If you plan to see The Departed, do not read this entry!
Saturday night we met up with the youth group and got TCBY, then headed to a movie. The gang wanted to see The Departed; I was so-so, didn't mind, but wasn't sure I wanted it to be the first movie I've seen in the Theater since Rhonda visited us in Oak Harbor before the move. Hubband? Was adamantly against the movie. Not only does he not generally enjoy gangster movies, he doesn't like Matt Damon, Leo DiCaprio, OR Jack Nicholson (I know, I married a freak). We decided to meet the gang for ice cream and if we couldn't change their minds about the movie we just would head home or see something else on our own. There was nothing else playing. The gang wasn't sure about anything else anyway, and AK had to get up at around 4 am so didn't want anything that started late... so we went to The Departed (Hubband: "We came to go to a movie with the gang, lets go to a movie with the gang!").
The Good: The movie was excellently written, well-directed, and the acting overall was top-notch.
The Bad: Everyone dies. It was worse than a Shakespeare tragedy, too, because not only does everyone die, the good guys die FIRST and the bad guy's death isn't any sort of closure of the case or the issue or anything, its just this sickening BANG in the head.
The Worse: Lots of blood. Lots of swearing. Lots of drugs and weird love triangles.
The Worst: The last 20 minutes of the movie. Up until then, I wouldnt' have said to anyone "go see this", but at least I wasn't feeling that it was a total waste of time and money.
Comparison movies: 3000 Miles to Graceland plus Pulp Fiction and a little Dangerous Liasons/Quills thrown in for good measure.
After the movie, everyone told us that they should have listened to us and gone to see something else. Only Hubband and one other guy liked the movie at all, and Hubband liked it only because all the actors that he dislikes died!
What a waste of a Saturday night on the town...
Tuesday, October 10, 2006
Monday, October 09, 2006
Sunday, October 08, 2006
Tip of the Week
Im going to try and give out tips every week based on what Ive read over the week, be it blog or book or periodical or work-related. They may be truly helpful, or just totally random bits of trivia that have floated through my brain (like, did you know that the flood lasted EXACTLY 5 months? It started and ended on the 17th day of the month...)
This week's tip comes to you after reading this post by Dooce. In it she mentions her disappointment in the removal several years ago of the TOSTADA from Taco Bell's menu.
My Tip:
Since the advent of the Crunchwrap Supreme, Taco Bell Tostadas are once again available. It may not appear on your local TB menu, but if you order it they will make it for you, they have never even asked me what it is or had to question the price. I think its still on the cash registers!
Eat up!
This week's tip comes to you after reading this post by Dooce. In it she mentions her disappointment in the removal several years ago of the TOSTADA from Taco Bell's menu.
My Tip:
Since the advent of the Crunchwrap Supreme, Taco Bell Tostadas are once again available. It may not appear on your local TB menu, but if you order it they will make it for you, they have never even asked me what it is or had to question the price. I think its still on the cash registers!
Eat up!
Hilarious and Horrible at the Same Time
We brought Obie home from the vet on Friday afternoon and he was NOT a happy kitty. They had been able to get his xrays accomplished fine (without the radiologist they could tell in this set IMMEDIATELY that he does have a congenital defect in the bone structure of his pelvis. We find out more tomorrow), but they did have to knock him out to do it. They let us come back and get him from "population" ourselves. It was kind of funny because he was growling and glaring at everyone until he realized it was DADDY talking to him and then he gave this plaintive little yowl and tried to stand up and get to Hubband. Well, he was still mostly drugged and couldn't walk so the poor guy kind of toppled over in the crate and Hubband had to scoop him up and carry him to his "home" crate.
We got him home and he tried to get out of his crate and talk to his sister, who immediately hissed at him, smacked him in the head, and ran away. Poor guy! He tried to take a few steps and his back end just gave out. It was kind of funny in a horrid way... it lasted all night. He'd try to walk and would be so relaxed that those weaker muscles in his back end would just give out. Hubband said he looked kind of like a jack knifing semi every time he took more than 1 step because his front end would go one way and the rest of him would just sort of swing out to the side and collapse.
Today he's doing better, and we're looking forward to finding out what our options are for treatment, as well as the "official" diagnosis. There has been talk of using him as a case study as it appears to be a syndrome that regularly appears in canines (particularly german shepherds), but not in felines! Who knows... we're just glad he's home and feeling pretty good. He spent the morning curled up on a throw pillow on the couch next to me as I worked. Tough life!
We got him home and he tried to get out of his crate and talk to his sister, who immediately hissed at him, smacked him in the head, and ran away. Poor guy! He tried to take a few steps and his back end just gave out. It was kind of funny in a horrid way... it lasted all night. He'd try to walk and would be so relaxed that those weaker muscles in his back end would just give out. Hubband said he looked kind of like a jack knifing semi every time he took more than 1 step because his front end would go one way and the rest of him would just sort of swing out to the side and collapse.
Today he's doing better, and we're looking forward to finding out what our options are for treatment, as well as the "official" diagnosis. There has been talk of using him as a case study as it appears to be a syndrome that regularly appears in canines (particularly german shepherds), but not in felines! Who knows... we're just glad he's home and feeling pretty good. He spent the morning curled up on a throw pillow on the couch next to me as I worked. Tough life!
Friday, October 06, 2006
A Bookish Kind of Gal
Apparently, not everyone reads as voraciously as we do in my family, a fact which never fails to surprise me. Even at my busiest, I will devour an average of 4 books a week. If Im swamped with work and cleaning the house and keeping up the yard and running errands, there is still the 5 minutes while the coffee perks in the morning and the oatmeal is cooking, all those times you have waste in the bathroom, meal time, etc. With the coming renovation (read: building) of the kitchen, I think my reading time will shrink slightly. However, just to give you an idea... Here is what Ive read since last Friday:
1. Morrigan's Cross (Nora Roberts)
2. Wait Until Midnight (Amanda Quick)
3. Shadow Game (Christine Feehan)
4. A Busman's Holiday (Dorothy Sayers)
5. How to Kiss a Frog (dont remember who the author is)
6. White Flower (Grace Livingstone Hill)
7. The Enchanted Barn (Grace Livingstone Hill)
8. The Admiral's Bride (Suzanne Brockman)
At the library on Monday and Wednesday evenings, I also read/studied several books on writing/designing HTML templates, wandered in the history and food sections for around an hour each, and even poked my nose into gardening and comparative religions.
Its amazing to me that I had time to read all that when Ive felt completely overwhelmed with work, bills, vet visits, pet worry, remodeling research/ideas, etc.
So, what are you reading?
1. Morrigan's Cross (Nora Roberts)
2. Wait Until Midnight (Amanda Quick)
3. Shadow Game (Christine Feehan)
4. A Busman's Holiday (Dorothy Sayers)
5. How to Kiss a Frog (dont remember who the author is)
6. White Flower (Grace Livingstone Hill)
7. The Enchanted Barn (Grace Livingstone Hill)
8. The Admiral's Bride (Suzanne Brockman)
At the library on Monday and Wednesday evenings, I also read/studied several books on writing/designing HTML templates, wandered in the history and food sections for around an hour each, and even poked my nose into gardening and comparative religions.
Its amazing to me that I had time to read all that when Ive felt completely overwhelmed with work, bills, vet visits, pet worry, remodeling research/ideas, etc.
So, what are you reading?
Wednesday, October 04, 2006
Neurological or Congenital?
Many of you know that our cat, Oberon (the puddle who adores coffee), has been having some difficulty with his back legs over the last couple months. These problems first became noticeable around the time of our move and began to worsen over the last few weeks that we became quite worried. I was able to get a recommendation for a vet from a friend and we made an appointment.
The Drama
First off, I ADORE this cat. I adore BOTH my cats, but Oberon (aka Boopy, Boo, Oobers, Obi-Wan Kenobi cat, Obie, etc) has a special place in my heart. Perhaps because he has such an attitude, I dunno. He's just a major love bug and cuddler and ... anyway! We have been quite worried that something HORRID was going to turn out to be wrong with him AND we had a very bad experience with our last vet, so we arrived at the office with no little amount of trepidation.
When we first spoke with the vet (who we love and adore, incidentally), it was so NOT encouraging that I ended up sobbing in the treatment room the entire time they had him in back getting his labs done.
We ended up being at the office for over 2 hours and Boo had a shot, an exam, xrays, AND blood work. The doc showed us the xrays and pointed out that, encouragingly, there were no lesions or anything that on first look was at all bad or scary. He did have some small kidney stones forming, but that's easily treated by changing his food a little. We told them about his hypothyroidism diagnosed by our old vet and they were VERY intrigued as apparently that is a rarity in felines. Knowing that the old vet had really done a number on Obie, the new one went out of her way to pet and coo at him as well as inform us every step of the way what they were doing and why.
The Diagnosis: An ongoing drama!
After all the results from all those tests came in, here is the breakdown.
1) He has an extreme form of hyperesthesia, which basically means he is hypersensitive. This is why he doesn't always like to be petted on his back and why during petting sessions he may suddenly snip at the person who had him in full blown purr just moments earlier. The hyperesthesia may be caused or worsened by whatever is causing the weakness in his back legs
2) The weakness in his legs and hindquarters could be caused by a neurological problem that would require an MRI to further isolate/diagnose.
3) His blood work came back GREAT (even his thyroid levels were RIGHT ON, which causes much curiosity on my part as to the competence of that other vet. grrrr), so that took away the worries that there WAS cancer or something hiding in his system.
4) The weakness could be caused by a problem that the radiologist found on his xrays. Our vet did not see the issue at first look, but when the radiologist looked them over at her request, it appears that Obie has either a congenital or injury-related problem with his pelvis that could be cutting off the nerves and reducing blood flow to his legs. Whether this, in combination with the neurological/hyperesthesia has all combined to make the problem worse or is the problem all by itself has yet to be determined.
Next Steps?
So, we will be dropping him off on Friday morning to be put to sleep (NOT permanently!) and have a full xray panel completed. Yesterday they gave him a shot to calm him down so they could do basic spinal films, but they will need to put him in some positions that require he be asleep so no one gets bit, scratched, broken, etc. The results of those films will tell us what direction to go next. If the pelvis truly isn't an issue, we've ruled out all but the neurological causation and could then move on to an MRI or simply trying a few different treatment options and isolate that way.
Please keep him in your prayers. We love our kitty! He is family! I'll keep ya'll updated as we know more.....
The Drama
First off, I ADORE this cat. I adore BOTH my cats, but Oberon (aka Boopy, Boo, Oobers, Obi-Wan Kenobi cat, Obie, etc) has a special place in my heart. Perhaps because he has such an attitude, I dunno. He's just a major love bug and cuddler and ... anyway! We have been quite worried that something HORRID was going to turn out to be wrong with him AND we had a very bad experience with our last vet, so we arrived at the office with no little amount of trepidation.
When we first spoke with the vet (who we love and adore, incidentally), it was so NOT encouraging that I ended up sobbing in the treatment room the entire time they had him in back getting his labs done.
We ended up being at the office for over 2 hours and Boo had a shot, an exam, xrays, AND blood work. The doc showed us the xrays and pointed out that, encouragingly, there were no lesions or anything that on first look was at all bad or scary. He did have some small kidney stones forming, but that's easily treated by changing his food a little. We told them about his hypothyroidism diagnosed by our old vet and they were VERY intrigued as apparently that is a rarity in felines. Knowing that the old vet had really done a number on Obie, the new one went out of her way to pet and coo at him as well as inform us every step of the way what they were doing and why.
The Diagnosis: An ongoing drama!
After all the results from all those tests came in, here is the breakdown.
1) He has an extreme form of hyperesthesia, which basically means he is hypersensitive. This is why he doesn't always like to be petted on his back and why during petting sessions he may suddenly snip at the person who had him in full blown purr just moments earlier. The hyperesthesia may be caused or worsened by whatever is causing the weakness in his back legs
2) The weakness in his legs and hindquarters could be caused by a neurological problem that would require an MRI to further isolate/diagnose.
3) His blood work came back GREAT (even his thyroid levels were RIGHT ON, which causes much curiosity on my part as to the competence of that other vet. grrrr), so that took away the worries that there WAS cancer or something hiding in his system.
4) The weakness could be caused by a problem that the radiologist found on his xrays. Our vet did not see the issue at first look, but when the radiologist looked them over at her request, it appears that Obie has either a congenital or injury-related problem with his pelvis that could be cutting off the nerves and reducing blood flow to his legs. Whether this, in combination with the neurological/hyperesthesia has all combined to make the problem worse or is the problem all by itself has yet to be determined.
Next Steps?
So, we will be dropping him off on Friday morning to be put to sleep (NOT permanently!) and have a full xray panel completed. Yesterday they gave him a shot to calm him down so they could do basic spinal films, but they will need to put him in some positions that require he be asleep so no one gets bit, scratched, broken, etc. The results of those films will tell us what direction to go next. If the pelvis truly isn't an issue, we've ruled out all but the neurological causation and could then move on to an MRI or simply trying a few different treatment options and isolate that way.
Please keep him in your prayers. We love our kitty! He is family! I'll keep ya'll updated as we know more.....
Sunday, October 01, 2006
Working on it...
Well, you are stuck with this template for a while. I don't like any of the standard blogger templates and am slowly (but surely!) working on a new one of my own(ish) design. Im going to test it out on another page, so you'll probably forget we even had the "template change" discussion by the time it changes. hehe. Oh well. Im not a designer! (said in an austrian accent, of course).
I went to the bookstore today while Hubband was at work and read a book. A whole book. I still want to buy it, but at least now Im not agonizing over the fact that its sequel comes out in 4 days and I haven't even read the first. Of course, while I was there, I found out that 3 more of my fav authors have published new works. Im now about 6 months behind on my reading! WHATEVER WILL I DO?! Back to amazon to update the wishlist and make more trips to the library and bookstore. Its the only thing a girl CAN do...
I also saw the 2007 guide to publishing is out. Its a $30 book, but has been subdivided by category now (novel, poetry, etc). It made me renew my resolve to work on my novel. I'd love to be able to finish the manuscript by this time next year. Then I could actually justify spending that $30 since I may end up selling my book out of the deal. I could probably finish a draft of it even sooner than that... if I could just get past the fear that it sucks and WRITE. Typical, isn't it?
I went to the bookstore today while Hubband was at work and read a book. A whole book. I still want to buy it, but at least now Im not agonizing over the fact that its sequel comes out in 4 days and I haven't even read the first. Of course, while I was there, I found out that 3 more of my fav authors have published new works. Im now about 6 months behind on my reading! WHATEVER WILL I DO?! Back to amazon to update the wishlist and make more trips to the library and bookstore. Its the only thing a girl CAN do...
I also saw the 2007 guide to publishing is out. Its a $30 book, but has been subdivided by category now (novel, poetry, etc). It made me renew my resolve to work on my novel. I'd love to be able to finish the manuscript by this time next year. Then I could actually justify spending that $30 since I may end up selling my book out of the deal. I could probably finish a draft of it even sooner than that... if I could just get past the fear that it sucks and WRITE. Typical, isn't it?
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