Monday, October 10, 2011
Monday, October 3, 2011
When Bureaucrats are Helpful
I recently got a property tax bill that confused me. The insert stated if your house changed ownership or finished construction between July and Dec, then you would have to pay a single bill. I closed on my house in December, 2010, and I got a double bill.
I got a wonderfully quick reply to my email:
"You received a secured tax bill 2nd instalment $1686.43 which you paid in March 2011. The supplemental bill is for the value difference of $110,500 from 12/3/2010 to 6/30/2011. the payment is due by 12/12/11 and 4/10/12. You also have a secured bill for 7/1/11 to 6/30/12 with payments due also by 12/12/11 and 4/10/12."
Glad I have that cleared up.
I got a wonderfully quick reply to my email:
"You received a secured tax bill 2nd instalment $1686.43 which you paid in March 2011. The supplemental bill is for the value difference of $110,500 from 12/3/2010 to 6/30/2011. the payment is due by 12/12/11 and 4/10/12. You also have a secured bill for 7/1/11 to 6/30/12 with payments due also by 12/12/11 and 4/10/12."
Glad I have that cleared up.
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
a Mom story
My mom could walk into a grocery store, select sale items of interest, and instantly plan the week's menus around those items, picking up the other needed ingredients for the dishes as she walked the aisles. Sure, Mom made lists, too - with four kids, there wasn't time to waste on extra trips to the store. But that on-the-fly menu planning was quite a skill, and we're not talking a limited number of recipes.
When Mom and I went to the store together, often we split the list - she'd tell me to get certain items while she sought other items. One time, I had the cart when we split up; we planned to meet in one of the aisles further along containing stuff on Mom's part of the list. I found my items, put them in the cart, and started pushing the cart along. I kept peering down the aisles where I expected to find Mom, but she wasn't there, or in the next one, or in the next one ...
Mom was efficient, so I kept looking down aisles, assuming she was continuing with the shopping and I would eventually find her. But soon I ran out of aisles - we didn't have a pet so she wouldn't be in the pet food aisle (yes, I checked anyway), and we didn't buy beer (though Dad did sometimes), so she wouldn't be in that aisle either (also checked).
Nothing for it but to turn around and look through the aisles again while back-tracking through the store in the other direction. Look - nope - look - nope - look -nope.
And then, at the middle break in an aisle, I glimpsed Mom, heading out of sight around a display.
"Mom???"
I turned down the aisle to catch up with her, but when I got to the mid point, she wasn't there. I look down the next aisle in one direction, and then the other .. and I see Mom again, around the end of the aisle.
"Mom? I'm here, Mom."
Once more I see her stepping out of sight ... deliberately. She was trying to elude me for as long as possible.
I burst out laughing, and so did she.
My mom taught me a lot of things, intentionally and unintentionally, good things and some bad. I'm grateful she taught me how to play.
When Mom and I went to the store together, often we split the list - she'd tell me to get certain items while she sought other items. One time, I had the cart when we split up; we planned to meet in one of the aisles further along containing stuff on Mom's part of the list. I found my items, put them in the cart, and started pushing the cart along. I kept peering down the aisles where I expected to find Mom, but she wasn't there, or in the next one, or in the next one ...
Mom was efficient, so I kept looking down aisles, assuming she was continuing with the shopping and I would eventually find her. But soon I ran out of aisles - we didn't have a pet so she wouldn't be in the pet food aisle (yes, I checked anyway), and we didn't buy beer (though Dad did sometimes), so she wouldn't be in that aisle either (also checked).
Nothing for it but to turn around and look through the aisles again while back-tracking through the store in the other direction. Look - nope - look - nope - look -nope.
And then, at the middle break in an aisle, I glimpsed Mom, heading out of sight around a display.
"Mom???"
I turned down the aisle to catch up with her, but when I got to the mid point, she wasn't there. I look down the next aisle in one direction, and then the other .. and I see Mom again, around the end of the aisle.
"Mom? I'm here, Mom."
Once more I see her stepping out of sight ... deliberately. She was trying to elude me for as long as possible.
I burst out laughing, and so did she.
My mom taught me a lot of things, intentionally and unintentionally, good things and some bad. I'm grateful she taught me how to play.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
playing bridge online
(warning - the following may be somewhat incomprehensible to non-bridge players)
I just had a wonderful time playing bridge with Mike, Niels and Mary Ann! When I lived in Ithaca, I was in a fun foursome with Mike, Niels and Linda, and I was sad to be leaving that behind.
We played online using http://www.bridgebase.com/ and used skype to have table talk. It was almost like being there. Bridgebase is excellent, and you can have it score the hands in duplicate fashion - it compares your scores for each hand against any other tables that have played that hand. So you can play duplicate but always play the same opponents and play only as many hands as you like.
Kewl. Thanks for making this happen, Niels!
I just had a wonderful time playing bridge with Mike, Niels and Mary Ann! When I lived in Ithaca, I was in a fun foursome with Mike, Niels and Linda, and I was sad to be leaving that behind.
We played online using http://www.bridgebase.com/ and used skype to have table talk. It was almost like being there. Bridgebase is excellent, and you can have it score the hands in duplicate fashion - it compares your scores for each hand against any other tables that have played that hand. So you can play duplicate but always play the same opponents and play only as many hands as you like.
Kewl. Thanks for making this happen, Niels!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
poor Delilah!
Took Delilah to the vet yesterday - she seemed to be constipated. She usually gets constipated when I'm away, and gets back to normal when I return. And then she eats a lot really fast and then pukes.
She's very much a one person cat ... and I'm her person. Cat sitters almost never see her. She finds excellent hiding places. Except when she doesn't, and just becomes a kitty lump under the covers of my bed. I imagine her curled up into a ball thinking "Serenity Now! Serenity Now!"
Let's count the stressors in Delilah's life since November:
And ... it created a horrible, horrible impaction. I noticed she was having trouble/wasn't pooping, but didn't realize how serious this was. I took her to the vet yesterday (Friday) - after asking a colleague if she thought I should. Thank goodness she said yes!!!
Delilah is a very sweet cat, and I was pleased that she was interested in exploring the exam room while we waited for the vet -- in the past, she has just cowered in her soft-sided carrier. Once the vet arrived, Delilah let the exam happen without too much fuss.
The vet guessed she was impacted and was also concerned about the weight loss (she weighed 6 pounds, after weighing 9 pounds in November -- how could I have missed this????). Her treatment plan was to give her iv fluids, give her a pain killer, xray to see how bad her colon looked, draw blood, and to deal with the impaction as indicated. Step one was to put her in one of their plastic carriers.
They told me it would be at least an hour, so I went to the nearby Trader Joe's and did some shopping. Before I got to the register, the vet called and said she had freaked out. I said I'd be right there.
Well, the in person report was this: when they went to take her out of the plastic carrier, she went berserk and bit one tech and scratched up another. So they just put her back in the plastic carrier and called me.
I was in shock - she has NEVER behaved like this. Probably in a lot of pain, making her far more short-tempered than usual. Plus all the stress from the above hasn't dissipated.
When they brought her into an exam room in the carrier, they had put a towel over it. This guy brought her in, and had a pair of forearm-covering leather gloves with him, and a syringe. He said they had to give her a shot, so I started talking to her. The fight-or-flight response earlier had prompted some evacuating of unnecessary fluids (but not the impaction), so the carrier stank, as did Delilah.
I took the towel off so Delilah could see me and then I started to open the carrier to take her out. "Don't do that!" the vet tech shouted, simultaneously with me starting to reach in to get her. Delilah hissed at me and leapt out of the carrier. There wasn't anyplace for her to go, so her leap took her about three feet up the wall, startling me. The vet tech fled the room at the first sound of Delilah's hiss - if he had a tail, it would have been between his legs. I'm surprised his flight response didn't include his body jettisoning unnecessary weight.
I was just horrified at Delilah's state of mind that she would leap up a sheer wall. Then she slid down, landed on the scale but frantically scrabbled to get further away, knocking the scale off the table. The cupboard under the exam table was open, so she immediately went in there and hid to the extent it was possible.
I felt so awful for her, but it didn't keep me from memorizing the image of her splayed against the wall, paws and claws extended, then slipping down it -- exactly like a Chuck Jones cartoon (think the cat being chased by Pepe LePew).
The vet techs are now terrified of my sweet Delilah - the two veterinarians came in the room to help me get Delilah back into my mesh carrier. We managed it without too much additional stress, and it was decided all around that we should try to treat her again the next day ... today. Unfortunately, there wasn't an opening, but one of the vets kindly agreed to treat her during her lunch hour.
Of course, Shindy, the little bitchy alpha cat, was extremely unhappy with Delilah's return. Perhaps it's the smell of the vet that remains, perhaps it was Delilah's stinky state. I posit the theory that Shindy just doesn't want Delilah to return. Period. Whatever the cause, Shindy attacked Delilah and the fur literally flew. Delilah sought refuge in my bed, so I closed the bedroom door with Shindy on the outside.
Delilah clearly felt awful and exhausted in the morning, because she didn't fight me much when I put her in the mesh carrier and took her back to the vet. I figured they would want me with her to keep her calm, but instead they had a whole new action plan of sedating her while in the mesh carrier.
xray, in which almost all of Delilah's descending colon was taken up by two very large, very hard turds. The vet said it was a really difficult job, and that Delilah would be very sore. But given her extreme weight loss, they are keeping her overnight to give her IV fluids and some pain meds.
My poor poor kitty! I feel like a horrible mother for not noticing her weight loss and changed eating/eliminating habits much sooner. She would have been spared a lot of trauma had I only been paying more attention.
I kind of figured it was bad on Thursday night when she curled right up against me on the couch. These are my first kitties, so I'm still learning the signs of distress. Basically, if either of my cats wants to be right next to me for any length of time, other then when I'm sleeping ... then it's likely a health problem. Hindsight informed me that when Shindy curls up right next to me on the couch, pushing her head into my thigh and getting totally pissed if I move ... then her teeth hurt.
I love my kitties and hope I can see the signs more quickly for future issues. Guilt reigns.
She's very much a one person cat ... and I'm her person. Cat sitters almost never see her. She finds excellent hiding places. Except when she doesn't, and just becomes a kitty lump under the covers of my bed. I imagine her curled up into a ball thinking "Serenity Now! Serenity Now!"
Let's count the stressors in Delilah's life since November:
- Naomi starts packing for her move
- Naomi leaves for Syracuse for a week over Christmas
- Moving from my apartment to the house.
- Living in one room in the house
- Lots of noise in the rest of the house during the day ... for a month
- Lots of strangers in the rest of the house during the day ... for a month
- Naomi is slowly unpacking (things keep moving around)
- Naomi goes to Tahoe for 3 nights
- Naomi goes to Bloomington for a week in Feb
- Naomi returns just for a week
- Naomi goes to Syracuse for a week in Feb
- Naomi hosts a visitor for the weekend
And ... it created a horrible, horrible impaction. I noticed she was having trouble/wasn't pooping, but didn't realize how serious this was. I took her to the vet yesterday (Friday) - after asking a colleague if she thought I should. Thank goodness she said yes!!!
Delilah is a very sweet cat, and I was pleased that she was interested in exploring the exam room while we waited for the vet -- in the past, she has just cowered in her soft-sided carrier. Once the vet arrived, Delilah let the exam happen without too much fuss.
The vet guessed she was impacted and was also concerned about the weight loss (she weighed 6 pounds, after weighing 9 pounds in November -- how could I have missed this????). Her treatment plan was to give her iv fluids, give her a pain killer, xray to see how bad her colon looked, draw blood, and to deal with the impaction as indicated. Step one was to put her in one of their plastic carriers.
They told me it would be at least an hour, so I went to the nearby Trader Joe's and did some shopping. Before I got to the register, the vet called and said she had freaked out. I said I'd be right there.
Well, the in person report was this: when they went to take her out of the plastic carrier, she went berserk and bit one tech and scratched up another. So they just put her back in the plastic carrier and called me.
I was in shock - she has NEVER behaved like this. Probably in a lot of pain, making her far more short-tempered than usual. Plus all the stress from the above hasn't dissipated.
When they brought her into an exam room in the carrier, they had put a towel over it. This guy brought her in, and had a pair of forearm-covering leather gloves with him, and a syringe. He said they had to give her a shot, so I started talking to her. The fight-or-flight response earlier had prompted some evacuating of unnecessary fluids (but not the impaction), so the carrier stank, as did Delilah.
I took the towel off so Delilah could see me and then I started to open the carrier to take her out. "Don't do that!" the vet tech shouted, simultaneously with me starting to reach in to get her. Delilah hissed at me and leapt out of the carrier. There wasn't anyplace for her to go, so her leap took her about three feet up the wall, startling me. The vet tech fled the room at the first sound of Delilah's hiss - if he had a tail, it would have been between his legs. I'm surprised his flight response didn't include his body jettisoning unnecessary weight.
I was just horrified at Delilah's state of mind that she would leap up a sheer wall. Then she slid down, landed on the scale but frantically scrabbled to get further away, knocking the scale off the table. The cupboard under the exam table was open, so she immediately went in there and hid to the extent it was possible.
I felt so awful for her, but it didn't keep me from memorizing the image of her splayed against the wall, paws and claws extended, then slipping down it -- exactly like a Chuck Jones cartoon (think the cat being chased by Pepe LePew).
The vet techs are now terrified of my sweet Delilah - the two veterinarians came in the room to help me get Delilah back into my mesh carrier. We managed it without too much additional stress, and it was decided all around that we should try to treat her again the next day ... today. Unfortunately, there wasn't an opening, but one of the vets kindly agreed to treat her during her lunch hour.
Of course, Shindy, the little bitchy alpha cat, was extremely unhappy with Delilah's return. Perhaps it's the smell of the vet that remains, perhaps it was Delilah's stinky state. I posit the theory that Shindy just doesn't want Delilah to return. Period. Whatever the cause, Shindy attacked Delilah and the fur literally flew. Delilah sought refuge in my bed, so I closed the bedroom door with Shindy on the outside.
Delilah clearly felt awful and exhausted in the morning, because she didn't fight me much when I put her in the mesh carrier and took her back to the vet. I figured they would want me with her to keep her calm, but instead they had a whole new action plan of sedating her while in the mesh carrier.
xray, in which almost all of Delilah's descending colon was taken up by two very large, very hard turds. The vet said it was a really difficult job, and that Delilah would be very sore. But given her extreme weight loss, they are keeping her overnight to give her IV fluids and some pain meds.
My poor poor kitty! I feel like a horrible mother for not noticing her weight loss and changed eating/eliminating habits much sooner. She would have been spared a lot of trauma had I only been paying more attention.
I kind of figured it was bad on Thursday night when she curled right up against me on the couch. These are my first kitties, so I'm still learning the signs of distress. Basically, if either of my cats wants to be right next to me for any length of time, other then when I'm sleeping ... then it's likely a health problem. Hindsight informed me that when Shindy curls up right next to me on the couch, pushing her head into my thigh and getting totally pissed if I move ... then her teeth hurt.
I love my kitties and hope I can see the signs more quickly for future issues. Guilt reigns.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Very very close!
I have a bedroom! Contractor just has a bit of touch up left, and hanging the closet bar, etc. Ditto for the new linen closet. I foresee a weekend of cleaning and unpacking!
Of course, I could/should start now, but I'm disinclined. Heh.
- Naomi
Of course, I could/should start now, but I'm disinclined. Heh.
- Naomi
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