A quote from my odd biochem professor, who looks and sounds more like an appliance salesman than a biochemist. We were talking about de novo fatty acid synthesis, my favorite, I tell you what.
Now, I realize that weeks ago I promised more update on exciting things that have happened lately in my life, the stuff that makes me want to continue on this journey to becoming a veterinarian. However, in the interest of time and the fact that most of you that I know, I have already told many details about the stuff from the past month, I am going to do a few short comments on each major event to bring everyone up to speed.

1) Trip to Baraboo, Wisconsin to help out at the annual exams of the cranes at the Internation Crane Foundation:
It was a really awesome experience, despite the 35 degree F weather, 40mph winds and intermittant snow and sleet spitting. I recorded data on the exams done by one veterinarian for the first four hours out in the elements, but it was all worth it, because he let me stabilize a few crane wings and feet. Lunch was homemade chillis, delicious. The afternoon was spent getting a ridiculous amount of practice at taking PCV and SP measurements (packed cell volume and serum protein, respectively) from crane blood. The ride home was tedious, due to a couple of really ridiculous people (not in a good way or even a silly way, mostly in a mean and or ignorant way), but great due to making a new friend who understood something about me that few ever have: the fact the music is math to me, that is how I understand it at its most basic level and everything else comes after that. Now some of you may misunderstand that, as many others have in the past, to mean that music is a detached, flat, or incompassionate experience for me, but it isn't, quite the opposite. And anyone who has ever heard me really play or sing would, I believe, agree. And she is more liberal than almost everyone else I have met here and she is super interesting. Anyway, yes.

2) Avian Club wetlab on Raptor Basics, run by the MacBride Raptor Project (from Iowa City way):
This must be preceeded by a story from my mom regarding this event: My mom was telling a collegue that I (her daughter) had participated in a raptor wetlab and brought her back some information on raptors for the vertical files at her libraries. The collegue replies, "But I thought that your daughter was going to be a veterinarian, not a paleontologist??"
True story. That is raptors as in living dinosaurs, birds of prey, people, not raptors as in the extinct types of dinosaur that also at times go by the raptor title, maniraptors, velociraptors, etc.
Anyway, supercool, hands-on stuff on raptor restraint, tube-feeding, blood-draws, subcutaneous fluids, and many types of splints. They had probably 18 birds, mostly raptors (owls, hawks, falcons) and a couple of passerines (a cardinal and a nighthawk [not actually a hawk!]). They were dead and had been frozen but were mostly defrosted when we got to them. It was really a great experience. Those of you who are from the IC area, do not miss out on the MacBride Raptor Center while you are down there. I did, and I regret doing so.

3) Trip to the big IC on Halloween Weekend:
A fairly disappointing trip for many reasons, one of which is probably just that I expect too much when I go there. It is easy to be disappointed when one's expectations are just unrealistic.
But, there were some high points:
gave Ryan his scarf, soft, fuzzy, beautiful... and the scarf is nice too.
shared applecrisp and was able to attend Susie's ICPL going away party
seeing Mrs. and Mr. Kelly Bonebrake
seeing Michelle and studying at POD
seeing my little sister, Bee, row in one of her first regattas
running into klake randomly in the entryway of the ICPL

4) Geater Iowa Pet Expo last Saturday:
Meredith and I went to Des Moines for this event, it was even more worth it than I could have imagined. I must have only had fairly negtive dog experiences up til then, because I learned several things:
I do like dogs, though I will likely never own one.
not all dogs smell
many people keeps their dogs clean and well-groomed and they are much cuter and more fun when that is done
the long-haired dachshunds are cute and about the right size, as long as the owners don't let them get obese. I like these dogs.
I saw so many kinds of dogs and pet just as many, it was great. There were Irish Wolfhounds (the tallest breed of dog, think pony), lots og great danes, mastiffs, saint bernards, a mastiff saint bernard mix (head the size of a beach ball), tiny three pound yorkie, retired racing greyhounds, english bulldog puppy (so cute!), beagles, corgies, shelties (I also like these, think little collie), the list goes on and on. We spent about three hours or so there just walking around, petting dogs and talking to owners about them. So much reaching down, squatting, getting back up was done that I felt it is my quads and calfs the next day! It was a resoundingly positive experience. I wish there was another one this weekend.

Anatomy update:
Our dog is rotting. I use the term "dog" quite loosely, as she has no head or left front limb, her skin is held on in only a few key locations, her ribs and pelvis have all been broken and reflected open, internal organs have been pulled out to view them and their arteries, lymphatics, and nerves, and she is missing her heart and left ovary. This is my life now, people.

This ended up being much longer than I had planned. Jim, I hope that you are happy. Everyone else, well, I hope that there is an everyone else, because why else am I doing this, eh?