Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Some Things I'm Thankful For

There is a lot to be said about daily affirmations. They can cheer you up. help you keep a goal in sight, or just serve to remind you of what is good in your life. I'm thinking about some good stuff in my life right now:

I'm glad I work where I do, the hospital has a large and varied case load so I'm never bored.
I'm thankful for my vet and the close personal relationship I have with her..she is my intellectual companion as well as a mentor and friend.
I'm thankful that my Mom is in good health.
I'm happy to have a best friend that is always there for me, ready to dispense advice and words of wisdom.
I'm glad my hair is short, as I don't have to spend endless hours fussing over it before I leave the house.
I'm glad I have a mini Schnauzer girl who welcomes me home and snuggles up to me on chilly nights.
I'm happy to be married to the man that I have...he has nursed me through bad times and cheered me on through good times.
I'm grateful to myself for making a career change, because I'm the happiest I've ever been at work.

Finally, I'm glad to be me. I'm at the age where there is a definite generation gap going on, but I would not want to be young in this world. I'm content to be the age that I am, with the knowledge that I possess.
It's definitely the little things in life that makes you happy.

Saturday, September 19, 2009

Another Compliment

Anyone who knows me thinks of me as an "animal person" but not necessarily a "cat person". That being said, I believed that I was violently allergic to cats for many years and subsequently avoided them. Of course, working as a vet tech requires you to handle cats on a daily basis. After cautiously approaching my first hands on cat encounter a year ago, I found that I can handle the fur without incident. Of course, I'm still very respectful of felines, as they have claws, teeth, and a temperament that can change without warning.
While I was doing my externship I had an opportunity to handle 2 Bengal felines. They were gorgeous! I started seeing cats in a new light, and felt more comfortable handling them. When I went back to work at my vet hospital, I brought my new found courage with me. My vet is very understanding of my (sometimes) hesitation to restrain cats and she works in conjunction with me so the client's vet visit is seamless & trouble free.
The other day we had to examine 2 cats from a rescue society. One was feral and the clients expressed their concerns to us, and even suggested sedating this cat so we could draw blood and clip the nails without worrying if we would get bitten or clawed. I suggested to them that we try to handle the cat first, before choosing drugs, to see how "bad" the cat would be.
My vet grabbed a towel, and I turned the trap on end so the kitty would slide out onto our exam table. We rolled the cat up in the towel, so she could still breathe, but her head was covered and we were protected. I restrained the cat while we slowly took each paw and clipped her long claws. We soothed the cat as we worked by talking to her in a gentle voice. She laid there quietly. The clients marveled at how my vet & I worked as a team, without stressing the cat. We were able to pull blood from her and finally she was able to go back into a carrier.
No fur flew, and no felines were harmed in the making of this appointment. Our clients were amazed and thanked my vet profusely for handling her with care. They then turned to me and told me what a good tech I was and that I had a great technique for handling cats.
In my mind I shouted "No! I'm still scared!" even as I thanked the clients for their kind words.

Their words gave me confidence to take with me the next time I have to handle a feral cat. I know that working with my vet sets my mind at ease and we can overcome any problem together.
I always love my job, but I get an extra special feeling when I get to help an animal who might otherwise have had a bad experience at the vet, and it's always good when client notices how hard we work.
It was a good day.

Friday, September 11, 2009

Rojo Loco Restaurant

The other day I went out with my BFF to a new restaurant. He had seen this place in a strip mall close to his bank and suggested we try it. The first thing that struck me when we walked in was the piles upon piles of FREE magazines offered to customers. The waitress told me that a local 7-11 or whatever has to throw them out if not sold past a certain date, and they take them and give them away. I walked out with Glamour, Redbook, Marie Claire, In Touch, a hairstyles magazine, a football preview magazine, and a few others. There were plenty more there, such as Sports Illustrated, Elle, Maxim, Star, etc. And the free mags weren't even the best part!
The menu had so much stuff on it I was not sure what to order. As luck would have it, the first items we ordered were not available, and the waitress ( who was really quite helpful & nice) advised us those items were going to be taken off the menu due to lack of interest. We were interested in those meals, but we were out of luck.
I then decided to order a chicken quesadilla and small salad. My friend ordered steak fajitas.
The salad dressing was a lime cilantro that was the best I've ever had!! And the plate of quesadillas that I received was easily twice the portion I've gotten at another restaurant. I literally could only eat half my meal (which was fine since I had the leftovers for lunch at work the next day). The fajitas were served with a delicious spicy rice that was not too "hot", spice-wise. That was perfect, since I don't like a lot of heat with my meals.
Since our original menu choices were not available the manager offered us dessert on the house.
No problem there!
We got a generous portion of chocolate lava cake, served warm with cool whip dollops here & there.
I ate ALL my dessert.
The waitress said she hoped we liked our first visit, and encouraged us to return even though we had some speed bumps when we first placed our order. I assured her that the food was great and I would be returning to sample other menu items.
When we received our bill we were flabbergasted. This giant meal cost us less than a smaller portioned meal at Moes (another favorite haunt of mine). It was a no brainer to make the choice to return to the Rojo-Loco Southwestern Grill. Their address is 4809 Route 9 North in Howell, NJ. They are located in the Lanes Mill Market Place, next to Barnes & Noble.
Try it, you won't be sorry!




Saturday, September 5, 2009

My First Week Of Work

It turns out all the fears I had about going back to work were mostly unfounded! I made it through an entire week without incident, found a new way to drive to the hospital, remembered how to use the computer software (mostly) and was welcomed back heartily by everyone. There was not a day that went by without someone coming up to me and saying how happy they were to have me back, or how happy my vet was to get me back! Last night as I was leaving I told my vet "I'm not sure if I can get out the door, my head's so big" and we laughed about that.
There is so much good stuff about me being back at my old hospital.
I got to place a U-cath for the first time, thanks to my vet being patient and walking me through it; I was shown how to restrain a seagull that was being examined (seagulls have exquisitely soft feathers on their little heads!); I drew blood from a fractious cat and that did wonders for my self confidence; I ausculted a heart murmur in a Maltese; and it's wonderful to be back in scrubs again!
It was like I never left. My vet and I were laughing and sharing stories from the very first hour we started working together, and I fell right back into the swing of loading patients, taking history, and the like. Of course there were some cute puppies and kittens to pet and love...you can't have a better job than mine!

My horoscopes this week have been quite relevant to my situation (I know they are random but they made a lot of sense this week).
From 9/3: Work gives you a sense of purpose. It's good to know people appreciate your efforts.
from 9/4: Fretting over finances has become something of an obsession. You will get on top of things.

I still have to get used to getting up early, and my body has to adjust to all the physical demands I'm putting on it. It's been a long time since I was sprawled out on the floor cutting nails and drawing blood.
All in all, things are going well right now, and I'm very happy. Everything happens for a reason, and now more than ever I see how that is true.
Going back to work was a great birthday present for me.