Moving on Up

Sorry for not updating my blog sooner, but life is just so hectic at the moment. I guess no news is good news, but I’m sure you’ll be glad to learn that life with “P” continues to be as wonderful as the day we first met.

In brief, we’ve had a luxury short break in Bath to celebrate my birthday (I use to hate my birthday, but now I have it to share with someone special makes it all the more worth while), we’ve uttered the “L” words to each other, we’re in the process of moving in together (having just spent a small fortune on new furniture) and “P” would like to come off the pill (I’ll leave that reason to your own imagination).

Needless to say, it’s been a busy, busy year and it’s all gone just so quick. I guess I really must be well and truly contented. But don’t worry blog fan(s), I’ll try to keep you all informed of any further developments – and annoying stories I encounter along the way.

End of an Era

Well, after twenty long and – hopefully – fulfilling years my beautiful little fur ball of a cat has passed away. Her number of fits were increasing (with three in as many days) and the poor little thing had gone blind. The vet thought she had some sort of growth on the brain and it would be kinder to put her to sleep.

So with a final cuddle and a kiss on her head, I signed the form and left the vet to it. I preferred to remember as she use to be and couldn’t watch the vet give her the injection or see her “sleeping” afterwards. I regret it now, but I think I should have gone to see her – especially since I heard her meow as the vet injected her. I’m now just waiting for her little ashes to be returned for scattering over her favourite spots in the garden.

Although she spent most of her last years snoozing, the house is surprisingly quiet and I still go looking for her to say “hello” in the hope it was all an awful dream. Unfortunately it isn’t and only left with memories and her picture by the side of my bed.

Rest in peace my sweet little friend - you deserve it – and, when my own time comes, I hope we’ll be together once more.

The Key

As relationships go, this is another new experience for me – I’ve been given my very own key to P’s front door! Mind you, this being the world of me, it’s not as straightforward as you’d normally expect as her house also has an alarm system to battle past.

Naturally, P has given me the code to the alarm system, but with me having virtually zero capacity to remember phone numbers, people names, birthdays (spot the impending problem with that!) and PIN numbers, the chances of me remembering the alarm code are pretty slim indeed.

Still, if they ever arrive, I’m sure the police will be very understanding about this strange person the neighbours don’t really know much about setting the house alarm off.

Panic Stations

I was driving home from work on Friday evening when I received a panic phone call from my mother. My little cat had just had a fit and she didn’t look well – in fact, my Dad thought she’d died. But by the time I’d got there she appeared to have come round and was wondering what all the concerned fuss was about.

Still, we made an emergency appointment at the vets, place her in her carrying basket (she started to complain about being in it – a usual occurrence so she was already on the mend) and headed off to the vets.

I must admit, at a grand old age of nineteen, I feared the worse, after all in human years she’s nearly one hundred years old and it was like your great grand mother having an epileptic fit.

But I noticed so many things about her personality – such as her vocal protests and her inquisitive nature– that I knew that whatever had just occurred was a quite possibly just a “blip”.

Whilst my mother explained what she’d seen, the vet prodded and poked her and didn’t look too overly concerned. Given that she has kidney problems he thought that it could be problem with too much urea in the blood so he decided a blood test was in order. My poor little fur ball was whisked away, had a bit of her fur shaved and blood was taken. £70 lighter, we went home and waited for the results.

It didn’t take long for the vet to phone and, for the moment at least, it was good news. There was no problem with her kidneys and he put the fit down to her age – or that she might have a some sort of growth on the brain. He didn’t even know whether it would occur again or it was simply a one off. We just need to keep an eye on her and, if she does have another fit, just let her get on with it and then settle her. However, if they do get more frequent then it would be best to “call it a day” (his words, not mine).

So, my little sweet and furry fuzz ball, you mean so much to me and I don’t know what I’d do without you. Keep warm and stay healthy. But judging by the picture I took of you this morning, you are doing just that!

Under the Weather

Like a fair percentage of the UK population, January has seen me suffer with numerous sniffles, sneezes and coughs - leaving me thoroughly under the weather to the extent of having, for the first time in heaven knows how many years, to take some sick leave from work. To make matters worse, I've been off for three days (a very unusual event for me).

However, whilst I’ve managed to avoid this hideously sounding Winter Vomiting Virus that ensures you perform projectile ejections from both top and bottom orifices – and usually at the same time - I’ve been suffering from an apparent bout of bacterial tonsillitis. It's not something I fancy getting again any time soon.

My throat was really, really sore so off I pottered to the doctor’s surgery. Although I had real trouble swallowing I didn’t know I was suffering from tonsillitis and, after the doctor stuck a giant lollipop stick in my mouth and recoiled in horror at my yucky tonsils, I was soon on my way with some of those wonder drugs known as antibiotics.

But as soon as I’d finished the antibiotics my body erupted into a mass of nasty red, and extremely itchy, blotches. I was having an allergic reaction to the antibiotics and it appeared that I was allergic to penicillin. Fortunately, although it was nasty, I wasn’t having trouble breathing or suffering from a brain melting fever. Never the less, it was very, very uncomfortable and, once again, off I pottered to the doctors – albeit at a hastier speed than last time.

Again, the doctor recoiled in horror at the rash covering my entire torso and legs and suggested taking antihistamines for a few days to help calm things down. But just in case they didn’t help I was given some steroids - to be used as a last resort!

One day later, and still itching like crazy, I opted to take the steroids. Unfortunately, by design, they suppress the immune system so the cough I was also sputtering with came out to play. I was now scratching, coughing, sneezing and feeling distinctly sorry for myself.

It’s all pretty much cleared up now but as I still had a few scars from the rashes I again went to see the doctor to check that they’d all clear up. Now, given that I’d been to the doctor’s surgery a few times, I’d seen a couple of different doctors. This time, I saw the original doctor who prescribed the antibiotics. Whilst he assured me that the scars would soon heal he was puzzled by my allergic reaction – especially since I’d had penicillin in the past.

Now there’s one weird thing with tonsillitis – and that’s it can also be Glandular Fever. Although I didn’t have any other symptoms to point to this, using penicillin on Glandular Fever causes numerous nasty rashes to sprout all over the body. As such, there’s a distinct prospect that I have, or have had, Glandular Fever – even more so since I’m really tired at the moment.

But, to make matters worse, the only way to confirm this – and to prove that I’ve not got an allergy to penicillin in the process – is to face my ultimate nightmare, a nightmare so daunting (well, to me at least) that it tends to leave me a nervous wreck just thinking and preparing for it. I also have the tendency to go lightheaded, turn white as a sheet and then pass out.

Yeap, the doctor wants me to have a blood test and I’m truly bricking it. What a truly great way to start the year!

Tunnel Vision

Well P and I have being going out for just over seven months now and I still can’t get her out of my mind. I’m always looking forward to seeing her and I still have to keep pinching myself to make sure I’m not dreaming. After all, after being so unlucky in love, I thought I’d never find it the way I eventually did.

It’s safe to say that we miss each when we’re not together (I even got a text message from P tonight telling me that she missed me) and people are always amazed that we have so much in common. There’s even been a talk of moving in together whilst the thought of having children together is never brushed under the carpet.

I was very sceptical of Match.com and my many disappointments made me come ever so close to jacking it all in for good. Thankfully, I didn’t, otherwise I would have never met someone as wonderful as P. But what makes this all the more remarkable is that, amongst the hundreds of blokes on Match.com, she decided to contact me.

So, if you ever needed a reason not to give up on a goal, look no further than my very own experiences. It just goes to prove that life isn’t always cruel and that, no matter how dim it is, there’s always some glimmer of light at the end of the tunnel.