I am surprised by the number of pets on the property here. I've seen quite a few well-bred, well-groomed and collared dogs and cats, which is something I'm not used to. Back on Statia none of the animals wore collars nor did they ever have a proper bath all their life. But here, within the gated community of the yacht club where vacationers from America, Dutch, France, reside, all the animals are well taken care of. Recently I spotted a gorgeous Bengal cat roaming my backyard. Pretty cool!

It likes to visit me :3

I haven't really met any of my neighbours. There is a Dutch family with kids living above me, while the units on either side of me are unoccupied at the moment. I met a nice young Spanish lady in the pool, and she owns a cat who enjoys watching us swim in the evenings. It is a really quiet place, unlike the rest of Simpson Bay which is filled with bars and restaurants and night clubs.

Currently studying for my pharm exam this Thursday. 

Yesterday (Tuesday) we had our path II block 2 exam, which went fairly well. There will be one last path block in three weeks before the shelf!!!

Later that night I got together with some people from class for dinner at Bamboo Bernies for sushi. I ordered the sashimi plate, which was 20 pieces of four different types of sashimi (raw fish). 

Sashimi!!!

After dinner we headed to the movie theatre to watch Gravity in 3D. 
The theatre was decent, just like ones back home except smaller. We got there just as the movie started. The entire movie is essentially about one woman (Sandra Bullock) trying to survive in space and somehow make it back to Earth in one piece, which is rather hard to do while debris is whizzing about at hundreds of miles per hour. It was a very dizzying theatre experience because the camera kept spinning around to stimulate zero-gravity. I can't imagine how much of a headache I would have gotten if it was in IMAX! 
At times it felt like I was watching the Discovery channel or National Geographic because of the magnificent views of planet Earth from space. Despite the beauty of it all, the viewer was constantly reminded of the perils of being up in space, including running out of oxygen, being flung into space without being attached to anything, the difficulty of maneuvering around in zero-gravity, and of course, the silence. It was a very suspenseful movie, and I liked how it echoed the classic beloved Aliens movies where the female protagonist is the one who finds the courage and strength to soldier on and survive. 

Anyways after the movie it was about 11 PM and we were all tired so I went home. When I got to my house I saw the cat, and it followed me to my door. I opened the door to go inside and it walked right by me and inside! I was surprised and didn't know what to do at first. It helped itself to a quick tour of my place and promptly made itself at home by sprawling out on the living floor. It turned out to be a super friendly cat, letting me pet it and purring loudly the whole time. I tried to feed it turkey slices and water but it seemed picky/not hungry and only had some water. The funny part was it kept dipping its paw into the water before lapping it up, as if to test the temperature. So cute! I played with it for a good hour before I decided that I had to let it go in case the owner was looking for it. Also, what if it makes a mess on my floor! So I opened my door and pretended to run outside. It followed me outside, and quickly I dashed back inside and closed the door. I opened it a crack to check on it and sure enough it was right outside my door waiting to be let in again! I felt so bad but I had to say good night to it and leave it outside. But that was very unexpected and fun!

Playful kitty ^_^

Labels: block, cat, exam, gravity, movie, night, path II, pathology, sashimi, space, sushi

Today as I sat in my living room staring outside at the tall palm trees filtering the golden sunlight behind my backyard, with the lagoon lapping up against the boats and beams, I realized that I no longer cared for the summer weather. I didn't like the heat that beat down on me every time I stepped outside my house. Or the sun that etched tan lines on my legs and arms and feet. I miss the fall weather. The crisp, cool weather that doesn't cling to the skin. It's been well over a year since I experienced fall weather, and I never realized until now how much I miss it. The next break I get will be in December. Wintertime will be a refreshing change to the never-ending summer here. 

Labels: bengal, cat, dog, fall, pets, pharm, pharmacology, simpson bay, summer, summertime

MD2 on an island.