Vetty work experience

I have been at work experience at a lovely mixed vet practice this week which has been a nice break from shop work (especially the week before Christmas!). I think it has been my favourite vet placement so far, I have seen so much! 

The practice sees lots of exotics so I had the chance to meet a chameleon and some bearded dragons, and watch surgery on a snake. I have always thought that exotics is something I’d really like to specialise in if I ever get to be a vet, but I hadn’t had much experience in that area before this week. Now I know for definite that it’s an area I find really interesting.

I didn’t manage to see as much equine as I was hoping (it was kind of the reason I wanted to go to a mixed practice!), just a few visits for vaccinations. I’m sad I can’t spend a bit more time there but they’re closing early for Christmas so I have only done the four days this week. If I get into vet school I’d love to go back there for EMS. 

Now it’s back to normal work for a couple of days and then CHRISTMAS, which means a day of overeating and sleeping lots. I’m going to my Nan’s house for Christmas day and she makes reeeally good mince pies. Yummeh!

Hope everyone has a great Christmas and New Year. I will try not to leave it weeks before updating again. 

Lucy

No news yet!

Sorry I haven’t updated in a while! Most of my time recently has been spent at work where nothing terribly exciting happens so I haven’t had much to talk about. 

I have been to Tiggywinkles a few times since I last posted and I should be getting some of the kit to start proper rescues on Monday. I am pretty confident handling foxes now. They behave sort of cat-like so I can predict what they are going to do a lot of the time. Deer however are still a challenge! They are very unpredictable and I have lots of bruises to prove it, lol. 

I haven’t anything from any of the vet schools in a while. I’m taking no news as good news because I think some rejections have been handed out already. The graduate interviews are usually held a bit later than undergrad interviews anyway as far as I know. I had the BMAT results back a couple of weeks ago and I didn’t do too badly. I got quite high on the science section which I was glad about. Having done a science degree already it would have been quite embarrassing if I had done badly there! No one seems to know quite how the vet schools use BMAT scores in the application process so I’ll just have to wait and see if it’s good enough!

I have a few knitting projects on the go but I can’t write too much about them yet because they are Christmas presents ;) Not all the recipients read this blog but I will keep quiet just in case!

I have some work experience at a mixed practice coming up in a couple of weeks so I will try to write something about that soon.

Bye for now!

Lucy

Vet School Post

I received a post card this morning from Nottingham vet school. Unfortunately it was nothing too exciting like an OFFER, it was just acknowledging that they’d received my questionnaire. It did however have a giraffe on it which is perfect because I love giraffes! I look a little bit like one you see.

Anyway, now that the BMAT is over (thankfully) and all questionnaires/application forms etc have been sent off, this is the beginning of me waiting every day for the post to arrive to see if I have anything from the vet schools. The anticipation is killing me just a bit.

Work is going pretty well, I got promoted already! That means I get a little bit more money and a little bit more power, muahaha. I only get one real day off a week now because of work and college. That happens to be today, and it happens to have been ruined by one of my bunnies getting ill this morning. She isn’t eating, I think maybe the fireworks last night stressed her out. So I spent most of the morning at the vets and the bunnies are still there :( They should come home tomorrow if Ruby is eating by then.

Poor Woobles

I had been debating doing NaNoWriMo this year, but it looks like I might be too busy with work and college. I think my writing days are over, I don’t really get ideas any more. If I do end up writing anything then maybe I will post it here... But probably not. 

Happy Bonfire Night by the way!

Lucy

Progress!

Since I last wrote, I have sent off my university application and managed to find a job, yay! 

I am working in the gift shop Past Times which sells some cool stuff (or I think so anyway). It has gone pretty well so far, but I don’t get paid until the end of November which is a pain :(

 

College is going ok, and it has been half term this week which is weird because it feels like we only just started! What is the point of half term, really? It has given me more time to work in the shop and earn monies anyway which is good.

I have done a few more training sessions at St Tiggywinkles and moved on to larger animals now. The foxes and badgers are fine (although the ones I have been practising on so far have been pretty flat) but I was having trouble with the deer. I have decided that the bigger deer are too heavy for me to lift on my own (about 30kg, and kicking) so I will just pin them to the floor and get someone else to help me lift them :D 

I went to see Contagion the other day which I thought looked pretty good. I went with my mum (cause I’m cool like that) cause plague/disease-y type films are our favourite. I quite liked it and it seemed really realistic compared to something like The Stand where everyone except a few particularly interesting characters die off. One thing that annoyed me though was the overuse of technical jargon one minute and the patronising explanation of simple concepts the next. People who work in disease research are not going to explain lock and key mechanisms to their equally knowledgeable colleagues! Anyway, I think it was worth seeing but maybe not at the cinema (although we went on a cheap night so that was ok :) ). 

I am annoyed at the lack of horror movies in cinemas now we are so close to Halloween. They are my favourite part of the holiday! Except maybe the sweets. 

I know I said in my last entry that I’d try to have something interesting to write about this time but that has failed :( Have a picture of a kitty instead.

(I’ll try again next time)

Lucy

A few things...

Been up to a few things since I wrote the last entry! I started at college where I’m retaking A level chemistry. I was a bit worried I was going to be the oldest in a class of 16/17 year olds but there are a few people doing the same as me so that’s good! It’s not as awful as I remember chemistry being so hopefully I can get a better grade this time.

I’m still looking for a job, which is a pain. The office temp job I mentioned last time lasted a week. I very nearly died of boredom. I’m definitely not made for office work.

The deadline for vet med UCAS applications is coming up fast so I’ve been busy with that. I think I may actually have finished my personal statement finally. It’s not perfect but I don’t think it’s too bad so hopefully it can get me at least an interview. I’ve also been revising for the BMAT exam which I need to take at the beginning of November. It’s so difficult! I just hope I do ok in the actual exam.

Other than that, I had my first training session at Tiggywinkle’s a couple of weeks ago. Had another little look around the shelter and got to stroke a fox called Casper. He’s really tame and behaves just like a dog. It was very strange! He is lovely, but not very white any more.

So far I’ve only had training in handling small mammals and birds. The birds were a bit of a challenge, they flap all over the place! Next time I’ll have training in catching large mammals like foxes, badgers and deer. The badgers sound quite scary; apparently they can bite and charge at you. Not as cuddly as they look!

Ooh, I made a purchase today. I tried to resist buying anything but failed miserably. I spotted a copy of the illustrated version of the Life of Pi for £3. £3!! So I bought it. The story is amazing and the pictures in the illustrated version are lovely. Apparently there’s a film coming out next year but I think I may avoid it. I don’t think it will come across that well on film. However, Jean-Pierre Jeunet was on board to direct a few years ago and I think maybe I would have given his version a watch.

That’s about it. Next time I will try to have something more exciting to write about. Maybe some pictures would make this more interesting... hmmm.

Bye for now!

Lucy

St Tiggywinkles Ambulance Driver

I had an interview the other day to be an 'ambulance driver' for St Tiggywinkles the wildlife hospital. It involved driving out to collect injured animals to take them to the hospital. I'll be getting training in handling all sorts of animals which sounds really exciting. They gave me a massive list of equipment I'll need to fit into my car as well. Deer crates and gauntlets and nets and all sorts.
I also had a quick tour of the hospital which was really interesting. I'd love to work somewhere like that but I imagine jobs are pretty scarce! I saw a badger coming round from surgery which I was pretty excited about. I've never seen a badger in real life before! I also had a look in the nursery where there are lots and lots of baby hedgehogs at the moment. There was also a species I hadn't encountered before called a Glis glis which is a type of dormouse. They were very cute!
I didn't realise before how busy the hospital was. Apparently in summer they can get over 1000 cases per day :| My work as an ambulance driver will be pretty sporadic because they will only call me out for cases in my area, but it should still be really interesting.

Other than that, I finished my kennel work experience last week and then on Thursday I started at a temporary office job. I'm covering for a PA and I pretty much have no idea what I'm doing. I mostly just have to answer the phone and emails and make calls. It's very very boring. Makes me work harder at all my animal-y stuff so I don't get stuck in an office job forever.

On the vet front, I finished a draft of my personal statement today. It's over the character limit so I'll have to cut it down but I don't know which bits to cut and which to leave! It also seems really really cliche... I just hope I can get it so it will do the job. Only a month and a half till the deadline now!

That's all for now,

Lucy

Long time no type

Again, it’s been a long time since my last update! Sorry about that.

I don’t think I updated about my stable work experience! I was there for a week and it was slightly disappointing, but at least I have some horse experience now. I spent most of my time forking straw and poo onto the muckheap. Fun! I also groomed a few horses, learned how to tack up and muck out. It was very very tiring although I did get used to it by the end of the week. I think I probably built up some muscles too! :D

Yesterday I started at a smallholding with free-range chickens, turkey, sheep, pigs, ducks and geese. There aren’t that many animals so not an awful lot to do but I learned a lot about the diseases affecting the animals there. One of my favourites was blackhead disease in turkeys . It’s caused by a protozoan (single-celled) parasite called Histomonas meleagridis which is transmitted by a nematode (multi-cellular, worm-like parasite) called Heterakis gallinarum. The parasitology geek in me found this super interesting. The disease affects the liver and caecum and turns the head of a turkey a blue-ish colour. The only drug against the parasite was withdrawn a few years ago so it mostly has to be managed by practising good hygiene.

I also met a hen and her foster babies – two ducklings she had been given to hatch. They were just a couple of days old and only just starting to eat food. They were soooo cute! They love their mum too, she hasn’t worked out they’re not chickens yet!

Got to ear-tag some lambs as well. They have two blood vessels running through their ears so you have to make sure the tag is in between those. It was quite a challenge because lamb ears are small and they don’t appreciate being pinned down and prodded so they were pretty wriggly. Luckily I did it ok and there was no blood explosion!

Ooh, I also have an interview to be a volunteer rescuer/ambulance driver for a wildlife rescue! It sounds really exciting so I hope I get it. I will have to do a few training days in rescuing wildlife which should be fun, and a chance to learn about wild animals which I’m not super knowledgeable about.

In other news, I started knitting a sky scarf! The idea is to knit two rows of the scarf each day using the weather to decide what colours to use. I have a feeling mine is going to have lots and lots of grey in it given the wonderful weather in the UK.

I’ll try not to leave my updates so long this time!

Bye for now!

Lucy

Holiday, graduation, work experience

It’s been a long time since I last updated. I’m sorry! I’ve been quite busy.

The week before last I was on holiday with my family. We went on a cruise around the Mediterranean which was an experience. Cruising is not my favourite way to travel. I liked the places we stopped at, but we didn’t spend long enough in each place. I like time to explore! Also, being on the cruise ship reminded me of the space ship in Wall-E. Lots of people lounging around and eating and buying souvenirs and eating some more and So cruising is not for me but at least I have tried it!

The ship left from Venice (which I unfortunately didn’t get to see much of) and stopped in in Dubrovnik, Athens, Izmir and Split before going all the way back to Venice. My favourite place was probably Turkey. We went on a trip to Pergamon which was really interesting. I also liked the Acropolis museum in Athens. It’s built over an excavation site and the floor is glass so you can look down into it which was quite cool.

(The theatre at Pergamon)

Then last week I had a little temporary job in Next for the sale. It was pretty soul destroying. I spent most of the time picking clothes up off the floor. For the sale I was put on childrens wear. I’m not a huge fan of children, especially when they scream. There was a lot of screaming going on during the day of the sale and it was sooo busy. I have decided I much prefer shovelling animal poo for free to a paid job in retail.

Ooh, and also on Friday I had my graduation! It was quite nice, but the ceremony bit was rather boring. Also the robes and hat were a pain to wear. My hat kept slipping down!

Today I started a work experience placement at a stables. I’ll write a more detailed account of it at the end of the week. For now I will just say that I’m very sore. I can hardly move my arms, lol. I think I need to build up some muscle!

Bye for now!

Lucy

PS. Congratulations to Kirsty who graduated today! :D

Latest knit!

I finished this yesterday. I haven't finished weaving all the ends in yet and I haven't blocked it so it looks a bit lumpy still. I think it came out ok though! Especially since I had to alter the pattern quite a lot because it was only in extra small. I would have preferred it a bit longer but no way am I starting again now, lol.

(Pattern)

I bought the yarn on a whim cause it was on sale in Hobbycraft. It is Sirdar Balmoral which is 73% wool, 25% alpaca and 3% silk. Don't ask me where that extra percent came from, lol. It wasn't as soft as I expected but still nice to knit with. I think it's probably being discontinued which is why it was on sale.

That's all for now!

Lucy

Costa Rica part II!

I got my degree result back yesterday and... I got a 2.1! Yay! That means I can definitely apply for vet med which is a relief :D
Jo had her toof out yesterday and it went fine. She was a bit wobbly still when she got home but she started eating straight away which is good. She’s now sitting on my lap purring very loudly so I think I am forgiven for leaving her at the vets!
As promised, I’ll finish the tale of my trip to Panama/Costa Rica! Not sure whether anyone is interested but I like talking about it, so :p

We left San San at 4am so we could rush to the Panama/Costa Rica border to get the first bus to Heredia, which is a little town just outside the capital of Costa Rica (San Jose).
This is the super scary bridge to get from one country to the other. You can’t really see from the photo but in some places the gaps between the slats are about a foot wide. Definitely had to watch your step!

The bus ride was the most terrifying 7 hours of my life. I seriously thought we were all going to die. The driver didn’t seem to think that driving through mountains with no barrier at the side of the road was a good enough reason to drop below 70mph.

We did eventually make it to Heredia where we met up with a whole load of other people who had been on different volunteer projects to do the Costa Rica tour with. Our first stop was Samara beach which was another 7 hour coach trip away. We had a much better driver. I think his name may have been Ronald? He was our driver for the rest of the trip anyway and he was amazing J

At Samara beach I tried surfing for the first time. I can’t surf. That is all that will be said on the matter. I am not happy about it, lol. We also kayaked to a little island off shore and ate pineapple. I don’t think I have mentioned this before but pineapple eaten in Costa Rica tastes better than any other pineapple anywhere else in the world. I think it’s because it’s so fresh. But aaaahh, I want some now...

After Samara we moved on to Rincon de la Vieja, a national park in the centre of the country. We stayed on a ranch which was lovely. I could definitely live there! There were some lovely Aussie sheep dogs and their puppies. The puppies were sooo cute. I wanted to steal one!

At the ranch we went on a horse-y hack. My horse didn’t like me very much. He nearly ran me into a tree on several occasions! We rode to a little pool with a waterfall, which everyone decided to jump off of. It was a lot of fun but I got water up my nose L After that we went tubing which is the most fun everrrr! You sit in a little rubber ring and float down the rapids. I got stuck on the rocks a few times and had to wait for someone to come rescue me, lol.

In the afternoon we went on a hike through the national park. The NP is over a volcano, and in some places these “cauldrons” had formed in the ground where the mud was really hot and bubbling. It was very cool. Didn’t see an awful lot of wildlife because there was a big group of us and we probably scared most animals off. We did see a few agoutis and some pretty birds. I can’t remember what species the birds were though.

To end our stay in Rincon de la Vieja we went to a mud spa. We sat in the sauna for a while and then went and got covered in MUD. Which was fun. Not entirely sure what the mud was supposed to do though...

Our next stop was Volcan Arenal, another national park with another volcano. The Arenal volcano is active pretty much all the time. Unfortunately I didn’t get to see it erupting because it was very cloudy while we were there L

In Volcan Arenal we went zip-lining and abseiling. The zip-lining was quite fun, but I got stuck a few times! I had too much air resistance cause I am too big, I think! I have been abseiling before but this time it was quite scary. It was down a waterfall and there were lots of jagged rocks at the bottom. I made it though and then had to climb back up the waterfall via a ladder. It was a long way up and I nearly died a second time! While I was waiting for one of the zip-lines I saw a coati just ambling along. It was very cute!

We then drove to Tortugero, which was back on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica. It reminded me a lot of San San which I liked! We stayed in some little lodges in the forest which were looovely. We woke up to lots of jungle sounds! There was loads of wildlife around too. The white-faced capuchin monkeys were so used to humans. They would sneak right up and steal food out of the bins. I managed to get some quite good pictures, although I don’t know how because my camera was so messed up by the humidity that I couldn’t actually see anything on the screen.

There were also lots of howler monkeys around which make a racket! I also saw lots of toucans, poison dart frogs, freshwater turtles, a caiman and a vine snake. We went on a tour down the river in a boat one day and saw a whole family of spider monkeys crossing the river. There must have been at least 10, and some of them were carrying tiny babies with them! Apparently spider monkeys don’t have thumbs. Isn’t that strange?

After Tortugero we went on our white water rafting trip! We were split into “aggressive” groups and “gentle” groups, lol. Unfortunately I had done something to my neck so I decided it was probably better if I went with the gentle group. It may have been a good idea because we still managed to lose people out the raft! White water rafting was a lot of fun. I would love to do it again.

Oooh, and we jumped into the rapids off a rock. That was fun! I remembered to hold my nose this time :D

The trip was split over three days. We rafted to a lodge in the morning of the first day, then the next day we explored around the lodge. We walked up the river bed to a natural water slide which was cool! It was so slippery climbing up to it though.

The day after that we rafted back to civilization and our final stop, the Gandoca-Manzanillo reserve. In Gandoca we met up with Andrey and Erick who were our leaders on the volunteer project which was good! I managed to leave my phone in the taxi back to the hotel though which was very sad L That phone had served me well and I thought it was pretty unfair to lose it in the last couple of days of the trip! We also did some more hiking and found a super cool cave. :D

After that we returned to Heredia to say goodbye to everyone :( Sad times.

I’m sorry this has been so long! I tried to keep everything short but I got a little carried away, lol.

Bye for now!

Lucy