December 13 - and the end of the first term

I had my last exam this morning and am confident I did well in all of them. We only had four, and I was actually quite surprised (pleasantly) at how "easy" they seemed to be. Granted, we all have our strengths in particular areas, but even so. Today's Accounting exam was easier than some of our assignments have been! While I was pleased to see that, I was also a little disappointed - I suppose I was wanting a bit more of a challenge. Regardless, I now have three weeks off to do whatever I like. :) HURRAH!

I can't believe it's over already. I'm doing very well and am happy with my results thus far. I've stopped competing and am just enjoying the process now, which has made a big difference. My list of things to do includes: reading, relaxing, going to the gym, writing some very, very long overdue letters and making some phone calls to catch up with friends. Basically, just take advantage of the time I have.

Tonight and tomorrow night I'm going to the Arts Centre to see this and this. They're supposed to be fantastic, so I invited a couple of friends who are uber-geeks to join me. I get student pricing (on my own tickets, at least) and decided that I would have some fun during my "time off," so definitely want to take advantage of things like that.

My week started off sadly, though, as I said goodbye to my cat Joey (aka, Fat Joey). I've had him since May 2010 (some of you may remember when he arrived) and he's been an absolute joy to have around. He was a lovely boy and very laid back. He developed a tumour on a paw last May, which was removed. It grew back, though, faster and bigger, to the point that the vets weren't sure they wanted to do the operation, as by that point he had what was thought to be asthma and it could affect him with respect to going under a general anaesthetic. It turned out to be a tumour on his chest, which was the reason his lungs kept filling with fluid, and affecting his breathing. And it was an inoperable one.

I decided to go ahead with the operation with the understanding that he wouldn't last much longer anyway, but knowing that the tumour on his paw was just going to get really messy and nasty if it wasn't removed. They ended up taking most of his paw and leaving him with just a little stump.

Joey doing what he loved to do best. RIP Fat One. XX

He basically didn't recover from the surgery and went downhill very quickly. Plus he had a urinary tract infection and his kidneys were shutting down, and trying to force him to take the medications I got for him was super stressful for him. I had him put to sleep on Monday, when I got home from my first exam, and just a week after his surgery. It was a very stressful time for me, and I'm relieved it's over - for him because he was so miserable and for me because now he is at peace, although I miss him terribly. I have a lot to be thankful for though: my landlady drove me to say goodbye to him, the vet was awesome, and it was a beautiful day when he passed.

I had him cremated and got a lovely box for him. I love that  it has feet on it; he hated having his feet touched, so now I can touch them whenever I like. :)

I'm actually doing well, considering. There was no coming back for him and the vet had tried everything she knew, but it was time. I miss his presence at night especially, but I have no guilt or second thoughts about it, so I know it was the right time. It's still a painful decision, regardless. It was a bit of a surprise, as up to the surgery he'd been doing well, so to have him deteriorate so quickly was a shock, particularly as it's Dinah I've been worried about until now. She's doing 'okay.' Not great, not awful - basically no change. Hopefully something can be figured out with her, as she's  now on steroids and a new food, but it's very frustrating. Poor tiny thing.

My spending is just...I don't even want to look at it, quite frankly. It's something I need to do for the new year, but right now it's vet costs that are eating up almost every penny I have, and then some. Thankfully, I had my EFund to cover Joey's surgery, but that's essentially gone now. It's going to be a super-tight new year, so I will use some of my free time over the next several weeks to work on goals, a new budget, decluttering and selling a few things, so the New Year feels fresh and positive.

I promise to be more faithful with my posting, at least through the rest of the month. I've got lots of reading to catch up with, too, so l'm looking forward to that as well.

Have a wonderful weekend from the snowy North!