Thursday, August 31, 2006

GOLFING!


Last Friday, nine of us from work (eight men and me... is that like "Three Men and a Baby?"), left work around 12:30ish and went golfing! I was a bit nervous, mostly because I haven't been on a golf course since sometime in Spring 2000. The closest I've been to golfing since then has been to the driving range... and I hadn't even done that in a while. I thought it would / could be a lot of fun though... and I always had the option of giving up out of sheer frustration, or they could tell me, "Amy, you suck, please stop playing!" I then would have the fun of just cruising around in the cart for a few hours. :)

I had the best time!! I only played the first nine holes, and I "scored" an 80. The great time I had made it worth every one of those 80 hits. Nice job, eh? hahaha My threesome-mates were the best... no heckling... only encouragement and patience on their part. I have already thanked them both for that... along with the rest of the guys.

The picture above is of two of the threesomes (exluding me of course)... on the 10th hole. I was getting ready to leave, they were getting ready to play on, and the first threesome was already off and rolling way ahead. (My threesome-mates: 2nd from the left and far right.)

Another Surgery for Holden

Tuesday night, I went to take Holden out of his cage for some more playtime and to fill up his food dish, and his face was bleeding. What the ???? I tried not to freak out, but, well... I was freaking out. I tried everything I have read on stopping the bleeding on rats, and even what I've read about for my birds. Nothing stopped it... not to mention, his obsession / compulsion to keep scratching at it!

After over an hour of trying to stop the bleeding, and trying to get a poorly fitting E-collar (yes, those collars that you see on cats and dogs after surgeries and such) to stay on his head, I gave up... off we went, at 9:45pm, to the Emergency Vet Clinic. (Need I mention that it's $75 to walk
in the door between 5:30pm and midnight?!)

Holden and I fell asleep in the examination room at one point while we were waiting... me sitting upright with my head against the wall, and Holden on my left sholder.

Anyway, we were there until about 11:30 or so, and he left with an E-collar on and a very messy face. I denied more treatment, due to their seeming lack of knowledge on rats and how to sedate them... I checked on him several times throughout the night and took him to his "regular" Vet (Dr. Joe Bock) first thing in the morning for treatment.

Turns out, the little brown dot that was on his cheek since I got him was part of a cyst! This shocked me, as it wasn't even raised... more of a
freckle or a mole. Holden had scratched the cyst into drainage! ACK! He had to go under general anesthesia and have the cyst removed (nothing worrisome was found underneath the surface), and received four stitches on his little tiny face. I wonder if he feels like he's a "tough guy" now... w/ the big shaven scar on his face? haha Poor little guy!

He's been with me for a month, and he's already had two surgeries, which bums me out a bit. (Though the neutering was elective...)

He's doing great now... he's leaving the sutures alone, and I didn't have to put the E-collar back on... thank goodness!

Tuesday, August 15, 2006

Sites in the Sky

Sunday morning, before taking a long walk on the Goose Creek Bike Path.
(Beautiful day!)


Saturday, August 05, 2006

I've Been "Bundled"

I just got, for the first time EVER... BROADBAND INTERNET! Woo hoo! *happy dance* I've always had good 'ole fashion dial-up. I also got "Enhanced Cable" with the On Demand feature (seems pretty cool so far), and VOIP phone service.

Toys, toys, and more toys! Time to go try the others now that I've played with the Internet connection a bit. Wow, it's speedy! =D

** UPDATE ** It's been 5 hrs. since my installation, and the cable is not working already! GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! So, I either have to watch "regular" cable in my room, as I am now, or go watch a DVD on the couch. I'm so pissed! A Technician will be here again tomorrow... oh joy.

New Addition - Holden


My heart continues to break for the losses of my ratties as of late, and I also continue to grieve and heal. I have no plan to replenish the number of ratties that I had a year ago (8 total), my plan is a more manageable number... two or three. And, I know that none of my ratties can be "replaced" when they go... it just won't happen.

Anyway, an opportunity presented itself to me on Wed. of this past week. A college girl that I am aquainted with, through our local "rat lovers" community, needed to find forever homes for three of her beloved ratties... all boys... 3 mos., 6 mos., and 8 mos. in age.

I was VERY hesitant, but she offered for me to "come see them, if only just for fun." I thought this was a great idea... I'm always happy to see ratties! haha And, I know that she has 16 others, and I was curious to see those as well. (I know me, so I brought alone a small travel cage... JUST IN CASE.)

Needless to say, I have a new member of my "furkid" family. He's 3 mos. old, he's a Berkshire rattie with ruby eyes, and I have named him Holden, from "Catcher in the Rye." What a doll he is! We've been doing a lot of bonding, and it couldn't be going any better. In just 2 days he's already figured out how the others are "trained." (I call their names, thump a couple times in one spot, and they know it's time to come to that spot and I put them back into their cages). He's so smart. I thought it would take a while to teach him this behavior, but he got it right away! :)

Holden has an appt. at the Vet for next Friday... he is being neutered... so that he can then live with the three girlies, rather than alone, as all of my other boys have. It should work out nicely. My other remaining boy will continue to live alone... (he's getting old and is very grumpy).

By Boat or by Train?

It is not so much that the boat passed
and you failed to notice it.
It's more like the boat stopping
directly outside your bedroom window,
the captain blowing the signal-horn,
the band playing a rousing march.
The boat shouted, waving bright flags,
it's silver hull blinding in the sunlight.
But you had this idea you were going by train.
You kept checking the time-table,
digging for tracks.
And the boat got tired of you,
so tired it pulled up the anchor
and raised the ramp.
The boat bobbed in the distance,
shrinking like a toy -
at which point you probably realized
you had always loved the sea.
Naomi Shihab Nye

Out of my Comfort Zone

So I went WAY out of my comfort zone last night, to avoid staying home on yet another Friday night. I went to a play at a local Boulder theatre, and I went by myself. I was nervous, since I'm not a "fan" of going out and doing such activities alone... not to mention, I wouldn't consider myself someone who likes going to plays. A bit of a double-whammy for me to go, but I followed-through (partially because I bought my ticket ahead of time), and at 7:30, off I went.

I admit that I felt a bit awkward, but did a lot of self-talk. I think my awkwardness was obvious when I sat in the top row, end chair. :/ I'm a "back row type-of gal," in most instances... but this was very deliberate. And, well, I had the entire row to myself.

The play was 1 1/2 hrs. long, and it was only mildly entertaining at best. I think that my favorite part, if I had one, was when she (the writer / performer) sang one of my favorite songs, "That I Would be Good, "by Alanis Morissette. This woman was the only person in this play, mind you... the only "character." I'm still unclear as to whether it was fiction or non-fiction... maybe a mixture of both. I think that if it were non-fiction, and I knew this, I would have enjoyed it more. Anywho...

This may have been a breakthrough for me. Maybe I'll go do something else similar, another time, by myself. And maybe if I keep doing this, I'll begin to feel less awkward, less "loserish" about it.

I tried and tried not to compare my situation with everyone else in the audience, but I couldn't help myself. I WAS the only one there alone, and to know that sucked... but I toughed it out and enjoyed myself as much as I could.