man, my calves hurt. sometimes i wish ppl hv a weightless/float option.

what a difference good vets/teachers make. i've learnt more in a day with these two particular people compared to a week with others. actually doing instead of just observing, and being stumped having your knowledge tested is definitely a good way to motivate learning.

rainy day, lazy day. time to listen to some John Legend and work on my assignments!

heard on the radio yesterday, during the recent 40+ degrees heatwave, that arsonists who light bush fires should be made to euthanise (put to sleep/kill) severely burned animals so they realise the lives, non/human that they are putting at risk. this is the closest to an 'eye for an eye' punishment that i've heard being discussed for criminals. and i found myself nodding in approval when i heard it.

one thing i miss about not flicking through a print newspaper is finding nice photographs to cut out and frame as art around the house.

i love watching bernie & mimi when they're having a grooming session but both want to be the one getting groomed, so they just freeze and wait with their eyes closed and their heads snuggled against each other ;)

i wonder if i'll change my views on monetary values of things when i start work and get paid. at the moment if i see something that i consider expensive then i'll just make it at home if i know how to, even though the time spent making it is probably more than if i was getting paid to do it.

merde. i think i'm gonna change my mind again and not give another craft project away as a present. this is the problem with picking things i like as presents & them taking a while to make!

guess i'll have to go present shopping tomorrow...

lol at a sentence from a salmon hatchery website: "the main causes of death are old age and disease"

...as opposed to other causes of fish death?

if you like Biscotti, you are a good person in my mind. and if Biscotti doesn't run away from you, then you get a star!

just got an email from the uni internal mail about guinea pig pups somebody is giving away. and thinking about it, i just realised that there isn't really anywhere indoors in this new house to place a guinea pig enclosure. i could let them run outside where the bunnies are now, but then i can't hv bunnies too.. unless they get along.. aaaargh..

man, listening to old Michelle Branch albums makes me so happy ; ) they were one of the first casettes i ever bought.

i get why a crafter should like cats more than dogs. when you get bored during your project, you can turn most things on your desk into cat toys to play with: pens, string, strip of paper, anything strand-y.

i wonder when my phone will dysfunction, so that i have good reason to get a Galaxy Note..

(but please, universe / phone god, make sure i've transferred everything from the phone beforehand.)

i can't help but lose trust in someone when they stop answering things directly and start talking about how things are, but not why they are like that (ie. when they become like stereotypical politicians).

hmm, seeing as there's a family history of diabetes, maybe i shouldn't hv hot chocolate at night, cereal for breakfast, and chocolate croissant for lunch..

other diseases i just realised are in the family: liver dz, sickle cell anaemia.

the things u learn when family is around..

it's fine to be unhappy about something, but you still have to do it if it's important.

Some people need to realise that "Stress" is not an imaginary thing. It's caused by hormones (corticosteroids) that affects how the body functions. People can die from stress - e.g. before/during/after surgery, if not enough pain relief (analgesia) or enough anaesthetic depth is provided, excessive release of these hormones can cause blood vessels to constrict meaning essential organs don't get enough blood supply - ie. it doesn't receive enough oxygen and the tissue dies. For example, during surgery you can get kidney failure (and its accompanying complications, including death) just from receiving insufficiently managed stress. Stress is real. Like being stabbed. Only you can't see the little knives, a.k.a. the hormones, initiating their effects.

(important to note: stress hormones obviously have an essential function that i have excluded in this rant post).

I can't believe one of the possible written assignments for Veterinary Public Practice is reviewing the NATION'S Emergency Disease Response Plan. I know it's a tedious job which is "perfect" for an intern, but should you really leave it to a 5th year uni student who doesn't have any on-the-job experience for it?

Also, the Unit of Study handbook needs some SERIOUS EDITING. So far I have summarised 114 pages into 36. I still have another 172 pages to go. It was prepared by a person who made a movie of an audio recording of herself reading word for word, university policies with powerpoint slides displayed on the screen. We had to listen to this audio with the script on the screen for 30+ minutes; but at least we could listen to her struggling to say various veterinary words.

harry potter-themed sleepover, with beds in the lounge room to watch from. intro with Potter Puppet Pals, then movie marathon. food including both warm and cold butter beer, hagrid's chocolate cake for harry. decorations: candle stickers on the wall with glow in the dark flames.

mann, i can't wait til next week is over. (not that i'm actually planning a harry potter party, but just that i could if i wanted to).