Eye Appt

It's been a while since I've been to the eye dr and I'm always busy at work/school (never get time off). A few weeks ago I broke my glasses and found a VERY old (opened 6mo ago, purchased 3 yrs ago) pair of contact lenses that I used to tide me over to get the eye appt. There are no Vision Centers in Oklahoma Walmarts (it's illegal for some reason). One day I got off work early, and stopped at an eye office on my way home. I asked how much the appt would be since my finances are extremely tight right now (like qualify for foodstamps if I had time to stand in line for them). They said the eye exam for glasses and contacts would be $130-160ish, so I said ok. When I was done, they said the bill was >$200! plus if the contacts didn't fit right, there would be a $30-50 refitting fee for each visit! I paid the bill and cried all the way home.

To complicate matters, the dr said he wouldn't renew the prescription for the contacts that I'd been wearing for >10 yrs, but gave me a different brand that were >2-3x's in price! I should have been more forceful when I tried to explain that I couldn't afford more expensive contacts and I was happy with the ones I had always worn. (I did tell him that exactly, but he was very dismissive about it and flat said he wouldn't prescribe my Acuvue.)

I've never spent >$100 on an eye exam before, and tried to decide how to handle this, since I can't afford to go back to get the contacts prescription and now can't afford to go anywhere else. I totally understand them being a business and needing to make money, but if they'd given me a more accurate estimate, I would have gone elsewhere and not wasted either of our time.

Well, I decided to go back for the week later contacts recheck, since it was with a different dr. I explained the situation as professionally as I could, and he paused for a moment, then looked at his calendar. Turns out, the dr I'd seen had been up the night before my appointment at the hospital with his father who died. Shocking that he even came into work! Well the other dr fixed my bill and renewed my cheaper contacts prescription. I'm very glad that I didn't overreact.

Passed the BCSE!

I just wanted to let everyone know that I found out that I passed the Basic Clinical Skills Exam (BCSE)! This is the first of about half a dozen exams I must take to get a license and be an official vet.

Mom's Christmas Surprise!

Sean's mother is basically bedridden from a knee surgery that did not go so well. She was quite lonesome at home, and I wanted a new cat, so I ran across a Maltese at the shelter that made me think of her. Well several days later, we went up there and the little dog was adopted (no surprise). Went back a few days later and ran across a red Pekingese than looked like Starbuck, so we hauled his mom up to look at it, and then it turned out to bed adopted (after standing in line waiting for 1hr and a half).

By this time, his mom now really wanted a sweet little dog, and his dad threw in a poodle request, so I started searching craigslist and petfinder. I'm so not a fan of breeders, especially the ones selling little mutt mixes.

We happened across a little 8 year old grey toy poodle at a rescue. He'd been there for ~6 months; no one wanted him because he had a pretty substantial heart murmur. He was pretty adorable, and matched Sean's dad (grey hair, white beard). He's perfect.

Anyway, we ran across Sophie a blonde and white Pekingese (likeness pictured, but Sophie has tragic eyes). She had been turned out by her owners and a neighbor found her. She was skin and bones and due to give birth to a litter of puppies. (The puppies were omg so cute, looked like the ones in the first picture, only smaller!) Turns out their dad was a black Pomeranian. I told the lady that I'd ask my brother his opinion, but if she didn't have a home for it by the time we picked up the Pekingese on Christmas eve, then we'd pick him up too.

Well of course Josh was excited over the fuzzball, and she still had him, so I boxed him up in Bootsey's travel carrier and put him under the tree. My mother shrieked! I can't believe everyone was so good at keeping him a secret! This is Pepe le Pew (formerly known as Smokey). My mother had mentioned being interested to getting a little dog in one of the puppy mill seizes that end up at school.

Blizzard of Ot-Nine

Prior to driving to Sean's family on Christmas eve, storm spanned the country, and it started to snow. And it snowed, and snowed, and snowed. Then we were snowed in, and it kept snowing. Salty was not thrilled. Snow is cold and wet, neither of which she appreciates.

So what do we do? We get in the car and drive around! It didn't take venturing very far to discover to be a snowy mess. There was a wreck on every corner, then more happened right before our eyes. People skidding into one another. It was dangerous. We got back to the house after filling his tank with gas (since my rental car was stuck).

Then what do we do? We walk around the block because we had no food in the house (canned green beans didn't cut it). I nearly froze. I couldn't see anything. Anything!!! I had to hold his hand because the snow blinded me. We went a block and I was lost! Glad he knew where we were. He led me to a very nice Italian place called Toto's, and I had spinach ravioli while he had the lasagna. We watched the Pope do Christmas Mass in Rome.

Here's video of the blizzard, but maybe I should warn you to mute the volume before you hit play. This may not be suitable for all viewers (listeners). Good times, good times. I hate this weather.