just for fun

Saturday, January 26, 2008

quote of the day

for a variety of reasons, this is fun...

"False ideas never die; only their supporters eventually snuff it." (Hervé This.)

Friday, January 18, 2008

getting into the community college has been a trial of near epic proportions. all i wanted was to take a refresher spanish class. you'd think i was trying to get into harvard or oxford. last week, the local news ran a story on how admissions have just plummeted and the schools just don't have a clue as to why las vegans don't want to attend local colleges. since i'm about to the point that i might just burn the school down, i think i know why admissions have declined.

it took them three months to process my online application. apparently there is no actual processing. you fill out the form online, hit submit, and then absolutely nothing happens until you get extremely huffy and impatient and call the school. once you call the school, they check the box that says admitted.

then i had to go through the process of becoming an instate student. you get this automatically after having lived here 12 months, but there are other options if you haven't been here 12 months, like moving here for my job, which i did. so i filled out the forms, gave them my taxes, a letter from my work, a copy of my NV ID, and a copy of a recent utility bill. i want to be very clear that this was everything the form asked; andrew double checked my work and everything. i was denied. the denial letter said i had to bring in 12 months of bills. #$&*@. if i had 12 months of utility bills, i would just be a resident, having lived here 12 months and i wouldn't be trying to qualify under special less than 12 month circumstances. so i waited and gave them 12. i was approved, but the website, where you register for classes and then pay was not updated.

they told me it was ok. i wouldn't be dropped from my class as long as i paid something. the website was charging me nonstate tuition. i only needed to pay the portion that was real and eventually the rest would be removed, once the website was updated (i suspect this only happens like with admissions. after angry phone calls).

the website won't let you pay only a portion of your bill. you have to pay in full. so since i didn't pay, since they were still over charging me, i was dropped from early registration. more or less that means i had to go back to the back of the line. after everyone else got a chance, i got to register again. but with the same problem: i couldn't pay only a portion and therefore would just get dropped again.

yesterday the website was finally updated. today is the last possible day to register.

i have registered for my stupid refresher course. i have paid, though my confirmation email has not shown up yet. either my credit card did not got through and i'll be dropped, or my card did go through but by some fluke i've paid for fifteen hundred other people's tuition, or a meteor will fall on the classroom and the class will be cancelled.

Tuesday, January 15, 2008

its a good thing i'm not a huge basketball fan...

...which is somewhat of a sin, what with being from ky, and having lived in lexington and attended uk and everything. i do always want the home time to win, but since this year's season is looking so terribly bad, i don't have to apologize too much for not being a big fan.

a coworker forwarded this to me:

HUGE CUSTODY BATTLE IN LEXINGTON
Lexington, KY (AP) - A seven-year-old Lexington, Kentucky boy was at the center of a Fayette County courtroom drama yesterday when he challenged a court ruling over who should have custody of him. The boy has a history of being beaten by his parents and the judge initially awarded custody to his aunt, in keeping with child custody law and regulations requiring that family unity be maintained to the degree possible. The boy surprised the court when he proclaimed that his aunt beat him more than his parents and he adamantly refused to live with her. When the judge then suggested that he live with his grandparents, the boy cried out they also beat him. After considering the remainder of the immediate family and learning that domestic violence was apparently a way of life among them, the judge took the unprecedented step of allowing the boy to propose who should have custody of him. After two recesses to check legal references and confer with child welfare officials, the judge granted temporary custody to the Kentucky Wildcats, whom the boy firmly believes are not capable of beating anyone.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

feline herpes

remember a couple of days ago when i said zoe seemed to have a cold? well, she has respiratory issues for sure and according to the vet, 80-90% of kitty respiratory issues are actually caused by feline herpes. she lived with several cats in her first home and then naturally was with several cats living with the adoption agency so she likely contracted it then. supposedly the first bout of respiratory issues are going to be the worst. her sneeze is so pitiful. we've got some medicines for her now; i had to take her to the vet all by myself. i wasn't her favorite person anyway, andrew always has been. but i think between the cat carrier, the car ride, the vet taking her temperature, and then me shoving down her throat medicine that looks like ear wax, i lost some serious popularity points.

she should be ok and recover well. she needs a more humid environment, which isn't likely to happen, though i have had the humidifier on all day. and she needs less stress in her little kitty life. i'm not sure how to destress a kitty; all she does is eat and nap. i don't think i'll send her to a day spa just yet, mostly i'm planning to leave her hidng under the bed. at least until time for the next round of meds.

Friday, January 11, 2008

women drivers

i think i'm an ok driver, but ever since i broke my back, i haven't been a very good passenger. its just i knew i was already broken, so it seemed like any little thing, just the smallest fender bender would probably be the end of me.

i started driving myself on monday. its kind of scary. and then today i got on the freeway. yikes! obviously i lived to tell the tale, i mean, i am blogging, but it was still rather scary.

Thursday, January 10, 2008

achoo!

zoecat has started sneezing.

a lot.

its such a cute tiny sneeze, on account of her being a cute tiny kitty but she's sneezing so much.

and andrew instinctively calls out bless you everytime, which is also very cute.

so either she's coming down with a cold or her tiny black kitty soul is trying to escape. only time will tell.

Tuesday, January 08, 2008

always a bridesmaid...never a bride

ohio state is probably going to develop some sort of complex about always coming in second, especially after having done it so many times in a row. i kind of think ohio's runner up glass ceiling is rather funny, though it would have been funnier if they'd lost again to florida, having lost to florida in both of last year's basketball and football championships. i'm not particularly an lsu fan and i don't just have it out for ohio. but when it all comes down to it, i'll support any sec team over anyone else anywhere so hooray for lsu!

Friday, January 04, 2008

i am compliant

i had a great doctors visit today! and possibly also the briefest ever. i didn't think it was possible for dr lee to spend less time with us than previous visits but he really did today. it was amazing. just a whirlwind, a barrage of info, and then back out the door.

its been eight weeks since i broke my back. this was my second monthly visit. so he starts by saying that in three weeks, i can start to ween myself off of the back brace. he's going on about stuff like i'm a textbook, not even really asking me about how i'm doing. i bring up that i'm having some unusual and rather intense pains in my upper back/ribcage, not at all close to where i broke bones. i reiterate that its happening in the mornings, when i always have the most hurts. and he looks at me with such surprise, "you're still sleeping in the brace?" "well, yes," i say, "you told me to never take it off, ever ever...so, um, i haven't." he just sort of blinks at me and finally says, "i did say that."

since he doesn't really have a better answer than that, he starts looking at the xrays they just took. i am all excited because even i can see that the bones all look like bones and not cloudy blobs where bones should be. and then dr lee becomes overly excited. "i've never had a patient so compliant...you are healing so fast and so well because you have been so compliant, you can start to ween yourself off the brace in two weeks...and don't sleep in it anymore..." and then he said the word compliant about five more times and flew out the door on to the next patient.

apparently no one else follows the spine surgeon's rules? this isn't like the dentist; no one flosses like they should and no one really feels bad about that. or like glasses; i could muddle through my day without them. but, wow, i can't muddle through my day without my spine so i'm going to do exactly to the letter what the spine surgeon says. i didn't think i would be the exception on this. i mean, yeah, i did jump off a balcony, so i can't with a straight face say i don't take chances with my spine, but really, i don't take chances with my spine.

his choice of wording is also terrific. i called up work right away and told them over and over again about how he said i was so compliant. and of course, my compliance department teammates thought that was a hoot and a half. i mean that's what i do for a living, compliance. i am compliant.

Wednesday, January 02, 2008








13 Haikus for 2007


January
monday mornings
my sleepiness is at odds
with boring meeting

February
the winds that blow here,
stirring up dust and debris,
make me static charged

March
cat sleeps on my shirt
leaving huge white hair balls there
where is the lint brush?

April
birthday one away
from turning point: three decades
still family baby

May
freeway overpass
blossoms in graffiti on
sun filled may mornings

June
i am prosperous
for love, kindness, and beauty
surround me always

July
weekend in flagstaff:
relief from las vegas heat.
final potter read.

August
take longest road trip
ever, until the drive home.
gas station snacks rule.

September
back to school as adult
appalling, frightening, sad.
standards here are low.

October
the morning paper
harbinger of good and ill
--stepped over most days


November
no cat burgler i;
cannot scale down patio wall.
sexy back brace? ha!

December
santa grabs an oat-
meal cookie as another coat
button starts to pop

New Year's Resolution
a few extra pounds,
frowns, clutter, email forwards:
things to get rid of


Tuesday, January 01, 2008

he's the patron saint of lost kitties

we've had a guest recently. but the story is quite sad and i didn't want to post it until after the holidays.

wednesday
a couple of weeks ago, we went to the gym one morning, as we often used to do before i broke my back. randomly, it was also the same week that someone from the apartment complex's insurance came out to investigate the accident, to determine their liability. so we headed to the gym, me for the treadmill, andrew for the elliptical. the gym has a ton of video cameras, and i was sure someone in the apartment office was watching me get onto the treadmill and thinking aloud, "does she just have it out for us? is she trying to find ways to sue?" but i swear, my doctor said it would be great for me to get very extremely non impact exercise. when we returned, there was a small kitty sitting on one of the stairs leading up to our second floor apartment. i stayed on the ground while andrew tried to shoo it. the cat only seemed to want to go up the steps, closer to the door. finally on the top landing, andrew picked up the kitty, carried it down, and we went inside. a couple of hours later, when we left for work, the cat was still on the bottom step. normally people adopt cats but this one seemed to be adopting us. she was fairly small, big eyes, medium haired, brown and grey.

wednesday night
when i got home, i discovered andrew had thoughtfully set out a dish of food and water for the cat. i said "hum. we're not keeping, right?"

later wednesday night
while i'm not looking, andrew sneaks outside and builds a little shelter out of a cardboard box and some towels; you know, to protect it from the harsh las vegas winter. the cat begins to lounge. i remind andrew that we are only letting this cat stay until we find its owner. surely someone is going to put up signs soon. the cat is clearly comfortable around people and likes this area so it must have an owner. it has a collar but without name or info.

thursday
everyone in the office is congratulating me on my new cat, despite my persistence that this is just temporary. and just to further torture me, several hypothesize that this cat has shown up to have kittens. we don't actually know its a girl cat but somewhere along the way, andrew and i both decided she was a she. i think she had girl eyes. we also don't think the cat has eaten anything. andrew tries different cat foods. we never see the cat move but every time we check, she is in a different spot in her box. we've also taken to calling her the outdoor kitty, which i nervously concider just a small step away from our outdoor kitty.

one time, while going in or out, zoe happened to be sitting in the entry way and the two kitties saw each other. they both looked stunned. "you get to live inside?!?" "you get to live outside?!?"

friday
i'm starting to worry. the kitty definitely has not eaten anything. andrew gives the cat some milk, which she drinks, and then vomits and then drinks some more. the cat still does not move except when we aren't looking.

saturday
at lunch, i announce, to no one in particular, "that cat is going to die on our doorstep." we find the number for the people that we got zoecat from and give them a ring. i explain the situation and the woman on the other end says to take the cat to such and such vet. we get out the cardboard box that the stork brought zoe home in and prepare to put the new cat inside.

this is the point in the story that my heart breaks.

andrew picked up the cat, clearly still alive, but very much like a ragdoll. he put her in the carrier and she didn't move at all. we drove a bit too quickly to the vet, couldn't find the place, did several uturns, and eventually arrived. we told them the whole story, the vet took one look inside the box, and said, "oh, no, she's in bad shape." i began to cry and proceeded to cry the whole way home.

a couple of hours later, they called to tell us how the story ended. i made andrew take the call. the best they could figure, our new outside kitty had been hit by a car. she had a lot of internal problems but also was having strokes. that explained why she seemed ok at first, but clearly was going downhill. it was also why she didn't seem to act like most injured animals, scared and snarly. she obviously was not in a whole lot of pain as she was loosing brain function, but i was right, she was going to die on our doorstep. it turns out, andrew's nest building antics, which i thought were so silly, really did make her last days as happy and comfy as possible.