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Allergy Woes

Hello faithful blog readers...

I am now fairly settled in Geneseo...My house is lovely, my kitty is here with me, and I have three of the best housemates I could have imagined. My classes seem pretty interesting too. The biggest difficulty I'm dealing with right now is the severe allergies I seem to have developed this summer (I've never had allergies before) that have kept me in low level misery for the last three weeks or so. It feels like someone has jammed a potato into my nasal passages. I am very frustrated and I've been taking heaps of different medications and none of them seem to be very effective (although one of them is pretty good at making me as tired as anything.) If anyone has any allergy suggestions let me know. It sucks. I've been breathing out of my mouth for three weeks. Anyway, though, other than that things are going pretty well. I've been busy trying to see everyone and meet some of the freshmen as well. Tonight we're having an ice cream social for the new students and I'm looking forward to that. This weekend may be a bit lonely because Amber and Boo are both away and I don't think I'm going to be able to go to church on Sunday because I'm going to visit relatives. I'm actually looking forward to winter so all the plants will die and I'll be able to breathe again. I don't want to think about how discouraging this will be if I have these allergies for the rest of my life. Actually, I'm even more afraid that I've developed an allergy to my cat. I don't know if that can happen but I really hope not. I think it's probably just pollen.

Telephone Interviewer

This job is seriously one of the hardest I have ever had, I mean in terms of just trying to get myself through each shift. It just seems to take soooo long and be sooooo boring. I only have six days of work left and it still feels like a huge burden. Sigh. I'm doing VBS this week as well, which is actually really fun. I'm in charge of eight preschoolers, who are super cute and actually very well behaved. Today was the first day and it went well. I have to be honest, I'm so sick of working though. Both jobs are wearing me out in different ways. I only have a week and a half left, but I have to be honest, I'm a little bit dreading it. I can't wait to back to school.

Thunder Update

God is good. After three difficult and chancy weeks, my dear little Thunder seems to finally be turning around. The last couple of days she has started eating and drinking on her own, and she's been able to stay hydrated without injections of fluids. It's tremendously encouraging to see her doing so much better. She is more affectionate than ever and seems to have her energy back as well. Its also a relief to me not to have to be medicating, syringe feeding and injecting her all the time. She's lost a lot of weight and is very thin, but she is active and bright eyed and I'm just so happy to have my little kitty back.

Just an update for my mates in New Zealand, your silly Mel is currently working her butt off at a farm, hoeing and weeding and picking blueberries (but hopefully not slaughtering chickens this year), and I'm also working for a market research company giving telephone surveys! Actually I'm still in training for that. Its a very boring job but I'm grateful to have a job at all. I have four weeks left until I start school next semester, which I am really looking forward to. Take care and stay warm, all of you in the southern hemisphere!

Cat Care

My dear kitty Shadow was put to sleep last Monday. My heart absolutely retched when we had to do it. We buried her in our backyard.

For the past two weeks, my beloved kitty Thunder has been in and out of the vets dealing with some sort of kidney problems caused by the anesthesia from her tooth extraction. She was at the vets house all weekend on an IV and while she's home I have to feed her by hand six times a day with a syringe. Fortunately, I don't have a job yet so I'm home to do it, but its exhausting and it means that I'm going to be at parents house for the rest of the summer. It's been a long past couple of weeks with the cats, and very expensive, and we're still not sure if Thunder is going to pick up or not. If she doesn't get better...I am going to be devestated. Thunder is absolutely my favorite animal that I have ever met and it just kills me to see her sick and not acting like herself. At the same time, I'm not sure how much longer I can give her round the clock care and expect my parents to pay the enormous vet bills.

If you can bring yourself to pray for a cat, please pray that she will get better, for her sake and mine. I do know that she is just a cat, and that pets don't live forever....but she really means a lot to me, and to lose her so soon after Shadow would be really hard. She's not that old and I'd like to see her live some more happy years yet.

Shadow

My dear black kitty Shadow may be leaving us soon. She has a large mass in her abdomen and surgery seems too risky because she is such an old cat, and there is a low chance of helping her anyway. But I will miss her, because she has been a very sweet pet for the last 13 years, and I can hardly remember being without her.

BORN IN THE USA!

Man. I am HOME! Its amazing! How strange to be back in New York. And strange that it doesn't really feel that strange. My cat is reluctant to let me out of her sight. I think she's afraid I'm going to leave again. Man! My house smells like MY HOUSE. New York in summer smells like NEW YORK IN SUMMER. It's just delightful. And, if I'm really lucky, I can even drive my car :) I went to bed last night with three flannel blankets and a down duvet...woke up an hour later about to die from the heat. It's also amazing to have a cat sleeping on my bed that actually purrs (although Ginger is wonderful, but she has limitations). Man. 38 hours of travel is what it took me to get here. A big warm hug to all of you that I left in New Zealand (in winter) and a big high five to all the New Yorkers I'm returning to! And I have to end with, Praise God, because He helped me through the agonizingly long trip and I am so blessed to have such a lovely home and family to come home to. And also because going to New Zealand was one of the coolest things I have ever done in my life.