A lot has happened since we returned from Canada. The good news is that Marty is doing pretty well. We cut back on the frequency of his fluids, bc he is eating consistently and overall looking good. I did start to see some signs that maybe he was getting a bladder infection again (this would be the third time): he was drinking a lot and going outside a lot. Thinking it would be important to nip that shit in the bud, I called the vet. Unfortunately, my usual vet was out, so I spoke with the vet tech for another vet. Holy crap. Talk about trying to shame me. I explained that Marty was 15. Last fall, he had a bladder infection. The doctor also suspected kidney disease, saying kidney failure triggers bladder infections or vice versa. Either way, Marty was on antibiotics for about a month and then it went away. In May, Marty got another bladder infection. Different antibiotics bc the first ones developed a resistance and another month plus of drugs. Meanwhile, each visit to the vet to determine a bladder infection involved charges for the office visit, ultrasound, urine culture, subq fluids, drugs = $650. So this third time around, I asked the vet tech if we could just put him on antibiotics without going in for all that other stuff. The tech essentially refused, stating that the symptoms I was seeing could be the kidney disease and so a full check up plus urinalysis plus additional blood workup was necessary. I explained that we had been through this twice before, he was already getting fluids, eating all his meals… he was otherwise looking good. I didn’t want to go in for all that work bc even if we learned more about the kidney values, I wasn’t planning to do more for Marty beyond what we are currently doing. In other words, I’m not going to put him on dialysis. She proceeded to tell me that even if it’s a UTI, it can be very painful. Look lady, I have had UTIs. He does NOT appear to be in pain. Back and forth, back and forth. “He could be deteriorating fast, and we need to see him.” I could not believe the pressure she was putting on me, insisting that he go in. Whatever, lady. Fuck you. To all her insistence, I just said, “Ok” but in an exaggerated tone where it was obvious I was only saying that to shut her the hell up. Goodbye, asshole.

I then called back and left a voicemail with my regular vet. Two days later, when he was back on shift, we discussed, and he said he was totally fine with trying 2 weeks of antibiotics first to see if that helped. If yes, he would give two more weeks. If not, we might consider taking him in. Done. I was so irritated that the tech tried to bully me. Thankfully, by now I have had lots of experience standing up to bullies but fuck, it really made me feel badly for people who love their pets but don’t have $650 to drop. Keep that shit in perspective, lady!!

So our first weekend back, my bud P drove up from Long Beach to hang. She recently broke up with her boyfriend whom she thought was “the one.” P and I see eye to eye on most things, but sometimes with dating/romantic relationships, we can differ quite a bit in our styles. She was pretty sad about the whole thing. That said, she’s also clear on what she wants, so at least there was some closure. We had a good time hanging out. She applied to one nursing job and got scheduled for an interview the following week. She started asking Bubbey all these questions about interviewing, and I was kind of offended. I mean, here I had spent over a year taking every goddamn job hunting class out there and reading up on how to interview or prep. But she asked Bubbey. I dunno if it’s bc he was in management and he actually conducted a lot of interviews for hiring… sometimes I’m sensitive about men being perceived as more credible, experienced, and authoritative. Whatever.

In a related experience, John had emailed our realtor last week inquiring the status about our townhouse renovation back East. The realtor replied promptly with answers to every item. The next day, I emailed separately inquiring about appliance and energy rebates or tax credits, and the realtor replied like five days later with a dismissive, generic, “Yes, I would think you could qualify for them.” WTF? I wanted to call him out. Hello, do you realize that I’m actually the one who gave you our business? Ugh. I swear to god, just another day in the life of a woman. I let it slide this time, but do not push me.

What else. The weekend P was here, it was hotter than hell. The good news is that it forced us to leave the house in search of air conditioning relief. That led us to the mall. Imagine the role reversal! I actually helped P pick out a casual dress plus some new jewelry! Maybe that means my style sense has held steady. 🙂 We also hit up Pacifica, where we had dinner at a super tasty Peruvian restaurant by the water, followed by bowling. On Sunday, we picnicked at the super chill Hallcrest Vineyards near Bonny Doon, walked under the redwoods canopy at Henry Cowell Park, and then had dinner in Davenport. Temps were only 75 degrees vs. 95 in Mountain View!! It was nice to be reminded of these day-trip options by the water. I’ll have to add them onto our list for future out-of-town guests.