I'm having a moment, here.

Friday, we had our first dissection of the year (the extrinsic muscles of the forelimb of the dog). My group of 4 got their own dog (aptly named Harold, no idea why), and we basically got to hack off the forelimb of a dog.

Yes, disgusting for some. But it was AWESOME. Probably because I'm a vet student. I need to remind myself of this sometimes, because I tend to forget that yes, I'm a vet school and yes, I'm a veterinary student.

I'm having a lot of these moments where I suddenly realize where I am and what I'm doing and my brain goes "HOLY SH*T YOU'RE A VET STUDENT. HOW DID THIS HAPPEN."

And then I realize where I am and what I'm doing and get back to studying.

What my social life consists of:

1. Studying at the kitchen table with other people.

2. Cooking while studying with other people.

3. Going to class and talking to people before the lecture begins.

4. The occasional (once weekly) trip to Bar 55 for 2-for-1 cocktails.

5. Facebook.

6. Skype.

Good times. Thanks, RVC, for making this scant social life possible.

The Woe of not being able to breathe through your nose (a Cautionary Tale)

Today was our first introduction into the dissection room. The last time I was in a dissection room was 4 years ago. It goes without saying that I was extremely excited until I realized that, as of this morning, I can't really breathe through my nose. If I do, it takes a lot of effort and I sound like I have emphysema. Not fun.

Now I don't know about anyone else, but when I breathe through my mouth, I generally taste, to some extent, whatever aroma is floating through the air at a given moment. Not exactly the best time to be in a room with freshly killed specimens and specimens fixed in formalin. Let me interject that I don't really mind the smell of formalin. It's not a pleasant smell, but it doesn't turn my stomach.

However. Breathing in through the nose, which has a filter system, and breathing in through the mouth, which has TASTE BUDS, are two completely different animals (no pun intended).

I still don't know how I survived those two hours.

Focus, brain. Focus.

It's really hard to focus when the sun is out for the first time in a week. Hence this post. I've been sitting at my kitchen table and I've only succeeded in getting through one lecture from yesterday. Helloooo procrastination.

I have a feeling that my steady relationship for the year is going to be with Procrastination. And the Library. I foresee that it will be a turbulent love/hate triangle.

Day One

Not much to report, other than the monumentally awful stomach bug I had last night. Boo. But I feel much much better now.

However, this is a picture from one of my classrooms (that I stole shamelessly from my flatmate J...lucky wench has an iPhone already!):

Can I reiterate how I've made possibly the best decision of my life thus far? Because I totally have.

On the weather in the UK...

I've just realized that, along with the fact that the topography is very similar, New England is also named so because of it's similarity of weather schizophrenia to it's namesake.

Let me explain. This morning around 7:30am, I woke to sunny weather. Windy, but sunny. I went back to sleep because, as a college student with no responsibilities until tomorrow, why not? I woke up again around 10am to cloudy. Around an hour ago, it was pouring. Now, I see blue sky again.

Helloooooo schizophrenia.

It makes me feel less homesick.

Fresher's Week (or how lazy can I really be?)

So ends week 3 of me being here in London. It's been Fresher's Week this week, which has been like my Freshman Weekend experience at the University of New Hampshire...on meth, absinthe, and ecstasy.

Oh, and beer. Lots and lots of beer.

Fresher's Week (def): 8 to 10 days filled with drinking, dancing, fancy dress (costumes to us Americans), the occasional black tie event (on a BOAT), and sprinkled with general mayhem.

In short, it's an amazing week for a bunch of newbies to the uni to get together, drink, and have fun while making lifelong friends. At least, that's how it's been for me thus far. I've loved the freedom to get my affairs in order (I have a UK bank account...I feel so official!), get used to the area, and cook food for friends. I just feel super lazy because I've done practically nothing all week.

And now that I've managed to kick the cold that's had it's grasp on me for the past 2 weeks, I feel like myself again. I'm so ready to take this G&T year by the balls and show it who's boss.