I spent the weekend thinking I'd have to put Orion down soon. He was miserable. He whined every time I touched him and mostly just sat around. He couldn't even lie down properly, just sat with all four feet curled up underneath him.

I woke up to find him curled up next to me on the bed. He's less whiny this morning, and both his nose and ears are pink for the first time in a long time.

Let's not talk about how guilty I feel for not realizing the lack of pink nose meant something was wrong.

Orion had his EKG today. It confirmed that he does have hypertrophic cardiomyopaty. However, all the valves looked good and his chambers haven't shrunk much. So the prognosis is decent. It can't be cured, but it can be treated (he'll be on drugs for the rest of his life). (The Watergirl household: everyone is medicated!).

They'll check him again in about a year to see the progression.

Can. Not. Stop. Laughing.

Orion is back to his old self. He even tried to sneak out of the house on Saturday, which means he's back to his old tricks. He's pretty good about taking his pills and I hope it stays that way.

He and Jasper were running around the house fighting at 3 this morning.

As an offshoot of not getting the Chicago job, the recruiter for the Northeast Region passed my resume around. (I may have mentioned that.) I got a call from the Hampton Roads office- the staffing manager there also works for the Richmond office. The Richmond office is interested in me enough that I’m going up next week for an interview.
Now, the issues. Richmond would be good in that it’s where TRgirl, Randy, and the Sprog live. I know some other people there so I wouldn’t be totally friendless, but I’ll still need to find my own core group. It’s also closer to Peg, Bobby, and Steffy. Also, it sounds like the work there will fit more with my career path (or what I thought I wanted my career path to be).

But, I have my core group of friends here. I love my house, I love my neighborhood. I’ve got a good psychiatrist. My vet knows both of my cats and their health issues. I love where I ride, and I absolutely love the horse I am currently riding, so much so that when she does sell it will break my heart.

So, if I get the position, I’ll have to decide. To I try here for another year, to see if we can make my job be what I want it to be? I love the people I work with, so it’s not awful coming to work everyday. It’s just not great either. Do I stay here and plan on pharmacy school? Or do I take a chance on a position that seems a better fit for what I thought I wanted to do, even though I may learn that it isn’t what I want at all, and I do want to go back to school? Do I make the decision to uproot my life again?

I don’t know.

Someday, I would love to buy a fixer-upper in an up and coming neighborhood and do a green renovation on it. Recycled glass counter tops, cork and bamboo flooring (unless there are hardwoods already, which, well, hopefully there are), energy efficient windows, on-demand water heater (if feasible), radiant floor heating, and some tube lighting. I love older neighborhoods and older homes and the whole process would be fascinating.

I had my interview in Richmond today. They offered me the job. So, now the ball is in my court.

The move would be a good one, career-wise. I'd get PM* experience and training, and the work is more like what I want to be doing- there's still a variety, and I won't get pigeonholed as, say, the DBP**-girl, but there is little to no environmental documentation, which is fabulous. It's a small office, but I actually know 2 of the three people I'd be working with- one was a few years ahead of me in grad school, and one was a vendor I worked with on a pilot project .

Of course, the downside is it means moving out of my comfort zone. I'm leaning towards taking it, because at this point in my life, my career is the thing that's important. Plus, I'd get to see the sprog a lot more.

*project management
** disinfection by-products

Do you know where's a great place to spend Christmas night? The ER. Awesome.

The day started out like I had planned it. I woke up, had some coffee, opened my present from Cdub. (External hard drive!) I vacuumed, ran the dishwasher, and put the roof racks back on my car. I had planned to vacuum it, but realized I needed an extension cord. I went and saw Juno, which I thoroughly enjoyed and would recommend.

When I got home, I put the garbage out. Which is when Orion escaped. For the second time today. The first time I caught him easily. The second time> Not so much. He started with the caterwauling and hissing, and I tried to lure him out with canned foods and treats. Did not work. He finally came out from under the boxwoods and headed for the patio. I grabbed him, and he bit me.

Phone call
Mom: Hello?
WG: He bit me again!
Mom: You need to go have it checked out.
WG: I can't until tomorrow. No place is open.
Mom: The ER? That is open.

So, I headed over to the ER. Lot of people there with apparent cooking injuries. Also, some woman with a dislocated shoulder. She was sobbing, and I mean, yeah, that shit hurts (trust me. I know about the shoulder dislocation.), but I wasn't even sobbing like that when I smashed my ankle.

Anyway, I'm sitting in the ER, waiting to be called. A cop walks in. I didn't think much of it, because it's not that unusual. Then, I heard him ask the security guard for me. My first thought? "I didn't see any signs saying I couldn't park there."

He was actually there because the triage nurse called him to report a cat bite. Well, the call he got was for an "animal bite". He called his supervisor to see if he actually had to take a report on a housecat, and I overheard him say, "Even if it just bit the owner?" Orion is now on the books with animal control. He is under quarantine for 10 days. That quarantine will take place at home and at the vet's, where I'd planned on boarding him while away. (This is all in case he has rabies. His rabies vaccination was on Nov. 29.) Although, the paperwork does say if he escapes, I should call the police.

I may. I'm tired of being bitten.

On my way home from work today I was listening to the radio. Voiceover guy announced, "We've got your prom theme in our playlist!"

Immediately, "Who'll Stop the Rain?" started playing.

Does anyone else think that prom sucked?