Thursday, September 29, 2005

tag?

well, i'm new to the blogging world. but apparently i've been "tagged". and anyway, now i have something to "waste" time on.

6 Things I Want To Do:

1) get my phd
2) travel around alaska
3) be a stay at home mom to my five year old orange tabby, chaucer
4) publish books of my poetry
5) get enough sleep
6) whatever i want

6 Things I Can Do:

1) purify (inactive) protein
2) yell at ponies
3) excellent vegan baking
4) lounge with the chaucer
5) read
6) type without looking at the keyboard

6 Things I Can't Do:

1) subtraction
2) give (legal) medical advice
3) run 5 miles
4) purify active protein
5) lounge by myself
6) get enough sleep

6 Things That Make Me Sexually Attractive:

1). leg hair
2). armpit hair
3). feet
4). unkept appearance
5). smile
6). belly laugh

6 Things I Say All The Time:

1) really?
2) are you kidding me?
3) you're crazy
4) pony
5) meow
6) so


6 Celebrity Crushes:

(i don't have "crushes" but think these people are generally attractive.)
1) angelina jolie
2) brad pitt
3) britney spears
4) morgan freeman (even tho he's a bit old)
5) locke from lost
6) kovach from ER


i don't have a lot of blogging friends, but dudley should do this too.

philosophy

so, i'm a scientist. i'll admit it.

being a scientist is a strange thing because it doesn't just denote that i "do" science for a living; it contains a connotation that i am this person who loves science and reason and knowledge and exploration.

and i do.

but science is this weird thing. and doing science is even stranger. science is NOT this pretty picture that many people have where you adhere to the scientific method and everything works out perfectly. it is not a noble endeavor--it is, in fact, filled with more treachery and self serving ambition than i have seen in many other places. but despite all that, it is, in the end, a linear pursuit. going from one place and seeking another. seeking (or crafting) a place of knowledge, an answer, a truth. so being a scientist usually involves a rather linear, inflexible, logic oriented person.

but doing science. well, that's another story altogether. doing science has got to be one of the most circular, roundabout, ignorant things in the world.

which is why i'm amazed that any scientist actually has the patience to DO science!

Wednesday, September 28, 2005

you heard it here first folks

"Is Bush practicing what he preaches? (2:04)
President Bush takes what critics call too many 'gas-guzzling photo ops' trips to the Gulf. CNN's Suzanne Malveaux reports (September 28)"

from CNN (obviously).

didn't i say that YESTERDAY? i'm so on top of things.

Tuesday, September 27, 2005

back to important stuff

in other news, closer to home, chaucer is doing much better. his cold symptoms are nearly gone, as is his eye gook. his skin is doing MUCH better thanks to some aloe. i think it was just some sort of excema which the aloe cools and drys out. and he is so energetic and meowy again! it's great.

altho, yesterday he was pretty scared by a little windstorm.

i still can't believe i have a cat. it's a dream come true, really. sometimes i have dreams tho that "they" come to take him away.

but they can't--he's mine, all mine.

conserve fuel

bush says we should conserve fuel by not making un-neccessary excursions.

this as he fuels up for his seventh trip to the gulf in the last month.

ummm...doesn't he know that airplanes require fuel to fly too? maybe he honestly doesn't. but they do. a lot. he could ask me.

and are those really NECESSARY trips? is he really doing anything worth while, other than slapping all the good ole boys on the back down there, and look like he is doing something? i don't think so. what can he do? presidents aren't supposed to be micromanagers. i'm not blaming him for not having something to do other than make declarations ("i declare, there seems to be a state of emergency back there in louisiana") so then other people can take over. that's his job. and i certainly wasn't all over him for not going down there right away after katrina. again: what is he supposed to do? not much.

which brings me back to his seven UN-neccessary trips down there.

i just don't think he's doing his fair share.

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

permit me

permit me

remember: no free speech unless you're in a free speech zone.

and remember this too: WE determine where the zones are and are not,

yours sincerely,
the police

the mystery, the intrigue

so. i ended up taking chaucer to the vet yesterday.

so, weirdly this is apparently the same vet that saw chaucer originally (8 or so months ago) when the woman found him.

anyway, the vet said: oh yeah, i remember he tested positive for FIV and i think his skin baldness is some sort of skin disease but we tested for parasites and worms and used steroids and allergy stuff and none of it helped so you need to do a biopsy and he is very itchy.

so, i said: what?! his medical papers CLEARLY say he is FIV negative, that two different vets at two different places concurred that his injuries were consistent with a burn from a caustic substance being poured on him, and how do you know he is itchy (since he never scratches that area and only licks it when he is doing his head to toe cleaning, or shortly after we put the flax oil on there).

and she said: well he licks it more than normal. and i was like, huh?

but, re: his cold--she didn't prescribe antibiotics--she listened to his lungs and took his temp and his temp was normal, and no abnormal lung sounds, i guess. she recommended just continuing the lysine, 500mg a day.

so then i called the woman from the shelter and she had previously told me to never go to a certain vet place in my area, and weirdly, the vet that i saw was from that other place. the woman from the shelter was like: if you want to get him retested for FIV or have a biopsy we could do that thru our vet, and cover the cost of that (altho they have apparently done two different FIV tests which were both negative, and a biopsy already). and she thinks that this doctor just basically wants to order tests (which is apparently why the woman who originally brought him there stopped taking him there), tests, tests.

and the shelter woman, alice, said, of course if you want to give him back you can.

and i said: i do not want to give my kitty back, of course. i just want to make sure he will be okay.

so, big sigh. i'm going to do the lysine another week, and see if he is better, plus continue the flax oil on his skin, vit e a few times a week, and maybe an antihistamine spray for the skin.

it's like this big kitty cat drama. who knew.

and it is hard to know who to trust, of course. on the one hand, i know how much the shelter woman has done and how much she cares about cats (it's really not just a shelter, but a huge rescue operation with many different cat care programs) but she is also pretty anti vet (in terms of thinking they do a lot of unnecessary things and sometimes dangerous things b/c that is what they are taught in vet school--which is not unlike how a lot of people feel about doctors). and then there is this vet, who we are taught to trust but really made me feel uncomfortable.

anyway, that's the story. more updates to come, i'm sure.

Tuesday, September 13, 2005

bush

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/13/katrina.impact/index.html

i hate seeing all these people say: "i take responsibility" (re: donny rumsfeld) but then nothing happens. what does that mean then? that he will pay out of pocket for all the wasted funds? that he will resign?

i know, i know. totally ridiculous.

which is kinda, uh, the point.

anxious

chaucer has been sick.

we think it's just a URI (upper respiratory infection, for the un-initiated). apparently all cats have this herpes virus which can be activated due to stress (moving into a new environment is very stressful). so i've been giving chaucer lysine. he is supposed to get 2 x 500mg a day. well, we're up to 750mg, which is probably where we'll stay. the problem is the 500mg pill is too big, so i have to cut it in half. so that makes each 500mg dose two pills. chaucer will only do one pill at a time (and i don't blame him, i'm sure it isn't pleasant getting a dry pill down) so that makes the 750mg three shots--in the morning, when i get home, and after dinner.

yesterday was even worse for several reasons:

1. it was hot, making chaucer even more uncomfortable and congested.
2. i also tried to do vitamin e, which was easy--small and smooth, and flax oil.

flax oil for his dry bald spots, and vit e to help metabolize the flax.

it was horrible. chaucer did NOT want the flax oil, or the syringe near his mouth.

i was in tears last night. i have no idea what i'm doing and the thought of doing this over and over and even adding to it (two antibiotic pills a day) was overwhelming.

anyway, i'm feeling better and i'm going to try a few different things. flax oil on his bald spots and paws for him to lick off. vit e about once or twice a week, and just focus on the lysine until the antibiotic comes. i also may purchase an oral gel of lysine that you just rub on their gums.

and ac for chaucer. tonight and tomorrow, at least.

plus, i'm a committment phobe. and the thought of being responsible for this other life for the next TEN years, give or take, is also overwhelming.

well, i've been praying for the Lord to teach me patience and humility. i don't know why i always forget that what you ask for, He usually gives in spades. :D

Thursday, September 01, 2005

my kitty!

i'm getting a cat!

finally, finally, finally. i have ALWAYS wanted a cat. growing up i took care of one that i got really attached to but she wasn't my cat, persay. my mom was allergic, and then i lived in the dorm, and then my roommate was allergic.

but now i'm getting one.

chaucer

cute, wonderful chaucer. the best cat in the whole world. he's about five, pretty large, and sweet sweet sweet. he's coming sunday. oh boy.