What a hell of a month it was

Normally I like October.  However, I am so fscking glad that the month is over.

I want to waterboard some veterinarians now

To make a very long story short, I’ve been having to deal with a sick cat, and I really don’t need this crap.  So, I’ve been getting about 3-4 hours of sleep at night.  The messy state of the healthcare system is a major topic in politics.  It turns out that it’s pretty messy even for animals.

Unluckily, I’d been locked into a corporate chain vet that has a reputation for price gouging.  After they screwed the pooch, I also had to deal with an overnight emergency vet service.  I hate going there, because they’d royally pissed me off a few years ago by doing bait-and-switch pricing on a cremation.  (That’s the worst possible time to jack with a customer.)  I went back to the corporate vet to follow up, and they flat out refused to help, even though they’d taken care of the exact same problem a few years back.

Both told me I had to go to some intensive care service for Yuppie cat ladies, which would set me back $2100, according to the late-night vet.  The one recommended by the corporate vet (which they probably get kickbacks from) would’ve involved several thousands of dollars, with uncertain chances of success.  When I was reluctant to do so, both of them were like, “Oh, so you want her to die, huh?  Well, we can get it all over quick if that’s how you feel.”  Both told me she wouldn’t survive the night if I didn’t do so.  Uh, she’s still here, assholes; I’ll bet you’re really disappointed.

Well, screw that.  I luckily was able to get into a locally-run vet.  One of my girlfriends highly recommends them.  I prefer small businesses to corporate chains because I believe in Distributism, but usually they’re too booked up.  I explained that I knew they were capable of taking care of the problem, and unfortunately I don’t have any pirate treasure buried in my back yard.  After two productive days later, the cat is much better.  Still, all the vet bills from everyone is a sum of about $1400, and I could’ve saved a thousand if I’d been able to get my cat into this place first.  After spending all that money on pussy in a month, now I feel like Charlie Sheen.

Anyway, blessings to all the furballs out there.  Pets are wonderful friends on four feet.  As for veterinarians, the good ones rock, and the bad ones can go put the lotion in the basket.

Miscellaneous items

The Dunning-Kruger Effect is an interesting find in psychology.  It turns out that people who are incompetent believe themselves to be highly competent.  Meanwhile, those who actually are highly competent will doubt themselves and underestimate their competence.  So now there’s a scientific explanation for clueless know-it-alls.  They know not, but know not that they know not.

I just looked up the Honey Boo Boo show to see what it was all about.  Apparently it was a reality TV series which included many characters who got pregnant in high school by guys who didn’t stick around.  They liked to date sex offenders and other criminals.  Aside from that, several characters were extremely overweight.  The eponymous star of the show was a kiddie beauty contestant well on the way to being pretty darn pudgy too.  (Hopefully she ends up with better tastes in men later in life.)  Golly jeepers, I miss out on so much by not owning a TV, don’t I?  So what was the real point about this show anyway – making fun of poor people?  How enlightening!

Finally, it’s November so I’m thinking of doing this NaNoWriMo thing.  Well, maybe.  I might use the characters of Space Vixen Trek episodes 0 and 13 to do a superhero story.  Naturally, I’ll have to put some icky aliens in it.  So as I understand the rules, I have to crank out a workable first draft of at least 50,000 words.  I’m already a day behind, and will lose a couple of days since I’ll be on the road, but I might could give this one a whirl.  However, because of my OCD-style editing practices, this doesn’t necessarily mean I’ll have it uploaded in December.  To get psyched for it, I’m watching Superhero Movie.  Right after the opening credits show Harvey Weinstein, a character grabs his crotch.  Good one!!