![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
la_belle_laideLast Saturday after work, I was outside with Sano when I heard my neighbor's kid shouting about this cool bird she'd found. She was outside riding bikes with her brother and their friend. (Tangentially: these are the kids of the guy I used to ride bikes with when we were that age. Last year he moved back in next door. His kids are actually really nice.) So, I put Sano inside and went running over, figuring she'd found a baby bird or something. Because, it's almost June and I haven't had a single baby bird yet. (WTF.)
But it wasn't a baby. It was a full-grown, blue and green parakeet. We all kind of circled around it and finally I managed to catch it in my sweater.
This is Derek. He's named after Derek Morgan from Criminal Minds. He's got a band on his leg and I should really check it. Now that I'm thinking about it, that's not a bad idea.
But if no one claims him, I guess he is my parakeet. He's pretty cute, and I'll always take a bird in need, so there it is. :)
Also this week, I got a new broadsword! This one has an actualfax live blade (just a lot thicker,heavier, steel, and sharpened.)
Wow, look at how gorgeous that blade is! I'm just afraid that once I start using it, I'll cut myself in half. Can't tell you how many times I've whacked myself with the broadsword I've used for years. It's a lot thinner, lighter and not as sharp. Guess I'm going to have to start slow and stop making stupid mistakes.
Today is the first warm, sunny day of the season. It has rained every day for over two weeks and not gotten above 60. I'm sick of it! I still have my stupid winter clothes out. Not awesome.
Here is some excellent news, though. My job did a press release not only about hiring me, but also about the Hula class they want me to teach. Within hours of the release, four people signed up. They have until July to sign even more. So I definitely have a class to teach over the summer and I am SO STOKED. I hope I get tons of students, and of all different age groups.
The people I work with are really sweet and fun. I feel like I'm finding a little niche there and it's one that I like. I know now, realistically, that I'm going to have to find other ways to supplement my income. I'm going to have to freelance – which is just as well. I just need to figure out a few things before I start doing that. Although, I am getting some nice change for the Hula classes. :D Which is going to take the edge off Haku's vet bills a bit, too.
Just yesterday I was talking to a darling friend of mine about vet bills. I know I bitch about them a lot and am always talking about them. But I don't think I've ever specified how much the vet bills actually were.
Since May of '09, between Sano and Haku, their veterinary bills have hit upwards of about $45,000 dollars. That is three zeroes you see after that. It might be more by now, with the monthly meds; I haven't counted those in yet.
But since '09, Haku has had 5 surgeries. He's had an MRI, spinal tap, ultrasound, and countless x rays. He's had months of rehab, weeks of hospital stays (which can be up to $100 a night.) At least one of Haku's conditions (the missing kidney) can be traced back to Dr. Dickwhistle. That's not official, but I've asked vets and techs all around the island (without mentioning his name) and they seem to all agree that it's likely that Dr. Dickwhistle accidentally cut Haku's ureter while he was up there looking for a second testicle during his neuter. Spay. Speuter. Whatever.
Sano, since '09, has had X rays, ultrasounds (on his liver, due to one vet accidentally doubling the dose of his meds and blowing out his liver AND his bone marrow,) three-week stay in the hospital last autumn, and three blood transfusions – each at a thousand or so dollars each. He also gets bi-monthly blood tests for the ITP. The ITP is also a result of a mistake by Dr. Dickwhistle, but that one was a willful mistake.
One of these days I've got to take a picture of the "dog pharmacy" as I call it. You'd have to see it to believe the amount of pill and supplement bottles that line the counter.
So, yeah. Over forty five thousand dollars in vet bills over the last two years. That's more than my college cost.
I still want to punch people when they tell me that it's not worth it to keep taking care of them. Also, before anyone says "YOU SHOULD GET PET INSURANCE," rest assured that neither dog is in any way insurable with their preexisting conditions. Pet insurance. I wish.
Anyway, that's just what was on my mind.
So now I've got this parakeet—and I think they're also called budgies? I hope so, because "budgies" just make me think of Monty Python. So far he has not flown out of my lavatory and infringed on my personal freedom.
Plenty of stuffs going on in Kung Fu as well, but that will all be for later posts! ^_^
I'm off tomorrow, except for taking Haku to his physical therapy. I've been taking the dogs to the beach a lot, on my days off. Maybe I'll take them again after his rehab. They have such a great time there and I get lots of videos.
Oh, I should also mention that last Thursday, as I was walking along the beach with the dogs, I dropped my camera into the bay. I had to actually go into my piggy bank for the first time ever to get some cash and buy a new one. I got a little Canon PowerShot for like $170. Ugh, still a lot of money, but I legitimately couldn't go more than a few hours without having a camera. Which is crazy. Anyway, it's fuchsia.
So, that's what's been going on in this neck of the woods for the last week or so. Guess I'll wrap this up now.
ETA: last minute! My cousin just brought over a baby bird. Finally! Her dog had it and it looks slightly worse for wear. But let's hope he'll be all right! ^_^
But it wasn't a baby. It was a full-grown, blue and green parakeet. We all kind of circled around it and finally I managed to catch it in my sweater.
This is Derek. He's named after Derek Morgan from Criminal Minds. He's got a band on his leg and I should really check it. Now that I'm thinking about it, that's not a bad idea.
But if no one claims him, I guess he is my parakeet. He's pretty cute, and I'll always take a bird in need, so there it is. :)
Also this week, I got a new broadsword! This one has an actualfax live blade (just a lot thicker,heavier, steel, and sharpened.)
Wow, look at how gorgeous that blade is! I'm just afraid that once I start using it, I'll cut myself in half. Can't tell you how many times I've whacked myself with the broadsword I've used for years. It's a lot thinner, lighter and not as sharp. Guess I'm going to have to start slow and stop making stupid mistakes.
Today is the first warm, sunny day of the season. It has rained every day for over two weeks and not gotten above 60. I'm sick of it! I still have my stupid winter clothes out. Not awesome.
Here is some excellent news, though. My job did a press release not only about hiring me, but also about the Hula class they want me to teach. Within hours of the release, four people signed up. They have until July to sign even more. So I definitely have a class to teach over the summer and I am SO STOKED. I hope I get tons of students, and of all different age groups.
The people I work with are really sweet and fun. I feel like I'm finding a little niche there and it's one that I like. I know now, realistically, that I'm going to have to find other ways to supplement my income. I'm going to have to freelance – which is just as well. I just need to figure out a few things before I start doing that. Although, I am getting some nice change for the Hula classes. :D Which is going to take the edge off Haku's vet bills a bit, too.
Just yesterday I was talking to a darling friend of mine about vet bills. I know I bitch about them a lot and am always talking about them. But I don't think I've ever specified how much the vet bills actually were.
Since May of '09, between Sano and Haku, their veterinary bills have hit upwards of about $45,000 dollars. That is three zeroes you see after that. It might be more by now, with the monthly meds; I haven't counted those in yet.
But since '09, Haku has had 5 surgeries. He's had an MRI, spinal tap, ultrasound, and countless x rays. He's had months of rehab, weeks of hospital stays (which can be up to $100 a night.) At least one of Haku's conditions (the missing kidney) can be traced back to Dr. Dickwhistle. That's not official, but I've asked vets and techs all around the island (without mentioning his name) and they seem to all agree that it's likely that Dr. Dickwhistle accidentally cut Haku's ureter while he was up there looking for a second testicle during his neuter. Spay. Speuter. Whatever.
Sano, since '09, has had X rays, ultrasounds (on his liver, due to one vet accidentally doubling the dose of his meds and blowing out his liver AND his bone marrow,) three-week stay in the hospital last autumn, and three blood transfusions – each at a thousand or so dollars each. He also gets bi-monthly blood tests for the ITP. The ITP is also a result of a mistake by Dr. Dickwhistle, but that one was a willful mistake.
One of these days I've got to take a picture of the "dog pharmacy" as I call it. You'd have to see it to believe the amount of pill and supplement bottles that line the counter.
So, yeah. Over forty five thousand dollars in vet bills over the last two years. That's more than my college cost.
I still want to punch people when they tell me that it's not worth it to keep taking care of them. Also, before anyone says "YOU SHOULD GET PET INSURANCE," rest assured that neither dog is in any way insurable with their preexisting conditions. Pet insurance. I wish.
Anyway, that's just what was on my mind.
So now I've got this parakeet—and I think they're also called budgies? I hope so, because "budgies" just make me think of Monty Python. So far he has not flown out of my lavatory and infringed on my personal freedom.
Plenty of stuffs going on in Kung Fu as well, but that will all be for later posts! ^_^
I'm off tomorrow, except for taking Haku to his physical therapy. I've been taking the dogs to the beach a lot, on my days off. Maybe I'll take them again after his rehab. They have such a great time there and I get lots of videos.
Oh, I should also mention that last Thursday, as I was walking along the beach with the dogs, I dropped my camera into the bay. I had to actually go into my piggy bank for the first time ever to get some cash and buy a new one. I got a little Canon PowerShot for like $170. Ugh, still a lot of money, but I legitimately couldn't go more than a few hours without having a camera. Which is crazy. Anyway, it's fuchsia.
So, that's what's been going on in this neck of the woods for the last week or so. Guess I'll wrap this up now.
ETA: last minute! My cousin just brought over a baby bird. Finally! Her dog had it and it looks slightly worse for wear. But let's hope he'll be all right! ^_^
