Despite my protestations to the contrary, I fear that, to a large degree, I have become citified. (is slightly surprised to discover that's actually a word...) When weighing the pros and cons on the idea of remaining in Kelowna for longer than just my 5 week practicum, the biggest con's that come to mind are that it lacks certain big city amenities that I have become accustom to. Unfortunately, most of these "amenities" are also certain stores, namely..

a.) Kelowna has no BestBuy Electronics -- this is where all my major electronic purchases have been made, (digital camera, laptop, and MP3 player) and thusly -also- where I would take any of these said devices should anything malfunction with them (I purchased extra service plans on all of them since I have such rotten luck with electronics) So if anything were to happen to these devices, I would have to actually -send them away- to have them looked at. This is decidedly inconvenient. I also have $200 worth of gift cards from there that I got for christmas that was to go towards my new camera, and I don't know when I'm going to have the opportunity to use them..

b.) Kelowna lacks anything resembling a decent music store, which would mean all my music purchases would have to be made on line. A bit of a pain, but not as much as the first one.

c.) There is no MEC (Mountain Equipment Coop) in Kelowna. This is not -really- that bad a thing, because it would probably end up saving me money.. *chuckles* MEC is more of a habit than a need. I love shopping there, and I purchase a fair amount of my summer clothes there. I -can- live without one, but I love having one available.

d.) I'm really not sure how effective Kelowna's public transit system is, and I'll be reliant on it until such time as I get my license and can afford to purchase a vehicle.


So yes *chuckles* I've become quite used to having certain aspects of the "big city" available to me. I guess I'll cope. There are certainly a great number of pros to the location, hiking and paddling high on the list. We'll see how it evens out, eh?

Didn't take the dog, and I seem to have come down with Ann's daughter's cold. Shaping up to be a grand weekend.

Well, it was definitely a good day. Today was my second and last calving shift. The weather was nicer than last week, and I didn't go so hardcore on the mucking, so I probably won't hurt as bad tomorrow *fingers crossed* We didn't have any crazy aggressive mom's, thank goodness. Three pulls and I think 5 natural births. Only bad thing that happened was that Ann managed to leave the bag with our lunch sitting on the sidewalk in front of her house when we left in the morning, so I had to mooch off everyone else *chuckles* I was somewhat grumpy with her. It was still there when we got back though. Someone had moved it from the sidewalk to the front step. So we ate it for dinner *grins*

And, in other news... Got a call while I was out at the ranch, on Dr.Blair's cell phone, from our radiology instructor, Sandi. She thinks that yesterday's radiology dog would be an absolute -perfect- match with me. So.... I'm going to meet her tomorrow morning. Sandi got the pound to wait on sending her to the SPCA, and she brought the dog back to the school so I can meet her there. If I decide to take her, Sandi says she can be spayed at NAIT (so it'll cost me $25 instead of around $300, which is -totally- awesome. AND, she says that she will foster the dog for me at her place for the last couple of weeks of school, which will be easier on Ann, and mean I won't have to buy an insulated dog house, like I thought I would have to for Sam.

So, I meet her first thing tomorrow, and we'll see how things go. I'm bringing my camera, so if I'm taking her, I'll post a pic of her in her when I update. 

Final puppy update

I will not be adopting that dog after all, it seems. I did end up going down to the SPCA this afternoon. In fact, I just go home. The dog I had been waiting for for the last 20 or so days was not there. So I have no idea what happened to him. I have to assume that one of the staff at the SPCA decided he was the dog for them, and that he has a good home now, even if it's not with me. I have to admit that I'm more than a little sad right now.

Puppy update # 6

FRUSTRATION!! It looks like the dog I was talking to the girl at the SPCA about yesterday is -not- in fact my Sam dog. It's a lab cross, not even an Australian Shepherd cross! Aargh! So now I'm trying to get -back- in touch with the admissions desk and trying to get this straightened out... *sigh* I don't know what to do!!

Puppy update #5

Yay! I called the SPCA today during one of my class breaks, and Sam had his surgery (to neuter him) today, and if the incision looks good, he should be up on the adoptables page tomorrow! I'm super crazy excited. Wish me luck!

Well, had a good day out calving. Got to see a couple of fulls, which was nice, since last year I didn't even get to see any natural births, all the babies were there when we would come back from somewhere..

Worked -really- hard today. Basically spent the day mucking stalls again. I forgot how hard of work it is. I'm going to be hurting pretty bad tomorrow, I think.. On the drive home I was trying to decide what's going to hurt the most tomorrow (because I hurt in a lot of places) but I think I've settled on my lower back. So I'm going to fall asleep on my heating pad tonight and hopefully that will help.

Was totally worth it though. Can't wait to go again next thursday.

So, in the process of trying to get organized for the move to Kelowna in less than a month, when I went to pay my phone bill today (which was less than $100 this time! Yay me! Darn expensive international texts any how... *chuckles*) and thought I would inquire what will be involved in getting my number changed when I move. Yeah, so... *sigh* As it turns out, I'm going to have to switch service providers, because the provider I'm currently with doesn't have a local service area in Kelowna. Pain in the ass!! Thank goodness I chose to go month to month, rather than sign a contract (which I'll probably have to do now...) So now added to my ever growing list of things I need to accomplish in the next... 23 days is shopping for a new provider that's going to give me a decent deal. Hmm, well, on the plus side, maybe I'll be able to get a better $$ on international text messages.. *grins* Gotta find the bright side in everything, right?

Everything feels very complicated, all of a sudden. I've been looking this morning at what all I need to accomplish in the next month.. It -just- occurred to me that I have a whole bunch of paperwork to do, more than I would have if I wasn't moving to BC instead of staying in Alberta. 

Only three weeks till I write final exams, and practical exams start next week. I have to figure out what goes where in regards to packing and the moves.. (what goes to Calgary and what comes with me to Kelowna) Which also would have been a whole lot easier if I was just going to BC for my practicum and then coming back to Calgary. I have to find -time- to pack, and study for finals at the same time. And I have to some how contrive to keep my space presentable while doing this because my land lord is in the process of selling the condo. I currently have no idea how I'm going to manage all of this.

Still no idea what's going on with Sam, he hasn't come up for adoption yet. I think I may try calling the admissions desk and make sure he's actually still with them... Who knows, maybe they put him up as a stray and his owners came and got him. I have no idea. It hasn't -really- been that long since he was admitted, but I'm just anxious, so it feels like longer.. *sigh*

One of the neighbors was cutting down a big old hawthorn, and some how it came that Dad was going to take all the wood. After returning the neighbor's puppy who had squirmed through the fence to play with Ginger, I wound up helping Dad collect all this wood and stack it against the house to be used for the fireplace, the lathe, and carving. It was fun and good hard work, but I think I strained something in my back lifting some of the larger, heavier pieces. 

I've really enjoyed going to the gym while I've been here. I'm going to miss it for the last month that I'm in Edmonton, and I'm definitely getting a membership when I come back in a month's time.

Well, tomorrow morning, after I go visit the chiropractor, I visit the clinic I will be doing my practicum at for the first time. I will admit, I'm a bit nervous. The whole last two years of my life, more or less, ride on the 5 weeks I will be spending at this clinic. They have the power to pass or fail me, based on my performance in their clinic. 

All I can really hope to do is to make a good impression tomorrow, and then, when I'm back after the easter weekend, do my very best while I'm "working" there.

Well, just got home from doing my horse practical exam, and I'm happy to report it went well. No craziness like on the day I did my cow practical (with forgetting my kit at school and losing my cell phone battery down the storm drain and all that) The only thing I messed up on was fitting the halter, which luckily was not one of the three auto fail points. I got everything else, including all the anatomy points, which were what I was most worried about. 

Unfortunately, this is also the last time I got to see Saffire, and I will miss her for sure. I feel bad, I promised her carrots, and I forgot to bring any. But she was a total sweet hear for me for the most part. The only thing she did, was try and shoulder me into a snow drift when I was trotting her. It was really quite funny. Even Erin (who was testing me) laughed. Silly girl.

So, now I have the rest of the day off, and thank goodness, because I have a lot to do to get ready to fly to Kelowna tomorrow afternoon. 

Yay! Only one more exam to write!!

Update # 4

Things are still looking good. Sam's not on the adoptable list yet, but I didn't really expect him to be. I spoke with the gal at the adoptions desk again yesterday, and she said that the fact that Sam's so underweight will mean that he'll stay with them longer than the minimum 4 days before he goes up. They'll want to take extra time to make sure that he is healthy enough to be adopted.

I was also looking at the intake dates of the dogs they have up for adoption, and there's quite a few similar, high energy breeds on there that have been waiting to be adopted for several months. There are a whole lot of people that want a little lap dog, and not as many who want a high energy, intelligent dog who will take more effort on the owner's part to keep happy. Me, that's -totally- what I want. I'd like to get him into agility, I'm thinking. (for those who don't know what I'm taking about.... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dog_agility )

So, please continue to keep your fingers crossed for me and Sam.

Update # 3

Well, as it stands, I have everything arranged except for the actual adoption. Ann's land lord said she can keep the dog for a month for me.

I called the pound and lunch today, and he went to the SPCA this morning. The SPCA doesn't know when exactly he'll be up for adoption, they estimate 4 to 10 days. This is where things manage to get complicated again. In four days I fly to Kelowna for a week for reading week. So if he comes up for adoption on friday morning, I'll skip my morning classes, get a cab, and go down. If not... well, hopefully he goes up for adoption before monday, and then Ann will adopt him for me, and I'll just pay her back.. Failing that.. Well, I have to just cross my fingers that no one snatches him up before I get back from Kelowna. It's that, or not go.

Update # 2  

I just got off the phone with the SPCA, and it's looking good! Now I have to talk to the pound and find out when they're going to be transferring Sam to the SPCA (I think I'm settled on that name)

Update # 1

Dad said yes... Now comes the hard parts.. Finding someone to keep him for a month, and then convincing the SPCA to let me adopt him..

I think that I'm going to have to be completely honest about this with the SPCA. I'm going to call them tomorrow, and explain the situation, and see if they will adopt him out to me given the circumstances. 

Because, honestly, I'm a terrible lier, and it's not really something I want to become good at. If they know my situation, and still say yes, then it's truly meant to be. And if not.. Well at least I can be reasonably certain that he will find a good home. He's a wonderful sweet dog. And if that's the case.. well, I'll find another.

Hahaha, I wrote a big long diary, then forgot I hadn't up-loaded the picture yet, copied the text, uploaded the picture, and totally without thinking, copied the picture, totally forgetting that it would un-copy all the text... Boy I'm silly some times....

Ok then, from the top.

Well, my two midterms today, Immunology written this afternoon, and Radiology (as in taking X-rays) practical this morning, went better than I thought they would. Particularly radiology. I was pretty worried about it, but I managed to get my two views done in less than the 15 minutes allotted, and both of them turned out quite well. I didn't freak out and blank and forget where to center and measure or anything. And.... I fell in love.

Most of our radiology dogs have been very sweet, and this is not the first one I've wanted to take home, but I feel like I've just been waiting for this little boy. You see, all our radiology dogs come from the pound, so they all need homes. Today's dog just tugged my heart strings like nothing. I actually cried when I had to give him back to Sandi to take him back to the pound because I wanted to keep him soooo badly. But I didn't think I could.

He's just the sweetest fellow.. He's about 5 months old, we're guessing, and an Australian Shepherd cross by the look of him. He's pretty under weight, but he's friendly and curious and quiet and gentle... Oh I just love him so much. He's all red and white, with a little bit of dark brown here and there. And he's a cuddle puss too *grins* He spent about 15 minutes curled quite contentedly in my lap while we waited for Sandi to come back for him.

As I said, I didn't think I could take him. The appartment where I'm living, I can't have any pets. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to find a way to make this dog mine. There's only one month left of school before I head to Kelowna for my practicum. So.. what I'm doing is trying to find someone who will let this dog (who's name I haven't settled on, but I'm leaning towards either Sam or Todd) stay with them for this last month. After that, I can take him to Kelowna with me. Dad already has a dog, who I'm sure would love the company. And he has a huge fenced in back yard too. 

So, I have to convince Dad when he calls me tonight, which I don't think will be too too hard, because it will mean I'm definitely staying in Kelowna after I'm done my practicum, which I know he will like. And I've already talked to two people about keeping the dog for this last month.. one of my class mates, and my Immunology teacher. And, if neither of them work out (they both have to consult other people before they can make the decision) then I'll ask Sandi (our radiology teacher)

And, if I can't find any one, then I'll know it wasn't meant to be, and that will be that... but if I can make this happen, I'm going to.

I'll post updates as things progress. Wish me luck, everyone!

Oh dear...

I thought I was past the point of being stressed about my radiology practical exam this morning... but apparently I'm not..

Gods above I want this week to be over..

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.