To whomever reads this blog... I guess there are a couple of you :) I'm moving over to vetschooldiary.com to continue my diary and hopefully reach more people interested in vet school and what it's like. My first couple entries will probably be from my articles on this site, but I'll try to add in new information as the year progresses. My only offi
I'd venture that your pre-vet classes are more difficult than community college courses. They may be harder than post-bac classes at a private school, but I know first-hand that pre-vet/pre-med classes as an undergrad at a very good private school are HARD. No offense. I got more than my fair share of Cs, that's for sure! So definitely, my undergrad pre-reqs for vet school were WAY h
Not that writng is a waste of time, but I'm sure there are better things I could be doing on my Saturday night. Like sleeping. Or studying. But heck, I thought I'd give a bit more info about my first full week, since I'm awake enough to write coherently. My roommate and I just spent the last 5 hours running errands, shopping, and at dinner. We meant it to
After some struggle, I'm finally back online! This new radio wave internet thingy is great... when it actually works. Hopefully I'll stay online from now on because I need the internet for e-mail (and my classes!). Speaking of which, the first week went pretty well. Anatomy gets easier the more time you spend in the lab, although it's still a lot of materi
If you couldn't tell, I was exhausted when I wrote my last entry. Nothing's changed since then, but I've finshed orientation (and the first day of classes). Orientation wasn't too bad. The 2nd year students were there to make sure things went smoothly... apparently their transiton in to vet school wasn't so great, so they wanted to improve the system. We g
Well, it's the end of day 1 of orientation. It started with everyone milling around in the grass, slowly lining up in alphabetical order. 101 out of the 102 students showed up and got in line by 1pm, to my surprise. We all sat down and listened to some opening remarks by the dean of the college, and then they called us up one by one to receive our blue coats... kin
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I don't know whether you can visit the Wildlife Clinic... if you have your rabies vaccination you might be able to. Maybe if you are donating a large sum of money they will be flexible. Their operating budget is somewhere around $80k and the school only gives them $20k. Thanks for the support... It's nice to kn
The internet suddenly went out on me when I tried to post my last entry... and it just came back up, after another visit from the internet guy. Thankfully, wireless is working beautifully! I still don't have cable, but I'll be okay with the internet. Without cable AND the internet though, I was going out of my mind. Read 2 books and tried to print out some picture
I'm sitting on my bed, my tablet PC precariously propped up on my pillow so the ethernet cord can reach, my coffee cup off to the side. I'm praying it doesn't fall on my bed, or worse, my PC. But I love - almost need - my morning coffee, so doing without isn't an option. It's been almost 3 full days since I've been by myself, 5 days since I've been in my ne
Wow, I can't believe it's been a month since I last posted. What have I been doing lately? I did take a trip to Vegas (incredibly fun, lost a little money gambling but I got a little tanner). I've also been hanging out with some friends before I leave town. And I tried to finish up my project at work, but it just wasn't going to happen. So now I'm officially done
I'd like to meet a person for whom moving is not crazy, tiring, and in general... a mess. I hate moving. I hate packing things in boxes and trying to label the box so I can find the stuff I need. I hate trying to scrape adhesive off the wall. I hate sorting through the stuff that I threw in a random shopping bag and put in my closet to sort through later. I hate
The website for Kim's blog is http://kmlabak.blogspot.com/ -- happy reading
Every couple of years, I'm faced with the same cycle. I date a guy, we're happy, we spend 1-2 years together in blissful coupledom, and then he or I move away because of school, jobs, or whatever. There are a couple weekend trips to see one another and a lot of long phone conversations. Then, inevitably, we break up. The cycle begins again anywhere from 2-4 months
I went to a Dave Matthews Band concert the other evening - he's kicked off his summer tour and this is the first of three DMB concerts I'll be attending this summer. It's been an annual thing of mine since 1996, so while I'm not a crazy fan, I consider myself a true fan of the band. Now, I'm not old. At least, I don't think I am, I'm still (barely) in the e
Well, our Class of 2008 now has a place to chat. It's nice to be able to talk to people that will be going through the same things... do you buy the fancy tablet PC? Which textbooks will we really need? Who's moving across the country? And most importantly... what apartment buildings allow pets? This is the predominant question on the message board. Where should
I have a condo! My dad and I went down to check out the town and took a whirlwind tour of all the available condos within a 10-15 minute drive of the vet school. Because we were only down there for a day, we pretty much disregarded any "old" construction (older than a few years). No time for inspections and the like. There was a lot of new construction out west, s
I know my nervousness is laughable, but I had to contact the school to make sure they received my postcard and that I am indeed a part of the class of 2008. The replies were very cordial: one I received from whomever answers the "contact us" link on the website, and the other was from the assistant dean. She very nicely explained that once the current class is gradu
That is an interesting idea, but one that I doubt I will pursue. You could always talk to the vet school at UW-Madison and ask them for students that would be interested in such a career. If you have the money, a good route would be starting a scholarship for vet students interested in working with alpacas. Vet students are always looking for ways to fund their education, and I doubt too many students are aware of that career option.
So I'm starting to mellow out a little. I'm less anxious to start school, especially now that the weather is nice. I figure I should enjoy my study-free evenings... that is one HUGE benefit to working versus being in school. I've found some condos on the internet that look nice, so I'll go visit next weekend or the weekend afterward to check them out. Unfortunatel
I've always been active in volunteer organizations, especially ones benefitting animals. Click to help animal shelters: Link
Now, I know I should be enjoying myself since work is light and spring is here. And I am enjoying myself, in an angst-ridden, nervous kind of way. I keep looking up places to live, textbooks to buy, and student organizations to join, and reading the insightful blog of a soon-to-be second year vet student. Notes on the latter: according to her, there are two
The postcard that says "Yes, please please please hold a spot for me" has been sent in. Everything is pretty much as set as it can get. And only now am I hearing, "If you didn't go, your dad would be so happy." Huh? "Well, he thinks you could make more money as an engineer." What if I don't want to be an engineer? What if I wouldn't be happy? "You
I include this segment because it's exactly what I wanted to know when I was applying and interviewing. I hope it helps someone out. I only applied to 3 schools, because the school I want to and am going to is in-state (i.e. cheaper tuition). I didn't get in the other 2 schools. 1 rejected me outright and 1 rejected me after the secondary application. P
These are my last 4 months of freedom before I enter vet school. I've spent so much time worrying and wondering if I would get in to vet school that I haven't really considered what comes after I am officially going. I'd like to keep track of my progress through vet school - for those who wonder what it's like, for those who wonder if it's for them,