Welcome back to Not Enough Time in the Day! March 4-10th is a special time on Smashwords. Several authors will be participating in Read an Ebook Week by offering their ebooks anywhere from 25-100% off. I'm doing the same. For that one week, you can get my book of poetry FREE! All you have to do is click on the above link to take you to my Smashwords page. Click on the book and at check out, use the coupon code RE100. You can choose whatever ebook version you need for your reader and within minutes you can enjoy the 44 poems I put together for the book.
If you are not into electronic books, then you can still get the print version on Amazon.com or Createspace.com. The cover is a little different, but all the poems are there. I hope you enjoy them and please let me know what you think!
Ever have one of those days where no matter what you do, or what you say you just can't seem to make a difference? Today was one of those days for me and a few of my fellow veterinary colleagues. Each patient chart that turns up in the rack is a potential puzzle to be solved. Sometimes we try to come up with ideas of what could be ailing the pet before we go in, just to see if our intuition is on target...or way off depending on what kind of information the pet owner is willing to divulge to our staff before we get in there.
It can be like pulling teeth getting an accurate history. I've had clients refuse to give any details about what is up with their furry companion until I get in there, and still they keep quiet, thinking that just by laying my hands on the animal I will miraculously know what is making "Fluffy" not want to eat for the last week. Starting with the usual questions about what foods they animal is being fed and it's "potty" habits can be the most challenging.
"I don't know the name of the food, Doc. It's the one in the yellow bag."
"I got four cats, how am I supposed to know who pissed or shit in the box?"
"What does his food have to do with why Ranger is itching and keeping me up all night?"
"Flea control? Naw, I never saw a flea on him so it ain't flea allergy."
Wanna make a bet?
Today I had one woman say to me that she knew the reason her cat was so ill was because she switched his food over to a raw food diet. That was over five days ago and he sill wouldn't eat ANY food. I told her that the diet switch may have been the final trigger that set the anorexia off, but probably not the cause. Do you know what she said to me? "Well, you're just guessing now. You have no proof of that."
I stared at her for a half a beat and then let her have my sweetest smile. "You are the one guessing here. It's time we do some blood work and figure out what the heck is wrong with Angus instead of guessing until we are both blue in the face."
"Well, I don't see the point in spending a lot of money to find out what's wrong if there's a chance the tests will come out normal."
I had to really restrain myself from rolling my eyes. "Well, you are obviously worried about Angus, otherwise you wouldn't have returned here three times for us to check him out. I think it's time you take our recommendation and see if we can at least find out what's NOT making him sick."
"If it turns out to be the food that's making him sick, do I have to still pay for the tests?"
"Yes. The costs are for running the tests and interpreting the results. If we don't do some sort of testing, we will keep guessing and throwing treatments at him that may or may not work one bit."
"Can't you just tell me what's wrong by looking at him? Are you a newly graduated doctor? Why can't you just tell me right off what's wrong? My old vet who retired ten years ago could do that. I never had to pay for these expensive tests."
Now I am really biting my tongue and hoping that the blood from the wound doesn't seep out onto my lips. "I graduated almost 20 years ago now, Mrs. Green. We can get into why properly diagnosing pets often needs more than just the physical exam, or we can do the testing you came in for today. You agreed to come back if Angus didn't respond to the fluids so that we could do these tests."
"You vets just want all of my money. I've had cats all of my life and I never had to do this stuff before."
""Angus is nearly 17 years old now and there are a lot of things that could be going wrong with his kidneys, liver, or other organs. He could have a cancer somewhere that we can't feel on exam yet, or the start of diabetes or hyperthyroid disease. The only way to know is to do the blood tests."
"Well, I just don't want to spend any more money on him. The treatments you all gave him didn't work. He's sick again. Why won't he eat?"
We stare at each other a few more moments. This woman brought her cat into the hospital THREE times now and has refused to do anything for him other than subcutaneous fluids. She was told repeatedly that this was just to help with his dehydration and wouldn't tell us anything about his condition at all. "What do you want from me, Mrs. Green?"
"I want you to fix my cat. Tell me what food to feed him so that he will eat again. Tell me what is wrong with my cat."
"We have to do these tests to figure out what is going on so we can treat him properly."
"I don't think the tests will tell us anything."
"Why did you come back today, Mrs. Green?"
"I want you to tell me what is wrong with my cat and fix him."
"I'm trying to do that but we need the tests so we can do this the right way."
"Why can't you just look at him and the notes from the other doctors and figure it out that way? I know I'm right and it's because I changed his food."
At this point, I basically want to pull my hair out. Angus has lost another pound in the last week. That's over 10% of his body weight gone in less than 7 days. This is not good and until we figure out what is going on, he could continue to go downhill. I changed tactics a bit. "I know you love Angus and want what is best for him. I wouldn't recommend these tests if I didn't think it was the first steps we need to take in order to help him."
She bit her lip a few times. "Well, if you think the tests would help find out what is going on, then let's do them. If I would've known they were so important to his health' I would have done them sooner. You know, it's not a matter of the money. I will do whatever I need to do to help him. I just don't want to do any unnecessary tests if he can be fixed with just a shot."
Oy! Does anyone else feel like they are in the middle of an Abbott and Costello movie?
It's been a bit since I've written for this blog and I'm sure it's feeling a bit neglected. Saying I've been a busy has been an understatement, but still that is no excuse. I started up both of my blogs as a way to express myself and to get my name out there. As a writer, name recognition is extremely important, but at the same time it feels a bit strange to toot my own horn all of the time. I'm going to have to get over that and fast. If I keep staying in the shadows and lurking, I just might miss out on a few opportunities of a lifetime.
As many of you already know, I've always been writing in one form of another. My poetry has been my lifeline over the last two years and I think I've grown as a writer because of it. Many of my poems were the inspiration for the novels in two of my current series. The Vixen, the Witch and the Daemon has spawned a whole new world and an entire series that I will call Songs of Fate. Creating that world is taking a lot of time, not to mention a lot of notebooks! I have to remember that I can't whip out a book a month with this story line or any other. I work full time as a veterinarian still and have other responsibilities such as my shop on Etsy.com. Reading about how many other authors seem to be about to crank out their work at the speed of light, sometimes makes me feel inadequate. Well, maybe that's not the right word. I feel like I'm not committing myself completely to my craft and that makes me very sad and sometimes makes me go through a sort of writer's block. As you can see, being blocked, makes the sadness even worse.
I've thought long and hard about this. I gave 19 years to a wonderful career as a veterinarian and in the process put everything else on hold. It's time I take control again and find the balance so that I can devote more time to my writing and build a fan base. I'm in a place in my life now, that I am able to do this because of my Muse/boyfriend. He makes it all possible for me to be able to not stress the small stuff...and some of the big stuff...and just write. He's my biggest fan and without him in my corner, I know I would still be holding myself back with the phrase "some day I will be able to write full time." Well, that some day is going to be a lot sooner than I ever thought possible.
Don't get me wrong, I am proud to be a veterinarian and on most days I can say I really love my job, but the passion I had for it is no longer there. Early in my career, the world was so new and the opportunities open to me so vast that each day was an adventure. It's still enjoyable, but now more routine and yes, predictable. Now my allergies are getting worse. I have to take diphenhydramine (benedryl) daily in order to walk into our hospital. We have a lot of rabbit and rodent patients and unfortunately they are the cause of my discomfort. I don't see them, but their dander and hair is still present and it's what I am allergic to. All of that is airborne and I can't escape it when I am at work. The last two months has been rather miserable with rashes and itchy skin. I may have to switch antihistamines to get some relief, but in the end the best course of action is to remove myself from the source.
Within the next six months to a year, I will be cutting my days back at the veterinary hospital. It's both sad and exciting to me at the same time. Saying goodbye to what has been a huge part of my life for such a long time hurts like hell. But if I don't do this, I will continue to say "some day" and put off the other things I wish to pursue in my life with my Mo Anam Cara, my Muse. He's opened a whole new world for me that I always knew existed, but was afraid to give it a go. Now I can. With him by my side, I can finally be me again.
Today I ordered print copies of my book of poetry and For the Love of Quinn. Within the next week I will have actual print copies of my work in my hands. I guess at that moment I will finally allow myself to acknowledge that I am a published author and people are reading my work...even on iTunes! LOL! Now to get back to work on my next masterpiece!
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