Well well, it's always nice to know your bank is in fact looking out for you. Got a call from my bank's fraud department today. Turns out someone in Quebec got their hands on a copy of my debit card and was trying to withdraw $240 with the wrong pin last night... 

Unfortunately this also means that my debit card has been de-activated, and I have to get into a branch during business hours to get a new one, which I'm not going to be able to do probably till I'm in Kelowna... That's a pain. At least I still have my visa.

Well, today went better than expected, considering how grouchy I was when I woke up.. I have -almost- completed all my competencies (there's over 100) Only 4 left, all of which I will have no problem getting on my last competency rotation in two weeks. What a relief. It really would have sucked to have to come back for any of them, especially since I don't live in town.

Still stressing about exams, and still planning to study my ass off (which is why I'm not going to be around much) but, well, at least I'm in a good mood tonight.

Just finished watching Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Arc. My gods, I'd forgotten how wonderfully cheesy that movie is. I can't wait to watch the other two. *grins* But not tonight.

I have long had a love affair with water. I don't know what it is, but something about bodies of water in nature appeals to me. I was pondering this on the long bus ride home, as we crossed the frozen North Saskatchewan river. Be it Lake, River, Stream, or Ocean, I have always gravitated to bodies of water when ever accessible. There's something about them that brings me great peace. I'm not a swimmer, I never have been. But I sit beside, dip my feet in, wade, explore tide pools, and I am at peace. 

I miss the ocean. I hope not to let another year pass without making it back out to the west coast, but there are other things which I am deeming more important for spending my money on this summer. Both business and pleasure.

Geez, it's not even warm -in- the school today!

I have to go in to school early (in comparison to usually Wednesday schedule) and I'm contemplating taking my laptop with me. I guess it depends on how much earlier than I have to be there I go in, and how much studying I'll be able to do in that time. I guess it's just as likely I'll stay home as late as I can and risk being a little late getting into the clinic.. It's just so much easier and more convenient to do all my study stuff on my computer than one of the school ones.. We'll see how I feel tomorrow, I guess.

The weather outside is right nasty, wind chill is -45C, but the wind made really cool lines in the snow outside my window today.

It is -nasty- out there! Blowing snow and a wind chill of -33C. Yucky. Wish I didn't have to go out today at all, but at least Gina will be giving me a ride to and from the mall, since my only other real option is to sit downstairs in the lobby for the three hours..

Hmm, it seems I have to kill three hours at the mall tomorrow so someone can look at the condo.. (it's for sale) That's a bit of a pain in the ass..

I discovered yesterday morning that I am in possession of the Indiana Jones Trilogy on DVD. I really don't know how I managed to be un-aware of this fact, but some how I was. So, needless to say, I'm rather excited. I haven't watched those movies since I was probably in elementary school. It shall be highly entertaining to see them again. And I -can't wait- for the fourth one to be out in theaters.. 

There's a pair of magpies that are stealing the winter apples off the crab apple tree outside my window, but they're frustrating me to no end by not staying put long enough for me to take pictures of them! *grumbles*

Well, the biggest thing I learned today was this.. Pigs are fucking LOUD creatures. I mean oh jeez are they ever! I was -very- happy that they provided us with ear plugs, because you sure needed them. I'm honestly not sure if the sows or the piglets were worse.. And the smell... You got used to it, but I most definitely prefer the smell of the dairy barn to the smell of the pig barn. I'd forgotten what pigs smell like. There used to be a pig farm a ways outside of the town I grew up in, and we occasionally passed it on our way to here or there.. The smell was instantly recognizable, that's for sure.

All in all though, it was kinda fun. The showers were pretty clean and the clothes they gave us to wear weren't that bad. My allergies and my asthma did not act up, so that's something else to be happy for. However, doing a basically blind stab to get blood from the cranial vena cava on a piglet is a bit nerve wracking... 

And we all got a good laugh when one of the barn workers dumped about 100mL's of lube on Dr.Blair's head in revenge for something he had done the day before. I think Dr.Blair was -very- glad at that point that it was a shower in, shower out facility, because he booked it right back into the shower and left us with Erin. His face was priceless. I think we all thought it was semen at first, because we had watched a semen collection from a boar just a few minutes earlier... Talk about gross *grins*

Not a bad day all in all. The only thing that really sucks about it, is that it's not Friday. It really feels like it should be.

Oh, got 100% on that quiz, by the way... 

So instead of coming home after school to study for the small animal nutrition exam I have this afternoon, I had some fun last night instead.

Nothing terribly exciting. Went with one of the girls in my program to pick her 2 year old daughter up from day care, then went over to the mall and bought them some dinner, and tagged along while she did a bit of shopping. Her daughter is absolutely adorable. Cutest thing ever.. When ever Ann tries to get her to say "thank you" for something, she says "you're welcome" instead.

Didn't get home till after 8, so pretty much just checked my mail and got ready for bed. It was nice just to have some friendly company for a change. I may have a room mate, but we really don't see each other pretty much at all, except to drive to and from school every day.. So I almost may as well be living on my own. That said, the arrangement works well for us, but I get lonely.

This morning, I'm listening to my new CD and trying to study while I wait for it to be time to leave for the pig barn. I can't say as I'm terribly looking forward to it, but.. meh. I guess it's really noisy and smelly (though they apparently provide you with ear plugs) -and- really dusty... so I'm a bit worried about my allergies and my asthma, but I'm bringing my inhaler and hopefully all will be well.

I'm feeling so blue and homesick this week I'm really having a lot of trouble concentrating on my school work. I sit down with my books in front of my computer and I just wind up staring off into space. I hope that this doesn't last for long.

It's kind of amazing how much a person can change without realizing it, both in their personality and in their views. You would think that a person would notice them selves changing, but maybe the change is too gradual.

In the last few months, I've realized that a lot of things about me have changed, even some things that I would consider pretty major, things that I kind of considered to be the core of my personality.

Up until these last few months, I honestly didn't think that those parts of my self had really changed in the last 10 years. For example, I considered my self a pretty shy person, quiet and not at -all- outgoing. As far as I was concerned, I was the proverbial wall flower at parties, and everything that goes along with that.

But I've come to realize that's not so true any more. First of all, I'm not quiet. I think that was the first thing I realized *chuckles* I talk, a lot, and it doesn't matter if you're a complete stranger, I will (if in the right mood) quite happily strike up a conversation right out of the blue. This also plays into the shy factor. I'm really not that, either. I'm not a complete extrovert, ready to jump into any situation without a moment's hesitation (and I never will be) But it doesn't take me nearly as long to get comfortable in a new situation, maybe an hour before I'm happily chatting away with the person I deem most approachable, and by the end of the night, I'll be talking to everyone. This compared to the person who would find a quiet corner and stay there unless dragged out.

And one of the weirdest things I think was the realization that I make people laugh. That they find me entertaining. That continues to blow my mind. I thoroughly enjoy it, mind, but it surprises me. I love making people smile and laugh. It gives me a lot of joy.

Other things too. Views that I've long held. Some of it has changed through education. Like my view on animal testing. While I still want them to find other models to work with, I now understand the necessity, and find my self quite passionately defending it when people talk about how horrible it is, because really, it's not as bad as groups like PETA make it out to be. There are -tones- of controls and regulations in place, and humane treatment of the test subjects is of the utmost importance.

And hunting. I used to be completely against that too. I really saw no redeeming things about it. I don't really know why my opinion on that has changed, but it has. I still (obviously) don't approve of trophy hunters, but if you're using it for food, then I see nothing wrong with it. It even plays an important part in disease control, which I never knew.

And Marriage. That institution that (almost) every little girl dreams about. A lot of friends and people I know are getting married. I guess I'm just at that age where my friends are going to start getting married and having kids. Me, not ready for it yet. Don't rightly know when I will be. Guess I'll see. But marriage it self doesn't mean that much to me. Maybe it has something to do with my parents splitting up, something that, as a child growing up, I never thought would happen. But the more I thought about getting married, the more I realized that it just didn't matter that much to me. The only thing I truly was looking forward to about it, upon close examination of my feelings, was the pretty dress. That's it. Now, I just want to find a partner to spend my life with. As long as we love each other, that's all that matters to me.. I suppose there would be practical benefits to being married, in regards to taxes and health benefits from work and what not, but *shrugs* If I wind up with someone who's big on getting married, all well and good, and if not, that's fine too. It just doesn't matter as much as I thought it would..

Odd how a person can change..

Just got back from a reasonably long walk in the woods by my house, along the frozen creek. It was just what I needed, and I plan to go out again tomorrow, and walk along the creek in the opposite direction from the bridge that I went today. The woods aren't a very wide strip and could hardly be called wilderness, but most of the time I couldn't see any houses to either side or hear traffic noise, and was able to just enjoy the crunch of my boots in the snow, and the sounds of the various birds that were around enjoying the relatively warm day. I got some half decent shots of a bunch of chickadees, a couple of a red squirrel, and some of a small woodpecker, but I'm not sure which type. The chickadees are so much fun to watch.

AND, today was the first test drive, so to speak, of my new Columbia(TM) winter boots, which are rated to -32 celcius. I'm happy to report that not only did they keep my feet nice and toasty, they also did not cause me anything resembling pain. I love Columbia footwear. They're the only brand I've ever found that require absolutely no breaking in for me, and I have notoriously rotten luck with footwear in general. -Everything- gives me blisters. I've never been disappointed with a single Columbia product I've purchased (they made my winter jacket too)

Overall, I'm feeling much better than I was before I went out. Now I'm going to have a hot chocolate and Baileys, and get down to some school work while my but and thighs thaw *chuckles*

I think it's reached the point in the year where it's been winter for too long. I'm not getting enough sun light in a day, let alone a week, and I'm feeling it. I get to school while it's still mostly dark out and it's getting dark by the time I get home. Combine that with the fact that I spend most of my school day in dimly lit classrooms trying to concentrate on powerpoint presentations, and it's no wonder I'm feeling a bit on the blue side lately. Thank Gods the solstice has passed and the days are once again getting longer. I just have to be patient.

Well, here it is, the first day of 2008. And you know, I think this is going to be a very interesting year for me. For starters, and perhaps the biggest thing, is that for the first time in 7 years, I really have very little clue what the year holds in store for me. 

I mean, it's not that past years have been totally predictable, trust me, plenty of un-expected things have happened, some good, some bad. But there was still a great deal that -could- be predicted. 

This year, everything kinda hangs in the air after June 20th, when I write my certification exam. I'll be done school, and really have nothing tying me down for the first time.. perhaps in my life. 

I was thinking last night about the fact that I have no idea where I will be a year from now, physically, as much as anything else. Will I move back to Calgary after my practicum? Stay in Kelowna? Move to the west coast like I want to? Will I even stay in Canada? I really don't know. 

It's both exciting and a little bit frightening, but I think more exciting than not. 2008 seems like a year of almost endless possibility and potential for me. I'm interested to see where life will take me in the next 364 days (January first being almost over, and all that.. *chuckles*)

And I hope that the year will be as good to all the people I care about as they could possibly imagine. I wish you all the best in 2008. Happy New Years.

I'm kinda disappointed.. ok, more than kinda. I had plans with some of the girls from the program for New years, so I arranged to be back in Edmonton for that. And now, they've all canceled. So, that means Angi gets to spend yet another New Years home alone. And since I'm going to be back in Edmonton, I wont even have the cat for company. This -sucks-

Yay! All done exams. I'm happy to report that at this point, my lowest final average in any of my classes is 79%! Quite frankly, I'm amazed at that my self.. Still have the mark from one more class to come in, but I'm feeling quite confident in it as well. I came out with an 81% on my Pharmacology final, which is the one I think I was most worried about, and I'll be honest when I say I have -no- idea how I managed that.. I was shocked when I saw the mark.

So yay! All finished! Finished the last of my Christmas shopping on the way home from school too, so now all I have to do is pack my suitcase and catch a cab to the Greyhound depot, and GO HOME!

I'm in such an utterly fantastic mood right now, I literally cant seem to stop smiling. It's fantastic. Hehe.

Love you all to bits, Merry Christmas!

I'm sick of studying.. I want to go home now please..