December 3, 2010: Yet another one of those days…

While Wednesday may have delivered death by a thousand cuts (and four needles), today was more of a death by a couple of gouging slashes and a very deep stab.  It would seem everything is going sideways.  Given my recent bad luck, I suppose I should consider myself fortunate that I don't have any scheduled medical visits lined up.  It also leads me to wonder how my rolling momentum of misfortunes will react with Ivon's notoriously heinous vacation mojo.  I'm kind of hoping that basic math prevails and negative times negatives equals positive (- x – = +).  Of course, you could argue that it's more of a negative plus negative equals negative predicament (- + – = -), but best not to dwell.  And keep positive. Literally. I figure the fact that Ivon already experienced an earthquake on his last trip makes it highly unlikely we'll be experiencing one while in Japan.  Law of averages and all.  I mean, come on, I'm sure fate can be a little more creative than that.  On the other hand, all that saber rattling by the global family version of the oafish cousin with the suspect hygiene (North Korea) does give me pause.

Yes, I'm a little bummed – and I'm sure watching The Life and Death of Peter Sellers (a brilliant but deeply depressing movie) and reading Maus: A Survivor's Tale hasn't exactly gone a long way toward lifting my spirits.  I really need this Tokyo trip and, while I'd love to say I'm looking forward to going, the truth is a big part of me isn't.  After receiving yet another second opinion (I suppose that, technically, you'd call it a fifth opinion), I've decided not to wait.  I've gone ahead and scheduled Jelly to undergo surgery on Wednesday.  My dogsitter, Christine, who is nothing short of amazing, helped put my mind at ease.  Somewhat.  She'll drop off Jelly on Wednesday, then pick her up on the weekend and help her through the early recuperation process. She's been through something very similar with her last dog and is confident I'm making the right choice.  Me, I'm not so sure and while I would prefer to wait the two weeks until my return, all the physical symptoms suggest that if I don't act now, it may well be too late by the time I get back.  Between her recent stem cell treatment, vet visits, MRI, and upcoming surgery, I'll have spent more on my gal than my last trip to Tokyo.  But, at twelve years, we've been together longer than any of my past relationships so, really, I owe it to her.

Still, my time in Tokyo won't be quite as joyous as past travels – at least not until I'm reassured that the surgery went well and Jelly is on the mend – which probably won't be until next weekend.  I'll be hitting the sake hard.  Good thing I have a capable wingman/someone-to-carry-me-back-to-the-hotel-if-I-pass-out in Ivon.

Anyway, thanks to all you regulars, semi-regulars, and long-time readers/first-time contributors for the well-wishes and helpful links, from those whose kind and supportive words are on full display in the comment section, to those who, for reasons unknown, ended up in my spam folder.  Fortunately, I was able to wade in and save some of the more complimentary and encouraging posts and thought I'd spotlight them here.  Thanks again…

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Again, thanks to everyone who has taken the time to post.