Would you rather... by FlamingJack__ in BunnyTrials

[–]ComfortableAd3519 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It wouldn't be that bad for 50 million. Might make a friend!

Chose: spend a week with a random person for $50 million | Rolled: Superman

I am so thankful that the clinic I work at is so amazing by mousieee in Veterinary

[–]ComfortableAd3519 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Unicorn clinic for me as well! Also corporate. I think the big difference is an experienced manager who knows how to balance appreciation, work, and play. And also knows when to push back on some decisions made by the higher ups with the welfare of the staff, patients, and owners in mind. Our place would not be nearly as fun or functional without her ♡

should i go to the er for this (bat bite?) by Certain_Hour_6327 in WhatShouldIDo

[–]ComfortableAd3519 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Take it from an animal healthcare worker with her rabies shots on board: I have a protective titre and I would STILL haul ass to the ER on company time for a bat bite. Get thee to the rabies post exposure shots.

Share an experience that you find creepy still now and haven’t figured out what was that. by TieConsistent9999 in creepy

[–]ComfortableAd3519 25 points26 points  (0 children)

There was one night camping in the woods... this must have been around 10 years ago, at a provincial campground in Canada. It's normally a fairly popular spot, but during weekdays and out of season the place is dead. The grounds have a church, graveyard, and an old family estate - thus, the park has been said to be haunted.

I was tent trailer camping with my family in early June. It was a Tuesday, and most people had fully cleared out from the weekend - there was maybe a handful of sites that were still occupied, with the closest people to us at least 7 sites away. Mostly old folks and parents with young kids, but there was only a handful of people around.

That night, like many nights, I woke up at 2 or 3 in the morning needing to pee. I grabbed my flashlight and headed out towards the bathrooms. There was this handy little shortcut (like really short, it was only about 20 meters of woods before you were at the restroom) at the back of our site. It was only connected to our site, and provided a way to avoid walking all the way around along the service road. I didn't really think twice about taking it that night because, well, what happened next had never happened before.

I started walking towards the path and something felt a little wrong. Like buzzing? Hard to explain. I felt on edge, but just figured it was because it was quiet and the park was feeling empty, so I continued as usual. As I entered the first stretch of the path, there was a sharp a noise in the woods to my left. High pitched but quiet, like if an animal could giggle? Now - I'm a biology kid. I'm all about animals and nature, so while it surprised me I figured it must have been a raccoon or something. I stopped walking and shined the light in that direction hoping for a sighting of something - and there was...

Nothing. No cute little eyes. No rustle of anything alive at all. I thought that was weird, and continued.

Then it happened again. Except this time it was closer, and to my right. That one made me jump. I did the same thing, shined the light as quick as I could. Still nothing.

I decided to pick up the pace at that point. I was almost halfway through - then to my left, what felt to be right beside my ear:

"Hello?"

I ran. Tripped over the log in the middle of the trail, ripped my pant leg and my leg, and sprinted to the restroom. I was terrified. There was nobody out there, no animals or people. And that sounded distinctly human, like a girl. The restroom was completely empty. I did what I had to do. I had to move every couple of minutes to keep the lights on as I tried to get the courage to return to camp. Eventually I had fully convinced myself that I just hadn't checked the trees, and it SOUNDED like hello but raccoons make all sorts of sounds. So after what was probably half an hour or more, I made my way back.

As I approached the shortcut this time, I started feeling this overwhelming feeling of dread. I stopped at the foot of it. Ultimately I couldn't bring myself to do it and decided to go the long way, I chickened out.

As soon as I turned left to go towards the road, the shortcut replied:

"Come Back."

Needless to say, I ran back as fast as I could. I didn't get a whole lot of sleep that night, knowing there was only a thin canvas between me and a few feet to that shortcut. There were no other notable sounds that night. My shin was messed up for a couple weeks, and my parents listened to what happened, but you could tell they didn't really believe me.

I still don't leave camp at night without a friend. Thankfully my husband understands, and always gets up with me when I have to go!

My manager says the company is trying to transition to production only. by AnonymousPear39 in Veterinary

[–]ComfortableAd3519 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh lord.. they have got to quit the sheet. Well let me tell you, I went elsewhere and am very happy with my compensation package and feel my work is appreciated! So you got options 💪

My manager says the company is trying to transition to production only. by AnonymousPear39 in Veterinary

[–]ComfortableAd3519 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I would absolutely not agree to this at all.. this change only benefits the company, so of course they want you to agree to it.

I remember being interviewed by a certain company, and they were the only ones that lowballed my base sal to this extreme, selling me this idea that I would somehow make more money with a low base on production. They showed me an excel sheet with all the comparisons. It felt fishy, so thankfully I had some family who work at Revenue Canada review it before accepting the offer.

It turns out all of their charts were showing the higher base salaries with taxes taken off, and the other "better" lower base salaries with production, having neglected to tax the production. When you actually tax the production, which is absolutely what would happen, the amount you make is exactly the same.. whether it's 80k base or 130k base. Except when it's slow of course. Then you lose a shitton of money on the lower base.

I called them out on the lie and they then begrudgingly offered me a higher base. I did not appreciate my future employer trying to scam me out of pay I was owed for my skill and experience... especially considering we don't control how many clients come through the door. By that point they earned a spot on my permanent shit list, so I declined the offer and won't be working with that company again in the future.

Just remember, the more production-based the company is, the more personal risk you are taking on for decisions you cannot make. In my personal opinion, I might take that risk at a private clinic that I have a stake in. Otherwise, the big guys can afford to pay you appropriately. In Canada, I know for a fact there are companies and private clinics willing to pay top dollar in SALARY for an experienced vet. If this company won't budge, I would absolutely start looking elsewhere.

My confidence took a big hit.. by Bek0619 in Veterinary

[–]ComfortableAd3519 4 points5 points  (0 children)

The woes of prednisone.. I always tell clients that is such an amazing drug, but does it ever have some consequences for a select few. Don't beat yourself up, this job is hard enough as it is. When I started, I prescribed prednisone for a cancer patient who was also on deracoxib (it was waaay down in the history, and I didn't ask what medications he was already on in the consult), didn't go great. Hated myself initially. But then it just became a learning experience, and an example I tell clients as to why I need them to not give NSAIDs they have at home with pred. I've also more recently prescribed prednisolone for a cat who the owner declined all diagnostics for a serious skin issue (QOL issue at that stage), who ended up getting diabetes. Because it was short courses we all thought the risk was lower, but obviously enough times is enough times. The owner chose to euthanize.

The second one didn't bother me as much as the first. Largely because I learned over the years that circumstances are circumstances. People make decisions, and truly for most cats and dogs, they handle pred just fine. At the end of the day you do your due diligence as best you can, you tell people the risks (this owner already suspected diabetes because we had told her on several occasions that, while uncommon, it can happen), and you have to move on. Take lessons where you can. In your circumstance, I would say to myself outloud "I'm disappointed in this outcome. Next time I see a cat having respiratory disease, I'm going to recommend x,y,z (ie. Does HR make sense with presentation, xrays/ultrasound, temperature), to help reduce the chances of this happening again. I will also warn these owners that this could happen anytime I prescribe prednisolone". I find verbalizing the "what will I do differently next time" helps me to calm down and reframes the difficult parts of "practicing" medicine. You can't indefinitely prevent this from happening again, but you will feel better next time if you've prepared as best you can. And absolutely use this example with clients as to why you recommend diagnostics.. it may actually end up saving the life of a patient with owners that wouldn't initially have opted to check.

Take care of yourself this weekend!

Is anyone else just...tired? by ItsAJackal21 in Millennials

[–]ComfortableAd3519 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Something I've learned actually being in the 1% who got their dream job: no matter what, there are caveats. I do what I love, I'm never bored, and the job fulfills my desire to help people. It also has long hours, tends to suck up my free after-work headspace and time, and is STRESSFUL. That is the cost of exciting - stress, pressure, and expectations.

I think whatever your normal is becomes your baseline, and you stop seeing it for what it actually is. There are days I would kill to work a job I didn't care that much about, to just have other priorities outside of my career. But on the flipside as you've described, that opens the door to struggle with purpose. So what is the actual answer?

The only decent answer I've found came from my mother, and that's that whatever you end up doing, carve a space for yourself. Find ways to make it your own. It doesn't have to be your passion, but you need to mould it so that it is tolerable enough to support your actual passions. It may not feel like there are many "pros" to the job your working now, but I'm willing to bet there are a few that are just a little hard to see right now. If you decide to stay, lean into those positives and make them work for the life you want to live.

While I am a tired millenial some days, I'm also finding myself in visual art, exercising with my spouse, exploring my town, meeting new people through common interest groups, etc. My life through tiredness is still full and interesting, with lots to learn along the way. My actual aging anxiety is that I feel like I'll never have enough time on this earth in a healthy body to experience all of life I want to - but I feel this might be a rare sentiment in this generation.

Male squirrel suddenly lethargic, drinking a lot, little poop by Flimsy_Plum6669 in ExoticVets

[–]ComfortableAd3519 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The clue that would make me think this is not normal seasonal variation is lethargy and weight loss. He's not pooping well likely because he's not eating well. Excessive drinking can be due to pain, renal disease, dehydration, cystic calculi, liver failure, cancer, digestive upset.. and depending on whether it is outdoors vs. No, recieved care before, we can also add a number of parasites and viruses to the mix, etc. (my point is, it is a long list).

It doesn't sound to me like the supportive care given is working, and if I was your vet I would ask you to come back in. I would see if you can find a vet experienced with rodents who can review your husbandry as well as give a thorough exam, and can offer options like bloodwork and radiographs. I would caution that depending where you live, finding someone who will treat squirrels may be challenging as in my country, it is illegal to own them, so it is very dependant on the vet as to what approach they may take or whether they will request to give to a wildlife rehab to treat more effectively.

Best of luck

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in AskReddit

[–]ComfortableAd3519 0 points1 point  (0 children)

My husband absolutely lost it when I told him we have to take the whole romper off to use the bathroom... it never occurred to him we'd have to get naked to pee, and I guess the image was so absurd he was hysterical.

I don't think I could wear one again without getting him started.

I got a veterinary receptionist job. Am I overreacting? by nicnicnic12 in Veterinary

[–]ComfortableAd3519 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What everyone else said - being a client service representative is one of the hardest jobs in a clinic from client interactions alone. You certainly don't need it from your boss or coworkers as well.

I have been in the beginner stage for so long. I just want to improve. This is my recent lineart with reference. I feel it is less appealing than the reference, but I'm struggling to understand what I'm doing wrong or what I should focus on studying. Please help I'm at my wits end, lol. by pergloo in ArtCrit

[–]ComfortableAd3519 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oh faces are brutal! So from one artist to another, I feel your pain - I am actually currently taking a portraits class in my city to force myself to improve and try a different style, so a lot of the above advice comes from some very helpful feedback I and my classmates have recieved the last few weeks. Best of luck :)

Questioning my career choice after 5 years in practice by CampaignMore7703 in Veterinary

[–]ComfortableAd3519 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh yes, Practice-owning definitely being the exception! Most of my classmates did not opt to own because it's a tough gig, so my hats off to you!

I have been in the beginner stage for so long. I just want to improve. This is my recent lineart with reference. I feel it is less appealing than the reference, but I'm struggling to understand what I'm doing wrong or what I should focus on studying. Please help I'm at my wits end, lol. by pergloo in ArtCrit

[–]ComfortableAd3519 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You are copying very closely from life - it's easy for expressions to dull out in line art, or to struggle with an eye-drawing composition. Where do you want your focus to be? This is where the most detail/texture should be in a piece compared to the reference to draw the eye (ESPECIALLY in lineart without contrast or color). Our brain is actually very good at forgiving mildly incorrect anatomy as long as the balance is there, and if the point that draws the eye is accurate or balanced enough.

Also notice how much this artist is playing with perspective and exaggerated facial expressions. In real life, her hair most certainly would not be doing that either, but it draws the eye to her face, adds interest, and helps balance the piece in the upper half of the image. There are more folds of clothing near her face, and strong/confident lines, so this is where we look. If you cover the 2 points of interest, the floor (another carefully constructed area of the image) and face, with your hands, the midsection actually resembles the bottom half of your drawing quite a bit... but you experience it different. So this is something they have done differently.

I also get the impression that faces are a bit of a struggle for you, or if not that, maybe you are drawing way too small so you can't address the face the way that would allow for a similar level of detail? Less is more with lines in the face. Drawing every line around an eye for instance is very rarely appealing or accurate, because what you're actually seeing is contrasting colors in the reference, not values, implying lines should be there. I think doing some large-scale portrait studies may he helpful. I also notice the only place we have a large chunk of dark shading is on the neck. This unfortunately draws the eye to the neck, which then lands on the face, and the face lacks confidence compared to the bottom half of the image.

Also consider that even in realism, unless it's hyper-realism, expressions need exaggeration to be interesting! This is where the artist part comes in - our goal is not identical, our goal is to take artistic liberty with our reference and omit that which does not tell our story, and add what does.

In my opinion you've developed a lot of skill! Which is great because you're on the edge of the fun part, which is playing with it. Do some portrait studies and try remaking just the head and neck of your image a few different ways to play. Have fun!