Time for another update on life since I couldn't come up with anything interesting to post about. I lasted posted a
life update in July.
Cats
Leia had to go to the vet this week. She started showing signs of a urinary tract infection: frequent litter box usage, only peeing a little each time, taking a long time in the box, licking. I brought her in and it turns out it's not a UTI. They think it's stress-related, but took a urine culture just in case. She has to have prescription food for awhile and we'll see how that goes. They're a little concerned because the original sample, the one they tested for infection, shows that her urine is a bit diluted. I'm hoping they don't say she has kidney disease. They gave her subcutaneous fluids and sent her home with pain medication. She stayed in the bedroom for awhile so I could monitor her litter box usage (with 11 cats, it's difficult to know who's doing what and when). She seems to be doing fine now. I haven't yet received the results of the culture, so I'm hoping nothing else comes up.
Car
Someone hit the back of my car in a parking lot and took off. I've had the car for less than a year, so I'm pretty annoyed. There goes my deductible! Since the paint is damaged, I had to fix it so it doesn't rust or get worse. I don't understand why people do things like that. I'm guessing they know they won't get caught and are counting on the fact that it won't be noticed right away. And they're probably uninsured, unlicensed, or both. Anyway, it's fixed now. I guess the one bright spot is that the body shop washed my car, completely detailed the inside, and inflated my tires, which were a little low.
House
We're currently in the middle of putting down a vinyl plank floor in the family room. It wasn't planned. We just decided that since we had gotten rid of the couch and hadn't yet replaced it, why don't we tear up the (very) disgusting carpet and put down either laminate or vinyl? So we ripped it up and, yes, it was really gross. I mean, I've got 11 cats and it's also a high-traffic area of the house. Bob has been working on laying the new floor down this week, but we'll probably spend part of the weekend finishing it up.
The hard part is working around the hatch in the floor, which is for the well. Yes, our well is under the family room. Our house was built in 1735 and the well was outside at that point. At some point in the early 1900s (we think), the family room was added. Rather than connect to the city water, the home owner decided to build an enclosure around the well and put a hatch in the floor so it can be accessed. Brilliant...not! Sure, it's cool to look at, but it's going to be REALLY expensive when the time comes to replace the well pump.
Here's the hatch in the floor.
And here's the well. Pretty amazing, isn't it? It's hard to believe this was dug almost 300 years ago with hand tools, and it's perfectly round. You can see how far down the water is.
Back Pain
Last time I updated I mentioned that I wasn't doing anything else for awhile since I'd reached the limit of epidural cortisone shots I could have in nine months. Now that summer is over, I've scheduled an appointment to see about getting them again. Even though they didn't last more than three weeks each time previously, it was still a great help when it came to sleeping.
Sleeping seems to be the biggest problem for me, mainly because, well, I need to sleep. When I'm sore from sitting (and sitting is the thing that causes most of the pain), I can just get up from my desk, the couch, whatever and walk around for awhile. I can't do that when I'm sleeping. I mean I could, but then it would take me awhile to fall back asleep and I'll end up more tired the next day. My standard practice at the moment is to take half a Tylenol PM and either one or two regular Tylenol at bedtime. I substitute half a Percocet for the Tylenol PM if I really need it, but I try not to do that since I sometimes feel hungover the next day. I'm getting really tired of taking pain medication every single night, so I'm thinking it's time to do the shots again, even if I only get limited relief. I'm also worried about my liver with all the acetaminophen, even though I take about half the daily maximum dosage.
I'm trying to put off surgery until I get to the point where the pain stops me from doing certain things, like working out. I'm not at that point yet, though that could happen in the next year or two.
Work
I mentioned in my
last "life lately" post that my company was acquired. I've since learned that my job will end towards the end of February, so that means another job search. I'm actually not upset that I didn't get an offer from the acquiring company; I know many people that have worked there, and there's a reason they left.
It's a little too early to start searching, but I look everyday just to see what's out there...and there's not much. I'm thinking I may want to change industries, as I've been in the same one for 22 years, but that could mean a pay cut that I really can't afford right now. Lots of people have been telling me to "think outside the box" and that sounds good right about now. I'm someone who needs change, so going into another industry could be the shot of excitement I need, career-wise. It's scary, but exciting at the same time to think I could be doing something quite different this time next year.