Highs and Lows

     A few days ago, I realized the Molly the cat was sick. She hadn't eaten in at least three days, which was super worrying. When you're only 4.5 pounds (2 kg), there's not much spare weight to lose. When the vet saw her, he metaphorically shrugged his shoulders. He couldn't figure out what the problem was and was keen to do blood work. With some discussion, I figured out that I could spend several hundred dollars, and then he might not know anything more. He might also figure out that she had something serious that we couldn't treat anyway, like cancer or feline leukemia. So I chose to get her loaded up with fluids, anti-nausea drugs, and antibiotics and then crossed my fingers. Yesterday, in fact, I would have given 50/50 odds that she wasn't going to survive the week.
     Today, I am a bit more hopeful. She is willing to eat yogurt and a few bites of kibble. Her meows, which were faint yesterday, are more insistent and getting closer to the loud complaint that is a deaf cat's meow. If she continues on this path, she'll be just well enough to travel with me to Ohio this weekend. I was going to spare her the four-day trip, but since she still needs medicine every 12 hours, she'll have to suffer through.
     Today was also the day my birthday present arrived. The picture just hints at the delights hidden in those boxes - 49 DVDs with every episode of the seven seasons of Deep Space Nine. They were shipped over from Europe, and I've been waiting for them for weeks. This is my favorite Star Trek series, and I want to watch it from start to finish, using the Spanish dubbed audio track. I used a similar trick in Germany, and it was a fun way to learn. The key is to choose a television show I already know quite well - otherwise I'm too frustrated by my novice language skills. Now I can look forward to months of television viewing which also count as homework.