Upside & Down

A few comments on unemployed cabin life:

• Upside- Free rent! Down- Bills still have to be paid, which gets tricky with no income.
• Upside- Wildlife ALL over the place. Down- NSA had the shit scared out of him by a baby bull moose.
• Upside- Summer in Alaska. Down- The days get shorter from here on.
• Upside- Quiet and private. Down- Except when Mom's "colorful" friends decide to drop by unannounced.
• Upside- Freedom. Down- Without structure, I'm kind of falling on my face.

La Vida Rustica

The cabin that Dave built.

This is my current home, a 10X18 cabin with no running water, BUT, thanks to the wireless marvels of the modern age, I do enjoy access to the World Wide Web. Kinda freaky, huh?





Jezebel enjoying the view from the front window.

The three kitties have adapted remarkably well to the rustic life, despite the lack of comfortable armchairs. As long as there's wet food and a clean box, they're happy. I wish I were as easily satisfied.

Ms. Moose browsing in front of the same window.

A Timeline of the Events of the Beginning of May, 2009

• April 29th- A last-minute dash to the airport with three cats and waaay too much luggage, but all of us made it to Alaska okay, if uncomfortably. (sidenote- Yin Yin reacted to the Xanax preflight test like a belligerent little drunk, staggering around and hissing at the other cats, it did NOT calm her down at all. And, not that I recommend drugging your animals for amusement purposes, but it was VERY funny to watch.)
• April 30th-May 3rd- Unseasonably gorgeous weather in Anchorage at a pet-friendly hotel, we celebrate a friend's birthday at a questionable club, shop for camping supplies and other summer essentials, and hang out with NSA's son. Hectic and more expensive than I would have wished, but a reasonably good time.
• May 4th- A friend drives us down to Homer in a mini-van packed to the roof, we find a hotel room, smuggle the cats in. NSA's asthma is bothering him, probably due to the very fine ash from Mt. Redoubt and the very dry spring that hasn't kept it down. And the stress of moving, travel, etc.
• May 5th- Friend and I pick up a few missed items while NSA relaxes at the hotel room. After a couple of frantic texts, we return to the room to find NSA drenched in sweat, his breathing intensely labored, and having already called 911, who take an excruciatingly long time to arrive. Ride in the ambulance, which pulls over on the way to the hospital to let the paramedics work on NSA, who is semi-lucid but completely frantic.
• May 6th- A horrible, horrible night during which NSA has to be put into an induced coma and intubated because he's combative and not responding well to the drugs. I have the unenviable experience of seeing my forty-five year old husband on a ventilator in the ICU.
• May 7th- It rains, washing away some of the volcanic ash.
• May 8th- I learn a new word, "extubated," the opposite of having a tube stuck down your throat. NSA is loopy and out of it from all of the drugs he's on, but in a relatively good mood since he has a constant supply of IV painkillers. We watch Casanova and I can't help but think of Heath Ledger, while NSA finds it particularly enjoyable in his altered state because of the bright colors and broad humor. He alternately calls me by his ex-wife's or sister's names. He's smiley and fun, and charms the nurses.
• May 9th- 13th- We get an inexpensive hotel room in town that doesn't care that we have cats to give NSA time to build up his strength.
• May 14th- After chinese food and making love, NSA has an evil, evil pain in his groin. When he wakes me up writhing around, I insist we call the paramedics. He's resistant, but eventually gives in. And so back to the hospital we go. In the ER, they're surprised to see him again, but won't give him anything for the pain until he starts vomiting blood.
• May 15th- After determining that the stone in his right kidney moved, NSA is released from the hospital again, worried about the expense of everything and how much insurance will cover. I'm understandably upset and feeling overwhelmed.
• May 16th- NSA passes an 8mm kidney stone, the size of a small pea. It's strangely impressive. We move the three cats and the little bit of stuff we brought with us into the cabin, which is dusty, and either cozy or cramped depending on our moods. The cats adapt remarkably quickly to their new environment, mostly due to the windows and abundant wildilfe to watch.

Two Things That Make Life Without Running Water Slightly More Bearable

• Baby wipes
• Hand sanitizer
  

I Look Like Mardi Gras!

And I wish that were as fun and sexy as it sounds (boobies!! yay!), but really it just means that my arms and legs are covered in purple, green and yellow bruises. Moving is hard, especially when you approach it in a completely chaotic and fucked-up manner, and my flesh and nerves pay the price. I can never seem to do anything like a sane, rational adult , but at least most of our shit is safely stored. NSA's health is the big worry now, we're supposed to be getting on a plane with the three cats (!!!) Wednesday, but if he has to go to the emergency room, then our plans will naturally have to change. I've never had the best balance, but right now, I think I'd make any tightrope walker proud.
And all of you are just the sweetest things! I'm sporadically checking my stats, and you guys just keep coming back, quick drop-ins to see what's going on even though I haven't posted in weeks. It warms me to the cockles of my heart, and believe me, my cockles need warming. Thank you.

Too Much To Say, No Time To Say It

I feel like the white rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, "no time to say hellogood-bye..." NSA and I are rolling along with our plans, hitting every freakin' bump along the way. I will be so happy to be out of this job and away from San Diego, but right now I'm so stressed I feel like my brain is going to jellify from the pressure and leak out my ears, (all together now...) ewwww! Not that I'm a constant blogger anyway, but please don't be disappointed if posting is nonexistant over the next few weeks. I will try to keep up with my reading and commenting, I have a lot to say, I'm just not sure I'll find the time to blog it.

Desperately Seeking Dynamo

So, it's been an eventful couple of weeks, to say the least, and my blogging has suffered for it. Last week, Yin Yin was sick, like reallyreally sick, and although I took her to the vet and he put her on antibiotics, I wasn't trusting him. I know I was being a little crazy and irrational, but the thought of losing Mom's sweet little cat was almost too much for me to bear, I got crumbly around the edges. She's okay now, some expensive intestinal nastiness, but dealing with it seriously did me in for a few days.
A few things came to an ugly head at work. I was quitting anyway, put in my notice Monday, but the shit that went on before that was more than just the final straw, more like the final log- the final fucking Sequoia!- and while I'm not going into details, it was just a huge mess that I shouldn't have had to deal with in the first place, it should never have been allowed to get so out of hand. Knowing that I only have a week left has done me a world of good. And while leaving a decent job with good benefits makes me afraid, especially in this economy, it's also helped me sleep better at night.
All of this to say, we'll be packing boxes and moving very soon, and my inner dynamo seems to have gone missing. She's usually pretty reliable; an energetic, if slightly disorganized being who manages to get things done just before the final deadline. She hasn't shown her frenetic face yet, but then, it's not quite crunch time, and she might need to be bribed with double-lattes and promises of a nice vacation. Or maybe she needs a couple Xenadrine with a Rockstar chaser, she's not gettin' any younger after all.