Wednesday, February 21, 2007

Kitty Ch'i

So Adventure Kitty has been feeling a bit cranky and under the weather for about 6 months now. After repeated attempts by the regular vet to cure him of a bladder infection using various antibiotics failed, I thought it time to give alternative medicine a try, especially because I'm so concerned about how antibiotics affect my own body, why would I subject a poor animal to them? And so we headed to Limehouse in Studio City for a consultation. Within moments, I felt at ease there, the staff didn't have the disorganized feel that our regular vet has (not mentioning any names...) they weren't tripping over each other to get the phone, there seemed to be only 2 gals working the front desk (not the crew of 17 that the regular vet has, so disorganized and slipshod, I often wondered how any work was accomplished), and the plus was I was allowed to take him out of the cage so that he could wander around and get his bearings. After meeting with the doctor, he deduced kitty's ailment and resulting inability to get better was caused by stress. Not too much of a shocker, we had moved a month or so before he was first diagnosed, to an apartment close to the airport. The apartment previously held two cats that have since moved next door so not only can he smell where they've been, they come lurking around outside while he is forced to watch them through the security door. And last but not least, I'm not the most calm and relaxed choice he could have for a caretaker. So we left after some kitty acupunture and laser therapy with some herbal tinctures, some homeopathic remedies, and a feline pheremone diffuser—and NO antibiotics. Too early to tell the effect the treatments have had, but he does seem to have a better aura about him. And no, I'm not just saying that. If any of it calms his sassiness down, I'll take it.

Wednesday, February 14, 2007

Pull up to my bumper baby...

I'm on the hunt for the perfect bumper sticker to express my thoughts on global warming...something not too belligerent, not too ambiguous, and not too wishy washy. After some search of Cafe Press, I think I came across this one.


Not quite sure who designed it or if it's an original quote, but you can order them here on Cafe Press.
Be warned, you're all getting one for your birthday this year.

Thursday, February 08, 2007

In a global warming funk, just a short note today, inspired by the catch phrase of the NBC series "Heroes":

SAVE THE EARTH... SAVE THE WORLD.

Monday, February 05, 2007

Car Bonks & Fraud

So Thursday I had a little fender bender on my way to work—a woman cut in front of me and I didn’t have enough time to stop and ended up bonking her front bumper. Her 2007 Mercedes Benz received a cracked reflector, my car had some scrapes on the bumper. But after all was said and done with the day, I had to spread far and wide what I had learned from the experience. After the bonk, we both pulled over to the side of the road to exchange information. Lo and behold, a tow truck operator who had witnessed the whole thing was already investigating the injuries to our cars. Thinking I was the easier target to take advantage of, he looked at my car and promptly deemed it undriveable due to the fact that my air bag was ready to blow at any time. Pointing to a non-existent crack under the hood “You see that there? That means your air bag sensor needs to be reset.” I saw nothing. He persisted and said I couldn’t drive the car. Next thing I knew, my car was attached to the tow truck and we were headed to a “Honda approved” garage of his employ. After unhooking my car, I called the insurance company and they suggested I move my car to one of their approved garages where they would guarantee the work done on my car. Sounded like a good idea to me. After an overnight stay at the 2nd garage, they deemed my car completely fine (not including a $300 bill to repaint the scratches on my bumper, not even worth the effort) and the ‘brid was back in my care. Lesson learned from this situation: NEVER let anyone take your car away on a tow truck, unless it is blocking traffic. Even in that case, have them move it to a location where someone you trust (your mechanic, your roadside assistance company, your insurance company) can look at it for you. You have the power to say NO. You have the RIGHT to get honest service. And if you get taken advantage of such as I had, the Better Business Bureau and your state’s Auto Repair Department of Consumer Repairs (here's the link to California's page). If everyone reports fraud we can all lower insurance rates and stop others from being taken advantage of.

Thursday, February 01, 2007

Yippee! Report Card Day!

At long last the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's report on global warming has been released. Among the highlights are phrases like "very-likely man made" for the causes of global warming and the admission that in fact, stronger hurricanes (such as our evil friend Katrina) are a direct result of global warming. So huzzah IPCC, let's hope your warnings are heeded with the severity they deserve. And just for kicks, let's all stop by Stop Global Warming.org and see if there's anything we all can do to get our grades up.