goodbye, miss mouse...


i lost my pippa mouse today. with the help of dodi's blood, she did make it through surgery. however, opening her up revealed that not only was her stomach overwhelmed by a hard, lime-sized tumor, but there were also between 50 and 100 smaller tumors scattered throughout her body. while coming out of anesthesia, she went into shock. she stopped breathing while i was kissing her head and talking to her. she died in my arms at around 5pm.

pippa was abandoned in a muck bucket with three other kittens at the first veterinary practice that i worked at, about 4 and a half years ago. she was only 7 weeks old. one of the other kittens looked almost exactly like her, but i chose pippa because of her fat, round face and "chipmunk cheeks". she lived everywhere i lived--in my dorm room, in my series of apartments. she comforted me when i was sad. she was a little (okay, sometimes a lot) cranky with strangers, but she was a squishy lump of love to me. i absolutely cannot believe that when i go to bed tonight, she won't be there to jump up and snuggle with me.

thank you so much to everyone who's been there during pippa's sickness with kind thoughts and words. to all of you who pippa ever growled at, i am sure she did it with love. well, maybe not love, but i'm sure there was a hint of fondness... :)

goodbye, miss mouse. momma loves you.

a quick pippa update...i've decided to let my boss go in and take a stomach biopsy from pippa on monday. i've had a long talk with dodi, and he has agreed to spend the day at the hospital as well in case the Dr thinks that a blood transfusion will lessen miss mouse's anesthetic risk (since she's so anemic). i figure with the biopsy results, i can at least decide if chemotherapy is a viable option or not. please keep pippa mouse in your thoughts on monday, and cross your fingers for a realistically chemo-treatable prognosis. she's only 4 years old, and while I don't want to prolong her suffering, I don't want to "give up" if there's anything I can do to fix her. (i know "give up" isn't the best word choice; i know that my job situation affords me the opportunity to explore different avenues that otherwise i literally might not be able to afford. just wanted to clarify that i don't think someone else in the same situation would be "giving up" if they chose to euthenize w/o further exploration...).

i feel like i've hit a ten on the crappy-week-o-meter.

i've been sick all week, which isn't necessarily the worst possible thing, except that i hate being sick. but who doesn't? work on monday was about as horrible and stressful as it possibly could have been. i'd go into detail, but it would take far, far too long. that's all just crappy-week filler, anyway. the main thing that has me down right now is that last night, i found out that pippa has stomach cancer. most of you probably know that she's been sick for about 3 and a half months now, losing weight, refusing to eat, etc etc. i brought her in to work over the weekend so that someone could force feed her while mike and i were in the city, and since she was there, we did some more bloodwork and x-rays, and an ultrasound. she's severely anemic (normal kitty red blood cells should be at ~ 35%; pippa's are 17%). the new x-rays show a considerable increase in the size of her stomach wall, and the ultarsound shows it to be dense and inoperable. i have few to no options. i was a total and complete wreck last night. that cat has been everywhere i've been for the past 4 and a half years...she lived in the dorms with me, she's apartment hopped with me. she's my baby. i don't care if that sounds dumb. as up and down as the past three years have been, she's been through it all with me. and now she's sick and there's nothing i can do. i want to just crawl under my blankets and not come out.

meh.

fangoriously...gelatinous...and, uh...linebacker...

i keep having the urge to say these three words. blame it on strong bad. and while you're there, you can also check out trogdor.

hope they're handing out depends...

can you spot the error in this email sent out to UConn students and staff? abbie's mom did :)

This years Homecoming Parade will take place this Thursday, October 23, 2003 from 6:00pm to 7:00pm.

Glenbrook Road will be closed beginning at 5:00pm for the parade to form up. The Busway from Gully Hall to Glenbrook will be closed from 6:00pm to 7:00pm and there will be no parking on Stadium Road from 5:00pm to 8:00pm.

The parade route will turn right off Glenbrook onto the Busway to Gulley Hall; right on Fairfield Way, left on Hillside Road and right on Stadium Road. The parade will end at the Memorial Stadium.

The entire University Community is invited to view the parade.

We apologize for any incontinence the parade may cause individuals entering or leaving the campus at this time.

"Go Huskies"
M. Kevin Fahey, Associate Director, Campus Activities
University of Connecticut

i got peed on by a 19 pound cat named buford today.

that is all.

so disappointing...

last fall, dunkin donuts introduced the seasonal and quite yummy pumpkin spice doughnut (or, "donut" if you prefer). lisa and i were both interning at the same conservation center at the time, and would frequently hit up the d&d (no, we did not play dungeons and dragons) for pumpkin spice donuts and hot chocolate on the way back to campus. so needless to say, we were very excited for the return of the pumpkin spice donut this fall. well, maybe not *very* excited, but excited enough to set up a special "hot chocolate and pumpkin spice donut" date. so why is this all so disappointing? because this year, some wiseguy thought it would be a good idea to put frosting and sprinkles on the already perfect pumpkin spice donut. egad! what were they thinking? *sigh*. they tried to make up for it with a non-frosted (and also quite tasty) apple cider donut...and it almost worked, but not quite. :P . dumb ol' dunking donuts, popping my little pumpkin spice bubble. gar.

Windup Hopping Lederhosen

"Somewhere, there's a tiny Bavarian man hopping around with no pants!! These little tiny lederhosen, or "leather pants" in English, will brighten even the grumpiest person's day. Just wind them up, let them go and then shout, "Oh! Meine Lederhosen! Dey haf escaped!" This is one of those products you have to buy just to prove it exists."

i love archie mcphee :)

no, it's not "platy-ma-pus", you idiot...

i don't know how many of you have happened to stumble upon the excercise in futility that is jessica simpson's thought process on Mtv's Newlyweds, but lord almighty is it hysterical to watch. hysterical in a sad, disbelieving way, but hysterical all the same. in case you've missed it, check this out. feeling better about yourself already, aren't you? that's what jessica's here for. kind of like me and bowling--just there to boost everyone else's ego.

my sister got engaged! my sister got engaged!

erika called me up last night to tell me that rich proposed! ever the planner, my sister has the wedding date (march 20th 2005) picked out, and has asked me to be one of her maids of honor (there will be 2 of us). i'm so excited! i've never been in a wedding party before. what fun :).

it's pouring again today...at least we had a beautiful weekend. went to the Big E yesterday with mike, jim, courtney, and lisa, and we met up with deanna and georges while we were there. ate like pigs, saw the world's largest rodent...what more could you ask for? we even all got goofy hats at the carnival (thanks jim!). best overheard comment of the day? "what's a rodent?". i kid you not. thank goodness for stupid people, or we'd have no one to laugh at :)

today is national talk like a pirate day. armed with that information, i expect you all to speak appropriately. landlubbers.

a brief update before i start my calc homework...

far far (my grandfather) is fairing relatively well in icu. he'll have to go to a nursing home to recuperate from the surgery. healthwise, he's decent...will to live wise, we're not so sure. only time will tell, i guess.

pippa is still at the hospital. todd (my boss) thinks it may be pancreatitis, in which case we're pretty much in hurry-up-and-wait mode, continuing supportive care. if her current meds don't have her eating normally by wednesday, we'll start a course of cortisone and see if that helps. *sigh*.

and that's all for now...

went down to stamford for georges' surprise party last night...so many september babies! ray and todd on the 3rd, me on the 8th, cat on the 9th, georges on the 13th...and i know i have a few to remember coming up later in the month.

i have to call home later on today to get an update on my grandfather...he broke his hip earlier in the week and had surgery; now he's apparently in the icu with some sort of infection. it seems he's not putting up much of a fight, from what i understand...all of the information i have was gleaned off a message my dad left on my answering maching last night, so i don't really know much. i'm bracing myself for...well, for anything, i guess. i'm glad i got to see him last weekend.

hpefully i can bring pippa mouse home from the hospital tomorrow. i admitted her on thursday morning...she's been not eating well/vomiting/losing weight for about a month now, and after trying every possible alternative at home, i finally just brought her in and left her there. we'd already done bloodwork and x-rays and found very little, but more blood tests have shown that she's losing protein, and not from her kidneys (the place protein loss frequently occurs). so she's on twice daily meds right now, and hopefully will be feeling better by monday. if not, we may need to open her up for intestinal biopsies. this is my baby kitten...i'm trying to hope for the best.

it's gloomy out...maybe i'll go back to sleep for a little while...

on a mission for don...

know anyone named don? make him read this.

i am deeply, deeply troubled by this. what in the world...? i don't know what disturbs me more...that they have a stuffed animal named cooter who "likes exploring small dark places", or that the one they call cozy has "three creamy udders that are fun to fondle." or maybe it's just the proclamation that "the more you fondle them, the happier they are." egads! read all of the descriptions, and don't shoot whatever you're drinking out your nose.

i got a smoothie machine for my birthday (thanks dee!), so this weekend was a blur of tasty blended alcoholic beverages. hey, i'm allowed every once in a while. and how fun is this--when i walked into the staff meeting at work yesterday, i was greeted by a rousing rendition of "happy birthday" by my coworkers, and cupcakes. yum :). so far, 23 is good. and i finally got a desk (yes! a real desk!), so i don't have to sit on the floor with my computer monitor on a rubbermaid container anymore. hooray!

okay...off to do calc homework. meh.

what a gloomy gloomy day :P

it's gray and rainy today, and i've subsequently felt very tired and blah since i woke up this morning. i bought the last of my books today (finally!), and managed to finagle my way out of buying a graphing calculator (thanks lisa!), so at least i'm not too terribly broke. which is nice, considering i just got paid today. i've got to set aside some money to make my taco dip for this weekend, and maybe some chili as well (if abbie's mom will be nice enough to let me borrow her crock pot again after i held it hostage for months last time). i suppose i could just go out and buy my own crock pot, but...i'm not going to if i don't have to. note to self: call abbie's mom and beg. for now, i must go change for my jukido class, and hopefully re-park my car closer to the armory so i don't have to schlub all the way back to WB Young in the dark. later gators.

i can't believe i haven't posted this yet! i got in to grad school starting in january!!! i'll be doing work on constructed wetlands used to process agricultural run-off and storm water. which may sound not so exciting to some of you, but is pretty much exactly what i was hoping to do. yipee! as far as i know, i also get a stipend (not exactly sure how much yet), a tuition waiver, and (praise the lord) medical benefits. so needless to say, i am very very excited. :D

also fun and exciting--i started my jukido class last night, and i am really enjoying it so far. it's 2 nights a week at the armory at UConn, and i'm getting one credit for it. other than that, i'm taking calculus (again), conservation biology, meteorology, and an independent study to start getting some background information on my grad research. busy busy busy. hopefully it won't be too stressfull of a semester. we shall see...

i'll bet the groom is sorry now...

"A North Haven bride spent part of her wedding night in a jail cell, after police said she hurled things at reception hall workers who closed the bar. " read more.

so much for being the image of poise and beauty on your wedding day...

no, i haven't died.

grad school is looking *very* promising for the spring, which is wonderful--however, i'm now in the middle of much fall registration turmoil (of course i am). for some reason (and no one knows why, apparently), People Soft (the on-line program that all registration is conducted through) will not let me register for anything. not one single thing. i called the registrar and got them to manually put me into a calculus class, since that's the only thing that i actually need to take, but i was hoping to take a full semester's worth of classes so that i'd get more financial aid. i went to UConn the other day, but no one was able to figure out what the problem was. the only thing i can think of to do is make a list of all the classes that i want, go back to the registrar's office, and make them manually put me into every class. which i think i'll be doing on wednesday morning.

it also appears that i have poison ivy on my ankle. i'm not really sure, b/c i've never actually *had* poison ivy, but that's what everyone at work told me it looked like. bah. i wasn't even anywhere near poison ivy! harumph.

Mike started his new job today as *Pharmacy Manager* (ooh la la!) at the West Harford Walgreens. his new schedule gives him every other tuesday and wednesday off, and since i also have tomorrow (tues) off, we might go to the beach. wheee! i can't believe that it's the middle/end of august and summer is almost over. *sigh* back to the books soon.

two of my very dear friends lost their home to a house fire recently, as well as all of their belongings and, worst of all, their dog and kitten. i can't even imagine how difficult things must be right now, but i am so, so thankful that the two of them are okay. it seems so unfair sometimes, the way that horrible things happen to the nicest of people. i can't even begin to understand it...

i'm still in limbo about what the fall is going to bring...it turns out that two of my letters of recommendation never got submitted to the grad school, so they haven't even processed my application yet. nice. i sent out a few politely pushy emails, so hopefully, that will get the ball rolling. and in any event, i'll be on campus this thursday to meet with morty.

what else...? hopefully i'll be going to see abbie play in her old people band on wednesday evening (i've got a mental picture of a bunch of geriatrics, including a little old man with great big ears playing the tuba, and wee little abbie smack dab in the middle), and other than that, the week ahead of me is relatively uneventful. unless i'm forgetting about something, which is entirely possible...