Has it already been a month of classes?

Week 5 started today with a bang. I spent the morning on VACS (Veterinary ambulatory community service), a big RV that works with local shelters to do cheap/free spays, neuters and vaccinations. Got to do a pre-surgical physical exam on a GSD, and got attacked by a satan cat who latched itself deeply into the skin on my hand. I know a lot of people don't like working with cats for precisely that reason - a scared one will figure out how to use all four limbs and its teeth against you. I don't mind - as long as you avoid their teeth, and keep them away from your face, scratches really don't hurt that bad, and who can resist a kitty, no matter how scared it is, and no matter how many pointy things it directs at you?

Of course, this attitude is probably why I adopted the Baby Chicken, my black kitten that was raised by one of my favorite co-workers back in Colorado. She's got an evil streak. When my co-worker was trying to find a home for her when she was 8 weeks old, people would come and look at her, she would claw them, and then they'd quickly change their minds. I felt bad for her, so I took her home. Tyler spent the first few months absolutely terrified of her. I found myself defending her. "She's just a little bitey. But she's sweet. Well, of course she clawed you, you tried to pet her on your terms. Don't move your toes when you're under the blanket, 'cause she'll attack. But she's just trying to play. She's just a kitten!" She's just over a year old now, and something strange has been happening to her over the past month or two. My evil little kitten of doom has been transforming into the most demanding, pushy cuddler. All of a sudden, instead of attacking your feet while you're on the couch, she'll jump on your lap, and headbutt you with maximum force until you pet her. At night, she will barely wait for you to get under the covers before she's lying on your chest purring up a storm. I told Tyler she was a sweet cat. She just had to wait a year until it was obvious to anybody but me.


Speaking of things that I think are adorable, but can easily hurt you, our case this week is an Iguana! Squee! I don't know why I'm so excited about it, but I'm a sucker for exotics.

And since there isn't enough complaining in this post, after anatomy today, we had a lecture called "Stress Management." It involved new-age hippies that rang bells and made us meditate. A classmate calculated that school costs us $200/hr in tuition. Which means that I just spent $400 on a terrible meditation class. You know what reduces my stress? Not making me waste 2 hours that I could have used on more productive things like sleeping or studying. I would rather have had another cat latched to my hand than sit through it.