Ten Bucks to Turn Off the Light

On the one hand, I can’t help but appreciate the clear and concise itemization of veterinary bills. I know exactly what I paid for every little thing. On the other hand, it makes me painfully aware that I was charged $10 for someone to turn off the lights and look at Karma under blacklight. Yeeeeah.

At any rate, it’s pretty certain that Karma does indeed have ringworm. The cultures had to be sent out to be 100% sure, but her ears did flouresce under the blacklight and my spots do look pretty typical. Apparently their usual method of testing is to expose a "high reactor" to it and wait and see. May I never work in a place where I will be deliberately exposed to fungus. LOL. She also has an upper respiratory infection, very common in kittens, especially strays. She is mercifully free of the big ones: FIV and Feline Leukemia. So antibiotics twice a day, lotion once a day on her patchy spots (they shaved her to make it easier to apply), and a special bath every few days and she’ll be fine.

As for me, I’m washing with a fresh washcloth and dandruff shampoo every day, toning my face and neck with diluted tea tree oil and moisturizing with clotrimazole. I have a couple new spots on my arm, but they’re small and the ones on my face haven’t gotten any worse, for which I’m grateful. I’m even more grateful that they’re easily concealed with makeup. I also got some hand sanitizer in lieu of the impossible-to-find anti-microbial soap and anti-microbial fabric spray to clean those things I can’t throw in the wash. I also called my mother to let her know to wash the towels and sheets I used as soon as she can. She freaked out a little at first. I think it’s something about the name "ringworm" that makes it sound a whole lot worse than it is. I pointed out that it’s a fungus, not a worm, and that it’s the same thing as athlete’s foot. I also mentioned that she’s probably had it because in the hot humid months, she sometimes gets an itchy red rash that goes away with miconazole, another anti-fungal. She still freaked out.

I recently stumbled across a diarist who has a set of 101 goals that she’s trying to complete in 1,001 days. I think it’s a really good idea. And it’s brought my focus back to the task at hand, which should be finding a new job. Tomorrow I make up my new resume. For now I’m going to do the dishes… and maybe later I’ll come up with my own list.

~Liz