Sick Kitty Update

The second visit cost €56. *sigh* And this does not include the health certificate checkup this Friday to get him back to the US. He has been fine, if a little bored since he went on the antibiotics. The bored part has nothing to do with the being sick part, but all the other cats moved to Canada on Saturday, so he keeps wandering around the house begging me to play with him or pay attention or anything. Last night, we played with the blue feather toy for awhile.

I also have good news to report - today I don't feel like garbage! :) Last Thursday, I missed work because I had no voice, went to work on Friday, with the help of my small pharmacy I brought with me, then came home, took Caesar to the vet and went to sleep. Saturday and Sunday was spent in an orgy of self pity and television viewing; at least five little bags of tissues gave their lives along with a roll of toilet paper and a significant amount of my facial moisturizer. Monday I missed work again, made it out of the house for my one hour of Farsi instruction, and was so wiped I came straight back home. Today I am back at work, feeling much better, although slightly annoyed that I showed up for the first lesson and didn't teach until the fourth. Because I no longer have internet at home (which made Saturday and Sunday just that much more fun!), today is also my catch-up-on-internet-activities-day. On to more witty observations about fascinating happenings in the 'heart of Europe!'

Sick kitty

Poor Caesar spent the better part of today vomiting all over the house. It was not fun. Not for him, clearly, and not for me as I got to clean it up. Since cats often have gastrointestinal problems, for various reasons, I didn't really pay much attention until it turned pink. Thinks only turn pink if an animal hasn't had anything to eat and is bleeding from the stomach. This is clearly bad. However, there are various reasons for this too, none of which I could take care of myself.

So, off to the vet ten minutes before they closed. Fun! That meant that the base fee would be €20 instead of €100, the after hours fee. This is definitely good. However, he needed an X-ray (nothing bad, thank goodness!), two antibiotics (which he hated), and an IV drip because he was dehydrated and had a fever. Poor baby. Poor me - the visit cost me €81,20 total. Oh, well. Only the best for my baby! Unfortunately, we travel back to the US in less than two weeks, so he better get healthy fast. He's sleeping now, which I hope will help him recover more quickly.

Tomorrow, I get to spend more money on my kitty. fun! But as long as my little friend is healthy, that's all that matters. I have great earning potential - but there's only one Caesar. :)

BMI => Do you really look good if your mommy tells you so?

In one of my classes recently, we were talking about beauty: various definitions, personal experiences and so on. They argued that Marilyn Monroe is more beautiful than Twiggy because she's curvier (we compared two pictures, one of MM in the Seven Year Itch and one of Twiggy in a tube dress). However, most of the girls in the class are careful about what they eat. Is it unhealthy to be careful of what you eat to remain thin? We discussed the importance of the BMI - here's a table.

Height Weight Range BMI Weight Status
5’ 9” 124 lbs or less Below 18.5 Underweight
125 lbs to 168 lbs 18.5 to 24.9 Normal
169 lbs to 202 lbs 25.0 to 29.9 Overweight
203 lbs or more 30 or higher Obese

I do not remember a time in my life that I haven't been overweight. And I think these girls have never actually been overweight, yet they say that they're unhappy with their bodies and the way they look. I prefer the Marilyn Monroe look myself, but I think it takes either a very confident woman, or a naturally slender/curvy woman who doesn't watch her weight to be satisfied with that look in today's skinny obsessed world. One thing I do NOT agree with is the assumption that it is not possible to change one's weight. I may have a hard time doing so myself, but that's because I eat things I ought not to, and I don't exercise like I should, not because I have some sort of physical deficiency. People who say that it's impossible to lose weight simply haven't tackled their weight problem the right way for them to lose the weight.

This WAS a surprise

While this is honestly a surprise, I think of the characters listed, it makes sense. I do like Emma Woodhouse, though.... :)

You scored as Elinor Dashwood. As Marianne's older sister, Elinor lives at the other end of the emotional spectrum. She rarely reveals her intense feelings and is more concerned with being honest and loyal than having what she deserves. Even though her intentions are pure, she sets herself up for loss by constantly placing other people before her own needs. Overall, Elinor is gentle and rational but is just as capable of radical emotions (despite her withholding them) as her sister. Elinor Dashwood 97% Elizabeth Bennet 66% Charlotte Lucas 66% Emma Woodhouse 56% Jane Bennet 50% Marianne Dashwood 47% Lady Catherine 25% Which Jane Austen Character are You? (For Females) Long Quiz!!! created with QuizFarm.com

"Behavior unbecoming of a diplomat"

My eventual career goal (this one has lasted the better part of two years, so I'm figuring it's a good one to pursue) is to go into the US Foreign Service and works for the US Department of State abroad. Here's an example of what I definitely hope never to hear about an ambassador I am working for:

"JERUSALEM — The Israeli ambassador to El Salvador has been recalled after he was found drunk, naked and bound in sexual bondage gear in his yard, an official said Monday.

Tsuriel Raphael has been removed from his post and the Foreign Ministry has begun searching for a replacement, said spokeswoman Zehavit Ben-Hillel.

Two weeks ago, El Salvador police found Raphael naked outside his residence, tied up, gagged and drunk, Israeli media reported. He was wearing several sex toys at the time, the media said. After he was untied, Raphael told police he was the ambassador of Israel, the reports said.

The British Broadcasting Corp. reported that he could identify himself to police only after a rubber ball had been removed from his mouth.

Ben-Hillel said the reports were accurate and that Raphael has been recalled, although he did not break any laws.

"We're talking about behavior that is unbecoming of a diplomat," she said.

The ambassador did not file a police complaint in the incident, she said." - FoxNews.com

What a big surprise....

You scored as Christianity. Your views are most similar to those of Christianity. Do more research on Christianity and possibly consider being baptized and accepting Jesus, if you aren't already Christian. Christianity is the second of the Abrahamic faiths; it follows Judaism and is followed by Islam. It differs in its belief of Jesus, as not a prophet nor historical figure, but as God in human form. The Holy Trinity is the concept that God takes three forms: the Father, the Son (Jesus), and the Holy Ghost (sometimes called Holy Spirit). Jesus taught the idea of instead of seeking revenge, one should love his or her neighbors and enemies. Christians believe that Jesus died on the cross to save humankind and forgive people's sins. Christianity 79% agnosticism 71% Judaism 67% Buddhism 63% Islam 58% Paganism 50% Satanism 46% Hinduism 42% atheism 29% Which religion is the right one for you? (new version) created with QuizFarm.com

I do find it someone amusing that I could be 46% Satanist - what exactly IS Satanism anyway? I mean, does anyone seriously practice it, or is it just a drug-induced, I hate my parents and all of society kind of fling thing? I can understand Wicca.... Satanism? not so much. I think that scoring 71% agnostic demonstrates the great deal of doubt that any thinking person will always harbor regarding one's choice of faith. There is no way to know what the afterlife holds or doesn't hold until you die, really, and then it's too late to tell people who are still alive what heaven/hell is or isn't. So I guess it's a giant game of roulette - and nobody finds out until it's too late if they've gambled on the right spot.

Personality Type

Back in September, I took the same personality test (based on Jungian psychology, supposedly) that E. posted on recently. Then, I was apparently what's called a 'Mastermind' - which is as ridiculous as it sounds. People in my group were Adolf Hitler and a bunch of other rather unpleasant people I don't remember.

Here's a great quote from this analysis:
"It is in their abilities that Masterminds differ from the other Rationals, while in most of their attitudes they are just like the others. However there is one attitude that sets them apart from other Rationals: they tend to be much more self-confident than the rest, having, for obscure reasons, developed a very strong will. They are rather rare, comprising no more than, say, one percent of the population."

I just took it again, too see if it would change, and it did - apparently I'm now a Counselor Idealist. The main similarity seems to be that they're both supposedly rare except now I have the same personality type but I care about people, whereas before I didn't. Or something - different level of introversion on the main results (distinctively expressed as opposed to moderately expressed, whatever that means).

Here's a great quote from this one:
"Counselors have strong empathic abilities and can become aware of another's emotions or intentions -- good or evil -- even before that person is conscious of them. This "mind-reading" can take the form of feeling the hidden distress or illnesses of others to an extent which is difficult for other types to comprehend."

All I can say is - wow. First, Adolf Hitler, now ESP. This is stupid for a couple of reasons - I'm not a psychopathic killer attempting to take over the world and wipe out my supposed inferiors, but I'm also not some sort of emotionally charged empathic seer. It's like being switched from being Lord Voldemort to Professor Trelawney, or from Lor (Data's twin) to Troi. geez.

Currently reading....

... Bill Bryson's A Short History of Nearly Everything.

Description of a singularly dedicated British scientist, J. B. S. Haldane:
"On other occasion, while poisoning himself with elevated levels of oxygen, Haldane had a fit so severe that he crushed several vertebrae. Collapsed lungs were a routine hazard. Perforated eardrums were quite common, too; but, as Haldane reassuringly noted in one of his essays, 'the drum generally heals up; and if a hole remains in it, although one is somewhat deaf, one can blow tobacco smoke out of the ear in question, which is a social accomplishment.'"

Geologist referring to inhospitable environment provided by the young earth:
"'Well, one school of though says it was actually cool then because the sun was much weaker.' (I later learned that biologists, when they are feeling jocose, refer to this as 'the Chinese restaurant problem' -- because we had a dim sun.)"

Ethyl gasoline (leaded gasoline) story:
"As rumours circulated about the dangers of the new product, ethyl's ebullient inventor, Thomas Midgley, decided to hold a demonstration for reporters to allay their concerns. As he chatted away about the company's commitment to safety, he poured tetraethyl lead over his hands, then held a beaker of it to his nose for sixty seconds, claiming all the while that he could repeat the procedure daily without harm. In fact, Midgley knew all too well the perils of lead poisoning; he had himself been made seriously ill from overexposure a few months earlier and now, except when reassuring journalists, never went near the stuff if he could help it."

On Sir Isaac Newton:
"Newton was a decidedly odd figure -- brilliant beyond measure, but solitary, joyless, prickly to the point of paranoia famously distracted (upon swinging his feet out of bed in the morning he would reportedly sometimes sit for hours, immobilized by the sudden rush of thoughts to his head), and capable of he most riveting strangeness. He built his own laboratory, the first at Cambridge, but then engaged in the most bizarre experiments. Once he inserted a bodkin -- a long needle of the sort used for sewing leather -- into his eye socket and rubbed it around 'betwixt my eye as near to [the] backside of my eye as I could' just to see what would happen."

I'm on page 411, and I started reading it yesterday morning. Who knew science could be so fascinating? Anytime math comes up, it still escapes me, though.