what's causing die-back in an orchard in Maine. I'm also taking new cultures from diseased leaves out of a Cornell-based orchard. After that, it's off to our orchard to continue putting weights on apple saplings... after that, cleaning more apple boxes in preparation for harvest. That's always great fun, given that I do this task in a greenhouse that generally hovers around 100 degrees in this sort of weather. And after that? My first day of clinicals. Thankfully, I won't be at the hospital until next week. I say "thankfully" because I'm nervous and not quite ready for it just yet. We'll meet at the school with our instructor & go over what is to come this semester. Last night's five hour lecture was painful, but made less so by a very funny and likable instructor who was generous with the breaks throughout. One down, 14 to go! Monday night, we learned how to clean simple post-surgical incisions. It has begun. Ok, so this new writing venture isn't terribly exciting - that's ok. The idea is to get into the swing of writing...eventually something interesting might escape my fingers! I'll also (she promised for the quatrillionth time) try catching up on blog reading at some point too. Until later, ta. --------------------- p.s. Apparently, I am Cat Rescue Lady. We have another stray hanging around the lab; I started feeding her (I think it's a her, but I haven't been able to verify that yet) this week. She's very skittish, but she'll let me get within about five feet of her (meowing pitifully the entire time, looking right into my eyes) before she sprints off. I'm hoping to win her trust eventually so that I can get her some veterinary care and maybe find her a home. Not sure yet how I'm going to manage that latter; I'll just have to play it by ear. Sometimes I wish I could just turn a blind eye to these creatures - would make my life a whole lot easier - but I just can't. And I wouldn't be me if I did that, either, you know? Alrighty then, now back to work.

Small update

Hi there! I'm pressed for time, as usual. I had a visit with the knee doctor this morning - looks like I'll be having surgery on the other knee as soon as school permits. That means the winter break will be filled with crutches and swelling and COBRA payments! What fun! Has to be done, I suppose. I have no idea what my employment situation will be at that point, but knowing in advance that I might be out of commission for a few days would be a good thing, I would think, to be able to tell an employer. I generally don't get sick (knock wood - I also used to have indestructible joints), so I generally don't take sick time.... meh. Anyway, I got a cortisone injection in le knee this morning; if the effusion hasn't calmed down by the time I see him again, he'll drain it, which is always a grand time. Not a big deal, really. Not fun, but not a big deal. Onward. I continue to swim, but doctor-man says I must be more vigilant in my weight-lifting. I've been pretty good about upper body, but I've been hesitant about lower body stuff because neither of my knees are good. Henceforth, I will have to squeeze in more weight-lifting, with deference to the leg muscles. The doctor says my right knee is recovering as it should; basically, I'm being impatient with its (lack of) progress. Given that I'm at school until late Monday through Wednesday, said weight-lifting will have to happen Thursday through Sunday. FASCINATING! I sent out a bunch of resumes yesterday. We'll see what happens. Looking for a job is oh so much fun! Well, I have to get back outside. Today's agenda: harvesting cider apples and putting weights on saplings to make their limbs grow more laterally. It was lovely to hear from you guys in the last comments... I miss you. Ta for now.

Waxing cranky...

...for no good reason. It's been one of those days of teeny, tiny annoyances - the keypad at the door to the gym locker room refuses to open for me 12 times in a row. I forget my goggles in the locker room and have to go back to get them. I drop my dry clothes into a puddle of water in the shower area. The construction-related delay on the way to work lasts 3 minutes longer than usual. I twist an ankle in the cold room while retrieving a box of apples. I bite my tongue while eating lunch. POOR POOR ANNE. Oh, the agony, the horror! I know. I'm living it. At any rate, I've been fighting off an appearance of The Cranky all day. I am still trying not to succumb to it. I'm not sure what the heck is wrong with me - clearly my day lacks in epic tragedy. I'm not particularly depressed (which - woo hoo!), I actually slept well last night for the first time in weeks, and I'm definitely getting back in shape, albeit slowly. I think it's the sense of impending doom that is beginning to get to me - doom in the form of school starting again next week, and also in the form of my job ending in two months. I can't even begin to tell you how little I am looking forward to the start of a new semester. Yes, I'm still happy with my choice to pursue nursing, and yes I do enjoy the material I'm learning... but I am very much dreading that adversarial relationship the faculty seems to have with the student body. And the poorly written tests. And the long, long days. Shudder. As for the job bit, I'm happy at the veterinary clinic I've landed in, but I do not foresee the practice owner having enough hours for me to live on. M. has suggested retail, convenience store work, and a number of other hideously unappealing options, to which I say, please don't let it come to that. I honestly don't know what I'm going to do when I leave here; there is a severe paucity of any science-related work in this region. And so - I begin to feel cranky. And apprehensive. Sigh. Otherwise, though, I'm really fine. Moving on. I have entered my second week of Swimming for Success, given that the knee botheration continues unabated. I haven't been seen in a bathing suit in approximately a gajillion years, so you can see I'm very much motivated to get back in shape. I've been swimming 45 minutes every morning. It tires me out like hiking and running never did, which is kind of strange. I spend the mornings at work feeling relaxed and immensely sleepy; had I gone for a run or a hike, I would have been relaxed and wide-spankin' awake. I'm not sure why this is. In other news, Mac (the hit-by-car kitty I rescued some weeks ago) went home yesterday - YAY!!!! Most everyone at the clinic was sad to see him go; he turned out to be a totally awesome, affectionate, motorboatly purring sweetheart of a cat. In a nifty turn of events, I was actually there to see him off - I'd taken half a day's vacation from the lab yesterday in order to fill in a shift at the clinic. His new owners seem very nice. I'm so pleased that there was a happy ending in Mac's case. Well, sorry for the boring. I had to take a break from rating boxes (and boxes and boxes and boxes) of apples for summer disease. I was about to scream from the monotony, but then I realized I should be thankful for these few remaining moments of gainful employment and felt guilty, so I stifled the scream and came here to torment the internet instead. On that note, ta for now. Some day soon I will catch up on blog-reading and emailing. I really will.

Hiya.

I was hoping to get a post up today (I suppose this will count as such)... I just haven't had time to devote to writing here since returning to work. I was in a pretty good mood, with some interesting ideas to talk about, until I opened my email this morning to find this message: "Catskill Animal Sanctuary has lost a beloved friend. Dino, our first resident, passed away peacefully in his stall at 11:30 am on Wednesday, August 15, his head in the lap of April H., one of many human friends and caretakers. The tiny pony was in his forties. We will miss him terribly." It has been a year since I volunteered there; prior to that, I'd been volunteering for two. When the knee catastrophe happened, I just couldn't do the work anymore... and, like the idiot I can rather too often be, I let my guilt at not being able to do the work keep me away from visiting, or helping in other ways like doing dishes. I was too bitter at the loss of function to see past it at the time, and now of course I regret it so much. CAS is a place like no other, and I miss it. It fed my heart - the animals and the people. And now I have missed the passing of a dear, sweet friend; it makes me feel sick. You can see a photo of Dino here: http://www.casanctuary.org//cas-permanentresidents.htm What an amazing spirit, and what an incredible organization he landed with. I can't say enough good about either. I need to go back, even if it does mean I'll have my tail between my legs for awhile. My heart goes out to CAS and all of Dino's caretakers. So... yeah. I'm feeling pretty sad. --------------------------------- I won't be posting pictures for awhile - my camera broke while I was in Ohio. Hopefully it will be repaired soon; I really enjoy taking pictures and posting them here. I will sign off with this excerpt from one of my Sri Lanka journals - it made me smile a little: "This rain appears to be determined to stay around for a good, long time...it hasn't abated for over half an hour now. Wow - it's a tad chilly! Isn't this a switch!! I want to go run around outside in it just to be cold. Kelly and I did that last year about this time at Fernandos' (ed. note: that was a host family we lived with until the man lost his marbles, which is quite the tale in itself).... we stood under the water spouts from the roof, stood in the pouring rain with arms and heads flung back - it was a good thing! I'm alone now, though, and am not up to facing the family with sudden, inspired insanity. Lame of me, perhaps, but I'm too tired of this culture to even get into what aberrant behavior would do for me. Seeing as even minute changes in "normal" behavior create a furor, one can hazard one's own guess at what chaos I might wreak by suddenly running amok in the driving rain." Heh. Ah, I remember it well. Ta for now. God bless Dino and the Catskill Animal Sanctuary.

Brief check-in

I honestly don't have time to update right now, but I did want to check in to thank you guys for letting me know you're still out there, despite my less than stellar performance as a writer. It might sound dorky, but I have missed you more than you can know. The support I get from those I've connected with here, and on your sites? It's really astounding, and I am so thankful for it. Understandably, things are going full-tilt here at work after my long absence; hopefully I'll have time to write an actual post tomorrow. And catch up on reading what's happening with you all. It seems my profile picture has gone missing - mayhap because I borrowed it from Google? I have no idea. Anyhow, I'll work on getting an actual picture of myself up there instead. Not really a priority, but still. Must get back to work! More on the morrow, one way or another.... ta.

Back to work.

Hello. I have no time to talk about why I've been gone for so long. It's been three weeks, which is a bit much to sum up when there's not much time. Above you will find a lovely sunset, from here at the lab, and a couple of critters - Abby and Casey.

No idea if anyone reads.

Ta.