Translation gigs have been 0 these days, on the other hand, my vet job has been picking up.
I will be doing full shifts again, once a week, plus a few half shifts once or two times a week, starting next month.
Half days are 8 hours ( i know that's a full-shift in other occupations ), and a full-shift is 12 hours.
I recall working full-shifts being painful, always going home with a backache, and going to sleep after dinner..
But I will obtain more money, and that's always a good thing. :)

Lately, I have been thinking of continuing to work as a Veterinary Assistant even when I move to the US again.
I prefer working at small clinics than a large hospital, but maybe larger hospitals will have shorter shifts. Hm.

Being a Vet Assistant is a daily challenge, and it really becomes a part of your life, in a way, it's not just "a job".- you deal with saving lives, and nurturing and caring for wounded or sick pets.

 

For now, I am just taking it shift by shift.
I'll have worked at the clinic for an year when it's June. Time flies.
I know I hated it before, constantly cleaning etc. But I learned that it was a stepping stone for me to become a VA in training. We all have to start somewhere after all. :)
So, since I became a Vet Assistant, I have been enjoying my job a lot more.
Some days, I wash dogs and trim their coats, other days I assist in surgery (which I've always been interested in ever since I was a kid, watching 'Emergency Vets' in the US).
But most days I am cleaning cages, syringes, exam room tables, observe the vet during examinations and help when he needs me, etc. , plus what I've mentioned above. 

It can be pressuring, which can be difficult for me to remain calm, especially when I am not sure what to give the vet when he needs a tool for example, ( still learning names of the equipments in Japanese), but it is also a job that helps me grow as a person.
Most days are typical, but other days, I can do amazing things, like bottle feeding a sick kitten, which was my dream "job", and kind of still is.
And the fact that I was able to experience this again ( i cared for an abandoned kitten a few years ago when I was a student at a Japanese Language School in Tokyo ), was a dream come true. 

I feel with time and determination to learn more, I feel I can do this, I can try becoming a better Vet Assistant. 
In the long run, I just have to learn everything in English.. hah. But I feel it would feel easier to learn this way to be honest, even if I am bilingual :p