All the Other Stuff

Alladin got sick again, with another urinary tract blockage. I took him in on Monday for a re-check urinalysis (and told them he was having symptoms). I waited around all day with no computer to write and nothing to do, before they sent him home. By Tuesday morning, he was blocked completely. Took him back to the vet for an unplugging, more drugs, special cat food (this is sad, as it means the death of our raw food dreams for him…. dreams which had resulted in him dropping 2 lbs. so far.) Meanwhile, we had been going into the RV park office to say “really, we just need one more day here….” By Wednesday morning, they were getting a little ticked, though I can’t imagine why– we were paying full price for a pull-through site (most parks keep pull-throughs available for overnighters.)

Tuesday, they told me I could take him home or leave him overnight. Initially, I was going to leave him overnight, but the worry got to me. I wanted him at home, with me, in familiar surroundings. Also, I found I couldn’t write without him. John and I went back to the vet’s and picked him up.

Good thing we did. I don’t know who they had him caged next to, but this morning, he’s sniffling and sneezing! He’s already on antibiotics, so I’m fairly confident this won’t turn into anything worse than a little kitty-cold. Still, he’s going to be uncomfortable for a couple of days, and I pity him greatly, because he’s just been sick with one thing or another for almost 3 weeks, and he’s just not that old!

We left Jacksonville on Wednesday and drove up to a place outside Savannah, called Hardeeville, South Carolina. There’s…. not much in Hardeeville, but Savannah’s only 10 minutes away, and it’s pretty and a very old-charm kind of place.

Meanwhile, I am trying desperately to pull a NaNoWriMo out of my ass, and finish writing A Love to Stand On for submission to one contest, one editor, and two agents. The editor and agents I met at the First Coast RWA chapter conference at the end of March. I did pitch sessions with all of them, and they all said “Send me the finished thing!” (Except one agent, who thankfully said “send me the first 3 and a synopsis” which was gracious).

Plus, I started a writing class this week, in Travel Writing, to build some samples and hone my craft and build that network. I know I said I wasn’t going to turn this travel thing into a job, but…. a girl’s gotta eat. The economy sucks, so I’m exploring a lot of options.

And one of those options paid off. I can’t really discuss the details in my blog, but I got a fairly low-key but steady writing job this week.

Yesterday afternoon landed me with a migraine, which didn’t help matters, and I’m just incredibly tired this week, mostly due to stress. I sleep when I’m stressed, which does nothing to take care of the things that stress me out, but does do something for the way I approach and re-energize to recover from stress.