This happens to everyone from time to time. You’re dealt such a crappy hand of cards that you sort of shut down and say “Bring it on, whatever’s going to happen is just going to have to happen” That’s the sort of mood I’ve developed over the course of this week. I have an epidemiology exam tomorrow and I think I’ve stressed myself beyond caring. While the instructor is a wonderful person, I don’t really see the point in knowing how to calculate the positive likely-hood ratio of a cow actually having a disease for which she tested positive. That’s what reference laboratories and epidemiologists are for. However, it’s a required course. I just have to get through it and then forget it ever happened.
I started my day in epidemiology lecture where my instructor tried to review the two problem sets we’ve been assigned so far. By “tried” I mean he showed us that there are about 4 different ways to do the same problem to get different answers that are all correct to varying degrees. We rounded out the morning by observing a necropsy of a beagle. The pathologist got our little shin dig going by saying “There are chairs across the hall if anyone gets uncomfortable standing for the next couple hours. Let’s get started…” I actually fell asleep during the dissection. I’ve never ever fallen asleep in a class before and my body decides to crash during something that’s actually cool like a necropsy right in front of me? Good thing Left-Side Friend was watching and woke me up before I started snoring…
I just want to get this epidemiology exam over with so I can study for my bacteriology exam on Monday. That is an exam on which I know that I can do well provided I do enough work ahead of time. We’re supposedly going to be given 8 cases and we have to name the organism and talk about how it causes the particular disease/symptoms described, how the animal picked up the bacterium, whether or not it can be spread to humans, etc. The only problem is that there are about 60 organisms to know. I think I have a long weekend of flash cards ahead of me!
Well, I’m going to try to snap out of my funk by going to bed early. I know I’ll do better on my exam (read: I won’t cry out of sheer frustration) if I’ve had a good night sleep. Oh, the things you learn in veterinary school. I just have to get through tomorrow and everything should start improving. 
