Oklahoma

I liken Oklahoma to Canada: far up there and pretty darn cold!

As I drove (the speed limit) north I kept watch for the Red River to signal my enterance into the state, but somehow missed it!? How? I have no idea! I figured out I was in OK by the cop cars lining the highway ticketing speeders. Glad I was going to speed limit... although it's nothing for my mother's Cadalliac to go 80 mph.

I stopped somewhere north of the cacinos and south of Oklahoma City to grab a bite to eat. It was the first signs of civalized life (city rather than miles of rolling hills) and near a mall. I got side tracked trying to find Xmas presents, which was both fun and relaxing. Then (when fully awake after a jolt of coffee), I continued on to Peter's.

Stillwater was nice. I think I went through 4 traffic lights before I hit plains again, but they have a Super Walmart! Walmart was very exciting. I got guinea pig food, make up stuff, and bubble gum mouth wash. When Peter recovered from his shift, he took me for a tour of the town and the school. It was very odd to see "Aggies" in burnt orange. I can't say that if I went to OSU that I could wear burnt orange or support their football team. (Especially when the Aggies beat the hell outta OSU! Whoop!)

The vet school was very large animal oriented, which I consider a positive. That, and they had a CAMEL! Sooo cool. Actually, the camel was in for some problem, and was knocked out cold, strapped to a table, inserted into a CT machine. Very cool.

Everyone was super friendly and nice too! Several students gave me contact info so I could find a place there to keep my ponies close to the school. I consider that a major positive point, plus their rents were all quite cheap. I felt good about checking out OSU before I make a decision on my clinical placement in May. Hopefully my grades are good enough to get my top choice wherever I decide to go.

Loyality

I arrived at DFW greeted my my mom and my little Pomeranian, Starbuck. It took 20 minutes for that little dog to recognize me! So much for man's best friend.

My cats were much worse-- they had no idea who I was. Well, but they are cats. I think after 2 days Sage finally sorta remembered me. I say this because she came and hopped on my bed and let me pet her. When I made a loud noise, since she's a skitzo cat, her eyes got really big and she vanished in a flash of black fluff. Barney didn't care either way, he loves everyone. Morris would not let me touch him, and he was quite happy outdoors.

When I went to Terah's house, however, and whistled from her porch, my horses turned around to look. Then Zaldi and Natalie, my two spectacular Arabian horses, came running! They remembered me after two years! What amazing animals. They were so excited to see me! And they wanted to go riding and didn't buck at all! Now that's love!

Guess we now know what the moral of this story is-- don't be mean to horses, because they're like elephants and won't forget!

Grades?!

Packing, as expected, was a disaster. I somehow lost everything I needed to bring. All of my clothes were dirty. My grades were not posted. And my SIM card was MIA.

I'm not quite sure which was more important-- knowing my grades or finding my SIM card. Rest assured I was hysterically searching for my SIM card. I found it finally in my wallet wrapped in a small piece of cloth. I was near tears by that point.

Jossie left island the day before, so I had no internet, something we hadn't considered upon entering our little arrangement. I frantically asked a friend to check, which he did, about 30 times.

There's a policy here that says you can't get your grades (unless you fail out of school) unless you fill out a stupid end of year essay format survey about the classes you took (fresh while their torments are on the mind). The survey was not sent to me. If I had kept my big mouth shut, which knowing me is near impossible, I probably would have gotten my grades on time, but instead, I emailed them to inform them I did not receive the survey.

They responded by sending the survey Tuesday night, right before my Small Animal Medicine final. Super, I thought, knowing full well I'd never have time to complete this in the 2 days left of school... and I was NOT going to eat into my beach time by filling out stupid surveys.

Thus, Saturday came, and no grades. I didn't get a nasty dismissal letter informing me that I failed either though. Not knowing is quite concerning, especially when at the airport with 700 of your peers all congratulating each other on their successes into the next semester. I could have no such joys, but instead I'm sure I furrowed my brow when I replied to them "I do not know."

When I arrived in Dallas, I again checked my grades, this time for myself with my mother's wireless internet connection (which is fabulously fast). Still no grades, so I sent a few key people an email: My grades are not posted. I can only assume it is because of the survey mishap. I want my grades please.

This methodology ended successfully and I achieved my goal of a 3.0 or better GPA, thus I am able to be paid next semester for the research stuff I try to do! Yeah! :o)

December Exams

The upcoming week will be an exhausting one. I ask that you kindly leave me the heck alone. Don't expect me to answer the phone or respond to emails (although I usually check my email every 30 minutes when I study). Here is my schedule:

Monday, December 8 - Toxicology 8am-1pm
Tuesday, December 9 - Diagnostic Imaging 8am-1pm
Wednesday, December 10 - Small Animal Medicine 8am-1pm
Thursday, December 11 - Anesthesiology 8am-1pm

Friday December 12 - pack/sleep/beach

Saturday, December 13 - Flight 2280 SKB (3:45 PM) to MIA (6:05 PM) & Flight 1724 MIA (9:15 PM) to DFW (11:25 PM)

Internet Woes

My DSL modem has died. Sad sad... but is it good luck or bad luck?

The modem had been patchy since I moved into my apartment 16 months ago. The service would fade in and out, and I'd constantly be resetting it. I think it was old.

The oh so fun power outages that we've been having shouldn't have affected it since I was sure to plug it into a surge protector. My really awesome massage chair thingy died that way-- being plugged directly into the wall. That was really sad! It was a comfy chair, but I used it for my feet more than my back. I got 6 months out of it, and it was free, so I can't complain.

Anyway, the modem was plugged into a surge protector, so it wasn't that. Then the service provider guy seemed to think it was lightening through the phone line. I suppose that's possible, however improbable. I guess anything is possible here though.

I actually went in to town, modem in hand. A cruise ship was in town, so I had to drive around and around to find a parking spot. Then the streets were covered in ultra pale tourists migrating to the slums of downtown. Not smart. I ignored, after all, it was mid afternoon.

I walked into Cable & Wireless and though, just perhaps, I could just ask for a new one, or at least see if they could fix mine. For some reason, that was way too complicated. I was basically presented with three options:

1. Buy a new modem for $250EC ($93USD).
2. Make an appointment with the repair techs to come out and "re-program" my modem and check my phone line.
3. Cancel my service. (Keeping customers isn't a main priority here.)

Having never got one from Cable & Wireless when I started my service 16 months ago, I refused to buy a new modem, when I should have gotten one for free. (Everyone else got one for free.)

The guy convinced me to to have the DSL tech come out to the house. I told him about my upcoming exams (actually it was Tox), and he said he could have someone out tomorrow. "Super!" I thought. When would I be available? "After NOON, 12 NOON... not afternoon."

They called me at 9:45ish the next day to set up an appointment. I was in class. My phone rang. Embarrassing. I returned their call during my next break, and was told they would be at my house at 4pm. "Great!" I thought, impressed by the prompt service response.

Well, 4pm came and went. So did 5pm, and 6pm. The next day, they called me at 10:30ish to set up an appointment. I was, again, in class. I did tell them I had class until NOON, then would be available after 12 NOON. They said, "Great! We'll meet you at 11:30am." I paused for a second, thinking they be daft, and again explained that I'm in class until 12 NOON.

Somehow they still did not grasp this concept, but eventually I convinced them to meet me at 12 NOON rather than 11:30am. Then they said, "Great! We'll call you at 11:30am for directions." Wanting to shake them, I again explained that I would be in class, therefore I will be unable to answer my phone. Perhaps, while they had me on the line, and it was 11am, they should get the directions now. This again, had to be explained twice... and then I gave them directions.

At noon, I rushed to my car to beat the DSL tech to my house. At 5 minutes past, I was early. Noon thirty came and went. So did 1pm and 2pm. Eventually the DSL tech came, speeding down my street. Rudder and Salty came at him from either side. I think they've perfected the attacking locals guard dog part. I put them in the yard and showed the guy in.

He looked at my modem and said, "there should be 4 lights on." Duh. He plugged a new modem in, and all worked just fine, so he confirmed that my modem was indeed junk. Great. He also noted that I had a very old modem (several years), and that they stopped using that model because of this very problem, that i was lucky to get as long as I did out of it. I have to say that he was quite nice.

He offered to leave me a new modem, but he cautioned that I might be charged the $250EC. I declined and informed him that I would be canceling my services. Then he left.

Meanwhile, I've had my wireless adapter plugged into Jossie's cable internet modem. Would you believe it's actually faster than the DSL? I didn't realise, but it's also much cheaper. I was paying Cable & Wireless $125EC/mo, and she was paying The Cable company $100EC/mo. So from now on, I'll pay her $50EC/mo... $450EC total from now until I depart in August. That will save me $675EC ($250USD). So, I must ask again, was it good luck or bad luck!?

Thanksgiving

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I'll be in class, but a group of us are going to the buffet dinner at the Marriott! We fully intend on gorging ourselves on turkey and other good things. I haven't had turkey in so long. Drool.

I am thankful for:

• electricity


• clean water


• indoor plumbing


• the refrigerator


• candles


• matches


• mosquito coils


• DEET


• my garden


• my swimming pool


• the guinea pigs


• and that Rudder is here with me!

And to make things really special, hopefully A&M will beat the hell outta t.u. (It's always a good season when we beat t.u.)

PS: It's also nice that everyone gets along:

With cockle shells and silver bells

Well, I'm sick. Spent all of Saturday in bed. Have bad sniffles now. Can't breath. In bed with an 85 lb creature who really should be on the floor but somehow inched his way next to me. He's been doing this a lot. A bad habit. Oh well.

On Sunday, I noticed how nice my garden was. Then when I looked up old pictures of it, I realized how dramatic the change was. See for yourself...

Before:

(Note Ocean View)

Now:

(St Croix Yacht Club Flags & Ocean View)

(Really Awesome Swimming Pool) (The milk jugs are to keep the pigs from eating my seedlings.) (Twin Koi & Beta Pond with Water Lillies) (Tomato Plant loaded with almost ripe tomatoes.) (Infested with these sneaky sneaky little squeaky things:)

Texas Schedule

I've posted my tentative schedule while I'm in Texas for your viewing pleasure. (See the side bar to the left under 'Blog Archive' and Zaldi.)

All I can dream about is going riding, so rest assured, I intend to be glued (or frozen) to a horse the majority of the trip. Those in College Station I'll be pestering will include, but not limited to, Terah, Eric, Eric, Adam, Sodalaks (drool), and The Dixie Chicken. I don't know where JR and Reebs are going to be yet, but I need to pester them too. Also Brandon (and Amanda) in Hondo and Bobby in Seguin.

In Dallas, my list includes Abby, Malissa, Jacob, Justin (+/- Than), Eric, ... and my mind is drawing a blank.

I'm going to make a trip up to OSU in Stillwater, OK sometime in Dec to visit sad ole Peter in clinics and to save Jossie from her drama filled life.

Also hoping to trek down to Houston to see my favorite aunt and uncle.

Who else (other than family) am I forgetting? For those of you who have not contacted me, you'd better! Or I'll feel so unwoved!!!

By Candle Light

For a few solid days, we had power. I've decided that electricity is the single most important invention in the world, and far better than the wheel.

This week (probably because I had 2 exams) power has returned to its intermittent status. Since no one [in the civilized world] can really appreciate what it's like to not have power, I took a video (make sure your sound is on):



Then the power came back on!

And then it went off again. Sigh.



It could be worse though! Our water is now REALLY BAD. It's no longer clear, but instead has a watered down coffee colored appearance and smells like... Yes well, I didn't realize and used it for a whole pot of coffee one morning this week! Yum yum! I'm waiting for the Cholera symptoms to reveal themselves, leaving me prostrate on the floor in a disgusting mess (like my new favorite movie, The Painted Veil). I am not a hypochondriac; this could really happen here, it's a legitimate concern!

Grades and school are still my primary concern. So is being a vet still worth it? Yes.

...Or is that the crazy person in me talking?
There's no place like a tropical island paradise... Click heels...
There's no place like a tropical island paradise... Click heels...
There's no place like a tropical island paradise... Click heels...
Hmm, seems that didn't work, I'm still in St Kitts.

Actually, and this is really cute, someone at school made Ross Vet School "Survivor" T-shirts. I bought two. Hope I make it to the final round (7th/clinics). Forever the optimist!

I Voted!

What a hassle, but I got it done. Actually I voted back on October 17th, gave the ballot to Jossie (sealed of course) to mail when she landed in Miami or Oklahoma-- 50% of island mail usually gets lost.

Truth be told, I voted for Obama. I don't know if that was wise or not. I really liked McCain, BUT if something were to happen to him, I don't think we can afford to have that nut of a running mate in the White House. Palin wants Christian Creationism taught in the classroom (mix of church and state), to drill in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR) (ruining the environment, and attempting to take the Polar Bear and Beluga Whale off the endangered species list), and wants to overturn Roe vs Wade (I'm pro putting a hold on the world's ever expanding human population). Not to mention that she put a $150 bounty on Gray Alaskan Timber wolves. As if Canine Distemper and Parvo weren't enough for the poor things to deal with. She's a nut!

I was also unimpressed by all of McCain's eye rolls in the debates (all of which I watched). I loved one response McCain gave in response to Obama's comment about war with Pakistan, "You just don't say that!" With the war in Iraq, I sided with McCain, but he did want to cut spending for research (his example was $3mil spent for genetic testing of Yellowstone bears was a waste of money, and that is utterly wrong unless we want them to go extinct) . I can't really grasp either, McCain's nor Obama's, health care plans. But I guess the main reason I didn't vote McCain was because of Palin. I wish he'd picked a serious running mate, because I think he would have been a good president, especially with his military background.

I'm equally as unimpressed with Joe Biden however. Immoral is written all over him, like any standard politician. In law school he was caught plagiarizing 5 of 15 pages of a law review article. He received an F in the course, but was still able to pass the Delaware Bar. Later Biden plagiarized a speech by British Labour Party leader, Neil Kinnock. To me, that is shameful. I was disappointed by the VP debate too. I expected him to pummel Palin, but she had gone to debate boot camp! Of the 4 candidates, I think she's by far the best speaker and most honest person, but I just disagree with her views. Even though the press says otherwise, I think she won the VP debate.

So another 4 years with a new guy. I guess they unofficially announce it at 11pm-ish? Texas isn't a swing state, so my vote doesn't count (if it even counted anyway with how screwed up Brazos County voting is). I was almost not able to vote because they refused to mail me a ballot, saying I'd filled out the wrong paperwork (bs), even though they had my Ross Univ address as my mailing address. I spent hours on the phone sorting everything out, but eventually, they checked a file in a forgotten building and found the form that said mail me the damn ballot, I'm out of the country. It helped that I highlighted and circled it before I mailed it.

One thing is for sure, it was nice to look ever Tom, Dick, and Harry up on the internet before I sent it in. There were a few really sharp people, like a girl from Princeton who graduated Cum Laude, and some not so sharp, like the crooked Brazos County Sheriff. There was even someone from my high school. Anyway, what's done is done, and now it's time to watch and see who wins.

Saturday Night Live

I love these SNL skits! For once the Republicans are leaps and bounds funnier than the Democrat. I posted these in chronological order: Palin and Hillary, The Real Palin, and McCain. Enjoy!







OMG I NEED a Joe Biden doll! Talks for 45 minutes! I love it! (I'm crying I'm laughing so hard!) I had no idea that John McCain was so funny! He's really pretty good in this skit.

I don't think those tiny little blue states up in the north east should count as much as they do. I mean really, they're unimportant little bitty states filled with grumpies! Really now, do we need them? Really? We need postive happy states to vote! Yup yup!

Dengue Confirmed

With the rains and murky weather, we’ve had a mosquito population boom. On our street alone, in order, Sarah (2nd), Tim (5th), Adam (5th), Joan (2nd), Leslie (5th), Mary (5th), and now Beth (3rd) have fallen ill. Blood samples were sent to Trinidad, with the results taking 6-8 weeks.

Fortunately, it seems that the hemorrhagic strain isn’t afflicting anyone. Mainly fever, enteritis, headache, joint pain and flu like symptoms (which is so ambiguous).

Dengue Fever is caused by a positive sense single stranded RNA virus in the family Flaviviridae, genus Flavivirus. Flavi (plural), flavus (singular), comes from the Latin word for “yellow.” The most well know diseases caused by viruses in this family are Yellow Fever, Japanese Encephalitis, Hepatitis C, and West Nile. Mosquitoes of the genus Aedes, usually Aedes aegypti, transmit dengue. Aedes aegypti is distingusihed by its black and white striped legs and the white lyre shape on the hump of its thorax.

















These, and smaller brown mosquitos, have filled my apartment. BOP doesn’t phase them, and I’m covered in DEET (OFF), so I’ve started to burn mosquito coils almost constantly. Inhaling these chemicals is taking a toll on my nose and throat, but at least I’m not sick! (Yet.) Those that have gotten sick have been out of commission for 3 weeks, with one of them potentially repeating the semester due to a missed exam.

The good news is that it’s not Yellow Fever or Malaria! Yellow Fever is often fatal. Malaria, caused by a a protozoa called Plasmodium, and can be very restant to drugs. Both of these diseases are thought to be in the Caribbean.

Meanwhile, I’ve been looking at where to move for clinics. One very beautiful state has been having deadly outbreaks of a a Rickettsial dease called Potomac Horse Fever. Horses become ill by drinking water from rivers or streams that contain the bacteria, Neorickettsia risticii, within snails, flukes, and fly larvae. Goes to show that not even the USA is disease free, which is good because that means I’ll have a job when I graduate!

More exciting, the UK has had an outbreak of pulmonary anthrax from animal hides. Anthrax spores can live 75+ years and prefer alkaline soil. China has had another incident with melamine contaminating animal feed, but I don’t think it’s hit the news yet. A novel strain of Bluetongue has been found in the middle of Europe (Switzerland). A disease from warthogs is killing pigs in Russia. And the unknown Ebola-like disease causing healthy people to die in Zambia and South Africa has been diagnosed as “a unique Old World arenavirus” (ProMED mail). How fun.

Okay, now back to my laudry…

Trick or Treat?

Look what the cat dragged in (literally):






Several mice, two bats, and a dove. At this point, I’ve lost count with the number of mice he’s killed. At least one or two a week since I kicked him outside. Mango decided to dismantle one bat in my bathroom, leaving blood everywhere.

He darted past me with the dove, toward the bathroom, and I, erroneously thinking it was another bat, ran after him. The dove fluttered, slammed into my bathroom wall, he caught it and disappeared with it under my bed. I had to clobber him with the broom, and then bribe him with a can of cat food to remove the poor bird from his grip. Miraculously, the dove did not appear to be physically injured. I let it recuperate for a few hours then walked a few blocks to release it.

I don’t know what it is about orange cats, but I’m sure glad he only weighs 12 pounds. If he weighed 50 or more, he’d be a danger to people! My little Mango monster.

To get him back (not really), I brought him to school for our diagnostic imaging ultrasound lab. He was perfect, but part of that may have been because he was hiding from the probe under a towel. I think his left ventricle looks slightly enlarged in accordance with early stage Feline Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. I’m probably paranoid though, and since there’s no way to really fix it, I’m not going to worry just yet.

He’s such a good cat.

Mid Semester Break 5

With the hurricane, this week has been surreal. More days off than we've had in a long time.

I've made a point of making this a lazy weekend. On Friday took Jossie to the airport (she went to Oklahoma to see her bf). That evening my friends and I went to see Eagle Eye at the NEW movie theatre! There we happened across one of our professors (a scary thought) and his wife. The movie was entertaining, but not something I'd watch again.

Saturday was spent tanning in the comforts of my fabulous pool, which is much too cold from the 80F cold fronts and rain we've had all week. I was just glad to see the sun again. I also napped a bit (ahem, most of the day). At sunset I reemerged to attend a social gathering aimed at introducing a friend's fiance to everyone here. She's in 6th semester, and this is his first trip down to St Kitts. They're getting married in December.

It was quarter til Sunday when I went home. When I awoke Sunday morning I had lots of energy. The pesky little local kid from down the street came over to play with the dogs. We went up the road to a dirt pile so I could fill up my planting pots. I think each of the nine pots weighed 20 lbs when full, but I managed to get them safely positioned in my yard without incident. I begun placing various seeds strategically in circles with a maker made from a Qtip in the center. (I thought it important to mark the parsley and cilantro from the hemlock and henbane, just in case.)

My energy flagged at noon and I retreated to my room. I started searching for streaming movies online and watched The Painted Veil (my new favorite), then started looking for movies with Edward Norton in them. I had no idea he was in so many popular movies. He's a very good, diverse actor. So then I watched The Incredible Hulk (part one and two), then The Illusionist (part one and two), part of Babylon AD until it got boring, Quarantine until it got scary, and now I'm watching The Kingdom of Heaven. I love the internet.

Last night I also was motivated enough to go into lab and work on a new extraction protocol with thick oily sea turtle blood. Then right when I had everything set up, you guessed it, the power went out. For a long time. Sigh. I was stuck there for hours.

Today I am to pick up Jossie at 1:30pm. To me, it was a very short weekend for a $1000US. I sure hope he appreciates her (but he probably doesn't). I also intend on going over to check on a friend who hasn't been answering her phone. We've gotten a bit worried about her because her Rottie is dying of osteosarcoma (same thing Padeaux died from). Sad sad. I wish I didn't, but I know exactly how she feels. On the optimistic side, she usually forgets to turn her phone on, so she might not be answering because of that or a migraine. Who knows.

Destruction

Omar hit at 1:30am, hard. The wind was so strong that I couldn't open my door. I peaked out the window and my beloved tomato plant was almost flat against the concrete. The palm trees were bent over in the yard and I could hear the waves pound the 50ft cliff at my house. I wish it had been daylight so I could have seen the ocean. It rained non-stop.

When morning came, the sky was still darkened, but all was quiet. The waves were still huge. They must have been 15 ft at 8am. Neighbors came from up the street to look from my house, as my view is excellent. Then the rumors started.

Cell phones were down, the power was out, water was not to be trusted. School was, of course, still canceled. We heard that Sprat Net's (a lobster and bar) was gone. Boulders the size of my bedroom were washed up on shore to occlude the roads. Those I confirmed myself. Truly amazing that they could wash up so easily as sand. Water is a powerful force.

We also heard that the strip of bars on Timmothy Beach had been swallowed by the sea.It was bad, flooded and covered in 4ft of sand, but still there. The video below (if it works) is the beach.

I emerged at 4pm to assess the damage. The dogs came with, and were total pills. Very unlike them, but they had been cooped up in the house for days. When I drove west, toward Sprat Net's, I saw the cause of the power failure: all the powerline polls were snapped. Great, how long will this take to fix?

I turned around and started toward the capital, Basseterre. There, the sea met the road, and waves were still quite tall. A guy, about my height (5ft 7in/170cm), ran away on Bay Road when a wave struck.

When I was satisfied with my post hurricane island exploring, the dogs and I headed home. I crawled back into the warmth of bed, quite tired from the 2 hours of activity I'd had that day.

About an hour later, all of a sudden, and quite unexpectedly, the power came on! Someone must have been motivated to fix those down lines.

I called mom, who had left half a dozen emails, phone calls, and other messages. Then called dad, who informed me how bad St Croix was hit. They have a curfew from 6pm to 11am and many ships sunk in the Christiansted harbor and yaght club. So, I survived, and I suppose it could have been worse (like it was at dad's house!).

Hurricane Omar

When in doubt, it can always get worse. This morning school was canceled on account of Hurricane Omar, which is came out of the blue. It started as a tropical storm, they always do, and yesterday grew into a Category 1 Hurricane. Today it has progressed from a 1 to a 2 and is now a Cat 3! It's heading directly for St Croix and St Kitts too. Super.

Hurricanes almost never come from the west and head east, Omar's direction. The west side of the St Kitts is typically protected from storms with the volcano and mountains, if the storm comes from Africa. With Omar, I'm completely vulnerable! The last hurricane that did this, wiped out Port Zante in Basseterre (the capital of St Kitts). Figures.

To avoid more make up classes, we adamantly urged our prof to continue with the Anaesthesia lecture, even when the power went off, came back on, and then the computer system (for ppt) failed. School is canceled tomorrow to, unless "the sky is blue, the sun is shining, and the birds are out." We were urged to go to the grocery store to stock up on food/water, and to fill our cars up with gas. I have about half a tank. (I fill up ~1x/mo and with it being the 15th, that's about my standard usage.)

I found a wandering paniced 3rd semester student from Texas and invited her to go to the grocery store with me (she has no car). We went to Ram's and were shocked that there was absolutely NO parking. The roads were congested, the neighboring parking lots were full, and they had run out of shopping carts. Nevertheless, we braved the crowd.

It didn't take us long to grab the few items we needed (like toilet paper), but the check out lines wrapped around the isles. It took over an hour to check out. I had wanted to get gas, but as we left, we were so fatigued from the grocery store that we couldn't bare to wait in the literally 3 hour line to fill up a tank.

Living without electricity for so long, I think I'm pretty prepared. The power cam on early afternoon today, which was an odd, pleasant feeling. I was a bit shocked; I wasn't expecting it.

The cable has been intermittent, but that's about as exciting as my dad has gotten. It's been raining all day, but just started getting windy. Like, 30-40 mph windy now, to develop into 110 mph windy. I'm going to go back to sleep. If you want to monitor the storm or Caribbean weather in general, go to the Atlantic Loop on NOAA.


I really wonder how things can get worse (although I know they can), but seriously, don't you think that 5 exams, a car accident, dead car battery, a dead baby goat, no electricity, no clean drinking water, no cooking gas, a stomach illness from eating on campus, a centipede in my bed, and now a hurricane hitting me straight on is a little much for October?

Five people at school have been out with Dengue Fever. They all live on my street (we found were the mosquitoes were breeding). I bet that's next. Or my car breaks down or is carried off by the storm. Sigh. This is too much drama. Wow, the wind has really picked up now. Wish it were daylight and I could take picts.

Powerful Weekend

Power is still patchy. This has been a "surely it can't get any worse" weekend. I knew it was a bad omen when the thunderstorm (that follows me) appeared. I cut my hair (right -->) a little too short too. See my classic deer in headlights look? Maybe were in monsoon season or something, because it hasn't stopped raining since and weather reports expect it to continue for over a week. I'd prefer to think it's bad karma following me.

Thursday, I volunteered to raise and release a baby goat. It died hours after I brought it home. Devastating. So I took it to campus for necropsy Friday morning, and my prof assured me that there was probably nothing I could have done. Still devastated, so I cut out of my last class to bury myself under the safety of my covers at home.

At one point I got up to eat something, but the power was still off so I didn't want to open the fridge. The mainstay of my diet has become canned green beans, chili, and Chef Boyardee, heated over an open flame. I fumbled to light my gas stove, but it would not light. I tried again and again, and decided that it must be out, so I gave up. With no electricity or fuel to cook with, I crawled back under my covers. At least I had water (I've been drinking the masses of bottled water I kept in storage for just such an occasion).

Around 6pm my friends started to worry about me, I was a bit hysterical over the goat, and came over. The power was still off, so they made me get up and go out to another friend's "BBQ" for dinner. BBQ here means hot dogs, not real meat. I'm on a "diet" anyway. Must squeeze into the bride's maid's dress that I took measurements for 6+ months ago. I'm sure it'll fit, but it doesn't hurt to be too thin. Sufficed to say, I only picked at the mayo covered macaroni and weenies. By the end of the night I did feel a bit better.

When I awoke on Saturday the power was on. What a bizarre and amazing feeling. I rushed to the laundry room to commence washing my unmentionables. The lab at school was open, so I went to practice, was there for an hour, then ran back home to put a new load in the dryer. Right about the time I was ready to leave, it started to pour... again... so I waited. Eventually I decided to brave the rain, and arrive back at school sopping wet.

The power was still on when I returned home after lab. So odd. I finished my laundry, then tended to my garden, which happens to be full of almost ripe cherry tomatoes, and fed the dogs. Exam after exam after exam had left my apartment in a disarray, so I cleaned until it was nap time, and crawled back under my covers. Mid afternoon I hauled my gas tank to a Shell to exchange it for $30EC. When i returned home to plug it back in, I discovered a leak. Any where else I could have taken it back immediately, but not here, they were closed until Monday. I don't even remember what I did Saturday night. Must not have been very exciting, but at least I had power (and water). I microwaved something for dinner.

Sunday the power was still on. Really getting odd now. I went jogging to campus and back to work up an appetite. I thought, just to be safe, I should rush to make myself a snack. As I walked over to the microwave with my cold plate of chili and rice, the power went out. I was INCHES away from it. I picked at the cold rice, but the chili couldn't cover the taste. Ah well. At least I had power and things living in my freezer were solid once more.

Several hours later, the power came back on. This time I microwaved green beans and studied a bit. Jossie and I discussed the power situation [the having of power, that is]. We wondered what cursed week of no power we would be subjected to in exchange for the power we had now. dread filled us. An entire 24 hours with power, that's just not possible after 2 weeks without. We settled back into our respective apartments and I turned on the mind numbing cable tv. I had to get another new remote because the one I'd brought from the states and had been using, had died. New remotes are always difficult at first.

I retreated to my room and surfed the Internet, caught up with a few friends. As time for bed neared, I saw a centipede near me! This was a baby one, but the centipedes here get as long as a foot (a solid 10 inches) and their bites put you in the hospital. They are much feared by the local population of veterinary students, especially since tales of their aggression are not without warrant. So where did this dang bug go but into my sheets. I couldn't find it either, the sneaky thing. My bed was neat (since I'd just made it), and my pillows were off, but it was still evading me. If I couldn't find it, I decided, I'd have to sleep on the couch or worse, with Jossie!

After much searching, I grabbed the can of BOP (extra strong pyretherin bug killer) and begun spraying my room, and the sheets on my bed. In a flash of terror and anger, it came at me! I managed to slam a book on it before it got near me, but that didn't kill it. No, it moved the heavy text toward me. I clamped onto it with forceps and watched it's jaws snap at me, dripping venom. These things really are that bad. When I was sure it was mostly dead, I tossed it in my neighbor's bushes, and headed back to bed.

Maybe it was the excitement, but I couldn't sleep. I tossed and turned, got up to have a snack, then tossed and turned some more. Then it occurred to me just how cold I was, so I put long pants on, got my wool blanket to go over my comforter, and plugged in my heating pad. Finally I was cozy in the 80F cold front.

Waking up this morning was difficult but I managed it. It was still raining and dreary. Jossie and I made it to class with time to spare before our power was again cut for the week. I managed to get a different tank of cooking gas, one without a leak, and brought it home. On the trip home however, and this exemplified my lack of brilliance on days that end in a Y, I decided to test it while driving, so I turned the lever to open the valve. Gas came rushing out and filled my not so safe car, and I had to pull over to shut the darn thing off. Made it home in one piece, with the dogs' help. We're thinking of attempting some pork chops, but are undecided (remember, I'm still on a diet).

Spoke Much Too Soon

As if things can't get worse, some idiot backed into my car. Like, we were both driving down the road, they stopped, so I stopped, then she decided to back up [without looking], into me!

When she wanted to blame me, I got pretty pissed. That's me and my super short temper for ya! Rolling eyes. My poor ole car.

Anhydrous Campus

Seems I spoke too soon. Water is now gone, at least on campus, I haven't been home since 7am.

Really gross to have 30 toilets on campus not flushing with 700 students and 200+ staff. Giardia or some other tropical parasite has been giving everyone the runs, so everyone is in a bit of a panic. I'm waiting for the day when I look down and a worm looks back up at me.

Studying my tail off for Toxicology. Exam is at 7am tomorrow. Might not get much sleep tonight.

Power Struggle

One whole week without power. I'm surviving... barely... developed a new slogan-- Go Green! All you out there using electricity, you are evil and polluting the environment. You should rebel, cut your utility bill dramatically, rise to the challenge, go back to nature.

Yes well I do believe nature is taking over my dearly beloved freezer full of meat. I'm fighting tooth and nail though: had excellent baby back ribs last night for dinner with green beans heated over an open flame. (My stove still works.) Also attempted to study by my oil lamp last night. That lasted until my ribs were done, then I relocated back to my second home-- campus.

With the news reports stating "virtually destroyed," I considered investing in a generator, but it has been determined that shipping and running a generator is too expensive for the size I'd need, plus there's the island import tax (60% of retail value AND shipping). The thought of withdrawing for the semester and moving onto someone's couch [in the states] to wait for the power to come back on has seriously crossed my mind. That's probably cheaper than a generator anyway.

Today we were fortunate enough to receive a schedule which will be in effect until the back up island generators also explode. Did I mention the estimate for this to get fixed is December? Anywho, here's the schedule for light at the end of the tunnel (both literally and figuratively):

6am to 12pm

• Bayfords Feeder - St. Peters
• Frigate Bay Feeder - Bird Rock
• Cayon Feeder - Canada Estate to Grant egg farm via. Cayon S.E. Peninsular – Frigate Bay, S.E. Peninsular

12pm to 6pm

• Canada Feeder – Conaree, Half Moon Heights
• Basseterre North Feeder- Taylors, Shadwell, College Housing, Greenlands, Buckley’s, McKnight, Fortlands
• Sandy Point Feeder - Palmetto Point to Figtree via. Old Road Basseterre North Feeder –Lime kiln, Camps, Mattingly, WEST FARM, Boyd’s

6pm to 10pm

• Industrial Site Feeder – CAP Industrial Site

10pm to 6am

• Industrial Site Feeder – CAP Industrial Site

OH, rumor is these are the times we're NOT supposed to have power... meaning we will have 18hrs of electricity a day? I'm going to not hold my breath on that. At least we have running water, and the weather is perfect. So, it could be worse. I'm sure that will manifest itself in a new and exciting way somehow.

6pm came and went, yet I remained in darkness.

Powerless

Well, I have no electricity. There was a huge fire at the island's power station (which is basically a giant generator because it runs on diesel). They estimate it will take WEEKS to get the parts needed to fix it (and by then, the repair man will probably be on vacation).

"Please note that the main power generators at the St. Kitts Electricity Company has been damaged and as a result load sharing will take place island wide i.e. power will be available for limited periods of time during the day or night. We have contacted the Electricity Department but they were unable to provide any additional information; as soon as we receive a schedule of the load shedding we will share it with you. The length of time required to have the situation rectified is uncertain, but we will keep you updated as we get additional information

It would be advisable to unplug any items that can remain off when power returns as there can be surges that may damage sensitive equipment.

We are currently using our stand-by generator to provide power to the campus and the Campus Living Residences."

Then we got an email about a "loading bearing schedule." West Farm (where I live) isn't on the list. Fun times.

Rudder is at school helping me study for Small Animal Medicine. Guess he and Salty are going to get all the meat in my freezer when it melts... I've already brought food up to campus for safe keeping.

Also camping out, here at school, with my rice cooker, coffee maker, lounge chair, quilt, and other kitchen amenities. I've become popular because I have cooked food. BUT at least we have running water at home! That is, until the pumps go out. Give it time.

PS: The power went out on Oct 1st (4 days ago). I wonder if school will run out of fuel for their generator. Gas was $15.44EC/gal ($5.75US/gal) on my last fill up. I hear it's higher now.

Professional Dress

I received an email today from our class rep detailing what our proper attire should be. Apparently there have been a number of people streaking across campus, as this is the 3rd email we've received on "what not to wear." Here's how the email goes:

I have been asked to clarify and give examples of what inappropriate dress is... (Who needed appropriate dress clarified?! Didn't we learn this where we were 5?)

1.) Skin showing between your shirt and your pants. (Don't dress like Britney Spears, gotchya.)

2.) No "cracks" or thongs showing from the back of your pants. (But but butt two of the clinicians here are guilty of that?)

3.) No showing of boxers or underwear. (Whoever is walking around without pants sure keeps a low profile!?)

4.) No bras showing (We need to stop coming to class topless? Darn.)

5.) No wearing bathing suits under see through clothing. (LOL, we can swim after school on the campus beach. We are on an island. I wonder if we can just wear the see through clothing without the bathing suit? She was not specific about that, so it must be okay.)

6.) No wearing shorts that are so short that they look like you are wearing underwear. (Again, don't dress like Britney Spears, gotchya.)

So to wrap it up... we are supposed to be dressing professional. If you go in to an exam room with a client guys...are going to wear jeans that are falling off you showing your boxers and a shirt with holes in it? Ladies are going to wear no bra and a shirt that shows your midrift?

So... I take it we're liberal enough here to throw our bras to the wind, but everything else must be covered. Do they really have to tell us this?

The Funeral

I went to Gary's funeral today. Made Jossie come with me (since she is my best bud and fellow tenant)... actually we have 5 tests so I really had to twist her arm and drag her kicking and screaming in the rain.

It poured most of the day. The viewing started at 1:30pm, so we got there a bit after 2pm, assuming the services would start at 2:30 and last and hour. Big mistake. We were one of the first to arrive due to the rain (the island stops turning when it rains here). We sat patiently in the pew for an hour and a half as people trickled in, but we had great seats-- the 3rd pew. The family (Mom Brooks, Gary's mother) was thrilled to see me. Keep in mind that this is the 'pre-funeral services.'

We were there for about 30 minutes when the concert started. One person came up and introduced himself as Gary's cousin and middle school teacher. Then he passed the microphone off the a man with a goatee. I have never heard such a voice! We were TOO CLOSE to the speaker (remember 3rd pew). The building shook. I think he was in tune, but I really have no idea. Jossie and I looked at each other.

When this man finished belting out his song or two, he passed the microphone to a woman with equally strong lungs. Then as more people trickled in, a group, I assume family?, joined her on stage. It was like church karaoke without the teleprompter... or like the out takes of American Idol.

As the church filled and the microphone was handed to more newcomers, those seated were overcome with Tourette syndrome. We heard all sorts of vocalizations like "Hallelujah!, JEEEESUS!, Oh lord!, Oh JEEEESUS!, That's right!, Yes JEEESUS!, Oh God!" For a moment we thought someone one in the back was having some really great sex.

An hour and a half went by. Jossie looked at me. I looked at her and replied "I know I owe you big time." She said "No shit! But I have to get back to studying. Have you looked at the program? They haven't even started. There are 8 pages of this stuff. This will take hours. HOURS!"

I looked at the program, and indeed she was right. What had I gotten myself into? What had I gotten us into?! We have 5 exams in a row starting Wednesday. I decided to release her from the never ending funeral concert, "Do you want t take my car?" "No, you are going to need it to get to the cemetery, or if you need to escape, I'll take the bus." "Okay."

It was decided, she would leave and I would stay and represent [all of] the tenants of the house. She got up to leave, and EXACTLY at that moment when she was scurrying toward the door of escape, the cousin/teacher guy announced to all 200 people crammed in the building who we were. I suppose everyone was wondering who the two white chicks were, since everyone had been staring and pointing and not sitting near us. I absolutely love that I look so different here, but it's a smidge uncomfortable being asked if they can touch my hair.

Jossie waved and kept walking. I stood half way up, waved, and sunk back into my pew. I was on my own. The concert continued for another hour and a half with everyone saying and singing something, except for quiet little ole me. When the services finally did start, Gary's father, a preacher, led the prayers, more speakers, more songs, more reading of the Bible, more songs, and more prayers. Toward the end, the group that was having sex with Jesus in the back became far more vocal. One woman came to take Jossie's seat and almost went into a fit screaming to Jesus! Anyone who knows me can guess how bewildered I was. Now multiply that by 10 and you're getting close.

At sunset we drove Gary's body to the cemetery. There two men proceeded to dig a hole, put the coffee colored coffin in the ground, and bury it. A pair of dogs looked on with interest. The program had an insert of graveside hymns to be sung. Everyone huddled around the men digging, some standing on tombstones (not the flat kind), and sung as loud as possible. Then I apparently missed the memo that said we were to repeat the 4 lines of chorus until the grave was filled, but I caught on after the 5th repeat.

When it was done, I went up to Des, Gary's widow, and gave her another hug. I'd given her one earlier when she arrived in tears. Sad. She thanked me for coming and told me she'd be by tomorrow to meet the new tenants in the building. As we were talking, a VERY handsome black man walked up to us. He looked so familiar, since I'd gone through 3000 family pictures with Mom Brooks. I chimed "You look familiar, I've seen your wedding photos. What's you're name?" FYI to all other socially inept persons like me, never say that.

He puffed up "I'm not married! I'm single! Never been married! No kids! I'm an architect! Not married! Single!" I shuddered. So I said "But I thought I saw your wedding picture at Mom Brook's house on the left next to the sofa." "Oh that was probably my dad, we look alike. Are you a vet student? I'm single, here's my card, email me, I come to this island often." Oh and this was said loud enough so that everyone heard. I took the card, gave Des another hug, and retreated into the pitch black cemetery, hiding behind a gravestone, and making my way back to my car without completely breaking my ankle in the divets.

This funeral would have made Gary very happy. I cam almost see him hunched over giggling and saying "Are you serious! Wow man!" He was a great guy, and I'm glad I decided to stay for all 6+ hours of his funeral-concert. It was definitely an experience!

Room Schedules

So as it turns out, in the logic that is Ross, that a make-up lecture trumps a regularly scheduled class.

Our schedule is such:

So here goes, we left room 2 to go to room 3 for Tox. We had Friday, Sept 19th off for Kittitian Independence Day, so the 6th semester's profs decided to make up those classes (6 hours worth from what I hear). We piled outside room 3 as 7th semester filed into room 2 and prepared for class. Since 6th would not budge from room 3, our class rep (political liaison) was volunteered to out the rival class. She approached their prof and told him flatly to leave and 5th had jurisdiction over the room.

It is never good to piss off a prof. I don't think I've ever seen him snipy until today either. It was kinda funny because he does have the ego that most male profs here do. Well he decided it was his room gosh darn it, and we needed to amscray.

Our good natured (and frequently late) Tox prof relented and Tox was canceled. I suppose when the planets align and the stars are just right, the room scheduling will be in order. Until then, yikes!

And for some reason my esnips at the bottom isn't working (and lost 40 of my songs!) so whenever I have time (ha!) and energy (HA!) I'll get it working again.

Brown Widow Spiders

I'm infamous! (But we already knew that.)

Sunday August 17th over break I was cleaning my porch when I found a bunch of brown spiders with messy webs. I was brushing them away when one flipped over and there was a bright orange hour glass. I froze!

When you see an hour glass on a spider, you automatically think of one thing-- a Black Widow. But these were brown? I remember, as a kid, reading about Widow spiders and the variations between them. They can have red, orange, or white hour glasses, or triangles rather than an hourglass, or an hour glass or triangle and a spot, or no markings at all.

Then, taking a study break late at school, I was boasting about my find to a friend, who pointed to a spider web on the picnic table we were sitting at. I, to my friend's dismay, crawled under the bench with my trusty pen light to examine them. When I came back up for air I exclaimed in excitement, "more brown widows!" We decided to get off the bench before were were bitten and had to be care-flighted to San Juan.

I contacted a few Widow spider experts and naturalists specializing in the local flora and fauna of St Kitts. I learned that no one on St Kitts (ie the hospital, the head of medicine, the naturalists, and the locals) had any idea that these poisonous spiders were on St Kitts! I did run across a spider lady on Trinidad who came here in ealy 2007 for a survey of St Kitts spiders. She mentions finding the spiders in an article (Sewlal 2008) that came out this week, but didn't mention it to anyone here. (Why?!?)

A spider expert in Florida explained "But their reputation as venomous is overblown. Although brown widows are 2x more potent, drop for drop, than southern black widows, the black widows inject approximately 3x as much venom, therefore are more dangerous. And black widows are more aggressive and will defend their webs, unlike brown widows. They are in fact very timid spiders toward people, and rarely bite. And black widows are more aggressive and will defend their webs, unlike brown widows."

I was excited anyway. The media center guy on campus helped me take pictures of the brown widows on campus and load them on to Wikipedia. I didn't change any of the wording.

My landlord died.

I saw my landlord on Saturday when he was on his way to the airport to return to Anguilla (where he lives). He looked okay, but tired. Gary had throat cancer several years ago and constantly had 'the sniffles' and the worst snoring on the planet.

I gave him a hard time about his health and selling our apts since he's just had a rush to insure the house. He said he was fine, that he'd developed sleep apnea, and he'd already gone to the doctor. He also had a black eye and busted lip from where he fell out of a chair while he slept. I thought that was an unlikely store, but who am I to judge.

What he didn't tell me was that he was having severe pain all over his body, especially his left arm, and he was having black outs. He went to the hospital on Anguilla for a CT scan, and this is an excellent example of island medicine, but rather than interpret the CT on a patient with neurological issues, they sent him home! He died a little more than 24hrs later.

Apparently, when Des, his wife, woke up she started to make breakfast when she noticed he wasn't snoring like a freight train (really his snoring was that bad), so she shook him, but he wouldn't wake up. The ambulance came around 6:30am and then a doctor to pronounce him dead. Gary's mother, Mom Brooks, called me about 7:15am hysterical. I wasn't sure what the matter was, but I knew it was something with Gary being sick.

I sorted the out the details with housing and the neighbors today, then realized I must have been on the A List in terms of priority of who to call. I had no idea his mother even liked me! She really hates Rudder and Salty... then on Saturday when the guinea pigs ran out of my house and into the garden, I thought she was going to absolutely kill me.

I decided to drive out to Sandy Point (a village) to visit. I brought with me a loaf of banana nut bread and dug up a Tamarind tree with mint planted at its base in the pot. She lived in a modest block home, but poverty of the area was evident in the shacks across the street. She told me about when Gary was growing up, who was the last of eight, a man from the Peace Corps came and adopted one her sons, taking him back to the states. Talking with her was very interesting.

Back to the point, she told me that it would be about a week and a half to two week for the funeral because they were going to do an autopsy and then had to ship him back here. Des will be moving back to St Kitts permanently with her daughter Terese to be close to family. Gary was only 40 years old, and a good landlord, what a shame.

I have a telephone!

That's right folks, I've moved into the 20th Century... er, make that the 21st Century?

The brand is Magic Jack and it is basically a USB with a phone jack in it. It hooks up to my computer and then you just plug the phone in! How great!

Even better is the price! It was $40USD for the device and a year of service. If I keep it, it's $20USD/yr after that. Much cheaper than Vonage which is $25USD/mo.

It is a states number, a Dallas 214, so everyone could call and pester me, but the battery in the phone my mother brough me only lasts for 38min, so my class may be limited. Email me if you want my new number or send me your number.

My computer has to be on to accept calls, but the Magic Jack emails me digital voice messages, which I can check anywhere, even at school.

Trip to Texas booked

For the first time in what seems like years, I'll be coming back to Texas! It's all Eric's fault-- he's getting married and stuck me in his wedding as a bridesmaid or something.

So parentally funded, for 60,000 AA miles and $39.50, I got this reservation:

SAT 13DEC
Flight 2280 SKB (3:45 PM) to MIA (6:05 PM)
Flight 1724 MIA (9:15 PM) to DFW (11:25 PM)

FRI 02JAN
Flight 919 DFW (6:00 AM) to MIA (9:30 AM)
Flight 2299 MIA (10:50 AM) to SKB (2:50 PM)

So I have the following dates available:

Dec 13 (S) - SKB to DFW arrive at 11:25pm
Dec 14 (N) - Visit my favorite niece and nephew (Selina/Dallas)
Dec 15 (M) - Dentist appointment 9:45am (Dallas)
Dec 16 (T)
Dec 17 (W)
Dec 18 (R)
Dec 19 (F) - Wedding Rehearsal (Plano/Dallas)
Dec 20 (S) - Wedding Murder Mystery Party (Plano/Dallas)
Dec 21 (N) - Eric's Wedding!!! (Plano/Dallas)
Dec 22 (M) - My favorite niece and nephew are out of school!
Dec 23 (T)
Dec 24 (W)
Dec 25 (R)
Dec 26 (F)
Dec 27 (S)
Dec 28 (N)
Dec 29 (M)
Dec 30 (T)
Dec 31 (W)
Jan 1 (R)
Jan 2 (F) - DFW to SKB departing at 6am

Visiting the horses that I miss so much are floating around the list, but haven't made exact plans. I'd also like to get my eyes lazered (preferable the first Monday or Tuesday that I'm there). Need to get a tooth fixed at the dentist (which will probably be a cavity by December). Email me if you want to book a specific day, otherwise I'll meander about Texas.

For all you island internet stalkers, the dogs will still be guarding my house (with a house sitter) so it will be futile to try to break in. Besides, I wouldn't leave anything valuable there anyway (like my laptop, rice cooker, or car), and I'm broke, so there isn't any money, and all the jewlry that I have on island, I wear every day... and what else? oh you can steal the tv, it's not mine.

If anyone wants to house sit for me let me know! All you'd have to do is feed the dogs, which is easy and would save me $300USD.