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.

Yellow Book Commercial

I was this on tv and thought it was so... fitting for my life! lol

Thanksgiving in the States

It sure is nice to be in the states again. My new housing situation is absolutely wonderful. This year's plan was to study for the Basic Clinic Skills Exam (BCSE) which I take on Dec 8th. Therefore, I am not driving to Texas like I'd hoped. Instead, Sean wanted me to meet his Mema so we headed that way for lunch. She's a very sweet and funny ~80 yr old French lady. I made tarts and she dropped part of one in Pop's (her husband's) lap... then dove down for it under the table. Everyone jumped up to grab her. The setting was quite informal and most ate on the couch, but the food was very very good (she's French!).

Then we rushed home to take our turkey out of the oven, for we had invited my mother, brother, and Susie up for dinner. Sean went all out on the turkey-- absolutely amazing! He stuffed it with celery, pears, mushrooms, and onions, then wrapped the turkey in maple bacon. He had soaked cheesecloth in butter, which he then wrapped the turkey with again. Finally, we put the turkey in an oven bag and baked it. OMG, the juiciest best tasting turkey I've ever had. Hats off to the chef. He'd also made mashed potatoes (from scratch), stuffing, salad, and I made green bean casserole. Mom made broccoli cheese casserole. What a sweet guy for going to so much trouble to make everything perfect for Thanksgiving.

I'm thankful for:

• Heat

• Electricity (still quite important)

• Being back in the states

• Water that doesn't make my vomit

• And being happy.

Life as a Hermit Crab

Let me tell you what's been going on here: The place I moved into looked fine (spectacular actually), but lacked regularly running water. I also tried to get internet, but apparently the 5 miles I live away from OSU is so far out in the sticks, I can't get internet (unless I wanted to spend >$100/mo). My fridge didn't work either, never resolved that problem even after I put it on an extension cord.

Remember Labor Day weekend, Mango (my cat) had a sudden unexpected bout of dyspnea (difficulty breathing) and died (euthanized at the clinic). My landlord told me he was going to poison my dogs when they got out one afternoon during a thunderstorm while I was working a shift from 5am to midnight. Mid September, my A/C and heater went out. It's really freaking cold in Oklahoma. Especially at night. I bought space heaters which blew the breaker box. Then the electrical fluctuations blew the larger space heater's coils. Plus, using ~18 light bulbs in 2 months indicate severe electrical issues. I complained numerous times to my landlord but he never fixed the problems.

Then the 1st week of Oct he decided to hand my key out to have whoever go in my apt/house. Super because my laptop and all my Rx drugs could have been stolen. Not to mention there's a rapist living 2 doors down. See Robert Reedy. That was another thing I found out, because the sheriff was knocking on doors! He was unregistered-- 2 convictions of felony rape!

To compound matters, the landlord took the sides off the barn I'm rented so the horses didn't have shelter from the rain (which got quite cold, almost freezing). Large puddles would accumulate so they didn't have a dry place to stand, which is not acceptable for winter.

Then my landlord decided to hand out my key to a guy in the trailer park to enter my dwelling without telling me. I've been spending my nights for the past few weeks basically driving around looking at other places to live, which has been a challenge since I have the 2 dogs and 4 horses! The dogs and I have been living out of my car of sorts. I had no idea that living conditions could actually be worse than they were on St Kitts this time last year when we didn't have electricity for two months. Heat, water, power, shelter, refrigeration for your food are all very important.

So I ran across a place in Agra, OK (30 min away). The wife is deployed Army in Iraq and the husband works out of state. It's a nice house on 53 acres. They have ~30 horses and ~10 dogs. They moved the mother-in-law (wife's mother) into the house to keep it occupied and a guy comes out to feed all the animals. They wanted a responsible person to live with the MIL in case she died randomly (broke hip, heart attack, etc). Rent is $400 for the master suite (huge bedroom, 9x12 bathroom, 9x18 closet), all bills paid (water, gas, trash, electric, internet, cable), free horse board, no pet deposit, and the dogs are allowed in the house.

And since all things too good to be true usually are, here's the hitch: the wife owns and pays for the animals, the husband the house. He wanted to "restructure" his mortgage for a reduced rate, so he stopped paying it and the house is in foreclosure. All animals are fat, he said he could pay the mortgage, and they seem to have enough money.

I was really hesitant moving there with the cost of gas and the 10 mpg Dodge Durango and the fact that we're required to live within 15 minutes of campus, but they seem like very decent people. I spent my 1st night there last night (will be spending nights that i'm on call at a friend's house). It is very nice so far, and I could very easily live there until mid-July when I finish up, but in all likelihood it will be temporary.

At this point, anything is better than the shit hole I was living in. Stillwater so far sux; I estimate that half the people in Oklahoma are looney tunes out of their minds crazy and the other half are bend over backwards super sweet. The school is quite enjoyable most days though. I will take pictures of the new place when I have time and internet.