Sunday, June 22, 2008

Java, Long Runs and Family Trees

Lots of little updated combined into one here...

Java is fine. He is eating and gaining weight and back to himself. We finally had someone come and deal with mowing the yard after the lawnmower died (again), and found lots of wipes that Java had eaten. He was trying a little intestinal roto-rooter. Yuck. We have stopped putting any wipes in any unsealed garbage can.

I ran 7 miles yesterday from Big Peach Running Company in Buckhead, down to 10th and Peachtree in Midtown. (Map) This was my longest run yet in both mileage and time (1 hour 17 min). My pace was slower than I'd like for the Peachtree at around 11 minutes/mile, I'd love to get this just below 10 min/mile for the Peachtree. Two weeks more running to work on that.

Finally, I have started building a family tree for Maya. This was spawned from Steph buying a baby book to document her life in. There is a spot for a family tree, but Steph wasn't sure how to go about filling it in. So I used Ancestry.com to put one together. I now know more about my family tree than I ever could have imaged. Most of it is on my father's side, but I am working to fill in more on my mom's side too. I'm shocked that I can trace back 6 generations from Maya to her great-great-great-great grandmothers Pauline Edelstein (maiden name? married name?), Sarah Berkman (married name, maiden unknown) and great-great-great-great grandfather Harris Berkman, all born in the early/mid 19th century. Most of the trails backwards lead to Russia, Poland, etc., so I doubt I'll find much prior to their emigration to the US, but it's been fun anyway.

Sunday, June 15, 2008

Java Health Update

Two days have passed and Java seems to be eating regularly, looking healthier and generally feeling better. But he is still super skinny, so we're doing the ultrasound tomorrow to see what, if anything, is going on with him...

Happy Father's Day to Me!

I started the day with a ~5 mile trail run at Sope Creek... a great beginning to my first father's day. And much more fun/interesting than running on the road. After visiting with some family, Steph, Maya, the dogs and I plan on spending the remainder of the day together. Other than a few hours work later today, it's my day to be lazy.

Yay for mostly lazy Sundays...

Friday, June 13, 2008

Java's Health

Java is once again giving us a health scare. After returning from Asia Steph and I both discussed that Java was looking skinny and then he stopped eating for a few days. Before heading to Boston we went to our vet to get a check up. Java has been known to raid the trashcan, but it appears he has been stealing used wet wipes from the trash can (not diaper genie!) in Maya's room. Java lost 7 lbs since February, about 10% of his body weight! We put him on some meds and wet food and he appeared to be getting better and was eating regularly.

Yesterday Java stopped eating again. He is back on medication from the vet and did eat some today, but is now refusing food again late this evening.

He's skinny. Scary, heroin chic skinny. I brushed him tonight and he is bony, I can feel most of his spine on his lower back quite easily. His tail is down, he is seemingly weak and lethargic and not acting like himself at all.

I'm not sure what the next step is. We'll call the vet tomorrow, they may try an ultrasound to see if he has a blockage which they can remove. But for tonight all I can do is go to bed and hope that Java is as stubborn now as he has been the rest of his life. If he is, he'll pass whatever may be inside him, if anything, gain weight and get back to being the happy "old man" that he was just a few weeks ago...

Saturday, June 07, 2008

Coming Home From Boston

We're on the way home from a quick trip up to Boston, flying somewhere over the eastern US. The flight is pretty empty, so Steph, Maya and I have 3 seats together, allowing Maya to sit in her car seat for the flight. The girls are both passed out...

We came up on Thursday to visit my grandparents, Maya's great-grandparents, as well as my aunt Robin and uncle Ronnie. Due to their advancing age, my grandparents aren't able to travel any longer. This was an important trip for us to make, however, it was not about a vacation or doing something for our own enjoyment. The timing couldn't have been worse with my recent crazy travel schedule and lack of time alone with both Steph and Maya. Instead, this trip was about being selfless, giving of ourselves to provide some happiness to others. We made the trip solely for Grandma & Grandpa so they could meet Maya, spend time with her, hold her and get to "know" her at this very cute stage of her life. I know we brightened their days by introducing them to their fourth great-grandchild, making the difficulty of the trip worthwhile.

Maya, for the most part, was an angel. She has been extremely well behaved on the flights to and from Boston and in the airport at either end. She's been a pleasure to travel with, but it amazes me how much crap one little girl needs! Instead of traveling with a single suitcase and my backpack, we've got 2 suit cases, my backpack, a diaper bag, pack and play (portable crib), stroller and car seat. Holy crap, that's a LOT of stuff to travel with. Our days of traveling light are over for a while, I guess.

We're all looking forward to getting home, getting back on a normal schedule and... What's normal anymore? While Maya is going back to her schedule with Steph, I won't be on any kind of normal schedule as I am traveling to Newark tomorrow and then down to Baltimore Monday through Thursday for work. Perhaps in July I might get to spend some quality time at home with Steph and Maya...