I was reading in the newspaper (Yes, I still get one. It goes well with my Product 19 in the morning.) about the upcoming change to digital TV. Remember? That much ballyhoo'd change was to take place in February but the current administration got the effective date pushed back. Well that date is upon us again.
My converter box still sits on the floor in front of the TV. Unopened. Still in the Best Buy bag. Still with the receipt.
I haven't actually watched TV since, I think October when I watched part of an Iowa Hawkeyes football game. I am on my computer now. I get my news from the paper and radio and the computer. Hence, once, back in January, when I turned on my TV to try to get an Iowa Hawkeyes basketball game, I wasn't totally shocked when every station was snow.
I don't have an outside antenna and I don't have cable. I just don't watch TV. Given the lack of decent programming, I see I'm not missing much. But there have been times I might have watched PBS for "The American Experience" or "Nova" or "Frontline"AFTER I see what was on that I missed. Because I know turning on the TV results in snow, I don't even bother to check the listings anymore.
But, I would kind of like to have it working again.
That means I need to get the TV working. I need some signal booster thingee that attaches to the back of the TV and then the converter box goes onto that or some such thing. I took a lot of pride in being able to 1) make the VCR stop flashing and 2) make the VCR show the right time. I look at the back of my TV and think, "No way".
So, if any of my friends think they can make it so the TV and converter box work, I'll buy dinner.
Beverage: Market Spice Huckleberry Tea. This is good stuff, Maynard. (Points for knowing that reference.)
Deb
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Tuesday, June 2, 2009
Interesting
I really should go to bed as I was up early, but I was reading the news feeds and this article struck me. I should also pill Betsy and Rascal and I guess reading the feeds is one way to avoid doing it.
For those who don't want to go to the link, the article is entitled "Half of all Friends Replaced Every 7 Years". Here is a of pull-out which give the essence of the article.
"Sociologist Gerald Mollenhorst of Utrecht University in the Netherlands...conducted a survey of 1,007 people ages 18 to 65, and then contacted the participants seven years later. From the original group, 604 people were re-interviewed. The survey contained questions such as: Who do you talk with, regarding personal issues? Who helps you with DIY in your home? Who do you pop by to see? Where did you get to know that person? And where do you meet that person now?
The results showed that personal network sizes remained stable, but that many members of the network were new. About 30 percent of discussion partners and practical helpers had the same position in a typical subject's network seven years later. And only 48 percent were still part of the network. This finding goes against previous research which had showed that social network sizes are shrinking."
I'm thinking, as I look through my address book, his idea is reasonably spot on. I don't make close friends quickly. I tend to keep people at arm's length until an incident or just time itself has allowed us to get to know each other better. Then, I'm very loyal. The friends I've known for a long time will tell you we've "had words" with each other, even come to the point of thinking our friendship wasn't worth saving.
But I was told by a therapist when I was going through my divorce that ALL relationships go through a rocky period. It's what you do when the friendship gets to those rocks that defines where it's going to go. If one or both of you put no stock in any part of the friendship, it won't survive even the smallest of hurts. If you do value the other person, you will find the kernel that keeps you together through the very rough patches.
Remember the movie, "The Seven Year Itch"? A devoted husband is tempted by a neighbor who happens to be Marilyn Monroe. The movie is based on the premise that the hardest year of a marriage is year #7. I remember in one of my philosophy classes in college, the teacher mentioned that it's not just a premise and it's not just in marriages. Conversations have a "7 minute cool down". After 7 minutes, there is a natural pause. She always waited until the class naturally came to that point and then started class. It got so we would try to talk through it but would fail. She said friendships have a "rule of 7". If you can last through year number 7, it will be a life-long friendship. But it does go back to how much are you willing to work to keep going through the natural adversity and the natural human-ness of life.
So here's to my friends, old and new, who have seen me through college, marriage, work, child, work, divorce and now middle age. Regardless of where, in that list, you joined my journey with yours, I hope we can and will work through those pot holes inevitable in any journey.
Beverage: Nothing as I'm going to bed after I pill the cats.
Deb
If ever I run out of ideas....
My friend, Patt, sent me the following list...
June is:
• Aquarium Month
• Candy Month
• Dairy Month
• Fight the Filthy Fly Month
• Gay Pride Month
• National Accordion Awareness Month
• National Adopt a Cat Month
• National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month
• Rose Month
• Turkey Lovers Month
I don't know where she got this but this is excellent! So, I'm going to make Turkey Burgers with a side salad and for dessert have chocolate covered strawberries with non-aerosol whipped cream while listening to Frankie Yankovic and his orchestra. On the table will be a half-dozen roses in water as the fly swatter hangs nearby to assault one of those awful bugs.
If you are so inclined to help a cat during the month but don't want the expense of adoption, you could send Best Friends Animal Society , Alley Cat Allies or your local no-kill animal shelter a donation in honor of the month. I have supported Best Friends for years.
I found this while trying to decide what to do about aquariums. "Britain’s leading animal psychologist Dr Roger Mugford said: “It’s a well known fact, that watching fish can have a positive impact on human emotions – especially when feeling tense. This is why you often see aquariums in dentists’ and doctors’ surgeries..." I thought most pets had a calming influence on their owners.
And I guess for the one celebration I haven't acknowledged, I should try to find that guy from last Thursday and tell him I really don't bear him any ill will, take him to the animal shelter and get him a kitty and a bag of gummi fish. Would that work? And Daniel, April and Perry.....
DON'T SAY IT!!!!!!!
(Yes, you can laugh and...oh well...okay, post it in the comments cuz I know it's coming.)
Beverage: Dr. Pepper but with a cough drop, it takes like Cheracol D cough syrup.
Deb
June is:
• Aquarium Month
• Candy Month
• Dairy Month
• Fight the Filthy Fly Month
• Gay Pride Month
• National Accordion Awareness Month
• National Adopt a Cat Month
• National Fresh Fruit and Vegetables Month
• Rose Month
• Turkey Lovers Month
I don't know where she got this but this is excellent! So, I'm going to make Turkey Burgers with a side salad and for dessert have chocolate covered strawberries with non-aerosol whipped cream while listening to Frankie Yankovic and his orchestra. On the table will be a half-dozen roses in water as the fly swatter hangs nearby to assault one of those awful bugs.
If you are so inclined to help a cat during the month but don't want the expense of adoption, you could send Best Friends Animal Society , Alley Cat Allies or your local no-kill animal shelter a donation in honor of the month. I have supported Best Friends for years.
I found this while trying to decide what to do about aquariums. "Britain’s leading animal psychologist Dr Roger Mugford said: “It’s a well known fact, that watching fish can have a positive impact on human emotions – especially when feeling tense. This is why you often see aquariums in dentists’ and doctors’ surgeries..." I thought most pets had a calming influence on their owners.
And I guess for the one celebration I haven't acknowledged, I should try to find that guy from last Thursday and tell him I really don't bear him any ill will, take him to the animal shelter and get him a kitty and a bag of gummi fish. Would that work? And Daniel, April and Perry.....
DON'T SAY IT!!!!!!!
(Yes, you can laugh and...oh well...okay, post it in the comments cuz I know it's coming.)
Beverage: Dr. Pepper but with a cough drop, it takes like Cheracol D cough syrup.
Deb
Monday, June 1, 2009
Mortality
Such a weighty subject for a Monday, but it's on my mind. My friends, April and Perry, had to make "the" decision regarding their cat, Jenny. After a couple months of weight loss, dehydration, diarrhea and general lethargy, their vet found a tumor today in her abdomen. This would be the source of the troubles. It was inoperable and Jenny probably would not have survived surgery had it been easily removed. She was at 4 pounds. Cats start to lose muscle mass when they get below 5 pounds and toxins build up in their livers.
I know this because, since February, I've been battling to keep Betsy alive. Her weight has somewhat stabilized at just under 6 pounds but she needs every other day fluids and I just don't have the money for that. So, on Wednesday, I will go have our favorite technician, Val, help me again to learn to give her fluids on my own, at home, in the bathroom.
For April and Perry, the choice wasn't really a choice. Jenny was suffering and as much as we miss them, it's unfair of us not to want what's best for them, even if it means letting them go where we cannot follow. Having had to do that twice myself, the pain of loss isn't eased by knowing you're doing the right thing. They went to say, "Goodbye" and, as they were doing just that, she passed away.
This comes on the heels of my friend, Jon, having to end his cat, Oreo's, suffering. Oreo had "Fip". Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a progressive and ultimately fatal disease of cats caused by a mutated coronavirus. Fluid builds up in the chest and abdomen and the cat suffers before succumbing to heart failure.
And last night, my Rascal became very ill. Rascal hasn't been the medical headache her mother has. But she has gradually, over the course of 6 months, lost half her body weight. She doesn't look bad at all and the vet said she has a wonderfully soft and elegant coat. She probably has a bladder or urinary tract infection because I found bloody urine on the floor where Rascal had just been. They took blood and will call me tomorrow with results.
And, yes, I went to the doctor today. His verdict is that my allergies have taken over but the length of time that I've had this laryngitis is cause for alarms. I have an antibiotic to kill anything that might be messing up my sinuses, which aren't full, and a nasal spray to help stop the drainage down the back of my throat.
So I find myself, dear reader, contemplating the ending of life, not necessarily my own, although I find myself hoping that when it's my turn to cross over the rainbow bridge that I can be allowed to do so as comfortably and surrounded by people who love me as the four of us have given to our pets who have passed over. Everything, everything has a beginning and an end, from the microbe causing my illness to the vastness of the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. All end. Nothing is forever.
As I prepare for bed in a few minutes, I have to figure out how to pill Rascal. She's in the middle of the bed. Betsy is sleeping at the upper left side. How am I to fit into this? But, in reality, that's a minor irritation to loving them both and doing what's right for and by them. If you've ever been unconditionally loved by something with four legs and a tail you know that we will fit ourselves into their bed because of the huge intangibles they give back to us.
Beverage: cold English Breakfast tea
Deb
I know this because, since February, I've been battling to keep Betsy alive. Her weight has somewhat stabilized at just under 6 pounds but she needs every other day fluids and I just don't have the money for that. So, on Wednesday, I will go have our favorite technician, Val, help me again to learn to give her fluids on my own, at home, in the bathroom.
For April and Perry, the choice wasn't really a choice. Jenny was suffering and as much as we miss them, it's unfair of us not to want what's best for them, even if it means letting them go where we cannot follow. Having had to do that twice myself, the pain of loss isn't eased by knowing you're doing the right thing. They went to say, "Goodbye" and, as they were doing just that, she passed away.
This comes on the heels of my friend, Jon, having to end his cat, Oreo's, suffering. Oreo had "Fip". Feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) is a progressive and ultimately fatal disease of cats caused by a mutated coronavirus. Fluid builds up in the chest and abdomen and the cat suffers before succumbing to heart failure.
And last night, my Rascal became very ill. Rascal hasn't been the medical headache her mother has. But she has gradually, over the course of 6 months, lost half her body weight. She doesn't look bad at all and the vet said she has a wonderfully soft and elegant coat. She probably has a bladder or urinary tract infection because I found bloody urine on the floor where Rascal had just been. They took blood and will call me tomorrow with results.
And, yes, I went to the doctor today. His verdict is that my allergies have taken over but the length of time that I've had this laryngitis is cause for alarms. I have an antibiotic to kill anything that might be messing up my sinuses, which aren't full, and a nasal spray to help stop the drainage down the back of my throat.
So I find myself, dear reader, contemplating the ending of life, not necessarily my own, although I find myself hoping that when it's my turn to cross over the rainbow bridge that I can be allowed to do so as comfortably and surrounded by people who love me as the four of us have given to our pets who have passed over. Everything, everything has a beginning and an end, from the microbe causing my illness to the vastness of the black hole at the center of our Milky Way galaxy. All end. Nothing is forever.
As I prepare for bed in a few minutes, I have to figure out how to pill Rascal. She's in the middle of the bed. Betsy is sleeping at the upper left side. How am I to fit into this? But, in reality, that's a minor irritation to loving them both and doing what's right for and by them. If you've ever been unconditionally loved by something with four legs and a tail you know that we will fit ourselves into their bed because of the huge intangibles they give back to us.
Beverage: cold English Breakfast tea
Deb
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