This collection of entries is from December 2004.
Friday, December 31, 2004
I'm legit!I just got my ID Card for the building. I feel like I belong now! (I know... it's trivial... I'm just looking forward to anything to enlighten my day...)
posted at 10:56 AM | Link | Work § |
A wonderful day to end the yearWent to work this morning in sunny, 55 degree weather. Big deal? Hey, this is Chicago, babe, and it's New Year's Eve.
I feel great with this change in weather. I guess I'm truly not a Winter person.
Of course, in the first sentence, I've tipped you off to something else - it's New Year's Eve and I'm working. It's not a company holiday, but everyone is taking it as one of their multiple floater holidays that they get each year. The parking lot is emptier than the day before Christmas Eve last week. This day is going to last forever...
posted at 08:27 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Thursday, December 30, 2004
RememberingJust a short entry to let you know that I am remembering you.
posted at 05:32 PM | Link | Family | 1 comment § |
The Socialization of Bunnies
Carol and I are in the middle of a dastardly experiment - one that tests the courage of us and our charges.
Yes. We have started down the road of socializing our two bunnies, Indy and Chip.
Quick recap for those readers that don't know - Indy is a female black and white Dutch bunny a little over 7 years old and is our third rabbit that we've had over the last 20-or-so. Chip is a male black and white Dutch bunny that we just acquired back in August. He's about 6 months old. Both rabbits are spayed/neutered (thank God!)
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Now, you're not supposed to try and socialize bunnies that aren't fixed. It's not just because of the possible mounting and pregnancy issues, it's more about aggression. Did we listen to that? Oh, no we didn't. It took us and additional four months before we could attempt it.
First Chip had his sneezing problem. The we had to wait for the antibiotics to work before we could get him fixed. Then Indy got sick the same week. While she was gone, Chip healed and his hormones just flushed out of his system as he had no one to long after. He still hung around Indy's empty cage looking for her, but he was much calmer.
Then Indy finally came home. Within a week, we knew we had to keep her active (she was sleeping all the time from not eating), so we slowly started the socialization.
With Indy being older, having spent almost all of her life alone (probably not thinking she was a rabbit but rather a little tiny human like her parents), she's not exactly taking to her "little brother" all that well. I can tell you, though, that there is no fighting. Most of the time she just wants to be left alone. Chip is always running to her and bumping her, wanting to play. She just runs away. She doesn't understand that he's just a kid that wants to run and play. She's just an old lady.
The changes for both of them are coming slowly. She's "allowing" him to sit and lay closer to her. Last night, while I was petting Indy, Chip came and laid down right up against her. For as long as I was petting her, she didn't mind - too much. He could never do that if she was laying down alone.
The two of them - for months now - have been doing something that I haven't understood. They would approach each other and touch noses and - stay there. They wouldn't move at all, just sit there with their noses together, looking like each of them was waiting for the other to do something. It would be a stalemate after many minutes of this, and one of them (usually Indy) would just turn away.
The other night I think I figured it out.
Both of them were running around when I sat on the floor. They both came running over and - in their own ways - wanted me to pet them. They love the way I take long, slow, gentle strokes up their face from their noses to their ears. When they get petted, they have a tendency of laying down and pushing their noses out and just enjoying the "lovings" they're getting from their "dad".
I think that's why they're doing this nose-to-nose thing. They're both wanting some kind of affection from the other and it's a posture that they assume with me so, hey, the other rabbit must understand it.
Of course that's not the case because neither of them could pet the other, so they're just in this stalemate situation. I've tried petting both of them when they've been in that nose-to-nose situation and they just eat it up (though it's a bit difficult to do - they're not all that big).
Yesterday, Chip started making the next move - he started licking and grooming Indy. He starts by licking her sides and working up to her head, where he winds-up licking her ears. Inside her ears. A bit too aggressively when he gets way inside her ears, causing Indy to get up and get away.
Everything has progressed nicely (even with the rabbits visiting each others homes, eating each others food, sleeping on each other's fake fleece rugs, peeing in each others' corners), that we took the next step.
The two of them slept together last night. Our intent was to try to get the two of them to share one cage (the two cages just take up too much room). We made sure they had enough food for both of them and we locked them up overnight.
There were no problems other than a few territorial ones, but it looks like they're going to be fine.
If you look at the live BunnyCam feed in the right column, you may see both of them now as they share the food and sleeping accommodations. (They're hard to tell them apart since they're both Black & White Dutch's - Chip is the smaller of the two and has a rounder head and is, well, a bit cuter.) Or you may see and empty cage while they both journey out into our family room . Of course, the camera may be black because the lights are out and they're sleeping. All I know is that seeing the two of them on camera is pretty damn cute. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 02:37 PM | Link | Bunnies § |
Carol's soapCarol hasn't been sleeping well this week because she says her legs are twitchy and it feels like she can't stretch her leg to her satisfaction at night.
She did the soap thing last night.
Yep, it worked. I've been doing it now for over a month. Works for me.
Can't figure out why the hell this works. Gotta be a placebo...
posted at 07:39 AM | Link | Odd | 1 comment § |
Wednesday, December 29, 2004
Even warmerYes, I'm delighted (and bored enough) to write about the weather. Yes it's warmer. It's almost 40° outside, and it's supposed to be in the 50's tomorrow and 40's the rest of the week and weekend.
Nice way to start 2005.
posted at 02:52 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Tuesday, December 28, 2004
Balmy?After another day of dragging at work (I need some "big picture" views of what I'm supposed to be doing and there's no one around to help), I walked out of the building at it was warm. OK, not warm, but sure not the cold that we've been having. It's in the low 30's and it feels good.
It could stay this way for another 3 months and I'll be happy.
posted at 04:46 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, December 27, 2004
TsunamiWow.
I've always heard about tsunamis. I remember going to Hawaii back in 1975 and there was information on what to do in case of a tsunami in the phone book.
This earthquake (now listed as 9.0!) really let go a pretty good tsunami. I guess if you were on the beach, you would know that something really bad was about to take place when the ocean recedes 200 yards away from you. The death toll just keeps climbing - I've heard 24,000 33,000 46,000 80,000 116,000
The big deal in Chicago is that Oprah's great designer - Nate Berkus - was actually sleeping in beachfront cottage at Arugam Bay on Sri Lanka's eastern coast (earlier he was handing out backpacks to needy children) along with a friend (photographer Fernando Bengoechea) when the tsunami hit and they were swept out to sea. Bengoechea is still missing - Nate somehow survived after being dragged out into deep water with cars, refrigerators and bodies. They tried to cling to a telephone pole, but a second wave tore them loose. Berkus said he saved himself by clambering onto the roof of a home. He doesn't have anything left with him - he lost is passport and all his personal stuff, though he had a cell phone which has since died. Nate had said that he spent the night with about 50 other survivors in a field. "I'm sitting here with nothing — no passport, no money, no anything, in shorts that somebody gave me." There are reports that no one has heard from Nate in quite a while.
The earthquake was so massive that it actually caused the planet to wobble ever so slightly. There are unconfirmed reports that the earth is now spinning 1/10,000 of a second faster per year because of this one earthquake. Richard Gross, a geophysicist with NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in California, theorized that a shift of mass toward the Earth's center during the quake Sunday caused the planet to spin 3 microseconds, or one millionth of a second, faster a day and to tilt about an inch on its axis.
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A quick "celebrity" update: Sounds like there were quite a few "famous", almost-famous, and infamous people that were affected by the tsunami, other than Nate Berkus. Czech supermodel Petra Nemcova (of 2003 Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue cover fame) was carried away with her boyfriend, fashion photographer Simon Atlee at a Phuket resort, but was able to hang onto a tree for 8 hours with broken bones and possibly a broken pelvis. Her boyfriend is still misisng. Former German chancellor Helmut Kohl was on holiday in Sri Lanka's south, but apparently wasn't affected (Mr Kohl and his entourage were evacuated from a hotel by the Sri Lankan air force on Monday). Ingemar Stenmark, who won two gold medals at the 1980 Olympics for Sweden, was with friends in Khok Kloi, about 50km from Phuket and was not injured. Several Italian soccer players were in the Maldives but were unhurt. The Thai-American grandson of thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, Bhumi Jensen, 21, was reportedly jet-skiing when the tidal wave struck Phuket. His body was found later. On Thailand's Phi Phi island, where The Beach, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, was filmed, 200 bungalows at two resorts were swept out to sea. Hollywood actor-director Richard Attenborough's granddaughter Lucy, 14, perished and his daughter, Jane, and her mother-in-law were missing in Phuket. Another granddaughter, Alice, 17, was being treated in a hospital. Jet Li and his daughter were vacationing in a resort in the Maldives when a wall of water surged into their hotel. Li was dinged by a piece of floating furniture and sustained an foot injury « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:17 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Back to work?Oh, God... My boss isn't here again and neither is most of the staff.
I'm not feeling productive at all whatsoever. On top of that, no one is here to sign my timesheet...
Oh, I hate days like this...
posted at 11:13 AM | Link | Work § |
Sunday, December 26, 2004
Hawk
I was out-and-about going to Best Buy looking for a 14" TV for my "computer room/den". I was driving through the neighborhood when I saw something on a neighbor's lawn. I thought I was seeing things, so I pulled over and got out of my car and walked over. This probably wasn't very smart, but I walked over to A HAWK that was standing on this guys lawn. He wasn't moving - he was obviously standing on something he caught. There were feathers everywhere. And you know that these digital cameras have crappy zooms on them, so I had to get closer for a better shot... Hell, I was about 4 feet away when I took that shot above. I've got this feeling that moving that close wasn't too smart, but the bird never moved a bit (other than blink his eye), and I wanted the shot...
posted at 02:05 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, December 25, 2004
Christmas
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Made it to Mom's house in record time. There was just nobody out on the roads today.
Had a very nice "traditional" breakfast (that we always have). The presents were great (as always). Diane & Melinda took off for southern Illinois to celebrate Christmas with Melinda's family, so it was just Carol, Mom and me for the rest of the day (oh, and the dogs, too Diane & Melinda left them behind).
The breakfast just added to my "uncomfortableness" from eating so much last night. Then came our "traditional" dinner and yep, that forced me to rest a bit and then leave. I felt like a sausage in a too-tight sausage casing.
On the way home, we took a detour. When traveling on Addison, there's this one house that is just over the top with their decorations. Some of them are on the house all year 'round (specifically, the stuff on the roof). We call it the "Feliz Navidad House" because, along the side of the house in lights it says, well, "Feliz Navidad". Last night, when driving Mom home from Diane's house, I wanted to stop and take a picture - but the place was dark! Tonight, it was burning as bright as always.
Sort of like another tradition. Holiday's are all about tradition, aren't they? And isn't that comforting? « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:04 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Merry Christmas!Very groggy... need more sleep but can't.... got to go to mom's house...
Anyway, Merry Christmas to all who visit my humble little web site!
posted at 07:24 AM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
Friday, December 24, 2004
Christmas Eve
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Crap... I ate too much...
I knew it when I was doing it, but it doesn't matter. I'm going to pay for this for days...
I can't help it. My sister Diane has been hosting Christmas Eve for a few years now. She always puts together an evolved version of what has always been our Christmas Eve dinner buffet. It's all heavy, starchy and wonderful. And I had to have a bit of everything - the ham (oven roasted and wonderful - had to have large pieces), the polish sausage (smoked/garlic, none of that prissy "fresh"), fresh shrimp (and homemade cocktail sauce), pierogis (3 different types - potato, meat and sauerkraut - no cheese (too sweet)), green beans (new this year, but had to have 'em), fried egg noodles (my favorite with caramelized onions), sliced cucumbers in sour cream (another one of my favorites!). Oh, then there's the banana cream pie that Al made, and all the cookies...
Anyway, just another Christmas Eve with family. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:39 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Cold start
Woke up to -1° temperatures. At least the wind is pretty calm, but the house is trying to keep warm.
Both of our rabbits - Indy and Chip - are out running around - together. Well, not exactly together, but they are out at the same time and they're learning to be out together. Right now, they're both demanding attention from me, forcing me to pet them both at the same time. This is something new for all of us to learn.
Chip seems to be hanging out in Indy's cage while she's out. There was a time this morning when Chip was in Indy's cage and Indy was in Chip's cage, both eating the other's breakfast.
Not a bad start to Christmas Eve.
posted at 09:19 AM | Link | Bunnies § |
Thursday, December 23, 2004
I'm outta hereI'm "at the office" (it's sooo nice being able to say that). I can barely hear anybody on the floor. I have a an inside cubicle. The only windows are available to the outside offices that ring the floor. Fortunately, the office across from my cube has been empty for as long as I've been here. My guess is that I'll see the guy sometime next year.
Anyway, I wander into his office to look out the window. There's a handful of cars out there.
Nobody is here. My boss - who was on vacation all week and yet was in the office every single day - left a few hours ago. Time to wrap-up and get out of here.
I've been feeling really productive lately. I've got my Notes ID, my intranet access. I've been heavily manipulating and restructuring a critical spreadsheet since yesterday, keeping me busy., And you know how fast the day passes when you're busy.
Yeah, that's it. Wrap it up and get outta here...
posted at 03:16 PM | Link | Work § |
Wednesday, December 22, 2004
Green
I've got an early Christmas present! It's something I've wanted for years. I thought I would never get it, because it costs an awful lot of money and the person in charge doesn't like to spend the money.
I've always wanted a green Comiskey Park. Since it opened in 1991, I've HATED those damn blue seats. It's just another thing that made the place... uninviting for baseball. Now, slowly, over the past couple of years I've seen it - the slow change. When the scoreboard was rebuilt, the facing was changed from blue to green. Some signage around the park changed from blue to green. The padding on the walls around the field changed from blue to green.
And now, they've started replacing over 40,000 seats! YESSSS!!!!! No more swimming pool blue - we'll be sitting on forest green seats, like a real ball park of old.
Unfortunately, they're being phased-in, with the lower deck (where we sit) being last.
But at least it's being done!
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12/21/2004 12:41 PM ET
U.S. Cellular Field goes green
CHICAGO -- New green seats will be installed at U.S. Cellular Field over the next calendar year, changing the color of the 14-year-old ballpark's seating area from blue to forest green, the Illinois Sports Facilities Authority (ISFA) and the Chicago White Sox jointly announced today.
The installation of new seats takes place in addition to Phase V renovations currently underway. Those changes include a multilevel interactive FUNdamentals skills deck in left field and a Scout Seating area located behind home plate.
"Opening Day 2005 marks the fifth year of ballpark renovations. Each year, our goal has been to make U.S. Cellular Field an even better place to watch White Sox baseball," said Terry Savarise, White Sox senior vice president of stadium operations. "All of our upgrades, from adding seating closer to the action to the re-design of the upper deck, have been in response to feedback from our fans, and each has improved the feeling of intimacy in the ballpark. Now, ISFA has been able to work with us to change the color of the ballpark's seats to forest green."
New green seats first will be installed in the Club Level, Scout Seats and bleachers before Opening Day 2005. The remaining seats, beginning with the upper deck, will be replaced as weather allows during the 2005 season and 2005-2006 offseason. Full installation is scheduled to be completed by Opening Day 2006. Aisle seats in each row will feature one of the club's historical logos.
"We think it will be a unique experience for fans to witness the transformation throughout the season," said Dan Polvere, director of development and facilities for ISFA. "The gradual replacement of the seats coincides with scheduled expansion joint maintenance for the ballpark. Since the upper deck was caulked last season, ISFA can replace those seats, section by section, during the season. The last phase will be to caulk and replace seating in the lower level as time and weather allow."
U.S. Cellular Field's current seats were installed when the ballpark opened in 1991. Exposure to Chicago's harsh weather contributed to the need for their replacement.
White Sox 2005 ticket packages now are available, including the 9-game Minnie Plan and the 13-game Ozzie Plan. Individual-game tickets will go on sale Friday, Jan. 14, 2005 at 10:00 a.m. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:45 PM | Link | White Sox § |
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
Did the soap fail?The ongoing saga of soap under the sheet continues...
I realized last night that I was tossing and turning a bit. Why? Because my legs were twitching! This was the specific reason why I tried this soap under the sheet "remedy". Nuts. It seems to have finally failed...
... until I woke up the next morning and found the bar of soap on the floor. It had slipped-out from underneath the bed sheet during the night.
So, so far, this "remedy" seems to be working and have have no idea why. I can't figure out any scientific principle that would make this work - unless it's just a placebo effect.
posted at 09:51 AM | Link | Odd § |
WinterWell, it's here - astronomical Winter. The Winter Solstace. Things will be cold for months ahead.
BUT...
the days are getting longer as of tomorrow!!!! Whooo Hoooo!!!!
posted at 06:42 AM | Link | Mundane § |
Monday, December 20, 2004
Getting closer...I'm starting to feel connected at work... sort of. I got my Notes ID today and got Notes up and running - only to find out that I have to use a different ID since I'm a contractor and now I have to wait for that one.
*sigh*
Hey - did I mention that my brand new work laptop has a DVD/CD-RW combo drive?
posted at 04:00 PM | Link | Work | 1 comment § |
Sunday, December 19, 2004
Lights
I keep seeing this house every week when we drive to my mom's house on Sunday nights. (It's on Nagle, on the west side of the street, I think it's between Foster & Gunnison).
Every year it looks like this. All the houses around it look the same - a typical one story Chicago bungalow. Of course, this house is the exception as almost the entire block is devoid of any Christmas decorations. I think they're trying to make up for all of the blank houses, trying to keep the mean average lights-or-statue-per-house at high enough levels. I finally had to stop and take pictures of the place.
Oh, and this is, of course, just the Christmas decorations. I'll have to remember to get pictures of Easter and Halloween.
posted at 10:15 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Christmas Dinner
We went to B&B's house tonight for our annual Christmas Dinner. Unfortunately, Debbie is still slaving-away at Field's at Water Tower and just couldn't get away to join us. She was missed.
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The drive to their house was probably the worst drive yet - an hour and a half. There was a ton of traffic - had to be Christmas shoppers. There were accidents, too. Idiots.
We had some hors d'oeuvre's and talked a while. Barry had made is own cocktail sauce for the shrimp which was the deadliest thing that I think I ever had. I just wasn't ready for the severity of the horseradish - it was strong.
Barry had picked-up a beef tenderloin at the Paulina Market for dinner. It was wonderful - a bit rarer than I would like (I'm a medium rare guy, while this was right up Carol's Rare alley...).
We watched pieces of Love, Actually before dinner and watched a Travel Channel special on a Royal Caribbean Cruise's 12-day Mediterranean tour (something that we're interested in doing in 2006).
All in all - as always - it was another great night just talking and enjoying friends.
The weather changed while we were at their house - the temperature dropped and we were getting battered with lake effect snow, which meant the trip out of the city was a bit dicey, but it was better when we got closer to home (well, except for the roads icing-up). « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 11:43 PM | Link | Friends § |
Indy - Day 8An update on Indy the Bunny:
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SHE'S HOME!
Apparently, she had become quite a handful since we've seen her Thursday night. She's grunting and jumping at people and, in general, just didn't want to be around there any more.
So, she's finally home. She's eating - a little. She's drinking water - a little, but in general, I think she's just happy to be home. She seems a little tired - when she trots around the family room, she needs to lie down for a while. I guess that could happen if you don't eat.
We Still have to give her some antibiotics and some G.I. medicine, but hopefully we won't have to force feed her.
I have a theory: They vets were panicking that she wasn't eating, so they we pumping her full of Critical Care stuff. Well, I know Indy - if she was full, she wouldn't eat. Makes sense, right? So, if you stop force feeding her, she'll start to eat on her own, right? So far, the theory is holding up - though she's not eating a lot. Also, the size of her pellets is small - that could be because the force feedings were toward the end were mixed heavily with water, so she was peein' more than she was poopin'. We need to watch all of this.
Total cost of veterinary bills: $1,261.51
OUCH « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:19 AM | Link | Bunnies § |
THREE YEARS3 Year Blogiversary!
I started "My Mundane Mid-Life" three years ago today, and I'm still trying to write something every day. Boy has it been difficult. I think it's just the way I'm managing the blog righht now - which is to say I'm not doing a good management job. Days would go by and I wouldn't publish a thing. I'd still write the entries, but I just wouldn't publish them. I've got to get out of that trap.
I'm writing for me - I'm not relying on anybody out there being interested in things that I am interested in and trying to satisfy those readers. The only reader I'm trying to satisfy is myself. If anybody stmbles by here and enjoys the website, than that's just all gravy...
Thank you all for visiting. I truly appreciate you taking your time to do that. Make yourselves known every once in a while be leaving a comment or two and signing the appropriate GuestMap. Please stop-by again!
posted at 06:34 AM | Link | Blogging | 1 comment § |
Friday, December 17, 2004
Indy - Day 7An update on Indy the Bunny:
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Carol just got off the phone with Indy's primary doctor. Apparently, Indy is grunting and jumping at anybody that tries to handle her. In other words, she's feeling better and she's had enough of the place. She's still not eating as much as they staff wants her to, and she's only producing a few small pellets, but the staff feels it's time for her to go home.
We've decided to keep her there until tomorrow. That way we won't have to deal with the force feeding and meds for a day.
Hopefully, tomorrow, Indy will come home and everything will be right with the world...
Of course, this is costing a bloody fortune... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 02:31 PM | Link | Bunnies § |
ConnectivityWell, I finally got my laptop at work. Do I have an ID? No. So, I'm logging-in locally so at least I'll get internet connectivity and feel connected with the world again. I've got access to a printer, which is also a plus. And this IBM ThinkPad T41 is pretty sweet, too - Pentium M with built-in 802.11g and Bluetooth.
All I need now is my intranet password and my Notes ID and I'll feel even more productive...
posted at 11:03 AM | Link | Work | 1 comment § |
Thursday, December 16, 2004
Indy - Day 6An update on Indy the Bunny:
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Got a call from the vet on my cellphone during work today. Another doctor was handling the case until tonight. He filled me in and suggested that we come to visit to evaluate her condition. We got there at 7 o'clock. A tech brought Indy into one of the exam rooms and we stayed with her for about 45 minutes.
She started walking around the room without any problems at all. She looked bad - she lost weight and some of her skin was just hanging. She had just been force fed, so she was a bit messy. Her paws are almost black from the bedding they use in the cages. She went under a table in the corner of the room. I reached under for her and started to pet her, when she pressed her head into my hand - one of her signs that she really enjoyed what I was doing. I petted her for a while and she ate it up. Then she grunted at me and walked away. Yep - she was pissed at us.
She kept walking around the room, collecting dust bunnies in her whiskers. Still another doctor walked in (by now, I think we've met the whole staff) and showed us new x-rays. Though she hasn't been eating, except the force feedings, she *may* have eaten some hay and there were fecal pellets in her colon, just not much. Her bladder was much smaller and emptier. She asked if we wanted to take her home tonight. We said no - we want to get her going in the right direction first. The doctor left and we continued paying attention to Indy.
Eventually, she was just walking around just to get away from us. I grabbed her and made her stay in front of me. I just tried to control her and pet her.
Carol brought with an entire selection of food that we normally feed her. She grabbed a leaf of green leaf lettuce and threw it on the floor in front of her.
Indy immediately started eating - her eyes lit up and she started plowing through the leaf. She left it alone, walked around the room a bit, and then came back to the lettuce and ate more. She then became disinterested in everything (and everybody) and just walked around the room exploring.
I grabbed her and put her on the exam table, I picked up what was left of the lettuce and put it in front of her. She ate more. She turned around to look at me and I put my head down to her level. She licked my nose, just like she would do at home when we were having one of our bounding sessions. Carol pulled of another leaf of lettuce and Indy started eating that, too.
Then she stopped, backed-up into my arm... and peed on my arm and the table. She had no pain and didn't struggle to urinate at all. She moved around a bit more, ate a bit more, then backed-up toward Carol and peed on the table. When we wiped it up, you can easily see the "sludge" that the doctors were talking about.
Eventually, the office closed. We could hear the techs locking up and checking out the animals when we heard "Hey, where's Indy?"
The staff forgot about us. We had to yell to let the tech know which rooms we were in. The first tech that brought Indy into us came back to pick her up to put her back in her cage. She was very pleased to see that Indy ate and peed. We left a head of green leaf lettuce for the staff to feed to her.
When we left to go out, the front office staff didn't know we were still back there and had already locked the door for the night.
All in all, Carol and I are both very relived. We both have the sense that Indy is in much better shape and has turned the corner. We hope to have her home real soon. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:52 PM | Link | Bunnies § |
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Indy - Day 5An update on Indy the Bunny:
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Carol talked to the vet today. Indy's got a note in her file saying she's not to go anywhere until at least Thursday. She's "alert" (which to me is a cautious word - it either means she's just awake and knows what's going on around her, or is actively up and about and is interested in things going on around her - I don't know which definition she's falling under). She hasn't eaten and has been being force fed. She's not producing any fecal pellets - meaning her whole G.I. tract is empty. She's on Valium to help with her struggling to urinate.
This just sounds so bad. Now, the flip side is that the doctor that's been caring for her wasn't working today and will be back tomorrow. Hopefully she'll work hard on Indy and we'll see something progress.
It just feels like it's going the wrong direction. How do you get a rabbit to start eating again after she hasn't for almost a week?
Could you send some "good vibes" out for our little Indy, please? « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 05:33 PM | Link | Bunnies | 1 comment § |
Back to workLess than a week after my last gig, I am back to work.
I have a cubicle. I have a phone. I have a brand new IBM ThinkPad Laptop. I don't have a badge to get into the building or even onto my floor, but it's in the works. Ditto with my intranet and Notes ID's.
Now, I can't exactly tell you what I'm doing because I don't know what that is exactly yet.
The one thing I do know: it's a one year contract.
I'll have to fill you in on this sometime. Give me some time to figure it out.
posted at 09:25 AM | Link | Work § |
Tuesday, December 14, 2004
Indy - Day 4An update on Indy the Bunny:
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I called the vet this morning. There's no one there overnight, so the techs are going through their evaluations and they would call me around 11:30.
Update: The doctor called and said that she has a bunny that wants to know why she's still there! Apparently she's up, alert, and watching everything going on and is not laying in the back of the cage. So, I drove out to get her. Her bag of meds is a bit daunting. She has a lot of drugs that need to be administered, and if she doesn't eat, we've got a huge syringe and some powdered Critical Care mix that she'll have to be force-fed.
I brought her home and let her out of her carrier. She looked around and walked to her cage. She jumped into her litter tray and tried to urinate. Nothing. She went upstairs, took two licks at her water bottle, walked over to the fresh endive I had placed there and took two bites and laid down.
She stayed there for a couple of hours. She tried urinating a few times - each time she struggled and only managed to produce 3 or 4 drops.
It was killing me - she was in the same state as she was on Sunday. If I pet her, she was vibrating - A sign that she was in pain and not well.
It was tearing me up inside. I had to call the doctor and let them know that she's still in trouble. I had to wait for a call back, but I finally talked to the doctor. We had a long discussion of things that she was going to try to help with the bladder infection and the "sludge" that was sitting in there. All the time she was upbeat. She told me the staff would be ready to bring Indy back.
I put Indy into her carrier. She struggled and fought. It was if she was telling me she didn't want to go back - she just wanted to stay home. But that wasn't an option - she needs to get treated and she needs to get better, and that is clearly something I can't do.
I drove her back to the vet. We pulled into the parking lot and I opened her door to pet her. She loved her pettings and it was if she was trying to tell me "Dad! Please! I don't want to go back there!" I closed her door and we went inside. I handed her off to a tech who was waiting for her. Indy disappeared into the back of the facility. The tech came back with the empty carrier and I drove home alone.
I feel terrible. I felt like I was dumping her. I I cried on the way home like a baby.
I want my little girl back home... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 08:01 AM | Link | Bunnies § |
Monday, December 13, 2004
Indy - Day 3An update on Indy the Bunny:
read more of this entry »
I called Animal 911 this morning. It sounded like Indy was doing better, but they wanted her transfered to our vet. So, I drove through rush hour traffic to Skokie to pick up our bunny. Indy had eaten a little and did urinate, so things are moving around, though she isn't back to normal. The tech at Animal 911 lit up when I said Indy's name. It sounds like everybody there knew Indy. The tech went in the back and brought Indy out. She looked all happy, sitting up in her carrier, nice and alert. The tech said goodbye to Indy and we were off on our trek from Skokie to Westchester.
Indy doesn't like being in the car, so by the time we got to the vet, she's a little stressed again, but this is normal.
The vet was empty, but they were expecting Indy as Animal 911 faxed over all of the pertinent information. I met still another doctor today, but she seemed really clued-in to rabbits so I was put at ease. It sounded like everything was fixable, but it was going to take work. It sounds like 2 weeks of antibiotics, and then if she stops eating, a whole slew of G.I. drugs to keep things going again. She also thought that - after looking at the x-ray - there's no indication of arthritis or any other problems and the pain was probably all due to the bladder "sludge" as everybody has been calling it. The doctor said it's like the sand in one of those stress-relieving balls. Indy would stay the day and they would watch her and see what's going on. I have to call after 4pm to see if she can come home. I hope she can.
Update: I called the vet this afternoon. Indy ate a little this morning. They're force feeding her the rest. She's producing pellets, but they were pretty small. If we would bring her home, there's a good chance we'd have to bring her back tomorrow, so I elected to let her stay the night so they could watch her and feed her.
Chip keeps going over to Indy's cage to see where she is. I think he misses her. He's not as active without her. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:44 AM | Link | Bunnies § |
Sunday, December 12, 2004
Indy - Day 2An update on Indy the Bunny:
read more of this entry »
I checked on Indy a few times overnight. She's not moving around much. She's not eating at all. She did drink water, though, so that was good - I was getting ready to start force-feeding water if she didn't start drinking. She didn't seem to be in the same pain as yesterday - she's just not eating.
So, it's back to Animal 911. The place was much more crowded today, but there was a different vibe today, as animals were there that were sick or injured and not dying or dead. We met a different doctor who knew rabbits a bit better than yesterday. They were going to work on the "sludge" in her bladder and keep some G.I. drugs going in her to keep everything moving. Indy would have to stay the night and depending how she does, she could either go home tomorrow or we might have to transfer her to our vet.
At least they're staffed all night long, so she'll be watched and have people around her and hopefully she'll get better. She's only 7, so she's still got time left on her clock. I really want her home and healthy - she's "my little girl"... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 04:13 PM | Link | Bunnies § |
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Animal 911
We've spent all afternoon at an emergency veterinary clinic in Skokie - Animal 911.
Why? It was Indy. Something happened to her and she was in very significant pain and under stress. We found her at the bottom of her bunny condo totally laid flat, panting heavily and not moving. When I tried to get her out of the cage, she just wouldn't move and was dead weight. She came out and ran around the room a bit, but immediately flopped on the ground. She couldn't get comfortable. Our vet was going to be closing in under an hour, so we called the 24-hour service that the vet recommended, which meant a long drive to Skokie.
read more of this entry »
It was a long afternoon. We got to Animal 911 just fine and they whisked Indy away. However, there were more and more patients falling in front of us that were just higher priority.
It wasn't fun. We saw a family bring in a long-haired German Shepard that couldn't walk. A tech came out with a sling so the dog could walk into the back. It was obvious what was going on - you could see it in the eyes of the owners. The dog had come to the end of its time on earth - it was time to put him (or her) down. It was a long process, with lots of tears being shed. We saw a father and son pull up to the vet. The father came inside and all we heard from the desk area was that his dog had dies. The tech and the receptionist brought a cart out to the car where the dad and son put the lifeless bundle wrapped in a towel onto the cart. It looked like it was a golden retriever. Again, more tears...
Our only saving grace was that we met a cat in the reception area. Nevis appears to live there, a great orange tabby. He had no problems with sleeping and playing with his mouse toy, but he would gladly sit in your lap and look longingly at the fish tank in the corner. He would sit on a bunch and leap at the tank every once in a while. It was great entertainment.
Indy was checked out and x-rayed. There's no obvious injury, though she does have some crystallization in her bladder - we have to watch her food intake and give her a steroid painkiller once a day and restrict her movements.
We got her home, stripped her condo, blocked the ramp to her 2nd floor, and moved everything downstairs for her.
She's REALLY stressed. She's not well. And there's nothing we can really do for her...
... and I'm scared. There's an awful lot of similarities between her symptoms and the way she looks and the way Max looked in his last days...
I'm scared. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 05:14 PM | Link | Bunnies § |
Friday, December 10, 2004
Ocean's Twelve
We went to the AMC South Barrington 30 to catch a 3:45 showing of Ocean's Twelve. Carol has been taking half-days off on Fridays in December and I'm officially out of work, so this was a perfect time.
The movie was... good. I think Carol enjoyed it more than I. It was hard to follow because there were a lot of flashbacks and plot points that weren't revealed until late in the movie. It just wasn't as satisfying as Ocean's Eleven.
posted at 02:14 PM | Link | Movies § |
Thursday, December 09, 2004
Another Last DayHere it is, another last day on a contract job. We're building building servers and testing, not to mention also recieving shipments of hardware that we don't have any room for.
I'm looking forward to some days off. But I don't know how long that will be because...
I'm getting ready to go onto another contract. It's right here in the same building, a floor below the lab I'm working in. So, I may not be out of work very long.
I'm sure I'll talk about this some more when things get solidified and I start up again.
For those of you wondering - this would be that One Year contract gig I mentioned earlier. It's also that "15 Year Step Backward" that I've referred to that I hope to clarify someday as well.
I just want: 1) An ID Badge that will get me where I need to go 2) a cube/office 3) a computer and 4) an actual network login account and live company email.
All 4 of these things I DID NOT HAVE during the current contract gig.
*sigh*
One more thing I keep forgetting to mention... Looking out the 11th floor windows over Schaumburg and the surrounding areas, other than seeing Woodfield Mall and other public places of interest, I find it comforting be able to look a little Northeast and see Carol's building and then looking out west down Higgins Road and seeing where my house is. It's a very odd but satisfying feeling to vew everything you love right outside your window.
posted at 11:47 AM | Link | Work § |
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Gorillas at a wakeA touching little story about something that happened at Brookfield Zoo - after Babs the gorilla died at age 30, zookeepers allowed the other gorillas to pay their respects.
posted at 10:00 AM | Link | Current Events § |
Tuesday, December 07, 2004
Winding downI've been alone at work for almost 2 days now. My partner has back problems and is in extreme pain, so he took off very early yesterday and today. Fortunately, there were no requests for replacement hardware yesterday, and there's only been 1 request today which I built and just sent off to Pahrump.
I sort of like working alone. What I rather prefer is just being busy.
Looks like Thursday will be my last day. We'll see what happens after that.
posted at 02:52 PM | Link | Work § |
Monday, December 06, 2004
Chicago Fireposted at 09:03 PM | Link | Current Events § |
Snipped Chip
Chip is home. He pulled through just fine and the people at the vets were saying they were surprised he was eating so soon after surgery. He's moving a little slow and looks a little pissed-off, but he's just lounging around his cage and healing.
posted at 07:29 PM | Link | Bunnies § |
Chip Gets SnippedLast Friday, Carol brought Chip back to the vet for a checkup. We had run the course on his medication and we just needed to see how he was doing. The doctor gave him a clean bill of health, saying that she was glad he made it through the medication - I guess that some bunnies never shake the infection.
Oh - I forgot to tell you - the infection that was making him sneeze, the bacteria that was in his sinus cavities? E. coli! He must have had that since he was with the breeder since e. coli is just not something that he can pickup around our house!
But, this morning, Chip is heading back to the vet. For surgery.
read more of this entry »
Yes, our long nightmare (just joking) is over - Chip is getting Neutered!!!
He has been a mess for the last month. On the plus side, he is not trying to mount anything (or anybody). That's a good thing. But his hormones are raging and we've had to segregate him away from Indy. He just wants to be with her, and I don't think he knows WHY. He dances and prances in front of her cage. He jumps on top of a hooded litter box next to her cage to get a better look at her and be closer to her... and eat her hay (we haven't figured out the reason for that). He's also spraying everywhere (and it's obvious that he's unaware that he's doing it).
Indy, in the meantime, has just about had it with him. Sometimes she'll do that whole nose-touch thing that they've been doing. Sometimes she turns her back on him and falls asleep, while he frantically runs back and forth trying to get her attention. He gets tired from frantically jumping around and sleeps alot - around her cage, of course.
So, Chip gets snipped this morning. We're supposed to be able to pick him up this evening.
Hope everything goes well - I know that this is a common and simple operation, but... you never know. « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 06:35 AM | Link | Bunnies § |
Sunday, December 05, 2004
Nice and snoozyMan I just slept around the house all day. We went to my mom's for dinner tonight and slept around there, too.
Boy did it feel good. On the ride home, I felt great. Like I had actually started catching up my lost sleep.
Speaking of lost sleep, I have a new bar of soap update:
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I just can't explain it, but my legs have stopped twitching while I'm sleeping. At 4 o'clock this morning, though, It started again.
But then I realized that I had one leg out from underneath my covers.
So, both legs have to be exposed to the soap?
I took a nap this morning with both legs under the covers. No twitching.
I took a nap this afternoon, on my bed but not under my covers. Twitching.
More experimentation is going to be needed... « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 09:57 PM | Link | Mundane § |
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Wolves 2 - Admirals 3
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This is the first game we've been to in over a month. On top of that, due to other conflicts, we're going to miss about 4 more games over the next month and a half. Everyone around us kept asking where we've been.
It's nice to be missed.
The team has been playing much better lately. They're not giving up and quite a few games go into overtime.
Tonight - well, it was a bit lackluster. We had the lead at one point 2-1 but just couldn't get a break.
The referee was called "controversial" by play-by-play man Judd Sirrot. It was Harry Dumas and apparently during the playoff last year, he called 19 (or was it 16?) power play penalties against the Wolves during one game. Gee - it was against Milwaukee, too.
Then again, we saw him back in 2002 and he was calling a lot of penalties, too - against the Houston Aeros.
Nice crowd - 10,718. I just couldn't get into the game, though. Don't know why. The loss felt pretty disappointnig, too.
(Boxscore - Gamesheet) « hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 10:08 PM | Link | Wolves § |
Friday, December 03, 2004
PeevesWHen I started this site years ago, I added an area that I called My Pet Peeves. At the time I was commuting a lot and there were things that I was seeing on the roads that were just pissing me off, hence the title My Pet Peeves.
Now, just double checking, I looked up the definition of Pet Peeve:
Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary pet peeve Function: noun : a frequent subject of complaint
I preface my rants on that page with: We all have pet peeves. We all have things that set us off. Mine seem to all do with commuting - driving, mostly. I've decided to start a collection of them.
That being said, the whole concept of a Pet Peeve is that it's something that pisses you off. It's something that gets under your skin. It's not something positive.
Are we in agreement here? And, these are MY Pet Peeves. Yes, I realize people won't necessarily agree. Then again, if you have your own set of Pet Peeves, you may agree with a few of mine.
What I DON'T understand, is the series of comments I'm getting over there...
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Wow man you really need to mellow out a little bit.. ...i wanna see some positive things on your site. jackass...
I'm sure you all do things to piss other people off, all fo your whining about the pet peeves on this site is making me sick. Oh, but maybe it's not, maybe I should take another look and see the good, wait, someone already did that, so I'll find the bad and stick to that, good idea.
WHAT THE HELL IS THIS ALL ABOUT??? OF COURSE THINGS ARE NEGATIVE THERE - THAT'S THE PURPOSE OF LISTING THE THINGS THAT PISS ME OFF!!!
Just goes to show you that there are all types of people that cruise the web, and after you try hard to increase traffic to your site you just can't pick the people that actually show up and read your stuff, let alone have people comment on your material in this way.
*sigh*
« hide the extended part of this entry
posted at 07:58 AM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
Thursday, December 02, 2004
Still soapingI still have that bar of soap under my sheet.
It's still working...
... until I woke up this morning and moved around. Then my right leg twitched. Now, does that count because I was waking up or are we countnig just overnight while I'm attempting to sleep?
I still don't understand...
posted at 08:51 AM | Link | Odd | 1 comment § |
No meltSO the Weather Criiters were a bit wrong about yesterday - the sun was out all day, but it never got warm enough to melt anything. Another day of slop on the grass, though the roads seem to have dried up nicely.
So, my last day on this contract will be next Thursday - the 9th. The contract was for 200 hours of work and that's when it gets used up.
However, I may be here again. Very soon. In a totally different role.
If you were in an industry for... let's say... 25 years.
You have been unemployed for quite a while, and have been working some pretty short-term contracts that have been weeks to months in between.
You have an opportunity for a 1 Year contract, but you'd be stepping backwards 15 years in your career.
Would you take it?
posted at 08:21 AM | Link | Mundane | 1 comment § |
Wednesday, December 01, 2004
4 inchesThe weather critters were correct in their forecasting - we got about 4" of slush. The temperatures are in the high 20's and it's going to be sunny almost all day. We'll probably get into the 40's today and this stuff will just all melt. You can tell it was sleet coming down - it's coating the sides of houses and completely coating cars in driveways. It's still treacherous out there, though - black ice everywhere.
posted at 07:58 AM | Link | Mundane § |
*nose wiggle*posted at 06:54 AM | Link | Memes § |
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