I didn't post an update on my weight loss progress last week. It was a good one too.
That makes this Week 29 and 30 progress. :)
Last week I weight in at 229.2 lbs. My new lowest-to-date.
This week wasn't so good. I gained a little back, putting me at 230 lbs.
That's what happens when I skip a few workouts.
I realized on Monday that this is the first time in 18 years that we haven't had a pet in our home. It is also the first time in over 30 years that I haven't had some kind of pet.
We adopted Sam in 1993, the same year we got married. We picked her, and her "brother" Quincy, at the Ottawa Humane Society. I'll be honest and say that she wasn't my first pick. I had seen a solid grey kitten but it turned out that she had ear mites. They said they would give us the drops for them, but because we were getting two kittens, we'd have to buy more to treat the other cat at the same time as a preventative measure. I continued my search and noticed a black and white kitten. She stuck out a little more because she was a little larger than the other kittens. In the end, she was smaller than most cats and I couldn't have chosen a better cat. Or maybe she chose me; that's how it works with cats, isn't it?
We picked the names for Samantha and Quincy while we sat in the car at the Blair Animal Hospital, when we took them for their first visit to get a checkup. I don't remember why I chose "Samantha". Perhaps because it could be shortened.I had other cats when I was growing up and none lived as long as Sam. We had a famiy dog, Peanut, who also lived to around 18 years old.
I took a break from surfing the web on Monday night and got up to get a cup of water. Without even thinking, I glanced over to where she would normally be lying on the floor, waiting for that familiar little "Mrrr?" as she would get up to follow me. Her floor space was empty.
"Oh yeh... right."
In the kitchen, as I finished filling my cup, I looked down at my feet so I wouldn't step on her if she was sitting behind me, waiting to ask for food.
I then instinctively looked to where her bowls used to sit, to see if she still had food, and they weren't there.
I heard noises, again, later as I was sitting at my computer. Not imaginary noises. I'm sure it's just the house settling, but the first thing I assumed was that it was Sam hopping off the couch or the automan, or playing with a toy... and then I remembered. It gave me goose bumps.
The other evenings this week were more of the same.
I keep replaying Sunday's events in my head. It's like a bad dream. She has a problem with her foot. They'll fix it. We'll pay a big vet bill. We'll all go home. That's how it was supposed play out.
We had canned food and an unopened bag of dry food that we bought from PetSmart a week or two ago. Sandra called them on Monday and they let us return it. I went to the Humane Society web site on Tuesday morning and made a donation.
For such a tiny furball, she sure left a big hole in our home.
On Sunday morning Sandra noticed that Sam was walking funny. She said it was if her left rear foot was "inverted", like she was walking on the top of her foot.
I went downstairs and found Sam lying on the kitchen floor. She looked up at me and meowed as if to say "feed me". She didn't appear to be in any pain or discomfort. Her back leg look ok. I got out a bag of cat treats and tossed one in front of her. She got up and limped awkwardly to eat it, just as Sandra described.
At first I thought maybe there's some kind of paralysis on her rear leg. Then I thought that perhaps she had an accident during the night and broke her foot. Regardless, it was painful to watch, despite the fact that she didn't appear to be in any pain. She even hobbled off to the living room and hopped up onto the couch.
We decided to take her to the Alta Vista Animal Hospital Emergency Care.We woke up Kyle and Kaitlyn and told them we were taking Sam to the vet. They gave her a hug and Kyle loaded her into the carrier.
Sam really dislikes being in the carrier, and being a house cat, the outside stresses her out. She panted for at least half the ride to the animal hospital, which we had never seen her do, and she meowed the entire time — that was normal for her.
The vet was actually more concerned with Sam's breathing, even though this was the first time we had seen her like this. After the assessment, examination, a mild sedative, and chest x-rays, it turned out that the problem she had with her foot (he called it "knuckling") was due to a blood clot in her leg, which was caused by a heart murmur that she had been diagnosed with years ago. The labored breathing was caused by fluid in her lungs, as shown on the x-rays. All of this was leading to eventual congestive heart failure.
Back when she was diagnosed with a heart murmur, it was explained to me that this day could eventually come, but today this was totally unexpected, which makes it more difficult.
Two options were explained to us. The first was treatment which would have been extremely expensive with about a 50/50 chance of recovery, and yet there would always be a chance of more blood clots in her future with potentially worse results. From what I recall, the existing blood clot in her leg would also remain because the repair could do more damage than leaving it. The second option was euthanasia.
Given all of the facts, the decision was pretty clear.
Saying final goodbyes to pets is not new to us. We'd had to make this decision four times in the past. It's never been easy, but for Sam it was really difficult.
Up until a few years ago, Sam had always been the quiet one. Timid and shy. She was always wary of our kids and anyone else who came over. A few years ago, we believe that she lost her hearing. As strange as it sounds, this was probably one of the best things to happen. Without hearing, she was a calmer cat. She didn't startle.
She opened up a lot to Kyle and Kaitlyn. She let them hold her. She actually seemed like a much happier cat. She started approaching them for attention. She hung out in the den with Kyle and I while we used the computer. I have to admit that I was actually a little jealous of Kyle because she would willingly sleep on his lap as he used the computer. She didn't like my lap.
She also became very vocal. She'd often wander around at night talking to herself and anyone who would listen. Thankfully, this happened for only a few minutes at a time.
No matter where she was snoozing at night, which was usually on the floor near the den closet, when I got ready for bed she'd wake up and follow me to the kitchen and ask for food. She sensed it. I'd pour a little bit of dry food in the bowl, add a little water to it, she'd be content until morning.
By the time I was in bed, she'd start meowing in the dark in the living room. Perhaps she was saying good night, like they did on The Waltons.
It's almost sad to think of how much attention she missed out on in her life because she was so timid and shy for most of it. For the last 4 or 5 years of her life, there was certainly no shortage of attention and she enjoyed every minute of it.
Tonight, for the first time in 18 years, our home has no pets.
I keep expecting to see Sam sleeping on the floor when I turn around. Or as I walk into the kitchen to get a drink, she'll meow at me for food.
All there is is silence, and it's eerie.
Rest in peace, Sammy.
Yesterday Groupon had a really good deal on a Chironex Tuxedo 250 Maxi Scooter. $4200 value for $2500. My wife and I had been looking at electric scooters a few weeks ago for short trip errands, etc. and they're pretty close to $2000, although you don't need a licence or insurance to drive one unlike this Chironex one.
Anyway, that's not really the point.
I don't have my Class M licence to drive a motorcycle, but if I did it would have been extremely tempting to take advantage of the deal.
That got me thinking seriously about getting my Class M licence. I joked that I'm having a mid-life crisis, but I've always thought about one day getting it, and picking up a second-hand motorcycle to use for a commute to work or just go out for a ride in countryside on a sunny day. I'm not looking for a "crotch rocket" or some big-ass cruiser — just a decent sized, nice-looking, street bike. I know my limitations.
I've never driven a motorcycle. But 25 years ago or so a friend of mine had a bike and we used to go out for rides, with me on the back. I loved it. Seeing the road whizzing past. Feeling the wind. Freedom? It's hard to describe.
I am also well aware of the dangers of riding a motorcycle. We got in an accident once when a car turned left into a laneway in front of us. We couldn't stop or swerve out of the way, and ended up hitting the front left corner of the car, catapulting both of us over the hood of the car. Miraculously, I landed on my feet beside the car after hitting my knee on the handlebars. My friend landed on his back beside the car. Aside from a few scrapes and bruises, we walked away from it. I know not everyone is that lucky.
I dug around the web and found an old version of the "Official MTO Motorcycle Handbook" that someone had made into a PDF. I read through it and was surprised that I knew almost all of the correct answers to the sample questions in the book. Some I knew because my friend had told me them 25 years ago, and some are basic common sense.
I decided to order the current (and hardcopy) version of the book from the Service Ontario Publications web site yesterday.
If I do decide to get my M1, I also plan on taking an approved course. I took drivers ed for my car licence, so there's no reason why I wouldn't do the same for a motorcycle licence. (aside from cheaper insurance rates)
We'll see how it pans out. :)
(P.S. I still think those electric scooters and pretty cool...)
Postponed
I had planned... hoped... that maybe, I could cycle to work tomorrow.
Those plans are on hold, for at least a day or two.
First of all, my newly chosen route needs to be re-evaluated. It seems I had picked every damned "Closed for construction" road between home and work. So, yeh, I need to look at that again.
That alone wouldn't necessarily stop me, but upon arriving home after cycling 42kms, I was greeted by a whole bunch of my neighbours standing around a massive puddle at the bottom of our parking lot. They then decided to start cheering me on, to ride through this massive puddle. A water main broke and the water was seeping up through the cracks in the pavement.
How could I say no? :) The water must have been about 5 or 6 inches deep.
Luckily a sink hole hadn't started. After the water main was shut off, and the water drained, all that was left was sandy mud. Despite warnings, a few cars actually drove over the area.
It's 9:45pm and they're just starting to dig to repair it. With the possibility of still not having water tomorrow after work, I'm not going to chance coming home all sweaty and gross.
Things I learned
I learned a few things during my ride today
Ogilvie Road between Montreal Road and Jasmine Crescent is an absolute nightmare to cycle on. I'd even go as far as to say it's dangerous. That stretch of Ogilvie Road is pretty bad for cars, and the edge of the road where cycling happens is probably worse.
Since Laurier was blocked off for running races today, I had to divert to taking the Mackenzie King Bridge over the the Rideau Canal. The first thing i learned is that it has a bicycle lane, on the inside lane. This is awesome. I then learned that Albert and Slater are probably better streets to ride on than Laurier. Since they are both 1-way streets, the bike lane is also on the left side of the street, away from heavier traffic like buses. More awesomeness.
Most drivers in Ottawa aren't assholes and they actually give you space to cycle at the side of the road. Some even change lanes. I had to dodge a lot of potholes and large puddles, and most people left plenty of room for me to do that. BIG thanks to everyone who does that for cyclists.
As for those who insist on practically clipping your elbow with their side mirror... fuck you.
Since January, and interesting weight pattern has developed. It's like a roller coaster ride. Three weeks of loss, followed by one or two of increase, then loss, then increase.
This is my weight chart, captured from my LiveStrong.com page.
There are no charting abilities for calorie intake on LiveStrong.com, but I was able to export the data and create a half-assed chart to see if there was a similiar trend on my calorie intake. It does go up and down, but it doesn't mach the weight trend pattern.
Soooo... as you can see on that chart, my weight for this past Friday was indeed up. I guess (I hope) I can expect the next three weeks will be losses, which means I will finally break the 230 lb mark!
The weather this weekend has been pretty shitty, so I haven't been out cycling and it's not looking like I will today.
I have a new mini-goal for this week. That goal is to cycle to work at least one day. If the weather cooperates — and it looks like it will, based on the forecast — that day will be tomorrow. If all goes well, I may do it more than one day. I'd really like to see what kind of impact it'll have on my weight loss.
In my last 7/52 post, I mentioned that it could be my last.
It was.
I didn't take any photos at all this past week. My only option to keep it going would be to find something, somewhere, in my house to shoot throughout the course of the day. I'm not in a very creative mood today, so the selection of photos I would likely end up with would be crap.
Soooo... that's it, for now. If I come across any interesting shots, I'll definitely shoot and post it, but they are no longer part of the 7/52 project, sorry.
