I Hate Cliffhangers Or, What Happens Next

Well Dear Readers I know that I said I would not post again this year, but I have some good news I have unofficially passed term 1 (finely) thanks to Gods grace.
And that's it really I just wanted to let you know that you will be hearing more from me. Oh and if you ever felt like "man i really like this stupid blog, but i really wish there was a way that i could show the world just how much i like it", then  you can stop yelling about it and just check out my redbubble account (I have had this account for about a year and it has all the crazy little designs I make as stress relief, Please don't think I am trying to sale you stuff, but i am a bit, sorry) . also I will include some samples here let me what you think or don't its up to you. TTFN And Marry Christmas
https://www.redbubble.com/people/underdogracing?ref=account-nav-dropdown&asc=u

Finaly Finals, Or Three More Weeks

Hello Dear readers, Finals start next Monday so this will be my last post this year, and for this post I figured I would talk about you the reader.

You see with out you no one would ever read this and while that probable would not be sad per say, (given my writing skill), It would make me a lot less motivated to write this fun little blog post.
For me this blog is mostly therapeutic, I really do enjoy writing about whatever is currently going on around here, and I am glad that you like to read it.
It's also grown somehow see that most of my post from last term averaged 50 views and now it's closer to 150 (which might not seem like much but I think it's cool). So you won't here from me till next term which as of today might as well be in two months, and assuming I do well on my finals (I am nerves but not as bad as midterms) I am really trying heard to make sure I can pass all my classes and finally move on to term two. Going along with that thought I would like to talk about my decel term in broad strokes for just a minute, this term has been weird a year has gone by and I have been standing still watching everyone moving around me, I can not even talk to them since I have to hold my breath while I wait to see if I get to move forward again or if i will fall back into a thick fog never to be seen again.
It's been a stressful year for me but hopefully, my Dear Readers though the grace of god, and hard work I will be able to talk to you again next term. Thanks for reading TTFN.

     

Second Thanksgiving Or Final Quiz

Hello Dear Readers, It's US Thanksgiving week which means next to nothing when your on an Island but a lot of parties and stuff, also today was my last quiz of the term which is nice but also not so nice since that means there are only two weeks till finals start.

But this week let me tell you about shopping here since I do that about once a week, If you don't have a car then there are two easily accessible options IGA which is in the Spice Island Mail, and food fair which can be found in Grand Anse Shopping Center. The two have mostly the some things IGA is easier to get to and from since the buses run at least every 30mins, Food Fair buses only run every hour, the biggest difference is that Food Fair has more local stuff, IGA has more "name brands" and stays of "stocked" most of the time. 
 In a totally unrelated twist, The last Improv show of the year (not sure if I have talked about the fact that I am part of the SGU Improv Comedy Club) in lieu of Auto Racing which used to be my main destress tactic, I have found Improv to be a good way to relax, and I figured I would mention just how much the club has helped me this term, I just really like having a group of friends that love to make each other laugh. TTFN

Sleepless in Grenada Or, Writing about Nothing

Well dear Readers, it's going to be a short one since I woke up and thought crap I have to write a post after my quiz. The way I normally write these is during the week if something happens, or a cool event is going on, etc... I make a note of it so I can remember it on Monday but sometimes Nothing interesting happens, and if I don't remember before Monday I do not look up some interesting Island/vet school fact to write about, then this happens and I tend to ramble on about nothing. Anyway I am going to take a nap now TTFN

 

Earthquake! Or Valcano!

Hey there Dear Readers, We had an earthquake yesterday, it was a 5.7 but it was far enough away that it was barley a thing, but it did lead me to finding out that off the coast of the other side of the island there is in fact an Active Volcano that last erupted in April of this year.
Okay so staying on the natural train I have to say that some (SOME) days last week where ineradicable it wasn't hummed, it might have been cold if the sun was not out (could in that anything below 80F outside feels cold now). However it is back to being super hot and hummed here so all is right with the world.
Let's just jump back into Kick Em' Jenny which is the name of the under water volcano off the east coast of Grenada and the Northwest coast of a smaller Grenadian island known as Diamond Rock, the reason no one knew that Kick Em' Jenny was erupting in April is that it is 180m below the surface of the water.

Since we are learning lets straighten out what might now be going though your head, yes the earthquake and volcano are totally unrelated to each other. Islands in the Caribbean are actually fairly active when it comes to seismic activity which is something that I Learn yesterday. The more you know TTFN

P.S. if you want to learn more this is a great resource. http://uwiseismic.com/

     

     

Thanksgiving? Or, Halloween?

Well Dear readers it's been a Strange week with Grenadian Thanksgiving on Wednesday and Halloween tomorrow, which meant that all of us students did all are Halloween stuff Saturday and Sunday, so bring on the Christmas music. Because for most of us students go home in December, but hey can't think about that now since we are about 4-5 weeks out from finals, and that means that quizzes pick back up, assignments are going to be do soon. Which is why there was so much going on this last weekend, I had things going on everyday from Friday to Sunday, Island school life my not be a super chill relaxing why to go though vet school but we do actually try to have fun when we think we can get away with it which is to say very rarely unless it is something quick like watching some youtube, or playing a video game for A (1) hour. It's these little things that keep us sane and motivated, then you have these crazy weekends where you almost forget you are in school (almost), true it is probable slightly detrimental to our study's, health, and sleep, but hey they did tell us that we would be maladjusted to the real world when we started, we all know how boring that research must have been so for all of us here we try to keep everything at status quo.
Till next week Happy Halloween, and Late/Early Thanksgiving, TTFN

Island House Hunter Or, Time after Time

Hello Dear Readers, This last week was a slow one thank God, and this upcoming week we get Wednesday off for Thanksgiving? (I know it's a bit weird that it's before Halloween but I am sure that all the stores in the US already have Christmas stuff out). Last week was also strange because I did pass all my midterms, so I was remembering last term, and also how this time last year I was still in undergrad (Let's Go Peay), it's just crazy to think about that not that long ago I was still just trying to pass the ACT's and now I am Here! Which just blows my mind (I have to do the math every time I have to tell people how old I am... 24).

So changing Gears, me and my roommates are getting an apartment, and it's very nice. Now finding a apartment on the Island is a bit different since most of the landlords live off island, so it's a lot of back and forth emails which can get really irritating when things change on you and you have to email the realtor, so they can email the landlord so we can figure out how much money we need to get together. but at least the property manager is super cool, to be far this place is very nice and from what we where told it's had a string of bad renters so I can kind of understand why the landlord is being weird.

Sorry Readers I just read back though this post and it feels more disjointed then usual so let me clarify I am actually not stressed out about vet school for the first time since starting vet school, it is not that it's some how easier now it's just that I am passing classes, and I final feel like hey I do belong here, I can do this whole Vet school thing.
This weeks lesson is that everything looks so much more beautiful when you are actually looking. TTFN

Living on a Prayer Or Is Grenada the most saportive island? Or Litting them Down

So I still have two midterm test results to get (but I honestly don't have a good feeling about them) so I wanted to get this one out before I ether fail-out (I write only half lite heartily), or pass/get a high enough score that they don't kick my out right away and I have to study even harder. I am so incredibly thankful of all the support that everyone has given to me, all the prayers, and well wishes for school, I won't lie and say that all the support doesn't endlessly stress me out with a totally unreal fear of disappointing all of you. I know it's crazy but I am very confident in my insanity at this point in my life, regardless to my sanity or lack their of I know for a fact that I don't deserve Friends and Family as awesome as all of you, Thank you for having my back.
Related to this is the fact that leading up to midterms and during midterms the Locals of Grenada have been super great Bev who is the house keeping for our room has told me that she is parying for us every time I see her which most weeks is twice, multiple complete strangers have come up and told me that they pray for us students everyday, which is very powerful.
Now let's not get all doom and glum here Heck I made it further towards my goals then I thought I would when I got in to vet school so all this is icing on the cake, (and if I didn't screw up these last two midterms to bad I will keep pushing).
so just to rap this up, you are all great, Grenada is great, and vet school is a long never ending nightmare that I wouldn't trade all the dept that I now have for a moment of it.



I would Rather try to catch my Dreams, Chasing them across the earth, oceans, and sky above. Till I can no longer run, and Fail.
Then live life safely, and Never even Try to Run.  TTFN

InterNot Or Laundie

Dear readers, this week I wanted to quickly point to some of the struggles of this last week and then I can get back to studying,
1. do to hurricane maria the internet was out for a day here, why you ask well that's because all the internet for the campus is provided by a fiber optic cable running from New York to here! which put it directly in the path of maria (please do not take this as me saying are lack of internet was worse then the damages that happened on other islands) it does however speak to the magnitude of maria that it effected a cable resting on the bottom of the ocean.
2. The school turned off all the washers and dryers on campus on Friday and did not turn them back on till Monday, which explains why I was up till 1am doing laundry last night and not writing this blog post (which is late again).
 So there you have it dear readers island life is not always great and midterms are in two weeks so we will see how that goes, TTFN

 

Break Study Or Absent Time

Hello Dear Readers, let me start by saying that I am sorry that this post is a day late, I got very motivated to study yesterday and you need to strike when the irons hot.
So lets talk studying, for the most part it sucks (which is probably why I did so little before vet school), now that annotation is actually wrong I did lots of studying before vet school just not school related studying. Now if you haven't come to realize that you study a lot more then you think then this might be a shock, but if you've ever read a Wikipedia page you where studying (not the most reliable source), I have spent hours on end scouring the internet looking at very specific car parts.
However when you change that from non work to work all of a sudden studying is the worst thing ever, Why and for the purpose of this blog it is more of why do not like to study the thing that you want to do for the rest of your life, (ouch that question hurts a bit) now I could go on to talk about how not every subject apples to what specific part of vet work I want to do, however that's just a lazy answer as if you take the time to connect the dots every class in vet school can be related to any area of interest. Now not every class will be fun but at the lest having a positive attitude will help you study, take for example the Billion point study game that I started with one of my friends yesterday, the object is to ask a question of the other player for now that question can be in histo, anatomy, or physio, so say I  was asked a histo question then if I answered that question I would get +1 point however if I expand my answer to included anatomy then I get +2 points and if I add physio to my answer I get another +3 points, so the max points achievable is 6 the goal is to get 1 Billion points.

To rap up this post I want to talk just for a sec about time on a island, you see you all probably think that island time means taking things slow, which is really not true sure things don't open really early or stay open really late (except bars), but the True and real meaning of island time I believe has to do with the sessions, you see the temperature does not fluctuate here the sessions are dry (spring to summer) and wet (fall to winter) the problem is that I honestly lose track of what month it is all the time, if I where to walk outside it would feel like August even though we are nearing the end of September, I might lose my mind over this come Halloween but that's the subject of a different post thanks for reading till next time TTFN.

           

Storm quizing Or Cheese cake, On a Island

Hello Dear Readers, let me start by thanking everyone for the prayers, we have been very fortunate, and God has been keeping us safe.
So on to the blog stuff the first quiz was today and I will take an 85, (for real this time last term i was already having a mental break down) I feel really good currently even though there is a bit of a storm hanging around but it is the rainy session so it's to be expected, next week is the anatomy quiz so will see how things are going after that.
in other news I made cheese cake on a island which doesn't sound all that impressive, (which it is not) but it was a very interesting, in that I feel like I appreciate how much work real bakers do. ( it did turn out really well)
Ok so lets just jump cut to this (transitions are for punks[not really i am just writing this in a hour between class and des])
My roommates  and I are still running Gupta's Home Style Cooking and Fusion, a family meal every Friday night for anyone that is willing to bring at least one item for the meals production, I think it is actually helping those that come de stress which makes me happy, also a Island vet school sitcom would be amazing.
Ok well this was a random week but I will try to be more put together in future post, till then TTFN

     

Irma Be, Or Rock you like a Hurricane!

Welcome Back dear readers to the first real installment of Vet school blog life, since last term. last week does not count since it was so short, so lets jump right in and start with the thing that is on everyone's minds. Hurricane's they are big slow ocean tornadoes that can level a city by storm surge alone, city's inland and bigger then most Caribbean islands. So understand that even though Irma is forecast to miss Grenada by probably 100 miles give or take that we are still all watching it and expecting to get hit by winds, rain, and surge. However we will all be fine and at most minor flooding and property damage on the fair (east) side of the island. I will be praying for everyone who is in the direct path of this very powerfully storm, but this does bring up a very good point of Caribbean Vet school which ever parent ask (Is It Safe?) short answer Maybe, long answer YES/and NO. You see it is a hard question to answer as it is really just as safe as every where else, it's more of a question of what is going to cause you harm, here its hurricane's, rabies infected animals, disease riddled mosquito's, and the parental of the mountain exploding because it is after all a volcano. On the other hand there is no snow and most days stay around the high 80's with a breeze, now if i compare this to the time i spent at UTK which has a vet school, then i can say that i feel just as safe here as there.
So there you have Readers nothing is safe and volcano's are everywhere, till next week try and stay safe out there in this crazy world, TTFN

   

I'm Back! or The never ending...

Hello Dear Readers,
I am back on island and I Actually feel pretty good about this term, I know it's not a full term and that i have already taken the classes, but it's good to get my study habitats down. The point is that i spent the summer trying to relax, unwind, De stress, which has really given me a good jumping off mind set for class and study.
well this week I am keeping it short and sweet so i will talk to you next week, TTFN.

 

God is Great, Or how I figured out vet school at the last possible moment!

Well Dear readers I did it I passed all my classes,
I really don't have much to talk about, I finally figured out my studding and I might have gone a little crazy as I honestly forgot how to go to sleep daring finals week. But I think that next term I won't go that insane! 
Besides that this blog will be going dark till August so I will see you all then thanks for going on this stress full trip, and till next time stay calm, have fun, and study hard.
TTFN

The End is Apon us, Or Life, the story is still at the begining.

Well dear readers finals start tomorrow and if I don't get at least a B on my physio final I am going to fail the class (not the way anyone wants to start their vet school career) I really don't know how this would effect my standing with the school since I am already deceling this term, but I believe that if with 5 full days of studying for this one test I should be able to pass. If I don't then life will go on I will figure out some other totally awesome life goals out (not that I am planning for failure, In fact I am writing this Sunday night after my study time).
I have a couple hints for anyone who is thinking about vet school but first a real quick programing note: there will not be a post next Monday do to finals, my last post for this term will be on the 15 of May ( if any other news happens there will be quick update). Okay back to the Fun tips for vet school!
1. Don't go to vet school straight out of undergrad or masters program (if you are like me you will decide that this is a once in a life time opportunity and you will go regardless, Be Warned, You are already Burned out and you need a break even just a summer is better then nothing, I know because I have only just recently got things clicking again.)
2. God
3. Going to Vet school out of country is not as bad as you might think, getting student loans is the same as going to school in the states. and going to school in the Caribbean gives you the ability to fly home for the summer (which is nice) even if the flights are kinda crap.
4. Friends are life, and if you don't want to go crazy
5. Friends outside of vet school are also life (for real support systems)
6. Use every available resource even if you don't think you need it
7. Have some fun
8. Never get down on yourself that's when you start giving up
9. sleep!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
10. Follow your dreams, ( I honestly never thought that I would get in to vet school and now I am here and even if I fail I will not regret a thing well maybe the 32 grand in loans but hey you win some you lose some life keeps moving on).
TTFN Dear readers till the 15th. and the 16th I get to see my little girl.

Lost Focus Or, I do Not ADD just Stress!

Hello Dear readers this week I decided to talk about ADD (or ADHD).
Attention Deficit Disorder is according to "psychologist" (I don't really trust psychologist) is that your brain is wired differently or chemical imbalance or something along those lines. The big problem is that it can destroy your focus which when you are trying to study for a bunch of hard classes not being able to focus can kill you, now I believe that I have talked about my struggle with focus before (but to be fair I also am not going to go back though and look to see if I have) So I got tested for ADD by the PSC here on campus. Last week I got my results, which to quote one of my med student friends "you (referring to me) are probable the only person to get tested for ADD and get told you don;t have it", Yes dear readers you read right I do not have ADD but instead I was told that the level of stress I have is causing me to show symptoms of ADD which is kind of a Totally Crazy Thing To Say. To be fair I am stressed, but I like to think I am a high functioning stress addict, however this does bring up a very import fact (no not Psychologist are all insane) Stress is very unhealthy and can even bring unhealthy results. Speaking of results! Finals are in a week so try not to stress to much keep your focus up, till next week dear readers keep calm and don't get distracted. TTFN

Easter on the Island, Or 4 day weekend!

Hello dear readers, I really don't have to much to talk about this week.
Grenada observes all catholic holidays/ events as national holidays, so when Easter rolls around the island starts to get ready, to fly kites, eat food, and party with the whole family. Kite flying is something that really hits its pick on good Friday but you can see them being flown all weekend, it has something to do with the spring winds (which also bring out a lot of the sailing ships).
On to the mine event, after church on Sunday the party's start not the usual crazy party's, but something a bit more family friendly where their is lots of food, lots of people, and just the right amount of dancing. I was able to go to a party put on by one of my classmates, where lots of term 2 some of us term 1 and even some med students we all made food (because you really can't afford to buy pre-made stuff here) it was a really good time especially with three dogs running all over the place made it feel like home, and meeting new people is always fun especially when we all share a common goal.
And that is all I have for you this week dear readers, with finals just around the corner I am staying very busy so I will talk to you next week. ttfn

 

Far away Family, Or Sick of not Talking to You!

Hello, Readers this week I had one of my super great awesome friends ask me how I deal with being away from home for such a long time (This friend is in Asia doing some very cool stuff but since I haven't talked to them about using this for my blog I won't use names). Anyway this is such interesting question for me since when I was young kid I could be away from home for less then a week and I would be the most home sick, latter in high school I was going all over the place all the time. once I started college at UTK in the summer of 2012 the summer of 2013 I worked at a camp, so I lived away from home for a year (yes I went home for holidays), but it is totally different when you can not just jump in a car and drive home. When you are "cut off", your mind will at some point decide to be sad because you miss your family, friends, animals! and you will have to get over it (which sounds bad). So here is my tips to avoid / get over those sad home sick feelings   
1. God it in control, 
2. Let yourself have fun both with friends and by yourself,
4. Yes things will change while you are gone, 
5. You will change while you are gone even if you don't notice, 
6. Talk to your family on a scheduled basis but not on a time crunch, 
7. Have a super cool friend who is also out of your home country to talk to when you feel stressed about being out of the country, 
8. Take nippy naps,
 9. Go on adventures even if your by yourself, 
10. Eat yummy food whenever you can, 
Bonus. Talk to people hear their story's,
And that's it for this week except for this PSA.
Dear readers I have some news I have decided that I will be posting on Monday mornings from now on. I have a lot of work to get ready for the week, so I don't get around to writing these post till late, and then I publish it at 11 or 12 Sunday night immediately after I write it. This has meant that less people read the post (and since I am writing this blog in the hopes it helps someone, someday) however last week I had a lot more readers, thus the change.

   

The Art of Deceleration Or, Going Slow to Go Fast!

Dear readers, welcome to the post where I talk about just how bad Midterms really went (just for fair warning I will be using a lot of Automotive/racing references so be ready).
Decelling at SGU is what you you do when you screw up on the big test and it boils down to dropping classes and then retaking them next term, I know what your thinking "Aaron your smart how could you do bad on exams" well I tell you what if you go back though my post you might see a trend of my ill adaptive stress management, and with the course load we have here mixed with the moving to an island can really do a number on you ( I know these are just excuses but hey like any good driver I will blame anything other then myself, unfortunately I am not a good driver I am better, so I know that I should have done better but I can not change what's happened).
There a few sayings in racing one of which is that you have to go slow to go fast, now these is one of those things that sounds stupid, then when you get good at driving it makes sense, then you get better and you understand that you have been applying it wrong and your not going fast enough (so I am currently only good at school and I need to slow down to figure out how to study more effectively so that I can come back going faster then ever).
Now of do not for a seconded think that having to decel does not bother me, because I had to swallow my pride (and there was a lot of it). However I also know that the only time it is okay to loses is when you lean from it, so I have been doing everything I can to become a better student, which includes meeting with a learning strategist, going to psychological therapy, I am getting tested for learning disabilities (which the school says everyone should do), and I am talking to my teacher more. I believe that I have figured out the fastest line to understanding and retaining the knowledge I need to become a great Vet, I am also building my team because a driver is only as good as the car they drive, and that car is only as good as the team that builds it.
It's another short post this week, (sorry?) I will leave you with the name of my father and I's race team. Team UnderDog Racing, I will see next week till then do not let setbacks get you down, because everything happens for a reason (although we don't always figure out what that is).    

Yes that is a Rabbit (Cal)

 

????????????? Or I Kinda Have a lot Going on Right Now!

So dear readers I have been really busy this last week and I have a very busy Monday in store so I will be keeping this post short (for once), and just Addressing something I had to remind myself of lately,
Teachers, Professors, Doctors, for the most part want you to do your absolute best. And that most of them are super nice people who love getting to know there students, and will bind over backwards to help students.
I actually owe a lot to Mr. Williams, my first collage level teacher (English 1010) at Motlow Community collage, (I was dual enrolled) and encase you haven't noticed my writing is not what you would call "Good" (and to be fair I am not really trying to be grammatically correct here, "first draft, last draft, get it out the door" is sort of the motto of this blog) regardless he would meet with me to go over every paper everyday before class, and no matter how bad the paper was he would always encourage me, also give creative criticism. And I am sure he no longer says the words "you can write your research paper on whatever you want to" in eng 1020, after I took him up on it and wrote about Bigfoot, and then doubled down by getting him to agree to giving me extra credit for working the salem witch trials in to it, and at the same time I became the first person to quote Dr. Seuss. (still very proud of that one) and I have had a ton of very good teachers, I have also had some that seem to thrive on the pain of students, but by enlarge the good out weigh the bad, and while CC was fun, I have to say that my favorite undergrad Professors are at Austin Peay State University, and then among this the Ag department is really the best, Dr. Sudbrink, Dr. Goode, Dr. Mills, (Ms. Patty not a teacher but still super helpful) and then of course my favorite Dr. Galben (DVM) who happens to be the adviser for the Pre-Vet club that I happened to be president of for a time, she also was my research adviser, and a really good friend/mentor.
Now I just need to make these connections here and I will be set, as for you dear readers you will have to forge your own lasting relationships with those who strive to feel your heads with knowledge, till next next week TTFN.

 

Injecting some Happiness, Or I have Weathered this Storm!

So Dear readers I realize that I have been talking a lot about the hardships and stress of vet school, but this week I figured I should talk a little about all the good things that have happened, or at the very lest the not negative things going on in my life right now.
I will start with my friends, and how super supportive everyone is and even though it has only been about 9 weeks since we all met (feels more like several years), I have always had something to smile about with all of them around and when you decide that learning pretty much everything about how animals work and the names of every single thing inside and out, you really need people who you can talk to about classes but also about whatever. I am a part of a very sporadic game of Torchlight 2 (remember studying comes first but you need to take breaks), also a on going (in between classes) discussion of a D&D game which may or may not come to pass but at the very lest the conversations are great (king of the dragonborn and a ranger without a bow), so yes friends are very important to keeping you on track and mentally sound.
Moving on with some of the things the school offers to help you stay happy (fair warning I Don't participate  with any of the stuff I am about to mention), like an ultimate frisbee club I know a few people who play with them all the time and they like it, there are thriving basket ball and FootBall (not US) leagues which even have teams and uniforms, the crossfit people are entertaining to watch after class, and if you would rather not flip tires the school has a (very) small gym, and if you go off campus you can get your scuba certification, lay on the beach, or rent a boat for a trip. And if you don't like the water there are island hikes every weekend, (I really have no idea how people find the time for these activates but I guess if I had a car and I could go racing I would unless there was a big test coming up).
Anyway It is very easy to fall into despair here, you know how much I have struggled here if you have been reading this blog, and it has been a good way for me to face my own problems head on, but what I haven't talked about is the fact that I always try to keep a smile on my face though everything I also try to cheer up those that are around me, because I am not the only one struggling and if I can make someone else smile then I fill a bit better about my problems. after all we all moved to an Island to go to vet school/med school, and we all feel the pressure building up like we live in systolic hypertension, (High blood presser during the contraction of the heart which maybe caused by a reduced elasticity of the aorta) but the we just have to take that bitter pill every morning, and try are very best to be better then we where yesterday, and last week, and last month, and last year. Smiling is the only way to get though it, and you need friends to smile with you, (it doesn't matter if they are human or animal friends, both are nice) and it doesn't matter if those friends are on the other side of the world complaining about there AC, or if they are down the hall they all make a big difference.
Well I will wrap it up Here for now, remember smile more and you will see the storm clouds roll away from the faces of those around you, also thanks for reading I will talk to you next week.

 Also we played with cows this week, which brings a smile to everyone's face.