Tag Archives: life

The Most Expensive Flowers I Ever Bought

Posted on by

Jenya, my wife, likes to get flowers. When we started dating, she said she didn’t really like cut flowers because they would be dead in a few days. That’s changed. She likes the beauty that fresh flowers can bring to a home, and they elevate her mood. I was working one of part-time, on-call jobs at Fred Meyer when I saw that they had flowers in the bargain bin.

$2.64, to make my wife happier? That’s easy. I picked them up, realized I didn’t know if they would be cat-friendly, and decided to get them anyway. Surely, Jenya would know.

I brought them home. Jenya enjoyed them. Sima ate some parts of them, not a lot, but she’s a cat. That’s what cats do. They sat on our counter overnight.

The next morning, Sima got up with us but then went back to bed. She slept most of the day. It was overcast. I blamed the weather.

The next day, she vomited and went to the bathroom five times in one hour. Even though she was in the bathroom, she was only leaving little balls of mucus, and only one or two at a time.

The third day, she vomited again. For the briefest of moments, I thought about waiting until I pre-arranged appointment a week from this incident. But I decided that I didn’t know enough about anything to make that decision. I called the vet to see if we could get her in.

We went to the vet the next morning. Sima was running and jumping and behaving normally, but I had scheduled the appointment. Sima didn’t want to go, and she told us loudly that she was fine. We went anyway.

The vet examined Sima and looked at a photo of the flowers. “What are those?” We didn’t know, but the vet tech used her phone to google the types of flowers. “They’re lilies. They could be Peruvian or they could be white. It’s hard to tell. Let’s go ahead and do some bloodwork on Sima, check her kidneys. Some lilies cause renal failure. Some aren’t that bad. I’ll go look up the flower.”

The vet went to look up the flower, and the tech took Sima to do the bloodwork. When they returned, the vet said it was difficult to say which flower was in the picture. We’d need to wait 15 minutes for the blood results. When she returned again, she said everything looked normal, except for her renal measures, which were a little elevated. The vet wasn’t too worried. We’d arrived too late to provide any mitigating treatment, anyway. So, we would need to come back in a week’s time to do some follow up testing.

$447.74 for the vet visit. Those are the most expensive flowers I ever bought. When I messaged my sister, the first thing she asked was if I needed money.

To have to reduce this situation to the monetary stress it caused sickens me, even if I’m trying to make light of it. I had to take my kitty in to get help. Now, rather than rejoicing that she’s likely to be okay, I have to hope that I’ll have a job within the next month, so I have the money to pay the bill.

Bring out the Facebook Troll or Be Kind

Posted on by

Almost every session of me scrolling through Facebook ends with some sort of negative experience. Sure, politics are a big part of that, even when comedians are the ones joking about it. (I mean, I guess you can either laugh or cry, maybe both.) However, what really bothers me is the need for people to rip on others for their appearance, and let’s face it, it’s usually men ripping on women. It’s disgusting and sad. Most often, it’s not true. These men are just trying to say something they think is funny and criticizing someone’s appearance is one of the easiest ways to do that.

Sometimes, it makes me wonder if I should harness the child I was in middle school. That kid put everyone down. He made adults cry. As he got older, he learned how to insult people in such a way that he didn’t need profanity. A subtle barb would fester in the room waiting for the wounded person to realize what had just happened, leaving others in stitches. Release that kid on the Internet, and man, Facebook would be responsible for a lot more emotional issues than it has already caused (sometimes on purpose). But that attitude and those words were a part of growing up Gen X. You had to be tough on the street, and if you weren’t big, you better make sure your words were cutting enough to earn the respect of the bullies. Sticks and stones could break your bones, but words would leave you crushed, despite the saying to the contrary.

At some point, my freshman year of college, I decided I didn’t want to be that person anymore. I had just verbally destroyed someone at lunch. Everyone was laughing, but I didn’t feel good about it. I didn’t want to hurt people anymore. It didn’t seem right.

Yet, now it seems that Facebook is full of those type of people – trolls trying to cause anguish to garner views and likes. Someone might even say, “it takes a troll to hunt a troll,” and part of me thinks I could do some good by doing some bad.

But I look at the other Gen Xers that are posting about their childhoods and what they loved about growing up Gen X. They all say pretty much the same things: in before the streetlights come on, forced to be outside during the day, drinking from the garden hose… rarely do they mention the war of words that was a part of childhood then. Sure, they’ll talk about “You’re mama,” but that’s as far as they go. When confronted with a troll, they don’t call on their inner 12 year old and load that troll down with harsh words. Instead, they’re reliving their fondest memories. They’re reliving the best parts of a life that is so far gone, and they’re reliving parts of that life they didn’t get to live when it was happening.

And then there are the people who are trying to make Facebook better: a song, “It’s to be kind,” the aforementioned Gen Xers, the folks at Mr. Rogers, Levar Burton… These are the people that are trying to create a healthier social media ecosystem, and there are hundreds more.

So, let’s try to aspire to their level of kindness, joy and wonder, and not sink to place of trolls. It may not be easy to be kind, it may not garner as many views or comments, but it’s better for you.

Author’s Note: I have not included any links to Facebook because it’s probably better for us to not be on it. However, as long as it’s the easiest platform to use to reach my friends, family and new readers, I’m still going to be posting. Please like, comment, and share. Also, feel free to leave a comment on my blog post, maybe we can build a better social media without the trolls…

Point and Click Your Life Away

Posted on by

Every so often, I get caught up in one of those point-and-click Facebook games, like Farmville or Castle Age, and I become totally obsessed with them. I’m building characters. I’m building farms. I’m building castles. I’m fighting monsters. I’m raking in the fake currency. I’m completing quests, and in the best of these, I’m connecting with people on the Internet I will probably never meet in person. In short, these games allow me the opportunity to feel successful and enjoy the feeling of actually building toward something. It’s a feeling that seriously lacks in real life.

No matter how many blog posts I write, how many books I sell, or how many SEO articles I write, I don’t see the results that show I am building toward something. Instead, my real life looks like I am spinning my wheels and staying afloat, with the weather and waves threatening to change all that.

These games have a time element and a rewards system. Just wait five minutes, and you get another point, or energy bolt, or gold piece to spend. Of course, you always have the option of throwing the developers some real money to get more of whatever makes the game go. The more you play, the more new lands you find the more powers you develop and the more secrets you discover.

Discovery also lacks in life, even as I seek out new experiences and new information. It seems like I am surrounded by old information that is told in different ways over and over. It’s like looking up 30 articles on heart attacks to see that chest pain is the most common symptom for men. It’s something we all know. Isn’t there anything new out there?

Recently, I got caught up in “Magic the Gathering: Arena.” It’s a great game. You collect cards and decks. You build decks, and then you battle against other people that you can’t really communicate with. It has all the elements I love: Discovery, strategy and card collecting. (I had so many Magic cards when I was in my teens and twenties.) And then there’s the winning – who doesn’t love winning? I just can’t continue on with it knowing the responsibilities I have.

These games are time- and attention-stealers. They don’t do anything to advance you forward, and if you’re like me, they suck you in and reduce your effectiveness in other areas of your life. If you’re thinking about the next reward you can get in your match three gems game or Candy Crush, you’re not thinking about how to solve other problems you’re facing or how to help other people get through life better. Yes, they are fun, and if you can play them in moderation, more power to you. I, however, cannot. Now, if there were a point-and-click game that translated into helping people. That might be a game worth getting lost in.

If you’re going to point and click anyway, try one of my adventure choice stories. You’ll be helping me out and get a good story, too!