Opening the Rusty Gates

I'm sure the world has been holding its collective breath, waiting for me to offer up another blog post to sate its undying curiosity regarding my fascinating life. The first 11 words of this post have been resting patiently in my drafts folder, slowly maturing like a fine wine for the past 15 years. At long last, the time has come for them to be released into the wild, freed from their digital prison. 

Fly free, my words, fly free!

the future is bright!

i cannot begin to convey the relief, joy, excitement and hope i experienced yesterday. i have to say, it was the best day i've had in a really long time.
i woke up with a heavy heart, loaded Zaka and Hannah into the car, and embarked upon a road trip up to Arroyo Grande to visit the kitty ophthalmologist. Hannah tried to talk me into believing in the possibillity that Zak didn't have cancer, but i needed to be prepared for the worst. i had already decided to sell my car to pay for his treatment, and was coming up with new pirate names for my soon-to-be one-eyed cat.
On the drive up we found a strong, clear radio station to listen to the inauguration speech given by Barack Obama. Hannah and I talked politics, civil rights, progress, hope, responsibility. we talked about the past and the future.
At the ophthalmologist's office, we learned that Zaka's eye has a virtually harmless cyst. no cancer! the doctor will just need to monitor the development of the cyst, and if it becomes troublesome she'll remove it. she was concerned because Zak had some white blood cells floating around in both eyes, so he still needs to have some bloodwork done and he now gets daily eyedrops. that's it!!!
last night before going to sleep i watched Michelle and Barack Obama dance as Beyonce sang "At Last." this morning, i watched the sun rise over a new country.

for anyone who's interested...

ok, even though i feel silly even creating a blog in the first place, and also extremely insecure about creating anything that is available for public viewing, here it is.
to be honest, i am already slightly embarrassed about how uninspired and simple my writing is, especially in comparison to the various blogs i read regularly. some days i do have inspiration to create writing masterpieces. today is not one of those days. i don't really have anything to say anyway, i just wanted to post some family updates.
Hannah is doing well overall, despite her struggles with school. she now regularly attends church and youth group on sundays, and she just started going to another youth group that meets on fridays as well. She is growing up to be quite a political activist these days. She's been involved in Prop 8 protests and has even organized a GSA for the youth of santa barbara.
She will be switching schools (again) for the spring semester because the lack of structure at Olive Grove did not seem to meet her needs. where she will be for the next semester, however, is still up in the air at this point. These next couple of months will be a big transitional time for us, especially because my parents have sold their house and will be moving to Texas.
Here's a picture she took yesterday (the "earring" is really just a chain she hung on her stud earring):













As for the rest of my little family, here's some up-to-date photos and news...
Here's my Zumi peeking out of the bathtub:

you can tell he's about to pounce on me by that look in his eyes.

if you look at him from a distance, i think he looks like a little black coffee cup with green eyes.

Here's a couple of handsome photos of Zaka:

Sadly, i've recently learned our cat Zaka probably has cancer.

i'd been mildly concerned for the past month or so because he's had kind of a hollow look in his eyes. his behavior and eating habits had not really changed, so i assumed it was either my imagination or just an illusion caused by the poor lighting in our apartment. last weekend, however, i discovered upon closer inspection a strange and startling growth inside the eyeball that was cause for alarm. i immediately called Leslie the Cat Doctor, who agreed to take a look. she said it is probably a melanoma. nest tuesday (th 20th) we have an appointment to see a special opthamologist who will be able to provide a diagnosis.


in spite of zak's protests, i somehow managed to get a couple of close-up photos of the eye:



From the front, his eye looks fairly normal, as you can see in the photo above. but as you can see from the picture to the left, the black lumpy mass is quite apparent when looking from the side through the clear part of the eye.



here's an even more disturbing picture:



the picture is a little blurry, as my cell phone is the only camera i own and it doesn't do close-ups very well. but you can clearly see why i was so concerned when i first noticed the growth.


Leslie the Cat Doctor assured me that he is not in pain from the growth.


if it is indeed cancer, hopefully it is limited to the eye and will be completely eradicated upon removal of the eye.

poor little guy!!

i'll be sure to post any updates on his situation when i know more.