RANT HERE thread

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Dump him for the horses (jk). Are there any tracks near you? Would you consider working for your state racing commission or do you want to be a treating vet? You could always go to KY for an internship and return to your home state. KY is like a whole different beast but if you have any questions lmk, my bestie from school is from KY and went back to practice at Turfway. She did some super cool racetrack externships that I can try and find info on
i would love to do either commission or treating. I know commission sometimes needs a few years of practicing before they take you. All the tracks in Michigan shutdown, and there’s a couple in Ohio. I’m planning to apply to the RMTC externship and a few hospitals in KY. But if you know of any more definitely let me know!
 
i would love to do either commission or treating. I know commission sometimes needs a few years of practicing before they take you. All the tracks in Michigan shutdown, and there’s a couple in Ohio. I’m planning to apply to the RMTC externship and a few hospitals in KY. But if you know of any more definitely let me know!
Ok I know she did the RMTC, went to Santa Anita and said it was great. Definitely try and go to the Opportunities in Equine Practice Symposium (OEPS) this fall, it’s exclusively for 3rd year students. Its lectures are kinda targeted at people on the fence about equine/mixed but it’s great networking for internships. It’s also in Lexington and you’ll get to tour some cool stuff, the year I went there were tours at Rood & Riddle and Hagyards, wetlabs, and then some of the breeding farms. I’m kinda meh on Hagyard and R&R (u do u tho bb) for externships I’d look at Lexington Equine (exclusively ambo I think, has lots of track med), Kentucky Equine Hospital (rotating? 🚨 surgeon has an ego 🚨), and Blue grass surgery (has ambo per website, idk anything about this place lol, but I have a sticker?).
 
Also worth mentioning that some of the KY hospitals have wild non-competes, I have no idea how things are rn since they’re apparently no longer legal? But seriously some have the entire state in the radius for a full year.
 
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Also worth mentioning that some of the KY hospitals have wild NDAs, I have no idea how things are rn since they’re apparently no longer legal?

Non-disclosure agreements are still legal. It's non-competes that are in limbo with the courts
 
It’s every small town cliche you can think of* but my salary goes a long way and it’s nice to be back with my people. Even if small town comes with lots of gossip and crazy**.
See, I feel like I lived the small town gossip in a way that I never enjoyed. My spouse had the opposite experience. Their parents moved to Vermont when they were a baby, and they only ever experienced support and community. My family has been in Vermont since 1842. My great-grandfather helped build the town. I went to school with cousins, and other family groups as big as ours. Once my cousin was like "hey that kid's cute" and I had to be like "nope, we are related. Not cousins, but we are related to him." Two of my pediatric nurses were my friends' moms, one of my surgeons was my high school classmate's dad, it was like I couldn't escape. And people TALK. When my adult brother died, the whole school knew before I told anyone and all had an opinion on it. When I came out as gay, the town knew and talked to my aunts. Everyone knew my mom everywhere I went. My biology teacher taught my mom in his first year as a teacher, a couple farmers I worked with knew my mom from high school and recognized me as her daughter without ever meeting me before. You couldn't do anything in town without everyone else knowing in a way that felt intrusive and judgmental. Of course we had a strong community, but we also had that silent judgement that kept everyone over 40 and their children "in line".

I got out at 18 and haven't been back except to visit. And I do wonder about my classmates who chose to never leave. Would they be different people if they got to experience something outside of constant judgement and gossip? Would they be different if they had gotten other opportunities beyond what rural life can offer? Eventually, I will move back to Vermont. Living other places has taught me that Vermont is home. But I want to experience what my spouse experienced, not Small Town New England where everyone knows your business before you do. And I really don't know if I want to raise my kids there. We'll see. Maybe I'm just not built for small town life; it definitely left some wounds I'm still healing.
 
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On an entirely different note, UMN is proposing pretty drastic tuition increases (5% resident, 5% non-resident for the vet school, worse for other areas up to 8.5%), as well as a "7% academic scope reduction" to manage their budget shortfalls. I know things are tough right now, but when you're talking about salary increases for administrators at the expense of students, professors, researchers, and their programs, all while saying you want to continue to maintain affordability and prestige feels disingenuous. Every time I get an email from the president's office my blood pressure goes up these days.
 
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The fact there is an incoming vet student asking for a religious exemption for rabies and Tdap is wild to me. What do you mean you are opposed to vaccines that literally prevent life taking and life threatening illnesses?
Late to this one, but this is touchy. If you don't want to get the rabies series, that's your prerogative and also entirely on you. I am the polar opposite of anti-vax, but if you don't want a treatment that may save your life (and not getting said treatment/vaccine doesn't affect others), you do you. I respect the ability to have choice, but also know that some people are too dumb to fully understand the consequences of said choices. The rabies series in particular is not something I would get on my soapbox about, Tdap yes because it is relevant for herd immunity. Maybe because I am just so burnt out by society lately but if you want to be dumb and put yourself at risk, do it. But I also think we should provide sterile needles to drug users for free to reduce infectious disease/infections, and a lot of people thing drug addicts are in that position because they made stupid choices (not entirely untrue, but a lot of people are a victim of circumstances too). It's not black/white for me, lol.

For those that have chimed in and are not yet in practice: You will be surprised how many clients decline things based off of religion, choose to pray for their sick pet (not always as a replacement for treatment, but just make such a big deal about it), etc. You'll have coworkers/employees that do the same. And no, declining treatment is not always considered cruelty or neglect in the eyes of the law. Highly circumstantial. It has been an interview question at certain schools. It's a big ethical debate and an issue people get passionate about both in human and vet med. We think they are wrong, but they also thing we are wrong. People declining lifesaving treatments for their kids is a thing as we know from news headlines, but human hospitals have resources to address that and the law actually cares...most of the time. There's a Jehovah's Witness-type episode in almost every medical drama that has ever existed for a reason. Vet med doesn't have those resources, so it's something to think about as you fledge out from school and are faced with sending home your first tachycardic PCV of 15% without any treatment (as a more obvious example)

I hate that my boyfriend isn’t willing to move in the future for potential internships and residencies. I don’t want to be stuck in small animal medicine because he refuses to leave his home town. My career goals are in Kentucky working the racetracks
It gets really difficult when you've been as transparent as possible, and then the person is still like 'Oh yeah, not gonna happen.' At the same time, there is no right/wrong here - if he doesn't want to move, he shouldn't have to; if you want to move, you should be able to. Might be time for a big conversation about both of your priorities and what each of you are willing to give up.
 
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I joined a club with my best friend that essentially turned out to be a pyramid scheme (and to be honest, cultlike), and I backed out but he has completely drank the koolaid and is 100% fully in. I quit this morning and I've been fretting ever since because I don't know how he will take it as he is completely committed and has grown close with some of the club people. I feel such shame and embarassment for letting this happen, because I was the one who was first interested and suggested we join it in the first place, but I of course had no idea it would be like this... 🙁
 
My hospital woes have gone from bad to worse. We will be down to 14 doctors to cover 3 24/7 ERs starting Monday as 6 people are moving on (5 due to corporate BS, 1 for her dream residency) and 1 is taking a LOA due to mental health.

Yesterday, my practice manager and I were talking about my pittie's GP. I joked that they were competing for me when I took this job, but ultimately chose here for the schedule (needed weekends on shift due to babysitting) and the money (~20/hr more). She then asked if I thought I could get a job there, and then joked and asked if they needed a practice manager. I said probably. She said she wasn't trying to push me one way or the other, but I need to do what I gotta do to take care of my family.

Then today I show up and my medical director looked *rough*. He doesn't exclusively overnights by choice due to home life. He was happy and gregarious last night. And then today was a completely different person. Then at 10am I get a call from management that we're closing the hospital at 8pm when I leave because no one can pick up the shift, either staff doctor or relief.

It's so defeating because we came in all in for this hospital. The other two are doing fine/better and aren't at risk. But for the first time, I'm truly concerned corporate is going to close this place that I care deeply for. We're down to bare bones crew of 4 techs and 3 assistants. We just lost an assistant after he walked out. We had to fire a technician for terrible attitude problems with doctors and other staff.

But the location that corporate picked for this hospital is terrible and they keep hounding for money and we ask how can we make money when the location is what it is. Folks simply cannot afford our cost in this location. Then we have a VEG nearby in a great location and a nearby very well known specialty VCA.

I figured we had 6-12 months to see what will happen. But now I'm legitimately concerned this place will close in the coming weeks. Our staff will be absorbed into the other two hospitals. But the commute will be a big hit to a certain extent. We're also paid hourly, and some of the worst paid doctors in the area. That balances out in that our staff are the best paid in the area, literally by 5-10/hr. I'm fine with that. They're considering changing us to pro-sal which I hate. Theyre considering only having one med director between two hospitals.

I want to stick it out, particularly since things don't look good in the area for ER right now. We're over saturated by a mile. A ton of urgent cares have closed in the last six months. But I fear we're next on the chopping block
 
My boyfriend and I moved to Canyon, TX (in the Panhandle) last summer for vet school, and i’m learning that the hail storms that pop up out of the blue here are no joke. I say out of the blue because last night the radar was clear until 10 minutes before the storm started (and it was 3 am, not exactly checking the radar at 3 am). According to the National Weather Service, Wednesday night we had “golf ball sized hail”, last night we had “softball sized hail”, and today they are predicting “grapefruit sized hail”. I can’t even comprehend grapefruit sized hail. Also, I was working on a project in the garage this week, so both of our cars are quite beat up. We have car insurance, but my car is 9 years old, 100k+ miles, and is meant to last me through vet school; needless to say, I think they’ll total it if I bring it in. She is in the garage now, so at least there won’t be any further damage, but I’m really sad looking at all of this damage on a car I’ve taken pretty good care of for 9 years.

We have been lucky though, only have one cracked window and a shattered side mirror, whereas a lot of our neighbors (and my classmates) have lost several windows, windshields, etc.

With all that being said, please pray that todays hailstorm doesn’t do even more damage and that our windows survive.
 
Honestly f*** landlords. My landlord told me he was selling my apartment, then told me he would move me to his other property, reiterated that to me yesterday. Then today, he said jk you need to move out in 30 days and find something else.

I could have found a cheap apartment in April and moved already but no I thought that someone would follow their word.
 
- boss gives me assignment
- boss does not train me on assignment, sends me a training document to read instead
- i follow training document and do what is asked of me for specific tissues
- i ask boss for meetings to check my work
- meetings cancelled each week
- i work through 20 different images, taking me 4 weeks to do
- i finally get ahold of boss
- boss looks at images and tells me i did it all wrong and wasted my time and her time
- meeting ends, i feel like crap
- i leave this position on friday, so i dont have time to fix this.

im actually so distraught rn, idek what to say.
 
My boyfriend and I moved to Canyon, TX (in the Panhandle) last summer for vet school, and i’m learning that the hail storms that pop up out of the blue here are no joke. I say out of the blue because last night the radar was clear until 10 minutes before the storm started (and it was 3 am, not exactly checking the radar at 3 am). According to the National Weather Service, Wednesday night we had “golf ball sized hail”, last night we had “softball sized hail”, and today they are predicting “grapefruit sized hail”. I can’t even comprehend grapefruit sized hail. Also, I was working on a project in the garage this week, so both of our cars are quite beat up. We have car insurance, but my car is 9 years old, 100k+ miles, and is meant to last me through vet school; needless to say, I think they’ll total it if I bring it in. She is in the garage now, so at least there won’t be any further damage, but I’m really sad looking at all of this damage on a car I’ve taken pretty good care of for 9 years.

We have been lucky though, only have one cracked window and a shattered side mirror, whereas a lot of our neighbors (and my classmates) have lost several windows, windshields, etc.

With all that being said, please pray that todays hailstorm doesn’t do even more damage and that our windows survive.
My daughter went to undergrad at wtam and her car wore the hail storms badge too. Have you had the experience of a haboob yet?
 
It’s not really a true rant but I’m on a rotation where for the first time I need to write most the medical record and I am so struggling on assessment writing. It’s taking me forever and even after a long time of working I don’t have much to show for it. I’m hoping as time goes on I get better oof.
 
It’s not really a true rant but I’m on a rotation where for the first time I need to write most the medical record and I am so struggling on assessment writing. It’s taking me forever and even after a long time of working I don’t have much to show for it. I’m hoping as time goes on I get better oof.
Ask for help!! An intern, a classmate, faculty if they’re not intimidating. Ask someone to help you with this section.
 
My daughter went to undergrad at wtam and her car wore the hail storms badge too. Have you had the experience of a haboob yet?
We had a pretty crazy wind/dust storm in March (80+ mph gusts), but we haven’t had a true haboob since I’ve been here. My classmates who did undergrad at WT tell me they’re quite the experience though.
 
Hey y'all. Going into my now second year of veterinary school, and with everything going on, I can't help but feel discouraged. The more I am in school, the more unique interests within veterinary medicine are appearing for me. I am considering career paths I have never thought of before. However, with everything going on within the US, it's hard to even know what to do next. I entered vet school interested in small animal emergency medicine and dairy medicine, and now have additional interests in pathology (not sure clinical or anatomical), public health (I am really passionate about One Health), and epidemiology. However, with everything going on in the current adminstration, where is our field going? How can we gain experience? How can we not live in fear that there are jobs taken away from us? Plus, I am a OOS student, and I am terrified about loans. He is trying to take away loans that I currently need to pay for school, and private loans are wayyy to expensive that leaves me question what would be the point continuing if its such an insane interest rate.

Anyways, I am not trying to be depressing, but it is just discouraging. There is so much opportunity and future that I see within veterinary medicine, that is being dampered with everything currently going on. It's hard not to live with worry or concern for your career when you can't get experience in the area of speciality you would like to potentially pursue.
 
I can’t imagine the stresses students who depend on loans are facing with the proposed changes, but hopefully there’ll be exceptions carved out so at least the current students can maintain access while the world adjusts if these things are passed. I’m not in any way trying to minimize your concerns and I share many of the same ones, but there’s also always uncertainty about life. At some point you just have to live in the moment, keep trucking on, and adapt as curveballs are thrown. Is it ever the right time to get married, to have a kid, adopt another pet? Should I finally start building that new dream home on acreage or will I eventually get laid off because my lab eventually replaces all clinical pathologists with AI…well that one is maybe specific to me lol. Have you considered therapy to help you learn strategies to cope with the worry? I promise that’s a genuine suggestion not something facetious, I think most people would benefit from therapy. I feel for current students for sure; hopefully we’ll know more, good or bad, soon.
 
I can’t imagine the stresses students who depend on loans are facing with the proposed changes, but hopefully there’ll be exceptions carved out so at least the current students can maintain access while the world adjusts if these things are passed. I’m not in any way trying to minimize your concerns and I share many of the same ones, but there’s also always uncertainty about life. At some point you just have to live in the moment, keep trucking on, and adapt as curveballs are thrown. Is it ever the right time to get married, to have a kid, adopt another pet? Should I finally start building that new dream home on acreage or will I eventually get laid off because my lab eventually replaces all clinical pathologists with AI…well that one is maybe specific to me lol. Have you considered therapy to help you learn strategies to cope with the worry? I promise that’s a genuine suggestion not something facetious, I think most people would benefit from therapy. I feel for current students for sure; hopefully we’ll know more, good or bad, soon.
I understand where you are coming from but for some of these changes there are concerns that borrowers will have to default and never be able to retire. It doesn't just apply to vet students but to all borrowers, so income and circumstances will vary widely. There will always be stress and uncertainty in life, but this stress and uncertainty is being placed upon us by people who have no interest in our well-being. We are pawns in an unfair system that is difficult, or impossible for some, to escape.
 
I understand where you are coming from but for some of these changes there are concerns that borrowers will have to default and never be able to retire. It doesn't just apply to vet students but to all borrowers, so income and circumstances will vary widely. There will always be stress and uncertainty in life, but this stress and uncertainty is being placed upon us by people who have no interest in our well-being. We are pawns in an unfair system that is difficult, or impossible for some, to escape.
Oh, I’m very aware, which is why I stick around on SDN year after year for well over a decade now, making students somewhat mad by telling them to go to the cheapest school and to really consider the ramifications of 300+ in student loans. But people don’t want to be told it isn’t worth it. I hope for current students and people in repayment’s sake they make major changes. And then we’ll be able to find something else to worry about instead, like overstaturation from new schools and increasing class sizes, VPAs, recessions, etc.
 
Oh, I’m very aware, which is why I stick around on SDN year after year for well over a decade now, making students somewhat mad by telling them to go to the cheapest school and to really consider the ramifications of 300+ in student loans. But people don’t want to be told it isn’t worth it. I hope for current students and people in repayment’s sake they make major changes. And then we’ll be able to find something else to worry about instead, like overstaturation from new schools and increasing class sizes, VPAs, recessions, etc.
I did my research and my due diligence. I went to the cheapest school and my IS. I am taking out the smallest amount of loans I can. It's not my fault I'm facing the consequences of a predatory system that dangles purpose and service as bait while gutting every safety net we were told would exist. It's not about worry, it's about injustice. We should be striving for a better system for everyone. I'm passionate about this because I care and I want to see change happen. I want people to have equal opportunities to pursue professional school.
 
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In all likelihood, the students currently in the system will have some sort of similar system as what we have. The loans we have are obligated to have an income based repayment plan. That's in the contract and if they don't offer that, it's a class action lawsuit that will benefit everyone who already have loans.

For those that don't have loans, yes, this is the worst time to consider going to college. Full stop for a variety of reasons. And I'm telling people I know in my family *to not go*. That's not me saying the alternatives (trades, retail, food service, etc.) are good options. Just that I think they're better options than taking out private loans for hundreds of thousands of dollars at double digit interest depending on what you're going to school for. Or for your degree program and/or college/university to shutter due to the drastic reduction in income as students choose not to go.

Likewise, this **** can get turned around in 3.5 years very possibly. The midterms are 17 months away (thank you the GD Politics Podcast for the countdown moment) and it's going to be a bloodbath.
 
Welp, we're here so :shrug:

I'm actually wondering how much stock I should be putting into the concept that those who are taking out loans in 2025 will be grandfathered in to the COA Grad+ loans (or having grad+ loans at all?? No one is sure where this is gonna end up). I know everything is up in the air rn (thanks government!) but none of my advisors/mentors have answers so lets see what people here think.

Without going into too much of my personal finances, I am able to pay for the first year and a half of my schooling with just DUSL/Stafford Loans and saved money. I am absolutely trying to avoid private loans at all possible costs. I was thinking (before all of this ****) about not pulling out grad+ since it's at a higher interest rate even if I don't start paying until after graduation, but I also don't want to lose the possibility of having them because I will not be able to afford all of schooling without them.

So do I risk it and not use grad+ at all this year? Do I apply for the bare minimum and accept that reward so I have a record of needing them for the chance of being grandfathered in? Do I apply for and accept as much as I can while I can because they might be going away completely? Words cannot express how frustrated I am at this whole ****show and the uncertainty makes it 1000% worse
 
If you’ll need more than the federal direct limits at some point, I’d probably take out at least a little in gradplus now so that you’re considered an existing borrower just in case. You’re gonna pay a bit in interest, but I’d do that to keep options open. I’m betting there’ll be some sort of exemption for “current borrowers” but who knows what’ll actually happen.

Also, you should be able return any ‘excess’ money you don’t need/use and get the fees refunded, too. There’s a time limit but it’s basically near end of the semester. So in theory you could also apply for more in gradplus, stick it in savings, and when something passes and we figure out how bad it’s gonna be and what exemptions are carved out, you could then return any/all of the gradplus you wanted. Or don’t. Meaning you can take the loans but use the next few months to find out more and make decisions later, if you have other savings too.
 
angry frustrated GIF


Me reminding my husband that under no circumstances is he to let anyone in our new neighborhood know that I am a vet.

Besides that, we’ve been in the new house for 2-3 weeks and just met one of our next door neighbors yesterday. He made sure to tell us that our grass is too dry compared to his (I think he spends a lot of time on his lawn…), we are putting are garbage out too early (the afternoon before pickup), and his wife is worried about our dog because he looks like a pit. Man went as far as getting our registration docs from the HOA to look up his breed, which we have listed as mixed.

Oooooh boy. I wanted to avoid an HOA so badly but this is where we ended up. It is what it is. Watering a lawn is expensive and we’ve literally inherited the lawn from the previous family, AND HAVE LIVED HERE FOR TWO WEEKS. Give us a damn minute. Our house is full of empty boxes we need to get rid of so yeah we’re going to put those out early so we can get them out of the house. And my dog is ALWAYS leashed (until we scrape together and get a fence), doesn’t bark, and literally does nothing wrong ever. This HOA also has no breed restrictions so even if we had listed him as a pit (which he is…74% of him is a mix of pit, staffy, and Rottweiler) it wouldn’t matter. We have had no issues with people commenting on him since I graduated vet school actually and now it’s a thing again? He’s literally 60lb, not even that beefy. Ugh.

Oh, to be old and think the world revolves around you, your lawn, and your preconceived notions.
 
angry frustrated GIF


Me reminding my husband that under no circumstances is he to let anyone in our new neighborhood know that I am a vet.

Besides that, we’ve been in the new house for 2-3 weeks and just met one of our next door neighbors yesterday. He made sure to tell us that our grass is too dry compared to his (I think he spends a lot of time on his lawn…), we are putting are garbage out too early (the afternoon before pickup), and his wife is worried about our dog because he looks like a pit. Man went as far as getting our registration docs from the HOA to look up his breed, which we have listed as mixed.

Oooooh boy. I wanted to avoid an HOA so badly but this is where we ended up. It is what it is. Watering a lawn is expensive and we’ve literally inherited the lawn from the previous family, AND HAVE LIVED HERE FOR TWO WEEKS. Give us a damn minute. Our house is full of empty boxes we need to get rid of so yeah we’re going to put those out early so we can get them out of the house. And my dog is ALWAYS leashed (until we scrape together and get a fence), doesn’t bark, and literally does nothing wrong ever. This HOA also has no breed restrictions so even if we had listed him as a pit (which he is…74% of him is a mix of pit, staffy, and Rottweiler) it wouldn’t matter. We have had no issues with people commenting on him since I graduated vet school actually and now it’s a thing again? He’s literally 60lb, not even that beefy. Ugh.

Oh, to be old and think the world revolves around you, your lawn, and your preconceived notions.
Ohhhhhh noooooooooooooo. I HATE HOAs and the people who use them to terrorize their neighbors.

You know it took ALL of peepaw’s control to wait until now, a full TWO WEEKS, to talk to you about the serious infractions of a dry lawn, early trash, and a dog that is vaguely beefy (and probably ridiculously cute based on your descriptions).

I’d say he needs to touch grass but obviously yours is TOO DRY.
 
Ohhhhhh noooooooooooooo. I HATE HOAs and the people who use them to terrorize their neighbors.

You know it took ALL of peepaw’s control to wait until now, a full TWO WEEKS, to talk to you about the serious infractions of a dry lawn, early trash, and a dog that is vaguely beefy (and probably ridiculously cute based on your descriptions).

I’d say he needs to touch grass but obviously yours is TOO DRY.
LOL the best part is that we actually were going to turn on our sprinklers this weekend, but now we’re waiting out of spite
 
LOL the best part is that we actually were going to turn on our sprinklers this weekend, but now we’re waiting out of spite
HA! Take that peepaw.

Can you make your yard a spiteful certified butterfly and native plant habitat?

There's a guy on TikTok whose HOA gave him trouble for something stupid, and he revolted by installing a bat habitat. Not all heroes wear capes. 🤣
 
HA! Take that peepaw.

Can you make your yard a spiteful certified butterfly and native plant habitat?

There's a guy on TikTok whose HOA gave him trouble for something stupid, and he revolted by installing a bat habitat. Not all heroes wear capes. 🤣
This is actually a fantastic idea
 
Ohhhhhh noooooooooooooo. I HATE HOAs and the people who use them to terrorize their neighbors.

You know it took ALL of peepaw’s control to wait until now, a full TWO WEEKS, to talk to you about the serious infractions of a dry lawn, early trash, and a dog that is vaguely beefy (and probably ridiculously cute based on your descriptions).

I’d say he needs to touch grass but obviously yours is TOO DRY.
People like this piss me off so much…. Like they’re looking for things to be upset about. I was walking my dog (on leash of course, perfectly leash trained) and some dude yells “WATCH OUT EVERYONE ITS A PIT BULL!!!” I just gave him side eye as did everyone else in the vicinity as he exaggeratedly moves away and off the side walk while I pass by. My dog is a staffy and he’s not interested in you. No comments of course about off leash chihuahua literally harassing wildlife though of course.
 
People like this piss me off so much…. Like they’re looking for things to be upset about. I was walking my dog (on leash of course, perfectly leash trained) and some dude yells “WATCH OUT EVERYONE ITS A PIT BULL!!!” I just gave him side eye as did everyone else in the vicinity as he exaggeratedly moves away and off the side walk while I pass by. My dog is a staffy and he’s not interested in you. No comments of course about off leash chihuahua literally harassing wildlife though of course.
You have my permission to flip the bird next time!
 
People like this piss me off so much…. Like they’re looking for things to be upset about. I was walking my dog (on leash of course, perfectly leash trained) and some dude yells “WATCH OUT EVERYONE ITS A PIT BULL!!!” I just gave him side eye as did everyone else in the vicinity as he exaggeratedly moves away and off the side walk while I pass by. My dog is a staffy and he’s not interested in you. No comments of course about off leash chihuahua literally harassing wildlife though of course.
But those pit bulls are just so dangerous, didn’t you know? They have heads so large that if they choose to kiss you, your whole face gets wet. Viciously lovable creatures! Best be prepared!

Even worse, these velvety hippos as a whole are so patient (and beefy) that they’re the perfect teachers for nervous newbies unsure about venipuncture!

All joking aside, I detest people like that and also cheering for you to flip the bird next time. Or maybe the chihuahua will get him in his sleep.

(And shout out to all the wonderful and patient velvet hippos aka pit bulls that helped me learn venipuncture, forever grateful.)
 
But those pit bulls are just so dangerous, didn’t you know? They have heads so large that if they choose to kiss you, your whole face gets wet. Viciously lovable creatures! Best be prepared!

Even worse, these velvety hippos as a whole are so patient (and beefy) that they’re the perfect teachers for nervous newbies unsure about venipuncture!

All joking aside, I detest people like that and also cheering for you to flip the bird next time. Or maybe the chihuahua will get him in his sleep.

(And shout out to all the wonderful and patient velvet hippos aka pit bulls that helped me learn venipuncture, forever grateful.)

Velvet hippos, lol. That is so hilarious!
 
Man, Green Bean went almost a month without any blood in his poop. Last night he was hiding, not snuggly at all, has picked at his food throughout the day instead of clearing his bowl, and has just generally been acting uncomfortable. Today he’s had two bloody poops, one of which was just mucous-y and weird. When I called to schedule an urgent care appointment I asked “if it’s medically necessary, are they able to refer him to IM?” And they made it seem like I was just coming in for a referral. He’s actively uncomfortable today and the point of the visit is to try to do something for that. They also asked “doesn’t he have a primary care?” Which, sort of? I work in the ER at my hospital and when I tried to schedule a regular annual, they told me to just bring them in on a shift and an ER doc would do it. All that doctor wants to do is put him on pred, which isn’t necessarily wrong but I have the insurance and the resources to try to find a root cause so I would like to. I don’t know, I feel crummy because I’m not trying to back door my way into a specialist, I know what that’s like on the other end, and I don’t want to seem like I’m knocking my primary vet. I just know something isn’t right.
 
angry frustrated GIF


Me reminding my husband that under no circumstances is he to let anyone in our new neighborhood know that I am a vet.

Besides that, we’ve been in the new house for 2-3 weeks and just met one of our next door neighbors yesterday. He made sure to tell us that our grass is too dry compared to his (I think he spends a lot of time on his lawn…), we are putting are garbage out too early (the afternoon before pickup), and his wife is worried about our dog because he looks like a pit. Man went as far as getting our registration docs from the HOA to look up his breed, which we have listed as mixed.

Oooooh boy. I wanted to avoid an HOA so badly but this is where we ended up. It is what it is. Watering a lawn is expensive and we’ve literally inherited the lawn from the previous family, AND HAVE LIVED HERE FOR TWO WEEKS. Give us a damn minute. Our house is full of empty boxes we need to get rid of so yeah we’re going to put those out early so we can get them out of the house. And my dog is ALWAYS leashed (until we scrape together and get a fence), doesn’t bark, and literally does nothing wrong ever. This HOA also has no breed restrictions so even if we had listed him as a pit (which he is…74% of him is a mix of pit, staffy, and Rottweiler) it wouldn’t matter. We have had no issues with people commenting on him since I graduated vet school actually and now it’s a thing again? He’s literally 60lb, not even that beefy. Ugh.

Oh, to be old and think the world revolves around you, your lawn, and your preconceived notions.
One kinda cheap and very easy thing for your lawn is a nitrogen heavy fertilizer. My dad uses this stuff called "Tick Off Your Neighbor" fertilizer. It's other name is 28-0-0 or "Twenty Eight double O" by Nutra-Gro. A bag that covers 10,000 square feet is like $30. The best time to use it is in the spring, but it would still be good now. I swear we have the greenest grass in the whole neighborhood. My Dad is not the type to be obsessive on the yard, and I know for a fact that our neighbors who are obsessive over their yard are outrageously jealous over the way ours looks and they work their ass off to try and get their grass to look like ours.... just saying. I know it's super easy to use, because I've had to fertilize the yard before.

Also, not suggesting you need to mimic everything my family does, but this is a quote I grew up hearing from my Dad. He uses it all the time with anyone who gets in his business...

I'm sure it will go over well with your neighbor's wife! Ha
 
Working in summer research makes me remember why I don’t like research. I feel like I’m wasting my summer away reading obscure papers to build an abstract besides 2x a week trips to the farm to assist on other projects. Plus I don’t have a designated desk anymore so I’m not in the lab group space.
 
Is anyone else a little butthurt by OOS people hating on your state? Like, okay. IL is not the best state, and UIUC is in the middle of nowhere, yes. But it's a huge state, and judging the whole Midwest/state of IL by one small college town seems a little unfair. Some people say they hate the Midwest when they've barely experienced it! I know it's very hard being away from home and family-- I'm only 2 hours away and it's very hard. I'm a home body so I get stir crazy even on a 5 day trip to the state over, so I can sympathize with that. It still hurts my little Midwest heart when people diss on it so hard. I'm from Chicago and know it like the back of my hand-- I've even offered to take people up there to show them the good stuff. So far, only one person has taken me up on it lol. I'm also trying to counter the argument that the Midwest/IL is ugly by making Midwest appreciation posts of beautiful prairies and waterfalls that I've been to. I don't think I'm convincing anyone lol.

All that said, I try not to take it personally. I know a lot of the stronger opinions are rooted in homesickness, stress, and the general cynicism that vet school brings out of all of us. I don't plan to stay in Champaign-Urbana for the rest of my life either, but I'm at least going to make the most of it while I'm stuck here for 4 years!
 
Is anyone else a little butthurt by OOS people hating on your state? Like, okay. IL is not the best state, and UIUC is in the middle of nowhere, yes. But it's a huge state, and judging the whole Midwest/state of IL by one small college town seems a little unfair. Some people say they hate the Midwest when they've barely experienced it! I know it's very hard being away from home and family-- I'm only 2 hours away and it's very hard. I'm a home body so I get stir crazy even on a 5 day trip to the state over, so I can sympathize with that. It still hurts my little Midwest heart when people diss on it so hard. I'm from Chicago and know it like the back of my hand-- I've even offered to take people up there to show them the good stuff. So far, only one person has taken me up on it lol. I'm also trying to counter the argument that the Midwest/IL is ugly by making Midwest appreciation posts of beautiful prairies and waterfalls that I've been to. I don't think I'm convincing anyone lol.

All that said, I try not to take it personally. I know a lot of the stronger opinions are rooted in homesickness, stress, and the general cynicism that vet school brings out of all of us. I don't plan to stay in Champaign-Urbana for the rest of my life either, but I'm at least going to make the most of it while I'm stuck here for 4 years!
Yeah it's annoying and immature. They could have just not taken the acceptance/not applied if said state is that unappealing to them. How could you not take advantage of being so close to Chicago?! Also Champaign has Golden Harbor which is, thus far, the best Chinese food I've had in my life.

People hear Midwest and think flat cornfields. And they're not wrong ( :laugh: ). But there's so much more like you said! Similar to California not being just LA/Hollywood, Florida not just being theme parks and Miami Beach, Texas not just being livestock, Nevada not just being Las Vegas, and so on.
 
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