End of the year... or is it?

Well, block IIIa actually ended a few weeks ago, but I've been busy most of the time before and after that since such is the life of a vet student. Passed all my classes (woo), some by more than others (oh well), and now it's SUMMERTIME no matter what the weather says.

So after 9 months working at 120% mental capacity, what does a student do for three more months until Round 2? Well... work, because I'm still poor. I'm working as a student tech in the hospital, a lab assistant in the research tower, and doing some tour guiding on the side. Because that's apparently not enough to completely wear me out, I'm also bent on hiking as many of Ithaca's GORGEous trails as possible, starting up a 20x25' vegetable garden with a friend of mine, and I just started riding lessons today! :) (Maybe I am just a glutton for punishment... or it could be related to the fact that I don't have cable). All that has finally brought me up to a satisfactorily occupied point... which just goes to show you how intense vet school actually is, since it's taken 3 jobs, 3 major hobbies and Netflix to fill in the downtime. Oy.

Out of all that, I'm by far the MOST excited for riding lessons!!! I've always, ALWAYS wanted to ride but there was always either not enough money or not enough time (or both)... not that I'm exactly wealthy now, but I found a great stable that has very reasonable rates and an awesome instructor. Plus, if anyone asks, I get to write this one off as "professional development"- I'll look like significantly less of a moron in the large animal clinics if I can "speak horse" (anyone who's ever remotely interacted with the equestrian world knows what I mean). I definitely used some muscles that were shocked and offended to be utilized for the first time, and will definitely need some practice, but I LOOOVE everything about it and can't wait to go back for my next lesson!!! It's all about physical and mental balance, and working with the horse at a level that's difficult to get with most species... the kind of partnership that you need to ride well is the epitome of everything I love about working with animals. But, man, is it going to be work to get there... riding is serious exercise and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.

And it's mental exercise as well... just like the rest of my jobs and hobbies, probably a little more so than most of them. I guess by the time you reach this point in schooling, you really are just learning all the time, whether it's how to dose IV antibiotics in the hospital or how to post on an English saddle without falling off (for those without muscles, hard.) So... while it's technically summer "break"... it's more like 3 more months of mental conditioning to prepare for the marathon of second year. Just like athletes, I guess we can't completely check out and expect to hit the ground running in the fall. Hopefully the massive amount of "Scrubs" I've been watching won't interfere... :)