Author: christinaalexander100

AS I sit here at almost 1 am and write this I can feel my tears to start running down my face again. My cat Boo Boo was 14 years old when he passed Oct 16, 2022. It’s been almost 3 months and I still feel like I will see him again. He was the first cat I truly loved that passed away. He left his sister behind that had a few crying spells in the middle of the night after he passed.

Boo Boo was very friendly. He loved everybody. No matter who came over he would greet them hello and demand to be petted. He let strangers pet him.

He was very smart. One day I came home and my apartment had a pipe that burst and water was everywhere. I knew something was wrong when I walked in the door and seen him walking in circles and meowing in a very high pitched tone then running toward the water to show me something was wrong.

He was a protector. Whenever someone came inside the home he didn’t know , he would sit very close to me and watch them. One day he started to growl and hiss at one of the apartment maintenance men and I later found out that guy hated cats. No joke , my cat sensed it !

Boo boo had all kinds of health problems from the day I adopted him. He had chronic ear infections , had to get two barium enemas , got his eye scratched playing with his sister , ran outside and got into a cat fight that left a giant hole near his butt that had to be glued shut. Had a few UTI’s then one time had an actual urinary blockage. The doctor wasn’t sure he would make it but he did.

Boo Boo also had a terrible reaction to the rabies shot. He ended up in the emergency room with difficulty breathing and had to stay the night.

Boo Boo was a fighter. He was pushing through his 9 lives to quickly.

Then beginning of April 2022 he had his annual follow up appointment where the doctor said his heart marker labs were off the charts but she had no idea why because she did not hear a heart murmur. I asked her if I should take him to a cardiologist and she said it wouldn’t hurt.

There were no animal cardiologist near me except one. They were booked out for 6 months. So I began to call the next cities around. The closest one was over two hours away and I could get him in to be seen in less then 2 weeks. Great ! I took him in thinking it wouldn’t be much going on with his heart because he didn’t have any symptoms. He was still very active , eating and drinking normally , using the litterbox normally etc.

The doctor who completed his cardiology workup that included , ECG, X-Ray , Ultrasound of the heart and blood pressure walked into the room and quickly said “ there are three parts of his heart that are of great concern , I give him 3 months “.

I remember sitting in the chair staring at him wondering if I heard correctly. Then the doctor took out a diagram of the heart and proceeded to tell me about the chambers of the heart and the thickening of his heart muscle etc.

Boo Boo’s prognosis was not good. Studies have shown that cats with similar diagnosis average time frame to live was 6 months to a year on medication.

I sat there trying to take it all in because I haven’t noticed any symptoms ! He was placed on 3 medications for life and the supplement taurine.

I remember telling the doctor I was about to work out of town soon and he warned me to look up the nearest emergency room as soon as I got there. This wasn’t good I thought.

My cat is terrible at taking pills. I have tried before and it was like having a wrestling match. He would spit it out , vomit it up , scratch and bite and growl and it always ended up both of us being pissed. So I would always opt for liquid medication with him that I could easily get down.

However , all of his medication was prescribed as a pill. I tried everything from mashing it in food ( he wouldn’t eat it ), placing the pill in a pill pocket ( he wouldn’t eat it ), mashing it in a syringe with water to squirt it down ( he would gag , foam it out or vomit it up )

How was I going to do this every 12 hours for the rest of his life ?

I decided to try to find a compounding pharmacy. I finally found one that would add chicken flavor ! Jackpot I thought …. Until I found out one of the medications was very bitter and was told cats do not do well with the liquid form of that medication. I gave it my best try and he vomited it up every single time. I was also told that particular medication had to be given every 6 hours or it was ineffective. With my work hours , there was no way I could administer that every 6 hours.

I was told to try baby aspirin in its place. Well that gave my cat bloody stool. I just sat there thinking to myself “ I can’t win “.

My poor cat went into heart failure two weeks after his diagnosis. He had to stay in the hospital for several days . Some of his medications were changed and he seemed to do pretty well with it. I took him to his follow up appointments to his primary care doctor , drove him over two hours to see his cardiologist who said everything looks great ! Bring him back in couple months for BP and chest X-ray. Even though his ER doctor said in a report it was highly unlikely Boo Boo would be alive in 6 months he seemed to be doing ok at the time. I thought he beat the odds. I thought I was going to have him here one last Christmas.

The last night I seen him he seemed to be doing very well. He was eating well , playing the same etc. I didn’t see any changes in his behavior that made me think this would be his last night. We had spa time together where I would turn on my face steamer and he would sit next to me with his chin up enjoying the steam. He followed me downstairs that early morning at 5 am as I got ready for work. As I walked out the door I told him I loved him and I left out to go to work. I didn’t return until the next day . The pet sitter had seen him that night and said he looked and seemed fine.

However , when I opened the door at 8 pm and didn’t see him at the door I felt a very hard breath come out of me. I knew something was wrong. Boo boo had passed away sometime that day before I got home . He was curled up on the couch by the window where he often would wait for me.

I wi never forget that terrible feeling of thinking If maybe I didn’t work 12 hours that day. Was it because I was a little late with his dose of medication . The list goes on of how I would replay everything from the last few days he was with me and how he vomited the other day and maybe that was a sign.

He lived 6 months after his diagnosis. The medication just gave me time. Time to spend a little more time with him. Time to maybe prepare the inevitable. But I wasn’t prepared. For any of this. I cried as my sister came to my house to drive him to the hospital that would take his body to be cremated. As I stared at the rainbow bridge and looked in his carrier I thought it’s not fair. He was suppose to be home. Happy. In his window perch.

I wasn’t prepared for how much pain I would feel. I called off of work the next day. As I slept the night I had to hand over his body to the hospital , the feeder went off and called his name. I had forgotten to turn off the food feeders that would sound off at 6 am that would call out both of the cats names to come get their food. I remember waking up and staring at the feeder expecting him to see him run toward it like he would every morning. But he didn’t.

One of the most painful things I felt was heating his sister get up in the middle of the night and cry. She did it twice after the second night he wasn’t there. I had to call her name and pet her and tell her I was sorry. I did show his body to her before taking him away so she could see that he had passed. I think she knew. I think she was very sad as well.

Another painful thing I noticed is the emptiness the house feels. Every time I would walk through the door it felt strange. Lonely. My home doesn’t feel like home anymore.

I am now traveling quite a bit for work and my other cat comes along. She seems to be doing ok right now. I think it took her some time to heal just like it’s taking me. I often wonder if I should adopt another cat to give her another fur friend. I often wonder if she is lonely. I have been watching YouTube videos and reading articles on what to do with pet loss grief. I am reading it for her and myself.

For those of you who lost a pet I feel ya. It is incredibly hard as so many things remind me of him. I know he is at peace now. No longer in pain. I just wish I had more time with him.

RIP

Why ? Why is this city so miserable? Every. Single.Day.

I have been here close to three months and there are to many annoyances to list.

I will start with the traffic.

Why ? It’s bumper to bumper and if you aren’t familiar with the area and you are not in the correct lane you will miss your turn that adds another 10-15 minutes to your drive.

The speed cameras. Why ? Why are their so MANY of them ? Yes people should obey the speed laws but is having speed cameras that click on your plate if you dare go over 25 mph necessary ?

Most of the streets in the North West of DC is 25 mph. Who actually drives 25 mph ? In DC you do unless you want a 100 or 200 ticket in the mail. I had to purchase an app that alerts me when I am approaching those speed traps. One day I was driving to planet fitness and the alerts went off the entire 35 min drive. Yup ! Those speed traps are EVERYWHERE !

I am not really sure what the signs mean rgat says “ speed radar “ because there are not actually cameras around those signs so I am not sure how you are getting fined but you better just drive that turtle pace of 25 mph unless you don’t mind going bankrupt.

The speed bumps. Is it REALLY necessary to have one million speed bumps on every street ? DC thinks so. So don’t sip that coffee while cruising around the city !

The lack of parking. I can’t tell you how annoying it is to have to parallel park at meters or circle the block 500 times praying someone will be leaving so you can snag that spot that you will have to squeeze into like a sardine.

You better be excellent at parallel parking because you will be doing ALOT of it ! Or paying 30-50.00 to park just to visit Target ! Yup ! That is correct ! There are some areas where you have to pay to park to shop at Costco or Target and other stores. I have refused to visit and shop a lot of stores just because of the hassle of parking and paying. I shouldn’t have to pay to park at Costco. I have heard from someone that your ticket can be reimbursed if you tell a cashier ? I am not sure because I decided I will not be doing any shopping for the rest of my time here other then for groceries. I just don’t have the patience for any of this.

The beyond annoying people on those stupid scooters. Those scooters are everywhere just whizzing by. One day my car was barely over the crosswalk and I got beeped at and flipped off and cursed at because the idiot had to slightly move her scooter . God forbid your car is barely touching that crosswalk as you Slam on your brakes to prevent from getting that 200.00 red light ticket . Yup. Red light cameras are everywhere and some of them turn in about 2 seconds. That does not give much time when you are very close to that light as it suddenly turns red. TICKET !! DC must be one rich city. I wonder why there are so many pot holes since I am quite sure the city collects millions from all those red light and speed cameras.

Where are the drive thrus ? If you are like me and use to being able to quickly stop at a McDonald’s or Starbucks drive thru ….. think again ! So far in the NW part of DC I have not seen ONE drive thru Starbucks . My GPS will lead me to one that says drive thru but when I get there , there never is one ! How do people get their morning coffee if there isn’t any drive thrus or places to park to run in and grab one ?

I have illegally parked quite a few times here. If you are coming to visit DC you will quickly learn where you can probable illegally park to make a mad dash into a restaurant for food ( that you hopefully pre ordered ).

The rat situation. I heard it was just about as bad as New York. Every time I come home at night I see them and hear them scatter all over the place. So get use to seeing rats if you come here !

The prices at hair salons are insane. I made the mistake of reading reviews on a particular salon that said reasonable prices. I was an idiot and didn’t ask upfront for an estimate and ended up walking out with a 500.00 cut and color. Yes the stylist did well , but I can get the exact same hair treatment for less then 200 in Ohio. So if that was suppose to be reasonable pricing , what do they consider expensive ?

Car washes. Why ? Please tell me why there are not any of those automatic drive thru car washes ? I have to drive about 45 min to an hour out just to find one. Instead they have plenty of those car washes where you get out of the car and a few people wash the interior and exterior. I don’t like that.

Going to see a doctor here in DC ? Guess where you will be parking ? Probably across the street or around the block at a meter. I could not believe that none of the doctor offices in this area had their own paved parking lots to make it easier for patients. If you are on crutches or in a wheelchair be prepared for the stressors of finding a parking spot then probably taking 20 minutes just to get to the office door.

The mounds of people who stop traffic to let their friends or family out of the car. It is beyond annoying already that it is taking me 3 hours to get home when it should take 15 minutes because I have to drive 25 mph or get a nice 200 ticket in the mail , but then to have someone in front of me stop in the middle of the lane blocking traffic to let their family member out of the car ( remember the lack of parking ) then they proceed to chit chat for 10 minutes not caring they are holding up traffic.

I would also like to add the annoyance of how close all of the cars are parked on the side streets. There are many side streets where cars are packed in like sardines on both sides of the street and they just fling their door wide open as they get out of their cars not caring if their car door just hits your car as you are trying to make your way through the tight lane !

The street cleaning times ! There are several signs on streets that tell you that you can’t park there on certain days and times so be prepared to move your car constantly or get that parking ticket. How come I notice the parking meter guy handing out tickets like it’s free water but I never once seen the city come and actually clean the street? They have no problem coming to ticket your ass but they never clean it ! Million dollar city !

I will leave this blog with a final warning. For any of you thinking DC is the place to be ! So much to do ! Exciting ! Just make sure you get a prescription for a heavy dose of Xanax and stock up on the wine , vodka , beer , or whatever it is that will calm your nerves because you will want to kick the shit out of everyone once you get here. A couple more months for me …. I don’t EVER plan on coming back .

PS

Screw you DC you piece of Shit of a city 🖕🏻

If you are a fan of the Dallas Cowboys you already know they made it ! Their final season game is tomorrow as they take on the Washington Commanders.

How far will they make it in the playoffs ? I think there are a few teams that will definitely give them a run for their money.

Kansas City Chiefs will be very hard to beat. Mahomes definitely has the luck of a four leaf clover as he seems to easily glide into the top spot over the last few years.

Then there is Tom Brady. Everyone knows him. The LeBron of football. No matter what is going on with his life he seems to always get ahead. I think he has 5 Super Bowl rings ? I thought sharing was caring. Apparently he doesn’t share.

I feel like any time Brady is playing it will just be an automatic embarrassment for the other team. However , you can’t ALWAYS be at the top. Sooner or later someone’s turn to shine appears. Will it be this year ?

I’m rooting for Dallas. This is Daks time . I can feel it. He has lost way to much in his life but just keeps pressing on. He gives thanks to the lord and his mom watching above who I know is rooting for him every step of the way !

Stay tuned for the Dallas Cowboys prevail !

If you have waited almost a year to see Dak Prescott out in the field again then you were not disappointed!

Dak looked like his former self , if not even better then I remembered. The Dallas Cowboys opened this season in Tampa Florida to face Tom Brady and the rest of the Buccaneers.

To be honest , I didn’t have much faith in Dallas. I thought at least they get the toughest team out of the way. Let’s face it , Tom Brady isn’t talked about being the LeBron James of football for no reason.

Everyone knows Tom Brady is probably one of the best quarterbacks in NFL history. I am not a Brady fan but I can’t deny his throws are pretty smooth.

I wasn’t watching this game to watch Tom Brady. All I wanted was to see Dak Prescott’s return. I thought he would be a little rusty since his devastating ankle injury that could have been a career ender had him in rehab for months then he injured his shoulder during pre season practice. Dak hasn’t had much chance to practice since his injury and facing Tom Brady on his return sure didn’t help.

I also was more then happy to see Zeke Elliott again. However , Zeke had a terrible season last year. The Cowboys made a lot of changes to their roster as well leaving me little hope of any kind of scoring. I prayed Dallas wouldn’t be a complete shut out. I prayed the Cowboys would at least score one touch down or a kick. I thought the score would be the Buccaneers 60 and Dallas 0.

However , I was proved wrong. I don’t think Dak could have had a better return. He looked absolutely amazing out there throwing the ball far down the field without hesitation. He even ran with the ball a few times when he couldn’t find someone to throw it to fast enough. Each time he ran as the Buccaneers were swiftly gaining inches behind him , I held my breath . I held my breath while saying a prayer for his angels to protect him .

However , Dak was right where he always wanted to be. Dak was running across that field with his Cowboys without hesitation. He was fully aware and confident of what he is capable of. I noticed Zeke block the Buccaneers as they tried to inch closer to Dak to tackle him but Dak knew his teammates were behind him. He didn’t have to look backwards to see. He felt his friends and faith surrounding him last night. He felt the heart of his fans with every step and throw he took. . This was his night. HE was the shining star last night.

Honestly , the Cowboys would have won if the kicker made half his kicks. However , Zuerlein had previous back surgery and missed practice and the ability to play in the pre season. His kicks were awful but it probably had to do with recovering from his recent back surgery.

The ending score was 29 to 31. Dallas lost by two points. Dak may be disappointed with the loss but he has got to be proud of his plays. I seen a glimpse of the Dak Prescott I fell in love with a few years ago and I have a feeling this is going to be a phenomenal year for Dak. We are all rooting for him !

XoXo

Christina !

Ever be at work and feel the eyes and whispers of nosey people nearby ? Ever just have that feeling at the office that somebody is paying you a little to much attention ?

Ever work with someone who just seemed to ask you way to many personal questions ? How old are you ? Are you married ? Do you have any kids ?

Why are some people so interested in other peoples lives ? Is it because they are bored with their life so they need to get into your life ? Are they bored with their husband ( or marriage ) so they want to live through your dating life ? Are they jealous you are single , free , dating 2-3 men at the same time? Jealous of your free spirit? Jealous of YOUR happiness ?

I never understood how some people could be so consumed in someone’s else’s life ( who they barely know ) . Maybe it’s the boredom in the office ? Maybe that coworker needs a little more work to do to stop prying in others lives.

I recently had a run in with a coworker who told me about someone who knew me and they had quite a lot to say about me. Not sure why because I only met that person for a few hours for a couple of days. Maybe because I am a little stand-off ish to those I do not know very well or like. Maybe because I didn’t have that bubbly welcoming personality and try to get to know her ? Sorry. I don’t come to work to kiss peoples ass or make best friends. How many of us actually hang out with our coworkers after work anyways ? We see each other 5 days a week , 40 hours a week. I don’t even spend that much time with my husband let alone my coworkers.

To the blonde bimbo who had a lot to say …. Please get a life. You have 3 kids and a divorce. You should have plenty of other things going on in your life right now besides talk about me !

Xoxo. Christina !