Midterm Hell

Midterms were today, which are just never any fun for anyone. We also got our primate test back, which I just assumed would be my worst grade of the semester... until I got it back and saw I got a 93%... LOL. Whatever! I'll take it! Monica and I managed to be almost nice to each other though, so that was interesting. And more things are making their way into the apartment. YAY!!!! I just bought a new, black, faux fur comforter the other day. I'm beyond excited to snuggle in it. ^.^

White Oak #2

I'm in love. With a place called White Oak. So let's see... where did my day begin? It started with cleaning, just picking up old hay for the antelope. Then I got picked up for all the vet procedures of the day. We started with birds, and the baby wattled crane chick, he got some blood drawn and some vaccines, and I got to hold him and take him back to his parents. I then got to see an annual exam on an adult wattled crane, such beautiful birds! We then went to the Curassow's [blue-billed and wattled] for their annuals exams. They have really, really pretty head feathers! After that it was time for giraffe! On the ride over we watched a Bongo female in labor, she only had two little hooves out so far though. And then I was given a reason to actually work on my fear of heights! An adult female named Rags needed some medication so she was put in the squeeze chute, and I was on a platform near her head 10 feet in the air! SO SCARY! I always believed Josh when he said giraffe could kill you, I just didn't realize he meant they could kill you totally and completely on accident. GIANT! I had to duck just to avoid getting plowed by her horns because she was being silly and didn't want her meds. Next they put Wally, a much younger male in the chute, who thrashed around A LOT and panicked a little. I nearly panicked being that high in the air and being shaken around so much, but it definitely taught me I can handle it, and if I want to do some aspects of this I need to work on getting over my fear of heights. On the way out of giraffe meds, we stopped back by Bongo to see a new, wet little baby on the ground! Too adorable, the whole herd crowded around to get a look at the new baby. :] Next was a 4-day old Lesser Kudu calf for it's neonatal exam, I got to hold her for the exam, and my goodness, why so cute? A tech kept holding her head so she wouldn't bash me in the face when we bothered her, but, I would have been way ok with it!! After we released it again it wanted to follow us out, which was really cute, but also really bad for the calf if it had persisted. Luckily she figured it out and made it back to her herd pretty quickly. We also checked on a Gerenuk that is having some medical issues named Sparkle. I think after that it was lunch time, where I met and talked to a keeper from Jax Zoo who was really nice. Then it was back to cleaning, and eventually time to feed out. Fed: zebra, roan antelope, black rhino... and more I'm sure, so much to do! One of the cutest things of the day was feeding a hand raised lesser kudu calf though, she didn't want more than a third of her bottle, and really just wanted to play, so instead of drinking her milk, she nuzzled and licked me, then came right up to my face, and playfully licked my nose! SQUEEEEEEEEEEEE! I know there is more amazingness I can't remember, the days there are so packed with awesome I can barely contain myself. I really, really, really want that internship!!!!

Best. Day. EVER.

"Orientation" day at White Oak today. !!!!! SO AMAZING! When I first got there, watched a procedure on a sick male cheetah, who was bigger than I expected. Went in, harnessed, held and walked a 3 month old cheetah cub [OMG!]. I saw a three day old wattled crane get pinioned, per the studbook keeper, and run around with it's parents [superrrrr cute]. I went in with maned wolves to feed them, like, feet away. AMAZING. I saw a week old white rhino, relaxing. Lots of somali wild ass and all sorts of other totally amazing, amazing things that I can't even remember the names of right now. SO AWESOME. AMAZING, amazing, fantastic day!!

Future

This week has been a whirlwind! Things that have been uncertain for almost a year now have been settled. I'm moving into a new place, with new roommates, and starting a brand-new chapter in my life. I don't want to dwell on the past, and what could have been. I see more adventures, new things and a wide-open beautiful future ahead.

True Friends

I'm already dreading my graduation from the zoo program, not because I'm fearful about doing this "for real", but because I won't have my friends there to have my back every single day, in and out of the zoo. We can talk about our dreams, futures, annoyances, problems, and more. We giggle like school children, and we back each other up, always. We see ourselves, who we want to be, and where we've been in each others days, triumphs and struggles. Thanks to some of the best people I've ever met, I know you will be part of the reason for my success, and I hope you all will be able to say the same about me. <3