Kind of Glad To See You Go....

May, I'd love to say it's been fun, but that'd be a lie.  This month has been just about anything but pleasant.  I'm glad you're checking out until next year,   

To be honest, there are only 20 days until the start of Summer.    Spring can check out for the year as well.   So far, 2017 has sort of sucked.  Nothing's been that great & a lot of things have just sucked.  Too many things have been more of a problem than they should've been.  Spring didn't bring the rain it should've & we're probably looking at another Summer drought & a season of fire hazards.

2017, you've brought me a failed Winter & Spring.  I've lost 2 cats.  I'm dealing with a lot of change with my dentist office & mailbox center.  I've had several months of republicans screaming hateful , stupid crap.  All while they're praising that spiteful, orange idiot in the White House.

So yes, May get a move on, Spring get on out of here as well & 2017, if you can't do any better, then   head out right long with May & Spring.

Cya...

Yard Visitors...

Over the last few days, the yard's been fairy populated.  We have our various assortment of chirping birds & their constant drama.  The squirrels are still running amok through them..  The bunny is making return visits.  The neighbor dogs bark at them, but they get no response. They're all fun to watch, but they're all also covered in flea.  I wish they'd leave their fleas in some one else's yard.  I'm having enough bug issues already.

The porch has had some action as well.  A speckled brown kitty, I don't know it's a he or she.  It's too twitchy & really fluffy.  Every time I try to determine sex, I get a dirty look & a hiss.   Kitty is horribly offended at my forwardness.  We, awfully, called it Meth kitty due to it's tweaker nature.

A juvenile bird was on the porch screeching.  It could almost fly.  I think it was in the process of learning.  It either tried too soon, fell out or got pushed out of the nest.  It's parents hovered for a while.  I put some old bread & water out for it.  Soon, it fluttered off the porch into the yard towards some bushes.  I hope it made it.

I had to settle some issues with my dental insurance.  It seems to be handled, just a processing error.  I called my dentist to let them know.

That's my life animal, yard & insurance drama.  Yay!

Cya...

New Gold Standard...

.According to this article,  a new lab test is in development to determine the amount of HIV virus in a person's system.  It's like a suped up HIV viral load test & CD4 count.  Besides determining the amount of active virus, it's supposed to determine the amount of hidden or reservoir virus in the system.   

This would be helpful.  In addition, the test is supposed to be faster, less laborious & more cost effective.   All of those would be a boon.  For now, we'll have to wait & see how this pans out.  

That's it for now.

Cya...

Hot & Humid...

Yesterday was our 1st time to hit, humid day in the 90's.  The day wasn't too bad, but the evening was unpleasant.   We were supposed to have this hellish amount of rain & thunder storms.   We got neither, just  wave of hot, wet air.

Not much is going on today.  I'm glad, it's still pretty humid.   Doing anything right now would be like swimming through muck, even if it is cooler today.  

It's a holiday weekend, Memorial Day.  Not that we'll do anything.  It won't even get us a cheap chocolate day.  It will however, mess up the mail.   Joy & at the end of the month even.  That always throws everything off for a bit.

Until tomorrow.

Cya...

Hoppy Trails...

There was a special show outside my window yesterday.  A bunny frolicked about the yard for quite a  while before moving on to the neighbor's greener pastures.  I've seen a few rabbits lately.  There used to be more, but then there was Alice Cat.   She hunted bunnies & left their little heads on my porch as a trophy.    As the cat numbers dwindle, the rabbits & squirrels are making a come back.  They're fun to watch, but you can't pet them.  So, I prefer the cats.  

We got the card I'd been expecting from the Vet yesterday.  I didn't show it to my roomie until we got back from out outing.  It was a sympathy card for Rowan Cat.  It was a kind gesture & appreciated.  It also pulls you right back to where you were.  I think it did my roomie more good than harm.  Yesterday, had it's ups & downs.

Take Care.

Cya...

Going Out...

Have some shopping to do & then errands to run.  I have no idea how long this will take.  I'll post this little bit now.  

Hope everyone has a great day.

Cya....

Last Thursday Of May...

We have pretty much zip planned for today.  The weird weather has left us a little tired & allergy ridden.  The weather is warming up for a couple of days.  But, it is almost Summer.

This last week has been weird & difficult on my roomie, myself & I think even Tinkerbell.  It's oddly quiet in the house.  There aren't any impromptu messes to clean up.  In a way, it's nice, in another, it sucks.

I know  Summer actually doesn't start until June, but it's basically here now.  School's out & children are roaming.  No more teachers' dirty looks & all that.   It's strange, that May is wrapping up already.  2017 has been an exhausting marathon of awfulness so far.

That's all for now.

Cya...

Post Appointment...

I'm back from my 8:45 appointment.  That only took an hour out of my life to tell me everything was fine.  I did question my doctor about my elevated CD4 count.  I reach 600+ on my CD4.  I normally have a hard time getting anywhere near 400.  He agrees with me, my numbers were probably boosted by all the antibiotics I'd been on for the month prior to the test.  I guess, when see when I have the labs redraw in late November or so.

That's it for this morning.  Just a lot time wasted on an appointment I already knew the outcome of.  It's not my doctor's fault, it's just the way things work now.  I'll see him again in September.

Cya...

Another Tuesday In May...

Another day in May.  It's supposed to rain a lot today.  It was supposed to do the same thing for the last 2 nights & it didn't.  It just made things fairly muggy.  

There isn't much going on today.  The land of articles is bare again.  All I saw was repeat articles about CRISPR, stigma & Charlie Sheen,   Covered those topics a lot already.  

It's a nice day so far.  Maybe it'll hold out.  We could use the rain, we've been dry.  We're about 4" shy for the month & over a foot low for the year so far.  That usually means a hellish Summer is on it's way.   Maybe at least the grass with die off this year & take the blasted bugs with it.

I have a doctor's appointment tomorrow morning.  It's just a routine check in.   I hate having to go so often.

That's it for today.  Take care.

Cya...

Another 1...

This article reports Australian contracting HIV while on PrEP.    This is the 4th case officially mentioned.  Which, shouldn't suggest it's only the 4th such incident.  Even of those reported, Gilead & other agencies are attempting to discredit.  The health agencies are so sure this PrEP is a silver bullet, they'll go after anyone or anything not absolutely praising Truvada or the like.   It's easy to see Gilead's motivations.

I'm not saying PrEP can't help.  But it won't replace HIV education & condom use.  It is a serious medicine coming with a high price tag, blood tests, doctor visits, considerable side effects & yes, even stigma for using it.  This is not a pancea for HIV.  It definitely won't help prevent other STD's or pregnancy.

How many more times will this drug have to fail, before people question it?

Cya...

So, No...

I mentioned yesterday that I'd tried to find articles to post on & change my current topic.   I can do the latter, but not the prior.   Articles are still barren for a while.  

We went shopping this morning & it went alright.  We're back & not much is going on today.  We're supposed to have clear skies for a couple of days.

There's a bird soap opera outside my window.  The various birds are fussing with each other.  The cardinals seem to overlook the other birds, except for the finches & mockingbirds.  They're hard to ignore.  Occasionally, a squirrel goes tromping through & upsets everything.    We haven't had many jays this year & the hummingbirds haven't made it back yet.   I'm looking forward to them & the dragonflies.  

It seems like a day of shopping & bird watching is all for me.

Cya...

Just Noticing...

We had another round of rough weather last night.  That's supposed to be it for a while.  I hope so.  Rain is fine, but severe storms can just pass us by, thank you very much.

I started noticing yesterday just how much of my day was devoted to cats.  How so much of how I do or don't do things is based on cats no longer with us.  I kept myself busy yesterday.  I didn't want to focus on the house being so quiet.  The older cats were always clumsy & could fall walking across the room.  They also hurled a lot.  They raced through the house with their claws out.   They talked. They made a lot of noise.  

Now, it's quiet, disturbingly so.  I woke up a few times last night.  I caught myself listening for cat noises that weren't there.   No cat jumping onto things she wasn't supposed or falling off the window sill.  Tinkerbell is staying close by, I think this is freaking her out.  She likes cats better than people & now she's solo.

I washed & put up Rowan's food bowl this morning.  There's just 1 on the floor now.  Litter & food will last forever with us just dealing with 1 instead 3 or more.  I keep trying to look for the good things, but honestly, this just sucks.

Maybe there'll be articles to post about tomorrow,  I'll try to move on from this cat topic.  Take care.

Cya...

A Wet Friday In May...

We had a bit of  severe weather last night.  It didn't impact us too much, but it has the power blipping.  This will be early & short.    We're  expecting more of the same this afternoon.  I'm not sure how bad it'll get, but at least I"ll have my post up.   Such as it is.

Tinkerbell, the sole survivor, is being a bit odd.  She's not eating much.  I can't tell if it's the weather getting warmer or if she's reacting to Rowan's passing.  The storms haven't helped much.  I'm sure she spent most of the night under my bed.  She hates thunder.

Life goes on.  At times, that can really suck.  It makes things fade.  I grew up moving a lot, I was in a different school almost every semester for quite a while.  We'd occasionally move back to where we started for a bit, but everyone knew we'd be on our way again soon.  It made life very transitory.  Things fade out of my life very quickly.  I guess it was a coping mechanism.  There's a lot of people I don't even remember from where we lived.  On some things, I can be very out of sight, out of mind.  Sometimes, I hate that.

For now the sky is clear.  I'll enjoy it while I can.  I need to go out for a it later.

Cya...

2017 Is Sucking...

2016 was horrible for a host of reasons.  But, 2017, seems determined to be worse.  Besides getting an oompa loompa for president & all the insanity that came with that, the crap has continued to pour.

My household has been sick  most of the year.   In February we lost our cat Rhiannon.  Then in March I was hospitalized.  Every day, I've read or heard about some fresh, new hell the Republicans want to bring down on us.  Then yesterday, our cat, Rowan, passed unexpectedly. 

We're down to Tinkerbell, who isn't the most social or friendly of cats.  She mostly sleeps on my bed.  I have 2 anchors left in this world.  My roomie & a Siamese cat.  That's it. 

I told my roomie last night, that if something happens to Tinkerbell & she's out, it will  the 1st time I've been home alone in forever.  I've had cats & roommates since the early 90's.  Before, I lived in the dorms surrounded by people.  I'm not sure how or if I can deal with that.  I'm just not.

We're not halfway through 2017 & it seriously sucks.  

Sorry, I didn't have anything more positive to write.

Cya...

Rowan Had Better Places To Be...

This post is going out early.  I probably won't feel like it tomorrow.  Miss. Rowan, the remaining older cat had to go to the vet today.  She didn't come home with us.  I'd worried it was going to go that way.  

She had been bleeding from the mouth since the day before.  Turns out she had a tumor on the underside of her tongue.   She'd spotted some blood the night before, then quite a bit more this morning.   By the time we got squeezed in to see the vet, blood was streaming from her mouth.

No more back talk from Miss Rowan.    Almost 3 months to the day, she's gone to catch up with her sister Rhiannon.    They were together for 17 years until this last February.   I'll miss them both.

Rowan was more graceful than her sister, but not by much.  She was more independent.  Rowan was a smart little cat & a smart aleck.   Talking back was an art form for here.

Rowan was preceded by several of our other cats as well; Julian, Fluffy, Alice, as well as her sister Rhiannon.  Now Tinkerbell is the lone indoor cat.  

All hail Rowan, she was the One Cat to rule them all (at least in her version of the story).

Good Bye Rowan,  May your next life be bountiful, kind & loving.  You were loved.

Cya..

PS.  Please be kind to animals.  Take care of strays.  Spay & neuter,

Uncertain...

This is going to be short.  We have to take the remaining old cat into the vet.  I have no idea what outcome to expect.  She's bleeding from the mouth.  That's all I know for now.  More later.

Cya...

Irritating...

I was hoping for an easy morning.  We had no where to go or anything in particular to do.   Yet, an easy morning eluded me.  Thanks to either my computer or Windows.  I'm not sure which of them decided to screw my network settings this morning.   I still don't know how well they're working.   On top of that, an unusual number of loud ass trains have been running all morning.  It's hard to focus when a damn train horn is blaring.  

Not a great morning, not a great mood.

Tomorrow.

Cya....

Your Turn...

The end of last week, I was dealing with stomach & digestion issues.  Way too many trips to the bathroom.  I thought it was my allergies & meds. Looks like I was wrong.  For the last couple of days, my roomie has faced the same issues.  

I went shopping this morning & half the store was unattended or just getting handled.   A worker told me that  a lot of people were out sick.  He said this had been a problem since last Fall.   I'm not sure what's going on  in my area, but since last Fall, it's been flu, allergies, pneumonia, stomach viruses, etc.. non-stop.   Some people have been ill since October.  Whatever's going on, needs to stop.  This was a rough Winter season healthwise.

My specialist appointment  has been postponed until June.  That leaves me with a regular doctor exam next Wednesday.   Then hopefully, I'm done for a while with health issues

More tomorrow.

Cya...

Whatever Day...

Today's another useless holiday.  At least, useless to me.  Mother's Day gets me nothing & at best was a source of irritation.   This is a holiday I haven't had anything to do with in decades.    It doesn't get me a cheap chocolate day after, so I don't care about it.  

I'm not saying people shouldn't be thankful for good parents.   But, for a lot of us, these parental holidays are nothing than reminders of bad parents.   Why the hell would I celebrate a drunk?

I don't celebrate this day.  I don't buy cards.  There isn't cheap chocolate afterwards.  At this point in my life, this holiday is of no real concern to me.

Cya...

Another Saturday...

Nothing special going on here today.  I have some cooking to do later & that's about it.  The flea war is ongoing. 

My specialist doctor's office called yesterday.  They wanted to see if I was open to moving my appointment.  If it happens, I'll see them in June.  That's fine be me.  My labs were good. They're supposed to call back on Monday.

That's it for today.  

Cya...

Dismal Again...

The last few days have been dismal.   All that's good for is flea hatching & making my mood more sour than usual.  I've tried to make it work for me by putting the van out in the rain.  I was hoping it would wash off some of the pollen.  So far, no luck.  The rain's too light & the pollen's too thick & sticky.  

All this flea fighting has trounced me.  The chemicals are rough on my breathing & my stomach.  Every time I get near flea killer I start hacking & pretty soon my stomach goes south.

Not much going on today. I'll post more tomorrow,

Cya...

Nearly Normal & Raging On...

There are a lot of articles touting reports, mostly British, that for people newly diagnosed with HIV, their lifespans are nearly normal.   Great, well except, should we mention?   They may have close to the same quantity of life, but it's doubtful they'll have the quality.   

They will spend the rest of their lives dealing with medications, doctors, blood tests, stigma & other social/personal  drama.   Also, this is primarily accurate for white, middle-class men.  Those people who can get & maintain treatment.  It doesn't mention the hassle of dealing with meds & appointments.  It doesn't deal with the expenses.

Yes, they may live nearly as long, but only if there's a way to pay for it. Only if they can endure the virus, the process & all the baggage that comes with being +. That's a lot of provisions.

*     *      *

The war against the fleas is raging on.   This morning was a repeat of yesterday.  Spray, dist, vacuum. Then cough my head off due to the chemicals.   We left flea traps out last night & caught nearly 60.  The vacuuming caught a lot,  They now reside in a plastic bag waiting to die,  This is the worse time of the year for fleas.  It's warm & wet.  I hate fleas.

Cya...

Ongoing...

The war on fleas continues.  I'm not winning at the moment.  I've sprayed the house & yard.  I've treated the cats.  Unfortunately that doesn't impact all the blasted birds, strays & vermin that frequent the yard.  Last nights humidity unleashed a swarm of tiny fleas.

I've been dealing with this all morning    I've sprayed twice more & put down some borax.  I need to wait a bit & at least vacuum that area again.  There goes what little energy I had for today.    I will miss not having cats.  But, I'm over this crap.  This has been the worse place I've ever lived for fleas.  

Add to that, Windows  just had to do an update that our computers hated this morning.  It's taking forever to get it to go through on our systems.  Thanks Windows, just add more on.

I'm done.

Cya...

Too Much...

I wound up having quite a bit of errands & things to do around the house yesterday.  By the time my roomie got home, I was exhausted.  I hadn't planned on doing that much, but things kept piling on.  I'm still tired today from it.  That's a problem with this kind of situation.  It isn't just today's energy you're spending, it could be that of several days yet to come.  

I'm not all that focused & my head still isn't really in it, so this is it for now.   I'll try to rest up today & do more tomorrow.

Cya...

May Flea Suckage...

The rain & the warmth have brought a surge in the flea population.  They hadn't been that bad until now.  Even now, they're not horrible, but they're ramping up.  

The problem is every way I have of dealing with fleas is problematic right now.   Topicals make my cats really sick.  Washes involves a fight with a cat that doesn't want to get wet.  The sprays nearly choke me to death.  Vacuuming is tiring for me at the best of times.  Right now, it may be beyond what I can do.

It saddens to think of living in a house with no cats in it.  But, the idea of not having to deal with fleas is welcome. Trade-offs, I guess.  A big problem for us, is all the outdoor vermin & the people with pets who don't treat their pets or yards.  

Still sort of reeling from the flea spray.  I'll post more tomorrow.

Cya...

Smelly Smoke...

Last night, someone was burning something.  I'm not sure what it was, but it smelled like sour trash, with some tires thrown in for good measure.  Whatever it was, it killed my sinuses & made my allergies so much worse today.  After a trip through Walmart, I'm coughing & sneezing. 

I don't know what they were burning, but it stunk.  It wound up giving my roomie a headache & I think it made 1 of the cats sick.  She vomited a lot last night.  Hopefully, there won't be a repeat of whatever that was.

It's a pretty lazy Sunday so far.  I'm good with that.  

Cya...

Yesterday...

Yesterday's errands went well for us.  We accomplished all we set out to do.  Normally, we're lucky if we get 2 of 3.   It was a good day, but a little tiring.  I'm still getting back into this normal routine stuff.

I looked at my lab results on the hospital site.    My numbers are great for me.  It must've been the hard core meds I was on while in the hospital & during follow up care.  They'll probably lower next time.  But. I can live with lower numbers, if it means I don't have to deal with pneumonia.

I'd print them off myself, but the doc they're in is really uncooperative.  I'll go get them this week.  Then I'll deal with this appointment on the 17th.  

That's all for today.

Cya...

Outing Today...

I have some things that need getting & that means leaving the house again.  My hermit lifestyle is getting brushed away.   At least it's a nice day  out.

My roomie was supposed to be a friend's today, but the friend's child has pink eye.  Something I most definitely do not need near me.  My eyes are still recovering from the pneumonia crap.  They're better, but hat combined with allergies still has my up close vision a little blurry.   Glad she caught that.

Had to call my dental insurance this morning.  They're having some weirdness with a claim.  Apparently, the dentist office needs to refile it.   I hope that's all it takes.

I'll post more tomorrow.

Cya...

Bills Done...

The house bills were finished today along with some shopping.   It's always nice to know they're handled for the month.  It's staying chilly here.  We've only made it into the 60's.  It's supposed to be warming back up, but there seems to be a few more overnights in the 40's forecast. 

Not much else going on today.  I'll post more tomorrow.

Cya...

CRISPR Returns...

I've wrote about CRIPSR before.  It's a gene editing technique being researches  for the fight against HIV.  This article  tells how scientist have edited HIV out of the DNA of living mice, essentially curing them. 

2 things.   This research is still early.  Next, these are mice.  This might not work on or be feasible for humans.  Even if it is, it's still quite a ways out.

On to personal stuff.  Suddenlink screwed us again yesterday & killed our net for 9 hours due to another service interruption.    When this happens they won't even talk to you.  You just get a recording saying they'll text you when it's fixed.    They never text.

During this time, CVS emailed me & I noticed an error in the pending shipment.    I could've handled it yesterday if I'd gotten the email, but Suddenlink made sure that didn't happen.  Turns out CVS mislabeled 1 of my prescriptions as a 30 when it was actually a 90.  Thar's taken care of, I think.

It's raining hard today.  It's dark & windy.  Still bills, had to be paid & errands ran.  That sucked & took forever.  But we're done for now.

Until tomorrow.

Cya....

May...

I forgot to welcome in the month yesterday.  Hello May,  Let's play nice, what do you say?  No need for drama.

I've got some appointments this month.  Bill day is tomorrow.  I''m expecting meds on Thursday.  That's the always wait & see day.  Hopefully, the pharmacy will get everything right this time. 

I had to run & get blood drawn yesterday.   I forgot I have a telemedicine appointment on the 17th & I see my primary doctor the following Wednesday.   I hope not to need to see any doctors or dentists for a while after that.   Both of those appointments are regular visits, nothing unexpected.  

That's it for now.

Cya...

Long Haul...

Back in 2000, when I was diagnosed, they gave me an estimate of 5 years, at most 10.  That was it.  The way I felt then, I thought they were being far too generous.  But, I was wrong.  17 years later & I'm still here.  So Yippie.

That was sarcasm.  That's been 17 hard years of living on nothing & then finally disability. It's been exhausting & sometimes scary as hell.  I'm grateful for what I have, but it's not enough to live solo if I had to.  It just isn't.  Each year with this disease, things creep up on me faster than people without it.  

They won't call it ARC (AIDS Related Complex or Complication) these days.  That term is out of vogue.  Hell, they don't even like using the word AIDS, it might scare the youngins.  But, my doctor repeatedly said my compromised immunity was part of the reason I landed in the hospital this last time.  It wasn't the only reason, but it sure didn't help any.

This article is about long term survivors of AIDS/HIV.  I'm not going to talk much about it.  It isn't lengthy or too deep.  It's just an interview, but it lets you gt a look at the life of the long term survivor.  It isn't pretty.   BTW,  I'm not considered 1 of these people,  These people came from way back.  I'm the next group out.  Still feeling it though.

Cya...