http://jhnmyr.tumblr.com/post/308807536/the-one-week-digital-cleanse

It’s a short post from John, just read it, but to sum up:

Guidelines:

*email only from laptop or desktop computers

*cell phones can only be used to make calls, and no text messages or e-mails are allowed – if you receive a text, you must reply in voice over the phone. E-mails must be returned from a laptop or desktop computer.

*no use of Twitter or any other social networking site – this includes reading as well as posting.

*no visiting of any entertainment or gossip sites. (No need to detail which ones – you know what they are.)

He’s got his own reasons for doing it, but I’m trying it because I realize I am completely addicted to my iPhone/Twitter/Facebook, etc. My brain just thinks in 140 character phrases these days. I’m not dropping off the planet, feel free to email, or *gasp* call me if you want to interface and share thoughts. I’ll also still hang out on IM because I need that for work… yeah, that’s right.

This may also help me get back to blogging.

Though if I was to twitter right now it would be these thoughts:

I hate Ohio State. I hate that they are playing in our Rose Bowl (and serious *eyeroll* to anyone who says the Orange Bowl is better. It’s not.).
Also, Oregon? Those are not marching band uniforms. Those are warm up outfits for a dance team.

I haven’t been sick since then. So of course, with a couple days before I’m going to Chicago for three days for two U2 concerts with Donor and BC, I woke up yesterday with a terribly sore throat and sinus pressure and some other unpleasantness caused by the drippings in my throat. (EW)

I felt even worse this morning, so I hauled myself to the UI QuickCare when they opened at 8am, determined to stave off another round with a sinus infection. The good news is that it is still in the viral stage, hasn’t gotten all bacterial and moved in like it did last time when I let it linger (because I thought it was just a cold and no one would give me anything for it anyway). The Physicians Assistant that saw me didn’t prescribe any drugs, but told me to get a Neti-Pot and use that twice a day. (Not nearly as bad as I thought it would be) Along with that, keep taking my 600mg of ibuprofen three times a day (which was prescribed last week by my regular doctor for my torn calf muscle) and add into that Sudafed (the real stuff you have to sign for) and Tylenol a couple times a day. Plus as much liquids as I can pour into myself. Finally he told me to go home and sleep all day.

So that’s what’s up with me. And now I’m going to go curl up on the couch and hope I’m a less sick person tomorrow.

I’ve decided to give my actual website another spin. I enjoy Twittering my life away because it constrains me and I can’t ramble on for 14,000 words, but I would like to keep my photos more updated and put out there for people (independent of the crappy compressed photos that Facebook lets you post), as well as put up video clips that are strewn about all over my iMac.

So its a new look that is in progress and things are probably a bit broken for awhile, but I might just be back to blogging…

Getting ready to head out the door into the balmy 4 degree (a heatwave from the -24 this morning) weather to start a three day weekend. I don’t think I’ve worked a whole week since before Christmas. My mom is on her way over to visit and help me work on my costume for St. Anne’s on Mardi Gras day. Perhaps I’ll post a few pictures of the progress this weekend.

Or maybe I’ll just post more pictures of my cats. That’s more likely.

We’re squarely into fall. What have I been doing since August? I seem to be busy. I don’t have kids, but things get busy when the kids and college students go back to school.

As always there is Iowa Hawkeye football with Saturday-consuming fun that includes tailgating, painful losses, awesome wins, and homecoming. I think we turned a corner with our trouncing of Wisconsin last week.

Since the beginning of September, I’ve been taking a knitting class at a local knitting shop. The class is through Kirkwood for eight weeks and I have one class left. Its been fun even though I’m the youngest person in the class by 10 or 20 years. I’m working on my first cable scarf (the first thing I’ve made just for myself) and have also learned new and better techniques that I didn’t have before. The class is offered often and people take it over and over. I may take it again in the spring after I have mastered all the new things I’ve learned. I really need to update my knitting project photos as I have a lot of things I’ve made that I haven’t shown off.

Also in the creative vein, I’ve been rehearsing with a “Sax-tet” that Jerry put together. We’re working on Christmas music to perform in December. We consist of a soprano, an alto, two tenors, and a bari. Its been a lot of fun to get together and play my good tenor (not my abused marching horn) and music that isn’t for marching band. I’ll keep you all posted on when and where we will perform.

On the home front, my new cats, Mulder and Scully, have settled in and pretty much run my apartment, both literally and figuratively. I have oodles of pictures of them to share. Mulder has apparently gotten a bit too much love from me as he’s gained 3 pounds since I got him and now tips the scales at 18.5 pounds! Someone got new light cat food this weekend.
Currently I am trying to wrest a bit of control back by toilet training them. Yes, toilet training for cats! I know it can be done because we had a friend/neighbor when I was young who had a toilet trained cat. I knew I wanted to pursue it when I got new furry family after Mac passed, but Mulder made the choice even easier. Both cats used the litter box just fine, but Mulder had this very annoying habit of digging in the litter box for fun. It could be completely clean and he’d just dig and dig and dig until he hit the bottom of the box. The problem, beyond the annoying sound, was that he would quickly reduce the corn-based cat litter I used to a fine yellow dust, which he would then track all over my apartment. Cats. I’m using a kit from CitiKitty and we’re into week 3. Scully had a small setback yesterday, but the website has many tips for getting them back on track and so far, so good. Hopefully they’ll be trained by Christmas.

Haven’t seen too many movies as of late. The fall TV season has returned and my TiVo always has a stockpile of shows for me to watch. But I have gotten a bit of my recommended daily allowance of theater time. ‘The Dark Knight’ in IMAX is truly amazing. Its still playing in many IMAX theaters, check it out, its worth the drive (if you have to make one). I enjoyed ‘Eagle Eye’ for your action-packed, computers-take-over-the-world needs. ‘The Dutchess’ was gorgeous and well-acted, but be fair warned, its a rather melancholy tale. I’m looking forward to the November and December holiday/awards season offerings.

I saw Kathy Griffin at the beginning of the month with Doogie and Colleen. She was super hysterical and it was a great show despite it being strangely held in Carver-Hawkeye Arena since Hancher is currently out of commission. But beyond that, I haven’t been to any concerts since I saw the Bones the night before the very first home football game at the end of August. I’m saving up my vacation and gas money to hit the road and see Harry (YAY!) four times in December. He has a new Christmas album coming out on Election Day and I can’t wait to get it.

I guess that’s all for the moment.

But hey, give me some credit, I did manage to get up and go to the gym with Sara at 5:30am today!

Over the past two weeks Mac’s appetite has really fallen off. She had a check-up at the vet eight days ago where the vet checked her for thyroid issues and other things. At that time the vet explained to me that studies have shown in very elderly cats that once they start really losing weight, the cat usually has at most two years left. Mac has lost nearly a pound in less than two months and when you only weighed eight pounds to start with, that’s a lot of weight. I really don’t think she has two years left in her, I’m hoping she makes it to her 20th birthday at the end of August, but after the past week, that might really be a stretch. She’s just skin and bones these days, though she still bathes regularly and her coat looks pretty good with my supplemental brushings. Every time I’ve taken her to the clinic, all the vets and vet techs have marveled at how good she looks for her age.

She’s just barely eating this past week. She still goes to her dish in the morning and in the evening, but if she eats anything, its just the tiniest amount. She’s not even getting half a pouch of food in her a day and I know that’s just not enough to sustain her. I’ve given a go of syringe feeding her like I did over the winter when she was ill, but it is such a battle, though it shows she still has fight in her. (My poor shredded fingers bear truth to that.) She’s definitely lethargic now. I really didn’t think she could get anymore inactive than she already was, but she has.

She’s stopped using her litter box and instead urinates on the underpads that I have always put down in front of her box to catch any messes. At least she’s only peeing there and not all over the place. I don’t know if she just can’t get in the box anymore or what. Unfortunately, I came home tonight to find blood in her urine. This happened last fall when she was so very sick so I’m worried. I had made the decision that I wasn’t going to take her back to the vet for the decrease in appetite and activity because I thought that was just her way of letting go. She doesn’t seem to be suffering and contentedly purrs away on my lap when I pick her up. But the blood concerns me, so I’m going to take her back tomorrow and drop her off for observation in the morning. Hopefully the clinic can get a urine sample and see if there is something that might account for the decrease in appetite, or just confirm for me that I’m doing the right thing in letting her be in the waning days.

I’m mostly calm about this, but yet ready to really lose it. I’m supposed to go to Chicago on Friday night to see Eddie Izzard with Scott, but I think I’m going to overnight the tickets to him just in case something happens and I don’t want to make the trip.

When the ducks are looking at you with a “please make it stop” look, it doesn’t bode well.