Tag: oscar

It’s Sunday, so I’m going to have dinner with my parents. Dad’s grilling burgers which are probably my favourite thing. Then mom told me he said he wants to use the grill as much as he can until he feels too bad to do it anymore. It’s heartbreaking.❤️‍🩹

I don’t know what to do, I am not dealing with this very well. I’m confused as shit because I don’t know what we’re looking at, or what’s going to happen.

My mom had cancer 22 years ago. I was terrified. One day she came in the door crying and I literally RAN downstairs while saying something like “I don’t want to know, don’t tell me!” Because it was obviously something bad. I thought one of my grandparents had died or something equally awful. I never expected cancer. As I mentioned before, she survived without having any radiation or chemotherapy. It was caught so early that a hysterectomy took care of it. She had a really thorough gynaecologist and I’ll be forever grateful to that guy.

My Pawpaw died in 2007. He had multiple myeloma for about 5 years. He had a fall at his house and went to the hospital. I expected him to come home in a few days. He died there a week later. It was so unexpected until a couple of days prior. He FELL. Didn’t break anything or really have any serious injuries. I didn’t understand why he needed a weeklong stay in the hospital. They put this breathing thing on him. I don’t really know what it actually was. He was breathing on his own. After a couple days with that mask, he stopped responding. His eyes shut permanently and died a couple days later. I still to this day don’t know exactly what killed him, and have had a grudge against the hospital because I always felt like that mask had something to do with it. His breathing became all ragged and “wet” sounding after he was on it. I may be completely off the mark and don’t know shit but whatever. His cod was complications from multiple myeloma, but…I don’t know. I’m scared of those stupid fucking oxygen breathing masks even now. Seeing one makes me so anxious…like I wanna puke.

Several friends have gone through cancer. One of them died.

Last time I checked, one in four people will have cancer at some point in their lifetime. It might be worse now, because those numbers are what I was told in junior high, which was eons ago…the odds of having a stroke are equally terrifying. I’ve had at least three TIAs myself, thankfully nothing huge. These things are too common. I feel like even though there have been so many breakthroughs in the medical field, people in the Western world are consuming things that probably shouldn’t enter the human body. Some of the dyes and other things in our food are straight up banned in other countries. Our junk food is terrible, but so many of us are more or less addicted, myself included. I don’t think it’s a moral failing on us as humans, it’s just what’s been advertised to us our whole lives. Once again, I might be speaking out of my ass. I’m not a scientist, I’m not that knowledgeable. I also think some of it is in-your-face obvious. Doesn’t take a Rocket Surgeon to put two and two together. Something clearly needs to change.

I’m specifically speaking about the US, because I live here but it probably applies elsewhere. Anyways….

I think I’ve written enough bullshit thoughts for now. Oscar is skitzing out, probably because he wants food. It’s 40 minutes too early. Please stop jumping on my goddam face and calm the fuck down. Honestly.

I did go to Roses to see if maaaaybe they restocked the shelving unit I desperately need. Of course they didn’t. Bleh. The similar ones on Amazon are twice as expensive. I’m going to have to take the hit, I guess 😅




What the fuck is happening?

My dad has been in pain since around 2001 from failed back syndrome, and back and neck surgeries. He had three in total. He’s felt bad for a long time. However, it’s gotten so much worse in the past few months. Since he took that “special” gummy that made him sick for weeks, he just has not fully recovered. I’m not sure if this latest horrible development has anything at all to do with it. I highly doubt it, but still, what a weird sequence of events. He’s been getting low grade fevers every night and is stumbling around. He’s been weak and has fallen multiple times going back to the first surgeries, but this is different. He’s not talking a lot. Mom says dinner is mostly silent. That is not normal in our family. We’ve known that something is seriously wrong for a couple of months now, but shit has taken a real swan dive in the last few weeks. He finally told his doctor what was going on so he ordered bloodwork and an ultrasound.

Dad hates doctors, that’s why he let whatever it is get this far along. Dude, I totally understand. I generally can’t fucking stand doctors because they never believed me, sabotaged a lawsuit I had going on, called me a disgusting name, would not prescribe pain meds after a car accident that left me all messed up, etc. Those were all different doctors! I GET IT. A lot of them are arrogant fuck nuts! It took me 20 freaking years to find one I like! Dad’s been done even dirtier. He had a great doc who was also a good friend who took care of his medication needs, but when he retired, dad was kind of on his own in that respect. His doctor would refill his pain meds. His current doctor would not (pussy.) so he went to a pain clinic. He got them for a while, but due to a fuck up on THEIR END, his assclown doctor said she wouldn’t refill his prescriptions, and was a total bitch about it…you know, for good measure. 🙄 They got his appointments mixed up and decided to punish my dad for it. After that, he kind of gave up and weaned himself off all his pain meds, which in my opinion was dumb as hell, and now he’s in terrible pain, all the time, with zero relief. He bit off his nose to spite his face. The already low opinion of doctors went down even further. It’s in the basement now. Maybe even under the basement. Through the Earth’s crust, even. I requested to go to an appointment with him and explain to his doc exactly why he’s a gaping puss in person, but dad declined to let me do that 😅

I felt the need to explain the extreme disdain for doctors so maybe it would be more understandable. I think it matters a lot in why things got so bad. Personally, if I was feeling as bad as he does, I would go to the ER! I do not understand the mentality of just sitting around feeling like he’s gonna die but not doing anything about it. I don’t understand that part. To sum it up, things have been really bad for a while but he finally caved and got help.

Anyhow, the bad news.

He went for bloodwork and an ultrasound of the liver and pancreas. Today he got a call from his doctors office and was told that his ultrasound and bloodwork results were abnormal, and his doctor wants him there tomorrow to talk to him personally. I do not think that’s a good sign, like at all. We are concerned about cancer. The worst outcome imo is pancreatic cancer. It could be either organ though, or something else. Me and mom were nervously saying “maybe it’s pancreatitis or something that can be treated”. I just have a really bad feeling about what I’m going to hear tomorrow. A really bad feeling. So does mom. I really hope we’re wrong, but it sounds bad. I know he’s not getting any good news about it, but…yeah. Not-as-bad news would be great. *sighs*

otherwise…

I made the required insurance video and the vet clinic emailed me the records again. Now I have to make the claim. I’m nervous. Knowing I have to do three or more of these soon is really stressing me out. Shoot, if I call the vet assistant, something I’ve been too nervous to do and I want mom to be there so she also knows how, to show me how to use the syringes and how to get insulin out of the lantus pen with it, that’ll cost me $40 and yet another claim to make. I don’t know if I can get something pre-approved if I’m expecting a big bill. I don’t just have $400+ lying around, you know? I don’t have it. I do, but that’s ALL the money I have left after bills and rent. I don’t always have even that much left. I have $400 left, tops. I’d be completely broke if I had to pay that, because claims aren’t approved immediately. Right? I’d be waiting to have ANY money for however long that process takes. 😣 Ultimately, I’m just glad Oscar doesn’t seem to have anything else going on except for some pancreatic inflammation which he’ll have an ultrasound for, but the vet didn’t seem to think it’s anything to freak out about, so I won’t freak out. I just want to know what’s causing it and that it’s not something dangerous.

Edit, next day: I didn’t even want to make a new post about this because it’s really depressing, so here you go. Dad has between stage 3 & 4 Cirrhosis of the liver, as well as nodules that may or may not be benign. He’s got to have a biopsy of those nodules and an MRI to determine more about his condition. I don’t know a ton about cirrhosis, so I really don’t know what to make of this whole thing yet. He had Hepatitis C until about 9 years ago after taking interferon. That drug is a miracle. I believe he had some cirrhosis back then due to that, but it reversed? I might be confused about that. I’m dumb, gimme a break. I don’t know how long it takes to progress. Mom said that whatever happens we have to “come together and deal with it”. To be honest, I could barely handle mom’s uterine cancer when I was a relatively normal teenager. What can I do? I need some guidance.

She didn’t say anything about how dad reacted. She seemed fine when picking me up to get dinner, but I know she’s not okay on the inside. Dad probably won’t show a lot of emotion to me, never does.

When he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes around 1997, he said something about killing himself to get me and mom the insurance money. I heard him say that. It’s the kind of mindset he has sometimes, unfortunately.

That’s the story. We’ll find out more in the coming week.




The Tortured Soul of Mr Delicious, Fast Food’s most bizarre mascot

Mr Delicious, a middle aged dude in a suit who’s cheating on his wife and complaining about hemorrhoids is a great fast food mascot 🤣 That is a wild marketing move. Hell, it might actually work in today’s world. Somebody needs to do it. But not just some poorly designed boring looking guy in a suit. The first thing I noticed when I saw the ads was how dull the illustrations were. Be more creative!

Anyhoo, I’m drowning in vet bills. They charge $40 to do a sugar check! I’m scared to call the vet assistant to come over and show me how to use the syringes and I guess how to draw it from the lantus pen, but I don’t know if I’ll get a $40 bill from it! I made my video for the first claim after putting it off for a fucking month because I have stage fright and look godawful in pics and videos. I did it, reading a script mom wrote. I had to try a couple times because her handwriting was unusually janky 😅 I suppose I need to ask the clinic to email me those specific records again because the original link expired. I also was not able to download the PDF to my phone. I’d have to do that on my laptop but….I’m both nervous as hell about making the claim and also lazy. I am not fond of getting on the laptop anymore but I have to do that, as well as making those fanlistings. Oh, and I have two make two more claims! Like I said, they’re piling up! I do not like the part that requires me to make a video. Can’t I just explain the situation in writing? 🫩 Gotta make it difficult somehow. *sigh*

I was hoping that my Wednesday outing with Lauren might include looking for someone who ethically breeds golden retrievers, and get a price so I can figure out my money.

In 2000, I got my previous cat, Mr Hideki, from a lady whose Siamese recently laid a batch of kittens. 😬 My boy Oscar was a rescue. I go back and forth from buying and rescuing it seems. I’m more likely to rescue a cat more so than a dog. I know that seems awful, but if a dog has been abused or straight up taught to be mean…You just don’t know. I’d never have a pitbull, I’ll tell you that much! My old neighbours rescue collie was a maniacal fucking shit demon assmonster straight from the pits of hell who chased me constantly and made me feel afraid to go outside. He made me have more than a few nasty bike wrecks. Not to speak ill of the dead, but…fuck you, Tipper.🖕

I do plan on looking for one at the shelters first, but sweet, loving dogs like that get adopted REAL fast. It’s difficult to catch one that hasn’t been put on hold for someone. I would rather adopt than shop, but I think I’m not gonna have much luck. But I’ll try.




Oscar heard the Emergency Alert System noise, lost his ever loving mind, and bit me. Can’t say that’s ever happened.

Besides that uncalled for violence, I had a good day 😬


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I started feeling crappy last night.




Oh god I’m so relieved!! I thought I accidentally overdrew my account last night while paying off Affirm and Klarna bills. I really thought I was gonna wind up  $100-200 in the red! I went to the bank and they are so helpful. That’s why I love Telco. They do not get annoyed with me even though I misunderstand stuff and ask for help sometimes. The lady that helped me explained some things about the app that I just couldn’t understand for whatever dumb reason and assured me I wasn’t overdrawn. I have $143 left, actually and just used $100 of it to pay off half my credit card.

I’m using $20 to get a friggin buzz when Lauren comes to get me. My hair is driving me bonkers, it’s doing the thing where it forms a literal POINT on top of my head and it looks so stupid. I don’t know why that’s the default state of my hair once it grows out too much, and there’s no way to comb it down either. Can’t wait to be rid of that 😅

The vet assistant actually did have an emergency yesterday and that’s why she didn’t come pick up Oscar. I hope no animals were harmed. She’s supposed to be here to get him any time now. I just wanna put my jammies on and eat dinner but I’m having to wait. I need to be cozy in my jammies and eat my delicious chick-fil-a which is still in the bag.

Ah, she just came and took him. Shouldn’t take long, it’s just a sugar check. That reminds me I still need to get a sugar kit on Amazon. They’re made specifically for cats.

Im still pissed about the Albanese Joy Division shirt kerfluffle 😂 I wanna tell them how dumb they are (Sky News Australia I mean as well as commenters who bought the bullshit) but I hate hate HATE arguing on the internet. So, so much. I hate drama and never start it myself, ever.

Anyhoo

Mom was driving me home Sunday night, and one of my favourite songs came on. “Richard Hung Himself” by D.I., a punk band. The song is from 1983 and played a big part in the soundtrack to the movie Suburbia. She said “Richard hung himself?! I thought I was hearing it wrong until I saw the title!” It was funny, guess you had to be there 😅 I explained the song and she wasn’t offended or anything lol. My mom is 75 and we listen to my music together almost every day. I swear this woman has been exposed to far more music than most 75 year old moms. She says she likes the majority of what I play, mostly the goth stuff. That’s pretty cool. She’s 75, but she’s what I would call a rocker, even though she looks nothing like that. I’m really hoping she’ll wear the super cool T-shirts I’m getting her for Christmas, even though they have short sleeves. I got her a very subtle Wednesday Addams shirt that says “I don’t evolve, I cocoon.” She likes the Addams Family, but I really got it because of the cocoon reference. Every day when she drives me home, I say “Go home and cocoon.” 😬 That’s what we call putting on a blanket and curling up on the couch, which is her favourite part of the day lol. I still haven’t entirely decided on dads shirts. Mom is getting that one, The Beatles, and Queen. Dad is getting “I have rabies” and…lmao I forgot which ones I had in mind besides that. I get stupider by the day, I swear. Maybe I should get him a Queen shirt as well, all three of us are Queen fans so I know he’d like it. Hmmm

So Friday is Hallowe’en/Samhain. We go out to eat on Friday nights, but I don’t know if we’ll go anyplace special. I’m really hoping I see kids trick or treating on the streets rather than those stupid “Trunk or Treats” they have at Churches,  because I feel like churches killed Halloween at least around here! I feel resentment for that. Even if they’re just trick or treating at the stores in downtown, at least they’re out. Nobody goes house to house anymore, which I find depressing. It also makes me feel so thankful that I did most of my growing up in the 90s when trick or treating was normal. I usually had a friend with me and even though we were young, my parents gave us space and lagged quite a distance behind, while still keeping their eyes on us. It was a wonderful experience as a kid and was SO different than it is now. Kids go out only in the daylight now, and sometimes not even on Hallowe’en, which is just lame. The city council determines when the stores hand out candy 🙄 No such thing when I was a kid, and we always went out ON Hallowe’en, didn’t matter if we had school the next day. We also went out towards dusk and stayed out probably until 9 or 10pm. People seem to be allergic to that kind of fun now. It’s more fun in the dark 😸 I’m so glad I had a normal, non-sterilised experience. I did wind up in a church one Hallowe’en though, which was a godawful experience 😂 I wrote about that at some point. They also didn’t give us candy. Today, that experience would probably count as some kind of child abuse 🤣 haha

Oscar just got back and I have to reduce his insulin to 1.5 units, which can’t be done with a lantus pen. I am not yet comfortable with syringes. I’m scared I’d accidentally give him too much and kill my own cat. The vet assistant told me which kind to buy at Walmart and said she’d stop by tomorrow and show me exactly how to use it. It sucks to not use the lantus pen anymore because it was so simple. I’m afraid I’ll have to buy insulin as well, because it’s about $100 for one bottle even though it lasts for months. That means I’ll have to make more claims on his insurance. I haven’t even made the first claim yet because I have to make a video and I’m scared I’ll say something wrong and they’ll deny me. I’m asking Lauren to help me do that tomorrow. She’s very proactive and structured and I love that about her. Makes my life so much easier, and even better, more productive. Doing things I’ve been meaning to do for a while but procrastinated on. Anyhow when I got his insurance I had no clue that making a claim would require a video and various other things, which is something that should have been disclosed! Ahhh I don’t wanna. But I must.

Well, I’m finally in my jammies and under a blanket and my delicious magic chicken sandwiches await me. Have a good one, internet.




BIG SHRIMPIN’! 😬

He’s become fond of that white shirt, been sleeping on it for a week.

 

 


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This cat’s breath is a freakin war crime. It’s written in the Geneva conventions…somewhere 😅

It smells SO bad. Anytime he opens his pie hole, it whacks me in the face like a sledgehammer. Definitely the new wet food regimen.

Please send help.

Edit: because.




I saw my psychiatrist this afternoon and told her I wanted to wean off SSRIs and benzos. I talked about the cognitive issues and said I was tired of feeling like I’m halfway through Alzheimer’s. I also mentioned that Reddit thread where I read about other people’s experiences with sertraline. She had a rather unpleasant reaction when she heard “Reddit”. To be honest, she was kinda pissy today. I don’t see what’s wrong with seeking information on Reddit. Reddit itself isn’t telling me shit. It’s a conversation with other people who are going through similar things and I have no idea why that’s a bad thing! When people are going through some shit, they might be scared. That means they’ll probably run straight to Google to find info. There are some places you shouldn’t go to look for answers, but a thread, a conversation, actually talking to another person….that can tell you a lot as well as making you feel less alone. Knowing that other people are in the same boat is comforting. Kind of bad to say that, but it’s true. No one wants to think they’re the only one. Anyway, she was happy that I wanted off the benzos (Ativan) but really critical about the Sertraline. It’s very hard to get off it and it has to be replaced with something. If not, I’d wind up in the psychiatric floor of the hospital again. Then again, whatever the replacement is might not work. I was told that stopping Sertraline can mess you up pretty bad. I am torn. Don’t know what to do. Do I have it in me to even TRY to attempt this? 😕 Maybe get off the Ativan first and see if that helps?

Oscar had his follow up at the vet this afternoon, and things are looking great, except that his sugar and whatnot is still too high. I was told to increase his insulin to two units. She said I needed to watch him for signs of hypoglycaemia. That worried me because I’m kind of an airhead and stuff happens in front of me and I might not even see or notice it! I am NOT in tune with my surroundings 😅 I’ll watch him as best I can. I also was told I’d need to start checking his sugar. I have to get the kit especially for cats off Amazon. I was wondering how I could possibly get blood from him considering he’s a furry bastard, but turns out you have to prick the base of the ear in front since it’s hairless. He’s gonna hate this and I guarantee he’s going to fight me, hard. 😑 I couldn’t even keep up with checking my own sugar  lol. God I hope he’s able to go into remission at some point. PLEASE.

Oooo I wore my “I have rabies” shirt and people were very amused with it. I said it was only polite to let people know 😂 Dad loved it and I think maybe I should get him one for Christmas along with his band shirts.




I’ve gotten a couple emails from the vet clinic. Oscar is doing fantastic!! He’s responding drastically to the insulin, a lot of his energy and desire to cuddle, as well as annoying the ever loving shit outta me while I’m trying to get to sleep has come back. He’s also jumping up on things a lot more, particularly my bed which he was rarely doing before. His drinking and urination have sharply decreased. He’s getting his wet food and shot every 12 hours. He’s not really begging in between which I am SO thankful for, because he never shut up before! I think he’s just really excited to get wet food twice every day, and he didn’t like the “stink cereal” to begin with. Only problem is he’s still walking flat footed but the vet said that could improve when we get his diabetes controlled, especially if he’s able to go into remission. Other thing is that he has inflammation in his pancreas which he will need an ultrasound to be able to see what’s going on with that. Some things are still elevated (like sugar and whatever) but she said that’s normal for diabetic cats. Overall, he’s doing wonderfully and I’m so relieved. It took a burden of worry off my back. The very expensive senior blood panel tests were 100% worth the hassle!! I started to make a claim on the lemonade insurance app but it requires a little work and some annoying things I have to do, like make a video of me explaining the problem. I don’t do great on camera. Also I’ve had more trouble speaking properly lately. I think I might have write it and read it for the video. I’m not sure exactly which documents I need to send, I guess I’ll contact customer service about that. They were very helpful in getting his documents added to my account.

So far, I’m very happy with the service….except the video thing 😅 I don’t wanna. But I will. The camera on my phone makes me look exceptionally fat, AND ugly! I know because I sometimes have zoom (bleh!!) meetings with my psychiatrist and I keep looking at the little window with me in it and cringing 😬 There is literally no way to position my phone to make myself look any better. I used to turn off my camera so I was a black box but after a while she made me turn it on 😭 I actually have an appointment with her Friday, but in person. It’s important because I’m going to discuss getting off SSRIs and Benzos. I’m terrified of what could happen if I do that but I can’t keep going the way I am. It’s essentially medication induced dementia. At least I hope it’s the medication 😕 I can’t do it anymore, I get more and more scared every day. It’s got to be the SSRIs and benzos. Benzos can actually cause some kind of brain injury or the equivalent of. They both have these nasty memory loss side effects. I went to Reddit (Google almost always includes a relevant Reddit thread) and read the SSRI thread and people were saying it’s like their brain just stopped functioning. I was relieved to see so many other people are experiencing the same symptoms. I read a paper on Benzos, which was…enlightening. I wtf’d all the way through it. It was actually a medical professional’s presentation on his/hers experience with Benzos. I was left wondering how this shit is even legal! The cure sometimes really is  MUCH worse than the disease. Weed is still illegal in a lot of places but this crap is PRESCRIBED to people. I’m left mind blown after learning this stuff. I wondered why so many people say “I wonder what SSRIs they were on” when someone shoots up a place or whatever. Now I’m wondering if there really is a correlation. 😕 I now understand that there’s such a thing as “SSRI rage” and I have a BIG problem with that. Again, it makes me wonder. The anger has negatively impacted some of my relationships, particularly with my mom. I had an anger (and violence) problem when I was 9-13. I got over it. Then I started the Sertraline a good while back (mid 2010s? Can’t remember) and I RAGED like never before. I did not make the connection, just questioned what the FUCK was wrong with me. It has not let up since, and I am always extremely upset and guilty about it, but I cannot stop it. It’s like being possessed by a rage demon. I can’t stop the word vomit. It comes out no matter that my mind is screaming for my mouth to close. Horrible for me and whoever pissed me off. I just want to be normal and I hope getting off these fucking poisonous meds will help. I want to be as mentally well as possible for someone with my problems!

Anyways, I wrote entirely too much about that. No one cares about your meds, Serina.

I had to cancel my day with Lauren because I felt SO bad when I woke up. To be fair, I felt just as bad when I was struggling to sleep. My arms and legs felt heavy, like they were lead. I had to take a shower but I knew I couldn’t manage that in the state I was in. I feel ultra crappy about not going out with her because I wasted three hours of her time. I’ll admit I wasn’t upset about not having to refill my pillbox today 😅 I always have bad neck pain and sweat terribly when I have to. She was also going to show me how to use the washer and dryer today. I was kind of looking forward to learn so I could wash my damn clothes whenever I want.

I hate hate hate to say this, because it’s troublesome (and never happens!) but I think I like Lauren. “Like” with a capital L, I mean. She’s a bit of a butch lesbian, which is what I like in general when it comes to women, with a few exceptions. I have no desire to do adult stuff with anyone but I’m certainly not asexual, I’m just grossed out by it I guess. Makes it hard to find someone. I’m pretty sure she’s not “grossed out” lol. I also think she has a girlfriend. Oh well. Reckon I’ll just have to deal with it 😂  I don’t have anyone in my life to tell. I think most of them might suspect I’m a bit dyke-y because of how I look, dress, and how un-feminine I am. I’ve never outright said it or officially come out of the closet. I did admit to being bisexual to mom when I was 16. Somehow I don’t think that counts since I now am strictly into women. I have hinted but I don’t think she really gets it. I have to get it off my chest or I’ll go coo-coo bonkers, and nobody wants that. 😝

Aside from all that, I need to open my laptop, despite my lack of energy, and make that fanlisting I was approved for. It’s for Stonehenge, which I wanted for a long time. I have always been fascinated by the ancient megaliths, stone circles and dolmen found in Europe. Stonehenge in particular. I learnt about druids and Stonehenge when I was really young (don’t know where I heard about it either!) and surprised a few of my teachers in grade school knowing about that and various nature things. Anyhoo, the owner let her fanlisting close for whatever reason and I pounced on it. I’m a little afraid to contact her and ask for her member list .sql file. She’s quite…stony? I don’t know a proper word. Icy? Impersonal? Curt, perhaps? I don’t know, but she makes me nervous 😅 And yes, I’ve talked to her in the past. Some people just come off as scary like they might type aggressively at me 😆

Good night, internet. I’m a little sleepy.