newborn mutt poo

okay... so i see there's a trend out there ... I mean speaking about yourself, hoping someone will eventually realise how he sucks and you rule ...
So, If you can't beat them... join them !

... I'm the long-hair-cat-hugger-gay-looking-guy from the photo Andreea posted (thanks by the way).

-Why vet?
-Not a clue... Probably something to do with saving and bringing home every little dog/kitten/bird/snake/thing-that-moved-and-needed-help , hide it in my parents balcony or under my blanket, hoping no one will find about it and throw us outside in the cold. Also I recall something about burying little dead animals in those tiny cemetery in front of my flat when everybody else discovered the Barby doll and ...ah... whatever boys discovered... And they say I'm not a people person...Wander why?

Something else about myself ...it's a cliche, but what the hell... I want to save the planet!!! You'd have never guessed! And I think this has a lot to do with watching Captain Planet when i was a kid.
And probably you ask yourself what's a pet-burying-twisted-kid with a thing for over-rated cartoons has to do with becoming a vet.
..well ..when I'll find an answer i hope this blog still exist

Not a Oxford-like Veterinary beginning, the first year i kinda hate the Faculty with all their dream-breaker professors, assistants and especially students. I started to realise the puddle of mud in which i was swimming, and probably i would start a new engineering faculty or go pick strawberries in Spain, if, in the second year, one of the seven vets gang didn't ask me to help her clean the poo of some newborn mutts in a dog shelter. And from here, there's an other story you will read about next time ...

Middle Study Crisis

As I guess most of the guys in “the gang”, I’ve always wanted to be a vet, but I always had some problems with being underrated for being one. I guess this is one of the reasons for ending up in Vienna. If you live in the middle sized, Middle Eastern, middle everything country that Romania is, and you are born with the feeling that you have to save cuddly little innocent animals, you are being faced with the paradox that, in spite your good intentions, you end up being considered a second hand doctor, barely more than an animal science technician. And even more sadly…you end up realizing that it’s exactly what you became.

I always had an issue with human doctors. It’s not their fault, I guess it’s mine (or ours), but always hated the inconsideration and the condescendence with which they look upon our profession. Why? ... Actually they’re right, and that’s what makes me angry. Why do we have to be less than them?! Is it maybe because we eat our patients? Is it maybe because our patients’ lives literally have financial meaning? Because we are taught to think economically?

And the whole system we’re running around in, beginning from the faculty that “built” us and ending with the private practice or the farm we work in…it all gives me a feeling of uselessness.

I had this talk with myself a long time ago, and asked myself what do I really want to do? Do I want to do real medicine, or do I want to help animals on a larger scale? Because sometimes these things are quite different. Five years ago, when I got into vet school I said to myself that I will do both, by doing wildlife medicine. I won’t have to deal with crazy owners, fat over spoiled poodles (I own 2, and I know how the little devils think…), I won’t have to be confined to a small private practice. So small animal medicine was not for me.

…Until I got to see what small animal medicine means in Vienna…Until I saw what you can do when you have an ultrasound in every room, Rx, CT, MRI just around the corner, every imaginable lab works ready until tomorrow, every student walks around with Littman around their necks, surgery equipment they don’t afford in Romania in human hospitals (I started seeing laparoscopy as the norm…I have seen so many surgeries, courses and rentability studies on laparoscopy, that I wonder why didn’t they start using this technique earlier?!) My everlasting dream of roaming the forests in search of God knows what GPS-tracked critter started to transform into a simple biologist’s job. I have suddenly seen an opportunity to step up there, next to the human doctors…

Actually life in Vienna is not a revelation and it’s not so pink at all as it may seem. But that’s another story…

…to be continued….

Ioana

Skiathos...

...I fell in love with that place! The island has many nice beaches and 4 small mountains covered with all kind of trees - a combination that generates a wonderful salty-fresh smell!

The small city has tiny roads and white little houses, orange and lemon trees, many flowers and lots of restaurants, pubs, coffee houses, etc..

And, of course, the cats.. huge monsters! You see them all over the city, sleeping in the sun or feeding around the garbage at night.. some love them some don't. Apparently a few years ago the mayor had them poisoned and they had a rat problem.
Anyway, we busted the myth that ginger cats are all males! It's said that one in a million is the exception, but we only fixed 120 cats and 2 ginger cats were females. :)

Although we went there to fix as many cats possible, I had the feeling that we're on vacation. Living in a hysterical grey city as Bucharest is, it was very nice to spend 5 days in such a peaceful place. Now that I'm back, I can't believe it's less than a month since we were there, it seems more like an year away!

Well, to conclude, it was great to meet nice peoples, eat good food, visit beautiful places (Athens left me speechless!) and fix some cats!

Here's some photos.. hugs and kisses to everybody! muah! Irina

Life is a beach

I found myself this afternoon on the beach.

It was a perfect sunny day, the temperatures was in the upper end 20's, patchy clouds now and then, and I was spending my afternoon on one of the finest Caribbean beaches. The picture was complete with perfect golden icing sugar sand, palm trees and the clearest turquoise water I have ever seen before that. The 7 Mile beach.

It was a long awaited break from the hectic rhythm at work, and around me was a fair number of people, in small gangs, spending their afternoon on the beach as well.

I had 2 editions of National Geographic to keep me company. There was one article in particular that caught my eye. It was about the Kurds, and the ethnic troubles that bother the intersection of Irak, Syria and Turkey. I was particular attention as I have a once very close Romanian friend that works very close to the region.

Looking around me, and then looking at the photos, reading and knowing about the trouble, bomb attacks and danger happening in the same time in another corner of the planet I couldn't help but feeling in a parallel universe. I drifted later on somewhat remembering there is such a huge difference between my own home place, a safe but tough country, and the place where I am now, with all the prosperity and easy lifestyle surrounding me.

And then I looked at the people around me, wondering if they ever appreciate where they are, if they actually know how easy their life is, or are they just taking it for granted? I have seen too many spoiled...nearly pointed the finger at the nation, :) politically incorrect, well I'll just say spoiled north Americans to know they probably don't...

And then there were a few chicks a few meters away, bitching away about ..various general stuff.. and I knew for sure most people here don't appreciate the good and affordable heath care system they have for instance, or the cheap petrol, or the perpetual perfect summer,

and as it happened actually more then once, I wished I could pack them all up and send them for a 6 months of compulsory living in Urlati, Romania. Or Mizil, Romania for that matter.

I reckon upon return the world would be a better place. For both parties involved:)

Explanations

The previous post was added by Dr. Stefan, part of the Trivet original gang. Currently working in our natal Romania, in Craiova, he gladly takes part in spay/neuter campaigns over the national boundaries, and together with Irina, they went to Greece for a ferral cat campaign.
Looking forward to the pictures;)

So ...me an Irina travelled to Skiathos a small island in the egean sea for a spay and neuter campaign .
Everything started on the Otopeni airport with the aircraft waiting for a NATO summit security force exercise just in case somebody wanted to ruin their party...
We Travelled with Aegean Air which I liked nice people nice aircraft .We had our conection flight in Athens and after a 30 min trip we landed in Skiathos.
Accomodation at the San Remo hotel which is probably as old as the music festival in Italy .
The volunteers that were supposed to trap the cats were 2 women from England and Norway.
We managed to spay and neuter 120 cats and aborted 200 kittens.
Seems that leishmania is a common disease in Greece we found 2 cases in just one week .
Our hosts provided us with a car and we had the chance to see the entire island which i have to say is a summer paradise for sun seekers.
We came back and we had to wait one night for the connection flight for Bucharest so we went to see the mighty Acropolis.Rain poured like in the amazonian forest but it did not matter it was the first time and a great chanse for Irina to see the Acropolis and she wouldn't miss it for the world.
Now I am back in Craiova for work,spring came and we are surrounded by wonderful coloured flowers tulips lillies daffodils..
I hope irina will manage to post some pics from our trip
Big hug to everyone

Cind se duce lumea la culcareeee

Cele ce urmeaza merita scrise in romana, mama lor de clienti rasfatati...

Nu mi-am dorit de multe ori sa fiu propria mea sefa, sa am afacerea si unica responsabilitate. Si putere. Dar cu singuranta mi-am dorit mult, mult, mult de tot azi-noapte...

Sa fi fost vreo 12 jumate, in miezul noptii. Am muncit tot weekendu, si a fost foarte aglomerat. Dormeam linistita, visand la te miri ce. Dormeam si ma odihneam, cind deodata clasicul tiriit al telefonului de serviciu. Trr, trrrr. Buimaca, ingaim ceva si raspund....cind, ce sa auzi, o femeie...

care nu zice nici buna seara, nici nimic, si incepe sa imi reproseze in urechea adormita. Care era nemultumirea principala a clientei? Ciinele ei latra in continuu si ea nu putea sa doarma.
Eu incerc sa continui profesionist anamneza...vomita? Nu. Maninca si bea normal? Da. Alte semne de boala? Nu. SI CE VREI SA FAC EU FEMEIEEEEEE? Imi vine mie sa urlu. Nu se opreste aici. Sefa mea, un chirurg cu mare experienta, i-a sterilizat acest catel acum vreo saptamina (am vazut operatia, impecabila) si de atunci nimic nu a mai fost la fel. De ce nu mai e la fel? Incerc sa-i explic ca ce are Ana cu Caiafa, nu are nici o legatura. Deja incepe sa plinga isteric la telefon. O intreb de ce plinge. Zice ca nu poate sa doarma din cauza ciinelui si e obosita. Mie imi vine si mie sa pling. Sa pling sau sa injur, sau amindoua in acelasi timp.
Nu vrea sa vina la clinica sa vad ciinele.(Taxa de urgenta, eheee). Perfect, inchei eu amabil, vino miine dis de dimineata la clinica si colegii te vor ajuta. Imi vine sa ii zic "Noapte buna" dar mi-e teama sa nu sune prea sarcastic. Am inchis si dupa aceea mi-a luat cel putin juma de ora de frikinit in pat, sa imi aduc tensiunea in limitele fiziologice si sa revin la somn.

Mama voastra de clienti rasfatati! Sa va dea Dumnezeu cite un Tanase pe cap, ca asta meritati.

Tourists and more tourists

Pretty much the same way Bucharest panorama is dominated by the House of Parliament, the view here,in Grand Cayman, as I drive down to work every morning, is dominated by a cruise ship. And not just a tiny cruise ship, but those gigantic ones, and not just one, sometimes 4 at a time. Endless groups of American tourists come out, thou I don't envy them, I find particularly boring that place where the cruises drop them off. And where do they go, in such large numbers....??
The other day, a huge Royal Caribbean figure. I took a detour from work, eager to see finally the one I was hoping it would be Freedom of the Seas. Or maybe even Liberty of the Seas. I care mostly about those 2 as a good friend of mine did time on them, as a photographer.
My heart was racing...only to reach closer and see it's none of them...
So i turn around and navigate to my own work.

I must post a picture soon. Somewhat spectacular, the view of 4-5 ships bigger then Titanic docked in!