I’ve had two days filled with mishaps and all sorts of would-be-funny-if-it-weren’t-happening-to-me moments. I take my own meals to school (now work) to avoid the lines and the expense. This usually works well, I need to have something on hand because all the food places on campus are a  30 minute walk away from where I am located, and I don’t have a real break, so I need to take advantage of any lulls. Yesterday, I was doing just that, so I went to the kitchen to heat up my dinner… and I dropped it. Not a drop could be saved.

So that was mishap #1. Mishap #2 occurred this afternoon and it was awful.

Before leaving for work, I noticed that a storm was brewing. I assumed I was heading away from the storm, but I was really heading right into it. In fact, the worst of it seemed to be located right where I was going. I could see all the lightning and I started doing that counting thing (you know, the one where you count the seconds between the spark and the sound to determine the distance of the storm). There was no pause between strikes, I was right in the middle of it. I was just trying to beat it, hoping to get into the Center before it strengthened. No such luck. I was trapped in my car for 20 minutes, near panicking with the lightning and the rain and the gales that kept shaking my terribly shaky little car, until I decided to risk it and make a dash across the parking lot. And landed in calf-high water when I stepped out. I was soaked. Wet wet wet. Soggy shoes, socks, and pants (not to mention the parts of me that my miniscule umbrella was unable to cover while I waded through the lake that was the parking lot). I was saved because the office was warm today. Wet and freezing would have been too much. I am sure I looked quite comical splashing and yelling (there were a number of “bloody hells” and perhaps a few “arrs” — I channel britcoms and pirate movies when peeved), but I was too wet to find the humor in it.

I tried to intall my CS3 only to find that my little old desktop was too weak to handle it–meaning, I had too little RAM on it to manage the installation. I had a moment where I thought it was all at an end until I recovered from my momentary brain lapse and remembered that I had installed RAM on my old desktop (dearly departed these last 5 years) when I was 14. I figured if I was able to do it when I was a kid, I could certainly do it now that I’m older and “wiser”. So I did and here we are, working at speeds the likes of which this old compy has never experienced. Luckily, Best Buy had a sale on PNY 1GB memory . I just hope the upgrade isn’t too much of a shock to Moony (it is an older model, but I refuse to give it up for a crappy Vista system).

It’s been a long day, but I haven’t been this wide awake and excited in weeks… I just “finished” what will be the third chapter of my thesis. Of course, it won’t be finished until it’s been read, edited, read, edited countless times, but I feel much more confident about this one than I felt about the last one (which wasn’t awful, it just didn’t turn out the way I wanted). I actually managed to stick to my self-imposed deadline, despite the week that I lost because of the mystery pains and the headachy madness. I start at the new job this week, so I need to be able to continue sticking to my deadlines if I plan to finish the first draft of the manuscript by August

I got the job! The interview went really well and I start next week.

At least that’s taken care of.

Mystery pain # 1 has multiplied. Mystery pain # 2 is now located above my left hip… somewhere on the inside . I definitely don’t trust the diagnosis that I received at the hospital. Looking back on it, I think the only reason I didn’t object at the moment, just signed my release forms and went on my not-so-merry way, was because I had been up for over 24 hours and just didn’t think to say anything contrary. Esophagitis, this is not. Which is why I went to see my primary doc today, and find that I am no more pleased with his diagnosis. Or the suggested exams… I’m starting to convince myself that they really are just gas pains much to my chagrin. I’m going to try an infusion of star anise tonight to see if that helps (it’s supposed to be good for gas pains, which are supposed to be absolutely awful… and if these are indeed gas pains, I totally agree.).

On a brighter note, I may possibly have a job soon. I’ve got a sort of interview, at least. It might be a job for the Fall semester (I work at a university), but it will be a welcome relief if I can look forward to a regular paycheck while I finish up my thesis.

In the meantime, in light of my current unemployed state, I got myself a final treat with the birthday cash that I received last week and bought myself a copy of Adobe CS3 for a shockingly reduced rate - being a student has its perks (as I got it on a student license from the uni for 87% off the retail price ). After this, not one more purchase!

The birthday brunch was a success, everyone mingled nicely and we all followed it up with movie-time at Em’s place . Speaking of Em, Miss Creative Gift Giver added a lovely new Momiji doll to my collection: Higledy-Pigeldy (the one on the far right)

So, I spent the first half of my birthday in an emergency room and the second half asleep. I went in thinking that I would rather get it over with and have all the tests done at once, than go through a series of visits with specialists and drive all over town getting tests done. Seemed like a good plan, except they diagnosed me with Acid Reflux, and I don’t actually have any of the symptoms listed in the post-treatment info sheet. I have abdominal pain, but it’s not heartburn and it’s nowhere near my esophagus. They also said it might be an ulcer (somewhat more likely, but I still have my doubts) but I’ll have to see a specialist to know for sure. In the end, I’m back where I started and $100 short. Good grief .

I have been terribly dizzy for the last two days. I have a strange pain in my side, and I keep getting chills. I tried to put it off, but I’m going in to the ER tonight. I didn’t want to spend my birthday in the hospital, but it looks like there is no other choice, unless I want the mystery pain to get worse.

Michelle of everlasting-peace.org was kind enough to let me adopt the “Wizarding World” fanlisting from her. I was very excited and decided to try something different with the header, so I went for a bubbly look…

62442: The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Fanlisting

After many failed attempts, we finally managed to get Crookshanks (one of our outdoor kitties) to go to the vet. A few months ago he developed this weird growth in his ear and, though it only looked like an infection at first, it turned into a nasty bloody mass rather quickly. Since he’s an outdoor cat, getting him into a carrier was a trial, and we ended up having to ask the vet for a sedative to calm him down before we could take him in for a visit.

The test results came back and the vet says he has FIV (feline aids) in addition to the tumor in his ear. The lab tests for cancer haven’t returned yet, but they wanted me to decide whether they should put him to sleep because of the FIV, or proceed with the ear surgery and hope for the best. It was a tough decision to make under pressure, but I decided to let them go through with the surgery. I’ve read that cats can live for years with FIV and do just fine; and he’s such a young cat, I’m hopeful and think that he’ll recover once the tumor has been removed and he can eat without pain. He’s so sweet-tempered and silly, I didn’t think it right to euthanize him if he’s still strong and healthy. Aside from the ear, he’s fine. It’s just that the growth was so large that he could barely eat. With that gone, he should improve.

Update

Surgery went well, so he’s home now, but still sedated and very weak. I hate seeing him like that, unable to stand and move around — it reminds me of when Didymus was ill a few years ago, before we knew that he has diabetes and he was wasting away fast. The vet said the growth went deep into his ear, so they had to go inside to get it out. He’ll be in pain for a few days and we have to watch to make sure that he doesn’t remove his stitches if he scratches himself.