Emerson Drive

My first week of "vacation" has ended on a good note, and its still the beginning of the weekend! I got together with my best friend since kindergarten, who is also leaving me for school on Sunday, so it's our last weekend together til fall break. So what did we do? We headed out to 331 to see Jason Brown and Emerson Drive. And it was awesome! Emerson Drive didn't come on until 9, but we still headed out early to get a parking spot and a decent spot on the hill. We started by sharing a giant plate of nachos and getting a couple drinks. After a long and hard decision, I got a cotton candy. So next time, I only have 2 to decide between: a rubber duck or a gummy worm. The cotton candy was yummy. We all know that I'm a rum girl. Now I have decided that my rum of choice is Malibu. After time, we braved the heat and humidity and headed back to the chairs outside. Jason Brown (the opener) was alright. I only knew 2 of his songs, and I was really going to see Emerson Drive. However, Jason thought that he was cooler, cuz he didn't end until after 9, resulting in Emerson Drive not starting until 9:35. They only played for about 70 minutes, which is pretty sad since the opener played longer than the headliner. I'm not going to complain a whole lot though because Emerson Drive played all 5 songs on my list! And then some of my other favorites that I didn't "request." These 5 include: I Wanna Be A Good Man, Fall Into Me, Take It From Me, I Should Be Sleeping, and Moments. They also did quite a few covers: Fishin' in the Dark and Boys of Summer. They ended the concert with an encore, of course. And what was this encore you ask? Devil Went Down to Georgia, yes a cover but also a classic. It was a great concert, and a great way to end a week of "vacation."

Kasson and Dakota

I have officially survived 36 hours of being unemployed, and I have accepted the fact that I have no job. Since I had 5 days of vacation left, I am looking at this week as being a vacation. As much as it sucks to be unemployed, it will be nice to be able to just lay low and relax. I will be able to catch up on things and sort out my life, not to mention relieve stress. I have time to do several things, including:

• relax and lounge with Taffy and Bacon
• scrapbook my Vegas trip and my random memories
• clean my room and prep for my sisters garage sale
• hang out with my friends before they head back to school
• SLEEP IN! (but we'll see if this one actually happens)

On a different note, my dad decided that my sister and I need to celebrate today instead of sulk in our sadness. We needed a distraction, so we all went out for breakfast this morning at Daniel's. They have the BEST Eggs Benedict in the world! (or at least in the greater Minnesota) It was amazing. After breakfast, we didn't feel like going home. Some how we ended up in Farmington at the Dakota County Fair, which was fine with me. The fair was awesome! There is the usual 4H exhibits and food stands, as well as free buildings and a historical village. Sadly, we didn't experience a fake band robbery this year, but we did witness a tractor parade. Not quite as exciting, but still historical. It was a lot of fun today, and it was just what the doctor ordered. Tomorrow I get to file for unemployment and begin a new chapter of my life.

Unemployed

Looks like my feelings stayed true as always. About 20 minutes after arriving to work this morning, I was called in to a meeting with the boss doc and head tech. I could tell it was going to be bad news when they called me in. Neither of them knew how to tell me either. The doc kept taking deep breaths, and I'm just sitting there thinking to myself, "Just tell me and get it over with." He finally came out and explained the situation to me. Apparently I have improved greatly and have a lot of potential, but a cut had to be made. Lucky me was it. So, I get to go file for unemployment tomorrow and begin my search for a new chapter in my life.

As if this didn't make for a bad Monday, I recently found out 2 other pieces of information. First off, a good friend of mine also got laid off, so we get to have an unemployment party together. For the second part, we will have to go a week back in time. A week ago, I found out that I was going to be an aunt next spring. I was ecstatic! However, and I'm sure you can guess what is coming next, my sister miscarried sometime over the weekend. I found out today. So looks like its a bad day all around. Today lived up to the true stereotype of Mondays. It has to get worse before it gets better, right? Well I think it just got worse, so better must be just around the corner. Let's hope anyways.

Celebrating my Heritage

Last week went by sooo slow! I didn't think the weekend would ever come. Half of our surgeries canceled, as well as several appointments. It was very slow, in case you didn't get that the first time. However, we did see some pretty exciting cases. As a refresher, the doctor I'm with this month is not only the boss of the clinic, but also the main exotic doctor. This past week we saw several birds, a bearded dragon, a guinea pig, and a rabbit. My favorite was the egg-bound cockatiel. Obviously the bird was in pain and it was a partial emergency, but it was so cool to assist with. The bird had 2 eggs, one of which opened inside the birth canal, so the second egg was stuck. The doc was able to clean the first egg out and manipulate the second egg to pass. It was awesome! The bearded dragon was sick and not eating, so we just had to give it some meds to stimulate his appetite. Apparently the owner takes him [the bearded dragon] with him to run errands. Can you imaging seeing a beardie while grocery shopping? Whatever works. The bunny rabbit was really cute too, and sooo soft. If they actually did something, I'd love to have one as a pet. But I think all they do is twitch their nose and sit there wondering where to hop to. The bunny needed her teeth filed down, so I made a bunny burrito while the doc filed the molars down. Otherwise, it was a week of vaccine appts and wing trims, nothing else really too exciting.

And then FINALLY the weekend came! I spent Saturday at Harriet Island with my lab partner at the Irish Fair, even though she isn't Irish. Once again, it was free! We were even lucky enough to find an open spot on the street a couple blocks away, so we didn't even have to pay for parking. There was a variety of entertainment: Irish bands, Irish dancers, and comedy shows. There were also several food stands of Irish food, which looked and smelt amazing! Silly me ate lunch before going there :P There was also a cultural center with photos and traditional clothing from Ireland. There was also a display of a famine ship, which my great-great-grandpa came over to the states on a lont time ago, just like in the movie "Far and Away." I didn't get to stay as long as I wanted because it was so hot and muggy and wet outside, but it was still really cool to see.

I can't wait until I live in the cities, and then I can go to free fairs and festivals all the time. Hopefully it will be sooner, rather than later. I'm sure you are all waiting for the job update. I haven't had my meeting yet, which I'm guessing is because we didn't have any surgeries last week, so I couldn't have had a full review. Tomorrow, we have 3 surgeries set-up. And I don't have a good feeling about it. Today I had to work my old Sunday shift of 4:30-6pm. Because we have a TTA coming in tomorrow, a fentanyl patch had to be applied tonight. I have only done it once before, but never on my own. The stupid dog decided to kick it off 3 times. By the last time, I had taped almost the entire leg! As long as it stays, I'll be fine. If not, I'll get chewed out by the doc tomorrow. Woo hoo! I can see him firing me on the spot, but hopefully it won't be that bad. Because I hate the place so much, part of me wants that to happen. The other part--which is the bigger part--wants him to be understanding and give me a second chance. We'll see what happens. I used to be so happy and loved going to work, but now I'm dreading every single day of work. I hate it! If this keeps up, I know my depression will return, and I really don't want that. So let's hope for the best, which would be moving to the cities in the very near future and working at the rehab center.

Another Month Gone

Another month has come to an end, finally! I didn't think the month would ever end with the dr. For the record, once I thought things were getting better, something would happen causing it to go back to the beginning. I feel like I can't win with her, no matter how hard I try. She always kills my confidence. So I am soo glad that my month with her is over. Although, because a new month starts tomorrow, I will now be with the owner again. In other words, he will be keeping a close eye on me. If things don't improve with him, I'm gone. So I really hope I hear from another place just in case that happens. It's always nice to have a back-up plan. I'm crossing my fingers that I hear from the rehab center and get an interview.



On a side note, my best friend since kindergarten turned 21 this weekend. We went out last night with a small group. We started at the Redwood Room for drinks and dessert. The birthday girl and I got martinis, and her boyfriend went after a mojito. We all shared desserts, which consisted of the chocolate beast--rich moist chocolate cake a la mode with drizzleds chocolate syrup and strawberries--and a white chocolate mousse with raspberry puree. This was my first martini, a passion martini. It was rum-based, of course. I like my malibu. We then headed to whistle binkies on the lake, where we met up with a couple other people. We each had another drink and some free popcorn while socializing. It was nice to see everyone again, even if a couple people tried to pressure the birthday girl into drinking more. I don't think I'll ever understand why people just want to get trashed and not remember their 21st birthday, but oh well. It just goes to show how people mature at different ages. We still had a great night, and she had a great birthday.

The next day (Sunday), I went to the Berne Swissfest with my parents. Since I went to Switzerland last spring, it was exciting to see an authentic Swiss festival, and it was free! There was a Swiss fashion show and yodeling concerts, a variety of Swiss foods, and a mini Swiss heritage museum. When I went to Switzerland, I was in Lucerne. There was a couple posters of monuments that I visited, so that was cool to see. And of course, it was exciting to eat the food. :)

Luau and Reunions

It's been a pretty eventful weekend. Some friends from Wisconsin came down last night for my annual luau party. It was so much fun to see them! Also my one of my bestest friends from high school was in town, so she stopped by for a couple hours as well. She couldn't stay too long since she had surgery this past Tuesday; she had her gall bladder removed. I haven't seen her for a long time, so it was great to see her and catch up as well. Like most parties, it took place in the garage, or the pub, or the beer garden. What its called depends on who you ask. There were a few pool games going on, followed by pirate life. It's similar to the original life, cept its Pirates of the Carribean themed. In other words, the game pieces are ships. Instead of choosing a profession, you choose to be a pirate or a landlubber depending on who you draw for a captain. Instead of getting married, you stop at the shipyard to buy a ship. You then have a chance to RAID other players ships for money or for the Black Pearl. You also have a chance to pick a mascot. The game is a lot of fun, mostly due to the raiding. I came in second place thanks to all my life tiles. In addition the fun and games, there was a dog party going on. Bacon and Taffy were obviously hanging out in the garage. My sister was in Alpine Valley for the night, so I was dog-sitting Dax as well. Maeby, my 2nd lab partner's dog, also joined the mix. The dogs were a riot! They were chasing each other around the pool table and wrestling almost non-stop; it was great entertainment.

Today was another party, although it was of different sorts. Today was a family reunion on my mom's side. I admit, I wasn't really looking forward to it, mostly because I hardly know any of the extended family on my mom's side. But it wasn't too bad, other than long. There was a lot of food; everything from fresh fruit to pasta salads to deli sandwiches to desserts. In other words, the food was amazing! And there were left overs, so I'll have a good lunch tomorrow. As far as the relatives go, not very many people recognized me or knew who I was, but that's ok since I didn't know who they were either. It was nice to visit with the people that I do know though. The best part was my aunt convinced a couple people that I was her daughter and that no one knew about me because I didn't get out of the house much. It was hilarious.

As for the job update, I have started to look for other clinics hiring in case the situation progresses instead of inproving. I have contacted the rehab center that I interned at last summer to see how everything is going there. I loved being there, and I would love to return. With thanks to my internship there, I fell in love with animal rehabilitation. I believe that is more so my calling vs. a small animal clinic, so we'll see what happens. Time will tell.

The Job From Hell

It's been a LONG week; thank god it's over! So since my last post, I have been trying my hardest to do better at work but I don't feel like I've gotten anywhere. I ask questions and try to do better, but I feel like the doctor still hates me. Luckily I haven't caught anyone talking behind my back this week. However, I overheard a group of techs talking about a party that's next weekend. This party is a bachelorette party going on a week before the tech's wedding, and I was never invited to the party. I don't know if it was intentional or what, but it kinda sucks not being included when I thought I was friends with this person. It just goes to show how included I'm NOT at my work. Also, I thought things were going well with my doctor. Yesterday was surgery day, and half of our surgeries canceled that morning. That left us with 2 kitty dentals, both of which had to be done by the dental tech. I spent most of that morning trying to look busy and filling in where needed since neither the dental tech nor the doctor allowed me to help with anything. How am I supposed to get more comfortable with anesthesia if they don't allow me to have experience? It's almost as if they want me to do horrible so they can fire me, or maybe that is just in my head. I don't know anymore. Again today, I thought things were going well. Then I couldn't get an angry cat in his carrier. I guess I should have put my hand in the cage and had it ripped to shreds instead of asking for help because the doctor got annoyed when I asked for help. And I didn't even ask her! I asked another tech; the doctor just happened to walk back at the same time as the other tech. Oh well. I wish she would just be honest with me so I know why she hates me so much. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. I ask for help when I need it, but she gets annoyed when I do. It's almost like one of my teachers in my anes/surg class; she was older too. Maybe its a traditional vet thing. Whatever it is, I wish it would leave the air of my clinic. I used to like waking up and going to work every morning. Now I am dreading every day and counting down til the weekend, or til my day off just so I can get away from everyone. I find myself hiding in the basement every night and on my days off because I just want to be away from them all. I thought my career was supposed to be fun; boy was I wrong there.

Getaway

So looks like it has been another month without posting, and I am definately feeling it mentally. There is so much going on in my head right now that I will prolly forget half of it while posting. Thats just the story of my life, or at least part of it. I have been feeling so overwhelmed lately, especially in the past few days. As most of you know, a new month started a week ago. June seemed to go really well, or so I thought. Doc and I were getting along very well. She was very helpful, yet fun to be around. She was very knowledgeable, yet open to jokes and sarcasm. She would give me tips in a friendly manner instead of criticism. Or at least I thought that's how the month went. Today I found out some other news, but I'll get more into that later in this post.

As I said previously, the new month's schedule started a week ago. This means its my last month of my first full doctor rotation. This doctor and I haven't had a lot of interaction, so I wasn't sure how the first few days would go. Let's just say they didn't go as well as the first few days with the other 3 doctors. The first day was a little shaky, but it always is. It takes time getting the routine down since each doctor has their own way of doing things. Anyways, there were 3 times last week that got me into trouble, and I'm still not exactly sure how. Maybe someone out there can help me make sense of each situation.

1. A fellow tech wrote me a note accusing me of leaving at the end of the day without asking if anyone needed help. In my defense, I asked everyone but her because someone asked her when I was standing right there and she said no. I checked with my doctor and she was fine. I checked with everyone up front and they were fine. I checked with all other techs and they were fine. Yet she accused me of leaving without checking with anyone. Apparently she is specialer than everyone else in the clinic.

2. I got in trouble for not knowing anything about fluid therapy. So even though I have properly set-up several fluid therapy machines and properly calculated fluid rates and properly connected them to patients, I don't know anything about fluid therapy. The actual scenario: there was a machine beeping "occlusion" that was connected to a very angry kitty. I checked the machine and there were no blockages so I set it to start-up again. A few mins later it started beeping again. Normally, you were disconnect it from the patient. I tried and was almost attacked, so I simply stopped the machine. And then what happens? I get yelled at by the same tech with accusations from scenario 1 and accused of not knowing fluid therapy. So I guess she wanted me to get eaten alive by an angry kitty. Nice to know that I'm appreciated at the clinc.

3. And that brings us to the last scenario. The same tech was involved, but this time she was the teacher and my doc was angry with me. We had a frisky cat to be spayed that we couldn't get an iv catheter in, so we had to box the kitty down to intubate and place a catheter. I have never boxed down a cat before. We had one chance to do it in school, and there were no kitties that week so we watched a video. I never had the chance to assist during my internship. The doctor almost had a cow right then and there when she heard that I've never boxed down a cat before. The doctor also shot down my self-esteem when intubating the dog we were spaying later that day. So that made me feel so much better about myself (sarcasm). I am stressed-out enough on my surgery day, and it doesn't help when my doctor has no confidence in me.

So that's my 3 horrible scenarios of last week, the week from hell. And that brings us to today, the day I had a meeting with the head tech at the clinic. When she called me into the meeting room, I knew she was going to ask how everything was going so far. What I didn't know was that she was going to confront me on those scenarios. So my self-esteem is now shot at work, especially when it comes to surgery days. The doctor I was with last month went to the head tech claiming I'm not trained well enough in surgery and anesthesia. The doctor this month claimed that I know nothing about monitoring equipment. I'm sorry if my school wasn't good enough for more than an EKG and pulse oximeter. My school didn't have a blood pressure monitor that worked. And up until 2 weeks ago, all we had working at the clinic was the EKG. It's not my fault that no one in the clinic took me up on the offer of helping me in the past few months. I am not afraid to ask for help, but no one shows me how to do things. Everyone just does it for me, so how am I supposed to learn? I don't ask people to do things for me. I ask for them to help me and give me their tips and advise. Yet in the long run, I get in trouble. And now, if I don't get my act together, I will lose my job. Isn't that a great way to start the week? As if I don't have enough stress in my life already. Long story short, on top of being on "probation," I am living with my parents--one of which [my mom] hates the world and lets everyone know it, and the other [my dad] is trying to ween himself off of oxy which hes been taking for his shoulder since december==who hate each other pretty much all the time, and I have no friends in the area, not to mention free time away from work or home just for myself. I have always tried my hardest to keep my work life and personal life separate, but after today it all hit me. I had a mini breakdown while talking to the head tech. I feel bad because she thought it was just work-related. I didn't have the strength to tell her about my personal life. Anyways, hopefully things with get better. I figure the only thing that will make it worse is losing my job, so it can't get much worse. So if anyone out there has any advice, feel free to pass it along. Thanks in advance!

The Longest Post

I can't believe that it's been almost 3 months since my last post. Apparently I don't know how to keep up with my new year's resolutions :P Anyways, it has been a pretty crazy 3 months. Yes, I know that is no excuse, but it's all I got. So, in March, I celebrated my sister's birthday and Taffy's birthday, all in the same weekend! Taffy has a ball opening her own presents (go figure, she's a dog). She would be happy shredding open nothing, as long as it was wrapped in paper. Although, it does help if there is a yummy treat or bone inside. She went crazy over her beef knee cap. She didn't even want to let me take off the plastic wrapper; she ripped it off on her own! My sister liked opening her presents too, but not with quite as much enthusiasm. Then again, she didn't have something as exciting as a beef knee cap or jar of peanut butter. Also in March, my dad was finally able to start therapy with his shoulder. It wasn't going to well though due to swelling and lack of motion. He is doing a lot better now, 4 months post-surgery.



April is when the real excitement started: my first month as a CVT paired with a vet. It was pretty stressful and hectic as well. I hadn't dealt with surgeries since my internship in the fall, so I wasn't very confident. Luckily, there was only 1 surgery each week with the exception of the last week when we had 2. It was a nice and easy transition, and they all went well. It was mostly spays and neuters, with one declaw. Of course there were about 4 dentals each week, but I couldn't help with those. In addition to the surgeries each week, there were 3 days of appointments each week. The vet I was paired with for April is the newest vet to the clinic. She's been out of school for about 2 years, so she doesn't have quite the clientel as the other 3 vets. Therefore, some days were definately slower than the average. However, it was a nice transition to the tech side vs. patient coordinator. I did miss working up front though. It was weird not dealing with the clients all the time. It was definately nice not having to worry about the phones though :)



Besides my life at work, there was the last Wild game of the season. Sadly, we were one loss away from going to the play-offs. But we still had a good season. As far as the Stanley Cup goes, there is always next year. A week later was also the last Swarm game of the season. It wasn't are best season, but still a great game to watch. Go lacrosse! In mid-April, I had the luxury to celebrate my great-aunt's 90th birthday, which was a surprise party. Whoever thought surprising a 90-year-old woman has some gutts. It was a very laid-back party, and it was nice to see everyone.



May soon followed, which meant I had survived my first month being paired with a vet. I admit, I was a little unsure after the stress of surgery day each week. I must have paid more attention in school than I thought! So, in May, I was paired with another vet, which just happened to be the boss man as well. Nothing like adding more stress to my work day! It was exciting to see all of the exotics. My favorite exotic case this month was the neuter of a sugar glider. It took a whole 30 seconds, but it was exciting. Normally when a neuter is quick, such as a cat neuter, you simply gas the animal down after giving premeds to calm nerves. Due to the small size of a sugar glider, we put his entire body in the mask! And with a small cauterization from the laser, the sugar glider was neutered. It was a challenge calculating pain meds for the little rodent as well. The other exciting exotic was a turtle in pre-shell rot stages. Otherwise it was basic nail trims, wing trims, and beak trims on birds.

And now it is June, which means I'm half-way through my first doctor rotation at the clinic. Time has gone by so fast! Anyways, the first day has gone well with the new doctor. We saw a 14 week old puppy today that has been coughing nonstop for a few weeks. Antibiotics haven't helped at all, so we needed to do chest films. His owner has been having a rough time and couldn't afford it, so he surrendered the puppy. After taking the chest films, his lungs look horrible. We also found a foreign body in his stomach; dr is thinking a rock. The lab puppies really will eat anything ;). Anyways, we put him on fluids tonight. Tomorrow we will either induce vomiting or go in for exploratory. Should be an exciting day tomorrow either way.

Happy Birthday To ME!

I admit, it's been a week since my birthday, but it's been CRAZY. I haven't had time to blog since then. So, I was lucky enough to have the day off from both jobs on my big day. The plan was to drive up to the cities to get K since she doesn't have a car, but that didn't really go as planned. She was going to catch the light-rail to MOA, and I would meet her there. We'd shop for a little bit before heading back home. What really happened: she slept through her alarm (go figure) and I had to drive an extra hour to pick her up. It's a good thing she's my bestest friend and worth that extra drive haha I admit, I was NOT very happy about spending almost 6 hours of my birthday in my car, but it was nice being able to celebrate with her. Especially since I hardly ever get to see her anymore.

So after joining up with my parents, we headed over to BWWs to hold the reservation. My aunt also meeted us there when she got off work. I started off with a blue hawaiian, which is the equivilent to my first cocktail over in Germany, the swimming pool. And it was yummy! My sister and bro-in-law joined us a little later, as well as some family friends and co-workers. I also enjoyed a peppermint patty shot. I had a b-52 shot, but it was not good. grand marne and baileys are icky, and even worse when combined! I still tried it. After all, what better way to know what I like and don't like. A random guy from the bar bought me a shot of jack daniels, which I passed on to a friend of mine. I do not like jack, even if it's free. I also had a tropical mojito, which was delicious! Can you tell I like rum? I have decided I'm a rum girl, so now you'll know why the rum is gone :P After the bar, we headed back to my place and played rummy while drinking champagne. I just happen to win, maybe cuz it was my birthday, or maybe cuz I'm just that good.

Saturday wasn't quite as exciting, but still fun. My mom and I went to cici's for dinner, which was amazing. I have always wanted to go, and now that one FINALLY came to roch, I can! My favs were the spinach 'n cheese pizza and the mac 'n cheese pizza. Although, it was all really good. After cici's, we went to play bingo. A couple of my friends came down from Wisc since her birthday was a week before mine. You get to play for free during the month of your birthday, so we both played for free. It was great! Even though it was her husband that won, it was still fun. The rest of the week has been spent working. It's nice being full-time, but I feel like I have no time for myself anymore. I guess I should just be happy I have a job. :)