The week that was

Well, I got home alright early Monday evening. This was after the plane had a bit of a false start at the start of take off. It was a bit unnerving when you hear the engines rev up for take off, the plane starts to move and then you hear the engines die down and the plane turns off from the runway. The pilot announce on the PA that they had some sort of power indicator light go off and they had to check it out. He said it'd be a few minutes.

So a few minutes later, we make our way back to the runway. This time, the engines revved for a few seconds then died down. Uh-oh? Not really. I guess they wanted to test it out for a few seconds to make sure the power light didn't go off or something. Then we inched forward a little bit and then we actually did take off this time. Whew!

The rest of the flight was pretty uneventful. Customs at the other end was uneventful. Got my bag and made my way towards the exit and the taxi stand. On the way to the taxi stand, a man came up to me to ask if I wanted a taxi. Instantly knowing that this was probably an unlicensed hack trying to find a fare I immediately waved him off and sternly said "No!". When I got to the lineup for the taxis, I looked back and saw that he snagged himself a fare. Good luck buddy. Maybe I should report this to the airport. I don't think it's fare to the taxi drivers who take the time to get their airport permit and are licensed hacks.

Anyway... I came home to a "gift" from BS on the bed. :-p So guess what had to be laundered first. *sigh* So I had no choice but to make sure that the "facilities" were cleaned to his liking.

The next day, I'm back at work. That evening, I decided to be lazy and picked up a roast chicken at the supermarket on the way home. I gave BS his g/d as usual but he wasn't eating all of it. He'd have a few mouthfuls and that was it. When I took the chicken out, of course he wanted some of that! I gave him a couple of ounces of the stuff. He ate most of it. So that was Tuesday.

Wednesday evening, again, he wasn't eating everything. On top of that I noticed that he seemed to be straining in the litterbox. Uh oh. Was he constipated? Later in the evening, as I was trying to get to sleep, he would not settle down. Both he and Jum would usually jump into bed with me and settle in under the covers next to me. That evening however, BS was just absolutely restless. He'd get out from under the covers and pace around the bed. Eventually he made the motions as if he was getting ready to do a number. Nuh uh! Not on the bed! So I got his attention and drew him away from the bed.

By now it was about midnight. I was tired and I wanted to sleep. However, someone didn't want me to sleep because he would not settle down. Thinking that it might be the constipation, I called the emergency vet hospital to find out what I should do. Mistakingly thinking I said that he had problems urinating they suggested I bring him in to get checked out because if it were his kidneys then it could become fatal. Pee, poop, either way he was having issues. So I changed out of my PJs, managed to shove Mr. Blue into the carrier (he would not go in willingly) and away we went.

I think there was one other patient before us, so we waited a little before we saw the vet. The vet checked him out. She said we'd need to take some x-rays to see what's going on inside because she did not feel any hardened stool inside him. So it was back in the waiting area to wait while they zapped BS for x-rays. A little later they called me back in to show me his insides. She showed me where his lungs were, which were okay. Then the next blob, she said is his stomach. BUT, what's weird is that it's appearance seems to indicate that he has air in there as well as air in the intestines. She said that this is not normal. Uh oh. She suggested that he stay over night for fluids (because he was a bit dehydrated) and for blood tests to see what was going on. I figure, well, I've already brought him here, might as find out what's wrong with him.

The next day, I get a call from the vet tech saying that BS was stable and that the vet would call me later with more information. Whew! I guess that was good? Anyway, a couple hours later, the vet calls. She said that BS has chronic renal insufficiency that was complicated by acute uremea. Her prognosis was reserved at best. This did not sound very good at all! She suggested trying an IV fluid treatment for the next 48 hours. I think the only risk here is with the heart murmur he has. I figure, if there was a chance he can pull through and recover, I'd give it to him. So I okay'd the treatment. If anything came up before the next daily update they would call.

So that evening, I was a little jumpy whenever the phone rang. Twice it rang, but they were telemarketers. The third time it rang it was just Videotron toe confirm my move. The rest of the evening was quiet, which I guess was good. No news is good news?

The next day, just before lunch, the vet called sounding less somber than before. It seems that BS is responding very well to treatment. They started to feed him as well. They would do another set of tests later that night to see how he's progressed. Yay! But I guess we're not totally out of the woods yet!

Yesterday, I get the update that BS's numbers have improved a lot! His creatinine levels are still slightly elevated so they'd like to keep him one more night on the IV treatment. Okay.

Today, they called to say that he's well enough to go home but that he will require some meds for a little while. His diet will be restricted to low protein. He will need sub-q fluids every other day to help things along as well. I arranged to go pick him up between 12 and 1PM.

I went to get him. He seemed quite affectionate and talkative, as usual. The vet tech had with her a bag full of stuff for him. He's got 3 different medications he needs to take. There is a bag of fluid, giant syringe and needles for the sub-q fluid therapy. There was also a week's supply of low-protein foods, both medi-cal and k/d (so, whichever one he prefers). YOiks!

Of course he meows the entire way home. His homecoming was mildly received by Jum who was quite enjoying herself while BS was away. She was able to have my attention all to herself. However, she will be due at the vet soon for her teeth cleaning! Just you wait little missy!

In the meantime, I think BS is still trying to adjust to being back him. He's been wanting to be in high places since he got home. I don't know why is that. He was constantly cleaning himself for a while there. He was probably trying to get that vet smell off of him. I know he's been wanting to sleep but he just would not relax. I managed to give him his dose of metronidazole. He ate just about all his food. Then I gave him the clavamox. So far so good. Tomorrow morning, he will be getting all three (the third is fortekor).

Monday, after work, he will be getting some sub-q fluids. This ought to be fun. :-p

A little more from Boston

Well, I finally made it home. I wasn't sure if we were going to make it because just as the plane was revving up it's engines and started it's take off run, it turned its engines down and turned off the runway. O.o The pilot came on and said that they saw some thing go off related to the power and wanted to check it out. A few minutes later we taxi'd back to the runway and away we went. Needless to say, I was a little bit worried, but we made it here with no incident.

Last night's performance by Matthew Good we pretty good. After seeing him perform 2 weeks ago in SF, I can see that his illness has taken a bit of a toll on him. He started out sounding a bit rough around the edges but his voice smoothed out after the first couple songs. Aside from a couple of near misses in a line or two, he performed pretty well under the circumstances. Despite how he may have felt that evening, he gave it his all. The crowd wasn't bad considering it was mostly a college crowd. You had a few "older" folk like myself at the show. There was one girl somewhere not far behind me who was a bit loud and probably inebriated. I think it was during "Strange Days" that she blurted out quite audibly "Is that his new stuff?" O.o I think I bunch of us turned and glared at her for being a bit boisterous. Finally, at some point, someone told her to STFU. Aside from that the crowd wasn't bad. You had your usual shout outs and lame attempts at witty remarks, but overall it was a decent crowd.

Matt was gracious enough to meet some of the fans to hung around after the show. I know he didn't have to if he wasn't up to it, but being the trooper that he was and not wanting to disappoint folks, he did meet with us. He wasn't quite his jovial self that he was 2 weeks ago, but he was very polite in meeting people and obliging in signing things and having his picture taken with fans. I didn't need to have another photo of me and Matt, but I took one of Matt and Mike. Mike was very happy to see Matt perform in the Boston area, since one never knows when Matt might swing by this neck of the woods again.

All in all, it was an entertaining evening. Matt did his best and I don't think he really disappointed many people. His banter was a bit on the light side but he even admitted he was not his usual witty self. NLX who opened for Matt, did a great job and performed quite well. I will have to check out her albums. They were also selling limited editions of a silk-screened poster promoting the Cambridge, NYC and Philly dates of the tour. I picked one up and Matt signed it.

I think bro and I got home around 1AM. Bro had to get up at 6 for work. I felt a little guilty but he said he had a good time. I feel bad that Minessa couldn't have gone to the show. Who knew that frozen fish bit? Anyway, one day she will get to see Matt perform.

Meanwhile, here's a couple of videos I took when bro and I drove into town on Saturday. :)

Happy Easter

So here I am in the middle of Malden, MA. It's a little blue-collar suburb just a little bit north of Boston and about 10 minutes from Logan Airport. It's convenient to some of the major highways and roadways in the region. I have been spending this Easter weekend with my folks.

I got in Thursday night after a short flight out of Montreal. The actual flying time was about 44 minutes. I don't know why we were taxiing around YUL for almost 15 minutes before we actually took off. The airport really isn't that big! In any case, this bit of taxiing got us into Logan at about the scheduled time anyway. The flight, in general, was uneventful.

Friday was a work day for most people here. Being that Good Friday is considered a religious holiday, a lot of companies here are not obliged to give people the day off. I don't think the government offices give that day off either. So I just hung around the house and played with my little niece and nephew.

Saturday, we went to Jin's on Rte. 1 for some dim sum. For some reason my nephew was upset over something and through a bit of a tantrum. His sister did not seem to be having any issues and quietly ate her dumplings and drank her juice. Eventually, my sister took her son out to the car with some food (he likes this particular fried thing). She was about to go home with him but managed to calm him down in the car and he ate. My mom got an order of noodles for my brother-in-law to take to sis. Other than that, dim sum was pretty good.

After eating, bro and I went over to Work N'Gear to check out some Carhartt jackets for women. I'm not sure what possessed me to look into these jackets, but I felt the need to have one. They're quite durable and they last for a very long time. My brother has one and it's aged quite well. I found a medium in a sand color. It's a zip-up with velcro flap closure down the front. It's not bad and it fit well. I was hoping to find this other model that's got this sherpa lining. The store closes at 8PM, so bro suggested that we head into town to see if there's anything we can find down there.

We decided to just bite the bullit and park at the Pru parking lot. I figure we shouldn't have a problem with finding something to buy to get the parking ticket validated for discount parking. I did find some stuff at the Body Shop. I think it was more than enough for the parking.

I hadn't really walked around the area in a while, so we got out onto Boylston Street and walked ab it back towards Copley Sq. From there, we got back to Newbury Street and walked up that way. Funny, how over the years, there were times when that seemed like a long walk. Now, it really doesn't seem like much.

It's interesting to see what shops are still there or not on Newbury Street. It's sad to see that the spot where they sold these gargoyles is no longer there. There was a "Space for rent" sign in the window. They had been there for over 15 years. I guess times change. The Faerie place is still there. It's a bit more commercial and sunny. They've only been there for several years.

With the internet and iTunes, alot of the used music stores are now gone. Mystery Train is no longer there on Newbury St. So much ahs changed over the years. My bro says that the only used music place he knows of now is in Harvard Sq.

We went to Newbury Comics. I've always liked going into this store. There's a variety of interesting knick knacks. Since I've been gone they've expanded and now have stores in a number of locations. However, for me the real Newbury Comics will always be the one on Newbury Street. :-) Well, the one located in The Garage at Harvard Sq is a close 2nd.

While we were walking around the Pru Shopping area, we noticed an inordinate amount of people dressed up in various types of costumes. When we got off the elevator from the parking garage, we first encountered a bunch of people waiting to get into California Pizza. Just beyond that crowd, I spied me some people dressed as Star Wars characters. I was like, "Uh oh. Just what's going on here today?" It turns out that there is some sort of anime convention happening at the Hynes Convention Center not far. Ack!

So needless to say, everywhere we went we saw folks dressed up either as their favorite anime character, or even video game character! There were plenty of Naruto and Dragonball related outfits. I think at some point I was ready to get out of there for some air!

I think after spending a couple of hours in the area, we figured it was time to start heading back. I think it was somewhere around 3:30-4PM when we left. The parking cost us $12 instead of $34 (OUCH!), but it sure beat going around in circles looking for a place to park. Sometimes, you just need to splurge a little bit. I don't think I can deal with paying fro parking like that on a daily basis though!

Since we didn't find any Carhartt jackets in town, we went back to the other place. We found the jacket. I tried it on again. The zipper on one wasn't behaving very well, so I tried on another one that had a better working zipper. I took the jacket to the cash. The salesperson rang it up and said it was $55! Apparently, the coats were 50% off! Well, that was a great deal! Hmm.. I hope I don't look too butch in it. :-o

So that more or less brings us to today, Sunday.

Almost Mid-week Update

I went to California.
I tasted some wine.
I bought some wine.
I was in Sonoma County.
I visited San Francisco.
I saw Matthew Good perform at the Cafe du Nord (see previous post).
I flew back to Montreal.
I flew in first class from San Francisco to Chicago.
I was stuck in the back of the plane from Chicago to Montreal.
I was on a training course last week.
I was almost put to sleep all last week.
Some days, the instructors did not let us go until after 5PM.
They didn't let us go until almost 6:30PM on Thursday.
Friday was the St-Paddy's Day pub crawl.
I had four half-pints the entire evening.
I got home late.
I slept in Saturday.
I did not do much Saturday, except fret over Matthew Good's health with a few other people.
Matthew Good posted about how he was doing.
We were mostly relieved.
I caught up on some stuff around the house Sunday.
I WoW'd somewhere amidst all of this.
I had my review Monday.
I wasn't entirely happy with the outcome, but there's a bit of a story behind it.
Logically, it made sense.
The course of action was reasonable and was accepted.
Today is Tuesday.
I had a glass of French pinot noir with shish taouk takeout.
Wooooo!

Tomorrow will be Wednesday.

I lead such an exciting life.

Matthew Good

Some stuff I recorded during the show in San Francisco. :)

Sleepless in Canuckistan

Yeah, well. I gotta remember not to have any coffee, nevermind an espresso, late in the day.

Alright. Going to try to go to sleep. Again. :p