Beantown!

Yeah for us! We're in Boston for an interview (for a fellowship position for me) and a little wee vacation (for the both of us). I've done the interview and I have the usual post-interview headache. Just as soon as I get back to where-ever I'm staying, something in my brain declares war on the rest of me.

I just raided my host's medicine cabinet and stole 800mg of ibuprofen. I hope it kicks in soon.

Meanwhile, I'll sit on the couch and watch VH1.

Then it's time for candlepin bowling, which is the shiz-nizzle. Okay, okay, okay, that web site is shyte, but at least it lays out the rules of this truly awesome sport.

Okay, okay, okay, calling it a sport and not a drinking game is a stretch, but let's keep that opinion to ourselves until I get back out of New England. Capiche?!?

Crossing fingers, toes and all other applicable extremities

I'm gonna say this really quietly, just so I don't temp fate.

The Astros might make the post season.

Don't repeat that.

I don't wanna jinx my boys.

Go Astros!

Why is Scrap Iron Phil Garner named Scrappy? All I could find on Wikipedia was [sic] "nicknamed Scrap Iron due to his gritty style of play."

But why, specifically, Scrap Iron? He's from Jeff City, MO - so it's not like he's from old miner stock, or anything.

Anyone got some answers for me? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?!?

The Cat

Yargh.

My cat has been sick for the last two weeks, more or less. It started with his usual constipation/stool holding/inappropriate stooling nonsense that happens every time he gets a little stressed. We blamed the bathroom renovations. After all, how would you like it if someone dumped stinky adhesive in the middle of your dining room? Huh? I might just poop on the floor too!

Then his little butt go so miserable looking with stool bulging at the rectum, grass hanging from a stuck ball of shit, tail down shuffling gait... I just couldn't stand it. So being a docta I got out my lube and rubber gloves and went downtown, so to speak.

Oh boy, people, did I ever get that shit out. Grams and grams of the stuff.

Oberon usually sulks for a day, hiding and pooping on the stairs but then gets betta. Not this time. Well, I lie. He got better for a day or so, but then stopped eating.

Do you know what happens to cats when they stop eating? I did. This is what happens. To quote:

FHL is very dangerous for cats and can be life threatening if left untreated.

EEK! I like my cat. Actually, I love my cat. In the past I've ranted about how silly it is to dump tons and tons of cash into pets. My cat is not getting surgery for pancreatic cancer. My cat won't get daily insulin therapy. My cat will not get dialysis. Can you imagine giving my cat, who won't even tolerate pilling, peritoneal dialysis?

However, my cat will get urgent treatment for acute issues. Note the choice of words: urgent treatment for acute issues. There will be no after hours visits to emergency centers (unless, of course, there is massive bleeding or trauma - if the injury looks survivable, he might get a visit then). There will be no long term, expensive chronic care. There will be office visits to my regular vet during regular hours for complaints that sound something like, "my cat's not eating and I don't want him to die of liver disease. Help, please?!?"

We walked out of the vet about $100 poorer armed with meds to help his little belly push food through his stomach.

Unfortunately, this plan did not work.

Back to the vet we go... $500 later, still no definitive diagnosis. The poor cat comes home leaking barium from his anus (courtesy of his normal barium swallow) along with enema fluid ('cause he didn't poop during his hospital stay) and immediately starts pooping EVERYWHERE. Leaving little kitty butt prints everywhere from the barium. But, while at the vet, he did eat.

So that was good.

One of the meds he came home with was Valium (diazepam). Why? Apparently the stuff acts as an appetite stimulant. Don't believe me, check this out. Or, if yer lazy, read the quote.

# Uses of Diazepam

# In animals, diazepam is given as a sedative, to treat convulsions, to manage excitement or as a muscle relaxant.
# Diazepam is often used with other drugs to ease an animal in and out of anesthesia.
# In some animals, particularly cats, diazepam in small doses has been used to increase appetite and treat behavior problems such as urine spraying or aggression.

So we gave Ober-kitty the recommended dose of Valium this morning. It was a struggle. Twenty minutes pass. I catch something odd in the corner of my vision... Oberon is staggering around the townhouse. He tries to turn... and lands on his ass. Jumps from the couch... and lands on his face. He was a mean drunk too. He took Puck down in the daily fight for dominance. (He'd sobered up some by then.)

It was damn funny.

Tomorrow he's only getting a half dose. But for $50 I could arrange a private showing...

Doncha just hate it when...

I hate it when I brush my teeth in the morning before having anything to eat and I see in my sinkbowel a popcorn shell.

'Cause then I realize the last time I had popcorn was a week ago at the movies.

I hate that.

Cool new toy

So as I've been posting about previously, we're redoing the bathroom's shower surround. One of the steps required putting up a layer of #15 felt paper just under where all the backerboard is going. Now, in order to get this stuff stapled down to the corners, we had to use my hairdryer to soften it up. At the same time, asphalt mastic caulk was flying everywhere to seal the seams between sheets of felt paper... which is some nasty, stinky, sticky shit.

Nasty, stinky, sticky shit that got all over my hairdryer.

So off I went to Sally Beauty Supply and got a new hairdryer. Which is cool, but not the impetus for my post. I happened to pick a hairdryer that was part of a buy one get one free deal I hadn't even noticed. So I got a flatiron, and man does this thing rock.

I feel like I've finally discovered some kinda hair secret - suddenly I have shiny, not frizzy STRAIGHT hair on a day when I haven't been to the salon. How cool is that? I've never been able to make my hair look like this on my own.

See you guys in a bit, I gotta go back to the mirror to stare at myself some more...

A day off... from my days off?

So I'm jobless right now. Completely unemployed.

So you would think my bathroom renovations would become central to my usefulness.

You'd be right.

But I still took a day away. I biked all the way down to the movie theater and saw the totally horrible film 'The Protector.'

Terrible terribleness. But hey, if butt-kicking is to your liking, go for a matinee. You'll have fun!

Way back in May

I made the year mark. I missed my blogoversery by nearly six months. Damn, I'm forgetful!

That's right, one plus year of blogging. I really didn't think I'd make it this far. I've tried journaling in the past and never wrote beyond the three week mark. So one year (and more!) is kinda big for me.

And, well, it'd be bigger if I was a more regular poster.

Eh, oh well. At least I post. And on a good day, two people actually read this shit!

Cool!

Bathroom renovation and nasty suprises

So we have to re-do the bathroom. Our pipes broke, requiring the plumber to bash the walls up a bit. I know, I know. There should be a panel behind the bathroom wall that gives you access to the pipes. We didn't have one. Ya see, our builder apparently ran out of money about 75% of the way through the project. So a lot of the little details (like wall panels and nice kitchen countertops) got skipped. And our tile was nasty anyway, so what the hell, right?

Last week I went to work taking out the old walls and tile. Drywall saw? Check. Sledgehammer? Check. Bugs crawling out of the walls scaring me half to death and giving me the heebie-jeebies? Check!

Ohmigod, we had cockroaches the size of Texas and carpenter ants. I could take the studs out with my bare hands they were so crumbly. I was so skeeved out that I had to call my husband at work and skeeve him out.

Fortunately, due to better living through chemistry, the bug man came and told me what to do. All them buggies be DEAD! Dead, I say. Dead like the relationship between Donovan McNabb and T.O. Dead like Elvis. Dead like the proverbial doornail. (That's right, bitches!)

Now we've replaced the studs and insulation, covered the lot with 15 lbs. felt paper and replaced the tub. Did mention that we had to remove the tub? No? Well, it's easier than it sounds... provided you have two strong men to do it for you! Thanks, Rob! We're almost ready to start the original project - the damn tiling. It's gonna seem so easy after all the other crap we've already done.

Yargh.