No elaboration needed.

gay and lesbian Americans should not have to pay hundreds of millions of dollars in EXTRA TAXES while having hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits denied to us!! Meanwhile the political organizations who lead the effort keep the status quo are granted tax free status i.e. the Roman Catholic and Mormon Churches Inc.

…except for us. Hehehe Even 80 miles to the south, where my daughter and granddaughters live, they’re under a winter weather advisory.  Lisa’s family, as well, is either expecting snow, or digging out.

We’re supposed to get high winds overnight and tomorrow.  Let’s see…winter wonderland, 2 hour commute to work, backbreaking shoveling, wet feet, slippin’ and slidin’ into work or heavy winds.  Hmmm…tough choice to make there.  NOT!  We’ll get it soon enough and, typically, we have our greatest snowfall when y’all are thawing out and your tulips are blooming.

For those of you getting the snow…KEEP IT!  We’ll keep the 60 mph wind gusts here and you keep your snow there. K?

Lisa and I are taking classes here at the college.  She’s already enrolled in one — Entrepreneurial Studies.  We’re going ahead with our business plan, and hopefully the first of the year we’re going to get to a bank and get a small business loan to buy some land, some equipment and some other stuff so we can start/have our own vegetable farm.  The degree program we’re enrolled in is basically Entrepreneurial Studies and Small Business Management.  Lisa’s our “Operations and Logistics” Officer and I’m the “Administrative and Finance” Officer.  We complement each other with our individual skills.  Hopefully, by the time I retire in 2,093 days the farm will be making enough profit that I can retire without worries and with the ability to still do administrative and bookkeeping duties and get paid for it.  But I’d rather work in my pajamas.

Some Facebook statuses from a couple of my friends:

Winter Wonderland carol re-write for my friends in New York State: “in the meadow, we can build a snowman. Then pretend that he is Parson Brown. He’ll say, “Are you married?” We’ll say, “No, man! ‘Cause the bigots in the Senate shot us down.”

Can I get an “AMEN!”?

Nothing like a little discrimination, bigotry and spinelessness to pull me out of my blog slumber.

Yesterday the New York State Senate voted 24-38 against Marriage Equality in New York State.  No huge surprises overall but there were some surprises with individual votes.  Additionally, I’m always amazed at how many lawmakers show up to vote on Marriage Equality yet can’t be bothered to show up to vote on other, more important issues.  ALL state senators showed and voted yesterday.  Here’s the breakdown of the vote.  Emphasis added to show Democrats who voted against equality.

Sen. Joseph Addabbo, D-Queens—No
Sen. James Alesi, R-Perinton, Monroe County – No
Sen. Darrell Aubertine, D-Cape Vincent, Jefferson County – No
Sen. John Bonacic, R-Mount Hope, Orange County – No
Sen. Neil Breslin, D-Delmar, Albany County – Yes
Sen. John DeFrancisco, R-Syracuse – No
Sen. Ruben Diaz Sr., D-Bronx – No
Sen. Martin Dilan, D-Brooklyn – Yes
Sen. Thomas Duane, D-Manhattan – Yes
Sen. Pedro Espada, D-Bronx – Yes
Sen. Hugh Farley, R-Schenectady – No
Sen. John Flanagan, R-Long Island – No
Sen. Brian Foley, D-Long Island – Yes
Sen. Charles Fuschillo, R-Long Island – No
Sen. Martin Golden, R-Queens – No
Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Utica – No
Sen. Kemp Hannon, R-Long Island – No
Sen. Ruth Hassell-Thompson, D-Mount Vernon – Yes
Sen. Shirley Huntley, D-Queens – No
Sen. Craig Johnson, D-Long Island—Yes
Sen. Owen Johnson, R-Long Island – No
Sen. Jeff Klein, D-Bronx – Yes
Sen. Liz Krueger, D-Manhattan – Yes
Sen. Carl Kruger, D-Brooklyn – No
Sen. Andrew Lanza, R-Staten Island – No
Sen. William Larkin, R-New Windsor, Orange County – No
Sen. Kennetth Lavalle, R-Long Island – No
Sen. Vincent Leibell, R-Patterson, Putnam County – No
Sen. Thomas Libous, R-Binghamton – No
Sen. Betty Little, R-Queensbury, Warren County – No
Sen. Carl Marcellino, R-Long Island – No
Sen. George Maziarz, R-Newfane, Niagara County – No
Sen. Roy McDonald, R-Saratoga – No
Sen. Hiram Monserrate, D-Queens – No
Sen. Velmanette Montgomery, D-Brooklyn – Yes
Sen. Thomas Morahan, R-New City, Rockland County – No
Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, Seneca County – No
Sen. George Onorato, D-Queens – No
Sen. Suzi Oppenheimer, D-Mamaroneck, Westchester County – Yes
Sen. Frank Padavan, R-Queens – No
Sen. Kevin Parker, D-Brooklyn – Yes
Sen. Bill Perkins, D-Manhattan – Yes
Sen. Michael Ranzenhofer, R-Amherst, Erie County – No
Sen. Joseph Robach, R-Greece, Monroe County – No
Sen. Stephen Saland, R-Poughkeepsie – No
Sen. John Sampson, D-Brooklyn – Yes
Sen. Diane Savino, D-Staten Island – Yes
Sen. Eric Schneiderman, D-Manhattan – Yes
Sen. Jose Serrano, D-Bronx – Yes
Sen. James Seward, R-Milford, Ostego County – No
Sen. Dean Skelos, R-Long Island – No
Sen. Malcolm Smith, D-Queens – Yes
Sen. Daniel Squadron, D-Brooklyn – Yes
Sen. Bill Stachowski, D-Buffalo – No
Sen. Toby Stavisky, D-Queens, – Yes
Sen. Andrea Stewart-Cousins, D-Yonkers – Yes
Sen. Antoine Thompson, D-Buffalo – Yes
Sen. David Valesky, D-Syracuse – Yes
Sen. Dale Volker, R-Depew, Erie County – No
Sen. George Winner, R-Elmira – No
Sen. Catherine Young, R-Cattaraugus County – No

Now, the fact that Ruben Diaz voted no comes as no surprise. After all, he was one of the “Gang of Three” who earlier threatened to defect to the Republican party if the Democratic leadership in the Senate didn’t give him a position of leadership AND if Marriage Equality was put to the floor for discussion and vote. This is the same man who said that he does NOT leave his Bible at the door when entering the Senate chambers to work. So, this Bible-totin’ Senator who uses his religion to conduct his business needs to go, and fast.

A Republican betrayal was that of Senator Jim Alesi who pledged support for the bill but, when the moment of truth came around, he stuck with his party instead of his pledge (and his constituents). Every single Republican, without exception, voted No. You can’t tell me they voted based on their own sense of right and wrong or even based what feedback their constituents may have given them. It was clearly a party-line vote. Which means those Republican state senators don’t have an ounce of leadership — only “follow-ship.” They don’t represent their constituents, they represent their party.

And here’s a bit more irony/oddity for you. “Downstate” is the most liberal part of the state and here in Western NY we are in the most Conservative part of the state. Yet the “downstate” Democrats voted against Marriage Equality.

Today, I’ll be calling Senator Alesi and letting him know that I will be working tirelessly, beginning NOW, to have him replaced in the senate with someone who will NOT allow themselves to be a puppet for their party but will, instead, act on his or her own convictions, show some integrity and represent their constituents, not their party.

If you’re outraged by these events, and you haven’t picked up the phone to call your elected leaders, do that now.  You don’t have to be a Political Science major to have this conversation with the Senator’s office.  You merely call the office, and tell the representative that answers the phone that you are outraged with that senator’s vote.  You don’t need to explain why, just that you are outraged.  But don’t stop there.

I’m going to start a fundraiser for a Democratic candidate to represent my district.  I’ll collect cans and bottles if I have to, but I’m going to start now.

And, I’ve already got an ad idea for the Democrats to use next election.  Republicans: Followers you can’t count on.

According to a local newscast which can be viewed here, all four local Senators were asked to explain their no votes.  They didn’t respond. There’s a huge surprise. I guess their constituents don’t want to hear “Because that’s what the Republican leadership said I had to do.”

I was listening to the radio this morning and the female DJ was talking about a new set of “recommendations” regarding mammography in women ages 40-49.

Here’s the thing. For the past couple of DECADES the American Cancer Society and other organizations have invested heavily in educating women on the early detection of breast cancer through annual mammography and self-exam. The current recommendation is that women over the age of 40 receive screening through mammography every year. Mammography can find cancer before a lump appears and it is proven technology in early detection of breast cancer. MANY women have had their lives saved through mammography.

Now, the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (what the hell is that, anyway?) says that women between the ages of 40 and 49 “should not get routine mammograms for early detection of breast cancer.”

WTF?

First of all, this “panel” consists of 16 supposed health care “experts.”  Note, it doesn’t say DOCTORS, just “experts.”  Oh, and NONE of them are oncologists.

Who are these “health care experts.”  Administrators who are always looking to cut costs?  Insurance executives tired of paying for screenings? MEN?

And here’s the galling part.  According to their research ONLY FIFTEEN PERCENT OF WOMEN AGES 40-49 detect breast cancer through mammography.  Fifteen percent.  FIFTEEN PERCENT!

How many men have prostate cancer detected in their 40s through routine screenings?  Well, according to the Prostate Cancer Foundation, only 1 in 39 men have prostate cancer in the age group 40-59.  That’s only 2½% of men in that age group.  So, is this panel going to recommend that only men 60 and up get routine prostate cancer screening?  Not likely.  Why? Because the screening isn’t as expensive as that for women.  According to the CDC’s statistics, less than 1% of all men have prostate cancer.  So, does that make this type of screening completely unnecessary?

According to the CDC, less than 1% of women under 50 have cervical cancer.  And, if we look at ALL age groups of women, a mere .16% of all women get cervical cancer.  Should we stop screening for cervical cancer?

And, in looking at the CDC’s statistics, only 2% of the population gets colo-rectal cancer.  So why on earth would we go through the time and expense of submitting to a days’ worth of shitting our brains out in preparation for a colonoscopy and then going under anesthesia (another risk) for the exam which ALSO comes with a risk of perforation of the colon or intestines?

Hell, let’s just stop all cancer screening and play the statistical odds!  Oh, sure, there are going to be some of us who find out that we have cancer that is beyond treatment but, statistically, it’s worth the risk, right?

Right.

 

Can you fill this out without lying?
How would you know if I did?

What was the last thing you put in your mouth?
My finger

Have you ever kissed anyone named Matthew?
I’ve kissed the bathroom MAT once or twice in my youth after a bender.

Where was your profile picture taken?
My dining room

Can you play guitar hero?
Meh

Name someone that made you laugh today?
Lisa, when I was goosing her and she said “I was trying to work up a fart for you!”

How late did you stay up last night and why?
If 10:00 is late, then that’s the time. Why? I stayed up that “late” because I wasn’t tired until then — duh!

If you could move somewhere else, would you?
Yep — in fact, looking to sell the house now and find something smaller and more “country-ish”

Ever been kissed under fireworks?
Does being kissed in front of a burning building with windows blowing out count?

Which of your friends lives closest to you?
The one that’s not as far away as the others.

Do you believe ex’s can be friends?
Well, my ex and someone else’s ex became friends and then even got married so, yeah.

When was the last time you cried really hard?
I’m a tough ol’ bitch, I don’t cry.

Where are you right now?
In my living room

What bed did you sleep in last night?
The one in my bedroom?

What was the last thing someone bought for you?
A present

Who took your profile picture?
Ove Overmyer

Who was the last person you took a picture of?
Most likely Lisa sleeping on the couch — I have an entire gallery of that.

Was yesterday better than today?
I don’t know about better but I do know that yesterday was before today.

Are you mad about anything?
That the difference in retirement now and 6 years from now is enough that I have to keep working for those remaining 6 years.

Do you think relationships are ever really worth it?
Absolutely

Are you a bad influence?
On who? Kids? Yep. Adults? Not so much. Cats? Probably. Trees? I’m pretty sure no.

Night out or night in?
Who am I with?

What items could you not go without during the day?
Coffee, Facebook, Lisa, food, wine, and most importantly, Prozac.

What does the last text message in your inbox say?
New cell phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx

How do you feel about your life right now?
I love my life.

Do you hate anyone?
Unfortunately, yes.

If we were to look in your facebook inbox, what would we find.
Messages from other people. What were you expecting to find?

Say you were given a drug test right now, would you pass?
Depends on what drugs they’re testing for. The standard THC or cocaine, yes I’d pass.

Has anyone ever called you perfect before?
Only when the word “perfect” preceded something else like “bitch,” “asshole” or “shit.”

What song is stuck in your head?
5210. Be a healthy he-ro!

Someone knocks on your window at 2am, who do you want it to be?
Publisher’s Clearing House with a check for $20 million, apologizing for the late hour.

Wanna have grandkids before you’re 50?
Been there, done that. Was a grandma before I was FORTY.

Name something you have to do tomorrow?
Eat. Breathe. Poop. Everything else is voluntary.

Do you think too much or too little?
Yep

Do you smile a lot?
Yep

Who was your last missed call on your Mobile phone?
Dr. office calling to remind me of an appointment next week.

What was the last book you read?
Darkly Dreaming Dexter

Is there something you always wear?
Glasses. Nothing else is an “always.”

What were you doing 30 minutes ago?
Canning beets and turnips

Did you have an exciting last weekend?
I enjoyed last weekend, that’s all that matters.

Have you ever crawled through a window?
Never.  I’ve crawled through the opening of a window, but never THROUGH a window.

Have you ever dyed your hair?
Uh…no…this is my…er…natural hair color.  Yeah. Natural.

Are you wearing a necklace / Chain?
Nope

Are you an emotional person?
*sniff* Not at all *sniff*

What’s something that can always make you feel better?
Prozac

Will this weekend be a good one?
Every day starts out to be a good one, until you get out of bed.

What do you want right now?
House sold, new house bought, members for the CSA, world peace, winning lottery ticket, retirement, another beer

Have you ever worn the opposite sex’s clothing?
Isn’t this a stupid question? Every woman in the world has worn at least one item of male clothing.

Have you ever worked in a food place?
Yes, it’s called my kitchen

Whats on your schedule for tomorrow?
Not a thing.

Does anyone know your facebook password?
Who thinks these questions up?

Did I lie?
Did YOU lie? Yes.

Tired of all of those surveys made up by high school kids? Here’s questions for the people who are a little older.

Copy and paste into your own note, then answer the questions. Finally, tag your friends (including me, please!).

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
Gas/electric bill.  I’m thinking about claiming the local power company as a dependent this year.

2. Do you miss being a child?
In some regards, yes but mostly no.

3. Chore you hate the most?
Emptying the dishwasher.  More specifically, putting away the silverware.

4. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
Casa Mia, Niagara Falls, Canada

5. If you could go back and change one thing what would it be?
I wouldn’t have skipped so much school in my senior year.  I might have gone to remedial code training on that last day before the start of AMD and beat Barb out for that E-4 stripe.

6. Name of your first grade teacher?
Miss Dunn

7.What do you really want to be doing right now?
Anything but being at work.

8. What did you want to be when you grew up?
Gone

9. How many colleges did you attend?
Two, sort of.  Los Angeles Community Colleges Overseas (now defunct) and Hawaii Pacific College.

10.Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
It was the one with the fewest wrinkles that matched my pants and I didn’t want to have to iron this morning.

11. What are your thoughts on gas prices?
Effin’ greedy bastards.

12.First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
I am SO ready to retire!

13. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
All that water I drank tonight is going to make me have to get up and pee at some point tonight.

14. What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
John Elway

15. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?
No, but I’ve crashed several times from a sugar high.

16. If you didn’t have to work, would you volunteer?
I’d volunteer to stay home.

17. Get up early or sleep in?
Sleep in

18. What is your favorite cartoon character?
Road Runner *meep meep*

19. Favorite thing to do at night with a guy/girl?
Erm….*ahem*

20. When did you first start feeling old?
The day I became a grandmother

21. Favorite lunch meat?
Chicken or turkey

22. What do you get every time you go into Wal-Mart?
Pissed off

23. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
I wouldn’t have fought so hard for my own if I did, would I?

24. Favorite movie you wouldn’t want anyone to find out about?
No movie, but I do have a guilty pleasure in my weekly television viewing — Operation Repo on TruTV.

25. What’s your favorite drink?
Semi-dry red wines — preferably Chianti.

26. Who from high school would you like to run in to?
Probably anyone. It’s always kinda cool to run into one of them.

27. What radio station is your car radio tuned to right now?
Fickle 93.3

28. Sopranos or Desperate Housewives?
Neither. Give me Dexter.

29. Worst relationship mistake that you wish you could take back?
Kim — what the hell was I thinking?

30. Do you like the person that sits directly across from you at work?
You bet — especially since NOBODY sits across from me!

31. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its intended purposes?
Only if it’s intended purpose was to bash someone over the head.

32. Last book you finished reading?
Darkly Dreaming Dexter

33. Do you have a teddy bear?
Lisa

34. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
I like to live on the edge. I once walked out of the bathroom and into the hallway while I was brushing my teeth!

35. Do you go to church?
Hell No!

36. How old are you?
I just celebrated the 21st anniversary of the 20th anniversary of when I officially became a teenager.

That’s what’s going on these days.  Nothing.  Nothing new, at least.

We continue to spend a lot of time (Lisa does, mostly) at the vegetable farm.  I went back to work Monday after almost 3 full weeks off — major bummer.  I told Lisa she needs to make a LOT more money so that I can retire now — or at least, next year.

I got my annual propaganda statement on my retirement Monday and that’s got me thinking “retire, retire, retire.”  I now understand why people close to retirement are so useless at work.  I couldn’t care less and all I can think about is retiring.  I plod along, disinterested for the most part, even the things I once enjoyed seem like a huge chore now.

Six more years (and about 16 days after that) and it’ll all be over.

Until then, I’ll try to get by on nothing…..

Summer has finally arrived for a short visit here in Western NY.  It’s about time.

I’ve been on vacation for the past two weeks, and will be through tomorrow or maybe even the end of the week — they’re replacing windows in my office and it will certainly depend on when they get done.

Lisa’s busy with the vegetable farm and I’ve been doing some putzing around the house, cleaning out, organizing, just sort of taking it easy and at whatever pace suits my mood for the day.

Nothing much else going on.

A high school friend of mine posted this video on Facebook with the comment “I don’t care what k.d. lang sings, she always elevates the music to another level.” Amen to that, Marie.

Give ‘er a listen — and enjoy.

I’ve been on vacation for the past ten days and, while I’ve had my share of down time, we’ve been busy with the farm.  We’re ready to harvest a plethora of veggies in the next few days and plan to take them to Farmer’s Market and hopefully make a few bucks here and there.

Sadie has done remarkably well as far as her recovery from surgery.  She gained a lot of weight back and is her typical frenetic personality.  We do, however, crate her when we’re not home to supervise her as we don’t trust her to not get into something again.  It’s truly amazing what sorts of things a kitten can find with which to get into trouble.

I turned 54 last week.  It was unremarkable.

Some time back I had a guy misbehaving here on the blog — it turned out it was a temporary that had been working for me and had some personal issues that he felt necessary to blame me for.  He had collection companies calling him at work, and apparently felt that his irresponsibility with his finances could be traced directly back to me because he hadn’t yet been hired permanently.  He walked out unexpectedly one day but then found that his temporary agency wouldn’t work with him any more because he walked out on a client.  Of course, somehow that was my fault, too.

He sent an email to the VP of my division that was so full of ludicrous accusations that it was easily seen for exactly what it was — an attempt to blame me for his own shortfalls.

For example, he claimed that I falsely applied for overtime during any given week that I may have taken time off.  What he apparently DIDN’T realize is that my time sheets were, in fact, completed correctly.  He also bitterly complained about the fact that I signed my own time sheet and overtime sheet.  Per established procedure, the employee MUST sign any documents submitted for consideration for pay.  Because a day off is charged against the leave bank, any extra time that is worked within that same period is charged to overtime/compensatory time.  Yet, he raged here on this blog about me being a thief.

He claimed that I constantly abused and swore at my student aides, yet when I submitted a rebuttal to his insane accusations, I submitted with it statements from five former student aides who not only refuted his claims, but went on to say that they still maintain contact with me now and think of me as a “second mother.”

He claimed that my employee was also abused by me but her statement submitted also refuted his insanity.

I ended up having to get a restraining order against him — and obtained one easily after submitting all the pertinent documentation (including his rantings here on the blog) to the district attorney’s office.  He tried to hide his I.P. by using anonymous browsing sites, but apparently failed to realize that they do not truly give anonymous web browsing.  When a victim contact that anonymous site with dates and times and web sites visited, those browser sites eagerly cough up originating I.P. addresses, lest they be held financially liable for aiding a lunatic with harassment.  Each and every one was easily identified and his originating I.P. address consistently came up — even the D.A. felt the guy was obsessed with me.

I think his problem is that he’s a repressed, deeply entrenched-in-the-closet homosexual, along with being an immature asshole, and irresponsible with his money.  It’s easier to rage at me than to look at himself.  And it looks like he could be back (that or I have another secret admirer).  Yeah, the restraining order expired last month…

He once whined to me that he couldn’t afford health insurance or even the cost of a doctor’s visit, yet he has state-of-the-art computer equipment and paid big bucks for a large flat-screen television.  Boys and their toys…

Here’s a thought.  Jeremy?  Grow up.

Speaking of assholes needing to grow up…

Did you listen to Sarah Palin’s functional illiterate speech when she stepped down?  Sounded like her 12-year-old wrote the speech for her.  Vanity Fair had a great time with her speech — view their editor’s, research department’s, and copy department’s edit marks.

I particularly like the one where she credits Abraham Lincoln with the procurement of Alaska.

What a dumbass — and she wants to put herself out there on a national stage?  Hell, I hope she DOES run for President in 2012 against Obama.  Obama will win the largest margin of victory in the history of the U.S. — a record that would never be broken.

We bought a Wii that has the fitness bundle.  There’s the Wii Fit as well as the Wii Sports software.  We have had the best time with it and look at it as a good beginning to our fitness and weight loss quest.

Now that Joe has moved out, we’re going to use the family room downstairs as an exercise room.  It’s 15×22 so it’s a good size for it.  We’ll have a weight set, Gazelle Glider, Body by Jake Ab Scissor, jogging trampoline, fitness ball and the Wii.  We figure to have a “circuit” of sorts.

I’ve been seeing a new chiropractor and am absolutely thrilled at how much better I feel these days. Not only does he practice chiropractic, but he also works with Applied Kinesiology, Meridian Therapy (Accugraph), laser therapy, nutrition and orthotics. Sort of a one-stop shopping place. But beyond convenience, I’m seeing REAL results and am finally beginning to wake up mornings WITHOUT the pain I used to have.

A man is driving down a country road, when he spots a farmer standing in the middle of a huge field of grass. He pulls the car over to the side of the road and notices that the farmer is just standing there, doing nothing, looking at nothing. The man gets out of the car, walks all the way out to the farmer and asks him, “Ah excuse me mister, but what are you doing? “The farmer replies, “I’m trying to win a Nobel Prize. “How?” asks the man, puzzled. “Well, I heard they give the Nobel Prize . . . to people who are out standing in their field.”

Friday morning Sadie began horking up bile. Nothing else, just bile. Each time she horked, she acted like she was chewing on something and we thought that maybe she’d eaten something she shouldn’t have and got it stuck in her throat, or something like that. She was quiet all day — totally NOT Sadie. Sadie isn’t just an energetic kitten, she is FRANTIC with energy and this was totally out of character for her. She laid in bed with Lisa when Lisa laid down for a nap — totally NOT Sadie. By Saturday morning she was extremely lethargic, and still horking up bile. I decided she needed to be seen by a vet. Under normal circumstances, our vet’s office is open all day Saturday. But, this past Saturday was, of course, a holiday so we ended up having to take her to the Animal Emergency Services. We were told it would be $90 just to walk in the door.

We described her typical behavior and our concern about the lethargy. We told the vet that Sadie is just into everything, she has no fear, and is a chewer. We expressed fear that she had eaten something she shouldn’t have, although there are no plants or poisons just laying about in our house. Blood was drawn and tested, and came back with normal liver enzymes, etc. The vet sent us home with an antibiotic and a suggestion to buy 10 mg. Pepcid, quarter it, and give Sadie a quarter tab if she didn’t vomit any more. She said if the vomiting didn’t stop, we should bring her back in. We left AES $344 lighter, but without any real answers.

Sunday morning there was no change. She was still lethargic and still dry heaving so, we took her back to AES where we consented to let them sedate her and x-ray her tummy. As we feared, the x-ray showed an intestinal blockage, although it didn’t reveal anything specific. The vet explained to us that she would need surgery to remove whatever was blocking her tummy and gave us an estimate of what the surgery would cost. I was reduced to tears when I saw the estimate: $2,050-3,985.

I manage all our money (by mutual agreement) and I do it very well. Every single penny is accounted for and strictly budgeted. Unlike an ex of mine who ran up credit card debt knowing full well she couldn’t afford to pay it off and with every intention of filing for bankruptcy, we use our credit cautiously and judiciously. We HAVE to because I am the only one in the house with a regular income and we have to make ends meet on my salary alone. Anything Lisa makes doing handiwork is gravy. So, I knew we could swing the low end of that estimate but there was just no way we were going to be able to swing anything above that.

We told the vet that we just couldn’t afford more than the $2,000 (which was actually our Christmas money) and were told that if we couldn’t afford the surgery, the “humane” thing to do would be to euthanize poor little Sadie. While Lisa copped attitude and told the vet “I’m not going to let you kill my cat just because I can’t afford this surgery,” I was less diplomatic, dropping the “eff bomb” and pointing out that the “humane” thing to do would be to treat the animal and NOT make it all about the money but that, obviously, the animals weren’t as important to them as money. Oh yeah, I went OFF!

Now, here’s the thing. I totally GET that this is a business and the object of business is to make money. However, this particular place has “board certified” surgeons and vets so you pay twice as much for them as for non-certified vets. Frankly, I couldn’t give two shits about their fancy board certification — all I cared about was that my little Sadie was in trouble and they only cared about whether we could pay to get her out of trouble. I told the vet “Just give me back my cat and I’ll take her home. If she’s going to die, it’s going to be at home in our arms, not here!” The vet said she’d have to have me sign an A.M.A. and I told her I didn’t have to sign SHIT and wasn’t going to make their life any easier. Fuck ‘em.

The vet left the exam room, telling us to talk it over. We anguished. We cried. We raged and we cried some more. What were we going to do?

Lisa grabbed her phone and left the room. Fifteen minutes later she was back with the news that a client that she was doing major renovation work for (and also a friend) had said that she’d loan us the money because she knew that Lisa would work it off. So, we consented to the surgery with the provision that, if Sadie wasn’t in acute distress the following morning, we would transfer her post-operative care over to our own vet. Lisa pointed out that Sadie already had an appointment for the next day for her last FELV shot and to make an appointment to spay her. Lisa asked if they could do that while they had her opened up because the “humane” thing would be to not have to subject her to another surgery in a few weeks. They agreed and promised to spay her.

We were told we’d have to leave a “deposit” which would equal the lower end of the full estimate. I used one of their computers to go online to check our gold card to see how much credit we had available. $2,115 was all the “cushion” we had and I told the receptionist that I didn’t want her to put any more than $2,000 on the card. She asked “Will $1,900 do?” I consented and so we walked out of that place on Sunday another $1,900 lighter, with more care expenses looming on the horizon.

About 3:00 they called to tell us Sadie was out of surgery. They’d found a string that went from her esophagus, through her small intestines, into the large intestines and that, near her colon they felt a lump which they assumed to be some sort of small toy. They “milked” the lump into her colon and expected that she would pass it in the next 24 to 48 hours. They said they removed the string and spayed her as well and that, if she didn’t vomit again and was able to accept food and water, she could be released to us either Monday evening or Tuesday morning. I reminded them that we’d be transferring Sadie’s care to our own vet the next morning unless Sadie was in acute distress. Our own vet called us Sunday night and agreed to assume Sadie’s care. She gave us some instruction on what to get from AES and gave a few words of comfort.

Sunday was also our 5th wedding anniversary. We weren’t feeling particularly festive but we’d purchased some crab legs and a bottle of champagne a few days prior (a big splurge for us) for our celebration. We decided to go ahead at least with the meal and the champagne, but our hearts were pretty heavy and not much into celebration.

Monday morning we were at AES by 8:00 ready to pick Sadie up. She was getting an IV antibiotic and we had to wait about 45 minutes for her. She was clearly happy to see us, as she began to meow and YOWL loudly — very much like the old Sadie. At checkout, we were charged an additional $60.

We delivered Sadie to our own veterinarian/veterinary hospital where she received top rate care for the next 24 hours. She was discharged to us on Tuesday with another bill of $254. Within an hour of returning home, Sadie pooped, and passed the foreign object they’d “milked” into her colon. A rubber band.

Sadie is currently wearing a “lampshade” so she doesn’t lick her tummy, which is held together by some subcutaneous sutures, and 14 staples externally. Her little legs were shaved just above the paws, for about an inch’s length, giving her a groomed poodle sort of look. She is currently being confined to a large dog crate so that she doesn’t run and jump (and be Sadie) and hurt herself. She is on a special prescription food for intestinal health, which costs as much for a 5 lb. bag as a 22 lb. bag of Iams. And, of course, the other cats are VERY intrigued with this expensive food.

So, only 18 weeks old, this past weekend with Sadie cost us $2,558.  Add to that the previous vet visits and this little Spawn of Satan has cost us $3,088.  That’s $171.55 a week!  She’s lucky she’s cute and we love her so much!

But, all’s well that ends well. At least for now.

This is Sadie 24 hours post-surgery.  She was positively EMACIATED from having had no solid foods for almost 5 days.

Fourteen staples in that little tummy.  OUCH!

IVs in both legs — they had to shave ‘em.  Fashionable, eh?

Conehead kitty. Life of the party wearing the lampshade.

Hey, if you’re “like minded” and looking for something new and different to read, give Downright Personal a read here.

Last September I sat down and talked with my son about his responsibilities and his future. I told him that it was time for him to go out on his own and that I wouldn’t be doing him any favors by letting him stay at home any longer. I gave him until July 1 of this year. He moved out yesterday.

Joe turned 26 last week. He’s no longer eligible for my health insurance and, while he thought he’d be done with school at the end of May, he didn’t have enough credits to graduate so he’ll have to go again this Fall. My thinking was that he’d be done in May and he wouldn’t have that burden along with the new tasks of supporting himself. He’ll have to work that out himself.

I’ve been a mother for 33 years and I can say with absolute certainty that you never stop being a Mom to your kids and that letting go is the single hardest thing a Mom has to do.

My girls have been gone for a while. Michelle has been gone longer than she was ever home — 17 years. Linda left home 10 years ago to go live with her father after a particularly troubling year here at home. Both girls left home in anger and it broke my heart that they left under such circumstances.

Joe was my easy kid. He’d never been grounded, never sent to his room, nothing like that. He was an easygoing type of personality with a quick wit. He was loving, even at an age when it’s not cool to like your parents. He and I were the best of friends.

Which is why I’m struggling so hard with his absence now.

Like I told Lisa this morning, I know I did the right thing. As long as Joe lived here at home I’d continue to be a Mom and not hold him to his responsibilities.

Joe paid his own way through college. He went to the community college I work at, and I was able to get him a tuition waiver, but he still had to pay fees and buy books. After he graduated from the community college he went on to a 4 year school where he paid his own tuition, bought his own books, and assumed the responsibility every aspect of his education. He took out a couple of small student loans but has them both paid in full as of this week. While taking 5 classes each semester, he continued to work at the job he’s had since he was a junior in high school — a job that, while classified as “part-time” still saw him working full-time hours. In the spring, it wasn’t unusual for him to work 60-80 hours a week without a day off during the entire month of May. But still, he persevered and worked hard at his studies and his job.

He couldn’t have done all of that if he’d had to support himself, a major reason why he was home as long as he was.

We helped him move the larger things to his new residence yesterday. I keep seeing his face as we left — wondering if it was sadness (like mine) or just fatigue at the physical strain of the day.

I miss my kid already.

I love you Joe, with all my heart.

At the end of March we got a kitten that we named Sadie.  Sadie was only 4 weeks old — she and her sibs had a mother that for some reason had just stopped feeding the kittens, hissing and swatting at them if they tried to nurse.  So, Sadie came home with me (without having consulted Lisa).

Simba, our 22 lb. male cat welcomed Sadie the same way he did Idgie 3 years ago.  He groomed her, played with her, cuddled with her — he’s such a good big brother.  Idgie and Cedar, on the other hand, wanted nothing to do with her and hissed and fissed at her if she dared come anywhere near them.

Anyway, Sadie was barely strong enough to stand and eat food from a dish without her little legs quivering.  We fed her canned kitten food (at the advice of our vet) and actually had to force some in her mouth so that she could figure out what it was.  We had to give her water with an eyedropper for the first few days until she got the hang of drinking water out of a bowl without drowning.  At any given time, she would only stay awake for an hour at a pop before it was nap-time and she’d find a warm spot under someone’s collar, on a lap, or even under the furniture covers to hunker down and nap.  Because she was so little, we confined her to a bathroom at night when we went to bed.  As soon as we put her in there at night, she was quiet and we didn’t hear a thing from her until we got up the next morning.  When she snuggled with me, she’d suckle on my ear lobe and just hold it in her mouth and go to sleep.

She was adorable.

Was.

Sadie has no fear of anything or anybody.  She isn’t just energetic, she is frantic with energy from the time she wakes until it’s time for her next nap.  She is into absolutely everything.  And poor Simba can’t take a nap without her jumping on him, messing with him, and pissing him off.  She grabs hold of the fur on his backside and, as he runs yowling, she goes along for the ride, teeth clamped firmly on his fur.  When I’m in the shower, she runs right in, runs around in the shower playing with the water as it runs down the drain or she sits on the seat in the shower and watches me.  When I’m brushing my teeth, she jumps up on the vanity, into the sink, and bats at my toothbrush as I brush or plays with the stream of water coming out of the faucet.  As I take my morning meds, she jumps up and pulls at the paper cup as I try to drink from it.

Sadie climbs the door casings.  She jumps as high as she can (and this girl gets some SERIOUS air), then clamps onto the door casings with all 4 paws/claws and just hangs there, like a Koala bear.  She takes a running start down the hallway and, as she reaches top speed, launches herself onto the wall and then pushes off with her feet — literally “bouncing off the walls.”

She chews on the cord to my laptop.  She jumps onto the counter in the kitchen where the sink is and bats our poor plant around.  She gets into any sink and acts like she’s digging on the smooth surface (I think she likes the slippery feel), although she doesn’t scratch it.  If there’s any kind of bug, she will climb whatever screen, piece of furniture or other obstacle she needs to in order to get to said bug.  She tightrope-walks across the top of the wrought iron rail which would drop her 10 feet to the floor beneath if she loses her balance.  Every time poor Idgie walks into a room, Sadie chases her right back out for the pure pleasure of watching Idgie run.  At night, Sadie comes into our room, purring loudly, looking for an earlobe to suckle.  If we cover our ears, she just grabs any loose piece of skin (which, at our ages, could be just about anywhere) and begins to suckle.  If we discourage that, she runs back and forth across our bed (meaning our chests, our faces, whatever) in that same frantic style of play.  We often have to put her out of the room and block the cat door coming into the room just so we can get some sleep.

Sadie uses her claws to fish things out of places.  She does this with the litter in the litterbox, leaving a huge pile of litter OUTSIDE the box.  She fishes throat lozenges out of a small container on our headboard, and carries them around the house, batting them around.  Q-tips come out of the trash can, as do toilet paper rolls (we have 3 bathrooms so that’s 3 times the fun).  Of course, there’s the shredded toilet paper, too.

So, last week Lisa was dog-sitting for a friend.  That first night I thought to myself “Sah-weet! I can sprawl across the bed!” so I went to bed looking forward to having the bed all to myself.  About 2:00 or so, Sadie comes in, purring loudly, looking for an earlobe or other fleshy part of the body to suckle.  Like an annoying mosquito, I kept waving her away, to no avail.  After an hour or so, Sadie gave up and just sort of faded into the darkness.  Just as I was drifting back to sleep, I heard the retching.  Then I heard it again.  I reached up, turned on the light, and saw Simba hunched over at the foot of my bed, horking on the bedspread.

Now, understand, cat yak makes ME retch and often Lisa is the one who has to clean it up, while she laughs raucously at my retching.  Without Lisa there, I knew I’d have to clean it up.  So, I steeled myself, went into the bathroom for some toilet paper, and saw that it was shredded all over the place.  I gathered up some shreds, put a huge grin on my face, and went to clean up the cat yak.  Why the grin?  We were watching CSI one night and Sara Sidle was grinning while at the a particularly nasty crime scene — she told her colleage that she’d read that grinning suppresses the gag reflex.  So, there I am, at about 3:00 in the morning, grinning like a fool, cleaning cat puke off my bed.

Completely exhausted from the constant interruption in my sleep, I dropped like a prom dress into my bed again, but lay there tossing and turning for another hour or so until I finally drifted back to sleep…to be awakened a short time later by Idgie pulling the covers from me with her claws.  This his how SHE gets attention.  I’ve always thought it was adorable and, since Sadie has come into our home, Idgie stopped coming into our room with us at night.  So, I was pleased to see her, and told her how much I missed her, and petted her, scratched her behind the ears, everything she asked of me.  But she wouldn’t settle down, which was weird.  After a good half hour or so of trying to drift off only to be nudged by Idgie again I finally realized that the only reason she was there was most likely because all the food dishes were empty.  So, I got up, went to the kitchen and snapped on the light.  The hair on the back of my neck prickled up as I realized I was completely surrounded by the four cats, all looking at me expectantly.  All four dishes were empty, not a morsel to be found and I found myself feeling very unsettled with the position I found myself in — surrounded by four hungry cats.  I scooped food into all four food dishes and went back to the bedroom and promptly blocked any way for the cats to come back into the bedroom.  It was nearly 5:00 and I’d not had much sleep at all.

I tossed and turned for a while longer until I finally dropped back off.  The alarm went off too soon and I lay in bed for another hour and a half before I was able to force myself to get up and start my work day.  I showered, dressed and opened the bedroom door.  I took one step into the hallway and stood stock still, dumbfounded.

The hallway was littered with band-aid wrappers, Q-tips, shredded toilet paper, toiled paper rolls, tissues, and other types of items you’d find in the trash can in the bathroom.  You know the one — the one that was overturned in the spare bathroom.  All the contents of that trashcan were strewn about the hallway, into the living room, and into the kitchen.  In the kitchen I found a 10-12 foot piece of shredded toilet paper — most likely the predecessor of the mess that I’d found a couple of minutes earlier in the bathroom.  I stood there, surveying the mess, and turned to look back down the hall toward my bedroom.

In the half-light of dawn, I could make out something on the floor in the spare bedroom, but wasn’t quite sure what it was.  It seemed rather large and almost looked like it could be a blanket or something.  I walked down the hallway to investigate and, the closer I got, the more convinced I was that it was a blanket.  It seemed brownish and very plush, but an instantaneous thought struck me that we didn’t have any blankets or similar items that fit that sort of description.  I snapped on the light in the spare bedroom and clapped my hand over my mouth as I said “OH MY GOD, SADIE!”

In the room NEXT to the spare bedroom, on an over-the-door hook on the back of the door, I’d had a rabbit coat that I’ve been trying to figure out what to do with.  This was the object laying on the floor in the spare bedroom.  This little kitten had somehow managed to jump up and get that coat off the hook, and had dragged it into the spare bedroom.  Rabbit fur was EVERYWHERE on the carpet.

Behind me, Sadie sat on her haunches, feigning innocence.

She’s damned lucky she’s cute.

And for some reason, the vet keeps telling me that a lobotomy is not an option. We’ll see about that…

SoS?

Spawn of Satan.

Speaking of the Spawn of Satan……..

The New York State Senate continues their childish antics.  While two Democrats defected to the Republican side to vote on the leadership, making the Republicans control the chambers with a 32-30 lead, one has since gone back to the Democrat fold, giving the chamber a 50-50 split at 31-31.  They are getting nothing accomplished and are having dueling sessions — the Republicans claiming control and running the show THEY think they own, and the Democrats doing the same.  The governor keeps ordering them back to work even though they’re supposed to be through with this year’s session, but they merely enter the chamber and begin their childish games once again.

For the time being, the courts are refusing to get involved to resolve the leadership situation.  And, because our elected governor stepped down in shame, elevating the Lieutenant Governor to the top spot, we have no Lieutenant Governor to act as a tie-breaker.

One of the defecting Democrats got, as his reward, leadership of the Senate.  Greed.  This man represents his own self-interests and not those of his constituents.

The entire shitty lot of them should be fired.

In another state, at the state government level, South Carolina Governor Mark Sanford falls off the face of the planet for a few days. Nobody, not even his wife and kids know where he is. It’s a minor news blip but nothing more is made of it while he’s MIA.  State government at every level argues and fights over who gets the reins and why.

He resurfaces AFTER a nice trip to Buenos Aires with his mistress.

When news first broke about his mysterious disappearance, first lady Jenny Sanford told The Associated Press she did not know where her husband had gone for the Father’s Day weekend.

Sanford’s announcement came a day after another prominent Republican, Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, apologized to his GOP Senate colleagues after revealing last week that he had an affair with a campaign staffer and was resigning from the GOP leadership.

And what, exactly is with these governors, regardless of party? “Idle hands are the devil’s workshop,” is the old adage. And I’m thinking this list indicates that our governors need more to do at work!

• Alabama Governor Don Siegelman (D-AL) found guilty of bribery, mail fraud and obstruction of justice 6/29/2006, sentenced to 88 months.
• Alaska Governor Sarah Palin Vice president nominee in the 2008 elections. Troopergate — refers to her alleged dismissal of Walt Monegan because he wouldn’t fire State Trooper Mike Wooten, Palin’s ex-brother-in-law. A state personnel board investigation found no wrong-doing.  Other investigations continue.
• Arizona Governor John Fife Symington III convicted of fraud (1997)
• Arkansas Governor James Guy Tucker, Jr. (D-AR), convicted of fraud conspiracy (1996)
• Connecticut Governor John G. Rowland resigned from office during a corruption investigation, and later pleaded guilty in federal court to a one-count with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and tax fraud. He served ten months in a federal prison followed by four months house arrest ending in June, 2006.
• Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D-IL) charged with conspiracy to commit mail, wire fraud and solicitation of bribery. He was also accused of “Pay to Play” schemes, including the sale of President Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat to the highest bidder. He was impeached and removed from office (January 28, 2009)
• Illinois Governor George H. Ryan (R-IL) illegal sale of government licenses and contracts as Secretary of IL State. Convicted (2006)
• Louisiana Governor Edwin Edwards (D-LA) convicted of extortion (2000)
• New Jersey Governor Jim McGreevy (D-NJ) Resigned from office 11/15/07 after admitting his homosexuality and the inappropriate appointment of his alleged male-sex partner to a government paid office.(2004)
• Oklahoma Governor David Walters (D-OK) pleaded guilty to misdemeanor election law violation (1993)
• New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson(D-NM) withdraws his bid to be President-Elect Obama’s Commerce Secretary due to an investigation by a federal grand jury into how a California company that contributed to Richardson’s political activities won a New Mexico transportation contract worth more than $1 million (January 4, 2009)
• Ohio Governor Bob Taft (R-OH) pleads no contest and is convicted on four first-degree misdemeanor ethics violations (2005)
• West Virginia Governor Arch A. Moore Jr(R) guilty of mail fraud, tax fraud, extortion and obstruction of justice, (1990)

As my friend RL says — if their lips are moving, they’re lying.