First things first- Shawn is out of town for training (he got a good job), so that means I have to fill the emotional needs of all six animals on my own, and it is a full time job. Since he is gone, I leave my door open, and this morning I woke up to Peak Pet: Thurston on my head, Lovey next to my right ear, Ginger off my right shoulder, Lily in between my right arm and chest under the covers, Rosie next to my right thigh under the covers, and Steve on my left side with his front paws and torso on my chest and his behind on a pillow. They had apparently locked me in that position for a while so that I could not even move, because I was so stiff in my shoulders I had to take a hot shower just to loosen up enough to start the day. If you haven’t woken up with a puppy on your head and a cat on your chest, I’ll just throw it out there- it takes a few seconds to gather your bearings and figure out just exactly what the hell is going on.
Holly and I went to the vet today and gave them my bi-monthly tithe. She came along to help me out because I didn’t think I had it in me to wrangle two puppies and two dogs at the vet, and she comes by and inhales the cuteness of the puppies like Dick Cheney gathers energy from the blood of babies, so we killed two birds with one stone. The puppies had their first round of shots and were 4 1/2 and 6 1/3 pounds respectively (Thurston being the larger of the two), Ginger’s sugar is under control and the vet is thrilled with her numbers (which I forget the exact numbers but they were good) so we are staying on the same dose of insulin, and Lily has her annual spring ear infection (this time a mixture of yeast and bacteria) so she went home with drops.
On the way home we stopped by the BBQ shack and picked up some stuffed pepper soup and cornbread, as it is rapidly becoming my favorite soup on the planet. Other than that, it has been a night of me having rotating pets on my lap, making sure everyone gets the allotment of attention they need so that the house remains calm and peaceful and balanced.
I saw some of you all talking about Tunch in one of the earlier threads, which is funny, because just today I was thinking that Tunch would not have handled this puppy infestation with the grace and dignity that Steve has dealt with the situation. There would have been blood. And not just mine.
Oh, and Lovey now decides when she is ready for bed and climbs the pet stairs on to bed and starts barking until Thurston or I come join her. Bossy little thing.
David Koch
Obama was right again.
He picked a 12-5 upset, saying underdog Buffalo would beat West Virginia, and damn if didn’t happen.
Pretty cool, Obama’s 18 year old niece plays for undefeated Princeton in the women’s tournament.
Ruckus
We like your pets. I mean I’d show up for the people and the politics but the pets are like the best part of the meal, the sweet stuff at the end.
John Cole +0
@David Koch: Um… Buffalo and WVU play tomorrow at 2pm in Columbus. I know this A.) because I am a WVU fan and B.) because my mother and brother are driving to Columbus to watch that game and the Maryland game, which follows the WVU game.
So, um, what are you talking about?
David Koch
@John Cole +0: my bad. I have CBS radio on the background and the announcer said Buffalo had won and he was singling out Bobby Hurley with praise for pulling off the upset. I guess he was joking. Again, my bad.
Mike E
Just heard Bill Murray say his son coaches Rhodes Island, who is playing Stanford in the NIT on Sunday.
Suzanne
Arizooooonaaaaaaaa, bear doooooooooown.
Suzanne
Peak Pet sounds lovely. Joy is cute animals and/or children, ASLEEP.
J R in WV
Great to have this pupdate,, thanks!
Hoping the WVU team can pull off another run in the madness tourney, Huggins is seemingly a pretty smart coach come the post season.
Today is a month (well, after midnight now, so yesterday) since my shoulder replacement surgery, and rehab is obviously going to be a real drag. But, the good thing is that the continuous and routine pain is gone, but for when the arm is being stretched in PT. After a few hours that goes away.
Origuy
I decided to update my iPhone 4S to iOS 8.2. Big mistake. The update failed twice, so I did the factory restore, which wipes everything out. I figured that I had a recent backup, so there should be no problem. The install went ok,as did the restore, until it came to syncing my apps. There iTunes hung. I unplugged the phone and restarted iTunes. Now iTunes won’t recognize my phone. Most of my apps are there, except the ones that aren’t.
So much for Apple’s foolproof software.
trollhattan
Awww, puppehs! And the soup sounds really good, never heard of it.
So anyway, in California today, this happened. I triple-checked whether the website had been hacked or if I perhaps slept all the way through to April 1.
Democracy…still messy.
RobertDSC (Quad Intel Mac)
@Origuy:
I had the same thing happen to my iPhone 6 when loading my backup onto the new phone. I had to download my apps directly after logging into iCloud and the App Store, then choosing each app in the Updates/Purchased category.
Once the apps were downloaded, then the phone was plugged into my Mac Pro tower. The rest of the restore from the old phone to the new phone went off without a hitch.
YMMV, of course.
Ruckus
@J R in WV:
PT is the worst. Except that at the end things usually work better and the chronic pain is either gone or greatly reduced.
a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q)
Great pupdate – thanks. I think Steve has been a champ with the puppies. Glad to hear Shawn got a good job – is it local (since training is out of town)?
@J R in WV: Sounds like overall hold post op news. And Huggins’s old team is gonna be the mop for the court in their next game. Though tonight’s OT win was an exciting end to an odd game.
Mike E
@a hip hop artist from Idaho (fka Bella Q):
Animal wranglers usually work in a rural setting.
NotMax
Whoever gets the pups is gonna have his/her work cut out de-spoiling and retraining if he/she is not a person who believes in or likes bedding with dogs.
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
Thing is about free speech, there are limitations, repercussions and responsibilities to it. I believe it is illegal (IANAL!) to attempt to hire a murder and in my mind he is attempting to do just that. He’s using the state process to avoid actual money changing hands but he is asking others to commit murder. A number of codes seem to be applicable, 188 Hate crimes, 190.25(b). That’s all I’m looking up tonight.
Seems pretty unethical for a lawyer to be advocating murder.
J R in WV
@Ruckus: My therapist is a really good guy. We’ll be chatting while he extends my arm just past the limit, when I’ll stop talking and say, “Uhhn That’s it!” and he’ll stop moving and hold that position for a second or two, and then back off. While we continue a conversation, punctuated by grunts from me as we reach my limit of uncomfortable.
He helped a lot last summer with pinched nerves in my neck causing pain and numbness in my arms. He’s more a spiinal guy, but I was glad to work with him on my shoulder rehab because we get along so well.
He tells me that we’re making good progress on extending my range. I can already do more towards putting on a shirt or robe around the house. Coats still need a boost from someone. I’m past being embarassed about asking for help with a coat, and anyone walking by that looks capable will do as far as i’m concerned.
Hal
My big fat self had an encounter at work yesterday that had I responded, would have cost me my job. I work in a cancer hospital and was waiting on an admission from home when my shift ended. So as I’m leaving I see the patient being brought in by wheelchair. I was going to say hi and that I was the guy his wife talked to earlier but as I was passing he says out loud for everyone to hear; “if I ever get like that, just shoot me.”
Um, like I know being fat is terrible, but dude has cancer. That doesn’t put him in the it could be worse category when compared to me.
So the really bad thing, the there goes my job thing that I had to clamp down on was that I almost shouted out “from the looks of you, shooting won’t be necessary.”
I tried to brush it off but I thought about it all last night and today. I’m mad that I let a bullshit comment make me think such a cruel thing, and I’m passed I let that guy get to me like he did. I think I was just caught off guard being at work. If we were on the street I would have just told him to go fuck himself. Oh well. At least I still have my crappy job.
BillinGlendaleCA
Nikki, my cocker, will jump up on the bed and bark until I get there and help her get under the covers.
Suzanne
@Hal: You’re a good person, and fuck that douche, cancer or no.
Besides, the universe is not without irony: chemotherapy may help that dude lose ALLLLLLL the weight.
trollhattan
@Ruckus:
Thanks. Oddly, I’m rooting for finding out the guy is mentally ill, and not just another Republican OC lawyer. At the moment it looks like a tossup.
Tidbit I learned about CA last fall: number of signatures required to put a initiative on the ballot is set based on the offyear election turnout. Because the November turnout was so low (thanks, Neel Kashkari) the bar was lowered to Bermuda grass height, so we’re looking at an initiative blizzard in ’16. Ugh.
BillinGlendaleCA
@trollhattan:
And the difference is?
trollhattan
@Hal: @Suzanne:
It was cruel and I applaud you for holding fire. It may well be the guy is no longer in his right mind; I can’t begin to count the sick and elderly people I’ve known/encountered who had shocking personality transformations late in life, many of whom became relentlessly negative.
I’d try to chalk it up to that–you could have been target fourteen that day.
Ruckus
@J R in WV:
The VA therapist (one of 3 I’ve seen for various things) that worked on my shoulders was great. She was the 4th one in 20 yrs to work on my shoulders and she did the most to get me able to dress myself. What I find is that I have to do the exercises that are set up for me to continue to improve and not fall backwards. After my surgery (14-15 yrs ago) it took at least a couple of weeks to even be able to move my shoulder. But it got better and is still the better side, even if not as good as when I was young. But everything wears out, even George’s axe with all new parts wore out.
jl
Thanks for pupdate, thought I have to mention that it is not all that ‘quick’ and no pupix.
On the other hand:
” we stopped by the BBQ shack and picked up some stuffed pepper soup and cornbread, as it is rapidly becoming my favorite soup on the planet. ”
Where is this place? Post the info quick, I am on my way to Bethany, West By God Virginny.
Edit: this place IS in Bethany, right? I’m heading out the door soon.
Ruckus
@trollhattan:
I’d say mental, that’s for sure. The very idea that a lawyer could argue that murder is not only reasonable but required for some bullshit religious rational makes me think asshole at the very least, more likely delusional as well. The link you originally gave said many lawyers don’t see how it can be considered unethical conduct. It was not carried out in the line of duty as a lawyer. Didn’t see anyone saying it’s not highly illegal, just not unethical. Which may show why many lawyers are considered scum of the earth until they prove otherwise.
Violet
Thanks for the pupdate! Your house sounds crazy and adorable all at once. Congrats to Shawn on the new job!
piratedan
@Suzanne: cautiously confident again Ohio State… but hey, that’s why they play the games….
Aleta
I have a cat right now of the Stevish type. (His name is Charles and he,s a small coon, temperament and fur-wise. ) Took him in at 6 months and he didn’t know much. (For quite awhile whenever I walked by the kitchen window I would see him falling past, out of the lilac tree.). A year later I brought home another 6 mo old who’d been abused, and seemed to have separated from her mother way too early. Charlie turned motherly and taught her to use the cat doors, took her out and showed her about climbing the lilac, and even brought in mice and dropped them in front of her to learn on. When she got older, he played with her in a way that taught her defensive and then offensive skills. Then when she was proficient, he ‘weaned’ her and took his space back, ignored her, drove her off until she’d leave him alone. Later I read in Science News I think, that some male cats will mother kittens if needed. I thought of that when I saw the pups nestling up in Steve’s butt fur. Sweet surprises.
seaboogie
@Hal: Hal, I believe that your patient is like a feral animal who is suffering- he is angry and scared and lashing out, even at those who would help him because his nature does not allow him to receive the care that you offer. If you can think of him this way it may ease your heart, and allow you to feel compassion for him in his scary trip out of this life. Compassion too to his wife and you….you are both witness to his struggle while in your own that is kinder and more thoughtful.
cckids
@Suzanne:
So true. Just as with old age, cancer doesn’t convey saintliness. If you were an asshole when young & healthy, you are very likely to still be an asshole when old or sick.
Violet
@Hal: Like someone else said upthred, it could be that the guy’s illness or age has affected his filter. Rude thing to say. Sorry you had to deal with it.
Sounds like you’re mostly upset with yourself for letting it get to you. Give yourself a break. Normal human reaction. And you even bit your tongue. Good for you! Pat yourself on the back for being a good person.
Irony Abounds
@Suzanne: Go Cats, destroy the Buckeyes. Mr. Russell, meet Mr. Hollis-Jefferson, he will be in your shorts starting at 2:10 Pacific time, Saturday.
greennotGreen
@Hal: you may be absolutely right that the cancer patient was referring to you, but there is the outside chance that he was responding to something his wife said, like “Did you know Norah’s husband has dementia and had to be put in a nursing home?” At least you could tell yourself that.
@Suzanne: Because the cancer I have is likely to recur, I used that as an excuse to eat whatever I wanted, and I’ve gained a little weight on top of the extra pounds I already had. Now that I’m doing chemo again, I find out it DOESN’T cause appetite loss except for a couple of days, and then the steroids make up for that. So no silver lining to that particular cloud.
Calouste
@Ruckus: As burnsie shows here on an almost daily basis, lawyers aren’t exactly aware of the concept of ethics or justice.
Tommy
@Violet: Six pets in one house, just cool. I have cats. One now. Her sister got outside and just ran away and never came back. Both kittens. Feral cats. It would take me a long time to explain how they became a part of my house. Long effort.
Strange. I just looked over my shoulder and my kitty is not in the same room as me. Rare. She is never more than a few feet from me.
Hal
Thanks folks. I give the guy much slack. I know when people are sick they can be jerks. I think the fact that I hate my job is making me less Teflon like than normal. Just more encouragement to change what I can about my circumstances.
Ruckus
@Calouste:
Being aware of ethics and justice is not the same thing as believing them necessary. Of course not being aware of them makes it much easier to deny their benefits to others.
Tommy
@Hal: I used to be 100 pounds heavier than I am now. At 5’4 that is a lot of weigh. I saved many of my clothes from that time just to pull then out and see them. Weigh is a hard thing. Many issues involved. If somebody called you fat and you punched them in the face not even sure I’d have much of an issue with that.
seaboogie
@Hal: Yeah, the universe can seem like a bitch sometimes when it’s pushing us to make a change that feels uncomfortable (because we just loves us some of our own misery because it is familiar), but I try to remember that the universe is wise, even when it feels like my butt is getting kicked by a hob-nailed boot to make a change.
Origuy
@RobertDSC (Quad Intel Mac): I got iTunes to recognized my phone after uninstalling the Apple USB driver. When I plugged the phone back in, the driver reinstalled. Then I reran the system restore, which completed this time. Pain in the ass.
geg6
@NotMax:
It will not be a problem for Lovey’s new home. The only problem is how to fit her in the bed with two people and an 80 pound Koda. Good thing she’s small.
ThresherK
@Hal: Your restraint in the face of some uncalled-for things is admirable. You’re a better man than I. Note that my spouse is in the healthcare field and she’s told me that “the unwritten job requirement ‘patience of a saint’ should be written down”.
In your shoes I would possibly have not resisted a version of that old joke (“You’re ugly” “Well, you’re drunk!” “Yes, but tomorrow I’ll be sober”).
Amir Khalid
@geg6:
Of course, you’ll have to allow more room for Lovey as she gets bigger.
satby
@seaboogie: Thanks for this thought. Because getting kicked by a hobnailed boot is how life has been feeling around here lately. I believe it’s because the universe wants me to make a change, the trouble is I don’t see a way through to that change without giving up the rescue animals. And I am not willing to do that.
JPL
@Aleta: That certainly explains Steve’s behavior.
Woodrowfan
no pics???
WereBear
@satby: I was forced by circumstance to give up my own cat rescue. Along with my two dogs, one of whom was just a puppy when it all began.
The Muses of Rescue were on my side, though. I found excellent homes for the younger and friendlier cats. The elderly and shy cats passed through sudden illness or unavoidable circumstances as the change approached. I was able to take the two shyest with me to my final stop. And amazing things happened that gave my two dogs wonderful new homes.
I never would have dreamed that the whole horrible drawn-out process would result in my coming up with a way to continue to help animals that has resulted in more cats being adopted through my influence than I ever rescued on my own. But that’s what seems to be happening.
My point is that change often cannot be dodged, only accepted. As someone who survived sudden and catastrophic change, my advice is to realize you are seeing it coming, and try to adapt to its inevitability. Open up doors now that you will need to go through later. Reach out to a network and build it wider. Store up any resources you might have and explore what adjustments might start now.
Change is one of those whitewater rivers. It’s bigger than us. We only have two choices; trying to paddle upstream or hang on and direct our raft away from the worst rocks and whirlpools. The first choice has only the illusion of control. The second choice actually gives it.
And if you ever need to chat or ask questions, my contact form is one of the headers at the link above.
Elizabelle
@WereBear: Did you do any posts about dealing with the changes you discussed upthread? Would love to see them.
Very good advice.
John Cole +0
@jl: Wellsburg, and I got the last bit of it. He will make more next week.
geg6
@Amir Khalid:
The good news is that there is very little likelihood that Lovey will ever reach 80 pounds.
I hope.
Manyakitty
@Hal: Stay strong. People like you are so important!
Paul in KY
@Hal: Sorry to hear that, Hal. Hopefully you’ll get to catheter him some time.
Paul in KY
@Irony Abounds: Sorry about loss. VCU should have won that game.
Sherparick
@Ruckus: Apparently also McLaughlin, good “Christian” assume he is, apparently missed this part in his catechism class: “You shall not kill” (Ex 20:13, Deut 5:17)
Of course, there are all sorts of exemptions and foot notes to this rule, but even in so this proposal seems to run afoul of it along with the 14th Amendment.
WereBear
@Elizabelle: No, the cat blog is about the cat blog. But I am working on a book in which it will get delineated.
It is an amazing story.
Josie
@John Cole +0: Can you give us an idea of what is in it?
Josie
@WereBear: That was beautifully stated. I would love to read more of your thoughts on change. I am experiencing big changes in my life at the ripe old age of 71, and it is not easy. I need all the encouragement I can get.
PaulW
I do hope you’ve got adoptees lined up for the puppies already. I know you’re handling it all well now but having that many animals under your roof will get chaotic…
WereBear
@Josie: Ack! I realize I need to create a blog for the book I’m writing, and of course such subjects would be very on point. But I’m not up for that yet, the book is an a four cell stage at this point, and I’m still dealing with a tricky health issue. It’s all I can do to keep up the cat blog and lately, the podcast.
But I can share a favorite Zen story, about a princess who learned she was to marry a prince in a distant province. She wailed and worried… what if it was going to be horrible? But her teacher explained that she didn’t know… and so, it was equally likely to be wonderful. By only worrying about the worst part, and not reveling in the equal likelihood of the best part, she was undermining her ability to cope at all.
And so it was for my grandmother, facing assisted living. She grumped and complained and stalled. And once she did move in, she admitted she hadn’t once thought of the good parts. For months, our weekly conversations included such statements as, “You know what, honey? I didn’t do dishes today! I didn’t do dishes yesterday! And I’m not doing them tomorrow!”
Josie
@WereBear: Thanks for the lovely stories. I try very hard to think in those terms and also to remember that I am in a much better situation than many older people, as I have three grown sons who are willing to help all they can. I hope you get your health issues solved and that your book, when written, is a big success. Please keep us updated.
WereBear
@Josie: Thank you, Josie!
It sounds like you have the resources to craft a new life. That sounds very exciting!
Ruckus
@WereBear:
We talk about this differently but the end result is about the same. I’ve written on BJ before about some of the trials and tribulations I’ve gone through in the last 20+ yrs. All of them from things that are uncontrollable. At some point you learn to work with the flow around you or the flow beats the hell out of you.
Betsy
“Puppy infestation.” lols
I am waging a campaign to replace the expression “kill two birds with one stone” with “bake two cakes in one oven.”
Please use as needed!