The MakeMeThinner Support Forum

[Aerie]

To be honest I'm not sure how I feel about journalling out here on the www. Seems so public, particularly since our photos are right up there with our thoughts. I've enjoyed browsing everyone else's though and I really think this would be a great place to contain my ramblings rather that clogging up all the other threads.

A little about me without too much soul bearing and really nothing about my MF journey. I think of myself as a fairly witty and intelligent person. I love to chit chat with all of you. I'm an ex-athelete that still has dreams at night about running. I'm a pet lover and have quite a houseful. I don't ever want to have a baby but would love to adopt two youngsters some time in the next 5 years. I've been married about 5 years.

I come from a lower middle class family. Dad had a GED, mom a high school diploma. Had a really rough relationship with my parents and they both passed away after prolonged debilitating illnesses, M.S. & cancer - mom and Alzheimers - dad. I worked many jobs to get through college and then vet school. I drove a 20 year old car that I paid $150 for. I had to keep the heat on at all times, even in the summer, or it would overheat. The rust holes were sealed with duct tape. I'm stubborn and I've never taken no for an answer.

When I graduated vet school, I bought the Idiot's Guide to Writing a Business Plan. Wrote my plan in one weekend went to the bank and said "Please give me $150,000". Unbelievably they did. For the first few years in the new hospital I regularly worked 130 hours per week. Have a bed in my office. Now just 4 years out of school I own a 24 Hour Veterinary Hospital with 5 doctors and a large support staff. I work a 4 day week no weekends. I'm proud of myself but more than that I love to tell my story to young people that don't have it so easy. I always tell them that if I did it so can they. Obstacles are just something to overcome. They make you stronger. Last week I bought myself a black convertible Mercedes SL500. It cost almost as much as me and my hubby's first house and I love it.

By the way when we met he was a struggling landscaper, just as broke as me. The day after he asked me to marry him he quit his job and decided to start his own business. Yup, we're both risk takers. Now he's a licensed commercial contactor. I'm proud of him too. I feel like we're living the American Dream.

I'm an very avid reader. I frequent a website called BookandReader. It's the best place on the web to talk books. I'm currently reading One Flew Over the Cucko's Nest. Next I'll be tackling Kafka On the Shore. If you like to read as well I'd love to coordinate a small book club here on line. I have a small collection of first edition signed books which I shop for sometimes on EBay.

What else? My favorite vacation destination is Washington DC. Wierd I know but the Smithsonians are so inspiring and wonderful. We usually stay in Alexandria and we see plays put on by The Wooly Mammoth Theater Group. I'm taking my first trip to Vegas in February.

What else? I love terrible Sci-Fi movies. The worse the better. My favorite book is Watership Down, my favorite film is Jaws. Richard Dryfus is just sooo great in that film.

I'm addicted to sushi, sashimi now that I'm on MF.

Lincoln is my favorite president, followed by Jimmy Carter. Both inspired and inspiring human beings.

I hate racism, something that I've been having to deal with a bit more here in the South than up in my home town of Boston MA. My grandmother in-law regularly uses the word ni**er in normal conversation. Sigh...

All my pets are rescued. My 3 kitties are 15 and thankfully very healthy. I love them so much I can't stand it. I know losing them will be an incredible blow. I have 3 dogs, hubby has one. At the hospital I have 3 live in cats that roam free and greet all the clients.

I'm definitely an idealist. I don't do declaws and I don't euthanise healthy animals for convenience. I strugle to give all my full time employees health and dental and believe me it is EXPENSIVE. I've called the police and animal control on a couple of my clients. Hey, If you can't respect yourself you've got to change something.

Recently we drafted a deal with the county Humane Society to perform low cost spay/neuter twice monthly at Sunday clinics. It's pretty exciting.

I write a weekly editorial on veterinary medicine and pet health for my local newspaper.

On Monday I'll be performing a dental surgery on a male lion. Yes I said lion. Very cool, I can't wait.

Although I'm pretty "dry" now because of MF, I love wine and typically keep about 15 bottles in the house. Spanish and Portugese wines are my favorites right now. I really thought giving up wine would be difficult on this diet, but MF proved me wrong.

Anyhow I hope this journal will invite chatting between you and I.

[DogMa]

Great story, and I'm a sucker for another animal lover. And a 24-hour vet besides? I wish you lived closer!!! I swear, I've put several vets' kids through college by now!! Mine have all been rescues with lots of "issues."

I love books, too, and have thought about book clubs, but I don't have time - or the inclination - to read consistently these days, since I read for a living. When I'm home, the last thing my eyes want to do is focus on more little words. I mostly get to read books when I'm on vacation or when I know I'm going to be sitting somewhere for a long time - getting the car serviced, visiting a doctor, etc. Too bad, because it sounds like fun.

[Aerie]

I'm voracious with books. Have an ever growing library and a stack that are just waiting to be read. I have the luxury of lots of free time now and my wonderful hubby just put a hammock on the front porch for me. Heaven!

[DogMa]

Sigh. Yep, I used to read that much. It's harder when you spend eight or nine hours a day reading, though. When I'm off, I mostly want to just look at things that are far away.

[Aerie]

So what is it you do for a living, that involves so much reading? I'm intrigued.

[DogMa]

Copy editor at a newspaper. I read all night long, plus I read the other sections of the paper in the morning. Usually.

[Zinkette99]

Wow. You make me feel incredibly lazy and unaccomplished.

That is AMAZING what you have done with your life. You are an inspiration thats for sure.

I am huge into books. I can't go to Barnes and Noble and not spend at LEAST 70 dollars. And that would be on a good day.

Right now I am reading "The History of Love" and "She's Come Undone." I have read the latter about 7 times.

I too wish you lived closer. I just got badly ripped off by my vet.

[Sojourner]

A lion? Awesome!
Great post, you sound like a terrific person and wonderful vet. My vet is the husband of one of my good friends - I love him! More importantly, Chloe and Rusty totally love him. They're great judges of character.

I have been a voracious reader all of my life, but I don't have much time for leisure reading when school is in session. Okay, I have NO time for it, but I really, really miss it. I stockpile books to read whenever I'm on break, and luckily I'm a very speedy reader. My reading taste is as eclectic as my musical taste. During this summer break's reading frenzy I've gone through:

The Sound and the Fury - William Faulkner

Wicked - Gregory Maguire (I re-read this one since it's been years since I first read it [fun book] and I want to read its sequel Son of a Witch)

The Year of Pleasures - Elizabeth Berg

Twisted - Jonathan Kellerman

Back When We Were Grownups and Digging To America - both Anne Tyler

Three Junes - Julia Glass

Trace - Patricia Cornwell

Dress Your Family in Corduroy and Denim - David Sedaris (hilarious BTW)

I'm currently in the middle of Middlesex by Jeffrey Eugenides. LOL, I guess you could say I'm binge reading .

Oh Zinkette, She's Come Undone is one of my absolute faves! Do you believe its author is male? How does he depict the adolescent and young adult woman so perfectly? A funny thing about that book - while I was reading it I kept picturing Delores as the actress Kathy Najimy (whom I adore)...she just seemed perfect, I could even imagine her facial expressions sometimes. Then a friend of mine with whom I share books started traveling for her job and picked up some audio books. She recommended this book, but I told her that I'd already read it. As I handed it back to her, I noticed a picture of the narrator on the cover, and guess who it was? Yup, Kathy Najimy. Freaked me right out!

Doc - are you enjoying One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest? The first time I read it I was in the 7th grade. I re-read it again about 10 years ago, to get an adult perspective on it. I remains one of my all time favorites. Of the thousands of books I've read over the course of my lifetime, it's in the top 10. Enjoy!

I'd be very interested in a book club, but could only participate in-between semesters.

[alpha femme]

middlesex is awesome. i actually just finished rereading that last week.

[Aerie]

Wow I guess there are a lot of readers out there!

Dogma: I see. That is a lot of reading. Cool job though. What is the name of your paper?


Zinkette: Sorry to hear about your vet "ripping you off" Veterinary medicine IS getting more expensive if that makes you feel any better. Particularly with emergencies. I had a poor little pup just discharge yesterday with a bill of over $2,000. He had an intestinal blockage. Fortunately he's doing well. The History of Love is a great book. Many people in my online book forum are currently reading it.

Sojourner: You read like me! re: Cuckoo's McMurphy may be one of the great characters in American fiction. Finished up last night. Great book. How are you enjoying Middlesex? It was our book of the month about 2 months ago. Unfortunately I was reading a couple others at the time and didn't get a chance to read it. Most of the readers really enjoyed it though. David Sedaris IS so freaking funny. I have some his audio-books which I listen to on long car rides (including Courderoy) I almost pee my pants when I listen to him.

Yup so we are doing oral surgery on a male lion this morning. Very exciting. These cats come from a place called Carnivore Conservation Institute. These are second chance cats that were owned by someone as a pet (yes there are still stupid people in this world) until their owners realized that their kitty could kill them. Right now they have about 70 cats. Lions, tigers, leopards, and a few others. Very cool place. The owners are nuts (I mean this is a good way) The cats are their entire lives and they just love them. They may have a web prescence and if so I'll get it up for you guys to look at. The news will be there today so it will get my hospital lots of press.


Re my "drive" to suceed. Yes it can be great, but you must understand the flip side is never being satisfied. That is NOT a good thing. I need to learn to say "Okay I'm happy right here and now. I'm done with the struggle." It's something I'm working on, but it's hard.

More later...

[Sojourner]

I actually began reading Middlesex, then let a friend borrow it, and have now returned to it. I'm feeling a little disjointed with it, 'cuz I tried to pick up where I left off with it, and there have been about six books inbetween. I was only about 100 pages in, so i think I'm gonna' start it from the beginning again. Everyone that I've known who's read it, absolutely raves on it. See, alphafemme has read it more than once.

That's really cool about the cat place, and yes, there remains an overabundance of stupidness in this world. A pet lion? That's just plain crazy! (Have you ever read Prince of Tides?) Anyhoo--congrats on the press for your hospital, don't forget to smile pretty for the cameras!

I'm not really into audio-books, it seems as though I can't become as much a part of the experience if I'm just listening to it. I might have a different opinion if that were my only option, but it's not, so... That said, however, I think a Sedaris audio-book read by him would be insanely fun. I'll have to check this out. Thanks!

[Zinkette99]

Oh I know how expensive it can be! I don't think most people mind too much. However my vet told us our puppy's paw was broken (yet wouldn't show us the x-rays because he said he would have to charge us 75 more) gave him a cast, charged us 500 bucks. The dog chewed it off in the middle of the night and the next day was walking around fine. We took him to another vet a week later. The vet told us his paw wasn't broken, he just had a snake bite that had made his paw swell up and made him limp. So I was a little upset by the misdiagnosis and the money lost.

Just wanted to clarify because vets are fantastic and deserve all the money they get! I know that vets have to deal with a lot of people who dont pay for treatment. I use to work for CareCredit which does loans for pet bills and I would talk to vet offices all day. Their number one issue was people not paying for the treatment their pets received.

Oh and how did I forget The Prince of Tides??? It is my all time favorite book.

Yes, the History of Love is a beautiful story!

[DogMa]

Zink, did you call your vet to tell him/her what happened? I guess mistakes can happen, but they should know and should be willing to do something about the bill.

So how's the lion doing? Did you finish yet?

And right now I'm at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. It's definitely a fun job, except for the cruddy hours. But unless/until I go back to features, I don't have much choice.

(And re: vets, I SO miss my emergency vet in Denver. I'm not happy with the one here, but there are only two 24-hour vets in the whole county, and the other one is far away. But I've been less than impressed with these guys when I had to take Maggie there one Sunday night. Charged me an arm and a leg to basically tell me to take her to my vet in the morning. Didn't even diagnose her. Then my vet took one look at her, diagnosed the problem and got her on medication. She had an abscessed tooth, which turned out to be fractured. The place I went in Denver was also a specialty clinic, so it's where Mags had her first TPLO surgery when she tore her ACL in her knee. Her surgeon was amazing, and they have a guy whose full-time job is to sit in the recovery room with the animals - with low lights and extra heat and soft music - and monitor them constantly until they're fully out of anesthesia. A few years later, when I'd moved away to California and Maggie hurt her OTHER knee, I called the surgeon to ask what he thought of a new procedure they were recommending vs. the TPLO. He not only returned my call the same day even though he was on vacation, he gave me his cell number and told me to call him back with any other questions. Wow.)

[Aerie]

Guys I'm sorry if I don't reply individually to each of you but I am so tired! Just got back from the hospital. What a day. The lion was gorgeous and I got lots of pictures which I will get posted tomorrow for you all to see. Initially he was supposed to be delivered to us but his keepers couldn't get him to load so we had to go out to the Conservator's Center to dart him with a tranquilizer. Then of course once he was down we had to lift him into the back of the truck. 300 pounds of dead weight! Picture this I had on flip flops in the lion crap. Also it was 100 degrees today and I was wearing a sweatshirt! Anyhooo. The best/scariest part of the day was trying to get the endotracheal tube in. Our laryngescope was way toooo small soooo..... I had to stick my entire arm, up to the elbow down his throat to feel for his epiglottis and his trachea. I almost peed myself I was so scared. Thankfully the drugs doses were all good and I pulled out an entire arm and not just a bloody stump.

The procedure went great and he recovered with no complications. You should have seen my dogs and cats faces when I walked in the front door tonight smelling like a lion. They won't leave me alone

One bad thing I ate my bar this morning at 6am and it's now 6pm and I'm just getting to my second meal. I know, I know, I just ordered some RTD's they'll be here tomorrow. It was worth it though and I didn't eat any of the free barbecue that was donated.

[DogMa]

That's awesome, and I think if there's any acceptable excuse for not getting all your meals in on time, having your arm up a lion's throat would qualify!!!!!