Questions and Answers

The past week or two has sucked, but things are starting to look up.

The changes in my job continue to go well. My new coworkers tell me they are impressed by my ability to assimilate large amounts of information so quickly, and my new boss appears to be an likeable and level-headed person. No matter how suspicious I am, I can't help but have fun working with these guys, which is actually hard to adjust to. Work isn't supposed to be fun, and bosses aren't supposed to be likeable. Except that mine just came rushing over to my desk last Friday:

"Are you and your wife big in the kitchen?" he asked, eyes big and excited.

"Well, yeah, kind of. Why?"

"Amazon.com," he whispered. "Professional grade Calphalon pots, for 20 bucks! They're like, 80% off!" He helped me find them on the site, then rushed off to spread the good news about high quality, low cost, cookware to all his staff.

Yes indeed, the new boss tipped me off to a $160 Calphalon pots that were on sale for $19.95. Plus free shipping if you ordered $25 or more. It's hard not to like that.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One of the folks who managed to stick their foot in it while discussing the whole church-money-tithing thing apologized to my wife, and they are back on good terms. The fact that this person took the hint (ok, Lullabelle wasn't exactly subtle about things), and that they talked to her and sorted it out reinforces my impression that they are a good person, and the friendship was worth the time we've put into it.

On the flip side, a number of people I know are now not pledging, and a couple of people are just plain leaving. One of the folks leaving is a woman I have tremendous respect and affection for; one of the people that really has helped me feel connected at our church. I will still see her, since we have a number of connections "outside" of church, but the church will lose someone who has been a real worker and resource for them. Of course, diverse perspectives are not what we seem to be about right now. Right now, we're all about growing the brand.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The other big news was with one of our cats, Shadow. After a long battle with an ear infection that wasn't getting better, he ended up in the emergency clinic on Thanksgiving night with blood running out of one ear and one nostril. Things were pretty tense, and he ended up making the road trip to Lansing, Michigan (a long haul with a cat that's a really bad traveler). He received iv fluids over the holiday weekend, then a series of tests starting the Monday after.

While running a scope through his head, they found and removed a "large mass" that was blocking the tubing in his mellon. That relieved the immediate symptoms, such as large problems with hearing and smell, but also created the new worry that he might have cancer. They did x-rays, and then a CT scan. Finally, they sent him home, with drugs to help his appetite, while we waited for test results.

We finally got those test results, and he does not have cancer, or any other life threatening diseases that they could find. What he does have is a big infection where all the crap was blocked up in his head, a prescription to fight it, and drugs to, as my wife puts it, "keep him stoned." Everyone that saw him at MSU's vet hospital remarked on how friendly and loveable he was. "You just can't possibly pet him enough!" one woman said. No, I smiled, no you can't.

So yes, I now have a cat that has suddenly regained a lot of energy, smell and hearing, and constantly has the munchies. Plus a really big bill from the vetrinary hospital at Michigan State. (sigh)