Some Catching Up, Here ...
First, A Celebration
Yesterday was Janice's birthday, so we had a nice little celebration at Cavey's, our favorite restaurant here in Manchester. We had yet another terrific dinner, her with her sea scallops and I with my ribeye, a few cocktails, and a lovely little tiramisu "birthday cake" for dessert (complete with a candle).
I went for the "useful gift" this year, and gave her something she can truly use (well, okay, will have to use as of October 1st) ... a Jabra BT250V wireless headset for her cell phone. I've had a BT250 for a couple of years now, and it is really a great product ... lightweight and doesn't dangle weirdly on the outside of the ear. And, in my case, it's a pretty good "hearing aid" for cell phone use. I'm curious to find out, though, how this whole "vibrate" mode works in her BT250V, since it's the "upgrade" model from mine. Hopefully it doesn't vibrate her brain while on her ear.
You see, Connecticut is enacting a law on 10/1 forbidding the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Now if they could just enact a law forbidding the application of makeup while driving, or the turning around to smack unruly kids in the back seat while driving, or (and I swear this is no joke because I've seen it!) the reading of newspapers while driving ... our roads in Connecticut would be even safer.
Next, Another Celebration
The other thing we celebrated last night was that we are officially now "on vacation". We are flying out to Joe and Joyce's for some long-deserved vacation/relaxation time. We cancelled our annual July 4th trip out there, due to Janice's pressing work schedule, and this will be our first lengthy time away since the Seabee Reunion in Colorado Springs last September.
Of course, this also means this will be the first extended period we've had away from Jake and Elwood, and it's a bit of a concern. We have a cat-sitter, Marge, who will be checking in on, feeding, watering, and playing with them each day, but we've also had a bit of a bat invasion the past month or so.
And Now The Concerns
We've had five bats in the apartment since I first reported our initial visitor on August 3rd (see 8/4 blog entry). Elwood actually caught the last bat to come in, at around 1:15 AM August 21st. I was just getting ready to go to bed, and witnessed the whole thing ... the bat sort of glided down (not diving) and Elwood reached up his left paw and in one smooth cat-like motion batted (pardon the puns) down the bat and held it, pinned, to the floor. Elwood then looked over at me like "Hey Dad ... now what do I do?"
Well ... a call to Building Maintenance for another catch-job and submission of the bat to Manchester Police Department Animal Control for testing, a follow-up call from the attending Animal Control Officer, and a subsequent call at 6:45 AM on 8/22 from the Manchester Health Department later, and I ended up having to take a personal day on 8/22 to handle a bunch of tasks.
As it turns out (it's really no different than any other time local government interferes with your life) the Animal Control Department basically told me I had to immediately get both Jake and Elwood to the Veterinarian for examination and treatment for possible rabies exposure, since at least one of them had come in contact with the potentially-rabid bat.
Next, the Health Department called and informed me not only that (a) Janice and I are supposed to undergo the "Post-Exposure Prophylaxis" (and no, "Prophylaxis" is not the same as "Prophylactics" - I know someone is going to make that joke) treatments for potential rabies exposure as a precautionary measure, but that (b) the Health Department has also strongly recommended to the Velvet Mill that we be relocated until such time we can be assured that the dwelling can be 100% guaranteed of bat riddance.
Well, as you can imagine, I spent the day raising hell with the Velvet Mill management, and placed a number of demands on them, and negotiated their agreement that they would have to pay for all necessary treatment of not only the cats, but also of Janice and myself, and any possible relocation expense, yada yada yada. I got the cats in for their appointment, and Rabies Boosters, and also called our primary care physician to determine the next steps. His recommendation was also that we both undergo the every-7-days series of 5 shots for the "Post-Exposure Prophylaxis", and called me back later to tell me that we would have to visit the Emergency Room at Manchester Memorial (not like I haven't been there often enough this year).
To make a longer-than-normal-from-me story short, we're still undecided about when to start these shots, since we have travel plans not only this coming week, but the week of 9/20 - 9/25 to Dayton. The main reason is the last two bats tested negative for Rabies, but we're not sure of the remaining two that were supposedly captured and submitted for testing (no report back from Animal Control on those) and the other one who we could not catch but opened a window to get him/her out.
Our concern is that the contractor for bat-proofing that the Velvet Mill has engaged to bat-proof the exterior of the soffits under our roof has yet to be able to arrange for the 80-foot cherry-picker lift he will need to apply the netting under our soffits. So we're trusting that he will be able to get out here before another bat invasion. The word is "mid-next-week" or so it looks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
And Finally ...
Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by Katrina. We both hope all is well with Ellen and Paul, and Aunt Judith, and are happy they are all safe. We are just heartsick about the effects of this horrific hurricane, and like many others, are saddened both by Katrina's devastation and by the exposure of the evil underside of humanity that has hindered relief efforts and added to the suffering of those affected and displaced by Katrina. We pray the looters and gangs come to their senses and stop their madness.
Yesterday was Janice's birthday, so we had a nice little celebration at Cavey's, our favorite restaurant here in Manchester. We had yet another terrific dinner, her with her sea scallops and I with my ribeye, a few cocktails, and a lovely little tiramisu "birthday cake" for dessert (complete with a candle).
I went for the "useful gift" this year, and gave her something she can truly use (well, okay, will have to use as of October 1st) ... a Jabra BT250V wireless headset for her cell phone. I've had a BT250 for a couple of years now, and it is really a great product ... lightweight and doesn't dangle weirdly on the outside of the ear. And, in my case, it's a pretty good "hearing aid" for cell phone use. I'm curious to find out, though, how this whole "vibrate" mode works in her BT250V, since it's the "upgrade" model from mine. Hopefully it doesn't vibrate her brain while on her ear.
You see, Connecticut is enacting a law on 10/1 forbidding the use of handheld cell phones while driving. Now if they could just enact a law forbidding the application of makeup while driving, or the turning around to smack unruly kids in the back seat while driving, or (and I swear this is no joke because I've seen it!) the reading of newspapers while driving ... our roads in Connecticut would be even safer.
Next, Another Celebration
The other thing we celebrated last night was that we are officially now "on vacation". We are flying out to Joe and Joyce's for some long-deserved vacation/relaxation time. We cancelled our annual July 4th trip out there, due to Janice's pressing work schedule, and this will be our first lengthy time away since the Seabee Reunion in Colorado Springs last September.
Of course, this also means this will be the first extended period we've had away from Jake and Elwood, and it's a bit of a concern. We have a cat-sitter, Marge, who will be checking in on, feeding, watering, and playing with them each day, but we've also had a bit of a bat invasion the past month or so.
And Now The Concerns
We've had five bats in the apartment since I first reported our initial visitor on August 3rd (see 8/4 blog entry). Elwood actually caught the last bat to come in, at around 1:15 AM August 21st. I was just getting ready to go to bed, and witnessed the whole thing ... the bat sort of glided down (not diving) and Elwood reached up his left paw and in one smooth cat-like motion batted (pardon the puns) down the bat and held it, pinned, to the floor. Elwood then looked over at me like "Hey Dad ... now what do I do?"
Well ... a call to Building Maintenance for another catch-job and submission of the bat to Manchester Police Department Animal Control for testing, a follow-up call from the attending Animal Control Officer, and a subsequent call at 6:45 AM on 8/22 from the Manchester Health Department later, and I ended up having to take a personal day on 8/22 to handle a bunch of tasks.
As it turns out (it's really no different than any other time local government interferes with your life) the Animal Control Department basically told me I had to immediately get both Jake and Elwood to the Veterinarian for examination and treatment for possible rabies exposure, since at least one of them had come in contact with the potentially-rabid bat.
Next, the Health Department called and informed me not only that (a) Janice and I are supposed to undergo the "Post-Exposure Prophylaxis" (and no, "Prophylaxis" is not the same as "Prophylactics" - I know someone is going to make that joke) treatments for potential rabies exposure as a precautionary measure, but that (b) the Health Department has also strongly recommended to the Velvet Mill that we be relocated until such time we can be assured that the dwelling can be 100% guaranteed of bat riddance.
Well, as you can imagine, I spent the day raising hell with the Velvet Mill management, and placed a number of demands on them, and negotiated their agreement that they would have to pay for all necessary treatment of not only the cats, but also of Janice and myself, and any possible relocation expense, yada yada yada. I got the cats in for their appointment, and Rabies Boosters, and also called our primary care physician to determine the next steps. His recommendation was also that we both undergo the every-7-days series of 5 shots for the "Post-Exposure Prophylaxis", and called me back later to tell me that we would have to visit the Emergency Room at Manchester Memorial (not like I haven't been there often enough this year).
To make a longer-than-normal-from-me story short, we're still undecided about when to start these shots, since we have travel plans not only this coming week, but the week of 9/20 - 9/25 to Dayton. The main reason is the last two bats tested negative for Rabies, but we're not sure of the remaining two that were supposedly captured and submitted for testing (no report back from Animal Control on those) and the other one who we could not catch but opened a window to get him/her out.
Our concern is that the contractor for bat-proofing that the Velvet Mill has engaged to bat-proof the exterior of the soffits under our roof has yet to be able to arrange for the 80-foot cherry-picker lift he will need to apply the netting under our soffits. So we're trusting that he will be able to get out here before another bat invasion. The word is "mid-next-week" or so it looks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.
And Finally ...
Our thoughts and prayers go out to those affected by Katrina. We both hope all is well with Ellen and Paul, and Aunt Judith, and are happy they are all safe. We are just heartsick about the effects of this horrific hurricane, and like many others, are saddened both by Katrina's devastation and by the exposure of the evil underside of humanity that has hindered relief efforts and added to the suffering of those affected and displaced by Katrina. We pray the looters and gangs come to their senses and stop their madness.
posted by Lee at
9/02/2005 07:56:00 AM
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