Equus mortus

Today I felt like somebody out of CSI, collecting DNA samples from a dead body. The dead body was a 29 year old mare that was supposed to be alive and I was there to sample, but who died during the night. I presume it was of old age, as she just seemed to have dropped dead out in the field. Her owner found her this morning when they went to gather the horses and she wasn't covered with much snow yet so it had just happened. However, when we went around lunchtime to the field to collect the sample the ravens had been at her and I had her empty hollow eyesocket "staring" me in the face as I rubbed cotton swabs in her nostril. Oh well, I guess it was her time and the best way to go was like this, quickly and out in the snow covered field. I should have taken photos today, as the light was fantastic between the snow showers, but didn't take the time to do it.

Hello world!

Today the inhabitants of Siglufjörður in the Eastern fjords are having truckloads of pancakes to celebrate the return of sunshine to the village. The sun has not been seen there since november 14th, so every year they are really happy to see it again.

I am also really happy of course, due to the fact that just about a week ago I finished my PhD and had a good party involving a lot of champagne. Also the snow seems to be sticking for a bit. Last night I returned to Hella on the bus after a weekend in the city. Apart from me, the bus was occupied by children who were put on the bus by weekend dads, grannies or aunties. We had to pass the heath in a proper winter storm, seeing nothing but hail and snow all around us with high winds forcing in the bus windows. Behind me two boys of nine were chatting away and it seemed to me that they knew each other from their weekly trip on the bus. I enjoyed listening to their conversation:

Boy 1: "I am going to Africa, to Morocco this summer. I will see my granny and grandad"
Boy 2: "Is your dad from Morocco, and your mum?"
B 1: "No, she's Icelandic. I had a Playstation of my own when she was in the hospital"
B 2: "When did you first know she had cancer?"
B 1: "When I was 3. I only knew about the brain cancer later"
B 2: "So what sort of cancer was it to begin with?"
B 1: "Breast cancer"
B 2: "Is breast cancer contagious?"
B 1: "contagious?"
B 2: "Yup, can you catch if off someone?"
B 1: "No"
B 2: "How old was she when...."
B 1: "...when she died?...fifty"
B 2: "Jón Páll (Icelandic strong man and world's strongest a couple of times) was 26 when he died"

Life can seem so uncomplicated for children!

Winter Walk

Went for a walk to the bakery today after discovering the bread I had was mouldy. Gave the rest of it to the little cold birds (snjótittlingar in Icelandic, literally means snowdickies, but I guess are in family with the similarly rude sounding blue tit). They went absolutely mad for the bread and fat meat that I gave them. I trudged on in the knee-deep snow, managed to fall once but made it to the bakery and back in half an hour. The Polish bakery girl was serving a Thai guy, in Icelandic, of course ;). Yup, little Hella is multicultural, just as any other metropolis!

Other news: Have been reading up on my referring papers today and trying to put together a list of stats questions for Darren, who was so sweet to offer me his help in the last couple of days before the viva. So, getting along ok. In an hour or so I will have to take a little brake for the handball game against Sweden in the European Championships. Will make good use of my time and have my tea at the same time! Trout and potatoes sound good?

Interesting choice of career

I wonder, doesn't the phrase "erotic spy-thriller" sound like something you would like to do for a living? I hear this phrase a billion times a day in a radio ad for Ang Lee's latest film as I am sat in the car for a good part of the day.

Today I spent quite some time in the car, as it has been snowing like mad all night and all day and as everything was drowning in snow, I had to drive slowly on my rounds. Made it there and back again on an 80 km round trip where I had to plunge through meter-high drifts on the road and really enjoyed myself. We had an early closing, as everyone seemed to be snowed in and didn't make it to the clinic or were just curling up inside. When I headed home, after all my snow-plunging I managed to get the car stuck with one half on the drive and its bum sticking out onto the road. Nice!

Sunday afternoon

Right, I had just curled up in bed last night and been reading the materials and methods chapter in my thesis when I get a call just before midnight. My help was needed on a farm 40 km from here for a downer cow so I got up and drove down there to get her a fix of calcium and other goodies. It was 2 o'clock when I finally got into bed again, and then I got a call for the same cow at 8 this morning. That's ok, I needed to get up early anyway to start studying, and it was a beautiful, albeit dark, morning. Just back from this call, another downer cow 40 km in the other direction needed a fix, so I set off. Just back from there, somebody calls with a colicky horse so I set off for there.

This was a mare stood in a fancy huge new stables (they definitely had room for a pony!) and approaching the place I noticed a steady stream of huuuuge american redneck Ford pickups heading up the drive. I sort of wondered if they were there for a show being held in the riding hall, but I really got a shock when I pulled up at the door, because there were 5 pickups and 8 large 4x4s (not that this is out of the ordinary on an Icelandic scale, we are the Texas of the north you see). Out of these cars came a load of middle-aged, well dressed and very clean people with chihuahuas (ok I'm making that bit up, but I'm sure there was at least one in every car, even if I didn't see them) and went into the stables.

I felt rather intimidated with having to infiltrate the group to find out who I was actually supposed to be talking to. However I swallowed my pride and entered in my dirty green overalls and stinky wellies armed with the oil pump and rectal glove and was met with some ponce who promptly announced "Yes, and today we have a horse with colic and here is the vet", making everyone give me an overenthused elevator-look. So I thought, "oh my god, now everybody is going to stand there while I stick my arm up this poor mare's bum and pump her full of oil!" Luckily they were there for some sort of introduction to the building itself and soon left me to deal with my patient. Turns out the guy helping me with the mare is an old friend of Sverrir, this is typically Icelandic. Not just that we often discover some sort of common connection when we meet new people but also that we actually dig until we do! When you here somebody is from Skagafjörður you start trying to connect them with everybody you know from Skagafjörður until you find the connection!

Well, the mare only had a slight impaction (constipation or hægðatregða to you non-vets!) so she got a shot of oil down her throat and some good stuff in her veins. Now, a raised pulse is one of the common colic diagnostic criteria to determine the severity of the case as it indicates the level of pain that the horse is in. Interestingly, in the Icelandic horse, this is of limited use because they are so damn hard that they hardly ever get a raised pulse even if they are in severe pain. Somehow I'm really proud of them! Honestly, this is very Icelandic and even if it isn't practical, I think it's cool.

Right, back to the books

Saturday thoughts

I think I really need to get myself a gun. Honestly, it's stupid to not have one in the car for emergencies. I need a sheep gun, as they're known in Icelandic. Last night one of my patients needed a bullet in the head and the farmer took care of it.

Well, apart from that I have been dead busy all day with work so haven't even looked in my thesis yet. Yup, I'm a dead man.

What's with the designer edition sanitary pads? They were the only ones they had in the village shop and I sure hope they don't charge you extra for the designer bit, because it's just plain stupid. Basically, the individual wrappers have each their design with various squiggles and doodles, as well as the words "Lucky you" or "that time of the month". What's that all about?

TAB-thesis avoidance behaviour

Yes, I've got it bad these days. Just back from the bathroom where I just HAD to clean my ladyshave with a wooden stick. It was severely offputting. Still had to do it! Made for much better entertainment than reading my stupid thesis.

Right, enough TAB, I have to try and read at least one paragraph tonight. Back on duty tomorrow night for the whole weekend.

Preparing for viva? Nyaaah!

Oh dear, not going well with the studying. Not finding the time to do any reading because of a heavy workload and my recurring extremely lazy evening mood. So I guess I will have to resort to Plan B, i.e. the plunging neckline. Alas, my external is a lady, so probably will not be put off wringing the answers out of me, regardless of my dress code!

Friday again

I am now back at the clinic after having had wormed 43 horses and been in the abbattoir, just had my lunch and waiting for some backup to cut open a cat which looks like it ran into the back of a bus.

Driving home tonight like usually on the weekends and going to leave my dear car Moli to be fixed. I think he might need an orthodontist instead of a wheelie-man because it seems that his lower jaw is the part which got put out of place. We'll see...lucky that I am expecting an office car next week which is going to be my mode of transport on my calls.

Right, best get on with things, the surgical tools have been boiling away for an hour now...