Under the Weather

I’m not feeling too well today, so updates will have to wait till I get better. See you soon.

A Cat and A Dog

My cat is at the vet’s office. Well technically it is not my cat. It’s a stray that visits us every now and then for food and company. It hurt its front leg, possibly from a fight with another cat. He has an abscess so that part of his leg is really swollen and he walks with a limp. I’m picking him up later in the evening. We’ll need to care for him for the next week or so. Ah cats! I love them but they cost so much time, money and heartbreaks!

I saw something really cute at the vet’s today — a huge, beautiful Golden Retriever just coming out of anesthesia. Still groggy, the dog attempted to walk and then fell back into a pile of golden, furry cuteness.

See You Later

Absent
Hey all. I’ve just crawled out of my week-long semi-comatose state. I was down with a particularly bad cold. Had fever 4 days straight. I was convinced I had the flu but no, just the common cold, insisted the doc. In my drug-induced stupor, I kept trying to console myself that some good will come out of this and whaddaya know! Having spent my days mostly in deep slumber and awake in the wee hours of the night, my body has somewhat adjusted to Central European time! Yup, I will be leaving for my European adventure in a few days’ time. I’m not sure if I’ll be blogging on the road so if there are no updates here next month, do pardon me!

Present
While lying sick in bed the other day, it dawned on me how we tend to really be in the present during extremes in our lives — in mirth or gloom, when we’re experience great pain or pleasure or during moments when we were this close to death. The other parts — those that make the bulk of our lives — we merely go through the motions, only to be referred to when current times are bad: “those were the days”, “I wish things were back to normal”, etc. Over the past few years, I’ve been trying to live my life positively in the present and I have to say that it has helped tremendously in the way I see and live my life. I genuinely believe that living with a positive mindset coupled with affirmative action has helped me achieved a lot of my goals — one of which is this very trip I’m taking. :)

Tomorrow is May Day for many of you folks, so enjoy the long weekend!

Surely There’s More Than One Way to Skin a Cat?

If you’ve read my tweet a few days ago, you would be aware that I had been sick. Again. Hmm…

My doctor suggested that I may be allergic to my cats. Of course, the obvious solution is to remove the offensive allergen. But you see, I’m very, very fond of my cats. Apart from vacuuming and wiping all the corners of my small apartment, washing all the sheets and upholstery and keeping the windows open, I don’t know what else I can do to make living with 7 giant furballs more tolerable. Should I shave them bald? Keep them locked in the bathroom during the hours when I’m awake? Ok, just kidding!

Are you allergic to your pets but still live with them? How do you cope?

Well, Chill

Sorry guys, I was down with a nasty upper respiratory tract infection. I asked my doctor about the rashes I have on my arms and legs which I initially thought were a case of fungal infection. Apparently I have stress-induced eczema. I told him that I was under no pressure from my work nor personal life but he laughed it off and asked me to chill. Is it possible to be all stressed up and not know it?

Before I left the clinic, the good Doc reminded, “no ice-cream and chocolate bars for now!” Unfortunately, the two things I had been yearning for the past few days were a big tub of Ben and Jerry’s and a whole family-sized bar of Toblerone. Has my doctor been reading my blog?

PS: No, doc, I didn’t give in to my cravings. :[

An Apple A Day, Eh?

Thank you for all the get well wishes. I didn’t recover as soon as I’d expected. It took two trips to the doc and two rounds of antibiotics before I got better. And no, I didn’t cave in to my cravings, I’ve actually been eating apples daily for the past three weeks. Something else has cropped up so I’m going off to the doctor’s again later. Hmm…