Vegging...

So I wasn't nearly as productive today as I wanted to or thought I was going to be, but I feel pretty okay with it.  I'm comfortable enough with the material that stress or panic are the last things I'm feeling.  But who knows, maybe I'm utterly fooling myself.

Yesterday was a pretty quiet study day.  First weekend of vet school, and I found myself studying on a Saturday.  Which will probably become fairly typical.  I spent several hours in the afternoon reading through the bones and muscles of the thoracic limb, quizzing myself on bone parts, and memorizing muscle insertions, origins, and actions.  Honestly, while a few bits and pieces weren't quite in my head yet, I felt confident in my level of understanding thus far. 

Treated myself to an Arby's dinner (yum!) before going into the anatomy lab to study.  Yup.  Saturday night in lab.  BUT I wasn't alone!  There were a half dozen other students there, and we had a lot of fun poking through one of the cadavers, coming up with mnemonic devices - some of them are remembering the omotransversarius muscle as "the gay dinosaur" if that gives you any indication - and laughing quite a bit.  Studying in groups is something that, while fun, I don't get a ton of benefit from.  I need to really study stuff on my own to get it to stick.  I do a lot of talking myself through material, repetition, and sketching to understand it, and it just doesn't tend to work for me in groups.  Also, I'm not a crazy-competitive person or anything, but when others I'm studying with are a bit faster at naming a fact or a bit more specific in their answers, I start to get worried that I don't know my stuff nearly as well as I should.  It's usually a morale killer for me.  However, I like reviewing with others once I'm sure I understand and know my material; it's a good affirmation that I'm in an okay spot for the test but I'm not actively learning new things by that point.

Anyway, we quit studying by 9:30 and went to see "Prince of Persia" at the dollar theater.  Which was appropriately brainless fun with some great cheesy moments.  Recommended if you don't want to think too hard.  Or remember the freaking awesome computer game from when you were in second grade!

Got up early this morning and headed into lab at 9:00.  I was crossing my fingers that I'd be by myself - and I was!  Had the whole place to me, myself, and I!  Dragged out one of the cadavers and one of the sample bone sets and quizzed myself for two whole hours before the next students came in to practice.  It was great to go at my own pace, focus on the things I needed to review, and nail down some more specific facts I was missing.  A bunch of us then went to the welcome picnic put on by SCAVMA (Student Chapter of the American Veterinary Medical Association) this afternoon.  The best part?  There was an open dog invitation so there were about two dozen dogs of all shapes and sizes running around, playing, begging for food, and waiting to be cuddled.  Such great therapy when I would kill to have a dog of my own here with me.

I should have studied more when I got home today.  But I didn't.  I vegged all night and don't even know what I spent most of my time on.  Oh well!  Tomorrow morning is my first Monday of my first full week of vet school!  I have a feeling I'll be pooped by Friday afternoon.