Party Weekend

My friend’s retirement party on Friday night was awesome, well besides the annoying logistics of carpooling there. I have a friend who is perpetually late to everything. I think the conclusion I’ve now drawn is that I’m going to stop doing activities with her that require getting somewhere together on time. Next time, my message is: meet us there. Fuck, man. I’m usually pretty laid back about friend stuff, but for some things, I only have so much tolerance. Anyhow, the party itself was grand. I caught up with lots of field staff, and then, it was just a really touching affair. Lifelong friendships are really something amazing and magical to witness. I’m really happy for my bud. I just hope I still see him around after December 30.

On Saturday, we hosted our holiday party. Good times. I brought back the Morton’s pot roast from Costco. So fucking easy with roasted/caramelized veggies and always a winner. People brought great sides too. A bunch of maybes ended up not coming, so it was small turnout but a great time nonetheless. I wore a striped H&M dress that G saved from the giveaway pile. I paired it with my new studded ankle boots. Very fun.

Remy is doing better. She’s able to get herself up now with more consistency. The doggie door is still iffy, but I can just tell she’s getting her sass and spunk back. I am feeling much better now about being away for a few days.

I was back at the ranch riding yesterday. Shit, I had quite the workout. I’m still having issues with my locked/uptight torso but whatever. The night before, I studied some YouTube vids of people posting and on Sunday, I was determined to apply my mental skills training with concentration and uber focus. The lesson was good. Afterwards, I took the horse on the trail, and my goodness, he was hy-per!! All that winter alfalfa is pumping him up. I had a rather bumpy, fast ride down the trail. It was a lot of fun. I’m crazy like that: I kinda crave the borderline dangerous/fast/falling-out-of-the-saddle feeling. Livin’ on the edge, man!

Damn Good Day!

Well, today was a pretty damn good day. After my posting on Wednesday reporting that Remy was doing stellar, Thursday turned around and bit me in the ass. Remy was getting her groove back, and then bam! She regressed and had stability issues again. I couldn’t sleep Thursday night, thinking that I was going to have to put her down before Christmas. Today, she slept in really late, but when I got the leash out, she wanted to go out, so we walked around the front yard in the grass. She didn’t make it to the park, but she walked and sniffed around the lawn, and back inside we played our hide and seek treat game. (Basically, I toss crumbs all over the living room, and she forces herself up to search them out.) In the afternoon, she came into my home office a few times to check in and sleep.

Goddamn, I love Remy so much. I really wish she could live forever. She’s such a good girl. I left a message for the vet this afternoon to see why she might have regressed and to ask if there was anything more I could do to make her more comfortable. They said that she’s on quite a bit of medication now, so she shouldn’t be regressing… My only hope is that we simply overdid it on the exercise on Wednesday, and she was sore Thursday. I dunno. Wishfully hoping, I suppose.

In other news, I found out that I almost missed the deadline for quiz #3 of my marketing class. You see, normally, the quizzes happen every three weeks, but with this last one, it was only two weeks. Whatever. I did it this afternoon and scored an A. I’m a nerd that way. This is our last week of lectures, and then the final exam is next week!

I got the best news ever  this afternoon (regarding the ranch). I followed up with the YMCA program director, whom I had met earlier this week. He got the green light from his boss, and now they’re thinking to book FOUR weeks instead of the original TWO!! I am so thrilled. Gotta finish the year off strong, you know?

I’m also making strides this week with info interviews. I have one lined up on Monday with a very prestigious foundation just down the street. Then, I’m scheduling another one after Christmas with a different foundation, also not far from home. Time to get this whip crackin’, you know?

Tonight, I’m going to my friend’s retirement party for work. 33 years. I’m taking lentil soup and butternut squash/spinach lasagna. I hope people eat it all up! Party time.

Miraculous Remy

I am feeling so much better now about Remy. Today, I got her to go in and out of the doggie door. Yay! Only one time, and she doesn’t like it, but I just want it to be doable in case she really needs to go to the bathroom late at night. The second painkiller, Gabipentin seems to be working well. Right now, I have her pee around midnight, and then she’s pretty much knocked out til about 7a.

In case you’re curious about her progress, I do have some video. Check out the Remy playlist on YouTube. Originally, I’d shot the footage to show the vet. The ones on December 4 are about three days after taking the anti-inflammatory alone. The one from today is after a week on the anti-inflammatory + 2 pain killers + supplements. Pretty notable turnaround, right? Remy’s immortal!! 🙂

Jugglin’

Geez, I was so good about blogging daily for a month, and then once NaBloPoMo ended, I really slacked off quickly, eh? Well, in my defense, shit’s been cray!

It’s now been just over a week since Remy’s latest brush with death. She is continuing on the anti-inflammatory med meloxicam + the pain reliever tramadol, but yesterday, after we called the doctor to say that Remy was still not steady enough to be left alone, the doctor added a second pain reliever, gabipentin. Today Remy is doing so much better! She even came to my bedside to wake me up. Her hind left leg is still weaker than the others, but we made it to the park and back without me having to carry her part way. She is also back to her old curious self. This morning, when I didn’t see her in the living room or in the bedroom, I started to panic, but she was in the kitchen scrounging around for crumbs. Silly dog.

Yeah, after the vet told me last week to continue exercising her to prevent muscle atrophy, I’ve had Remy on a program. I find her to be quite driven by treats, so even when she was still really weak , I just threw mini-treats all over the living room and kitchen to force her to get up and exercise to go after the tasties. Haha, I’m always making the pups work for food! Remy is kinda “special needs” right now, but I hope we’ll have a decent plan in place by the time we head back east. Fingers crossed.

Work-wise, I did a ton of follow-up calls last week for the ranch. I think I’m getting some bites even! Tomorrow, the program director for the YMCA is visiting the ranch to meet with us: he’s interested in booking two weeks of summer camps for kids. I’ve been preparing some materials and such. Gotta bring out the big guns, you know? I’m hoping to get a couple of city clients and the YMCA under my belt before year end. We’ll see.

The weekend was pretty good. On Saturday, John finished sanding my Adirondack chair for the backyard. Now I can paint it and have both painted chairs reunited. Saturday night, J & J came down with their friend M, and all of us when to the SJ Improv– always a sure bet for hearty laughs. On Sunday, I got back in the saddle. I am having issues again with my torso being too stiff. Fucking A. I had so many weeks of good riding, and now I’m back to being a robot sitting on a horse. Ugh. The horses are looking great though. I think they are brushing them more, and now that it’s winter, the coats are thicker and softer. Chip was so velvety and beautiful. The staff are also cleaning up the ranch a bit– they do small steps every day, and sure enough, after a couple weeks, you can see substantial differences! After riding, I met up with my bud B, and we hit the mall. Super, super packed. She circled around for 20 minutes before finding parking!! It was a successful trip: I scored a black/white striped top and black skinny jeans, which I’d been seeking for months.

John and I also found a couple of new food joints in our area. We tried a new Asian shaved snow place by the train station. Pretty tasty but too cold for winter. Then last night we found a Neapolitan pizza place. Super yummy with delicious spaghetti carbonara and cannoli too!

This week is looking pretty busy. My Coursera marketing class wraps. Also, I have that meeting tomorrow. Then, I need to re-visit corpo targets for the ranch. I also want to start getting my apps out for jobs. Need to just start churning stuff out. Remy patrol continues. Yup, all hands on deck now for the 2013 homestretch.

NaBloPoMo Ends Today!

Well, I did it! Thirty days of blogging. Yippee! I’m not sure if I’ll continue, beyond this one-month mark but hey, it was kinda fun. I mean, I like writing, so I guess it wasn’t really that hard to just do something I enjoy every day…

So Remy update. The temps last night dipped below freezing, and even though I put her next to a heater, she seemed really achy again. We didn’t make it to the park at all. In the afternoon,  I called the vet to inquire about the meds. For example, at what point should I start to see the max positive effect of the drugs? After 3 days? After one week? I had to ask the tech the question a couple times, but it seems like a pretty straight-forward inquiry to me. You know, like you have an ailment. You take meds. There’s some improvement. Is the improvement supposed to keep ramping up over time as you take the meds longer, or does it plateau at a certain point. So she called me back, and the vet said one week on the  Meloxicam + Tramadol combo. By Sunday, it will be five days, and I hope that’ll be a good enough read. In the meantime, the vet said to keep exercising her so the muscles don’t atrophy and to add glucosamine. The pet stores are already closed, so I ordered on Amazon and they arrive tomorrow. Gotta love Amazon. I guess I could have gotten it in the morning, but eh, I’m a unabomber these days.

Today I had an info interview with someone who now works at Duke. She was super, super helpful. She’s been going through her own exploratory process, so she suggested a few personal dev/growth books and just shared some really helpful insights and observations about foundation work. I’m so thankful. We talked for TWO hours. Tomorrow I hope to go forth implementing some of her suggestions.

Progress

When Remy got up this morning, she really had a tough time. Her left hind leg just kept giving out, such that every time she would walk, the whole lower half of her body would just start to curl and tuck to the left. It was not good. After showing progress the day before, this seemed like a bad sign. But I proceeded as discussed with the vet: Remy had taken Meloxicam for three days, and now it was time to introduce the Tramadol. I fed her and then gave her the meds. By late morning, she was still hobbling, but shit, she got herself up, and somehow we managed to walk to the park!! Woohoo. When we got there, she was super tuckered, so we copped a squat and just enjoyed the sunshine for 20 minutes. Then we headed home. She still sniffs the park grasses– she seemed to enjoy herself. By evening, she looked better– still weak but moving, which is such a relief. We’re not out of the woods yet, but I’m hopeful. My little Bembo is so fucking tough!

In the afternoon, I left the house to drop off Adamo at the UPS store. The store happened to be across the street from Target, so of course, that necessitated a pit stop. I just scored some basics. Shit there can be so cheap when on sale!!

A few of my friends got sick over Thanksgiving, and that was enough to get me to the clinic for a flu shot. Omg, sitting in that waiting room surrounded by screaming kids, my throat suddenly felt scratchy. Ugh. Afterwards, I made another stop at the office. I know, I was just there yesterday, but it’s right next door to my doctor’s office. Plus, I had to drop off some mail for M. Well, an hour later, I was still stuck there catching up with people… I really like the people there, but sometimes I just feel kinda like I’m disrupting their work zone… plus, it feels a little weird to have left but then to be there regularly for fun, right??

For dinner, I tried a new Skinnytaste recipe: curry chicken. After having tried a number of their more savory, sauce-like dishes, John and I have concluded that we need to go elsewhere for those heartier dishes. These last few ones I have cooked are just too damn soupy and bland. Note to self.

I’m still following up with ranch contacts. Goddamn, I hope people start registering for shit. Come on, peeps!! Get those kids in horse camps and lessons already!!

Ok well I have my twelfth info interview tomorrow with a lady who now works at Duke, of all places. Small world, right? I also tidied the house up a bit tonight. We decided to host a party next Saturday, so I gotta start clearing my clutter. I swear to god, the work just never ends. I’m pooped. That said, I’m looking forward to tomorrow when Remy will be back to her old self. Maybe. 🙂

Catching Up with My Peeps

I went to the office today to meet some former co-workers for lunch. It’s always a weird feeling being back at the office. I feel like I’m running out of ways to respond when people ask me what I’m doing. I feel like I have to justify my non-working status. Then, when I stand in the lobby by the mail cabinet, I have to catch myself several times, because my body like automatically wants to open the drawer and check for any mail! Same thing with the sign-in sheet. Argh, stop it! I don’t work there anymore!!!

Lunch with my friends was good. We tried a new Himalayan restaurant in the area. Both friends recently bought houses, so we checked out one of their places. She had just finished remodeling. That house shit is amazing. You know me: I love the before and after transformation.

Remy is doing better today. She is able to get herself up, but the walking is still really challenging. I’m so thankful to be home most of the day, so I can monitor her and open the side door whenever she needs to go to the bathroom. Tomorrow, I plan to introduce the tramadol pain killer to the melloxicam anti-inflammatory, and then I’m really crossing my fingers for the synergistic effect by the weekend. My Remy is the toughest cookie ever.

In the evening, T came over for dinner. I served a sampling of all my dishes from the last few days. I called it “leftover tapas.” I think she was impressed. Haha. We went for a walk… damn Fitbit. Everyone’s fallen off of the program. I have no fucking idea how I managed to clock like 13k steps a day when I was working. Nowadays, I’m lucky if I clock a couple thousand. How quickly things change. Speaking of which, I was looking in the mirror yesterday, and goddamn my arms are flabby. Fucking A. You let up for a few months and bam, shit slides. So now I have a little dumbell on my desk. I’m trying to do that slow weight-lifting thing to combat the muscular atrophy. Yes, it’s my lazy woman’s version of exercise!

On tap for tomorrow? Remy patrol. More hustlin’: ranch follow-ups and info interview research. I have my twelfth info interview scheduled for Thursday.

A Day at a Time

I didn’t sleep well again last night… I know, what’s new, right? John stayed out in the living room with the pups, and then he fell asleep. He’s such a deep sleeper, that hubby. In the middle of the night, I heard Martin scratching his bed like crazy, trying to fluff it up. From the bedroom, I didn’t know it was him, but I knew I had to check just in case he or Remy was stuck and panicking. Yeah, it was just Martin being particular about his pillow. Later, I heard Remy whimpering. Did John hear any of this? Nope.

In the morning, Remy was doing a tad bit better. She was actually getting herself up, but goddamn, her walking/movement looks uncomfortable. She’s not able to use the doggie door now either, so she cries by the door. Poor thing. She made it outside to pee, but inside John found two turds in the living room.

I put down additional carpeting, but today she just wanted to stay in the living room. The house looks like a mess right now with all the random carpeting, but oh well. What can I do?

I guess, honestly speaking, I’m a little disappointed by her progress today. She IS better, but I dunno: when I read that stuff online, people were like witnessing miracles. In the end, I suppose the facts are the facts: She is almost 16. There were some really old dogs mentioned online, but most were still a few years younger… Like Marty’s age. Huge difference. I’d say, for the most part, Remy was smooth sailing and it really has been the last year and a half or two years where she’s declined substantially.

So we’re going to see how she does tomorrow and then re-evaluate. I hope that we’ll find a drug combo that works for while we’re away. I hate to leave her like this.

In other news today, I did more marketing classes on Coursera. I also did some online shopping/browsing. There were tons of Cyber Monday deals out there, especially for travel, but eh, I couldn’t settle on any dates. The clothing deals seemed only so-so, not spectacular. But the news is reporting promising holiday sales figures so far…

This weekend I received an email from a coworker. He was just wishing me a nice holiday. I replied last night that Remy wasn’t doing so well. Then this morning, I got a text message from someone else at work. She had heard from the first person that Remy was having trouble. It was nice of her to check in. I’m still a bit in my “I do all the initiating” funk regarding friendships, so it’s nice to know what someone is thinking about me without being prompted/harassed. I’m going to see her tomorrow for lunch.

Well I think I’m hitting the sack early today. I’m feeling kinda drained. Just a few more days left for NaBloPoMo!! Yippee!

Hoping for Some Remy Magic

John and I had a great time on our mini trip up to Sonoma. We went to the outlets, scored some deals, ate some incredible meals… Unfortunately, by Saturday night, our minds were kinda preoccupied with Remy. On Sunday, we headed home shortly after checking out. No heated swimming pool or bathhouse ritual this time. Oh well. When we got home, Remy still wasn’t able to get herself up. She could take a few wobbly steps after I lifted her back end up, but this was just not going to fly. I mean, she has to be able to walk!

I called N thinking maybe I was going to have to put Remy down soon, but N didn’t sound worried at all. She suggested some meds (we’ve only tried a few before for mild discomfort). Now, we’re at level 10, and we hadn’t even explored all the options apparently. After my call with N, I researched online and I found all these postings about people getting ready to put down their dogs because of immobility and then some miracle drug brought them back to life– like to the point of running and bouncing around at the dog park!! So I felt better, and then we took her to the vet this evening. We had a different doctor than the usual. She was older and seemed really knowledgeable and nice. Poor Remy was trembling the whole time, and she dropped a dukie on the floor.

The doctor recommended an anti-inflammatory med as a first pass; after a few days, I’m supposed to couple it with tramadol and together they are supposed to work synergistically. She said I should see improvement in the next couple days, so I’m hoping for some magic come morning. Stay tuned.

Weekend Escape

Every now and then, a brief out-of-town getaway seems good for John and me. Since this Thanksgiving was going to be quieter than our usual, I made sure to plan some other activities to get us out of house to reconnect and spend some quality time. On Friday, we did that Stanford hike followed by a stand-up comedy show in SJ. Today, we headed up north to the Vacaville Outlets and Sonoma for a quickie trip to wine country.

The trip kinda started off on a late start this morning though. Last night, I didn’t sleep well at all. I had some Thin Mint chocolatey drink at the improv club, so the caffeine from that kept me up until 3. Then, in the middle of the night, I kept hearing Remy shuffling around and letting out a whimper here and there. I repeatedly got in and out of bed to check on her. By morning she was still up for breakfast and a walk in the park, but she looked really uncomfortable. I figured that when we got back to town on Sunday, I would put down some more carpeting in the house, clip her nails, and check in with the vet to see what the options are for discomfort. Her walking is super labored now. This downward progression has seemed to be happening slowly over the last several weeks. I thought maybe the cold nights were making her very stiff, so I started putting her on a heating blanket. John and I decided to continue our trip, but in the late morning, the dog sitter called saying Remy had no strength in her legs. I explained that yeah she seemed weak the night before but when we woke up that morning, she walked to the park. Maybe she was tuckered out from the walk. The sitter called again tonight after dinner, and she seemed worried because she didn’t notice Remy to be drinking water. She had eaten her kibble though, and there were no accidents in the house. But she said Remy appeared alert and could hear and watch– she just couldn’t walk. I asked the sitter to check on Remy in the morning and also mix water in with her breakfast kibble. John and I head home tomorrow.

I’m feeling sad tonight, because this is how things go down, isn’t it? She’s almost 16 y/o. The body has started to go… this is something I have anticipated for a very long while, and yet, a part of me still feels incredulous. How did all those years pass so quickly? And shit, have I been in denial? What if Remy isn’t just uncomfortable but is actually in real pain… And I’ve just let this continue without having a more elaborate conversation with the vet? Maybe I have somehow become desensitized to her discomfort? John says that we should probably re-ask the vet for the joint meds– even if they are bad for her liver, because at the point that she can’t walk, what good is protecting the liver? I hope Remy will be better when we see her again tomorrow.