An Enlightening and Fascinating Read

Recent Hobbes, in pictures

2009-11-27T20:51:00.002Z

Hobbes is growing up fast. Once he finished all his vaccinations we started letting him out into the garden, under supervision at first, and then increasingly on his own.

... That was the plan, anyway. Turns out Hobbes, despite being a cocky and confident chap when inside, is actually a big wuss. I thought that, with the flat being so small, he would be bouncing off the walls raring to go out, but the first time we opened the door and said "Come on then Hobbes!", he hid. We coaxed him over the doorstep but couldn't get him - even with treats! - further than the front passageway, so drastic measures were called for.

We put him on the lawn.

I thought he would enjoy the feeling of grass under his paws, but I was wrong. He made a beeline for the nearest shelter, which happened to be my parked scooter, and cowered behind it mewing pitifully.

He has improved considerably with repeated (forced) expeditions to the garden, and I am happy to announce that the other day he even had a little frolic, of which I present the following evidence:

He was even brave enough to check out my scooter:

My first two weeks as a trainee vet nurse

2009-11-07T13:03:00.002Z

I am happy to report that, so far at least, I love my job. When I get up at an ungodly hour and drag myself into the shower, I am not particularly pleased about having to leave my warm bed, and Tom, and Hobbes, but I am already looking forward to getting to work, seeing what cases we have, what animals are in, and learning more.

I have learned so much already, and I am starting to feel more and more useful. My first few days were an exercise in keeping as much out of people's way as possible, but now I can actually be of service to the vets and my fellow nurses - I can set up the operating theatre, monitor an animal during a procedure, and clean up afterwards; I can give injections and remove catheters and draw up the correct dosages of various drugs; I can walk dogs on drips (not as easy as it sounds); I can correctly restrain cats and dogs for ultrasounds and taking bloods and sedation; I can use an anaesthetic machine; I can run blood tests and file the results; I can microchip animals; and, of course, I can do a lot of cleaning. But I don't really mind the cleaning - I like the feeling of getting everything clean and hygienic and more pleasant for the animals in our care, and having everything set up and ready to go in case of an emergency.

The practice where I am working mostly sees dogs and cats, but even in those two species the range of cases I have seen already is fascinating. We have a large number of spays and castrations, obviously, but I've seen lots of other things as well - a tiny kitten (three months old, smaller than Hobbes) that had inexplicably eaten an earplug (!) and was at death's door before we got it out; the next day, it was bouncy and happy as if nothing had been wrong. A German shepherd that had swallowed a large stick. A cat that - from the array of bones we got out of its stomach - appeared to have eaten a whole rabbit. A labrador caesarean that ended wonderfully with the birth of four healthy puppies - and, at the other end of the spectrum, a chihuahua caesarean that was less happy, with the extraction of two, long-dead pups, apparently killed by an infection. A cat hit by a car, that came in as a stray, but was reunited with his loving owner because he was microchipped. A collie, hit by a car, that had to have a leg amputated. A cat that had abnormally large eyelids, so we had to snip little bits off. A dog that had eaten a chocolate brownie and couldn't stop throwing up. And the list goes on.

There are some pretty low moments. We had a twenty-one year old cat with major organ failure, resulting in a grossly swollen stomach. It was so aggressive we had to sedate it just to examine it, and the kindest thing was to put it down. Euthanasia is peaceful, but always sad. Yesterday we had an elderly diabetic cat pass away. A cat it lived with had died two weeks earlier, and ever since it had been pining, calling for its friend and not eating. It went into collapse, and we couldn't save it. A case that particularly sticks in my mind happened in my first week - in the evening, a lady brought in a muntjac deer that she'd found, hit by a car, in the road. There was nothing we could do for it - one of its hind legs was completely shattered, there was probably damage to the pelvis, and it was gushing blood from a deep wound on its thigh. We put it to sleep. It was a beautiful animal.

But all that comes with the territory, and is made up for by all the times we can make an animal better or more comfortable. The people I work with are brilliant, and I am very, very happy.

Because I can't really take pictures at work, here is a video of Hobbes being his usual adorable self:

Cambodia, pt. 1

2009-10-23T12:37:00.004+01:00

Before we deployed to the forest to get on with the project we spent a week in the capital, Phnom Penh, getting last-minute kit, attending briefings on the methodology and scientific background, and generally being tourists and enjoying civilisation while we still could.

We visited the Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum, a high school which was turned into an infamous death camp (S-21) by the Khmer Rouge. Out of 14,000 or so people 'processed' by the prison, only twelve or so survived. It was not a pleasant place to go, but I think it's a necessary visit for anyone going to Cambodia. Without seeing a place like Tuol Sleng you can't really comprehend what the country has been through, and what it is still recovering from.

On a more light-hearted note, in one of the stairwells there, we found a little cluster of bats:

We saw the Royal Palace, which was absolutely lovely. In one of the courtyards was a strange, rather out-of-place-looking white pavilion. It was apparently a gift from France in the 1800s.

Another key landmark in Phnom Penh is the Independence Monument, built in 1958 to celebrate freedom from France. I liked it best by night, when it's lit up:

We explored various markets, all of which were hot, busy, and crammed to the gunnels with essential items from live chickens to stereos, with a liberal helping of cheesy Khmer cassette tapes thrown in for good measure:

A few of us visited Wat Phnom, a little temple built on the only hill in Phnom Penh. It was fantastically kitsch, with statues of the Buddha rubbing noses with strings of fairy lights, neon lighting, and gaudy paintings.

Near the end of our week in Phnom Penh, we went on a boat trip on the river, and watched the sun set over the city.

One week down, ten more to go...

Hobbes is adorable, again

2009-10-23T11:40:00.001+01:00

Hobbes has discovered that he can make the (not really very big at all) leap between the table and the kitchen counter, resulting in scenes like this:

My scooter is here!

2009-10-19T15:53:00.003+01:00

... and it is AWESOME!

It's brand new, and the website I bought it from said "some assembly required". Their instructions were something like "Just pop the front wheel on and you're good to go!", so I thought it couldn't be too hard, but an hour or so later and only seconds away from a heated argument between me and Tom, we gave up and called a mechanic. He put the wheel on, charged up the battery, checked it over and was generally super.

So now it's roadworthy!

I'm just not sure if I am.

It's going to take a few days to sort out insurance, registration etc., but now my references have come through so I'll hopefully start work this week!

Hobbes is really excited, as you can see.

A shocking state of affairs

2009-10-14T18:08:00.003+01:00

So I noticed that the last post had no pictures of Hobbes in whatsoever. This is a terrible oversight and an issue I plan to remedy immediately with the following pictures taken by Tom's friend Ryan, an awesome photographer and a cat lover to boot:

There, that's much better.

A very eventful week

2009-10-13T14:18:00.003+01:00

As you may or may not know, I have been frantically searching for a job ever since I got back from Cambodia - which is only about three weeks, but it feels like forever. Adult life is expensive! There's rent and council tax and utilities bills, and food shopping and pet food and vet fees, and it has all been a bit stressful as I had no idea when I'd be getting some money coming in. So I handed my CV in to millions of shops in town, and signed up with a temping agency, and emailed off my CV to various places just for good measure, looking for something - anything - to tide me over for the year. Getting a job I might actually enjoy seemed about the unlikeliest thing that could possibly happen.

Then, last Monday, I got three phone calls. One was from the temping agency, saying they'd found me a job for a few months as a cashier, and could I come in for an interview straight away. I was thrilled and said yes. The second was from a different bank, saying they had a position available on a permanent basis for a cashier, and could I come in for an interview in the next few days. I was even more thrilled, and said yes. The third was from a veterinary clinic I had sent my CV to in a fit of wild optimism, saying they had a vacancy for a student veterinary nurse, and could I come in for an interview sometime soon. I pretty much squealed with glee.

I should explain a little about becoming a veterinary nurse. The process is this: you persuade an accredited training clinic to take you on, and then for two years or so you take a day out each week to go to college, ending up with an NVQ in Veterinary Nursing. If you're lucky, your clinic will pay your college fees; some do, some don't. It's hard work - you're working full time and studying for exams at the same time; the pay is very low and doesn't get much higher; you work long hours and some weekends and some bank holidays. When I think about vet nursing, though, all I see is that magical phrase, "working with animals". None of the drawbacks really matter.

So I went in for an interview, and it went well, and I was invited back to spend a morning at the clinic, shadowing the nurses, helping out, seeing what the job involved, that kind of thing. And at the same time I was interviewing and completing paperwork for the other two jobs, and trying desperately not to let my hope that I would get the vet nurse job run away with me. And at the same time I was learning to drive, and looking for, a motorbike, because I could only get the vet nurse job if I had my own transport. It's a floating position - the clinic is run by a large company which owns several practices in Oxfordshire, and you work at two or three of them, depending on who needs you, so there's a fair amount of travel involved.

Yesterday I spent the morning at the clinic, and I had a whale of a time. I walked some dogs, helped draw up medications (handling syringes is harder than doctors and nurses make it look; there's a knack to it), watched a dog undergo surgery for a lacerated paw (I monitored her heartbeat!), prepared the operating theatre for a lump removal, helped ultrasound a cat (soon to be an amputee - she had a cancerous bone growth on her back leg; we were checking her kidneys to make sure it hadn't spread before we took the leg off) and generally thoroughly enjoyed myself.

Yesterday afternoon I was offered the job. It's provisional - although I have now done my CBT and so am allowed to drive a bike or moped up to 125cc, I haven't actually got such a bike or moped - but as soon as I get one, which will hopefully be within the week, I can get to work. I'm so excited!

Of course I am going to be working my buns off and have very, very little money, but I still think I am the luckiest person in the world. I'll have a bike of my own, which I've wanted for years, the job of my dreams, a brilliant flat with the ever-lovely Tom, and crowning it all, like Miss Hamard's proverbial icing on the cherry, Hobbes.

Life is good.

Tour of our flat

2009-10-07T09:49:00.000+01:00

An unfortunate side-effect

2009-10-04T10:39:00.002+01:00

The antibiotics appear to be working; Hobbes's eyes are clearing up, and although he has started to protest a bit more about the tablets I have mastered the knack of getting them down him, so all is well.

However, the antibiotics do seem to have some unforeseen mental repercussions:

Hobbes now thinks he is a fruit.

"Would you say the eye was weepy, gungey, or watery?" "Hmm... let's go for gungey"

2009-10-02T22:54:00.002+01:00

(A quote from my phone conversation with the receptionist at the vet.) Hobbes has had a bit of an eye infection for a few days and as it wasn't showing any signs of improvement we gave in, grimly checked our bank balances, gathered a crack team of drivers to ferry us there and got him to a vet.

He was not hugely impressed by the whole operation.

The upshot is that he has a bit of a virus - the vet noticed some discharge around his nose as well, and Tom had realised that he was sneezing a little (I confess, I had thought these were nothing important) - and so the vet put him on a course of antibiotics; a half tablet of Synulox twice a day for six days or so. I took the little pink packet from her with some trepidation; having had to give tablets to Sweep and Zapp before, I knew what a nightmare it was. In the car on the way home I regaled Tom with spine-chilling tales of medication-giving gone wrong, of cats that transformed into spitting balls of fury when confronted with pills, of strange contraptions to insert into cats' mouths and dispense tablets, of owners clawed and scratched and thoroughly disheartened.

We got home and the time came to give Hobbes his first half-tablet. I cut one of the Synulox in two, and (with Tom eagerly looking on, anxious to see the ensuing carnage) took Hobbes firmly by the scruff of the neck. His mouth opened a little (in a grimace of annoyance, I am sure) and I slipped the tablet in, clamped my fingers over his jaws and rubbed gently at his neck, murmuring to him that if he would just swallow the damn thing I would love him forever. Of course, with my previous experience, I fully expected that the instant I let go he would triumphantly spit out the tablet which he had cunningly squirrelled away in his cheek or something, and then use my momentary surprise to wriggle out of my grasp and escape. The tablet would be soggy and crumbly and all the harder to slip into his mouth the second time, and eventually I would give up.

What I hadn't expected was that Hobbes would calmly swallow the half-tablet, then look at me as if to say, "Yes? Anything else?"

I can draw one of the following conclusions:
1. Sweep and Zapp are unusually hard cats to give tablets to. I don't think this is the case - a quick google search reveals a plethora of medicating-cats advice.
2. Hobbes is a saintly and angelic creature, who understands that we are trying to make him better, and actually kind of likes the taste of Synulox.
3. Hobbes knew that an initial victory for me would make me soppy and grateful and more likely to give treats in the short term, and, in the longer term, make me lax and complacent about giving him his tablets, thus allowing him the element of surprise when he reveals his true tablet-taking colours.

I really hope the answer is 2.

Hobbes

2009-09-29T18:05:00.002+01:00

Introducing our little kitten, Hobbes! (It's after Calvin and Hobbes properly, but I also like it for its philosophical connotations).

He is very much a lap cat. If you pick him up and plonk him on your lap he will stay and loll about, purring thunderously. He has a very loud purr for one so small.

I love his little nose smudge.

Occasionally he will take a break from snoozing to frolic about and make mischief. Last night's escapades included trying with all his might to knock over the chair Tom's guitar was on...

...attempting to climb the table leg...

...chewing on the blind cords...

...and generally looking demonic.

He is fourteen weeks old and a very smart young chap.

Today I put the washing machine on and he was fascinated, even if he did run away every time it made a strange noise.

Obviously, we are smitten.

I'm back!

2009-09-28T21:11:00.003+01:00

Several large things have happened since I last posted in July. I will go through them in roughly chronological order.

1. Our much-loved Scamp lost her battle with cancer (she had already fought it off back in April) and went peacefully to the Great Doghouse In The Sky. She will be missed.

2. I spent eleven awesome weeks in Cambodia. There's far too much for one blog post. I will write about it in dribs and drabs, when I can muster up the energy to sort through my 1000+ photos.

3. Tom and I moved into our new flat in Oxford together, and it is perfect.

4. I graduated.

5. We got a cat. His name is Hobbes - we think, though this is provisional; we're waiting to see if it fits him - and he is black and white and fourteen weeks old. He is the friendliest and most outgoing kitten I have ever met, and I am completely in love.

I think that just about covers all the major points. Details shortly!

Bye!

2009-07-04T13:14:00.001+01:00

Short and sweet

2009-07-03T13:52:00.000+01:00

I look like a boy, but I like it.

Zapp needs to go on a diet... again

2009-06-15T08:48:00.002+01:00

Came home on Saturday to find out, among other things, that Zapp went to the vet for a general check-up recently, and of course he was weighed (since he has tended to be overweight in the past... ahem). The vet said he ought to wear four kilograms. He weighs six. He is, officially, one and a half cats.

Finished

2009-06-12T22:04:00.000+01:00

And... that's that.

I can forget things like this:

in favour of things like this:

What a relief.

Fun

2009-06-03T11:18:00.003+01:00

Yesterday I picked up my anti-malarial pills for Cambodia from the chemist - there are a range on offer but I went with mefloquine for various reasons - it's not too expensive, I only need to take it once a week, and the side effects are, on balance, less undesirable than those of some of the other drugs.

The side effects of mefloquine sound pretty fun: severe depression, anxiety, paranoia, aggression, nightmares and insomnia. Nightmares! I already get pretty vivid dreams, so that particular one will be interesting... oh, and also, not getting malaria will be nice as well.

Today's efforts

2009-05-22T17:46:00.001+01:00

Update

2009-05-22T11:55:00.002+01:00

It's been ages since I last posted. My excuse for that should be that I have been too busy revising, but that isn't really the case. My exams start on Tuesday and I'm not really worried yet. I don't know if I'll be worried even when I get in there and have to start writing. It's really quite liberating, my degree not being the be-all and end-all, because it's meant that I could enjoy this term, my last in Oxford, without shutting myself away in a library and panicking for weeks on end. Instead I've just been reading books, watching films, trying to get myself sorted for next year, and drawing:

It looks kind of funny in the background because I propped it up against my laptop.

I am getting super excited about Cambodia, and moving in with Tom in September, and various fun happenings this summer before I leave. Hopefully the exams will go well, but even if they don't, I don't think I'll be too bothered. I'm kind of glad I stuck with PPE, because it was the fact that it was so wrong for me that made me search for something I did really enjoy, and I've found that now. I know what I want to do, and I know it will make me happy, and that's really comforting.

Wicken Fen and a surprise adventure

2009-04-27T13:48:00.003+01:00

Over the Easter break I persuaded my family to come out with me to Wicken Fen, a National Trust Nature Reserve that's not too far from us. It was a gorgeous day, sunny and warm, and I think a good day out was had by all. Lou even enjoyed sitting in the bird hide for a bit, where we watched a little group of reed buntings at the feeder, and listened for the raucous calls of pheasants.

We also seized the opportunity to take a decent family picture since this year is a significant one - Lou will be 18, I will be 21, and dad will be (whisper it) 50!

Note the cunning use of the colour blue.

We got back to the car after our walk round the reserve and had a picnic, and then, eager to be off (for we had visitors to meet back at home), hopped in the car and prepared to leave. An ominous scraping sound coming from the front wheel, however, stopped us in our tracks. Mum and I got out of the car and listened closely to the wheel as dad drove around, and it was clear that all was not well. We then had to decide whether to chance it or not. I was all for it at first, but a horrifying vision of breaking down on the motorway and hordes of angry cars piling up in our wake and shouting at us convinced me of the wisdom of waiting. Insurance providers were duly called and rescue vehicles dispatched, and in no time at all a vast truck squeezed into the car park. We waved at it rather sheepishly.

As the car was winched up onto the back of the truck an elderly couple stopped to stare, and dad (always looking for the opportunity to make a bad joke) said, "That's what happens if you don't pay your parking ticket!" They looked a little scared and scuttled away. I think they might have believed him.

Louise and mum looking appropriately excited.

Never mow the lawn barefoot

2009-04-21T14:06:00.002+01:00

As well as the rather obvious you-may-chop-your-own-toes-off reason, I present you with another:

It's a nightmare trying to get your feet clean again.

Scamp came out to the garden with me to a) laugh at my silliness and b) sit around and look fabulous, both of which she did with aplomb:

Whipsnade

2009-04-21T10:30:00.002+01:00

First things first - I am delighted to say that Scamp has been given the (more or less) all clear! The vet said there's about a 30% chance that the cancer spread before they got to it, so she should be just fine, but we need to keep our eyes out for new tumours. Scamp's healing well, and we're allowed to take her out for short walks now, which seems to make her very happy.

Onto other adventures - last week Tom's friend from Oxford, by name of Harry, visited Peterborough, and we took him to Whipsnade! I had been itching to go again since our visit in January. The weather was less than kind to us, but as we had the car it didn't matter too much, and a good day out was had by all.

We arrived as the brown bears were being fed, so we actually got to see them all! In January all we got was a glimpse of a furry bottom in a cave.

A Roan antelope. I sort of fell in love with these guys. Their faces are just so cute and ridiculous.

Near the end of the day we were innocently strolling away from the tiger enclosure (where the tigers were sensibly keeping out of the rain) when a line of elephants walked past! We had just caught the end of one of their daily walks. They were holding each other's tails in their trunks. It was awesome.

And now I urge Harry to post the rest of the photos, because his camera was so much better than mine.

A few happy Easter scenes

2009-04-14T23:28:00.001+01:00

Dying hard-boiled eggs. Dad looks slightly dubious.

Grape hyacinths in the garden.

Sweep strikes a pose.

Scamp models the latest fashion

2009-04-11T14:54:00.003+01:00

Scamp's Snoopy T-shirt was getting a little dirty what with, you know, the whole seeping-bodily-fluids thing, so now that she has been back to the vet for a check-up and had the drain removed, we thought we would find her some new vestments. I hunted high and low for a suitably canine outfit, and found this old (and I mean really old. I wore this when I was about nine) 101 Dalmatians T-shirt!

Exquisite tailoring for a flattering, comfortable fit.

Scamp looks slightly dubious about the 'flattering' part. When she stands up and walks around it hangs pretty low, giving her a bit of a belly.

She's obviously feeling a lot better today and has been wagging her tail and everything. We'll get back the results from her latest tests at the end of the week, when we'll find out if she has to go through chemotherapy or radiotherapy or whatever, but until then, our only issue is to keep up the supply of dog-themed T-shirts. Failing that, I'm pretty sure Lou has an old Tasmanian Devil pyjama top. That should do.

2009-04-10T10:35:00.002+01:00

Scamp's still feeling pretty rotten today, but at least she has a snazzy T-shirt to cheer her up:

Not only is Snoopy deeply fashionable, he is also helping to stop her scratching or licking her stitches!