Fun.

First, Happy Birthday to my Mom!!! Oh... and a shoutout to the sis who just had a birthday last weekend. Wish I could have been home for both.

This week has been great! Last weekend I went to one of the downtown "festivals." It was probably the biggest upset I've had so far regarding the social scene here in Modesto. I was imagining an Ithaca Applefest like event with lots of vendors with local food/baked goods, contests, wine tasting, dancing, and blocks and blocks of people enjoying the day. The Modesto Art and Wine fest was all of one large tent with 20 or so advertising wineries (charging $2 per tasting--as in, one sip of one wine) and about a block and a half of people's artwork. Bummer.

Sunday I made a discovery about my house. My awesome neighbor (who, as a family man, knows exactly when people come and go to my house) was helping me load my dining room table into the house. He came inside and commented on how he hadn't been in the house for a while, the last time being when a young gentleman named Adrian lived here. I said, "Oh, do you know why he moved out?" He continued to describe how the cop that used to live one house down busted Adrian for growing Marijuana in my house. Guess that would explain the halogen lightbulbs in the kitchen drawers and the odd guy that knocked on my door earlier that day!

Tuesday I went to a horse boarding place to check out lessons. It looks promising, and I would have a group of 3 ladies to ride with. All ride english and are at my level. Just have to figure out if it'll fit the budget.

Work has been slow. My palpating is getting quicker, I am gaining confidence, realizing my flaws and trying to improve on them. I'm still feeling quite not quite on top of my learning...and I'm awaiting the next paycheck so that I can buy some books. Not getting any surgeries :( or emergency calls... which is frustrating.

I'm entertaining the idea of this little guy--what do you think??

This weekend I am going to a weightlifting class with my friend Angela, a housewarming party in San Mateo, and a concert (which I am thrilled about) with my friend Helen in Stockton. Check out this band: http://www.myspace.com/fun. One more week until I have official visitors!

Finally Feeling More Like Home

Now that I finally have the chairs, couches and internet to be able to keep on top of blogging I can promise to keep up with my blogging! Over the past two weeks or so, Tucker has settled into the house. Today was a day of firsts for him: first day on no Xanax, first day without 3 thirty minute walks (I only took him on one!), and first day breaking in the new furniture (see below). I was just thinking about how quiet it was in the house so I went looking for him...

Guess it explains why all of the pillows were on the floor when I came home from lunch. I'm glad he thinks the new couches are comfortable. Now that Tucker's issues are under control the rabbit (Trogdor) is boycotting his litterbox and ruining my tile floor. In other house happenings, I have been looking to adopt a playmate for Tucker. For those having time to kill, I am looking for a local (zip 95355) adult dog (1yr), that has no pit in him (I'm already taking a risk with the landlord having tuck), that is obviously friendly with other pooches. Back in July I "fostered" my first surgery patient at River Oak (a black and tan coonhound that newly had one eye removed by me!). He was 8 weeks old. Tucker was patient with him, but totally confused by the ordeal, and I myself realized that I couldn't handle a puppy. He weighed 11 pounds at the time. Today a 20.7 pound one-eyed "Henry" visited the clinic. Next month I get to do the snip snip. I am just thrilled that I get to see him about once a month and his owner is making a fantastic dog out of him.

I have discovered two new weekend relaxation spots in the area. Last weekend a colleague and I met up with her young veterinarian friends at Pinecrest Lake. The lake is in the foothills of the Sierra Nevadas. We stayed at a cabin and had a blast. I got to meet some new people, finally learned how to play cribbage (which I bought about a month and a half ago but couldn't figure out how to play), and got my fix of campfires for the summer.

Yes. for real. This is what parts of california look like!

Another spot is the Woodward reservoir, where most of the area's drinking water comes from. We had our summer staff party here last night. One of the technician's families owns a powerboat, so we got to cruise the lake and had the opportunity to wakeboard, tube, surfboard (an upcoming power sport), etc. The lake itself was about the size of Culver lake. There are no houses on it, but there are campsites around the perimeter for those who wish to stay for longer than a day.

The job itself is great. I have very few complaints. I work with 7 other vets, which keeps things amusing. I mean, interesting. I get to be outside all morning with the cows, until it gets warm. Then when it breaks into the 100+s, I'm inside doing microbio lab stuff. After 2pm I am in the small animal clinic with the critters and I am usually home by 6. The only think that really stinks right now is the economy and it's effects on clients. We have lots of owners trying to skirt the costs of treating their animals and I personally have seen very sick dogs that have gone many days without veterinary care. Large farms are decreasing their herd checks (pregnancy exams) to once a month (large farms on the east coast do it once a week!)... not harmful for the cows, but not economically reasonable for the long-term benefits of the farm.

In other news, after 3 days of no airconditioning, the landlord finally sent someone to fix the unit. Below, you'll see a picture of the reading the day it broke. I came home to a house with all windows shut (because of tucker), and all blinds open (because of tucker). The reading was '02' because it simply was in the three digits. The digital display only had the capacity to display two...

No rain since I have been here. My lawn is dry enough to catch fire (as I was told by a landscaper looking for work yesterday). PS..I am not currently in an area experiencing active fires.

Tomorrow's the art and wine fest downtown, then some yardwork (raking leaves, picking up poop, buying sprinkler heads, adopting some abused cacti) and perhaps visiting some friends in San Fran. Mom and dad come in less than 2 weeks!

Also, please check back by the end of the weekend on my picasa page (http://picasaweb.google.com/amyrauf/20090712CrossCountry?feat=directlink) for my cross country pictures.