Random Rambling Tidbits

 The day of reckoning came and I met it face on! Or I passed the National Exam portions of my certification tests, in other words! 

Oh gosh, does it ever feel like I have a huge weight off my shoulder. Grant it, I still have the State Exam coming up literally next week. This one is more specific to what the state sees; for example, I live in the desert known as Arizona so we can expect questions about Valley Fever, snake bites, and heatstroke. That part I'm fine with, since those are things we had case studies about and I even encoutered during my vet internships. But it also is over the many rules and statues that govern the veterinary board, like what you fill out for which certifications and in how many days is it due. That part I'll need to really sudy. 

In other news, the mice and I have been staying at my parent's since their house was closer than my apartment to the testing center. It's monsoon 
season so there have been a lot of crickets outside. None of them have gotten in the house, but I was joking that if one did get in, I could feed it my mice. Of course, that made me think about feeding them something like that for real. I know mice can have mealworms and some crickets, and aside from being a good source of protein hunting them can be great enrhicment for the mice. The issue is how to go about it. I was asking around at the pet stores and the lowest quantity is 25 mealworms, which is alot for my three mice even assuming that all three will eat them. I want a smaller amount to just see if any ofthem would like it. My cousin (the one with the four boys I was babysitting a while ago) and her husband have a African gray parrot, so we were talking about both of use introducing our pets to mealworms. That way we could split the quantity, but even then 25 would stil be alot. Again, neither of use know if the animals would even like it. As for the live crickets, I could also get them from a pet store, but I need to research more about if they need to be gut loaded like you do for retpiles/amphibians. That, and wait till I'm back in my own space because I know there is no way my mother would allow a cricket in her house XD 

 So when was the last time I updated here? 

...April 2016? Huh, guess that makes some sense. 2016 presidential election made things very stressful in my parents house, where I was still living. This lead me to having a full on breakdown through the end of 2016 and beginning of 2017. Thankfully I had my therapist, who also helped me figure out my career path. Budget cuts and student population meant that the school couldn't keep justifying my position, so I was let go. So I could have gone back to get a full on teaching certificate (I was only certified for paraprofessional work) or do something else.

I decided to do something else, and back to school I went to become a veterinary technician. And two years later, here I am with an Associates in Veterinary Technician, a set date to sit for my boards to become fully certified, and a much better place mentally (it helps that going back to school required me to move to a city two hours away from my parents. Absence really helped us mend things) 

I am also so proud that I went to Vet school and didn't come back with a dog or cat!

...I did come back with three mice though...



Look at my babies! This was around end of April when I first got them and the were so tiny! The far right one is Colette, the middle one is Angelina, and the far left was named Bijou at the time...


But then it turned out that I actually came home with two girls and one boy, instead of three girls. Luckily I caught it soon enough to separate without any unplanned litters. So instead of being named after the Hamtaro character, he is now Basil, after The Great Mouse Detective. Or as some of my relatives call him, the Boy! 




Then there is my albino girl, Angelina. She's named after Angelina Ballerina, since she is the one who spends the most time spinning on the wheels like a ballerina! She is also the most socialized, always eager to jump into a waiting hand! 



Finally there is Colette, named after the chef from Ratatouille so I can call them my ABC mice! She is the shyest and the most skittish, so I'm still working on socializing her. She has black eyes and is more of an off-white compared to her sister.