Zoom fun

I am going to have some fun with Zoom for the next few days.

First of all, I am on a Zoom call even as I type, for users of the Orbit braille device that I own. I figure I can learn more about it this way than any other thing I can think of.

Then, next Saturday, there is going to be a "Come As You Will Be" party, where some folks with whom I took an online class will be dressing as the person we want to be five years from now. I have decorated the mirror wall behind my computer seat with various window clings for summer and the beach, and I will be dressed for the beach with my swimsuit top, coverall, sun hat, and sunglasses. 🌞🌴🌊

In other news, it looks like both of my normal side gigs are back up and running! Not only have I resumed interpreting, but my deafblind friend and his mom are at a point where they are ready for me to resume being his aide on Fridays. So life is good on that score. I'm seriously missing the income from the OT that I can't work, and losing the two side gigs was just an extra financial kick in the rump.

I also am on a mailing list that keeps suggesting work-from-home ideas, so I have been following those suggestions to see if I can come up with any that will replace the missing OT income.

Meanwhile, there are an awful lot of COVIDiots out there flouting safety precautions. Unsurprisingly, now the numbers in the USA are starting to rise again as a result. I could scream. Science really doesn't care if you believe in it or not; it's going to be true regardless. Unfortunately, what's true is that if we don't take safety precautions, we are going to spread this blasted virus at an ever-increasing rate. If the risk-takers were only harming themselves, I would say that they have the right to apply for their own Darwin Awards. The trouble is that they are also hurting lots of other people who did NOT sign on to take any such risks. Not only are they infecting innocent people, and possibly killing the medically fragile people in their lives, they are also causing infection numbers to rise. This, in turn, creates delays in the reopening of society, which then hurts small business owners and their employees. IMO, no one has the right to hurt other people in that way.

I can't blame people for being tired of taking precautions. We're ALL tired of taking precautions. This has been going on since the middle of March, with no end in sight. But the world doesn't revolve around our entertainment, and the virus isn't going to say, "Oh, you're fed up with masking? OK, I will stop spreading." The same precautions we needed in March are still needed now, and whether or not we are bored with doing these things is not a factor. We have to put our grownup pants on and just deal with it.

Wash your hands, wear your mask, and keep your 6' distance from people.

Zoomies

Merlin: (crouches and hides beside the foot of the stairs)

Pyewacket: (comes down the steps and turns the corner)

Merlin: (POUNCE)
 
(Ball of wrestling kitties rolls across the living room)

(Two kitties get the zoomies and race into the dining room)

(Zoomy kitties come tearing out of the dining room, through the living room, and up the stairs)

#spoiledcats 

My most recent Medium articles

After three weeks of hearing nothing from the publication to which I had submitted these two articles, today, during my lunch break, I bailed and withdrew the submissions. I have since published them myself.

Vacationing in the Era of the Rona

It's OK to Stand Your Ground

I will keep writing, as well as trying to connect with publications within Medium that are a bit more prompt about getting back to authors who have submitted articles. 
 

Still writing for Medium

I am still writing for Medium, but I have tried a new tactic to see if I can get my name in front of more people's eyes.

Within Medium, there are different publications that accept submissions from writers. If you want, you can submit directly to Medium.com, but there are so many articles submitted there, it will be challenging for your work to gain traction if you haven't already got an established audience of followers. More paid members reading your article translates into more money being paid to you at the end of the month.

The publications within Medium are geared toward stories of a given type. There are publications that accept submissions about relationships, career, tech, writing, and a lengthy list of other categories. If your story fits into one of these niches, then it will be worth your while to attempt to submit it to the requisite publication. The good news: more eyes that are interested in your topic will see your story if it gets published there. The other news: the editors of said publication have to review your work first, and that can take time.

So, I have three articles sitting and waiting for editors to review them. Hence, I have no links to recent articles, even though I have been writing steadily.

Cross your fingers that my articles will make their way into their respective publications soon. I am impatient and I want to see what happens to my stats when an article is in a publication.

I'm all set to carpe freakin' diem.

Vacation in the times of COVID

Vacation in the times of COVID:
Socially distant beachgoing
Pizza delivery for dinner
Sitting on the porch, people watching, in the evening

My kind of day! 😀

I'm HOOOOOME!

My vacation began at 3:30 this afternoon, upon my logging off from work. 😃

I promptly turned off all weekday alarms (for getting up, logging on, conference calls, and logging off). Sleeping in is now a thing.

My inbox will probably be overflowing with faxes upon my return. That's OK. Call it job security. I'll get them done ASAP when I am back to work again. Till then, it's RELAXATION TIME.

Second half of 2020

I received a sad bit of news yesterday. Joey D's dad passed away. It was not COVID-related, and it was not a complete surprise as his health has been failing for a while, resulting in his recently entering hospice care.

But still... right on the last day of June, arguably the final day of the first half of the year, 2020 has managed to fetch us all another swift kick. This year has been nothing short of brutal so far.

I am praying that the second half of 2020 is less grueling than the first half was. The bar is set immeasurably low on that score.

Saints preserve us if we haven't yet seen the worst this year can throw at us!

A sign from above

Yesterday, Baxter passed away.

This morning, I had a Facebook memory of his picture, showing him smiling in his sleep.

I do not think it's a coincidence.,

Sad PUPdate

Things started out good this morning. The vet sent me some pics of Baxter looking alert last night, and I was happy to see them when I woke up this morning and checked my email.

His numbers had improved a little, too, and the vet was all set to update me this morning with good things.

But then his blood pressure crashed. They had to move him to the intensive care unit to get him stable. It took a lot of effort to get him stable, but he was no longer alert.

At this point, I knew there was really only one option. The treatments all week barely budged his liver and kidney numbers and they were still pretty bad. He was diagnosed with severe cardiac issues from having leaky heart valves in all four chambers. And the little momentary "zone out" moments that I had noticed a while ago, but thought nothing of because they were so brief, were diagnosed as seizures, to my great surprise. Unfortunately, in a dog his age, the most likely cause would be a mass in the brain.

Even with all this, if there was any chance of achieving quality of life, I would have been interested in hearing about it. But now we are talking about his blood pressure being ready to bottom out without warning. No. I can't subject him to that, too. It took a team of ICU vets in the best animal hospital in the region to straighten his BP out this morning. Suppose by some huge miracle he had come home, and it happened here? I don't have the equipment or the training to bring him back from an episode like that. He'd be gone on the spot.

I had to recognize that all these thing point to just one answer. It was not the answer I wanted, but I have to be honest with myself.
We were at the point where prolonging his life would have meant suffering, not recovery, and under no circumstances would I let him suffer. Mark and I drove up to the animal hospital to be with Baxter while he had the Final Act of Mercy.

We are grieving, but we know that it was the only real option.

Blast all these ailments that impact our innocent little furbabies. All they ever do is love us unconditionally.

Baxter was brought in to a local rescue as a stray in 2013, and the vet there estimated him to be six years old. We never knew his birthdate, so we marked his Gotcha Day as his birthday. We treated him like he was 12 and would be 13 in the Fall on the anniversary of when we got him.
They let both Mark and me in the room with him, and he sat getting cuddles on my lap the whole time. My lap was his favorite place, and cuddles were his favorite thing. I told him over and over how I will love him forever and ever.

Morning PUPdate

I am glad to report that Baxter is more alert and aware today than yesterday (and he had improved yesterday, as well, being better in the evening than in the morning). We need his bloodworks back to see if his numbers are also improving.

I asked the vet about traveling to the shore with him, as we do every year, or if I would have to find a medical boarding solution. She said that if he improves enough to go home, she can't see why we couldn't have him at the shore with us. So that's a good thing. I mean, it's only a drive to the NJ shore; it's not like we have to take a plane there or drive for days to reach the place.

So now, we wait for the numbers to tell the tale of what is going on. Keep praying.

Evening PUPdate

I just heard from the vet for the evening update.

Definitely, he has heart disease and leaky valves. And she asked about Baxter's tendency to sometimes seem like he's not attentive to his surroundings. That's not a new thing. Sometimes, he seems like his attention is turned inward, not outward. That, to my surprise, could be seizures. They'll give him some meds for the heart and anti-seizures, and recheck blood tomorrow in the hopes that the kidney/liver numbers are improving with treatment.

He is more alert tonight than he was this morning. I’m hoping that their treatments have him feeling better, and that whatever they’re doing is something a person can duplicate at home.

PUPdate

Here is the latest on Baxter, as of this morning.

To recap, Baxter is 12 years old, with known kidney issues, for which he has been doing well on a special kidney-diet dog food.

On Saturday, he started losing his appetite and showing signs of nausea and soft bowel movements. This continued through Sunday. His appetite stayed down, to the point where we were handfeeding him on Sunday and Monday. I have some over-the-counter meds for upset tummy and gave it to Baxter, but the symptoms didn't abate.

We brought him to University of Penn's emergency vet yesterday, because I know they can do labs and get answers back right away. When you go to a regular vet, it can take a couple days for the bloodwork numbers to return, and I didn't think that was a good idea with his history of funky kidney numbers. The hospital admitted him for testing and supportive care.

I just got a Baxter update:

Kidney and liver numbers are off. He also has a heart murmur (which we knew), but he will have an echocardiogram to see just how much treatment he can tolerate for the kidneys without causing heart failure.

The liver numbers were unexpected. They are also giving antibiotics just in case there is an infection hitting both kidneys and liver, even though there is not anything pointing strongly toward infection.

The trouble with the heart/kidney issue combo is that the treatment for one is bad for the other. So it's a waiting game until we establish just what is the cause of the symptoms, and just how to handle both situations without causing a crisis.

And if all the worst answers come back and palliation is not an option, they will allow me to be there with him. I made sure of that.

But right now, we are just looking at finding a source of the symptoms, so we can figure out if there are any treatment options and what they are, and getting him feeling better in the meantime.

Everybody at the hospital loves him. They're all making a point of telling him how sweet and handsome he is. So I know they are taking care of that aspect of his needs, as well.

The cats are walking around calling for him. They were too busy playing last night, but now they are certain that their brother isn't here. They love their doggie brother.

I am worried about my little munchkin. I know when our furbabies age, we have to face the fact that they aren't going to be with us forever, but I am hoping we will be able to have him with us a while longer. I love that little bitty guy.

The vet will call later with another update.

Baxter and the vet, Part 2

Baxter's appetite waned away to nothing during the weekend. By yesterday, he barely ate anything, but was queasy anyway. I spent the night sitting with him on the sofa. Neither of us got a restful night's sleep, and he had a couple moments of puking a little liquid.

Obviously, this is neither normal nor normal-adjacent. I will be calling the emergency vet about bringing him in today. Right now, he is resting comfortably in a normal-looking nap. If you didn't know he's been unwell, you wouldn't guess from looking at him. He has been walking around like it's no big deal, but the only food he's had today was some yogurt I hand-fed him under protest (which he did keep down).

I want bloodwork numbers and I want them NOW. He has been on kidney food for a year, and his kidney numbers last year were deemed "watch them, but not a crisis" because they were a bit off. (Hence, the k/d food.) I have some concerns that the symptoms are related to his kidneys taking a turn.

Say some prayers that whatever the vet has to say will involve a viable treatment or reasonable palliation of symptoms. I love my little pup and I want as much quality time as we can achieve. 💓🙏

From Yellow to Green

I am seeing headlines about some counties in PA turning from yellow to green on June 12, but I am not seeing any indication that Philly is on that list.

I wanted to get back to being an aide for my friend Joe J, which I was doing on Fridays after work when we were pre-COVID-closures, and I was all set to do it when Philly and Delco both went to condition yellow. Trouble is, now he has freaking SHINGLES and his mom got attenuated chicken pox from his case of shingles.

So now, we are waiting for both counties to be yellow AND for them to be free of shingles and chicken pox. Grrrrr.

I am just crossing my fingers that the reopening of PA and NJ doesn't precipitate a big spike in COVID cases. I need my dose of Vitamin SEA, dang it! I will be really irked if things start closing back down right now. 😉 If that happens, I will comply, because preserving lives outranks even doses of Vitamin SEA, but I will also reserve the right to grumble about the timing.

Holy Moley

This arrived in my email at work today:

As [employer] pivots to resume normal operations across the system, we know many members of our team who have been working remotely during the pandemic are awaiting details about plans for when they may return to the workplace. Employees who quickly pivoted to working from home at the start of the pandemic, and those who are flexing or rotating their schedules to reduce density, have made it possible for our clinical teams to remain safe on site.  At this time, those who can work from home–for some or all of their hours–should continue to do so until after Labor Day.

 My employer, not I, added the bold print for emphasis.

This tells me that my employer does not expect COVID to just disappear magically any time soon. They are taking precautions at least throughout the summer. Moreover, there is not any indication that after Labor Day, they will reduce their precautions appreciably. Rather, it appears to me to be a case of "We will revisit the policies and see whether to extend them or not".

It looks like I get to keep my ten-second commute for a while longer.

Baxter at the vet

We had an appointment at the vet yesterday. Baxter needed a little once-over by some trained eyes.

The verdict: his luxating patellas (wonky kneecaps) are a little worse now than last year. This is not uncommon in older dogs. We were getting concerned because at times, his gait is affected such that his front half walks fine, and his rear half looks drunk. No evidence of pain and no incontinence; just intermittent issues with rear leg weakness and some challenges navigating on stairs.

Solution: glucosamine-chondroitin supplements.

There is also a skin tag that we are keeping en eye on, a little thinning of fur on top of his tail (he sits on his tail), and some eye irritation.

Solution: the first two are no biggie, and he appears to have "allergy eyes", so I have to give him some ointment twice daily for the next few days.

I am relieved that all these minor things are, in fact, minor things. But when your pup is 12, going on 13, you want to keep an eye on all these little things lest they turn into a big thing.

He was a Very Good Boy for his exam. And he was so keyed up from the experience (not)  that as he sat in my lap in the car (with Mark driving), he fell asleep with his head on my purse and was snoring before we had exited the parking lot, lol. My mellow munchkin pup.

This morning, I put the ointment in his allergy-eyes for the first time, NO reaction whatsoever. Thank God I can do pretty much anything and he tolerates it. A lot of dogs would go through the ceiling if you were doing things anywhere near their eyes. 

I ordered him a ramp for the sofa last week, but between the Rona and the demonstrations, it hasn't arrived yet. My tiny little old man. ❤️ 🐶

Ben Franklin was right

“Justice will not be served until those who are unaffected are as outraged as those who are” -Ben Franklin

From Red to Yellow

My county, and the surrounding suburbs, are planning to go from Red (full COVID lockdown) to Yellow (partial lifting of restrictions) on Friday, June 5. Churches will begin reopening on Saturday. My first interpreting since March 8 will happen on the second Sunday in June.

We had a Zoom chat with the local Catholic Deaf community to discuss what will be happening. Here is how that is going to play out. As an interpreter, I need to walk into the church with the mask on, but once I am in the sanctuary, I will take the mask off. Communion lines will ensure that people are standing 6 feet from one another. Everyone will have to take Communion in their hands, and I think carry it back to their seat before consuming the Eucharist.

I don't even know how many Deaf will be at the Mass two Sundays from now. There is one person who is both a regular attender and sits up front; however, there are some others who come sporadically and sit elsewhere in the congregation, so I can't reliably predict whether they will be present on any given Sunday. But hey, no matter what, the interpreter will be there if they decide to brave the crowd and attend Mass.

Then there's my deaf-blind friend who I normally help on Fridays. I miss going there and they miss having their signing aides coming in. I told his mom that I was willing to start coming back again as soon as their county and mine both went to Yellow. She called me yesterday and said we might have to hold off on that for a little while longer, because he has freaking SHINGLES and gave her chicken pox. Un-freaking-real! They can't catch a freaking break. 😡 So when both our counties are in Yellow *and* the freaking shingles/chicken pox are gone, THEN I can resume going there on Fridays.

In happier news, my parents celebrated their 59th wedding anniversary yesterday. It also was the 100th anniversary of the birth of my maternal grandmom. So that was nice. I really hope that we are able to go out and celebrate like normal humans NEXT year, which will be my parents' 60th anniversary.

Oh, and last night, the city did not send out the very jarring cell phone alert to signify the beginning of the curfew. I thought we would have a break from being deafened by that shocking noise, after getting the alert every day since Saturday when curfew began. But no such luck. We got the deafening cell phone alert because of a TORNADO WARNING instead. At least I knew it was coming. When we were on the Zoom chat, someone's phone sounded the alert, and just then, our weather radio started talking about tornadoes. So I figured my phone was about to go off at any moment with the same alert, and a couple minutes later, the alert came in. Fortunately, we only got heavy rain and high winds, but as far as I know, no tornadoes. The storms we did get yesterday, one around lunchtime and the other around 7:30 PM, were pretty severe, with a ton of trees and branches down and power outages, but tornadoes would just have made an already-serious situation even worse.

We are supposed to have feisty weather today, too. I hope it's not as insane as yesterday's storms. The news called it a derecho, which I had to look up, and this is what it means: a line of intense, widespread, and fast-moving windstorms and sometimes thunderstorms that moves across a great distance and is characterized by damaging winds. Yikes! That's a big NO THANK YOU to any more of those!

With Liberty and Justice for All

You know what I want?

I want the country that I THOUGHT we had when I was a little girl. I took the "Liberty and Justice for All" part of the Pledge of Allegiance seriously. I was too young to understand that we weren't at that point yet.

I was born in the early 60s, so I am old enough to remember things like the "Peace and Love" slogans, Flower Power, and all that. I saw all the talk about everyone of all races being equal and deserving equal treatment, and I internalized it. I was innocent enough that I thought everyone else did, too. It meshed so well with the "Love one another" teaching we were getting at that level in Catholic school, that wasn't it just OBVIOUS that this is what we should all be doing? I was too young to realize that we weren't there yet, either.

Now, I'm an adult, and I realize that we didn't then, and don't now, have a full implementation of justice for all, equal treatment for everyone, and love for one another. And you know what? I DON'T LIKE that, not one bit.

So I will be finding ways to volunteer, and I will definitely find ways in the voting booth, to get behind anyone who will be willing and able to create that equal justice and fair treatment for all in this society. Because sitting and grousing about what we ought to be doing is not going to get us any closer to making things better.

/rant

Woot, woot!

I am officially a paid author! 😀 I'll try not to spend it all in one place, lol.

Next up: curation on Medium. That's when Medium sends your article's link out to others, vastly increasing the number of visitors to the article. That's when an author will REALLY say, "Woot, woot!"