Sunday, March 30, 2008

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Things I do not want to hear before dawn

(1) My ear-splitting house alarm go off when I open the back door.

(2) A cell phone conversation recap of last night's "Dancing with the Stars" episode from the person sitting behind me on the train.

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Happy Easter!

Witness my gardening prowess.

All is well here. Nacho survived the heartworm treatment, although he hates being in the house all day long when the weather is beautiful outside. Two more weeks of restricted activity, and then he can chase the baby squirrels to his heart's delight.

Friday, March 14, 2008

The patient is doing fine

Nacho is back from the vet's. I checked him in on Monday morning for his heartworm treatment and picked him up this afternoon. They took good care of him, but he is *definitely* glad to be home, and I'm glad to have him back. He seems a little weak and tired, but that is to be expected since the vet pumped him full of an arsenic-based medication with the scary name of Immiticide. I still have to take Nacho to the vet for a weekly checkup for the next six weeks, but the worst part of the medical treatment is over.

The next month is going to be difficult at home, though. I have to restrict Nacho's activity, which means crating him during the day and leaving him inside during the beautiful spring weather. Also, I can't take him for long walks or take him to the dog park. The reduced activity is necessary because as the adult worms die, they exit the heart through the pulmonary artery. Sudden activity increases the risk of a pulmonary embolism.

I wonder if Nacho is going to cough up bloody bits of worm. If I find any, I'll be sure to post a picture.

Monday, March 03, 2008

Crappy Monday

(1) Nacho has heartworms, despite being on a prophylaxis for the past year. The vet thinks it was a failure in medication, and I agree since he also contracted roundworms, which the medication is also supposed to prevent. The company supposedly has a guarantee, but they are saying he contracted heartworms before his first (negative) test. Possible, but not likely. They are offering to pay a quarter of the $1,000 treatment cost and they'll give me a year's supply of their ineffective medication. Thanks! It is going to be a battle to make them pay more, but they are messing with the wrong owner.

(2) Nacho peed on the floor today. I left him inside b/c it cold and rainy, but evidently he couldn't hold it.

(3) I'm currently working on a motion where the USG can't seem to get through its thick skull that exhaustion is a condition precedent, not a jurisdictional prerequisite, to suit for employment discrimination. This is probably the sixth or seventh time I've addressed this issue, yet for some reason the USG continues to argue that the burden is on the plaintiff to prove exhaustion.

(4) I owe taxes for FY 2007. Some of these taxes will go towards my salary which pays me to tell other people funded by my salary time and time again that exhaustion is not a jurisdictional prerequisite.

(5) All of my expected fiscal stimulus will go towards the taxes I owe. So much for doing my part to stimulate the economy via the stupid idea thought up by our leaders. Instead, I'll get an increased federal deficit funded by government bonds sold to foreign countries.

Why can't I be back in Honduras?