Some dreams do come true… eventually

I have always wanted to be a veterinarian and travel around Europe. Long story short: I am in Barcelona right now (and have been in Europe for the past month) and when I return home I will be getting ready to go to school to become a veterinarian. This is the first time that I have felt like my life has a definite direction (at least for the next 4 years or so).

So far my stay in Europe has been a mix between incredibly boring to incredibly fascinating. The boring parts are due to a lack of people, and the fascinating parts are due to presense of people. The people that one meets during a trip can really make or break your time. I may post more info about the trip later when I have a chance.

Updated Life

So a couple new things have happened, or are scheduled to happen, in my life lately. And this is a short summary:

• I was accepted to the Animal Health Technology program that I applied to at the last minute.
• I am applying for a job at an Animal Hospital in a nearby city for more experience and because I want to get out of my house
• I bought my plane ticket to Europe and will leave in June
• I am in the process of finishing my last few exams for my Bachelor of Science, after which I will have a degree in Animal Biology
• Soon, I will be taking some clinics on mountain biking (along with maintenance and safety)
• I’m still applying to vet schools in Melbourne and the US and would rather become a vet rather than a tech

Thats about it. I could rant about how my family is driving me crazy but that is old hat. I went outdoor climbing with a few friends of mine and it was a blast! I managed not to pee my pants in fear and even attempted some harder routes (with little success however). I also took about 100 pictures of the feral horses that were walking through the neighborhood.

Thats it for now. I’m sure there will be a few frustrated rants to follow in a few days or so.

Grump

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TV

Don’t you wish there was a knob on the TV to turn up the intelligence? There’s one marked ‘Brightness,’ but it doesn’t work.
– Gallagher

Bloody Massacre

Russia bans baby seal hunting

Mar 18, 2009

MOSCOW (AP) — Russia said Wednesday it was banning the hunting of baby harp seals, weeks after Prime Minister Vladimir Putin reportedly called the hunt a “bloody industry.”

The Natural Resources Ministry said the Federal Fisheries Agency issued an order Wednesday protecting harp seals pups up to 1 year old.

“The bloody sight of the hunting of seals, the slaughter of these defenseless animals, which you cannot even call a real hunt, is banned in our country, just as well as in most developed countries, and this is a serious step to protect the biodiversity of the Russian Federation,” Minister Yuri Trutnev said in a statement.

It was not immediately clear whether the ban included exceptions for indigenous communities.

Russia’s harp seal population has decreased by about a third in the past decade, to about 200,000 — squeezed by hunting as well as shrinking Arctic ice in the White Sea region, where much of the Russian population lives.

According to the state-run newspaper Rossisskaya Gazeta, Putin told a Cabinet meeting Feb. 26 he considered seal hunting a “bloody industry and it’s clear that it should have been banned long ago.”

In addition to Russia, commercial seal hunting is conducted in Namibia, Greenland, Sweden, and Finland, as well as in Canada, which is home to the world’s largest annual commercial seal hunt.

Beaver Buzz

I didn’t realize until a few moments ago how wonderful energy drinks are. Although I’m not addicted and I don’t get withdrawel symptoms (like some folks I know), after having about 1/2 cup of an energy drink I feel normal. It feel so good! I am awake, alert, thinking clearly and best of all: getting stuff done. Yeah…  it is 12am and I have a midterm tomorrow morning, but still! I feel so normal. Not like the usual tired/cranky/sleepy/bored Leah I usually am.

Oh and I saw that my university’s pub is having a “Meatatarian” party. I’m really tempted to tack pictures of the horrible things that happen to factory farmed animals right beside the posters for the party along with some gruesome facts (like how some animals are skinned alive or shocked multiple times).

If I was religious, I would say that meat-eaters (and leather-wearers, etc) are all going to hell. Along with those that pollute the environment with unnecessary vehicles like hummers & souped-up trucks that are used to drop kids off at school and do grocery shopping (not even exaggerating, I see it often). If you can affording a bloody Hummer, you can also afford an environmentally friendly car.