When Life Has Other Plans For You.

bynightwatch

830 followers

6 years ago

I got a good start in Kyle's SuperAffiliate Challenge. Then, as frequently happens when you make plans, Life has something else in store for you.

The Cat

First, the cat got sick. He wasn't keeping food down. It happens from time to time with him. I'm used to it so I didn't charge off to the vet. I waited to see how things would play out. He stopped eating. Could be good, could be bad. If you've got a bad stomach, eating isn't top of your priorities.

Then he had difficulty urinating. Again, he's prone to suffering bouts of cystitis but when he's unable to pass urine, that definitely warrants a trip to the vet (which he hates).

So a small perfect storm of health issues hit. With him not eating and not drinking enough, he was becoming dehydrated and that in turn led to crystals forming in his bladder which, when passed in urine, caused a blockage in his urinary tract. A typical domino effect.

He was placed on a drip to rehydrate him, bloody urine (and crystals) were removed from his bladder by needle and then he was given pain meds.

So quite a few trips to the vet over several days as he improved. Then there were the blood tests to identify if there was some fundamental underlying condition that needed to be addressed (there wasn't).

He's a nervous cat and easily stressed and that sets of the cystitis.

And, to cap it all, big vet bills that weren't covered by pet insurance because he already suffered from the cystitis before I did look for health insurance. A typical example of insurance companies insuring themselves from having to make payouts.

The Weather

Here in Ireland we don't get much snow. We get the odd flurry every couple of years and all laugh about how any amount of snow brings the country grinding to a halt.

This year, just last week in fact (March 1st), cold air blew directly across Europe from Siberia. It was affectionately known as The Beast From The East.

It brought some unseasonably cold air and some snow.

However, sub-tropical storm Emma decided to have a Tinder meetup with the Beast From The East over Western Europe and one helluva lot of snow fell on Ireland (and elsewhere).

And the country really did grind to a halt.

People were advised to stay indoors for 24-36 hours and do no unnecessary travel. Government departments shut for 2 days with employees being told to stay home.

There was a run on the supermarkets before they too closed. You'd have thought it was The End of Days as nary a loaf of bread or litre of milk was to be had.

My power went out twice for long periods and my mains water pipe froze. No water for 3 days. Think about what that means - no water for cooking, no water for washing yourself, no water for flushing the toilet.

Things get grim real quick in 3 days with no water.

Since the power was out, I couldn't melt snow on the cooker. And, even when I could, there's not much water volume in snow. A lot of energy gets used to turn snow into water.

But the thaw came after 4 days and water started coming through the taps again and finally I could flush my toilet.

How lucky that timing was!

Then Me

Having power back on (consistently) and water to cook with, I made my first cooked meal in 3 days on Sunday night.

When I got up on Monday, I felt a bit "off". Nothing major. Nothing to be concerned about.

I had breakfast as usual and started work in the home office.

When I stood up to go out to make some coffee, I felt an urgent need to dash to the toilet. Well, the world fell out my bottom, or so it seemed.

Having been purged in such fashion, I figured that had gotten rid of whatever had made me feel "off" that day.

So back to the PC I went.

After about an hour, I felt a sensation I had not felt since I was a teenager (stop thinking naughty thoughts!) - a kid of prickly feeling that started somewhere in my guts. I knew instantly I was going to throw up. And, boy, did I!

I haven't vomited in 42 years (is that some kind of record?) so I'd completely forgotten how uncomfortable and unpleasant it is. And the repeated heaving while your body tries to purge itself of whatever is irritating it.

So, that's how it went for 3 days, with one end or the other hanging over the toilet bowl. Thank God for a working, flushing loo!

The vomiting's finally subsided and I'm now back at the PC as you can read. I still have the runs, but they are abating.

I've no idea if what I picked up was a bug or food poisoning. I lost 7lb (3.3 Kg) in those 3 days but it's not the kind of diet plan I'd recommend.

But rare events like this serve to remind me of how much I take my general good health for granted. It's kind of a good thing to be reminded of how good I have it in that respect for the most part.

So with all those travails, I got little done on further building my new https://EmailListBuildingStrategies.com site.

Life is full of obstacles. It's how you deal with them that counts. Do you let them stop you? Or do you find a way around them and learn from the interaction?

I used my down time to think about my goals and what I really needed to focus on (you have a lot of time to think sitting on a toilet). I was able to identify some other programs and products that I paid subscription fees for - ones that I didn't actually use when I really thought about it - and have now terminated those. That's over $100 saved per month.

I guess every cloud has a silver lining! :)