I am clear-headed and gathering energy, Jane ditto. I had a computer bite the dust—or disk—this morning and have not freaked. I have been banned from FB (well, restricted) for discussing solid state drives. But, oh, well, it’s a day. [Apparently it triggered a Naughty Word alert.) So with that excitement, (I still have one nicely functioning computer and have a cloud backup besides, so What, me worry?—
I have also been ‘approving’ people through for membership in this blogsite, so be conscious of new members just now blossoming forth, or poofing into existence and welcome them in! Some will have had their posts stalled a couple of days (I have to push the permission button on every First Post.) But they are here, or will be arriving.
Last week, my age group became eligible for the COVID vaccine here in Massachusetts. This evening the city did robocalls announcing that it was doing vaccine clinics next week… and ten minutes later I had signed up on the city’s website for next Tuesday early evening—Moderna. I’ll walk a mile or so to a local elementary school, get my shot and enjoy a walk back home. I’m in a bit of a shock over the speed of getting a booking… and tired after the adrenaline surge when I went into mad, “survival-mode” (I suppose) grabbing the unexpected opportunity.
I get my Pfizer #2 Tuesday also. But I have to drive downtown to get it.
I get my second Moderna shot on Wednesday. Just in time for my birthday!
I’m going to try another one or two calls to the apt. mgmt. office today, to see if I can get a Real Live Person rather than only the recording with option to leave a message. I’m going to ask for an appt. Monday to make a partial payment and fill out assistance forms. I’m hoping that will work, as they didn’t come over last Wednesday as promised. and I’ve had the two notices repeating fees due, last week and this week, with no human being in contact.
Brindle is due for her surgery Tuesday with an overnight stay and pickup Wednesday.
She zoomed around early this morning and overnight, batting the blinds to have fun, then early this morning, got into two cabinets, and knocked down a frying pan, but without breaking anything or hurting either cat or me. Sure was a loud crash, though! I am hoping she will get this phase out of her system. She’s currently napping beside me and Goober is hanging out with me. In four weeks, Brindle will have been here half a year and Goober will be 14.5. I’m very surprised.
No news from my cousin or uncle, but I haven’t called them back, so I don’t guess I’ll hear anything until I do.
Twice now, I’ve heard cats outside at night, fighting or mating. Still not sure if Mystic made it through the freeze, but I still think the one night time glimpse may have been him. The black or dark grey male and the calico tuxedo female cats ae around, though.
I’ve been down and tired for over a week. I think I got myself so overly wound up that it’s fatigue and post-adrenaline. Hoping to regroup over the weekend for a busy week next week.
Ben, can you ask/get management to call you before someone comes over to escort you to the management office? Or (perhaps not as desirable), could management come to see you, rather than you go to see them?
“Uber has been ordered to pay $1.1 million after an arbitrator ruled that the rideshare company’s drivers discriminated against a blind woman and her guide dog on more than a dozen separate occasions.
…
She was awarded $324,000 in damages and more than $800,000 in attorney fees and court costs…”
https://www.cnn.com/2021/04/02/business/uber-blind-passenger-arbitration-trnd/index.html
An article for your apartment manager, too. ADA trumps (pardon) TX law.
Documenting all the times that your apartment management has promised to accommodate your vision impairment but failed to deliver might have some weight if they decide to try and force you out. I’m thinking of all the promised repairs that never materialized, offers to send someone over to escort you to the office, etc. etc.
Good point, Chondrite. And what “able” people fail to realize is that often it takes longer for a disabled person to accomplish anything, so by making them wait or not following through, you’re stealing part of their life.
And a big part of their life. The standard for SSDI (I don’t know SSI) is that you’re not disabled if you can work 20 hours per week in any job anywhere in the economy, even for minimum wage. That means if you are disabled, you’ve proven to the satisfaction of SSA that you have to do everything in life in less than 20 hours per week. So if someone steals just a couple hours, that’s 10% of a week stolen.
With all the people with post-Covid fatigue, this is going to be a still more important issue.
And for help in enummerating and dating instances, BCS can log into his blogs here…
Right on!!
I got a notice that the pharmacy chain I go to had shots available, so I signed up – first one is Monday morning. Had to make a trip to get the confirmation notice printed, though – I don’t have a phone that does e-mails.
Happy Easter everyone!
Dad had his second vaccine shot on Good Friday, and he’s doing fine – in a week he’ll be as safe as anyone can be from this virus. That makes this a very happy Easter for our family.
Happy Easter, good to hear that you’re dad is vaccinated!
O yes — it’s definitely a Good Friday when people you love have been vaccinated.
Happy Easter! (Do you call it Easter? IIRC, the romance languages call it passover.)
@Walt, in Dutch Easter is called Pasen; and the Easter bunny is the “Paashaas” (haas = hare, instead of rabbit). That might well be related to the word Passover.
The three main Christian holidays are celebrated on two days so everyone also has the Monday off work for ‘second Easter day’ and ditto for ‘second Pentecost day’ (which is called “Hemelvaart” i.e. “Going to Heaven” day in Dutch).
What use is a holiday if you don’t get a day off?
Dutch Christmas also officially has ‘first Christmas day’ on the 25th, and ‘second Christmas day’ on the 26th, so you can visit both sets of parents/in-laws for dinner, one on each day, with less stress and quarrelling.
In the US one of the big companies (or maybe it’s a brand; I don’t know) that makes Easter egg dyes is called ‘Paas’; I wonder if that was derived from the Dutch!
I believe it’s more like variations on “Pasqua”, e.g. famously “Islas de Pasqua”, and “paschal” as an adjective.
Pretty much all the European languages except English derive the name of “Easter” (i.e. the 1st Sunday after the 1st full moon after the Spring Equinox… and when Jesus is said to have risen from the grave) from a (Latin, I believe) version of the name for Passover. English is the odd man out– it uses the name Easter, which is derived from a pre-Christian goddess, Eostre, whom I believe was likely a goddess of the Springtime.
This is my understanding.
It does all relate to East to some degree, so it’s not black and white.
It’s kind of like the Orient, orienting, orienteering; waking up and looking toward the East/Orient to get ones bearings from the morning Sun, which is to the East at the start of Spring.
In German, das Ostern; East is Oster, IIRC.
I suppose bunnies and eggs are signs of Spring’s rebirth.
And random “Easter” linguistic realization this morning while getting out of bed — the Scottish Gaelic word for “Easter” is Càisg. On first glance (or, rather, while putting on the first slipper) this would NOT seem to conform to the general, European (via Latin) “Pasc” model for word for Easter but… (putting on the second slipper) I realized the name was adopted by the original, very early medieval/”Dark Ages” Irish Church so early on that the proto-Irish language still had no “P” sound. Native speakers were still converting any Latin loan word with a “P” sound into a hard “C” sound.
Linguists divide the Celtic languages into “P” and “Q” Celtic. Irish & Scottish Gaelic are from the Q branch. Their word for “son” is that oh-so-recognizable word, “maC.” Welsh (and Gaulish, by the way) is from the ”P” branch. Their word for son is (a much less familiar) “maP.” However, you might spot it in that famous, Middle Welsh set of tales, the Mabinogi, which seems to mean “Tales of the Divine Son.”
I didn’t get ahold of a Real Live Person on Friday, just their phone answering system.
I hadn’t been keeping a journal / log of interactions up until now, but I’m going to start doing so on Monday. I am so, so tired of the not-so-merry-go-round with management. Thanks, everyone, for the suggestions and encouragement. I’d thought of logging it, but hadn’t sat down to do so, other than my blog posts here, and a (long) summary note I wrote back in November about the whole mess, before Mr. Patel had been helping.
I’m tired, period, and tired of my own weaknesses on this, but trying to get back on it.
The letter / document from the eye doctor did arrive in the week’s mail, yay.
My sleep pattern has been especially wonky lately, and other than stress over my situation, I don’t know what it is. The neighbors have been (relatively) quieter lately, except for occasional bursts. It’s very possible the overall situation is getting to all of them too. But I’ve been almost falling asleep during the day, sometimes napping this past week, but overall sleeping in short bursts, maybe two or three times in a 24 hour period. Not helping me feel better.
Brindle has been zooming around each morning and evening, playing with the blinds and (eegad) she has learned to open cabinets, so almost each day, I hear a “clunk, clatter” and have to investigate what she’s been into in the kitchen. No casualties yet except one old Fiestaware coffee mug, so I guess we’re good. She knocked down the frying pan (!) from an overhead cabinet (!) which was a surprise to me. I moved a Mason jar to avoid it getting knocked down. I’m hoping the novelty of this will pass soon, since I can’t install kitty-proof latches. — I’m halfway amused and halfway alarmed. She’s busy, curious, bored, and smart. She’s also nearly adult-sized and built chunky, sturdy.
Goober’s doing OK; not great, but few accidents and he’s gained a little bit of weight, still too skinny.
I’ going to write a little today, but don’t feel like doing anything else in particular, and I’m choosing to listen to this.
Brindle’s vet appt. to be spayed is Tuesday, then pick her up Wednesday. I’m hoping this will go without a problem.
Doing OK enough all in all, I guess.
Oh – Chondrite, your package arrived during the week and I forgot to email a thank-you, so thank you! I haven’t heard the audio, and it’s been ages since I saw one of the videos, haven’t seen another of them, and I’m in th emote to rewatch the Trek videos. Also, yes, got the nutmeg! 😀
It’s hard to believe it’s Easter already. Hoppy Easter, all.
If you’re using a smartphone, it logs *everything*, though it doesn’t record conversations necessarily.
Today, Wednesday, I get my second cataract removed. I will be officially immunized on Thursday (two weeks after 2nd Moderna). Four weeks from now I’ll have stable enough eyesight that I can get reading and computer glasses. Until then I won’t be able read dead tree books or play my favorite computer game. Getting old isn’t for sissies…
Hugs. Best wishes for your 2nd cataract surgery, and meanwhile, enjoy some audiobooks. It will be some time yet before anything (Soc. Sec. and state paperwork) go through, before I can (I hope) get the referral and approval for cataract surgery. If so, there’s still a chance I can return to my previous level of sight or near it, which was legally blind, but had been mostly stable throughout my life. The cataracts are seriously messing with my visual acuity, distance versus near fields, color perception, glare or fogginess, and how bright or dark things seem. It makes everything take longer and messes with my self-confidence. I sure hope things can go through fine. Hoping to get things submitted this month.
Yup, getting older, or physical issues at whatever age, not for wimps!
I got all of about four hours sleep last night, mostly me, partly due to neighbors outside, up and talking for an hour from 2 to 3 a.m. Not overly loud or boisterous or foul, just, there. I feel very frazzled, burnt-out, needing sleep. Hope I can be productive today. I may have to nap later today, but want to avoid it until night if I can.
Glad to hear such Positive news. Easter is a time of rebirth and renewal so I hope today found you both well and moving forward.
Brindle is off to the vet for pre-op tests, her last booster shot, and to be spayed today. I should hear later how she’s doing post-op in recovery, and pick her up tomorrow afternoon / evening. I opted to get her microchipped, since she has gotten out a few times before. I’m hoping getting spayed will reduce the urge to roam.
They both kept me up last night, quiet but still patting / head-butting at me, because Brindle had to be without food 12 hours before upcoming surgery. I doubt I can sleep yet, so I’m still up, but half-asleep. I asked the vet’s office to order moist food in the special diet for Goober. I’m not yet low enough on the dry special g-i diet to get a new bag of it; it’s Rx but can be filled and shipped by Petco (and probably by Petsmart).
Doing mostly OK, hoping Brindle does fine. I will need to cook something tonight, but not sure what I want to fix. I’m not yet low enough on groceries to want to order again, just low on a couple of items plus items I want to get when I order next.
It’s been very nice temp. here, not toot or cold, so the a/c is not running. Alternately cloudy and humid or sunny.
We’ve been having some very variable spring weather here. Last week was around 21°C (69.5°F, quite warm for March, it’s fairly early spring), and on Friday April 1st on my sister’s south-facing balcony it was 28°C (82.4°F – her spring is 3 weeks farther ahead as she’s 300 km south of me, but those are summer temperatures!).
Then on Easter Monday, three days later, we had snow flurries and temperatures just above freezing, alternating with bright spring sunshine but an icy cold hard wind. That changeable weather will continue for another couple of days; after that, who knows?
Someone timelapse-filmed the sky for a bit (maybe half an hour, or an hour at most?) to give an idea of the variability – while one spot is getting snow or tiny styrofoam-balls hailstones, their friend 6 miles on is enjoying the bright sunshine. Just wait 5 or 10 minutes, and the situations may be reversed.
I wish I could upload the picture my sister just sent me, of a lovely pink finch sitting all fluffed up surrounded by white blossoms, in her gorgeously blooming cherry tree, with real snow (not blossom leaves!) falling and lying on the garden and the trees in the background.
Weather is fun at these temperate latitudes in spring and autumn!
Junior the cat had developed, over the last year, severe mats in his fur. He is a cantankerous, skinny old git, and didn’t want us to comb them out, so eventually we said, “Fine, you’re going to the groomer, and if she turns you into a jarhead, it’s on you.”
I dropped him off Friday morning, expecting it to take perhaps an hour or two. Got a call back an hour and a half later from the groomer, saying “Please come pick up your cat, we can’t work with him.” I went to collect him, and found they had gotten as far as a reverse Mohawk, but hadn’t even trimmed his claws yet. They said that when they started to give him a buzz cut, he went ballistic — clawing, biting, peeing on the table and generally being uncooperative. They even tried to put a muzzle on him, but it wasn’t happening.
I ended up calling our vet and explaining that Junior desperately needed to be shorn and that he threw a fit at the groomer’s (“Full Tasmanian Devil”). It was rather like asking a neurosurgeon to suture a minor cut, but the vet agreed to sedate him and shave him. Junior is home now, but has reached legendary status on FB for his poor behavior.
None of the groomers in my area will touch a cat. They say take it to the vet. They only groom dogs….I believe that’s discrimination, although I also know that getting scratched and bitten by a cat is a lot worse than by a dog. My youngest cat put me in the ER with a bite to my hand.
If I remember, CJ’s cat —Yseult (no, that wasn’t her name)— did the same thing to her.
I’m trying to remember, too. Efanor was Jane’s before Sheishi (her half-Bengal). I wonder if it was Ynefel….no, not that, either…..Right now, she has Shu and Jane’s sister’s cat that they retrieved a couple of years ago. I know none of them were named Ninevrise, though. 😉
Ysobel? I think I’d have better luck searching Jane’s blog for the kitty roster.
I think Ysobel might be the young lady cat they got to be a peacemaker between the two cat-factions. She spends some time upstairs with Sei and Shu, and more time downstairs with Jane’s sister’s cat Strider, so he quieted down and stopped yowling, even though he and Sei still don’t mix, the last I heard.
Her name starts with that Y sound, IIRC!
Double checked on Jane’s blog, and yes, YsAbel. I may be wrong, but I think Tanner is Jane’s sister’s cat that now resides with CJ and Jane.
@Chondrite, you’re right, Strider was the second cat who came home with them from Jane’s sister, but who died fairly shortly after moving in, leaving Tanner living alone in the basement. With daily visits for company, of course, but still too much alone to be happy, until Ysabel came.
My sister had a black cat called Stapper, the Dutch translation of Strider’s name in Lord of the Rings, so that name sticks better in my memory. That’s the cat who lived to be 20 years old, but grew very thin and needed the enzyme replacement powder on her food in the last years.
Has your restriction from FB been lifted? I have chosen to deactivate my account with FB, although I still use Messenger. Some of my friends don’t use regular texts, so Messenger is the convenient way to go, but doesn’t trip FB’s “triggers”. I refuse to use Twitter, and have gone to other social media platforms rather than add to FB and Twitter’s coffers.
I thought I’d submitted a comment last night, but I see it didn’t post.
Hah, a crewcut cat, oh my. There comes a point where a soak or shower won’t untangle matted hair and shaving has to happen. At least Junior should be warm enough there.
I _think_ I saw Mystic during Brindle’s 19 hour walkabout, overnight, now over two weeks ago. But I’m not sure. I know I’ve seen the calico and the grey-black tomcat since the freeze, but not as much.
Brindle is due back today (Wed.) and I will pick her up this morning. I miss her. Goober may miss her, but he’s been enjoying getting attention from me. He finally figured out he could sleep on the bed again. Brindle still has not decided she can, or that she can come ask me for attention. In other ways, she’s mostly fine. — She had figured out how to open cabinets. I’m hoping it’s a stage.
—–
No word from the apt. mgmt. office. — But yesterday evening (Tue.) around office closing time, I got a knock on my back door (parking lot) and — What the heck? — There was the so-called friend / investor. Never thought I’d see him again. He had come by to check on me. He said he’s lost 4 people (in his family). Why he hadn’t contacted me, aside from that, in all these months, I don’t know. I gave him an edited (shorter) version of what’s happened, omitted some things.
He claims he’s going to pay the back utility fees and back rent, and will give me receipts for all the payments he had made. OK. I intend to call the mgmt. office to double-check, as he said the asst. mgr. had paperwork in progress for me, but my understanding was, she hadn’t restarted or submitted it, for rent assistaqnace.
He’s now claimed he’ll help me get SSI paperwork restarted and help with other assistance paperwork, things I need to get done, and will help me get a new place to live, since my lease here is up for renewal in June, IIRC, rather than July.
I’m skeptical, but I need the help to get things done. He’s said someone who works for him can help me with my storage space. — I will see how this all goes. I told him I didn’t know what to think, because he hadn’t been in contact at all.
So — Just when I thought things could not get any wackier, here they are. I have a few things to get done this week, and hope I can get those done. I hope he’s being genuine. I gave him my new phone number. If he helps with filling out paperwork, he’ll see personal info, but I don’t have anyone else in town to help out. I don’t know quite what to think about him showing back up, but I’m far enough down, I’m going to take advantage if I can. Honestly flummoxed.
He’d said he’d get me set up for the vaccinations.
This feels nutty, but I also feel like I don’t have much choice. — I will call and check in with my cousin and my uncle and aunt this weekend, I think. I haven’t heard from them since I last called them.
I finally slept about four hours after eating after he left. I’m still worn out, will try to go back to sleep. Thought I’d check here to see if anyone had replied, then found my post had not taken. I thought it did submit.
The vet wants to see Goober for a checkup, and won’t be in until next week, so I have an appt. Tuesday for Goober. (The clinic has 4 vets now that this vet is back from her time off.)
Much to do, but I’m way tired and will try to sleep before I pick up Brindle in the morning. Wow, my A/C has come on a couple of times, so I guess our temperature is picking up again. Here comes summer. Sure will be glad to see Brindle and hope she’ll recover fine. I do have the little wrap Hanneke had recommended when I’d had Peppercorn and she had been spayed. So if Brindle needs it, we should be OK. It should be in my Amazon purchases, if I need a different size.
Joe, glad to see you’re back, and I hope you’re doing well. — I don’t have FB or Twitter.
Brindle is back home and doing well. I have three doses of painkiller for her, about 12 hours in between each. She’s trying to lick at the sealed incision a bit more than I’d like, so I’m trying to distract her. She hasn’t slept since she got back home, but did spend a while letting me hold her. (The first thing she did was dart out of her carrier, look all around the apt., use the litter box, and snack. Heh. Then she got some attention.) Goober came to see, so now he and she are about a foot apart and peaceable, and she’s settling down to nap. (Wish I was.) She arrived with an orange sticky/tacky wrap around one forearm, probably from IV line. I called to check about removing it. So it’s off and she is (mostly) happy. She wanted to be held some. Goober’s being good and she is. Peace reigneth supreme. Very glad, and will give the two their meds tonight.
If Brindle’s licking at the incision, I’m surprised they didn’t send her home with a ‘cone of shame’.
The ‘Old Man’ needs a refill on his Panakare pancreatic enzymes, but the vet hasn’t been able to order any. I may have to ask him to send the prescription to one of the online med houses like Petco so I can order it through them.
Funny you should say that…. And, this pandemic stuff really can get wacky…..
Or, only I could have this kind of luck…. LOL.
I got a call late afternoon from my vet. It wasn’t her day to come in, since she’d been in yesterday (and did surgery, etc.). But she came by to check on Brindle and other patients. 🙂 (Good doc.) So she updated me on how Brindle was doing and… “Collar?” I knew she didn’t mean Brindle’s regular collar or her new city vaccination tag, so I asked if she meant a cone. Yes. Er, but they didn’t send Brindle home with a cone, did I need to bring her back in. (The vet relayed one horror story of the one time a cat had had trouble after an incision.) Eeek. Well, we decided I’ll observe Brindle tonight and will bring her in tomorrow if she is worrying at the sutures too much. Otherwise, we’ll wait until Tuesday and could I bring her in with Goober to check on her post-op, because one blood count was iffy. Sure thing, not a problem. — Then found out the vet didn’t know I’d already been by and brought Brindle home, or somewhere in the conversation. The vet’s trying hard, but busy. — Upshot of this: She gave Brindle another dose of flea treatment, because Brindle had fleas despite I’d dosed her (and only half got on) in the last two weeks. One of Brindle’s blood counts (related to red corpuscles) is reading up and down, mixed results so they did 3x tests, didn’t charge beyond the battery of pre-op / pre-vaccination tests. The doctor thinks it’s from the fleas or a parasite associated with fleas, but wants to check to be sure, on the follow-up. She thinks the parasites are unlikely, though. Brindle also needs one more shot to complete her vaccinations, and we’ll see about her sutures. Other than that and the pain med, she’s fine. The vet will check Goober, now that he’s had another round of the antibiotic and starts the steroid today, plus he’s been on the special bland g-i medium calorie diet (plus his usual treats) and now he’ll have moist in the g-i food too. — She may want Goober to get lab tests, but x-rays or other imaging is high cost. She hasn’t yet ruled out pancreas inflammation (pancreatitis) or other pancreas trouble, or lymphoma in the g-i tract, which senior cats can get, or other lymphoma or cancer. But she wanted to try less expensive ideas first and see how he does. — I will bring up the Panakare and that I have Goober signed up through Petco to get any prescriptions filled and shipped to me. Brindle is also signed up.
It sounds like Panakare might be the same enzymes Hanneke had suggested about her sister’s cat. So I’ll ask my vet about that and say you had had to ask your vet about the Rx through Petco. — If need be, I could also say your vet in Hawaii was having trouble getting it from the supplier and you were going to ask him about going through Petco. Maybe my vet could help your vet, I don’t know. If that’s the go-to typical treatment med for it, then Goober might benefit.
He’s doing mostly OK and has gained a little weight, but is still having occasional trouble with loose stools or diarrhea, esp. if I’m late with his dosage, or at random. I’ve been trying to limit his treats or moist food, but on the other hand, I want him to eat as much as he can, to get him back to a normal adult weight.
So we’ll see how he does Tuesday, and if need be, I may bring in Brindle tomorrow, if she’s licking or picking at her sutures too much. She may get the ol’ clown cone reverse lampshade treatment. — Fun fact: The vet doesn’t like the standard cones, says they are too flimsy, so the clinic makes their own from x-ray celluloid at no charge to the patients. Heh, I was amused. She says they don’t look so great, but do the job better. (Her story about the one cat who hd trouble, she said the owners let the cat in and out and didn’t observe the cat for a couple of days, then wondered why she had severe trouble. The vet said it’s a wonder the cat hadn’t gotten an infection or worse. I won’t go into the details. Would never want that to happen to any animal.) That cat remarkably did OK, though, no infection or other complications once the vet cleaned her up and sewed her up again. But yikes.
Brindle seems to be doing OK, slept a lot, has had supper now, and was looking out the window, watching all the goings-on, a favorite activity, kitty-TV. 😀 — I’ll check her incision site again once she wants to settle down again.
I have to look at the instructions for Goober’s steroid and double-check Brindle’s med’s instructions, but I don’t expect any trouble. The vet outlined about the painkiller for Brindle, said it’s absorbed by the cheek mucosa (lining) so not to worry if she doesn’t swallow all of it, she’ll still get the drug into her system.
So things are going well for them and I’m pleased. — Brindle ate every bit of her moist food tonight and may have stolen some of Goober’s new moist special diet. But they both were happy and eating dry too, so appetite is good and both are (surprise) getting along better. Not perfect, not best buddies, but better; Brindle is growing up and treating Goober a little better. He’s easing toward, she might not be so annoying and bad as he thought. Heh. Good there too. — Brindle is partially shaved, of course, at the belly, but doing OK. I got the clingy wrap tape off her forearm without any big battle, and was surprised at that. (Interesting material, that stuff.)
Got a little done, with some paperwork to fill out and find items for before I can send it in. More to do later.
Overall, a pretty good day. — One of the Uber drivers was likely central / Eastern European, but I didn’t ask him, so I don’t know for sure his language and country of origin, but definitely an immigrant. My results lately have been half native-born citizens and half immigrants identifiable by accent and name. Typical for cabbies here, since we’re a big international port city, air and sea. Lately, I’ve had Uber drivers from Africa, the Middle East and India / Pakistan, Slavic countries, and of course, Latin Americans; funny, no Asians or Pacific Islanders or Austrnesians ////////////// Oz / NZ yet. You never know what you’re going to get for a cabbie, either USA or immigrants, or how good at finding their destinations they will be. But since February restarting, it has been better. Uber seems to have updated their app in March, better results with setting departure and destination points; still not perfect. There is some oddity still in the Google Maps or Apple Maps driving directions near my apartment, so Siri can get lost or confused, which then throws offf the cabbies. But better than it had been, no cancellations and no three or four tries before success getting a cab.
Overall, a pretty good day. — No news whether my rent and utilities were in fact taken care of or if it went through. I will call the office to check, late tomorrow. Good enough overall, I may be a tiny bit ahead of the game. (If back rent gets taken care of, then that’s my largest outstanding bill and almost all back fees due are paid, leaving current and future to take care of, assistance and income to do.) So… Yeah? Still feel like I’m behind the 8 ball. But today was OK, some success.
— I hope Ready is doing well after her cataract surgery. I’m a little envious, glad she’s gotten both, hooping they heal up extra well, so she can enjoy good vision again and read and play games, do all the myriad things that need good vision. 😀
Brindle will be very annoyed if she gets that cone of d’oh. I saw a video the other night of a half-grown kitten with a cone, eating, playing, annoyed by the cone, messy, but workable if the human takes good care of the kitty, then relief when the cone comes off again. 😀
Panakare — Thanks to Chondrite and Hanneke for this suggestion. (I will need to check the name of the steroid for Goober; it is not Prednazone. His antibiotic, still on that, is Metronidazole. The antibiotic and the special Rx cat food are available through Petco. Don’t know about the steroid or others. Chondrite, if you want me to check if my vet and your vet could talk, regarding getting Junior his Panakare, mutual benefit to Goober, I’d be happy to ask my vet about your vvet and Petco for fulfillment of the Rx.
Sounds like sharing info could help both cats, vets, and owners.
@BCS, if you can find that cat onesie, do put Brindle in that for a few days to stop her licking the incision or gnawing the stitches.
It’s soft jersey, and stretches a bit if necessary so the fit doesn’t have to be exact; it’s less bothersome than a cone but allows the wound to rest and heal.
Pull the neck-opening over her head, stick het feet through the openings, and then close the velcro either on her belly or her back, whatever fits more comfortably.
She can use the litterbox with it on, so just leave it on for a week until the incision is closed.
If you put the velcro on the tummy instead of the back, it’s easier to check the incision regularly for redness and infection without having to take it half-off.
The first time you put it on she’ll walk funny or go brick-like for a short time until she gets used to it – don’t worry, it really doesn’t impede her movement.
Don’t blame me! It’s not something I had any control over, but I had my second Pfizer shot yesterday about 1PM. The only consequence has been some pain at the injection site for about 24 hours.
Two of my people had their second shots on Tuesday. They were okay yesterday, but by today both of them were feeling flu-ish; one called in sick, and the other left early. Somehow my reaction to the second shot was less than my first.
Brindle is doing better and hasn’t been bothering her incision today. It’s sealed with some wort of resin or glue. I’m unclear if she has stitches within that, but if so, apparently, they dissolve and don’t need to be removed. She’s due in Tuesday for a follow-up, and so is Goober. She doesn’t come to me, but does like her favorite spots, and I’ve been picking her up to give her attention, holding her. She’s sleeping a lot, but when she’s been awake and has wanted to look out the window or to play, she’s done fine, so I’m pleased. I haven’t yet tried the little onesie wrap. She was trying to pick at the clingy forearm wrap when she got home, but I removed it after asking about it. So I’m reluctant to use the onesie. I’m watching her incision site and her behavior, to be sure she’s OK. Goober seems to be doing OK after his second daily dose of the new steroid. (And dang it, I keep forgetting the name; I’ve seen it spelled twice now.)
It’s been warming up here; the A/C is on again, but that’s normal for this time of year. Temp and sun or light showers are normal so far, but it’s early still, and our winter was mild except for the unheard-of late freeze, so no telling what summer will be like.
The investor friend did go by and pay the late / back utility fees. Sometime this afternoon, I heard what might have been a knock, but when I checked both doors, I didn’t seee anyone, and I called out at both.Tonight, I checked for a delivery (a flashlight)and — at the parking lot door, on the dirt and grass beside my door, there was a note, no envelope. I would not have seen it if I hadn’t had to check for the package, and it would’ve blown away, been covered in dew or rain, or been swept or thrown out by groundskeeping. I thought it was going to be an advertisement. No, it was another note showing the balance due after that payment, threatening collections agency, eviction, lockout, if I didn’t pay the remaining balance due by tomorrow, and provide proof of which rent assistance programs, if any, I had applied for. I called the investor friend, (BM), who says they have to do that to show the amount due. — OK, I countered, but I still needed help with the applications, and the office hadn’t done so. He is supposed to help out tomorrow or Monday or Tuesday. I am going to call the office as a backup also. He did email me a photo of the money order he’d presented for payment, so I have proof of that. I am so, so tired of getting the run-around and being told this is OK, they have the right to give such notice, while they aren’t helping as they said with applications for rent assistance. The mgr. or asst. mgr. told him that they couldn’t help ppl fill out applications or apply on their behalf, because they (the mgmtt.) couldn’t be liable for it. This wasn’t what the asst. mgr. told me. The investor friend glossed over this, but it matters to me. I am aggravated. with the whole gods-rotted situation. BM, the so-called friend, now back, said he had arranged a payment plan with them. Nothing of that was acknowledged in the note, and I think it’s ridiculous how the note was carelessly left. I’ve written a short summary, trying to log things now, but I may need to explain more there as I have here.
I want to have somewhere to move to when my lease is up. I am so tired of the hassle here. But I am not convinced it will be any better elsewhere, with the same problems of lack of income.
I’ve looked on a state site about unclaimed funds, after getting advice for that. He (BM) also advised that, looked, and sent an email from the site so I can complete what info is needed to get any unclaimed funds due me. — There are a few items there from before I’d moved here which were somehow missed, and that will help me for several months, but it only pushes the problem forward, it doesn’t solve it. So rent assistance still has to happen. So does the Soc. Sec. process. The friend says he’ll help. I hope so. I have to try to find documents to show my former addresses and maybe an old ID, but I think I had cut up my old ID once I’d updated it for my apt. address. I’ll have to send what I can find, once I find it and get my printer to copy it. (I haven’t found where it’s put any scanner utility on my computer, and may have to check the printer’s website.)
I hope I can get things organized again, but I expect this will be slower than I want. — I won’t have a chance to go by my storage space, probably until next week after Tuesday. The cats’ checkup is Tuesday, and I hope at least that will go well. Goober is still more-or-less stable, still too skinny, but may be putting on weight very slowly; hard to tell for sure.
I will order a small amount of groceries, likely next week. I want to order now, but still need to use up more. I’ve got to order cat litter again, and I put in an order for cat treats, pill pockets, and rice for myself.
Sure hope I can get more done; I’m going to push myself this weekend to get some things sorted and straightened up. Not sure how much I will actually accomplish. It all seems so slow, and my sight and my fatigue level keep getting to me. I’m aggravated but weary and discouraged, even while also wanting to fight back, and it feels like every time I do anything, there’s something else that goes wrong or is still unsolved. Trying, but it feels like it’s never enough, and I feel like I’m slacking off at times, or frustrated with my eyes and with getting fatigued. (I don’t know why I’m getting tired too easily. I do know my sleep/wake schedule is screwy and I am not getting enough sleep, either in bites or in a single session of sleep. I had five hours at a time once in the past week, but it’s usually more like four or less at a time, waking during the night, dragging around during the day, rarely letting myself nap in the day, but sometimes I can’t stay awake.
Sorry to be such a downer. I had thought yesterday and today were good, until this notice again. Thought I had something partly solved or on the way to it. Now, I guess we’ll wait and see.
We had one cat who removed her own stitches, back in the mid-60s (before the Cone of Shame and other helpful stuff). We only found out when she went in to have them removed. Healed fine – cats are good at that – and lived long.
Had my second Moderna shot on Wednesday. I am so thankful for the warnings about brain fog! I was okay immediately after; in fact I managed to do a major shopping for long overdue necessities. Then It slowly got worse, headache, some nausea…which are also some of my symptoms of allergies which are moving into high gear. Nothing like a double whammy to keep things interesting. I am feeling pretty good today, but the brain fog may not have entirely lifted. I just tried to log into my bank using my email password. Bank did not like it, to say the very least, so I changed my password. Toes crossed I remember that I changed it!🤭
The weather is steadily warming. The fishies are happily swimming. I am not sure why, but we have tons of babies this year. Now if we can just keep the hawks and ground predators away. We may have to put the net on until the plant like provides enough coverage.
I love being able to go out in a sweatshirt and garden shoes! Next project is to get rid of the damn sassafras!
One day, when “precision medicine” arrives, we’ll each have our sequences and “they” will be able to match those to various virii, medications, vaccines, foods, etc. Not that it will eliminate bad reactions, but at least will predict what’s likely and what’s likely to be mitigation.
I’m happy to report my wife got her first shot this morning. And as Virginia is now taking everyone, my daughter should be able to get one somewhat soon. It’s a relief.
CJ if you see this way down here — I just found an old story of yours called “Harpy”, in the fanzine “Private Heat 2/3” from Spring 1978 (originally in Nebulousfan Vol 2 #1).
Amazing what drifts up on the shores of eBay. My quest to get all of your fiction is closing in on it’s conclusion !!