I was going to spend time writing last night about a misadventure that Hal and I shared, but since it was Hal’s birthday I decided to wait until today to recap what happened. It goes to show that people can be pricks at the most unexpected times.

After work yesterday, I took Hal to the Acupuncturist for his birthday session. The hour passed by and he emerged feeling totally relaxed. I asked him where he wanted to have dinner on his birthday and he said “Ciao Osteria” which is right across the street from the Chiropractor and Acupuncturist offices. We have always loved having dinner at Ciao since the food and atmosphere are always excellent.

Even though I was still feeling the after-effects of the crud, and decided that I was going to have a lite dinner myself, we went into the restaurant at a little after 1700. There were 1 or 2 tables occupied and I indicated that we would like a table or booth for 2 people. The young lady informed us that they were expecting a large crowd for the evening but at first, this remark didn’t concern me much because we were there early while most people were leaving work or were stuck in traffic.

The young lady showed us to the tiniest table in the place, haphazardly crammed into what seemed to be an available corner. Hal immediately said that he didn’t want to be seated there, and I agreed with him. We told the young lady that we were leaving before we even had the chance to sit down, we said that we weren’t happy with the seating and that we were leaving. The young lady and an older woman at the hostess station didn’t say anything as we left.

I then asked Hal where he wanted to try next. He indicated Bonefish Grille and that is where I took him. We were treated like royalty there, which came as a pleasant surprise after the unpleasant experience at Ciao. Hal indicated that he picked up on some really negative energy when we were at Ciao, so I decided to write up a quick review on Google and Yelp about our experience. The review stated that we weren’t happy with how we were treated simply because we arrived without reservations. I hit submit and within a few minutes, as we were beginning to enjoy our dinner at Bonefish, the reply from the “management” at Ciao arrived.

The message was rude and offensive. It stated that the young lady had “offered to move us to a larger table”. This is what I call a LIE because it never happened. Her response then stated that I cannot always get what I want, but that “I should be happy with what they give me”. I was now seeing the reply through a rapidly reddening field of vision.

I decided to wait until we got home before I would respond to this reply. I wasn’t really surprised that by that time the response had been deleted and replaced by a corporate reply about how sorry they were and they looked forward to the chance to improve on our next visit. I wish that I could have gotten a screenshot of the initial response because it is more than obvious that someone (owner) must have read the response and taken it down.

I called out Ciao on Yelp asking why they had removed their first response. The only answer was to repeat the corporate (second) response as if nothing had happened. I decided that I had enough of the bullshit and went to bed.

Hal was pissed, and he had every right to be. Birthday dinner plans ruined at the last minute, although Bonefish Grille stepped up to the plate and delivered a grand slam.

Ciao Osteria in Centreville, VA lost some customers last night. Customers who had raved about the food and the service received there in the past. Perhaps ownership has shifted priorities, who knows? Hal and I do know that we will never spend any of our money at Ciao Osteria ever again.

I woke up this morning with the strangest sense of calm. I had to relish the feeling before I finally realized that I didn’t feel like shit as I woke up. I hesitated to get out of bed, content with Hal The Cat laying beside me and purring away happily. After a few minutes, I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and touched the floor. So far, no nausea. I went to the bathroom and measured my BG and found that it had dropped back to normal range after being way too high over the last few days, no matter what I did to try and control it.

I finally realized that this strange sensation I was experiencing was me actually feeling normal again after five days of the crud. I started work here at home, still unsure of things, but determined to make today a good day if at all possible.

By definition, today will be a great day because it is Hal’s (person) birthday! I want to take him out after work for dinner and to give him his gift (an acupuncture session) and then spend the rest of the evening home together. Hal is the most important person in the world to me and on his birthday, I never want him to doubt it.

As far as myself, any time that I don’t feel like shit is welcome. I hope that the crud is gone for good, but as long as I can feel good for Hal today, I will be happy.  

Since last Thursday, I have felt like someone drove a truck over me repeatedly and then left it parked on top of me. Even this morning, I am still trying to recover, but even this Monday morning, I feel closer to zero than a hero.

I am trying to make it through the day at work without taking another day off. If I can manage this, then I have to take Jax to the vet for his first official visit since he arrived here 8 days ago.

Yesterday, Jax made a major breakthrough by coming out and exploring the apartment with Stevie Nicks and Hal The Cat around all the time. There were a few hissing contests, but nothing that required intervention. Jax spent most of the day exploring and not hiding, which was a major accomplishment. Jax is making great strides, and his presence has helped to ease the passing of Spartacus.

I hope that I feel better as the day passes here and that tomorrow will improve upon today. I want to get myself back into a routine that helps me gain energy and feel better on a regular basis.

As the afternoon goes on, I know that I will make it through the day here at work. Once the meetings are over, there will be very little time left in the day before Jax’s veterinary appointment. Once that is over with, I want to come back home and relax.

If there is any justice, I will get a great night of rest and feel 100% better tomorrow.

It’s a beautiful day to be working from home. I only wish I felt better to really enjoy this day.

With the arrival of Panther, the newest Stooge, things have really become crazy around here. First of all, both Hal and I have had a terrible time remembering the name “Panther” so we decided that since he is young enough and new to us, that we will name him “Jax” instead. Jax was a name that both Hal and I could agree on that is short and easier to remember.

So, Jax is settling in slowly. The first nose-to-nose encounter took place accidentally last night when Hal The Cat managed to run through the door to the bedroom where Jax has been staying since he arrived on Sunday. There wasn’t much verbal communication until Jax decided to hiss at Hal The Cat, Hal THe Cat hissed back, and that was it before we physically separated the two of them. Not a bad first accidental encounter for all concerned.

Jax has his own personality and we can already tell that he will liven the place up compared to Spartacus. Jax loves to curl around my feet when I am sitting and typing 9like right now) and this is a behavior that we haven’t had in a cat before. I just have to be mindful of where Jax is when I decide that it is time to stand up or move my feet.

Hal The Cat and Stevie Nicks are still going through their grieving process over Spartacus, and this will affect their introductions to Jax. Time will make everything better, but for now, there are still some instances of hissing and an occasional growl. For this reason, Jax is still being kept in a separate room.

Personally, I just want to lay down and take a nap as soon as I can after work this afternoon. With luck, at least one of The Stooges will sleep with me for a little while. I know that exhaustion is creeping up on me after a long and stressful weekend. It is time to take things easy for a change.

The weekend was a complete blur for me. On Saturday afternoon we had to take Spartacus to the emergency vet because he was not eating and was visibly wasting away. After some initial hopeful thoughts from the vet, they discovered that Spartacus had stomach cancer that had metastasized to other parts of his body and that was causing the lack of appetite and weight loss. We had to make the terribly difficult decision to put him to sleep rather than prolong his life with meds that would have him sedated most of the time anyway.

Spartacus loved to lay in the sun as much as possible. He remained a good-natured cat throughout his life, and in 17+ years I never recall him hissing or snapping at us. Sleep well, Buddy.

Sunday morning arrived and Hal and I were still hurting when we went to start looking for a new cat to share our home with. Experience has taught us that it is better to find a new cat in need of a home as soon as possible rather than dwell exclusively on losing a buddy like Spartacus. We found our newest addition, a 1-year old named Panther. Yes, he looks like a mini-me version of Hal The Cat.

Panther

Hal The Cat

It won’t be that difficult to tell them apart, Hal is much larger, and we also put a red collar on Panther. So far they have not been totally introduced, but each is aware that the other is here now, and Stevie Nicks also realizes that there is both someone missing and someone new in the place.

The old saying goes ” No news is good news,” but I wonder how true that really is at times like this. My deceased cousin’s husband is suffering from Alzheimer’s and was placed in hospice about a month ago. Other than a few text message conversations I haven’t heard anything else. It’s been well over a week now, and all I can do is to hope that the old saying is true in this case.

I reached out again to the family today, but my expectations for getting a response is really low right now. Actually, there’s a good chance that I might get some kind of short and cryptic response that will mean the same thing as no response at all. I honestly only think about the situation when there is nothing else on my mind at the moment. I suppose that I should just move on with everything else in my life and hope that I’ll be remembered if anything happens.

I know that once things are over with, and my cousin’s husband has passed away, that it will very likely mark the last times I will hear from my second and third cousins at all. The estrangement has been in place for many years and I don’t see any way out of the predicament.

Am I hesitant to say goodbye? Or am I just wanting to get the goodbyes done and over with? I wish I knew the answer to that question.