Still I soldier on. . .

And today my combat takes the form of writing a resume.

There are not words embodied with an adequate rancor and loathing to convey the level of distaste I have for this particular task. It is a foul and unpleasant thing to have to do.

I know eventually I'll need a resume that will get me a veterinary job, and there's a job out there, RIGHT NOW, that I'm going to apply for, even though I'm not technically qualified yet. I figure it can't hurt anything, and it might actually work in my favor somehow. I'm hoping to get away from my internship, which started out as an amazingly fun experience and has since morphed into a 12-hour-a-week waste of my time, since they don't allow me to DO ANYTHING! My practicum paperwork lists 208 tasks that I need to be rated on. (Yes, I counted them.) Some of them almost nobody actually does in a practicum, because they pertain to a species we don't usually care for, like horses or cows, but most of the other stuff is stuff I'll be expected to do in practice. At this point, slightly over HALFWAY through the practicum, I have performed exactly 23 of those 208 tasks. And one of those things is "maintain a professional demeanor," so it isn't like they're all specialized things!

The words "bite me" come to mind.

Yesterday the high point of my day was restraining a black lab while she vomited all over a colleague's hand.

Things you DON'T want to hear AFTER you've picked up the dog.

"Oh, by the way, be careful. He has some anal bleeding."

I haven't made any resolutions.

Oh, wait, yes I have. I vowed to do brief spurts of weight training each morning. Like 15-minutes worth. I'm hoping that this concession to actual biology will help me firm up and the things that are flapping on me. Seriously, you don't want to see me standing in a windstorm.

I am teaching myself to knit. It isn't as difficult as I thought, although all I've done is knit and purl, cast on and cast off. I made a 4-inch square of mostly stockinette stitch. Next: a car cover.

I am crossing my fingers that Moe will spend far less time in the hospital this year. Last week he spent two nights at the hospital again, this time for eating half a pack of gum containing xylitol, which can be fatal to dogs. If you read this and own a dog, GET ALL THE XYLITOL OUT OF THE HOUSE! IT CAN KILL YOUR DOG! Also, acetaminophen can cause liver damage, but they have to eat a lot, and it generally doesn't taste as good as sugar free gum (where the xylitol usually lives.)

I got to remove an IV catheter from the official "Ugliest Dog in Austin" as voted by the readers of some publication here in town, yesterday. I was successful, and the dog went home without anything stuck in his body, except for some sutures. I also manhandled a Chow without losing any appendages! This is doubly impressive when you think that on the same day, one of the other techs got her boob bitten by Dr. C's dog.

Now I'm going to see if I can find an easy knitting pattern on the internet for that car cover. I'm thinking red would be a good color.