Monday, August 11, 2008

The End of Summer is Near...Too Near

My 1 week of freedom is over and boy did it fly by fast! I got back to the DC area last Monday and lounged a little. I brought back a box of anatomy and physiology notes, but did I have a second to look at any of it? The astounding answer is no! This worries me a little, but as many before me had warned me, everyone has the good intention, but no one ever actually studies over the summer. Guess it will be left to chance. I hope the whole BUN/creatinine thing comes back to me.

I spent my time over the week cleaning, seeing some friends, a little outlet shpping, packing, one emergency clinic tech shift, a lot of errands, and networking.

The networking was fun and went well. I caught up with Dr. Bernadette Dunham director of FDA's center for veterinary medicine (CVM for you acronym fans). She was great and shed some more light on a career in lab animal medicine. I started asking her about her work at the AVMA government relations division and instead of answering my questions, she worked her magic and made a call to them. Next thing I know I have an appointment Friday morning to visit the offices. I was very impressed and had a good time talking to the staff there. I hope to get enough time to write some essays and apply for the externship position for next summer.

Friday was a beautiful day in DC, just around 78, sunny and no humidity. I walked out of AVMA and onto GW's campus to see my economics professor, Professor Stekler. Our visit together was great. Next stop, Smithsonian. I saw the Jim Henson exhibit, wandered through the African art museum, and headed to the National Gallery to see the sculptures of Martin Puryear and the glorious beach photos of Richard Misrach. As if the day couldn't be better, I met Matt and friends at the sculpture garden for Friday jazz.

So my last days of freedom in the US were fun, although I could use another week to unwind and actually try to get back into the study rhythm. Tomorrow we leave for England and Scotland, very fun and exciting. Many things to go wrong as well, but hopefully we will have a great travel experience and a grand ole time!

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