Return of the Belly Rub

Last Monday night, Blondie and I celebrated our own Xmas by heading up to Esca, Mario Batali's seafood restaurant. It started off funny - a family was there (2 kids, parents) and the kids were rating their meals quite loudly: "Mom! Your bass was a 10 but my cod was only a 3!" They were so annoying and I couldn't focus on anything but them, which made me annoying to Blondie. But about 15 minutes after we were seated, they left and the rest of the night was a blast. We ate so much food that night - I started with ahi carpacio (I could've made my whole meal this), and then we split baked clams with bacon and apples, and a big bowl of seafood soup; and then we split some spaghetti with mint and lobster, and then ended with blackfish for Blondie and a whole baked fish for me (I can't remember which kind) and a bunch of veg.

Tuesday I worked from home along with Blondie but really I just ran a bunch of errands. I started out with a trip down the street to buy stuff for a meat and cheese platter, and then it was over to our vet's to get some prescription cat food for Tigga, and then a stop at the bank. Then I hit up Amish Market to get some prosciutto to finish the meat and cheese platter. Then I noticed I had missed a text from Blondie and he was in the area also getting a haircut, so I went and sat with him until he finished. Then we did some white elephant gift shopping before hitting up Duane Reade for wrapping paper. Then a trip to Blondie's bank and a stop at the liquor store, before heading home to crash hard. It was about 3 miles of walking carrying a ton of bags - my workout for the day.

We spent the rest of Tuesday being lazy before meeting up with our local group on Tuesday night at the bar. It was good getting to see everyone, and we cranked some Xmas tunes on their jukebox - then I got bored with Xmas tunes so segued that into some metal music before we went home around 9 pm. We had been making a beef stew that wasn't going to be ready until almost midnight that night so we stopped at 7-11 for snacks before settling in and watching a bunch of TV.

And then it was Wednesday - we had been going to meet a couple of our bar friends for a movie and McDonald's for breakfast to start our day, but Blondie had an upset stomach and I didn't want to leave him on Xmas. Instead we chilled out, unwrapped gifts from my mom and sister, and generally had a quiet morning in. Xmas afternoon and evening was spent at one of our bar friend's apartments. He has a penthouse apartment overlooking, well, everything. It was pretty freaking amazing. His wife did all the cooking, and we brought chicken wings and meat and cheese platter. It was a day filled with friends and food. We ended the night by our white elephant swap (I got a giant flask and Blondie got a Budweiser stein and scratch-offs) and then playing a ton of Cards Against Humanity.

Thursday was spent all day at the animal hospital. I took Tigga in at 8 am and told them I just was going to stay the day until he was done. I wasn't the only one who stayed also - 8 to 9 am at the animal hospital is drop-off time (pets getting chemo, surgery, procedures, etc), and some others stayed until their pet was finished. I was so nervous about Tigga - scared of what they would find, etc. The vet technician talked to me first - walked me through what they were going to do that day and the cost (hint: not cheap), and then the vet came out before they started work. She told me that Tigga had actually gained a tiny bit of weight (!!!) And then she came out around 1:15 pm to tell me they were done - that Tigga was being held for a few more hours until he was completely out of sedation but that he did great with no complications. At that point, I knew I couldn't wait a few more hours - I'd be bugging them every 15 minutes to give me my cat back. So I headed a few blocks down the street for some margaritas and queso. I made it about 1 hour, 15 minutes, and then headed back and asked for him. To their credit, they gave him to me right away - he came out in his carrier just growling at everyone. It was so freaking funny! We find out in 5-7 days about the results - if cancer, we start chemo. If the results are not definite, we just start steroids.

Thurs night was spent monitoring Tigga - they had said to only give him half his food for the day so we started with just a little bit of food, but he was frantic, knocking his dish around in the kitchen so eventually we just fed him. They also said he might not poop for 2-3 days (they were messing around in his GI tract for his endoscopy so they had given him medication to slow his GI tract down), but I shit you not (hehe) - the next morning he had already pooped 5 times. He also looks pretty punk - he's been getting his fur shaved off in random places for all the procedures. His chest, his belly, his right front leg, half the bottom of his right foot - he looks bad ass.

Friday came and Blondie had packed up to head to the land of cheese for a few days. While he was saying goodbye, Tigga came out and did his "move". The move entails standing on all 4 paws (i.e. his butt not on the ground) and then slowly starting to turn his head over so eventually the top of his head is at the floor, and then flipping his entire body so his belly shows so you have to give him belly rubs. It hit me that it was the first time in months we had seen the move! This has to mean Tigga is feeling better - sooooo relieved. Hopefully between the deworming medication (he didn't have worms, they were just trying to kill any parasites in his system), anti-biotics, and B12 shots, he's starting to feel normal again!

Friday and Saturday were spent doing nothing - it was amazing. I went and got food when Blondie left on Friday and then didn't leave the apartment again. It was everything I dreamed it could be. Today I'm meeting my female bar friends for girls day. We are going to do lunch and then hit up a wine bar. Which means I've got to get up and get showered very soon.

Hope everyone had a great holiday, and an early happy new years!

--K