Let's All Meet Up in the Year 2000

The ferrets were adorably bonkers this morning, bouncing off the walls, the furniture, each other, me--it took me three tries to get out the front door without a little furry shadow.  I ended up tossing them into the couch so that they'd pounce on each other and making a run for it.  That's what I like to see!  When Ianto's having an off day, it's clear how much Sisiutl misses her playmate's regular activity level.  I've thought about getting a third ferret now to give her a buddy/take some of the play stress off Ianto/help bridge things when Ianto goes, but it would be awful if a new ferret didn't treat Ianto well because of his illness, as animals can sometimes do.  So I think we'll keep things as they are.

Tonight I need to put my new costume through a test run, having made a bunch of alterations to it this weekend.  The arm gauntlets were so loose and huge I could have worn them as shin guards, and with my bred for potato farming and coal mining legs that's really saying something.  Everything seems to fit well now though.

I am reaching the conclusion that I should sell my Turkish style costumes, because they just don't suit anything that I do now.  That means saying farewell to my very first bedleh--it's served me well, but it's time to shine on someone else now.  And probably my Turkish leopard as well; it too has been well loved, but in the course of trying to figure out what two costumes to bring to the Red Fez with me this Saturday, I've realized it doesn't have much place in my wardrobe any more.  I'll have to think about that one a little more though.  Probably will have a few skirts going up for sale too.

What I really want now is one of those Egyptian mosaic-style bedleh in bronze and copper colors, as those are good colors for me and would match a bunch of the skirt sets that I have. 

Ooh, but then there's this... that would be an acceptable replacement for my leopard...

Ianto had another hypoglycemic episode this morning, despite the increased pred, and while it was definitely all still in his system.  In his good moments he seems almost normal but my gut feeling is we don't have a lot of time left. :-(
 

During a rare quiet moment in dance class, I heard my phone ring.  Seeing that it was M who had called, I checked the message--he was at Angell Memorial with Ianto, who had gone into a choking pawing at the mouth sort of frenzy.  So I left dance class and hopped a cab over to Angell.  Ianto is just fine now; it was probably something very minor like a hair caught in his throat or something (ferrets can get very melodramatic about that kind of thing), but since he's on medications linked to ulcer formation, it was worth checking out to make sure it wasn't a bleeding ulcer or something like that.  And on the positive side we did get a glucose test done, the results of which I did not get at Angell but have a call in to the vet for, so we'll have a concrete idea of how much the increased dose of pred is helping. edited to add: well, it was 50, which is not at all awesome. The morning's dose of pred would have been completely out of his system, so that's something, but still :-/

Class was very good, so I'm glad now I can keep that goodness.  We worked on oriental grand opening type stuff, which I had been thinking during Amira Jamal's class last night was something that I needed to work on more.  So yay.

Now I drink a beer Manhattan and watch a mindless movie (second half of The Last Templar, I'm embarrassed by how much I'm enjoying it but then I like Elizabeth Peters mysteries, so it figures).
 

I hate this waiting for the vet to call.  She must be in appointments now, so I probably won't hear from her until after 1pm.  I'm hoping that the fact that she hasn't called is something of a good sign, because perhaps it means he's stable and so she is spending her time on patients with more urgent problems.  I think if he were doing very poorly somebody, even a tech, would have called to tell me that.

I am spending my time addressing the Raks Spooki DVD mailers.  I wish I could feel more triumphant and satisfied about that.
 

Still working on the Arisia video, but in the meanwhile, here's ferrets:



As one might guess from the clip's title, originally I had set this to Blitzkrieg Bop by the Ramones, but YouTube would not allow that as it is third party copyrighted material. They would allow the video to be there, but muted only. They do have their own library of copyright-free music to add to your video, hence the Toreadors, which kind of works but the Ramones were better. I'm sure none of the Ramones would mind/would have minded, but what can you do. (with a video service like that, no it's not your fault, what can you do...)

Last night we got M's new laptop online, so it appears that I successfully set up the router and home network.  Though apparently I needn't have bothered, all our neighbors have unsecured connections all over the place.

Superstars of Dance has been interesting.  It seems to be structured like the Olympics of dance, but I like that because soloists and duetists can get their own glory even if their countries don't fare well over all.   I find I tend to agree with the South African judge most of the time; he's tough, but the judges should be tough.  Sometimes I think the US and Russian judges are in their own competition to see who is the bigger softy.  (The Russian judge is an odd one, seemingly bent on confirming every stereotype about Russians.)  One issue that has struck me with the judging in general is the issue that was raised by the US tap dancer last night--how can the judges judge a dance style that they know little to nothing about?  But I think there are some relatively objective standards common to all dance performances, things like conviction, making it look easy and seamless, emotional content/connection, synchonized movement in the case of duets and troupes, that indefinable yet obvious air of a seasoned pro, and so forth, and the judges can and should score on those things.  I was also glad that last night they tackled the issue of needing to have dance in a dance performance last night, though I still think that they gave the Shaolin monks an easy pass on that one, especially given how hard they came down on the Argentinian team.

At any rate, I'm enjoying seeing the different performances.  The South African woman's afro-modern fusion number was the best thing of the night as far as I was concerned.  I choked up watching it.  The Australian contemporary dancer was also very good, though I hate those godawful adult contemporary rock ballads the contemporary dancers all seem to use.  I thought the US tap dancer was under rated, as was the Argentinian soloist.  The Bharatanatyam dancer was very good, but the Bollywood troupe was pretty second rate.  The coach proudly announced that they were all college students, and that's exactly what they looked like, college kids putting on a show.  And I have to say that the US hip hop troupe really did rock the house.

Trying not to be all mama bear about something that is really none of my business, but it's hard.  Note to self: none of your business means none of your business.

Both weasels climbed into bed with me last night and we all fell asleep together.  Yay!
 

I hate my doctor's office.  I don't hate my doctor.  I don't even hate the secretaries and receptionists.  I do however hate the antiquated inefficient system that allows appointments (like, say the one I had this morning) to fall through the cracks and not get booked.  I stood at the receptionist's desk back in October, made today's appointment, and wrote it down in my calendar.  I show up today, nope, not in the system.  I feel 100 percent certain the receptionist screwed up, but I'm not that mad at her personally--the system makes it easy, likely even, that mistakes will be made.  This was for my last foot shot and I really wanted to have this done by the new year, for a symbolic new beginning.  Now I have to wait until January.  Waiting for the train to go back to work, I was so frustrated by this I was ready to cry, but luckily I stopped myself, otherwise my eyeballs would have frozen.

I have no exciting storm stories, other than my bus hitting a snowbank yesterday morning and the T being so screwed up last night that I gave up on the buses out of Alewife and walked home, to the apparent horror of some random stranger who joined my conversation with the randomly-encountered fudjo .  Even though it was very cold, it ended up being quite pleasant, much nicer than being on a jam-packed bus full of cranky people sitting on Route 16 going nowhere.  The night was clear and quiet, no sound except the snow crunching under my feet--not quite as good as snow squeaking under your feet, but still pretty good.  I didn't see any bunnies, but I did see their tracks.  The Minuteman bike path is plowed in Arlington and I believe also Lexington, for those who might use it.  There's a bit of black ice in the spots that get partial sun, but the full sun areas are bare pavement and the no sun areas are nicely packed snow, all in all in much better shape than the sidewalks and even many of the roads.  I walked again this morning and expect that will have been the most pleasant interlude of this day.  Not many people were around and I was reminded of cutting through Parc Mont Royal to get to McGill's campus when I lived in Montreal's Plateau.  Weather like we have been having over the last few days is par for the course in December in Montreal, just an average weekend, and the city doesn't shut down or go into panic mode or do anything particularly out of the ordinary.  I miss that stoicism.  Mon pays, ce n'est pas un pays, c'est l'hiver.

One night this last weekend as I lay in bed reading before falling asleep, Ianto climbed up into the bed all on his own and curled up under the covers next to me.  Fluffy noodley sweetness!  Sisiutl's been doing this for a while but it's new for him.

Much work to do at work.  I should do it.  Then cookies to bake tonight.  And maybe a pie.
 

A week and a half ago when we took Ianto in for his annual rabies vaccination, he was put on a week of amoxycillan for a fever and runny stool.  The amoxy seemed to take care of the problem, but about 24-36 hours after finishing the week of amoxy, his problem was back with a vengeance.  On top of that, I started seeing overt signs of low blood sugar, an indicator that his insulinoma is progressing, as it always does.  I talked to the vet, and we're putting him on metronidazole and increasing his prednisone dosage.  She's giving us a prescription with a few refills for the metronidazole in case the problem is recurring, which on the one hand is convenient but on the other hand is depressing.  In part this problem (technically, an overbloom of his own native gut fauna) is because of the prednisone suppressing his immune system, so it's a bit of a damned if you do medicate, damned if you don't situation.  I am trying hard not to conclude that this is the beginning of the end for Ianto, but it is hard not to feel that way.  I don't at all regret adopting him and whatever time he has with us will be the happiest time a ferret could hope for.  It is hard not to feel crushed right now though.
 
I used to have such trouble pronouncing and spelling metronidazole.  Now it is all too familiar.
 

Short review:  I loved it, in the way that only something very uncomfortable can be loved.  It was provocative in theme and content.  I really liked the way the movie built up your sympathies for certain characters, so that you cheer their actions on, only to suddenly stop and realize that you *want* the characters to do horrible, bad things, and what does that say about you?  The two child actors are brilliant and beautiful in a way that I don't think American child actors would ever be allowed to be, at least not without tons of controversy.  Obviously it's a bit of a stereotype in vampire films and literature to be dealing with the theme of the cusp between childhood and adulthood, but this is really something powerful on a visceral level.

( more spoilery comments )

On a side note, my dislike for most Kendall Square theatre patrons was reaffirmed.  People responded to gruesome things with highly inappropriate laughter, I think because it is easier to laugh than to think about/empathize with uncomfortable things.  It makes me sad for them, though it doesn't stop me from wishing they'd gone to some other movie.

This weekend I also sealed up all the windows, which made an immediate difference in the house, dealt with an RCN phone thing, went to the vet's with Ianto, made a pizza, danced, cleaned the tub, took a bath and did one of the things on my list of dance goals for 2008, which is to put together a handful of 20 minute routines to have on tap for whenever I need one.  The one I did last night was very classic and full of music I love but hopefully not boring for a restaurant/party crowd who knows that kind of music.  Next I'll put together a more pop oriented one appropriate for any kind of audience, and then a couple more of each.  My foot injury derailed things so much for me this year, so it feels good to actually get some goals accomplished in the last months of the year.  Anyway it was a very productive weekend.

Ianto's doing well.  He has some kind of low grade infection and fever, so he's on amoxycillan for a week.  Because he's on prednisone, which is an immunosuppressant, this kind of thing can happen frequently.  Luckily he's so, so good about taking medications.  This one isn't too awful.  The vet also agreed with me, looking at his teeth, that he's probably much closer to 4 than 2.  His incisors show the kind of wear that is characteristic of a few years' worth of chewing on cage bars :-( and his canines are getting that translucent look that older ferret canines get.  But he continues to maintain very well on a low dose of prednisone and is in generally good health, so I think we'll get some good time with him.  The trip to the vet's was a good bonding experience; he was actually asking to be picked up, which is new and says he sees me as safety.  Yay little heartwarming weasel :-)
 

(This is Seti and Pan, who are no longer with us but still make great little Halloween ambassadors)