Emergency Visit

I just returned from the Animal Emergency Clinic... when I got home from work, something seemed not right with Jax. He was shaking, he whined with every breath, and when I gave him his Prednisone pill, he threw it right back up. So after some deliberation, my sister and I decided to take him into the emergency clinic to see what was the matter. I was pretty scared as I had no idea what was going to happen. It seemed like the end was near...

After some tests, the vet determined that he's pretty badly dehydrated. This surprised my sister and me, since all he seems to do at home is drink water, and he barely touches his food unless we hand-feed it to him. But it also explains why his bladder seems to be full all the time... his body is getting rid of fluids faster than he can take them in. Could be a kidney thing... who knows. The vet recommended an overnight hospitalization stay so that Jax could have an IV in him. The cost was going to be almost as much as his surgery was. We deliberated some more and decided to take him home, after the vet gave him a dosage of fluids and pain medication, and he'll have to see his regular vet tomorrow.

So now I have to monitor him tonight, make sure he's more comfortable (he seems to be now. He's not whining anymore...), and check on him again at lunch tomorrow, and my sister will take him to the vet whenever I can get an appointment for him. Hopefully they're not booked up.

One thing after another... he just won't give us a break. Poor little dog can't help it, of course... I think I'm still well enough away from seeking financial counseling, but my credit cards are being stretched quite a bit. And I still have other things to pay for... but I try not to worry about money as far as Jax is concerned... it's that or watch him suffer, right? It's just hard.

I'm going to spend the rest of the night sitting next to him on the couch, hopefully while he sleeps a little bit, work on my crosstitch project, and maybe watch a little TV... just hope he can stay comfortable for the night.

Thanksgiving Notes

Here was my Thanksgiving in a nutshell:

• Driving into the sunrise is a very pleasant early-morning experience.
• Pumpkin cappucino is nummy.
• I was the "star" of the Thanksgiving Day Parade.
• Sisters should not wear the same sweater (even if they're in different colors) to holiday functions.
• Turkey, potatoes, gravy, carrot casserole, cranberry sauce, pumpkin bread, fruit/jello salad, stuffing... do I need to say anything else?
• It was said at the table that the average person gains a pound on Thanksgiving. Really, is that ALL??
• The pumpkin cheesecake was an apparent hit, even if I thought the crust tasted funny.
• I won $24 playing a game called "Left, Right, Center." LOVE that game.
• The live action movie of "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is not something I'd care to see in its entirety. I was not impressed with the first 15-20 minutes.
• I'm. So. Tired.

Good night!

I AM THE BAKING GODDESS

I baked a Pumpkin Cheesecake last night! I am so proud of myself. I think it turned out well. It smells fantastic. I guess we won't know for sure until we try it (I'm bringing it to the Thanksgiving dinner I'm going to) but I think it'll be fine. The only thing I am worried about is taking it out of the springform pan that it's in now... I hope that it comes out easily enough so that it doesn't break apart everywhere! I guess after it cools for a few days, it'll be fine. I did one two years ago, I think, and used the wrong kind of pan to bake it in (I didn't know what a springform pan was). So this time it came out much better. I can't wait to try it! Maybe I'll do one every year if it's good...

Early Start

Last night I started Christmas shopping already... all I bought were a few things for my nephews and my baby niece. But I already feel a sense of accomplishment... I wonder if I could get all my online shopping done by Thanksgiving? Wow. I've never been that far ahead. But it's a real possibility. Yeah for starting early. I've usually always been so opposed to doing anything Christmas related before Thanksgiving, but this year I figured, eh, it's already coming, why not get stuff done early so I can just enjoy the season? I haven't broken out the Christmas music yet. THAT'S for after Thanksgiving.

Quick pupdate: Jax seems to be going back to the symptoms he had before he started on Prednisone. I called the vet this morning to see if we can get him more, or if there's something else we can do since it seemed to be only a temporary fix. Sigh.

Fondue on the Poop Deck

This looks like the coolest restaurant ever! It's modeled like an 18th-century sailing ship, anchored at a Mediterranean village. If I ever visit Atlanta, I'm so booking a reservation there. Check out the pictures of the ship and the wharf. And look at the menu too. Apparently they specialize in fondue. Eat up, me hearties! Arrr!

Last Night and Next Week

Well I think we've concluded our courses on airline tickets... I can book a flight and find the lowest possible price for it, searching through all carriers and itineraries, and get a cheaper class as well. Last night we started on car rentals. Class was on its last leg, so I didn't really have time to wrap my brain around it, but hopefully tonight we'll practice it some more until I'm comfortable. Anyone want to drive to Chicago? Or Kansas City? Or anywhere else? I can find weekend rates... Hee hee.

Looking forward to the Thanksgiving break next weekend and the start of the Christmas season. Soon it will be time to pull out my Christmas CDs, all the Mannheim Steamroller and Transiberian Orchestra and my crazy collection of Christmas oddities... fun times. Maybe this year I can decorate the apartment if I find time? Hmmm... I'll play with that idea a little... A tree would be really fun to have....

Sobering Thought...

So we're talking briefly about airline safety (we'd gotten off on a tangent) in class tonight, and the teacher brings up the point that you're more likely to die or be injured in an automobile accident than in an airplane crash. Yeah, everyone knows that. He then said, "actually I believe you are also more likely to be injured in an automobile accident than if you were a soldier in Iraq."

yaaahhhhhhh. Drive safe everybody!

Tired Again!

Okay so that was a crappy attempt at a pun. Anyways. My car has a flat tire on it AGAIN. I don't know why I get so many flat tires with this car. (I drive a Honda Accord.) Maybe it's my parking lot, or maybe the car likes to shoot nails out of the bottom of it into my tires or something. No idea. So once again, it's in the shop getting fixed and I hope that it's not too expensive. I had to take it to Firestone, which is in walking distance from my work, instead of Dobbs, which is where I could possibly get the flat repaired for free because it might be under warranty. I opted for Firestone because I don't have anyone to drive me to Dobbs and I need to be able to get to my car so I can pick it up at lunchtime so I can let Jax out. I had to get here at 7:30 in order to pull all this off... yawn.

Does anyone have any ideas why one car might be so prone to flat tires? I swear I've replaced every single tire on the car since I bought it a couple years ago. It's a mystery to me.

Jax Update

For those of you who may be wondering how my dog is doing... He has been taking Prednisone, a steroid to help the lump in his prostate go down. It has been having really good effects on him: the urinal bleeding has stopped, his energy level seems to be up, and his arthritis pain has been almost gone. It's like a wonder-drug. He still has accidents now and then, but they are less frequent. (I still don't trust him to sleep on my bed.) He is really skinny, however. I'd like to see him maybe put a pound or two back on, because he just feels so bony. The vet doesn't seem all that concerned about it though. We're going to start him on antibiotics again tonight after I pick some up from his vet. We have to bring him back in in about a month, to see how the Prednisone worked. Hopefully the results will be good. It would be nice to have a happy little puppy again for the time being. And he seems to be happy now.

I ♥ Howie Day

Saw Howie Day last night during a day-excursion to Columbia, MO, with Tracie. He makes his music with his voice, guitar, and an incredible assortment of pedals/switches/who knows what else to "loop" samples of his music over each other, and it sounds like more than just one guy with a guitar and a great voice. He can make his voice echo, he can do backup vocals for himself, he can make his guitar sound like a bass guitar or an electric guitar or really anything he wants, he can do his own rhythm section... there are just no words really to describe the power behind his performance. And the beautiful lighting behind him took my breath away too. I have linked him in my sidebar and I can't wait to see him again sometime. The only downside is that it almost makes me NOT want to get the CDs, because I just feel there's no way they could compare to the live performance. But I will probably want to get them anyway because the songs were really good, even if they're even MORE amazing performed live. And this morning just as I was waking up, there he was on my radio, singing "Collide." How sweet! :)

The rest of my visit to Columbia was great too. Walked all around the Mizzou campus and saw a lot of new things. Went in a few shops downtown too. Ate lunch at the Heidelberg, seeing it again for the first time since it was rebuilt after being destroyed in a fire last year. (It looks great. I am really happy with how it turned out.) Made a stop at the Newman Center and played the piano for a little bit, like checking up on an old friend from the past... The whole day (except for the concert of course) was like saying hi to old memories from my Mizzou days. Sometimes it seems like a lifetime ago...

Yesterday

The interview went well yesterday, I think. The only thing was that the job they were interviewing for was Passenger Services Coordinator, and I really don't think I should start that high up in the company with so much responsibility at first. I had to be honest and admit to myself that I probably would not like such a fast-paced, busy, stressful job that that would be. I'd rather start a step below, as a Passenger Services Representative, and maybe work up to the Coordinator position if I wanted. The lady interviewing me said that they might be hiring for the PSR position soon, and she'll give my resume to the woman who will be interviewing for that position. It wouldn't pay as much as the PSC position, but at least I would get a better feel for the company in case I wanted to move up to Coordinator... actually there are other directions I could move up from PSR, I could get into Operations and help plan itineraries... that would be SO fun.

In other news... Jax had his stitches removed yesterday. The vet examined him again and found that a part of his prostate is enlarged. This could be one of two things: an abcess or a tumor. If it's an abcess, we can shrink it down with steroids and he should be fine. If it's a tumor, the vet said we should be prepared to just make him as comfortable as we can because there will not be a lot we can do for him then. So I'm hoping the steroids work. Trying to stay positive...

Opportunities Abound!

What's better than one interesting job prospect in the travel industry? TWO interesting job prospects in the travel industry!!

Out of the blue, Clipper Cruise Line called me a couple days ago about a résumé I gave them back in June (I had interviewed with them even earlier than that, back in January, for another position). I returned the call, and as a result, I will be making a visit to their office on Monday... wish me luck! (Good thing Monday is a business dress day at my office, so that I don't look strange coming to work in interview clothes!)

I am also still pursuing the other position that my teacher told us about... sent my résumé off to them today. So we'll see what happens!! Exciting times... :)

Airline tickets, anyone?

Last night we were working in the live Sabre database. We first booked the whole class on a flight to San Diego, then stopped and booked us all on a flight to Baltimore. For a minute, I really was booked on a real plane to Baltimore, then we had to cancel it. Fun!! So, for tonight, anyone want me to book them on a plane to Acapulco or something?? Hee hee hee. I'm getting really good at these PNRs! I can pull up a seat map on any plane and put you in the specific seat that you want, and I'm learning how to find the cheapest fares too! It's pretty exciting that I'm actually learning this system. I feel like after a little more practice, I can get really confident using it. Which is a good thing because there's already an interesting-looking job opening posted in the hallway for an agency in Chesterfield, looking for an entry-level leisure agent. Only they work with Worldspan (a different computer reservation system, like Sabre). But I figure, if I'm learning Sabre this well, I'm SURE I could pick up Worldspan in no time! Today Sabre, tomorrow the World!....span. Ok that was dumb.

I created a new link in the sidebar under "Dream Destinations"... You can visit Plymouth Rock and participate in a historically re-created Thanksgiving Dinner, as well as visit the Mayflower II!! Looks awesome!!

In other news, I am totally excited that a LUSH store is coming to Chicago!!!!

I VOTED

I don't have a sticker, so I'll just say it there! Now I just want to completely forget about it for the rest of the day. I won't be watching the news tonight to see who's pulling ahead of who. Just tell me when it's all over. Can I just hide somewhere so I don't have to hear all the hoopla about who's a declared winner here or who took this state or who's cheating by prematurely declaring victory in this or that state... Really, just tell me when I can come out of hiding when there is a definite winner. Although it'll be difficult while I'm in class tonight, cause I know there will be people in class watching it on the Internet and they'll speak up with "Kerry took that state" and "Bush took that state..." I'll just want to cover my ears.

So glad I don't have to see those ads on TV anymore... all the mudslinging and the "my candidate could beat up your candidate" and all that... no more of that!! We'll have a winner and it'll be final and we can just go on about our lives! (and hopefully whoever is elected President will do a good job!)

Goodbye October

Another October has come and gone... now begins the descent into the end of the year and colder, more dreary weather, but also the holiday season. Time to start thinking about turkey and Christmas presents. Never too early to begin. But I'm always sad when I flip the calendar page from October to November... means it'll be another year before I see my favorite month again. Oh well. I guess all the other months have their good points too. 'Cept maybe February... :)

In case anyone didn't already hear, Jax's tumor was found to be malignant. Not happy weekend news. But it may be another 6-18 months before we see it again. They were able to clean the whole thing out for now (the vet said they got "clean margins"), so I guess now we just wait and see. Chemo is an option, but it is very expensive and may not be effective enough to warrant the cost. I'll learn more about what to do when Jax has the sutures removed next week.

Time to start my work day, sigh...