I feel like I've been really busy lately, but I don't feel like I have anything about which to blog. Not that that's going to stop me, so be forewarned: this post will likely only be of interest to people who are me.
Cats are fairly well these days. Dolly continues to yak on an occasional basis, approximately a couple of times each week. Whenever possible, she's been getting her thyroid medicine directly by mouth lately. She had been getting it crushed in her food, but we're concerned bc she doesn't always eat all that food. Now, we do put it into a tiny bit of food, but she still sometimes doesn't finish it. Sometimes she's just too antsy to get pilled. She needs to be sitting fairly still or in a mood such that Kevin and I can array ourselves so that she'll go to her bed for comfort. Then one of us will give her the thyroid medicine or her transdermal flagyl in her ear. I don't think she's losing weight, but it'd be swell if she could just break 7 lb. and then we could spend the next 10 years trying to get her to 8 lb.
The others are okay. Nosey broke 15 lb. recently! I'd be happy if he stayed at 15 lb. although he could certainly regain his prior 16-17 lb. fighting weight. Smudgie's Smudgie...just getting older (along w/Dolly, his littermate). Clara will get some dental work soon. She was radically uncooperative during the last vet visit so blood was not taken. At least not in the usual manner. Edison remains an active kitten. He'll be 1 yo this summer. Right now, he's climbing all over the desk, stepping on the answering machine, walking over buttons...there, he's knocked down the calendar...and now my empty water bottle has fallen prey to his advances. Health-wise, he scoots around on occasion, which usually indicates unexpressed anal glands. Yay. And look! Here's a link bc I know you want to read more about unexpressed anal glands in cats. His butt looks fine, but the glands could look normal yet still be unexpressed. Well, the vet manually expressed Edison's glands during the last visit. Normally, Edison still has this tiny little kitten meow. I heard him yell and thought, 'Wow, he can be loud'. Then he got even louder! Poor thing. I feel bad, not bc he was getting treated, but bc he doesn't understand that it's for his own good, it hurts me more than it hurts him, blah blah blah. Well, he still scoots around -- though with less frequency -- and I'm not entirely convinced that's his problem, or at least all of his problem. He doesn't exhibit pain behavior when scooting. I hope it's merely inconvenient for him.
Speaking of cats, it's so bizarre that Jim Richards, DVM recently died from injuries sustained in a motorcycle crash. He's the director of Cornell's vet college's Feline Health Center, the editor of their newsletter (CatWatch), an expert on a bunch of cat-related stuff, etc. etc. It's bizarre bc the accident was a result of him swerving to avoid a cat that had run into the road. He was only 58 yo. Although I didn't know the guy, I felt a sense of loss anyway. Kinduva sense of loss to the cause. He wrote a regular Q&A column in CatWatch, which I've been receiving and reading for years. His writing sounded very friendly and easygoing. It also seemed obvious that he loooooved cats. The picture by his column showed him with the CatWatch cat (first, Dr. Mew, who died; then his mother's cat, Elizabeth became feline editor) and he always looked so happy in the picture.
I was just chatting tonight at work with a co-worker and a patron about cats. The co-worker is allergic to cats, but finds them beautiful, serene, soothing, etc. The patron has a cat. We all talked cat. Cat chat is so friendly and enthusiastic.
Speaking of work, it seems like the stars have been thoroughly misaligned lately bc I've had some less than positive experiences. Yesterday, a patron stormed out, throwing her library card in the garbage on the way out. Today, I sent two teens from the library for the night for running in and in & out of the library. One said, 'Bite me', so now he's banned for the week. WTF is with these kids who do and say stuff right in front of me or any other staff and then, when you call them on it, they say, 'I didn't do nothin''. I mean, we're a few feet, sometimes inches away from each other and we're looking directly at each other. I'm tempted to ask them just exactly how stupid do they think I am....
I'll admit that I don't always remain as calm and collected as I would like. I've been into the Jeeves & Wooster series lately; I'm thinking I might benefit from using Jeeves as a model of cool reserve when having negative experiences. Now, how exactly would Jeeves respond to 'Bite me'? Sometimes people are so adamant that they returned such-and-such a book...and then they find it under the car seat or it fell behind the sofa. That sort of thing happens to everybody wrt all kinds of things; most people realize that; I don't know why some people get so het up about it and take it almost like an accusation of personal failing. Things get lost. Sometimes they're found, sometimes they never turn up.
The library's Socrates Cafe will be ending soon. I must admit that it has not been what I would have liked it to be. I've tried to get people to talk philosophically about things. Sometimes it works and it's been interesting, but the discussion often gets sidetracked. Very often, I should say. I'm sure there are things I should have done and could have done to make it a better cafe, but I did my best and that's that. It's been roughly a year since the thing started and I'll be happy to take a break from it. I think that some of the regular participants have different yet valid interests and expectations from the cafe. Those interests and expectations don't always jive with a good philosophical discussion. I think it's a social thing for some people, whether they realize it or not. I was very pleased to see some new faces show up after the cafe was listed on meetup.com. But then they didn't come back. Distance was a factor for several people (who came from LI and upstate NY!). I'm sure some people probably didn't like me or my style or the group or the setup or whatever.... I'll guess that some people -- many of whom I was pleased to meet and would have liked to welcome back -- were dissatisfied with the discussion. One guy who was some kind of scientist around brain chemicals was really into identity and mind, but there was a huge gap between this guy's interest in and grasp of philosophy of mind and that of the regulars. That guy never came again -- which is too bad bc I think it would have been very interesting to talk with him -- but I can certainly understand that.
Ya know, sometimes I think I worry and concern myself too much about how things with which I'm involved go for other people. E.g., I know that I was not perfection in dealing w/the lady who stormed out of the library. I know that I've not done all I could to keep cafe discussions focused. I know that I'm an imperfect human. And the other folks involved are imperfect humans, too, who bear some responsibility for how interactions play out. I don't always cut myself some slack for being imperfect and I really should. Not that I think I'm perfect; that's not what I'm saying. This might count as meta-worrying.
On to happier things: Kevin and I are going to San Francisco soon! Kevin's got a conference to go to out there and I'm tagging along. Very happy that it's in SF bc we've wanted to go there for some time now. I want to see the neat houses, nearby wine country, funky shops, museums, local history, lore and legends, etc. etc. I hope it's fine weather. Kevin claims he'll actually have to do some 'work' at this conference. <snort> If his claim holds up, then I'll have several days to myself while he's conferring. I plan on having a very enjoyable time.
Speaking of other happy things, I'd just like to say that Hellmann's mayo really is tops.
Okay, well that's all I want to say about that.
Oh, back to work. So, yeah, I think I mentioned before how I've got to work more to pay for school. That is, if I want to finish before reaching NRA. Unfortunately, the library doesn't have more hours to offer. I mean, the physical building is, like, this big. It only requires, at a minimum, two people to run the joint. I'm looking into adding hours by working at a neighboring town's library. The county's public libraries are all on the same system, so I'd only have to learn that library's particular practices. I hope that works out bc (a) I like it; (b) it's very convenient; (c) it's flexible around classes; (d) I like the people I work with; and (e) all of the above. I don't relish the idea of finding a new job altogether...job searches can be such the bore. 'What are your strengths?' 'What are your weaknesses?' 'What kind of tree are you?'
A co-worker recently left the library to go work at The Seeing Eye. So kewl. I wish there were such a place...but with cats!
For someone who allegedly didn't have anything to say, I think I've said quite enough for now.
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