Madame deVenoge

Cats and dogs - both are our buddies, and this thread can contain both Mr. Spice E Wiceums turned 11 this June. He is still himself - supervises me relentlessly from his perch on the printer, has "coffee" every morning with me, and loves wet food. We are going to see if the gallstone has grown, again, and what the pancreatic values are like. That will inform the surgical decision.

I just had a consultation with a board-certified veterinary surgeon and board-certified veterinary anesthesiologist, today. They are coordinating with my veterinary internist. Can we say...money, flying away? Mr. Spice E. Wiceums is a cat with complex medical issues: 1. Feline hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and potentially might be getting to congestive heart failure (his last echo wasn't great). Beta blocker twice a day; 2. Hyperthyroid, well controlled with methimazole; 3. Inflammatory bowel disease, well controlled with Budesonide (also gets a B-12 supplement injection once a week); 4. Chronic kidney disease (not significant, he is well-hydrated, drinks a half cup of warm water out of a coffee mug every morning when we have our "morning coffee"); 4. Chronic pancreatitis; and a 5. A 3 cm gallstone. The gallstone is likely contributing to the chronic pancreatitis. It's a f----ing HUGE gallstone, for a cat, and cats rarely get gallstones (the average gallstone if present, is less than 1 cm in cats, and this one grew over 4 months, per ultrasound measurements). The consult, today, was to discuss the surgical removal of said gallstone, and if it was even a possibility, given the heart condition. The anesthesiologist gave an opinion in a worst case, Spice would have a 30% chance of dying on the table, with a 60% chance of dying on the table if the gallstone became actively obstructive and Spice became jaundiced and symtomatic. Apparently, humans and dogs get gallstones, cats really don't; hence, the literature is pretty thin, and most mortality rates are probably given by the truly emergency surgery (but probably uncomplicated by the other conditions listed above). It's $2k each time he gets the echo, ultrasound, and bloodwork (including the fPLI panel sent off to Texas A&M lab), 4 months apart, and I have no idea how much they will want for surgery. Next set of echo/ultrasound/bloodwork is Monday, and we will be more informed on a surgical decision, then. They won't do the surgery if he has progressed to heart failure, then we will have a different set of decisions, but QoL is still currently excellent (come on, how many of your cats enjoy "morning coffee"?).

Currently reading The Silent Patient.

That was, indeed, a pretty sunrise.

Continuing here, since we shall soon be locked at 21 pages. I imagine that @hauberk is keeping on keeping on. @Toth has a young lady from Montreal who may or may not enjoy some weird spicy black licorice (it's a northern Germany and Scandinavian thing, yo. I'm familiar with it). @Tywin et al. seems to have disappeared into the ether. @La Grande Mademoiselle and Catnip are A Thing. @JGP is giving no info (but must soon give up the goods or we will look askance at him, henceforth). And yours truly has Psychiatrist as the hot item. Hence, the reference to the song title. As we all know, dating / relationships and 80s ballads are intertwined. Continue, my daters....

Well, yessss, lol. I did some ETAs to clarify. I left OG on good and pleasant, but also final, terms, and am deffffinitely continuing with Psychiatrist. And ETA here - started a new thread.

Ok! Two second dates, two outcomes: 1. OG. We went to a waterfall / nature walk. I had a pleasant time. He asked me where I saw any "us" and I said, "well, after having talked and gone out twice, I think I would probably annoy you. You'd want to go to Italy for a month, and I'd say, "sorry, I've got a major project due," and he said that was fair. (It's also very true). He thanked me for being candid. On that topic, OG then waxed philosophical about how so many women in their 50s and 60s and now-single are former stay-at-home mothers turned real estate agent and basically can't pay their bills. It's like, "Well, what do you want, buddy? Someone financially dependent who CAN go where you go at the drop of a hat, or someone financially independent who is tied to the office?" He seemed to want someone financially independent but not tethered to the office, preferably with the body of a supermodel. Gooooood luck with that. ETA - We parted ways, pleasantly, and I must say I breathed a sigh of relief. 2. Psychiatrist - things continue to go well. Second date was very nice, and ended back up at my place, but not with any major action (I am nottttt going to just fall into bed). He said he likes kissing me We started a TV series together ("Slow Horses," on Apple +) though obviously, when "Foundation" Season 3 comes out, we are all about that. We are going to the Botanical Garden on Thursday. He's also a sci-fi / fantasy fan, and "which DragonLance trilogy was your favorite?" was part of our second date discussion, lol!!! And "Forgotton Realms, back in the day, too, am I right?" ETA - Psychiatrist and I are sharing book recomendations, and also, he isn't boastful, nor does he seem to have gone into medicine for the money. His undergrad was at an Ivy League university, but he doesn't talk about it, and he went to medical school at a Big 10 university. He has worked with underserved patient populations for much of his career. VASTLY different from The Doctor, who was all about "I made $3k today because I did nine physicals and didn't see any Medicare patients". ETA2 - I think Psychiatrist is a complete win, and I would like to just take him to NYC. Or Rome. Or something. Travel tells all...

Greetings, all! I had a fabulous first date with Psychiatrist, and we are proceeding to the second date. That will be tonight

I am so happy for you, Theda!!! This is awesome!!! I'm hoping the very best for all of us. You've got the right attitude, for sure!

I would personally go to The Frick (just re-opened after a $220 million renovation) and The Morgan. The Frick was the home of Henry Clay Frick, a truly horrid person, but a great art collector. The renovation has been the subject of gushing reviews in the New York Times and Washington Post. The Morgan was the home of J.P. Morgan. Banker and book collector. Three out of the world's five remaining Gutenburg Bibles are at The Morgan.

I agree. No one that anxious or sensitive could be "creepy".

Aha. I knew something seemed "off" about him I am reall, really looking forward to meeting Psychiatrist and am having to repeat to myself that I can have zero expectations. He is soooo my "type". @La Grande Mademoiselle confirmed that he is, indeed, my type. If it goes well, though, I will cancel the Sunday hike with OG. OG is totally stalking my LinkedIn, and it's like, "dude, I can see that!"

Now that he's thinking $50 million + he has joined a cabal of individuals who drink the blood of innocents. Spocky, Tywin is neither young nor innocent

Well, this took a turn! But, yes, leave the bottle behind you!!! And congratulations!!!!!! *** Dr. Thoeretical Math was a hard no. Showed up sweaty to the coffee date as he walked from his apartment. I learned that we live in Euclidean space. Other than learning about math on a first date, which could have been fun, I just didn't like his vibe, and, in fact, later on that day had to block him, because he couldn't understand that "I didn't see a spark" means "No". Mr. OG is going to get one more date, maybe, and then it will be a no. I'm just not feeling it. We have Psychiatrist on Thursday and Opera Tenor later on....

If you were in the U.S., in a corporate security role, you'd probably be fired, unless your title was "shift supervisor". *** That Chief Accounting Officer role went to someone internally. I got confirmation from someone else that I know, so it wasn't the recruiter blowing smoke at me, or the company blowing smoke at the recruiter. I offered to be a highly paid consultant, when they need one, because even though I am *sure* that this person can do A/P. A/R, General Ledger, oversee tax, etc...they have never been through an IPO before. Never set up a stock plan. Never had to deal with a transfer agent. Never had a share pool issue. Never done an S-1. SO - had a second interview today with Company B. Company B is s spin-off. I flubbed a question as to the exact date of their financial statement revision. But I would not expect a financial statement revision to be disclosed in Q1 since it was in the 10-K. You are supposed to read the 10-Q along with the most recent 10-K, so it should not have been a restated footnote, in my defense. (I also didn't point out that half the header was off-center in the Notes section, as the name of the company was flush left and the caption was centered.) And I referenced the date of the offer letter to the CFO as their start date, and got corrected. But, we shall see.

That's a really good question. One to which I do not have an answer. My connections are all more on the "once you have that funding in place" sort of thing.

That's really weird, because I bought the Nook version from the B&N site. https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-venetian-heretic-christian-cameron/1146581449?ean=9781398716124 On the otehr hand, I have been unable to find Artifact: Space in English in any form. Pre-order only.

I read both of those, and had the same experience that you did. I'm currently starting in on something totally different, the Empire of Silence series. It's got a lot of similarities to "Dune" and also a good bit of a feeling of Pat Rothfuss is present, IMO, but I think it's a bit overblown to say that the author is ripping off from either "Dune" or "Name of the Wind". Robert Jordan was also accused of ripping off the Aes Sedai from "Dune," where I read the Aes Sedai as more of a nod or homage.

Hey, JVJ! So happy to see you on the Board, here!! I know that some of us from the forum, here, were present at your AMA on Reddit, not too long ago. Did you feel that the AMA went well? Also, what are you reading right now?

Well, I don't know agribusiness, so you have me at the advantage.

I am so happy for you!!!!

If you decide to take it public on the NYSE, you know who to call (La Grande Mlle can hook you up with the transaction services group of one of the best law firms in the world). And there's also yours truly I live for IPO Number 5. My relationships with the best self-filing service on the planet (Workiva) and the best transfer agents (Broadridge is truly the best, but I also know people at Continental) span decades. I also have relationships with the capital markets teams of most of the Big 4 accounting firms, as well as investment banker relationships, and audit and tax relationships with all the Big 4 and also the next tier. I promise not to have a nervous breakdown as long as you follow U.S. GAAP and the U.S. securities laws. And don't make me work on a trading floor.

I remember him on his birthday, 12/12. I don't like remembering when he died. I remember him when I go to the ballet. And the opera. And he should have stuck around, damn it. If any of you are in the mood to remember a truly great man, pour yourself a glass of really good single malt scotch, and listen to Tristan und Isolde (Wagner opera).

The percolation has been accomplished! We have: 1. One older gentleman (therefore, Mr. OG) who is a personal introduction from a friend of mine. He seems sweet, but he signs his texts with his name, every time, which reminds me of my parents and might end up really bothering me. Also, he sent a (*dies*) gym selfie, though at least it was not shirtless. I am keeping a mostly open mind, here. He's going to call me tomorrow afternoon. I'm struggling to keep an open mind. 2. A 35-year old PhD in theoretical mathematics who seems overly attached already. We have had ONE FaceTime call, and he is already texting me "good morning". However, it's cute. We are meeting up for coffee tomorrow at 10 am. 3. Whittling down the Match profiles...I haven't rejected the 40-year old former opera tenor, but he lives 400 miles away. ETA - Ok, I definitely haven't rejected him. He's cuuuute. I am going to visit him the weekend of 7/12. 4. The Psychiatrist. OMG, The Psychiatrist is Just My Type. Ack. Sooooo my type. We are going out on Thursday.

Congrats, Spockydog, Titan of Industry!!!!!!!!