Bunny Surgery: the 6.5 hour lab

My feet hate me. I was standing for almost 6.5 hours STRAIGHT while I was Assistant Surgan for lab today and our first bunny surgery.

Things I learned:

-Prayers for campus-wide blackout extentions are never answered.

-My lab coat's sleeves are stiff from juices and liquids from my anatomy dissections I really don't want to think about

-'Monty' is a very fitting name for a red-eyed, white rabbit (kuddos if you get the reference)

-Ketamine knocks out a rabbit very quickly

-The College of Biological Science isn't too worried about people stealing said ketamine and don't lock it up between labs aside from locking the lab.

-My lab group works very well together

-It is very easy to get a rabbit into a literal comatose state withing 2 hours using carcinogenetic anensthesia 

-Weezing bunnies (because of mucus in lungs/airways) sound like quietly screaming children

-the best rubber gloves are kept in upper division Biology labs (I should have stolen a bunch and shoved them in my pockets for anatomy!)

-Blunt dissection in living animals is terrifying

-Tracheas look like a vaccum hose (flexiblue tube with rings)

-Jugular veins are HUGE 

-Carotid arteries are pretty small but pump a massive amount of blood

-Carotid arteries are easy to knick with clamps 

-I am quick to react to "Oh shit!" situations in surguries and am quick at clamping off knicked arteries.

-Our group's 'problem' with the carotid paled in comparison to another's in our section which involved a literal fountain of blood, a TA getting a new blood splatter pattern on her coat (yes, I said new), and a student getting blood on their face

-the vagus nerve is pretty big and easy to identify

-the depressor nerve is thinner than the thread we use to tie tubes and lines in place with (regular sewing string)

-cutting nerves and stimulating ends and injecting epinepherine and acetylcholine caused interesting reactions in heart rate and pulse.

-clots in arteries can be broken up by massaging them

-My lab manual insists that we don't 'humanely euthenize' our rabbits after lab, but instead 'sacrifice the animal' -- I feel like I've made an offering to some cult or something now...are bio majors a cult?

-Flatlining on DOS computers looks so much lamer than it does on the machines in House

-everyone in my lab has a pretty sick sense of humour and we saved the screen that showed the death of Monty

-Lab started at noon and went until 6:30.

Time for bed.

P.S: I've got one more day being 20.

P.P.S: WSU Acoustic Concert with Dustin Kensrue tomorrow night, tickets still available, $5

Bio Geeking and Salamander skinning

Had my lecture exam for CVA today and I was able to answer everything (a step up from quite a few people). This was followed by me finishing up skinning my shark and cutting out a chunk to see deep hidden muscles. I also skinned my Necturus (AKA Salamander Larvae). BTW, preserved Salamander smells HORRIBLE (especially when preserved in Ethanol) and feels worse. 

OK, Bio geeking over. 

Still hate Mam Phys and The Douchebag. His explanation of how muscles contract made NO sense. I'll read the book to figure it out. 

I've got a 6-8 hour lab tomorrow I really don't want to go to. Blargh. Everyone wish me luck on my first real rabbit surgury.

PS - 3 days until my 21st b-day. :D 

81st Academy Awards: And the winner is...

Here are the results of the Oscar's tonight (plus) :

Best Supporting Actress: Penelope Cruz - Seriously love the dress. Love her speach too--even if I only caught 70% of the spanish part.

Steve Martin and Tina Fey--Love you both, your banter is glorious

Best Original Screenplay: Dustan Lance Black for "Milk" - a great speech. Very nicely done.

"Don't fall in love with me"

Best Adapted Screenplay: Simon Beaufoy for "Slumdog Millionare" - 

Jenifer Aniston and Jack Black - Love the banter "Oh yeah, every year I do one Dreamworks picture and then take all that money to the Oscars and bet it on pixar."

Best Animated Feature: WALL-E

Best Animated Short Story:  La Maison en petits cubes

Best Art Direction: Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Costume Design: The Duchess -YES! I always pull for old European vintage. 

Best Makeup: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Best Cinematography: Slumdog Millionare 

Best Live Action Short: Spielzeugland (Toyland) 

LOVED THE MUSICAL NUMBER!

Best Supporting Actor: Heath Ledger in "Dark Knight" - I seriously wish he was still alive. He had such a career ahead of him. I'm very glad he got this, although it was kind of an unfair pitting for the other nominees.

Best Documentary Feature: Man on Wire

Best Documentary Short: Smile Pinki 

Love the action clips they used for the short. :D

Best Visual Effects: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 

Best Sound Editing: The Dark Knight

Best Sound Mixing: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Film Editing: Slumdog Millionaire 

Jean Hersholt Award: Jerry Lewis 

Best Original Score: Slumdog Millionaire

Best Original Song: "Jai Ho" Slumdog Millionaire

Best Foreign Language Film: "Departures" 

Best Directing: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire - Extra kudos for imitating Tigger upon recieving your Oscar, Danny. :D

Best Actress: Kate Winslet

Best Actor: Sean Penn

Best Film: Slumdog Millionaire

Aaand that's all folks! :D I've got work in the morning and class after! Time to go get some rest!

81st Academy Awards Red Carpet

Watching the Academy Awards as I type and critiquing the fashion with my roommate. I'm apparently very amusing mid-fashion-rant. Here's what I think:

Mylie Rae Cyrus - I like the dress! It's nice and classy! The only thing is, it looks a little too old for her. I can't tell if it's beading or sequins or something else. I hope its the former. I hate sequins.

Freida Pinto - color works well, the only thing I can see that I don't like, is the single sleeve. Its a bit too form fitting 

Taraji Henson - Oh My Goodness! It's GEORGEOUS! Not so impressed with the necklace, but the dress! It's WONDERFUL! 

Melissa Leo - Like the color, don't like the change between bodice and skirt. Her hair...why?

Viola Davis - PREETY! Color! Love the skirt! Love the broach! Love the lines! 

Heidi Klum - Her hair is plastered to the top of her head, I don't care if it's 'modern' and 'origami' like...its strange. 

Michael Shannon - He looks... kinda drunk and exhausted and... his head is very square. His hair is very...scruffy... I don't think he looks like he should be on the Oscar red carpet.

Sarah Jessica Parker - "barely mint" ? What kind of a color is that? she's almost popping out of the bodice. Honey, the girls aren't happy with you. Don't like the belt either. Eye makeup=extreeme. 

Amy Adams - interesting lines... large necklace too....is that glass? Something's up with her eye makeup...love the hair in the back though.

Amanda Seymour - I like it, but the bold color washes her out a bit.

Robert Patterson - Twilight boy,  do a proper styling for a formal event. And shave the 'stubble'. 

Natalie Portman - Very simple, the spots of flitter/sequins are odd. I LOVE her hair though!

Beyonce - When is she not georgeous! the bottom is a bit big for me, but it all comes together great!

Queen Latifa - Hmmm... I wish I could get a better picture of her dress. 

Anne Hathaway - I do like this! the waist is off in my mind, but the rest is great!

Angelina Jole - She's lovely (as always) in a simple black dress! Even with the wierd psudo-cape in the back, I won't diss it at all because she's Angelina Jole and she'll very easily kick my ass if she want to. Love her. Love the dress. Love the hair. Love the green earrings! 

Penelope Cruz -  very simple jewlery, very simple dress. Almost wedding dress-ish. Lots of rouging and lots of texture. AND ITS VINTAGE! 

Kate Winslet - Oh hun, the waist on it makes her midline look puffy. I'm so sorry. I love the bodice shape though. the black decal on it though...not so crazy about it. Nice simple, light makeup and I love the earrings! Her hair is very elegent too!

Bunny Sugury and Exhaustion

So I just got back from my first rabbit surgury lab, which luckily didn't take too long. The rabbit went under rather quickly and after 1.5 hours and lots of work by the anesthesiologist we were able to get to work. I won't get into details as there was some blood and muscles being torn. The wierdest thing was when I got the stethescope and listened  to the heart beat while we eunesthetized the bunny. I was actually surprised at how calm I was there. Next week we're doing our own surguries and I'm the assistant surgan, so we'll see then. 

I am so freakin tired right now its not funny. Too many lab reports to write this week. X_x

B-day countdown: 9 days until I'm 21. :D

Not Dead

I may be close to it, but I'm not dead yet. I'm just swamped with classes and labs and lab reports and really want to sleep. I'll try to compile a dump of fun quotes and moments for the past week soon, but for now, Happy Darwin Week! 

Man Vs. Food: Seattle!

I just saw a preview for this Monday's Man vs. Food in Seattle! They're going to Beth's Cafe (LOVE) for him to eat a dozen egg omelette. :D I love Beth's, its so much fun to go eat there, I may watch to see if I spot any drawings on the wall I recognize. 

Random bits to end the week

Well, here are a bunch of things I collected and was too distracted/exhausted to post at the time they happened. 

1. The Snuggie Quote

I was listening to a radio  station Thursday morning and got one of the most hilarious quotes ever!

In refference to the Suggie: "In the comfort of my

 home, where no one can see me, who cares if I look like the Lord Voldemort from Bed, Bath and Beyond." 

Its so True too! Who the hell buys a blanket with sleeves?! Its called a sweatshirt! Please, put one on and stop making my eyes burn. 

Speaking of burning--if you've seen the commercial, when the "family" is sitting around a campfire roasting marshmallows and looking oh-so-irritating, all I can think is "Why are you wearing a blanket on the side of you facing the nice warm fire?" quickly followed by "Please let one of them catch on fire. Please!" 

2. Pet Peeve of the Week: People taking their shoes off in the class.

Seriously, why? Do your feet hurt? Probably not because those are some pretty comfy looking shoes, buster. The only time I can understand this is if someone wears ultra-feminine shoes (i.e. 4" stilletto heels) and then we know their feet don't smell bad because they're barely wearing shoes anyways. If you're wearing slip on loafers, you have no excuse. Keep them on. Especaially when you sit next to people and make it very obvious what you're doing.

3. Ecologogical Concept of the Week:

Did you know that there is an Ecological Dark Side? It's called the International Lumbar Industry. And, yes, they do have cookies. Made out of the spleens of boy-and-girl scouts and unfortunate forest critters that fell under the blades of their chainsaws. (I honestly just wanted to say spleen here. I'm pretty sure they used the heart. Possibly brain and liver as well. Yummy.)

4. High Tech in the Lab!

Yup, my Mammalian Physiology had the most high tech equiptment on the campus! I mean, we have our state-of-the-art DOS computers which like to crash if you breathe on them wrong. This week we whipped out some spiffy EKG equiptment and found that it had been asembled by the Hess family from "Signs." 

How, you ask? Well, since electrical signal insulation isn't really that important --CoughCough--, the manufacturers decided to wrab the wires in the poorest excuse for wire insulation me--electrician's daughter--has ever seen. How does the Biology department decide to deal with this? Perhaps purchase working equiptment? Working equiptment that requires an operating system above DOS so that new computers are needed as well? Of course not! Instead its "Here's a few rolls of tin foil! Go forth TAs and Biology students and use it for White-Trash Insulation!"

Cheap bastarts.

5. Bone Crossed

Awesomely glorious new book out by Patricia Briggs called Bone Crossed, 4th in the series of Mercedes Thompson books -- possibly my new favorite series. Any author who can use the line "And much awkwardness ensued" in a book to actually further plot is my hero. Not to meantion the fact that Ben rocks. And Mercy. And Adam. And Zee. And Stephan. Warren. Kyle. Sam. Jesse. Darryl.  Ok, they all rock and the fact that its set in Washington state (in the Tri-cities, only ~2 hours from my present location).  I love my urban fantasy novels.

Go forth and read it! Start with Moon Called! I demand it!

Now I'm off to wallow in misery and study for my four exams next week (Mon-Thurs). [sobs quietly in corner]

Today in Texting & an Break for Dancing.

Well, technically this happened yesterday, but I was too dead to post it last night. My lovely older sister texted me in my Ecology lecture at around 10 AM, after an hour of talk about climates.

Sister: Have a great day today!!

Me: I'll do that. :) Proff is lulling me to sleep.

Sister: Lol imagine him in a tutu

Me: Oh god. My mind will never feel clean again. I hate you. Gah.

Sister: Hehe. You are awake now at least!

Yeah. I'll never be able to look at my proff again without shuddering. 

Speaking of shuddering, my crazy proffessor, The Douchebag, decided to prance in front of the class to entertain us while he stalled for time. I think he was going for tap dancing, but it came off as seizuring. Too bad it was better than his "jokes".

Transformers 2: Revenge of the Fallen

Time needs to pass quicker...June must come.