Thursday, August 31, 2006

 I forgot! It's Haiku Thursday!

stupid case worker
all my friends mean so much more
than one husband could

ringo stu kitty
thank you for being so good
with gross yucky meds

little boy seamus
youre the best pill taker cat
i appreciate it!

cat dentist visit
tomorrow they both go in
cleaning and pulled teeth

boys, please dont hate me
kitty dentist - good for yinz
i do it for love

nerve block was today
im hopeful this will help
im over this pain

entrapped nerve of mine
please get out of your trap soon
this has been too long!

time for bed for me
I need to get up early
big day tomorrow

Posted by Acinom @ 9:28 PM :: (0) comments

 I have more than 2 friends!!

So I dont know if I mentioned before what crap I had been given by many difference sources since this injury about being single.

Basically they have commented OVER AN OVER about how I have no support system because I live alone. This has been one of the most offensive annoying parts about all of this mess.

Well today I had a 3rd appt that I needed a driver from. My first one I had my friend Karen pick me up, the second was my friend McGee, and today was
wonderful Deena.

My caseworker made a comment "this isnt the same girl you had last time" and I said "i have more than one friend" and she said something like "but it's not the same person you had the first time either" and I said "I have more than 2 friends" She seemed shocked to think that I could have 3 whole people who care about me to go out of their way for me.

You know, you dont need a man in your life to feel taken care of and loved.

So now I need to find a 4th friend who is free at 3 in the afternoon on the 11th. Anyone able to do it??

Posted by Acinom @ 8:19 PM :: (0) comments

Saturday, August 26, 2006

 I cant even use PMS as an excuse... (and friday shuffle a day late)

Im here sniffling and fighting off full blown sobs, and I cant even blame this emotional outburst on hormones. What has brought me to this state you ask? Im watching one of the best movies of the 80's for about the 84000th time and certain parts still get to me. The part that just moved me now was when "Im Free" is playing as they all get ready for the dance.

He fought so hard and went through so much (queue the music for the "You can NEVER never never ever hide your heart; Don't you ever ever ever ever try it; If you don't give your heart wings you'll; NEVER never never ever fly" and I just want to bust out and dance and do gymnastics)

I IM'd my sister to tell her that one of the best movies of the 80's was on and she replied "St. Elmo's Fire?"

We then had an arguement about the best movies. I stand tough saying this one is up there. (Notice I didnt name it, that's for Grits to do! She always wins my "name this movie" contests, but if someone else gets it first, you win!)

So I did a shuffle hoping to at least get "Holding out for a Hero", or even a song from "St. Elmo's Fire" but alas here's what I got. At least the first song is from that cheesy gymnastic's movie that I cant remember the name of... (Grits?)

1. Take it Easy - Andy Taylor (solo break from Duran Duran)

2. I Feel You - Depeche Mode

3. Alleluia - Dar Williams

4. Stand By Me (Live) - U2 with Bruce Springsteen

5. Catalyst - Anna Nalik

6. Are You Out There? - Dar Williams

7. Narration (From Brimstone and Treacle) - Sting

8. Blood of Eden - Peter Gabriel

9. A Mistake - Fiona Apple

10. I Dont Need a Hero - Concrete Blonde

Ok now Im inspired to go either watch more cheesy 80's movies or Brimstone and Treacle- a freaky movie if youve never seen it, Id say watch it, but It's pretty wonky so I dont know if youd like it. But it does star Sting, so you cant beat that! :)

Till next time!

Posted by Acinom @ 4:17 PM :: (0) comments

Friday, August 25, 2006

 Haiku Thursday, 5.5 hours late...

kitties left a gift
there was a mouse in my house!
did they keep receipt?

thank God it's friday!
im so sleepy, need a break
weekend plans- nothing!

two times every day
the best pill taking kitty cat!
thank you little boy

im too tired now
i cant write more haiku's
brain is really fried

Posted by Acinom @ 5:43 AM :: (0) comments

Wednesday, August 23, 2006

 How would you have responded?


Im rarely at a complete loss of words but I was recently and Im curious how others out there would have replied...

Recently someone asked me what I did on my day off last week. I told them I spent the day at the vet school hospital/kitty cardiologist. This person then asked what was wrong and I explained that it was Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. This person then replied "Oh, my father died of that."

What do you say to that?

Posted by Acinom @ 6:19 AM :: (0) comments

Sunday, August 20, 2006

 Should I really be losing my mind at my age?

I was so excited recently that I read something that had the word perseverate in it. That was the word that I couldnt for the life of me remember in a previous post. (FYI the meaning is "To engage in the same behaviour or thought in a repeated fashion")

Now, for the life of me, I cannot remember what it was that I read that had that word in it. So now I was forgetful not once, but twice about one thing. Is this a perseverating form of forgetfulness?

Normally I read ALOT. I have been a little toned down lately in the reading since I have been watching season one of House, MD and Numb3rs, the 2 shows I discovered in the summer that since I hadnt watched previously, "were new to me". Great shows btw. House is a bit ridiculous when it comes to the imaging studies, but I still want to go back to med school just to work with him at Princeton Plainsboro Hospital- even if he or it doesnt exist.

Anyway, the most recent book I read was "Me Talk Pretty One Day" by David Sedaris. I bought this book about 2 years ago because I had gone to the waiting room to get a patient one day and she was laughing her ass off. When I asked what was so funny, she told me it was this book. If you were to read the reviews on the back of it, you would think she was right. I bought it and read the first 12 pages and put it aside for when I was desperate.

Well I wasnt desperate, but my book club chose this for the latest selection. I was happy that I already owned it, and hopeful that it would be really funny when I got into it. Sadly, I thought it was extraordinarily ok. Although ok might be stretching it even. Am I crazy for not thinking he's funny at all? The best line in the whole book wasnt even his, it was his socialist boss who said "If Im any better than you, it's only because Im Irish". I did smile a few other times, but nary a chuckle and definitely no guffaws. Oh well. I am the only one in the world apparently who hated this book. At least I can say Im not succumbing to peer pressure!

Anyway, I cant imagine that this book had this word in it. Maybe it did, but I cant place it. Ive read a few magazines in waiting rooms, but I dont think they had it either. So Im dumbfounded.

My mom likes to say that she just didnt make the deposit in her memory bank, and maybe that's the same for me. I take comfort in the fact that I still know all the words to Ice Ice Baby, and can give detailed descriptions of every episode of the Brady Bunch. If I were to look at a picture of my third grade class, I believe I could still name each of them. I also think that I could "name that tune" of any popular song from 1983. I think my brain is just so full up of this random stupid stuff that I dont bother depositing random stuff now.

I hope. I loved my Great Uncle Paul more than words can say, but Im scared Ill start asking people the same question every 12 minutes and then reply the same way back to them.

Did you go swimming yet? No? good, those turtles will bite your toes!!

We did have a theory about him though- that he wasnt really senile, just that he had a great sense of humor and was doing it to fuck with everyone. I think it's likely.

So did you go swimming yet? No? Good, those turtles will bite your toes!

Posted by Acinom @ 9:35 PM :: (2) comments

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

 Today we went to the kitty cardiologist

Today was tough.

Seamus was so good though. I am SO proud of him!!! So we got there and were checked in and taken back fairly quickly by a 4th year. She did an H&P and I saw she had ranked his murmur as a 2-3 (out of 6, his primary care vet ranked it just a 2) then went to go pass on what she learned to the cardiologist while the tech came in to do another bp. Last time he had it checked it was 140-145ish (in kitties they only do the top number, and normal for them is the same as normal for us) and that was good, high normal, but for a vet they consider it great. Today it was 175. High, but not scary high, and could have been stress induced. FINALLY the cardiologist came in and she was very nice. Seamus liked her alot. She said I could come for the echo, but not for the xray because that's in another area, and shed come get me when it was echo time, but they had 3 docs and one echo machine so we didnt know how long it would be. She kept him back there because she said she'd sneak the chest xray in when she could.

So I go out to the waiting room with THE MOST UNCOMFORTABLE seats ever. Let me tell you, this was not a fun place for the most part. I did make a friend though. She was sitting there sniffling and crying a wee bit and I offered her a tissue. I told her Id listen if she needed to talk and leave her alone if that's what she wanted and after about 3 minutes of crying she was ready to talk. Her pup, Hershey, was just diagnosed with Lymphoma. She said that she's single and he is her family. I totally understand that! He was back there having a bone marrow biopsy to determine how widespread it was, and he was to have his first chemo today too. She then started crying again and they took her in the back.

I was in the waiting room for 2 hours and watched all sorts of stories. I saw everything from a woman bringing in her other doggie to say goodbye to the one who was in ICU, and that broke my heart. I saw another woman who will be getting her little pup fitted for a wheelchair/cart because his doggie arthritic knees cant handle running anymore. I saw people come in and out thrilled to see their healthy animals, and crying because they werent getting good news. It was the hardest stuff to watch.

Then the cardiologist finally came out and said they had a few emergencies, and that's why it was so long, but Seamus was doing great, just hanging out watching everything, and if I would be ok with not being there for the echo she'd get it done quicker, but since I couldnt be there with other patients around, if we waited, itd be 5pm before he'd be done. I let her do it without me. About 30 minutes later my 4th year brought my cute little shaved baby back out to me.


So then a few minutes later the cardiologist came back out and brought us back to the humans only room (im impressed he was allowed!)She went over the echo with me (the actual images on the computer) and xray and he got his diagnosis and treatment plan.

The xray showed prominent caudal lobar arteries, which can be consistant with pulmonary hypertension or heartworm disease. However, he did not have the heart changes on his echo to suggest either of these, and she said either this is his normal, or it could be early signs of PHT. He also appeared to have mild asthmatic changes.

The echo was consistant with moderate hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. he also had "remodeling" which is basically kitty ischemia. His murmur was upgraded to a 3-4 :(

What does this all mean? Well he will be taking a beta blocker 2x a day for the rest of his life. (thank GOD he's a good pill taking kitty!) The good news is that his right atrium is still within normal limits, so the common risk of a blood clot that comes along with this disease is unlikely for him. He is at a great risk for going into CHF, but as long as I get him swift treatment, he can be ok with that. We go back in 6 months for a followup echo and bp check for stability and to make sure the atenolol is doing it's job. (basically we want the heart to not have to work so hard which should stop the progression of the ischemia)

He can live many many years with this problem. Or drop dead at a moments notice. We choose choice A.

So the diagnosis was what I expected, but slightly worse than I had expected. We were thinking mild, not moderate based on how quickly we caught the murmur. I dont know if it progressed that much in the 2 months it took me to get this appointment, or if thats just him.

The other bad news is he's gained 3 more pounds. He is now almost 23lbs. About half of the dogs I saw today weighed less than that.

The good news is that he's a good pill taker, he had his first dose tonight and took it with no problem.

Posted by Acinom @ 9:50 PM :: (1) comments

Thursday, August 10, 2006

 A Quick Haiku Thursday

many comments from
customer advocate john
does dell really care?
molten chocolate
cake baking in the oven
work party friday!
all the "family"
was eating lunch together
asked me to come too
how are some so kind
while others are so hateful?
glad im with the nice!
Ringo Stu Kitty
says meow meow meow!
he wants cuddles NOW
no more haiku's now
i must go cuddle kitty
hes quite persistent!

Posted by Acinom @ 8:36 PM :: (1) comments

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

 It's a conspiracy!

So I confess, my eating hasnt been quite healthy lately. Ive put on about 10lbs in the past year and I am getting to the point where I might be ready to actually do something about it before it creeps up even higher. Back in 2001 I lost 34 lbs with Weight Watchers and became a lifetime member. Later, I worked part time as a WW leader. I partially did that because I believe so strongly in the program, and partly because I wanted to keep myself accountable. I figured if I got up every week in front of a room of people and talked about good food choices and activity etc etc, I couldnt do it in good conscious if I was over my goal weight. Ever since I moved to VT and subsequently to NC Ive wandered away from WW and it's showing.

So I was starting to get inspired and then the powers that be conspired to thwart my intentions.

First, Turkey Hill Ice cream was 2 for $5.00 (usually $4.69 each). I love Turkey Hill ice cream!! It's imported from Lancaster County, one of my favorite places I ever lived. Then they had to go and create creamy concoctions that are just unacceptably yummy. They are using Tastykake's as mix in's. How am I supposed to pass something like this up? You cant get Tastykakes in NC that I've found, so here's the only chance for a fix.

So what can I do? I figure Ill finish up my 2 tubs of Turkey Hill and THEN Ill get back on track with my weight loss goals. What's another 5 lbs? I think while Im still being "bad" Ill stop at Taco Bell for dinner tonight!

Posted by Acinom @ 5:37 AM :: (1) comments

Monday, August 07, 2006

 Still being stalked by Dell

I noticed 6 hits on Friday, one from an internal Dell referral. It's intriguing.

I havent emailed "John", the customer advocate yet because I have a feeling my high hopes will be dashed and I dont want to set myself up for a huge disappointment. Also, I believe that like my friend Ash said-

OMG, I LOVE your response to "John," who you KNOW, if you call, will be only the FIRST of approximately 12 individuals who will ask for your tag number, serial
number, social security number, date of birth, rights to first born, and your blood type. And, if I was a gamblin man, I'd guess you'll be a wrinkled old hag before you receive chocolate from the likes of them. Welcome to Dell Hell.


My first born is Ringo Stu Kitty and I love him too much to give him up...

Maybe later today Ill have the energy...

Posted by Acinom @ 5:50 AM :: (0) comments

Wednesday, August 02, 2006

 Why doesnt anyone else notice this stuff?

Remember a few weeks ago what was all over the news? The space shuttle trip. What has consistently been on the news since? Horrible weather problems across the whole country.

Why is it that we can spend so much money to fuck with our atmosphere and everyone just ooooh's and ahhhh's during lift off and landing? Why dont people protest and try and get that money to be used for something on this planet? I could see if the cure for cancer was out there, or a plan for housing the homeless and employing the unemployed, but since it isnt, lets spend that money here.

If exploring space is THAT important, switch it to corporate sponsorship. Slap a Pepsi logo on it with a nice slogan like "It's out of this world" and let them pay for it. Or some internet company with the slogan "fast enough to break the sound barrier".

But I think we need to stop. It's too damn hot. Leave our atmosphere alone and let's get back to normal weather.

Posted by Acinom @ 5:44 AM :: (0) comments

Tuesday, August 01, 2006

 Cute OCD kittycat



So Ringo Stu kitty has his habbits that make him who he is. Some are cute, some not-so-cute. He loves to give me smooches on my nose. That's cute the first time. I need to convince him though after about the 329th time that I will make it through the night without another smooch till morning. Sometimes either my nose must taste yucky or he just is too lazy to get up and he will make "kissy noises" at me. He actually smacks his mouth, it's hard to explain. But he will do it till I make kissy noises back. We go back and forth a few times like this till either he's satisfied that it's enough, or he gets too overwhelmed and needs to give me a real smooch.

Another habbit of his is that as soon as the lights go out at night he goes into "Mighty Hunter" mode. We have toy mice laying around and he needs to hunt them. He makes his mighty hunter noises as he brings them to me and will not shut up till I praise him. This really sucks if Ive already fallen asleep. But he's so proud of himself, how could I not praise the fact that he killed a fake mouse?

The most annoying thing is what I call his "picky picky" habbit. This is truly like an OCD thing with him. What he does is pick at the blanket (or my clothes) with his nail, get it stuck, and then bite at it till he un-stucks himself. Over and over and over. If I let it go it can be up to an hour. Usually Ill have to physically hold his paw to stop it. It's so bizzare. I honestly dont understand the pleasure he gets from this, but there must be some? I went a far as to buy him Softpaws, a fabuous product that makes his toes blue. He also picky pickys on the screens and they have really helped that problem. Unfortunately, they arent permenant, and he loves to pull of the right pointer toe softpaw so he has his claw free for his OCD behavior.

Yes, my cat is a freak. But if he wasnt, I dont think Id love him so much...

*I wont even get into how much he loves to eat vasaline right now because I need to hop in the shower, but like I said, yes, he is a freak...

Posted by Acinom @ 5:57 AM :: (2) comments