blondie and twinkletoes cross the straits

Mackinac Island Summer Conference. One for the books: luxury and fanciness, nature and recapturing childhood, networking like mad, and a breather on the marathon race to the end of the summer with HPSS. In short, lots of fun, and lots of fudge!


[on the ferry]

Lindsey, being a horrible Michigander, had never been to Mackinac Island before, and was very thrilled to be going up with Dr. Rode (Paula), Ryan, and Rachel (a prodigy of Dr. Rode's, an anatomy partner to the valiant HPSS duo, and a roommate to Lindsey) to such a fabled idyllic place. After a short night of little sleep post-calving in the Thumb, the caravan left bright and early, and arrived on the Mackinac City shore just in time to catch the last ferry to get to the MVMA Executive Board meeting on time. Pulling a quick Superman-esque change in the rental condo, we as a trio headed to the Grand Hotel to present about the summer's successes and the future of the project to the MVMA Executive Board.

Lindsey and Ryan gave a enthusiastic and well-received presentation to representatives from regions across Michigan, the Dean of the MSU CVM, AVMA representatives, MVMA Preseidents past and future, and many other important movers and shakers in the world of organized veterinary medicine. After many questions and congratulations, the meeting continued through the afternoon. Desperately in need of a nap and/or some food, we pushed on and made it to the President's Reception later that evening, where we all were able to talk about the HPSS (among other things) at length with folks from the afternoon's meeting. All in all, a great day for helping to secure the HPSS as an MVMA exhibit in upcoming fair seasons!

Day two consisted of educational neurology lectures, a little shopping 'downtown' and a very formal reception on the porch of the Grand Hotel. Everyone was dressed to the nines as we took in the view from the historic hotel and were assisted in networking by the fabulous Dr. Lloyd, a favorite professor of ours from MSU. At dinner, we made some connections and hatched plans for a possible spay-neuter trip around the Virgin Islands post-graduation... now that would be a treat! Even as early in the stay as this, Dr. Rode's aunt Marcia had established (and frequently used) her own nicknames for the two of us- Blondie (Lindsey) and Twinkletoes (Ryan). If only we had a nickel for every time we heard these through the trip... we could pay off our vet school loans!

On the third day, we were able to recapture our childhood and break away from the conference. The three of us students rented bikes and took a leisurely ride around the Island, stopping along the way, of course, to take in the sights such as Arch Rock, the bridge, and banks of wildflowers growing along the shore. We also, Rachel in particular, spied and were fascinated by the towers of rocks built along the water's edge in so many places. At a stop near the end of our ride, the urge to contribute to the trend was just too great and we took time to build our own mineral masterpieces (some more complex and time-consuming than others...)

Another urge struck after we had purchased fudge and met back up with Paula that afternoon, where both she and Ryan broke down and bought kites to fly in the breeze in a local park.

It was straight out of a postcard as the new high flyers took off into the wind... except for the rain that rolled in and later ended our kite-flying spree, but only marked the perfect time for us to head back for our final dinner on the Island. And a delicious one at that! Best sweet potato french fries EVER! (not that we've had a lot in our lives...) Our last stop was the animal-themed party back at the Grand Hotel. LOTS of zebra stripes, feathers, and fur flying to the jungle beat of tunes mixed by the lovely Karlene!

After a long and relaxing weekend on the gem of a destinantion that is Mackinac, we headed back to get right back on the tour. Time to stay close to home at Ingham County Fair - look out, Mason!

all-star break

Sadly for all you lovely people of Michigan, Lindsey and Ryan, given their positions in the Student AVMA, are currently enjoying the mid-summer heat and humidity of the South with America’s pastime: business vacation. Your favorite HPSS Student Coordinators will be enjoying a taste of the bayou at the AVMA Conference in New Orleans from July 19-22.

Beforehand, each has an extra objective: Ryan in Florida visiting friends, Lindsey with a group of MSU veterinary medical and technology students volunteering to help rehabilitate animal shelters still in need of repair in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. Then it’s time to reconnect for meetings with friends and fellow leaders from veterinary schools around the country, not to mention eating delicious creole food and enjoying all the Big Easy has to offer!

Once home, it’ll be intense laundry action, repacking, and straight back over to the Thumb for the Sanilac County Fair in Sandusky, MI. We hope to see some familiar faces from Croswell, among others, there on July 24-26! See you there!!

a new decade

Happy Birthday to HPSS Radiology superstar, Max, the YOUNGEST student on the team, who turns 20 today! Have a good one, youngin'!

cyclops is the new black

Kids Day at the Eaton County Fair - A huge opportunity for a busy day at the exhibit...And was it ever! We were able to talk to just under 400 people- adults and children alike- as the weather held out through the afternoon. Everyone wanted to see what we were all about, and get a hands-on experience with the tools and excitement of vet med. We were able to teach a lot of people about parasites, fractures, animal restraint, and everything in between. We also quickly found the plasticized pathology models from Dr. Patterson to be a great addition to the exhibit, and a huge hit with the crowds, particularly one group of young men who were fascinated with the equine cyclops: One wouldn’t even touch it, while others stared, covered their mouths, and were, essentially, floored. It was enthusing to see nearly grown fellas show such interest. It was more disconcerting to be offered $50 for it, which, of course, we had to decline. :]


We also were fortunate enough to be graced with the presence of special visitors Jeff and Kyle, who knew Lindsey from undergraduate time at MSU and also thoroughly enjoyed all the exhibit had to offer in additon to catching up a bit.

The day ended in fireflies and mosquitoes once again, and after a final show of radiology as the light faded, we packed up and tucked in after a memorable nonstop day at the Fair.

"when in doubt, swing it out"

Back out on the beat with the HPSS!

We have been gearing up to get back on the fair circuit since our first highly successful jaunt to Croswell. Fixing the broken tent, adding new displays, and securing all the proper pieces of the surgical mock-up for the rest of the summer have been on our agendas since our return in mid-June.

Next on the schedule, a short drive down to Charlotte, MI for the Eaton County Fair. Seeing as how it was after a long holiday weekend, we first had to pick up the trailer (as the supplies were an extremely tight fit in the SUV without the surgery equipment) for the rest of the tour, which was stored at the Lansing Airport. George, being the great trailer-lending guy that he is, met us there to set us up.

[Here is an excellent time to point out that none of us have even a bit of experience with driving, hauling, or maneuvering a trailer. One might imagine this could cause a bit of apprehension. More on that later.]

George informed us, upon arrival, that we would need a new ball hitch to fit the trailer. Lucky for us, there happens to be a specialty trailer store just down the street: "Hitches & More." Special thanks to the employees there for helping us do a quick change-out and get us back on track. After a little (ok, a lot) of adjusting and fanagling, we lined up and hooked up the trailer appropriately, got the electrical connections working (back down at Hitches & More), and started back to East Lansing to pack her up. Our final piece of advice from George: "Be good, and when in doubt, swing it out." Advice well taken.

Once everything (and we mean everything- quite a load we have amassed!) was packed, a severe line of storms complete with absolute downpour stopped us in our tracks and we waited out the deluge in East Lansing. Finally, in the late afternoon, we were able to pull out and head down the highway (shakily and with completely deliberate sluggishness) to the charming town of Charlotte.

Theo of the Fair Board met us there on the grounds as we entered, and we were lucky enough to find that he had big-rig experience: so lucky, in fact, that he was able to maneuver the vehicle into our exhibit space like a true pro. In intense post-rain humidity, we set about putting up the display, with care taken to support the wounded tent, the replacement frame for which we had not yet received. The IV pole inside the surgical tent got to serve double duty as a strut, and more creative taping and splinting went a long way to keep everything in working order and looking snazzy.

Fully set up, finally, we got to meet the fine people of Eaton County! All evening, under heavy mosquito attack, we were able to share the wonders of vet med with about 100 kids, families, and many an interested passerby. The nightfall helped in showing off the illumination our x-rays and we found ourselves busy with plenty of visitors! Even with the unexpectedly late start, we had a grand opening day at Eaton, and look forward to another with everyone tomorrow at Kids Day!