February 1, 2007
From the desk of Jane Galt:Worst. Day. Ever.
Fun facts about my day:
1) My dog has something called a mast cell tumour on his paw. On the one hand, it's on a limb, which gives a good prognosis. On the other hand, it ulcerated, and probably has been doing so periodically since before Christmas, which is not a good sign. On the third hand, it only ulcerates when he runs around like a maniac, which is probably not totally surprising given that it's located on his paw. On the fourth hand . . . who the hell cares. My dog has a tumour. I'm going to panic until proven otherwise. He goes in for a surgical consult on Tuesday, and has the thing taken off on Wednesday. Then maybe chemotherapy and radiation.
2) The nice laptop people called to say they can fix my machine. For $450. Time to see if the Giant is having any good specials on cat food.
3) Apparently my landlord decided to inspect my apartment in New York, along with five others, yesterday. It seems more likely than not that my lovely, cheap apartment, which I have carefully fixed up with my own two little hands, is about to become someone else's co-op.
4) I have a presentation tomorrow which I am having trouble finishing because I am biting my nails over items 1, 2 and 3.
5) Several other items not worth whining about to all you good people, but piling on to drag this day further down into the mire of despair.
I'm sure I've had worse days in my life . . . but none are coming to mind immediately. Pardon me while I sob convulsively.
Posted by Jane Galt at February 1, 2007 3:56 PM | TrackBack | Technorati inbound linksSorry to hear about your dog. When mine was on his downward spiral, I couldn't think or work for anything. Not that your dog is on a downward spiral. Uh...I hope he gets better?
I never thought I'd be able to say this, but these days for $450, you might be better off popping the hard drive out to get your data, and buying a new one. Unless of course you're really attached to the old machine for some reason.
Hope he gets better. I didn't grow up with a dog so I never realized how attached I'd get when I got one four years ago.
Isn't your apartment rent-stabilized? Maybe your landlord will do a non-eviction plan and you will get an insider price.
1) It's just a dog. Sheesh.
2) Maybe time for a new laptop?
3) Aw man, you're going to lose a bunch of money! Wait, that's right, you were renting. Comes with the territory.
4) See above.
5) Bring it on.
I really hope your dog is okay. I would panic.
Jane, long time listener, first time caller. Hope you feel better.
Sorry to hear that things are going so bad right now. especially sad to hear about your dog. Hope everything works out.
As for the laptop, I recently learned the hard way that they suck for mechanical reasons. The display on my year-old laptop disappeared. The display is in the top of the case. Thus the connection between the display and the computer is in the hinge. So everytime you open and close that case you are stressing that connection. At $450 for repair of the laptop, you're in range of a decent desktop - go for it. Don't buy a laptop unless someone else is paying for it.
Sorry about the apartment. This is what drives people into home ownership. Your landlord is capitalizing on your improvements. Marx was mistaken in thinking only workers are exploited by greedy capitalists. It's renters who are really exploited.
As long as your career does not depend on this one presentation, don't worry about it. Do the best you can under the circumstances and move on. If your career does depend on this one presentation, you need a new career.
All the best.
I'm really sorry to hear all this; been there, done that, and it's no fun.
I hope everything works out for you.
But remember things could be worse. You could have had my life.
If you are one of those people, like me, whose response to extreme stress is to stay up to the wee, wee, hours, even after everything that can be done has been done, go to bed at a decent hour. Sleep deprivation is a hideous stress aggravator. If you are the sort of person who reacts to extreme stress by wanting to sleep all the time, get out of bed. Lying about encourages depressive thinking.
My apologies for giving unasked-for advice. I hope things improve for you, and your dog.
Best wishes. I'll even say a prayer for you.
I'm with Klug, Jane.
...pretty sure that was a line from Star Trek at some point, but I mean it.
Me too. I've read you for a long time,
and admire your general good sense. For
the record, I'm a believer.
Can we help materially? (Perhaps via
PayPal?)
Daniel
I wish all the best for you and your dog. Today my wife finally took our cat in to be put to sleep after battling a tumor for a month. We went through the biopsy, cryosurgery, steroid shots, etc, but it wasn't meant to be. I never would have thought I could become so attached to a cat but it’s been really hard.
Anyway, I really enjoy your website, and I hope your story ends better than ours.
Anyway, I really enjoy your website, and I hope your story ends better than ours.
Re: apartment inspection. If only you'd used those fluorescent lights. No one would want your apartment if you had those.
Jane,
I'm sorry about your situation.
Making a desktop PC your primary domestic work piece, as advocated above, is a sensible choice; laptops are fickle.
I'll wager on your eventually turning out an excellent presentation, your own doubts notwithstanding.
I wish your dog the best.
In the hope that it'll help you too, I'll share something that helps me ride the troughs out : Ernest Shackleton's motto:"fortitudinae vincimus."
Best wishes,
Karthik.
def. hope the doggie gets better M. And the other things too. Best wishes.
Best of luck with the dog - when my pup had cancer a few years ago, I panicked. Surgery wasn't 100% effective, so she had to get radiation. There's a lot of good news: radiation for a dog is orders of magnitude cheaper than for a human, and (it has been reported to me), the success rate is higher (perhaps because they feel capable of being more energetic about going after the problem, without fear of customers second guessing them).
Cricket is now 11 years old, and as frisky as she ever was. Hang in there - your dog will make it out OK as well.
As to why you prayed even when you thought it would do not good - Pascal's wager. The cost is very low (you were sitting on the phone anyway), and the potential payoff is quite high.
(...says a practicing Catholic).
http://www.overcomingbias.com/2007/01/why_are_there_n.html
I hope your dog gets better. Good wishes for him :-)
My cat had thyroid cancer a few years back. They did some chemo and she bounced back better than ever, lived several more years (she was already an older kitty). Good luck!
1) Your dog will quite probably be fine. Also probably, his paw will never be the same. So long as you continue to love and care for him, he won't really mind. There is a chance he will die from the cancer. In any event he will eventually get sick and die. This happens to pets. It is a good thing. There is a Chinese saying, "Grandfather dies, father dies, son dies." It is a positive saying. It means, this is the natural order of things. It is the way things are supposed to happen. Be happy that, as a young and vivacious woman, your dog will probably die before you. This is a good thing. It means you can care for your dog and comfort him when he is sick. Imagine if you died, leaving your dog all alone? How would he feel? What would happen to him? Your dog is happy that you are able to take care of him.
2) $450 is money. That's all. It's not a big deal. It's an economic decision. Economics problems are solveable by rational means. All of these problems are _easy_. They have an answer. You will work it out.
3) Nothing has happened yet with your apartment. If it does, again: it's just a place. There are other places to live. Your leasehold improvements are sunk costs. It's possible you will have to find a new apartment. The new place may cost more. Again, money. Solveable problem. Easy. Nothing to get worked up over.
4) There are benefits to biting your nails. For example, if you are biting your nails, you are not eating chocolate. Too much chocolate makes you fat. On the other hand, chocolate probably tastes better than your nails. Perhaps you should weigh the pros and cons of your actions...and get some chocolate.
5) Ditto...
* The KEY point in all this is that you imply you may end up eating cat food to save money. Do you have a recipe for cat food casserole? In fact...it's time for another Recipe Blog Post From Megan! Get crackin girl!
We love you. (?)
(The question mark is there because I don't actually know who you are. But it sounds like you need the literary equivalent of a hug).
I know how I feel when my dog gets sick, so I can have empathy for you in your situation. Best wishes, and good luck!
Dirtyrottenvarmint is right. All your dog needs to be happy is you. A few years ago my last dog was given three weeks by the vet. He went on to live another 18 months (no idea how, he was already 15 at that point) which were quite happy for him.
I think ((((())))) is the text hug.
Sorry to hear about your bad day, Jane. I hope your dog turns out to be fine. And I can sympathize about your laptop--mine died when I was in the middle of prelims and I had to replace the hard drive. Not fun.
Things will get better--hang in there!
MM: Sorry to hear about such a stack of woes. Hope Finnegan gets better soon and back to his job of drooling on the furniture. Get him some 3 Dog Bakery treats and a steak when he gets home.
As to other things: kick ass on the presentation and then harangue the brits at the "newspaper" to get you a computer and pay you what you're worth. Hedge funds are hiring people to lobby and investigate things happening on Capitol Hill for some very good coin. Remind the London office of these opportunities!
Best of luck with everything else, all will look better once Finnegan is through the ordeal. Dogs love sharing meals with the pack leader, and while they'd obviously prefer to eat peopel food, it could be a morale boosting team building excercise for the entire group to go on a kibble diet. Should help when Finn's review comes along and his hair and saliva productivity don't get him the bonus he's looking for!
Hope your dog gets better and count your blessings. If that's your worst day ever you've lived a very charmed life.
Did you take your laptop to an actual shop? They charge way too much. Find a freelance geek who will fix it for you. When my laptop died the customer service guy at my local megastore surreptitiously slipped me his personal business card. He was able to fix it for $40 vs the $200 plus the store was going to charge me.
Best of luck for your dog. From the prior comments, the outlook may not be that bleak.
Piece of advice? Go ahead and bite the nails. Days like yours have sunk my periods of not smoking, and I remember you are as susceptible to that as I am.
Things also somehow always look better in the morning, IMHO.
Be careful about the nail biting. I quit biting my nails for over a year until my sister died in December. Now it's like I never stopped.
Several years ago my dog Buster had a tumor on his gum. The vets tried not to let us be too optimistic, but we insisted on trying to help him. We had part of his jaw removed. He lived three more years after that, to a ripe old 13 (darned old for a German Shepherd).
Whatever happens, just be sure you give him the support he needs.
(And BTW, the whole thing cost just HALF of the bill for my own colonoscopy two weeks ago)
What a mess! Been there, done that. It sucks.
My friend's dog had a mast cell tumor removed 6 months ago and he is fine. I sure hope your pup will be fine too.
All I care about is your doggie. I hope the little fellow will soon be back in the pink of health.
Best of luck with the various problems. I lost one of my two dogs 4 weeks ago today. She very unexpectedly went into convulsions and died in my wife's and my arms. After talking with vets and doctors, we suspect an aneurysm, but we'll never really know. She was only seven or eight, and should have lived twice that long.
Bottom line? Cherish those you care for -- you never know when they'll go. Take your dog to a dog park, or wherever she seems to enjoy most. Best of luck.
Jane, your subsequent posts have recovered their signature tone of caring irony. I hope that's an indication that you feel better, though maybe not well (yet). Best wishes.
Our 13 yo yellow lab didn't greet me at the door when I came home one day. Something was wrong with his back and he couldn't get up. He was in terrible pain. I took him to the vet who said he had cancer and should be put to sleep. My wife, the nurse practitioner showed up about then and told the vet to give the dog a fentayl patch and some steroids and let us take him home. We took him to another vet the next day, and long story short the dog didn't have cancer, he probably just strained his back playing with our other dog. Two years later he's still fine.
If the problem with the laptop is the HDD then use a CD with bootable Linux software called Knoppix. (You download and burn Knoppix to a CD.)Network it to another computer or drive and copy the data.
Knoppix is a fantastic piece of software....
http://www.knoppix.org/
If it's the LCD then pop out your HDD and trash the computer. I buy IBM/Lenovo T series (top of the line) laptops used from a NYC outfit and treat them as disposable items (cost about $800 refurbished). I typically buy another one every 18 months, not because they die but because I give the old one to someone or just want to upgrade.
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