Care packages

Blog attempt #2... this may be why I don't blog more often... one key swipe and what you wrote is lost...*sigh*

With the recent craziness of preparing for exams, life has been so busy that it is nice to take a break before the next round on nuttiness begins and just enjoy December. What I mean by that is, this is the time of year when "Holiday Cheer" is everywhere! And I enjoy getting into the holiday spirit as much as anyone. This past weekend we made sure to finish getting the Christmas tree up and our house is fully lit up with pretty, white, icicle lights. This decorating will be done in stages (after all, I still have Halloween curtains up!) but it nice that the hubby and I can do it together gradually. I miss him, so this is also time for us to reconnect a bit...

This year I am also doing something that I have wanted to do for a few years and just never really got around to it... Now I love the community I live in, but one of the things that makes me sad is the number of homeless that live here! We have a pleasant downtown area, but you will definitely see someone living on the streets every single time you walk around. I feel like they are also prevalent during the holiday season, maybe it is because there are more people out shopping and, if you hold a sign saying that "anything helps", when more people are around, you may actually get something. These homeless are of all ages, of all sexes, some have some mental disabilities/instabilities, some have chemical depencies, some may choose to live on the streets and some may have not had any choice in the matter. Some travel alone, some in pairs, and some even have pets! I have been asked many times whether I have a couple of bucks, extra food, or a cigarette (I don't smoke, but it never hurts to ask, right?). My rule is not to give out any money, I don't know what they will do with it and I have actually seen my father get conned before so I just won't do it. But I do feel like I would like to give something to someone who is in need because I am fortunate enough to have a roof over my head, a warm bed, and I am able to eat what I want (mostly) when I want it (usually). That is a luxury many don't have.

Soooo, with the help of Pinterest, I decided that I would make care packages for the homeless that we can keep in our cars so that they are available when they are actually needed. Again, I have been wanting to do this for years because I feel terrible when I leave a parking lot and see someone with a cardboard sign standing at the corner and I feel like I should give them something. I know I don't owe them anything, after all haven't I worked hard for what I have? So many people feel this way, but I feel that maybe this person has come on to bad times and maybe I can give them something to make their day just a little brighter? That is really the goal of the care packages, to bring a smile to someones face and, hopefully, a little ray sunshine into their lives. They are not meant to save anyone or provide them with a means of living, but just a friendly gesture to let them know that someone does care.

I made three different types of care packages, maybe I got a little carried away, but they were so easy to make! I made a general care package, a "friends" care package, and a doggie care package.

General care package:

"Friends" care package:

Doggie care package:

As you can see, they all have a little card on them that says what they are and what is in them. That gives me a chance to give them a little greeting and then the person doesn't have to rifle through the bag trying to figure out what is in it. I was able to place everything into gallon-sized freezer bags so that they are weather proof and portable. There is a blog by a once homeless girl (http://www.thehomelessgirl.com) that I found helpful and she could provide some perspective. All the items either came from the Dollar Tree store or Costco. Everything has a decent shelf life and does not need refrigeration or heating to eat. I think that the total cost for the items came to about $25-$30 and made about 10 packs total (6 general, 2 friends, and 2 doggie). That is so reasonable it makes me want to make more. Might be a good idea to keep in the car for any time of year, not just Christmas!

The NAVLE...

So I finally got to sit for the NAVLE (North American Veterinary Licensing Examination!! Needless to say that this has been a goal for a few years and today was finally the day! Now I don't like exams, in fact, I quite detest them. I feel that there are many appropriate methods of determining whether someone is competent, but standardized testing is just not my favorite method. For those who don't know that the NAVLE entails, here is a quick run-down: It is a computer-based exam that is a requirement for licensure to practice veterinary medicine in all licensing jurisdictions in North America. The NAVLE consists of 360 clinically relevant multiple choice questions administered in six blocks of 60 questions each. You 65 minutes to complete each block, for a total of 390 minutes (or six and one-half hours) of total examination time. They say that it is designed to assess your knowledge of veterinary medicine as it relates to entry-level private clinical practice. The majority of questions are related to major species such as dogs, cats, horses, food animals (cows, pigs, chickens, etc) and then they also throw in some exotics and lesser common species. Now I am find it hard to believe that most entry-level positions require knowledge of all species, but such is the exam and the requirements. To prepare I registered for VetPrep, which is an online prep course designed to prepare students for the format of the exam. I found it helpful, however it was a bit overwhelming since it has a wealth of information! Their promise is that if you finish a majority of the course and don't pass the exam, that they pay for your retake. Honestly, I don't know how anyone could get through all of the material because I feel like I was on there constantly and only got through less than 30% of the course. I must admit that there were questions that I felt very confident about, which was a tremendous help with time management, and there were questions that I felt I could work through and rule out at least some of the options presented. Finally, of course, were the questions that threw me for a curve and completely stumped me! My favorites included photos, such as a horse intestine or a bad radiograph of a chicken. The question with the horse intestine was "how old is the horse"? WTF?? Now I can approx the age of a horse using their teeth, but their innards is a totally different story! Regardless, I tried to rationalize my way through the question and all I can hope is that I chose the correct answer. After such a big exam all I can say is that I am tired. Preparing for this exam, and indeed for everything related to veterinary licensing, is exhausting. And what to say when asked, "how did it go?", "how do you feel?", the honest truth is that I don't know! I hate to feel too confident, because there were so many questions that made me go, "huh"? But, then again, I did know many other questions. Ultimately, it is what it is and the results will be available in January. I sure hope that this is one more milestone I can put behind me! Next stop? Vegas and CPE retake for anesthesia...let's do this thing!