As I'm sure you can tell by the lack of blogs recently, it's beeen a busy few weeks! It's been a seemingly endless barrage of exams, drinks, and drama. I was given the oppertunity to attend an alumni event at Reggae Beach which was very nice. The food was good, and the new faces were refreshing. I've also been chipping away at getting a new position for the Bayer Corp. The powers that be are scheduling interviews via webcam/phone during December/January. I've already emailed about mine so we'll see how it goes.
Second semester is slowly coming to an end. As of today, we have this week, next week, and then finals the week after. This semester has been a steady rotation of waking up, feeling like crap, going to class, studying, meetings, and going to bed. Wash rinse repeat. It has become such a routine that the semester (though it felt like it dragged) truley flew by.
It blows my mind that I have been here coming up on a year. It seems like just a few days ago I got off that plane. In fact, when I come back from NY, I'll be flying in on the one year anniversary of my arrival in St Kitts.
What's most trippy about life here recently is the sudden and almost ever present Christmas theme. Since about Halloween the radio stations have begun playing all the regular rotations of holiday music! It's freakish to be in 85+ degree weather and be thinking about Christmas. This place truly is a bubble. If not for the music I probably wouldn't even know Christmas is coming.
That being said, my roomates and I are having a small thanksgiving here at the apt. I'm not sure when we'll have the time to cook, but I think it will be nice to spend some non-school time with the people that have become family.
Anyway, the countdown has begun and only 2.5 weeks till I'm back in NY. Get your party pants on because Rachel will be coming to town!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Autumn in the Caribbean is hot!
It's barely 7am, and I already feel bad about not taking this time to study... Second semester has crept into every aspect of my life, including my sleep! Such is life though for a vet student here at Ross (and I'm sure anywhere else also). I told someone recently that I spent so much time and energy getting in to vet school, I never really thought about it's potential difficulty. Thanks to my 3 exams in Anatomy II this week, and then Physio II to top it off, it's been duely noted. :)
Not that I mind, in all honesty, thats what I came down here to do. Besides, everyonce in a while I get to leave the compound and go out for a night! We had a Halloween party last week, and it was quite the show. Faries, Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were everywhere! There was a girl dressed as a transformer, and cupid tried to shoot me with an arrow. We even had an anatomy specimen walk in (with all of his limbs!) Good times were had by all!
In case you are wondering about hurricane Omar, we survived with little issue, though most of the caribbean side of the island was pounded pretty bad. Many of the beach bars down Timothy beach were literally buried in sand. The bar owners (with a little help from anxious students) dug out the establishments and almost all is well in the world again. There are some issues with the reefs surrounding St Kitts, but hopefully we can work something out to help the corals, fish and sea turtles that call this island home.
You can click these to make them bigger...
I was a Crue groupie and Amanda was a Lime (Soco wasn't available for the picture) ;)
Transformers...
Robots in disguise!!
I'm a sucker for a guy in diapers lol
At least George isn't dipped in Formalin!
Oh James..
Hurricane pictures to follow :)
Not that I mind, in all honesty, thats what I came down here to do. Besides, everyonce in a while I get to leave the compound and go out for a night! We had a Halloween party last week, and it was quite the show. Faries, Batman, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were everywhere! There was a girl dressed as a transformer, and cupid tried to shoot me with an arrow. We even had an anatomy specimen walk in (with all of his limbs!) Good times were had by all!
In case you are wondering about hurricane Omar, we survived with little issue, though most of the caribbean side of the island was pounded pretty bad. Many of the beach bars down Timothy beach were literally buried in sand. The bar owners (with a little help from anxious students) dug out the establishments and almost all is well in the world again. There are some issues with the reefs surrounding St Kitts, but hopefully we can work something out to help the corals, fish and sea turtles that call this island home.
You can click these to make them bigger...
I was a Crue groupie and Amanda was a Lime (Soco wasn't available for the picture) ;)
Transformers...
Robots in disguise!!
I'm a sucker for a guy in diapers lol
At least George isn't dipped in Formalin!
Oh James..
Hurricane pictures to follow :)
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Hurricane Omar
We were let out of school to take precaution against Omar. I've been sitting on my balcony waiting for it to roll in. I've never been through a hurricane (and it just got increased to a catetorgy 3) and St Kitts hasn't had one hit from the carribbean side in a number of years. Needless to say, it's nifty to have a front row seat from my home.
Update - How the begining of the hurricane looks - The horizon has started to vanish. Slowly the view of Nevis is dissappearing, and the penninsula is quickly following. This hurricane moving in from the Carribbean side obscures any view I once had. The wind picked up, but nothing too bad. I must admit though, I'm glad our palm trees were recently cleaned up and all the coconuts were removed. Those things are like rockets with the right wind.
For now, the power is on, so I am going to take advantage of it and get some studying done. Catch you on the other side of this storm.
Update - How the begining of the hurricane looks - The horizon has started to vanish. Slowly the view of Nevis is dissappearing, and the penninsula is quickly following. This hurricane moving in from the Carribbean side obscures any view I once had. The wind picked up, but nothing too bad. I must admit though, I'm glad our palm trees were recently cleaned up and all the coconuts were removed. Those things are like rockets with the right wind.
For now, the power is on, so I am going to take advantage of it and get some studying done. Catch you on the other side of this storm.
Sunday, October 5, 2008
The Blackout of 2008
Today is day 5 of varying power. There was a fire in the power plant that supplies the island... welcome to St Kitts... so power on the island has been out for most of the day, everyday. It's not too bad though, I've been lucky and my section of the country has been getting power during the evening hours.
Other then that, life has been a steady pace of exams, SAAVMA meetings, and visiting Hanleys the local mechanic. My poor car is falling apart slowly, but I'm still okay because she gets me from point A to point B.
(update 10/7/08 - I brought my car to hanleys and got my inspection up to date. Involved in this "inspection" was turning on and off my lights, pressing on my brakes to demonstrate break lights, and putting on my windsheild wipers. Needless to say, I passed. Not 20 minutes later, driving home, my breaks decide to just barely keep working. I couldnt stop laughing about how I PASSED my inspection 20 minutes prior to my brakes giving out. I brought my car this morning to get new brake pads and rotors... all while driving very slowly lol. But all is okay, I have survived and I'll have new brakes by tomorrow afternoon)
Well, back to the books before the power goes back out.
Other then that, life has been a steady pace of exams, SAAVMA meetings, and visiting Hanleys the local mechanic. My poor car is falling apart slowly, but I'm still okay because she gets me from point A to point B.
(update 10/7/08 - I brought my car to hanleys and got my inspection up to date. Involved in this "inspection" was turning on and off my lights, pressing on my brakes to demonstrate break lights, and putting on my windsheild wipers. Needless to say, I passed. Not 20 minutes later, driving home, my breaks decide to just barely keep working. I couldnt stop laughing about how I PASSED my inspection 20 minutes prior to my brakes giving out. I brought my car this morning to get new brake pads and rotors... all while driving very slowly lol. But all is okay, I have survived and I'll have new brakes by tomorrow afternoon)
Well, back to the books before the power goes back out.
Monday, September 22, 2008
Welcome to Hell Week
I'm officially all moved in to my apartment. It's been a long time coming and a relatively difficult road to try to navigate. The place was trashed when we first got here, but after almost a week of hardcore cleaning, and a few chilled out nights of dinner with the roomates, its worthy of being called home. we even just got a grill so we have begun bbqing dinner. It's a nice end to the day to just be able to chill out with good people, have some good grub, and maybe a stag or two.
As far as school goes, this semester is shaping up to be a difficult one, but it is much more interesting then last semester. Physio II and Parasitology have become (dare I say) enjoyable. Having the background of Delhi really helped, because at least I've seen this info before, and I can enjoy it.
As far as the difficult part goes, the days are pretty long. As second semester, we are responsible for walking the dogs on campus, twice a day. We have split the class up into groups, so we only have to do it for one week per group. This past week was my groups week. So the daily schedule was
520 get up
600 get out of the apt
620 get to school and walk the dogs til about 745
800 Class til 1500 or 1700 (depending on the day)
1600 or 1700 Walk dogs
As soon as that's over head off to the SAAVMA meeting/study a bit
It's a packed schedule, but at least it has gotten me up early for hell week which has officially started this morning. It's called hell week because we have 4 exams in 5 days and then one more the following Monday
Monday - Physio II 650am
Wednesday - Parasit 650am
Thursday - Anatomy Lab 8am
Friday - Anatomy Palpation 8am
Monday - Anatomy Lecture 4pm
It's okay though... It's just another step in paying my dues here at Ross.
Well, I guess I should stop procrastinating and clean my room before the wireless guy shows up (and maybe study)
:)
As far as school goes, this semester is shaping up to be a difficult one, but it is much more interesting then last semester. Physio II and Parasitology have become (dare I say) enjoyable. Having the background of Delhi really helped, because at least I've seen this info before, and I can enjoy it.
As far as the difficult part goes, the days are pretty long. As second semester, we are responsible for walking the dogs on campus, twice a day. We have split the class up into groups, so we only have to do it for one week per group. This past week was my groups week. So the daily schedule was
520 get up
600 get out of the apt
620 get to school and walk the dogs til about 745
800 Class til 1500 or 1700 (depending on the day)
1600 or 1700 Walk dogs
As soon as that's over head off to the SAAVMA meeting/study a bit
It's a packed schedule, but at least it has gotten me up early for hell week which has officially started this morning. It's called hell week because we have 4 exams in 5 days and then one more the following Monday
Monday - Physio II 650am
Wednesday - Parasit 650am
Thursday - Anatomy Lab 8am
Friday - Anatomy Palpation 8am
Monday - Anatomy Lecture 4pm
It's okay though... It's just another step in paying my dues here at Ross.
Well, I guess I should stop procrastinating and clean my room before the wireless guy shows up (and maybe study)
:)
Saturday, August 30, 2008
Gustav's got nothing on us!
After a long and bumpy flight the day yesterday, I wanted to have some beach time, and was texted by some friends to head down to timothy beach at 1pm to play some volleyball. I happily made my way down on the overcast, but still nice day. After about 20 minutes, the heavens opened and we had to cease volleyball. We all ran for cover at Ziggys and laughed for about an hour. The rain hadn't yet stopped when someone suggested we go swimming. At first I was hesistant. Hurricane Gustavo was pounding surroung countries and our match was ended due to the bad weather. After some coersion, about 10 of us headed for the water. The waves were big and the rain was beating on us, but we joked some more and rolled with the passing storm. Seeing all of these "professionals" accting like children and smiling as we hadnt done in months made my heart warm.
We all battled the water and swam back to shore successfully. More laughter ensued. After a bit longer, we all decided to give mother nature the finger, and went back to our volleyball game. Lucky for us, she finally relented and the sun came out. Good vibes and a playful nature ensued.
(Hey now, we all have our moments... and we are all swimmers and it wasn't THAT bad )
:)
We all battled the water and swam back to shore successfully. More laughter ensued. After a bit longer, we all decided to give mother nature the finger, and went back to our volleyball game. Lucky for us, she finally relented and the sun came out. Good vibes and a playful nature ensued.
(Hey now, we all have our moments... and we are all swimmers and it wasn't THAT bad )
:)
Saturday, August 9, 2008
The curse of the Ross-mobile
After a long day of studying today, I decided to get some chinese food for dinner. I havent really gone grocery shopping in a while because i know I'm leaving the island, and this apartment, and I dont feel like spending too much on food i'm going to have to throw away... anyway... so I drive over to Kings Palace and pick up the very yummy hot and sour soup. As I drive back to campus, I get within 2 miles and all of a sudden my car stops. Yes, it stops... completely. Midmotion, in drive, at 830pm, on a poorly lit road.
Somehow she's got just enough juice/momentum to roll onto the side of the (one lane) road. I put her in park (not that she was going anywhere because the engine seized, and the breaks locked) and did what anyone would do. I called Amanda. Now, Amanda for those that don't know, if one of my friends here. She knows nothing about cars at all. She is, however, a reassuring voice, and I know she's gotten stuck before so she would know what to do. She tells me to call Ross security and they should be able to help. It's a few minutes before they reach me, but it felt like forever. Hello, middle of a dark road, at night, alone, in a broken down car. This is how bad movies start. Locals all slow down to check out whats going on, and a few honk at me like I'm just sitting there for the fun of it.
Finally security comes and he tries to jump my battery. Um, dude, my car started and drove for a while... it's not the battery. Anywhoo we can't get it going so he decides to tow me to campus. He ties a small rope, yes a rope, to our respective cars to pull me back to campus. The swirling lights are drawing more local attention, but at least now I wasn't alone. We get moving and we go about 10 feet when the rope snaps (surprise surprise). Now, we arent going fast, but my breaks aren't exactly working so I narrowly miss crunching into his freshly cleaned security car. I smash on the brakes as hard as my feet can push and manage a stop as I turn the wheel and barely miss his car.
He pulls out a longer nylon looking tether and we try again, and proceed to fail miserably. Apparently it got caught under my tire as we were moving and burned straight through, leaving my car freely moving. At least this time I knew to pound the breaks. Finally he ties that nylon thing to another rope and we start on our merry way back to campus. We make it this time, but not before his siren/lights blind me and I almost steered us off the road. 2 miles is a long way when it's hilly, dark, and you are being towed!
Upon reaching campus, my battery goes out due to my lights being on the entire time, as well as the multiple start attempts. This is fine though because that's nothing but a simple jump and a little rest.
So, now I'm in my room, waiting for tomorrow morning, when a friend of mine's friend (6 degrees much?) can look at my car. Damn these ross-mobiles!!
At least after getting back to my dorm my friend made me a cup of hot chocolate after hearing my chinese food turmoil!
Somehow she's got just enough juice/momentum to roll onto the side of the (one lane) road. I put her in park (not that she was going anywhere because the engine seized, and the breaks locked) and did what anyone would do. I called Amanda. Now, Amanda for those that don't know, if one of my friends here. She knows nothing about cars at all. She is, however, a reassuring voice, and I know she's gotten stuck before so she would know what to do. She tells me to call Ross security and they should be able to help. It's a few minutes before they reach me, but it felt like forever. Hello, middle of a dark road, at night, alone, in a broken down car. This is how bad movies start. Locals all slow down to check out whats going on, and a few honk at me like I'm just sitting there for the fun of it.
Finally security comes and he tries to jump my battery. Um, dude, my car started and drove for a while... it's not the battery. Anywhoo we can't get it going so he decides to tow me to campus. He ties a small rope, yes a rope, to our respective cars to pull me back to campus. The swirling lights are drawing more local attention, but at least now I wasn't alone. We get moving and we go about 10 feet when the rope snaps (surprise surprise). Now, we arent going fast, but my breaks aren't exactly working so I narrowly miss crunching into his freshly cleaned security car. I smash on the brakes as hard as my feet can push and manage a stop as I turn the wheel and barely miss his car.
He pulls out a longer nylon looking tether and we try again, and proceed to fail miserably. Apparently it got caught under my tire as we were moving and burned straight through, leaving my car freely moving. At least this time I knew to pound the breaks. Finally he ties that nylon thing to another rope and we start on our merry way back to campus. We make it this time, but not before his siren/lights blind me and I almost steered us off the road. 2 miles is a long way when it's hilly, dark, and you are being towed!
Upon reaching campus, my battery goes out due to my lights being on the entire time, as well as the multiple start attempts. This is fine though because that's nothing but a simple jump and a little rest.
So, now I'm in my room, waiting for tomorrow morning, when a friend of mine's friend (6 degrees much?) can look at my car. Damn these ross-mobiles!!
At least after getting back to my dorm my friend made me a cup of hot chocolate after hearing my chinese food turmoil!
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