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Eurofurence, hotel, and dog
10 years ago
Because of financial and academic constraints, I unsurprisingly did not attend Eurofurence 21. Well...I am yet to attend a furry con in general :-P but I was able to view the main stage streams thanks to EF Prime. It was amazing watching it live online, and I'm trying very hard to imagine myself there in person without crying internally. Something about Eurofurence makes it my favorite convention as far as my experience of spectation goes. The banners, the hotel, the emphasis in the theme, the artists who regularly show up... to my knowledge that must be the closest to paradise on Earth I can imagine. I'm going to go to Eurofurence someday, and I refuse to let that dream stay a dream.
But wait, since I'm not at Eurofurence, what is it about this hotel mentioned in the title? Well...let's just say you should be careful with how you handle grease while cooking. No joke, someone in the apartment right above ours caused a grease fire in their kitchen. So everyone in the building evacuated, firemen were summoned, however these situations work. There was no fire damage as far as I know, it was a small flame that probably could've been handled by one person with a fire extinguisher. The extensive damage came from the sprinklers that went off in their apartment, which leaked to ours and flooded the kitchen and living room.
So because of the flood, they're having me and my roommates spend five nights at a nearby hotel at their expense while they do renovations. The bedrooms, bathrooms, and hallway was completely dry and un-damaged, and the power went back on last time I was there when getting more of my stuff, so I'm pretty sure it would've been cheaper and easier to simply have us go around the kitchen and living room while they work on it rather than spend thousands on having us stay in a hotel. But hey, this goes beyond my control and I pay nothing for it. For five nights I get an HDTV, free breakfast, and fast Wifi, so why complain when I can take advantage of this. I get to come back to my apartment whenever anyway, I just can't sleep or shower there.
Now this is where this frighteningly massive wall of text gets depressing. My childhood dog named Piper, who we've had since I was in the first grade, has symptoms that might or might not mean that she's nearing the end of her life. These symptoms include high white blood cell count and blood in her stomach. It could be an infection, but the doc thinks it's cancer. Frankly I'm not surprised, that dog is very old; she moved through two houses with us, lived with us during the 2002 Olympics that was happening downtown, she's had a very long life growing up with the family and being there when everything happened. I'd honestly prefer that she passes away knowing that she's a very good dog, one who deserves every bit of love she knows she very much is. I don't want her to not feel like herself and suffer from her discomfort having no clue how much she means to us for the 14 years she'd been in our family.
The thing is, I can't help but feel guilty. I was told to be her favorite person; I walked her the most, fed her the most, we share the same room and sometimes the same bed, and for her entire lifetime too. I heard that pets are very good for children because it helps them develop sympathy for others, and I think maybe, just maybe, Piper helped me become the person I am now, the one who wants to help others and doesn't want to see others get hurt. And yet the last time I saw piper was when I zipped her and our other dog Frodo up in the dog pack-and-play before my family and I was leaving to drop me off at college. I feel like there wan't enough closure and. Did I miss my chance to let her know how much I love her one last time? Having her die while missing me and not knowing how I think of her is something I'd always feel guilty about, and the worst part is there may be nothing I can do about it. I can't just drive 100 miles there out of the blue, I've always had bad luck with timing and I scared it will be another situation. We're taking it one day at a time and we have no clue when she might pass. I should probably plan on coming home and visit sooner rather than later.
But wait, since I'm not at Eurofurence, what is it about this hotel mentioned in the title? Well...let's just say you should be careful with how you handle grease while cooking. No joke, someone in the apartment right above ours caused a grease fire in their kitchen. So everyone in the building evacuated, firemen were summoned, however these situations work. There was no fire damage as far as I know, it was a small flame that probably could've been handled by one person with a fire extinguisher. The extensive damage came from the sprinklers that went off in their apartment, which leaked to ours and flooded the kitchen and living room.
So because of the flood, they're having me and my roommates spend five nights at a nearby hotel at their expense while they do renovations. The bedrooms, bathrooms, and hallway was completely dry and un-damaged, and the power went back on last time I was there when getting more of my stuff, so I'm pretty sure it would've been cheaper and easier to simply have us go around the kitchen and living room while they work on it rather than spend thousands on having us stay in a hotel. But hey, this goes beyond my control and I pay nothing for it. For five nights I get an HDTV, free breakfast, and fast Wifi, so why complain when I can take advantage of this. I get to come back to my apartment whenever anyway, I just can't sleep or shower there.
Now this is where this frighteningly massive wall of text gets depressing. My childhood dog named Piper, who we've had since I was in the first grade, has symptoms that might or might not mean that she's nearing the end of her life. These symptoms include high white blood cell count and blood in her stomach. It could be an infection, but the doc thinks it's cancer. Frankly I'm not surprised, that dog is very old; she moved through two houses with us, lived with us during the 2002 Olympics that was happening downtown, she's had a very long life growing up with the family and being there when everything happened. I'd honestly prefer that she passes away knowing that she's a very good dog, one who deserves every bit of love she knows she very much is. I don't want her to not feel like herself and suffer from her discomfort having no clue how much she means to us for the 14 years she'd been in our family.
The thing is, I can't help but feel guilty. I was told to be her favorite person; I walked her the most, fed her the most, we share the same room and sometimes the same bed, and for her entire lifetime too. I heard that pets are very good for children because it helps them develop sympathy for others, and I think maybe, just maybe, Piper helped me become the person I am now, the one who wants to help others and doesn't want to see others get hurt. And yet the last time I saw piper was when I zipped her and our other dog Frodo up in the dog pack-and-play before my family and I was leaving to drop me off at college. I feel like there wan't enough closure and. Did I miss my chance to let her know how much I love her one last time? Having her die while missing me and not knowing how I think of her is something I'd always feel guilty about, and the worst part is there may be nothing I can do about it. I can't just drive 100 miles there out of the blue, I've always had bad luck with timing and I scared it will be another situation. We're taking it one day at a time and we have no clue when she might pass. I should probably plan on coming home and visit sooner rather than later.
You'll totally make it to Eurofurence if that's your goal. I've contented myself with anthrocon because Europe is a bit expensive. But a lot of people go to Europe just for fun in their lifetime. So it's certainly not unfeasible, if planned as a part larger vacation where you spend a few weeks over there and go to the convention, it would be totally worth it.