Meat grinder

Saturday morning the alarm clock fired off at 3:20 AM. It was the start of what felt like a 3 day weekend meat grinder.  I am almost glad to be back at work today so I can rest to some degree.

Saturday was the 5K I was timing.  Not only was I timing it, I was also bringing the equipment truck on site and making sure that stuff got where it needed to be.  The race had a huge surge in numbers the last several days, including over 100 people the day of the race.  Those situations are always stressful.  I had someone there that I am hopefully going to be teaching to be my timing back up in the future.  Trying to do that in the middle of a busy race day is not easy.

Timing the event, despite all of the last minute entries went well.  This was the first race where I tested a new feature that maps finishing results to a finish line video I shot with my GoPro.  I basically upload the video to YouTube, tell RunSignUp how long it is until the first finisher crosses and I’m done.  RSU will then automatically create a link for each runner that will jump ahead in the video to 5 seconds before they cross and play it back, pretty cool.

After the race I had to stick around to get everything loaded on the equipment truck as well.  By that time the sun was well into the sky, totally soaking my shirt with sweat.  I was quite relieved when I finally pulled out.

So while I was at the race Ali told me that she had Nicki at the 24 hour vet again for what she assumed was a bladder infection.  She also reminded me that I agreed to watch the dogs overnight because of some party she was having at her place.  I had totally forgotten about being asked about it.  So after attending to all of the post race work we went out to run some errands which included picking up the dogs.  I was concerned about how Nicki would be since she was given a shot of antibiotics and a shot of pain meds.  My concerns appeared well founded.

Nicki was not acting well.  As soon as we picked her up she kept trying to scratch at her eyes.  She also was obviously having problems seeing and seemed disoriented as a result.  Nicki has had lifelong issues with her ears and allergies.  In the past year or so she has started to go after her eyes as well.  She will just use her paw to rub them downward.

Ali had taken Nicki to a dog eye doctor.  She was told that spaniels (Nicki is part spaniel) have an issue where their eye lashes can curl under and irritate the eye.  At that time Ali was given just drops and some sort of lubrication ointment.  Well it hasn’t helped as much as you would hope as Nicki has continued to periodically rub her eyes.  Well all of the rubbing has now distorted the area around her eye.  She has actually managed to pull the skin around there down to the point where they are sagging badly.  It seemed on Saturday they were sagging so badly that she could not see at all.  The poor girl is not only almost totally deaf, now she can’t see.

While we were out I picked up supplies to do my first ever oil change on Cindy’s Prius.  It definitely needed to get done before we embark on our 4500-5000 mile road trip next week.  While I was at it I changed the air filter and wiper blades.  Of course I videoed everything as my auto maintenance video series has proven to be one of my most popular in my YouTube channel.  Here it is.

Saturday evening I was really worried about Nicki.  She was literally running into things because she couldn’t see.  She refused to eat as well.  I was worried enough that I called Ali in the middle of her party to fill her in.  The two shots that she was given were probably the cause of the lack of appetite but the vision problem was really scary.  I talked to Ali about options.  After an inappropriate and unexpected side bar argument, we decided to make an appointment with a vet that deals with dog eyelid issues. Cindy was Nicki’s personal nurse over the weekend, feeding her some chicken broth with a syringe, giving her medicine, as well as giving her a bath.

My primary goal on Sunday, thanks to Cindy taking on most of the regular chores herself, was to get some pressure washing done.  The pool area and sheds both had excessive amounts of the green scuzz that accompanies wet season.  I pulled the pressure washer out of the shed as well as the extensions that I use to blast the high sections of the pool cage.  I started to put the extension together and realized what I had was not right.  I had the tubes but it looked like I was missing one adapter.  I put together and took apart the extensions multiple times, thinking maybe this was just my memory failing me.  Nope, it would not work.

So then I assumed I was just missing a piece.  I triple checked both sheds looking for the magical part and came up empty , wtf???  I even called Cindy out to be my second set of eyes, I still came up empty.  I was quite annoyed to have to run out to Home Depot to get a part that I already knew I had somewhere.  Doing so also retarded my pressure washing schedule, making me start a good two hours later than I hoped originally. Oh the best part?  I later found the missing adapter on Monday, it was sitting on my workbench in the garage for reasons that escape me.

Pressure washing was miserable as it always is.  The pool cage is the worst part of it which is why I always do that part first.  By the time I am done my hands, forearms and shoulders are pretty much shot.  I pressure washed the cage, the pool deck, the pad with the water equipment, the large and small shed as well as Tuki’s cage.  During part of it the skies let loose, drenching me from head to toe.  I sought no shelter, I just kept blasting away in the rain, fck it.  In total I probably spent close to 5 hours doing nothing but pressure washing.  If I didn’t already have enough aggravation, the hose on the pressure washer sprung a leak.

I also had agreed to take a look at my neighbors laptop which was loaded down with tons of malware.  Throughout the day I was working on it, uninstalling shit and running various scans.  I finally got all of the junk off of it by Sunday night.  I also returned the dogs to Ali’s place on Sunday evening.

Sunday night we watched Two Guns, with Marky Mark and Denziel Washington.  I thought it was ok, I dozed off again during a part of it later on.  It’s a fine B rental, nothing great but not bad either.

So our Labor Day started with the 20 mile DD bike ride, something neither of us has taken on in quite awhile.  Because of Cindy’s injured foot we haven’t been pressing the envelope speed wise to minimize the stress on her foot.  Even so we averaged 18+ mph on the way there and 16-17 on the way back into a steady headwind.  I was glad we got out the door around 7AM to minimize the heat index numbers.

It poured out at the house for a good portion of the day, once again turning my property into a soggy mess.  We once again headed out to do some errands which included getting a new pressure washer hose and a few other things at Home Depot.  We also met up with my mom’s former landlord to drop off all of the keys I had as well as collect mom’s security deposit.  All details with her apartment should now be settled, at least that is one thing to cross off the list.

During the afternoon Cindy’s daughter and her boyfriend stopped out for a visit along with Tank, their high energy french bulldog.  As with his last visit, Tank was a maniac, pulling out almost every dog toy I had.  He just wants to play and play and play, it’s funny.  I also spent some time playing Call of Duty with Daniel.  He is quite adept at the console FPS genre while I am pretty much a stumbling noob.  Despite this, we actually managed to win some team deathmatch games.  I was consistently at the bottom of the scoreboard and Daniel was number 1 or 2.  I discovered the best way I could help the team was to simply die slower.  Daniel is also a big WOW player although he plays exclusively Arena and PvP , stuff that I rarely play and when I do I generally suck at as well.  It was fun to play with Daniel regardless.

I also did work yesterday creating a chicken care manual to be used by the guy that will be chicken sitting for us.  I also finally mapped out our intended trip route.  If all goes as planned we will take 11 days this time.  The trip is going to have two monster driving days of 800+ miles and a few others that are going to suck.  On the positive side the trip is allocating an over night stay in the Colorado Springs area as well as 3 days and two nights in Durango which will be awesome.

Here is what I came up with:

Day 1 – Naples to Nashville –(13.25) 864 Miles
Day 2 – Nashville to St Louis – (4:28) 310 miles – St Louis to Kansas City – (3:37) 249 miles
Day 3 – Kansas City to Colorado Springs – (8:15) 585 miles
Day 4 – Manitou Springs
Day 5 – Colorado Springs to Durango – (5:20) 313 miles
Day 6 – Durango
Day 7 – Durango
Day 8 – Durango to White Sands – (6:47) 437 miles – White Sands to El Paso – (1:29) 98 miles
Day 9 – El Paso to Beaumont – (11:25) 834 miles
Day 10 – Beaumont to Tallahassee – (8:54) 625 miles
Day 11 – Tallahassee to Naples – (6:07) 432 miles

This morning I picked up Nicki to go to the vet.  Ali said that when she went to the dog eye doctor they recommended we see a dermatologist that also deals with eyelid issues.  I thought this didn’t sound right but Alison assured me that the dermatologist also dealt with eyelids.  Her energy level and alertness seemed better today although she is still refusing food conventionally. (Ali syringed more into her on Monday)  She could once again see at least to some degree and Ali said she had not been going after her eyes as much on Monday which is good.

I picked Nicki up in mom’s Rav 4. Since I got the AC working I figured driving it now and then will be a good thing until I have the legal right to sell it.  I lifted Nicki up and let her ride in the rear cargo area.  The vet I was taking Nicki to was one that Ali has taken her to numerous times since they are a 24 hour business and Nicki seems to make a habit of having issues outside of normal business hours.

I had a negative impression the second I stepped in the door.  There were two clerks behind the desk and no customers in front of them.  Both the man and the woman were looking at their computer screens.  I said hello, which was returned by the woman without glancing my way.  I told them I was there for a 9 am appointment.  The guy said in an annoyed tone “We will be with you in a minute”.  I mean what the fck, you are a clerk, your job is to wait on customers, there are two of you and no customers at the desk and you give me attitude?  Needless to say it got the visit off on the wrong foot.

Actually the bad experience started the day before when I talked to whom I assume is the same guy on the phone about setting up the appointment.  Even though this was supposed to be a consult about Nicki’s eyes, he said that she needed to fast the night before.  I didn’t follow the logic and asked why if this was just a consult.  He said in the now familiar annoyed tone “because that is our procedure”.

I again was annoyed when I was given a two page questionnaire to fill out about Nicki’s history.  Like I said she has been there many times, why I am filling out a form like she is a first timer?  The form was also asking questions that Ali would be much better suited to answer so I was taking ballpark guesses for some of it.  By the time I was lead back to an exam room my mood was not good.

So the dermatologist comes in and I start explaining what Ali told me.  The dog eye doctor said that her eyelashes could be rubbing against her eyes and causing irritation, they said that we should see you.  The dermatologist stops me and looks confused.  She said she has nothing to do with eyelid surgery. WTF.  Evidently what the eye doctor meant was she recommended looking into the allergy side of things next.  I sighed out loud.  The dermatologist said that all the itching and scratching could just be allergic reactions.  She did a swab of Nicki’s ears and eyes.  She mentioned very quickly it would be “180 to check them out under the microscope”  Great.

So while she was out looking at stuff I made a call to the place that Cindy recommended that does eyelid procedures on dogs.  I talked to the doctor and he was very nice on the phone.  Unlike the place I was sitting at, I immediately got a very good first impression from this guy.  I made an appointment for Nicki to see him tomorrow at 9.

After making the appointment I was more annoyed I was sitting in the exam room.  When the dermatologist came back in she started to outline her recommended treatment plan.  She basically wanted to do a 3 month diet change where Nicki would be fed nothing but kangaroo or rabbit meat dog food that of course is only available through vets.  The purpose of this is to eliminate food allergies as a cause.  For environmental allergies she was recommending some expensive medication that supposedly does more than the Benadryl we give her.  This time I stopped her.  I told her that Nicki has had extensive allergy testing done and we actually had her on a hypoallergenic vet food for quite awhile.  The dermatologist said “if it wasn’t kangaroo or rabbit it means nothing to me”  She was obviously not happy that I wasn’t wagging my tail at her very expensive and difficult to enact treatment plan .

With all of the meds Nicki has been on, the idea of doing another complete 3 month reboot just did not sound feasible to me.  I told her that I was not going to agree to any sort of treatment plan until I talked to my ex-wife about it since she is the primary care giver for the dogs.  Again I could see the dermatologists expression stiffen, I’m sure she thought I was an idiot for not accepting her recommendation as gospel.  They did give me some stuff to help both Nicki’s eyes and ears short term.

When I was at the counter to check out the guy that was annoyed to greet me was much happier to swipe my credit card for $380.  When I looked at the itemized bill I wanted to throw up.  Each swab costs $60 a pop and I paid $115 for the privilege of talking to a specialist.  Thankfully the pet insurance that Ali and I pay for should reimburse a good portion of the expense but that doesn’t make those charges any more legitimate in my eyes.  I left the vet with no desire to ever return there.

I drove Nicki all the way back to Ali’s place and dropped her off before reversing direction and driving all the way back to town.  Was it an efficient use of time, money or gas? Nope.  I am hoping the office visit tomorrow proves to be more worthwhile for Nicki.

This latest unexpected bill added to my already existing concern about the dollars and sense for our upcoming road trip.  If we were not taking the Prius I would have already cancelled it.  The only thing allowing it to go forward is the 66% savings in gas we should reap this time around.   My budget book has some red ink in it for the first time in a long time, not exactly ideal when you are shoving off cross country.   Since I have been fronting all of the expenses for my mom’s estate up until this point it has put an unexpected dent in my bottom line.  Of course I can move some numbers around to make it all work in the end but without a doubt frugality will be one aspect of the trip which will be of high importance.

Did I mention that I had a dream last week where I was speaking to my mom?  I was speaking to her in a post death scenario, she knew she had died and we were talking about various things.  Unfortunately I don’t recall any substantial detail other than it occurred.