Middle of the night Randomness

• It's 2:26am. Why am I up, writing a blog post, you ask? It's not insomnia, it's called What People Do When They Have to Cobble Together a Living. Or, in other words, until February when I start at the full-time gig that I just secured, I'm having to work part-time and relief shifts here and there to make ends meet, including doing overnights at an emergency vet hospital every weekend this month. As you can see, we haven't been super busy tonight.
• I've kind of wrestled with what I should do next in my life and career. I was pretty burned after Jobgate 2010 on working day practice and the ER thing was very appealing. It still is, actually, but there's not a full-time opening so there you are. It is interesting, though, working this long overnight shift (6pm-8am). I've found that it's better for me to just try to stay awake the whole time rather than take naps on the futon they thoughtfully provide for the attending overnight doc. If I fall asleep, I may not get back up. I've had to devise various methods for staying up - lots of caffeine, going outside in the cold, running back inside when I remember what part of town I'm in, knitting, relentlessly surfing the internet...oh yeah and doing doctor stuff, too:) I honestly prefer when it's busy because then the time flies by.
• Speaking of time -- my birthday is in 6 weeks. 34. Yowza. I didn't do resolutions because I set some goals last year on my birthday so I'll wait until then to reassess and come up with new ones. I already have a few big goals for 2011...stay tuned.
• Pajama Jeans. Ridiculous, or intriguing? Talk amongst yourselves.
• Jr. has his 15-month ped. appointment this week (I know, a couple weeks late. Sue me.) He's so ridiculously great at this age. Curious, funny, affectionate, loud, cute as a button. I wish I could bottle this time up and uncork it every now and then, it's so delicious. He's finally starting to make sounds that are a little more deliberate than babbling. So far he only says one word that is halfway recognizable: "Touchdown." Or, more accurately, "TOUCHDOWN!!!" I've got to get this on tape soon. TH had 3 weeks off at home with the boys over the holidays and this is the result :)
• J goes back to preschool today after a looooong winter break (5 weeks!!). It should be interesting. Before the holidays I had a meeting with the preschool director about moving him to a more advanced/older classroom as part of an "individualized curriculum" they've devised for him. I think this is totally appropriate given the many talks we've had with his teacher about how he really needs more stimulation than he's getting. The new classroom is right across the hall from the old classroom and the kids all play together at recess (do they still call it "recess?" I don't even know) but it will be a transition. J LOVES his teacher, and so do we. She has taken such an interest in coming up with innovative ways to challenge J in her classroom -- and therein lies part of the problem, she has 15 other kids to look after and couldn't spend all her time making up projects for him. It's so weird to me that we're even having conversations like this IN PRESCHOOL. It's a little overwhelming at times trying to make these decisions. J's teacher bluntly told us at one meeting, "You're going to spend alot of money educating a kid like this." (Referencing our crappy ranked-at-the-bottom-nationally public school system and its, ahem, drawbacks).
• Speaking of school - as I've lain awake at night pondering the future I just can't get rid of the idea of going back to school for more training and specialization. This is one of those things I really regret not pursuing right after vet school - unlike physicians vets don't have to pursue residency upon graduation, we're all general practitioners out of the gate. The thought of going back and being a resident (at a resident's paltry salary) at this stage of the game is very scary. But I can't shake it...
• I'm officially addicted to running now. And that's not to say that I'm even a "good" runner, I'm pretty slow and I'm still done in by hills but it's become one of those things that I feel like I need to do regularly. I get antsy if I go more than a few days. It's so super cheesy but true - when I'm on the road it's my only time to myself, just me and my thoughts. And I think. Alot. There's a line in one of my favorite Outkast songs where he says "I missed a lot of church/so the music is my confessional." That's how I am about running now, if there's something on my mind (and lately, there's quite a bit) I can leave it on the road. My favorite time to be out is right at dawn, when there's not really anyone else out but me. I even like it when it's cold and I can see my breath. The other day right as the sun came up I saw 2 coyotes cross the road maybe 50 feet in front of me. In my previous life I might have been scared but I was more awestruck than anything else, just me and the coyotes traipsing around before the world wakes up...and anyway being a vet I've been vaccinated against rabies so I'm good :)