3801

A fullfledged, complete, half-my-field-of-vision-taken-up-by-flickering-geometric-shapes migraine aura just appeared and bloomed out in less than a minute, as opposed to the half-hour or so that these things usually take. I think this is my cue to go lie down in a dark room for a while.

3802

So my fiancee’s brother just laid down demands that we have to invite his wife’s parents to our wedding. When we told him no, he threw a fit and decided he wasn’t going to come. We’ve met her parents maybe twice? Why the heck would we invite them to the wedding? Are we being unreasonable? Weddings are limited venues where you’re paying by the head, I’ve cut out a decent chunk of friends I’d like to see there.

(also in case anyone remembers, the phillipines is out, back to local venues)

3803

You are not being unreasonable, period. However, if their last name happens to be Salahi they’ll probably show up any way.

I hope his antics are not just the tip of the ice-berg, this could be a sign of things to come. You mentioned earlier you may be getting married in the Philippines, is there some sort of tradition there you’re unknowingly overlooking or something?

3804

Our cat developed an issue where she marked and peed with a little blood. Freaked out, we took her to the clinic at the Petsmart. INCREDIBLY EXPENSIVE TREATMENT FOLLOWS, two consults, an X-ray, two prescriptions, two urine tests. Hundreds of dollars.

X-ray reveals that she has a tiny tiny bladder stone, vet starts pushing hard to do surgery immediately, although he lets it slip that sometimes a dietary change could dissolve it without putting her through that and putting both of us fifteen hundred dollars down the hole. We say we’ll try that first for a month before going for surgery.

Grudgingly, he agrees, and prescribes an anti-inflammatory, Metacam, along with medicated dry food. No particular instructions were provided.

We do the regimen for two days, until I notice a label on the box that says “for dogs only”. I googled Metacam. It kills cats. Well, first it’ll cause massive renal failure in about 45% of the time, which either lead to hospitalization or even sudden (alive at night, dead in morning) death. It’s prescribed to cats post-op (one-time shot) or with grievous chronic pain, when the risk is outweighed by the (oft brief) improvement in quality of life. She’s going to get better by giving her her food wet.

Now I’m left for a couple of days to steam, stew, snap at people and wonder if the vet was hoping to charge us even more money for the emergency treatment she’d need when her kidneys failed.

They’ll reverse the charges for all of this, or I’ll do it myself, and someone better be in tears behind me when I walk out of that store.

3805

Yeah, there may be something going on that is beyond the traditional American idea. What does your fiance or her parents think?

That said, my feeling is that if the bride and groom are the ones footing the bill for the thing, they can invite or not invite whomever they want and noone should be upset about the choices.

3806

Yeah, I’d throw a fit for sure. Not only for the medication issue. It sounds like he was pushing for stuff that didn’t need to be done.

3807

my fiancee thinks its stupid and unreasonable as well-- but she’s also the most americanized of her siblings.

3808

I am not sure what kind of veterinary organization there is in your country, but I would report that vet to them. That’s horrible. :(

3809

This is in Raleigh-stan in the sovereign State North Carolina. I’m considering a sternly worded letter to the local chamber of commerce.

3810

I dunno why, for some stupid reason I thought you were in central america! I mean South America, shit now I look even stupider! :P

Well, in your case, call up the NCVMA and report this vet.

3811

Yeah, usually I’m getting caffeinated right next to the coffee brush. I’m State-side right now. Thanks for the link, I’ll make full use of it.

3812

I just went to a wake for my great aunt who was a nun. I don’t really remember her, she’s on my dad’s side of the family and I haven’t talked to him (and thus anyone else on that side) for almost fifteenish years. More, really. When my parents divorced (I was 7) my dad and my stepmother forbade my mother, who was very popular with everyone, from attending family functions even if she was invited, so we drifted out of touch. Tonight my mom sent me a text saying that my great aunt had died and I should go to the wake.

I felt a little weird walking in, since I didn’t know a soul (apparently my dad’s branch never had any contact with anyone else really) and I stood awkwardly in the back of the hall until a very nice nun came over, took my hand, learned I didn’t know anyone and introduced me to my other great aunt, who was apparently the only sister left.

She spent the entire night holding my hand, hugging me, and saying how it was the most wonderful surprise and they’d been looking for us for years and her sister had been the one to try tracking everyone down and had always been so sad that they hadn’t seen me since I was 4 and everyone wanted to know how my mom was doing. She said it was the highlight of her night and my showing up was the only thing that kept her from tears the entire evening.

It was also her 88th birthday and she said it was the best present she had in years. It was nice*, especially after having been shunned by my dad’s branch of the family for years. The rest of them are apparently much, much nicer.

*as nice as you can get at a wake anyway.

3813

That is really awesome. :)

3814

that’s really sweet!

3815

I’ve never met a nun who fit the stereotype – very nun I’ve ever met has been awesome. (er, all three or four of them, not exactly a representative sample)

3816

One of my aunts is a nun. There’s a great picture from one of the newspapers of her at a White Sox game with some of her fellow nuns holding up their “Nuns love the White Sox” sign.

3817

My cousin was a nun, then not a nun, then a nun again, and now she’s a masseuse.

I think she’s just gay with a Catholic upbringing.

3818

You can denun and renun? Fascinating.

3819

Uh, Chambers of Commerce don’t do what I think you think they do. You’re thinking of the BBB or a consumer protection org, not a business networking/support org.

3820

Schematics! I’ll reoccupy myself with the retails latter!

…

Because, yeah, in Colombia it’d be the local Chamber of Commerce. I’ll just use the Vet association as Athryn suggested.