Mindymoo
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Posts posted by Mindymoo
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I thought Jason's snake looked like one of Bowser's kids from New Super Mario Bros.
Really enjoyed the top looks this week. Nora and Jasmine's pieces were on point, but I understood why they gave the win to Jordan and Ben's fauns. They really did look like they belonged together. And I'm rooting for Jordan for the dumbest reason: he looks like a doppelganger of my little cousin. Meg really can go home any time, though. I wanted them to revoke immunity so badly when she was up on stage.
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I really appreciated the main segment this week. I'm a lesbian, and have been with my SO for five years. We consider ourselves married, though we're not legally married yet, because we lived in a state that didn't have marriage equality until the supreme court's decision and figured it would be years until that day would come. She goes to a Catholic college for nursing school because it's the best school in the region for the BSN program, and while she was allowed to start a gay-straight alliance there, they are not allowed to discuss marriage equality AT ALL. That is 100% against Catholic teachings. We wanted to run to the courthouse the day the decision was announced, since our county was prepared, but our state doesn't have LGBT protections so we thought better of it. We're terrified that if we did get married, she could get kicked out of school. It's something that could easily happen, and I am glad that John addressed how messed up it is that we don't have basic civil rights protections in this country.
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See, I hate Rodgers and Hammerstein so much that I don't even care about how to spell their names properly! The playbill said that the story was adapted from some Bulgarian playwright's story, which ended in tragedy, and that they decided to flip it with Billy. That was their idea of a happy ending. Reading that blew my goddamn mind! It's like how they took "Tommy", the rock opera and movie, changed it from his dad being killed by his mom's boyfriend to his dad killing his mom's boyfriend, adding in a whole subplot about him falling in love with Sally Simpson who in the movie/album was just a 12-year-old groupie, and then after he has been raped, tortured, exploited and abused by his family for his whole life and forced to be a cult figure, he comes back to them and they forgive him and all is well? No! Fuck no! The movie version made sense and was perfect. Tommy was free of the cult and free of the rotten family that turned him into a "deaf, dumb and blind boy" in the first place- because they were dead! That was a satisfying ending. The play ending was garbage. Beautifully performed garbage, but garbage all the same. I love ya, Pete Townshend, but that you were involved in the additional music and storyline for the Broadway show makes me think you were hard up for money and that this was nothing but a cash grab.
I saw both "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" and "The Glass Menagerie" in Stratford a few years ago. "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" used the original script, which had the gay subtext with Brick's character. It made everything that happened in that play make much more sense, and made Maggie more tragic than just whiny and annoying because she knew that something was up with Brick and Skipper. (You probably know that already though.) Watching the movie with Elizabeth Taylor, who I already cannot stand as an actress anyway, yeah, I can see the misogyny. And "The Glass Menagerie" was just so sad. I haven't seen "A Streetcar Named Desire" on stage, so I don't know if there's anything missing from the movie the way that there was with "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof."
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I'm in Stratford, Ontario until tomorrow, and we saw "Hamlet", "The Diary of Anne Frank" and "Carousel." The first two were completely amazing. The actor portraying Hamlet was breathtaking, and "The Diary of Anne Frank" left everyone in tears. "Carousel", though? It reminds me of why I can't stand Rogers and Hammerstein. The female characters were so thinly drawn, the play was very misogynistic, and it was just frustrating. The Stratford actors (other than the girl who played Julie) did what they could with their roles and had great voices, but I really hated that play. It even seemed to be condoning domestic violence! You can't tell me that it was the time period it was written in either, because Noel Coward and Tennessee Williams, both playwrights of the same era, wrote strong female characters. (Not musicals, I know. But still.) The set design was cool, and the best thing about it was that Billy's afterlife judge came out on a giant white carousel horse and he looked like the ghost of Liberace. But man, that's probably my least favorite musical I've ever seen here. But it was either that or "The Sound of Music", another R&H, and I hate that one too.
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Even my parents- one of whom is a cafeteria Catholic that was sent to seminary school and the other who was raised Catholic but is now agnostic- buried the St. Joseph statue. Surprisingly, in the crappy neighborhood that house was in, they sold the house quickly and got it for asking price. Same thing with my Busia and Step-Grandpa Charlie's old house. Same neighborhood, sold it within three months and got it for asking price when most of the houses around them were rental properties in dilapidated condition. My mom, the agnostic, even does the St. Anthony prayer when she is missing something like her car keys or her wedding ring. That Catholic juju sticks with you, even after you've left the church.
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Glioblastoma is a horrible, aggressive cancer. I can understand why your sister took the road she did, SewSumi. Still, I'm with you that a memorial would have been nice, even though it's more for loved ones than the decedent. Is it possible that you, your sister, and some of the people that knew and loved her could get together informally and just share memories of her over dinner or something? So it's not really a wake, not really a memorial, but just a celebration of the person you knew and loved.
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I'm so sorry for your loss Sew Sumi. That's so sad. We all have our own way of dealing with illness. I personally will push all but a couple of people away from me while I vent about how bad I feel on the internet, so I get your sis here. And I agree, the animal shelter in her name sounds wonderful.
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That's great news about Figaro Mindy - thanks for the update. Sorry about your brother though - I had a bug bite go really bad on me once, and thankfully it was just an O/P kind of overnight feedbag-o-meds situation. Damn man though, that shit is painful. He has my sympathy.
Ouch! They are pretty sure his started as an ingrown hair, and he works as a mechanic which is a pretty dirty job as it is. It's been really hot, so the dirt and grime, mixed with the sweat from the heat just created the perfect storm. Plus, it's on his hip, right where he wears his belt. He's pretty miserable, but luckily it hasn't spread and he hasn't had a fever. They were able to lance it in the ER and he squeezed the life out of my hand! (I watched the whole thing while he was turning grey- I'm fascinated by that stuff. I watch botfly removal videos on YouTube in my free time, but this was a little more intense just because it was my brother that it was attached to.) He's one of those people that will go to work no matter what, but he was in so much pain from this that he didn't go in and sent me a picture of it and I was like "yeah, bro, I'm coming over and taking you to the hospital." He could barely walk, and since it's actually MRSA I made the right call. He really didn't want to go, but he defers to me on health matters. He's on a couple different antibiotics and norco for the pain, so he should be okay.
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Man it's been a long week. Figaro is doing much better- no throwing up, he's eating, he's taking his meds, everything's great. But I've been taking care of my brother because he got an abscess that turned out to be MRSA. Had to take him to the ER to get it lanced, then to his doctor to get the packing removed because it was too painful for him to drive, and I've just been bringing him food and movies and stuff. I also get the house to myself since my better half is camping until Friday in New York and I would rather have hot screws jammed under my toenails than camp. So it's just me and the kitties, and me caring for my brother and his kitties. Just thought I'd give you guys an update. Thanks for your support.
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I think everyone's nice thoughts and prayers, along with the anti-emetics and fluids, helped Figaro. He's been eating today, he hasn't thrown up, and he isn't lethargic. Crisis averted! Man, he really needs to stop putting me through the wringer like that. Now I need to figure out if I can ever let him outside again. He loves it- he's a cat, duh- but I don't want him getting sick like that. I don't know how much longer he has on this planet, and I want whatever time he has left to be spent cuddling, playing, eating good food and resting comfortably, not puking his guts out and moaning.
Oh, and if anyone is a Kids in the Hall fan, here's a clip from their miniseries that explains what I absolutely refuse to do with my cat, as much as I understand the impulse. (And it's funny as hell.)
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Aw you have been beating yourself up all week over Figaro . The vet said Figaro heart and lungs sounded better. Maybe you can put out a bowl of room tempature organic chicken broth that always makes my furry family better. Please Give Figaro a hug and kiss from Auntie Amityville
I will try that! Thank you. I just feel so bad for the little guy. I can deal with my own multitude of health problems. Granted, I did fall into a bit of a self-pity circle when I got that horrible DVT a few months ago, but other than that I've made my peace with what's wrong with me. I can't do the same for him though. I want him well, active and happy. My jackass of a brother told me to just put him to sleep and get a kitten, and I wanted to slug him. As though him not being attached to animals means they're some kind of replaceable commodity, like buying a new pair of shoes. I will do everything possible to make Figaro's time on this planet as happy, comfortable and long as I can. At the same time, I won't let him suffer if he really starts declining. I won't be the lawyer character in the Kids in the Hall miniseries "Death Comes to Town" putting quarters in my cat's dialysis machine to keep it running, while he is clearly miserable.
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So Figaro got sick again this morning. Different kind of sick, though. Lethargy on top of puking up foamy bile three times in the house. We took him to the vet, and the vet said his heart and lungs sound much better, and his temperature was okay. She also said that she's seen quite a few cats come in with the same problem, mostly cats that like to go outside. We let Figaro outside yesterday evening once it cooled down so he could go and roll around on the driveway and chase bugs, and now I feel like a terrible cat mommy because letting him do that could be what got him sick. He got some sub q fluids, along with an anti-emetic, and we can't give him his Lasix because he's dehydrated and he will just pee it all out immediately. Here's hoping this is just a minor stomach bug. My baby has been through too much already.
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When my Pittie had to take pills for his heart condition we used cubes of cheese, hot dogs and Vienna sausages. Fortunately he'd eat anything so it wasn't too much of a battle. Some dogs and cats are tricksters, though. They'll take the treats and spit out the pills.
Figaro was even craftier than just spitting out pills. He will tongue the entire pill pocket, take it to his litter box, and bury it. I was scooping out his litter and found pill pocket after pill pocket. We ended up having his thyroid medicine compounded into a topical gel that we place on his ear because he cannot not take the drug.
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Teh Evulz. of course.
I've only recently started watching this show, so at first I thought Amantha was a bitch. But then, after hearing her monologue, my view is totally different. This season better end with a thorough earboxing of Daniel, whom I both love and hate, by Amantha.
That's the reason I've never been able to hate Amantha. She can be trying and frustrating, but her whole life has been devoted to getting her brother out of prison. She didn't have to do it, but she gave up anything and everything of her own so she could have progress made in his case. And then he gets out and does some stupid, crazy shit. You can't blame him for some things, but you can see how frustrating that would be when it seems like the person you've given your life for is engaging in some serious self-sabotage.
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WanderWoman, your family is definitely in my thoughts during these hard times. I'm doing the Dudeist thing and sending good vibes your way.
Suz, we can commiserate in our pets sad health issues together. I'll pull up a chair for you.
I haven't tried the baby food trick yet for Figaro's pills, but I did try the deli turkey because we had some in the fridge. It worked like a charm! I didn't even have to worry about giving him treats afterwards because he just inhaled that stuff. I haven't cried over him today at all, so progress on my neurotic nervous wreck status. Another one of my favorite movies is The Big Lebowski, with The Dude being probably my favorite film character ever, and I feel like Figaro has been telepathically saying to me "You're being very un-Dude right now." When your skittish, anoxic at birth, somewhat idiotic rescue cat (Floyd) is calmer than you are, you know there's a problem.
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I've never been able to watch Sophie's Choice...I remember watching a bit of it once upon a time on HBO or something...must have been something around 25 years ago (I had two young children at the time, a boy and a girl)...anyway, I watched about 15 or 20 minutes of it, which just happened to include "that scene". And I burst into tears and fled. Traumatized. Couldn't even let it into the corner of my mind for years without sobbing, and never dared to actually brave the entire movie.
Then again, I sob at completely innocuous stuff as well...I'm infamous for needing a few tissues to get through the spaghetti scene in Lady and the Tramp.
For a good, old-timey laugh, there's not a lot that amuses me every.single.time. more than The Court Jester with Danny Kaye.
My go-to for old timey laughs will always be anything Marx Brothers, but preferably Duck Soup or A Night at the Opera. I have a tendency to sob as stuff that isn't as sad as it is beautiful and moving. The speech at the end of The Great Dictator? It leaves me a blubbering mess every time I see it. Charlie Chaplin was basically breaking the fourth wall and speaking to the world as himself, rather than his character with that speech, and it's just so beautiful that it makes me cry. I always cry at the end of Tommy as well, when he's finally free from everyone and the song See Me Feel Me/Listening To You is being sung in the background. And young fatherless Pink being rejected on the playground in The Wall makes me cry, but that really is more sad than anything.
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I can't stand sad movies. None make me cry, they move so slow it irritating. But A Fish Called Wanda, now there is a classic piece of art. And the only film where dogs were killed and I laughed. Screamed with laughter. That movie is pure genius. For those who haven't seen it, do it now.
Most of the movies that make me cry aren't movies that are sad the whole time. Midnight Cowboy, Harold and Maude, The Crying Game, Pan's Labyrinth- all are movies that will get me in the gut at a certain point, but aren't necessarily sad movies. But yes to everything you said about A Fish Called Wanda. That is probably my favorite comedy of all time. I've seen it at least fifty times, know the dialogue by heart, and I still laugh like an idiot every time I watch it. That movie is perfection, and it's no wonder that Kevin Kline won an Oscar for that role. He was a genius in that role.
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Tuna is on his diet, but I only give it to him twice a week because too much fish can cause cats to develop kidney stones. He's also on an all wet food diet (so is his brother) because it's low carb and closer to what he would be eating if he was a wild kitty. I will be all over the baby food though, and will have to make sure there's no garlic or onion in it. And Figaro does love peanut butter, so maybe I'll give him some of that with his pills. These are just two medications that I can't risk him tonguing and hiding somewhere. It was bad enough with his thyroid pill, but these two drugs are vital if he's going to stay alive, not be in pain, and not struggle to breathe. I am noticing even more improvement today with him, though. He was just chasing his little brother around the house and pretending he was the Iron Sheik, giving Floyd a little beat down. So that's encouraging. If he can get the best of a kitty a decade younger than he is, he must be feeling a little bit better.
Ugh, I know what you mean Happyfatchick. I know the scene, and there are two movies I am that way with: Midnight Cowboy and The Crying Game. I always want Ratso Rizzo and Joe Buck to make it safely to Florida, even though I know how it ends and Ratso has TB; and I always want Jody and Fergus to escape together and for it to be a buddy comedy about a British soldier and a former member of the IRA running away from Fergus' former IRA associates. Why can't they just have an alternate ending add on? And I am so with you about Meryl Streep. She is perfection. Sophie's Choice, The Deer Hunter... She's such a magnificent actress, and an incredible beauty. And Figaro got his name because he's a grey tuxedo cat, and he looks like a grey version of the cat from the old Figaro and Cleo cartoons. He's got a million nicknames too, and he responds to all of them. I love that little guy so much, and I'm so scared for him, despite how well he's responding to treatment right now. On the upside, I've only cried twice today, which is much better than what I've been doing the last week.
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Loving the spontaneous combustion concept for Josh! And PS - for some really, really sad movie recommendations, how about Sophie's Choice or Cast Away? Although Cast Away ends on a hopeful note, that last scene with Tom Hanks and Helen Hunt always gets me big time. Through no fault on their own, they're still apart - arrrggghhh!
Sophie's Choice would probably wreck me. Excellent recommendation, thank you. I was thinking Harold and Maude because I always start sobbing as soon as Maude tells Harold she took the tablets an hour ago and the song Trouble starts. (I love that soundtrack so much.) So now I have two movies to destroy myself with tonight.
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I will totally have to try the baby food thing. He doesn't like pill pockets. We used to use them for his thyroid medication, but Figaro would tongue his meds and go hide the pill pocket and pill in his litter box. (He's a crafty one.) So now his thyroid med is topical and we just put it in his ear twice a day. I'm hoping that they will be able to turn his two new meds into a liquid so they will be easier to give him, but I have a month's worth of pills for now. I do think he realizes that he needs the meds though. He doesn't fight as hard against them the way he did with his thyroid meds.
I need to watch a really sad movie that will make me cry until there are no more tears left. Maybe then I won't start crying at the drop of a hat when I'm thinking about him.
ETA: (not necessarily speaking to Jesus...) I wouldn't be completely devastated if josh plugged in the coffee maker while alone in the kitchen tomorrow, and the family heard a loud "pop" and ran in to find a whiff of smoke where he'd been standing. True story, unfortunately.
Spontaneous human combustion would be a great way for him to go. So little mess left behind too, besides the char spot on the floor.
After hearing the Russian story, I'd be concerned: the man has problems. My father was in military intelligence. If anything like that happened we wouldn't have known about it because he wouldn't be able to say anything. As others pointed out, the story had more holes in it than a slice of Swiss cheese.That story made me think of Kevin Kline's character in "A Fish Called Wanda", when he pretended to be a CIA agent and was explaining to John Cleese's character's wife that they were on a top secret mission sweeping the houses for KGB officers. Her father was in military intelligence and called out his bullshit right away.
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Thank you again everybody for your kind words. I just need to drill it into my head that he's not suffering right now, he can live a long time with this condition, and that he is still here. I can't mourn him while he's still alive, that's morbid. I just remember when he first came into my life. He found me at a time when I really, really needed him. Like, he literally was at the back door pawing to get in while I was at one of the lowest parts of my life. He's not my rescue cat, I'm his rescue human. I just want to have many, many more good years with him. He found me when I was sixteen, and I'm turning 29 next month, so that's nearly half of my life that he's been there.
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MINDY my first post didn't go through, so I'm trying again. There are many of us here who have been what you are going through. Heart failure in animals can be managed for years with minor meds adjustments. Other than peeing a lot and having less energy, Fig may be pretty much fine for a very long time. What Fig needs the most is for you to have a happy and positive attitude because they know what we are feeling and you want to pass on positive things to your cat. Enjoy Figaro (love the name) with a happy heart and enjoy each other. Love to you both.
I have been trying to just do "business as usual" with him, but when it comes to med time I feel so bad for him! I mean, I take numerous pills a day and I hate it, I can't imagine how hard it is for him. I try to be normal with him, and any little normal thing he does I praise him for. He's just breaking my heart here. Like I said, he's my best friend and my confidante. I know he can live for years with this, but I am so afraid of him slowing down. His brother Floyd is the one that pointed out that something was wrong, that he was just laying on the floor of the sewing room and couldn't be roused. He wouldn't go up on my bed unless I put him there. I am so afraid for him. I sleep with him every night, and keep waking up to make sure he is still with us. I am so terrified because of his condition. He's had a thyroid issue for three years, but this is so much worse. I just want my baby to be 100%, you know? I can't have children, so all I have is my furbabies. And Fig is the one who made me understand how amazing cats are. But I can't imagine another cat being as incredible as Figaro, and the thought of him gone and replacing him is unfathomable to me at this point.
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Thank you so much everybody. He really is my baby. My wife has been in his life for five year and got sucked right in, because he is such a wonderful cat. He's the loveliest being you will ever meet, and him being in this position just breaks my heart. I want him to be here forever, but I don't want him in pain either. He's brought so much into my life, and would visit me in the hospital, and is truly the greatest friend anyone could ask for. So now I have to be the bigger person and decide what it is he can comfortably take. Sigh, my poor baby. I feel so pessimistic, and I'm listening to a lot of what Warren Zevon played towards the end of his life, but I want my baby to live. He's my best friend. I can't imagine a life without him. There will never be another Figaro.
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I was never allowed to watch "Hogan's Heroes" because my grandparents survived the concentration camps and found it to be insulting. I am a second generation Polish immigrant. Perhaps if I watched it now, I would get some enjoyment out of it.
Small Talk: The Prayer Closet
in Counting On
Hey guys! I've been busy lately so I haven't posted. Figaro is doing a lot better. He's been taking his medicine like a champ, and hasn't had any vomiting or cardiac episodes. He even put some weight back on! He has this Pavlovian reaction where he comes running whenever I shake his pill bottles, so there have been no issues on that front. I broke my big toe a couple of days ago. And of course, it's on the same side where I have the ginormous blood clot. Unfortunately, there's nothing you can do for a broken toe, and I can't even tape it to the next one because my toes are webbed, so it's just ice and OTC Canadian codeine tylenol for me for now.
Happyfatchick, your family is in my thoughts. Same goes for WanderWoman.