Update on GusGus

Yesterday morning I headed out to go see my little guy. As I was headed out the door, Rachel called me and said she had received a call from the surgeon and he said he was doing remarkably well and was even walking ALREADY! I got to the office and they set up a blanket on the floor for us and a few minutes later, in WALKS my baby (sideways, but he's walking)! I just started crying, especially after I saw the huge scar on his back with 22 staples! I brought his favorite toy with me and a bag a treats. We sat on the floor for about 2 hours, people kept coming in to check on us during the whole time and kept telling me how much they love him and how sweet he is! The surgeon came in and told me he was so excited about how well he was doing and that he may be able to go home with me instead of having to stay there until Wednesday. Although he is walking his left hind leg is still limp and dragging so it may still take 6-8 weeks for his to regain full use of that leg. A little while later the surgeons intern came in and told me that he could go home with me! I had planned on having my fiance with me for the drive home so I was a little nervous with it just being the two of us, and of course it sleeted the entire drive home from Brentwood! I took my jacket off and made a bed for him on the passenger seat, he did really well and slept most of the way home. Last night he did amazing, he ate almost a whole bowl of food and took all of his medicine. He's mostly just been sleeping the entire time. Right now he is on pain pills, antibiotic, and muscle relaxers so he is himself but his very high self ha-ha. He is only allowed to walk to go outside and use the potty and come right back in, other then that we have to support him when he walks; they mostly just want him to lay down and rest or be in his kennel if we are not home. He goes in 2 weeks, December 9th, to get his staples taken out and for his check-up. We still have a long road of recovery, but he is doing very well and I am so proud of him, he's SO strong!! =D

So glad my mommy is here!! 

our visit yesterday at the vet! 

The car ride home, just sleeping away

Getting used as a pillow... I do not mind though! =)

Today, one of my friends bought me a giant cupcake!! *Nom,Nom,Nom*

Just hanging out with mommy! =)

My GusGus <3

Last night around 9pm GusGus, my french bulldog, started acting "weird". He seemed like he was uncomfortable and his belly looked really full and it was hard to touch; so I figured he just had a belly ache and he'd get better. After about an hour of him still seeming uncomfortable, we have him some Pepto Bismol hoping it would help his belly and he could relax. He seemed to calm down a little with the Pepto so we went to bed, of course he was by my side in bed so I could make sure he was ok. Before we went to sleep he was worrying me cause he was breathing heavily, fast, and seemed short of breath. I woke up to him crying and whining around 3:30am and woke up my fiancé so we could both make sure he was ok. I called an emergency vet clinic in Murfreesboro and the lady who answered the phone didn't seem too bothered by his symptoms and said we could bring him if we wanted to. I called my Mom and woke her up to ask her opinion... She didn't seem too worried either and told us to wait until 6 to make a decision. I took him out to use the bathroom and he just sat there looking at me, when we came back inside he got in his crate & he wouldn't come out. I stayed up with him until about 7 and he seemed somewhat more comfortable in his crate so I moved his crate into the bedroom and went back to sleep for a little while, still in and out of sleep making sure he was still breathing. Rachel woke me up at 8:30 saying we had to take him to the vet, his back legs were limp and not moving, he wasn't walking or anything. We jumped in the car and went to the vet, they told us they thought he had a ruptured disc in his back and advised us to take him to a bigger facility in Brentwood. We get to Brentwood and they tell us that it is a ruptured disc and that we have two choices: 1) take him home, put him on morphene for 10-14 days and keep him on muscle relaxers and pain pills for 6-8 weeks and see if he gets better. BUT, if we do that, if he gets worse then we'll have to go ahead and so surgery anyways and at that point he may only have a 20% chance of fully recovering. Option 2) Put him in emergency surgery, he'll have a 90% chance of full recovery, and a 6-8 week recovery time frame. Of course this is a no brainer, we opt for option 2... This came with a price tag of $3500-$4000!!! Eeekkkkk! Thank God my parents helped us out being we had to put EIGHTY % down today! He went into surgery and we waited at the office while he was going through surgery. The surgeon met us with and told us surgery went smooth and he did really well! Thank God. He told us we couldn't see him for at least 5 hours so we decided to come home for the evening and let him rest. I will head back there first thing tomorrow morning to see him and make sure he's doing ok. He has to stay there for at least 3 nights and then be can come home. They say it will be 6-8 weeks before he starts walking on his own again. Today has been extremely emotional and hard for both me and Rachel (my fiancé) and our parents as well. I'm so proud of my little boy, he's so strong and I cannot wait to see him in the morning! I am so grateful for everyone in my life who helped me get through today and sent prayers and good thoughts GusGus' way. Still praying that my baby will have an easy recovery! <3 I love you GusGus <3

We called the vet office to check up on him and she sent us a picture of him after we hung up with her! I love her for that! So glad he is doing ok!!

My sweet baby <3

The Nature Of Reality.

After reading to paragraph 39, I said to myself... Wait, I don't know what I am reading. So I went back to the beginning and start reading again. I understood the beginning and how Plato is talking about the prisoners and not being able to move their heads and how all they see is shadows of one another and the objects that they are carrying. So, I continue to read, then I find myself again on or around paragraph 30 and thinking about if my dog is getting too hot laying in the sun by the door. So I try to read out loud, hoping then that my mind cannot wander. I find myself reading the same sentences over and over and slowing down as I am reading some because I am not understanding the words that were coming out of my mouth.

Although I am confused on what I just read, and read a few times... I did find paragraph 45 to be powerful (if I am understanding it correctly). It states: "Whereas, our argument shows that the power and capacity of learning exists in the soul already; and that just as the eye was unable to turn from darkness to light without the whole body, so too the instrument of knowledge can only by the movement of the whole soul be turned from the world of becoming into that of being, and learn by degrees to endure the sight of being, and of the brightest and best of being, or in other words, of the good." I interpret this paragraph as saying that learning cannot be taught, it is already built into each and every one of us. And if you want to make a change in yourself, you have to use your entire mind, body, and soul to do so. If your trying to change and you are not 100% committed to it, it will not happen.

Towards the end Plato was talking about having people who are accustomed to the light and then putting them into the prison (the darkness) and how they would appreciate the shadows for what they are, as well as appreciate them much more. The whole thing, I think, means that the prisoners believe that the shadows are reality and that the shadows are the real world. Although, I am still confused on what the whole thing means, but I do like how there are some interesting and powerful messages in 'The Allegory Of The Cave". 

Yes, it is a real product

Well... I decided to be funny about this assignment since one of my friends gave me the idea for it and I couldn't think of anything else to do it on! 

I posted a YouTube commercial on my product on Twitter: 
https://twitter.com/ashkayea

I'll also post the commercial on here so you guys can all watch it (please have an open mind and a sense of hummor when/if you do watch it) =)

This is a product that appeals to almost everyone, since it's something we all have to "worry" about. Since talking about bodily functions can be awkward most of Poo-Porri's advertisements are funny and have humor to them to make it lighter. They're short and to the point and definitely grab your attention (here are some examples):

Check out more info on this product on their website: pooporri.com

You're welcome.

half way there

I cannot believe that we are already half way through the semester, it does not feel like it has already been 9...10 weeks? I have really enjoyed my English 1020 class as time has progressed. The first day when we were told that we would be keeping a blog and posting to it I wasn't to wild about the idea; but I do have to say it has been one of the coolest parts about the class and I really do enjoy it. This class has taught me a lot, as well as it has brought back a lot of things to me. Since it has been 8 years since I took my English 1010 class I forgot a lot of things like, MLA formatting, how to do a works cited, correct writing formatting and even sometimes correct punctuation. Not only do I feel like I have become a stronger writer as far as essays but in short/on the spot writing (like writing this blog). I like the "freeness" of writing a blog because it is our voice and it does not have to be written in a certain way... I really do enjoy it. I do not feel like I am confused with anything that has to do with the class, I feel comfortable with assignments that we have. Like I said in my previous blog about our reading assignments and our next project, I was not too sure about our next assignment on advertisement but after reading I feel much better. And of course Ms. Hanson is really awesome about answering any questions we have via e-mail which is a huge benefit and a huge help! So far, so good! I am looking forward to the second half of the semester and everything else that we will learn in English 1020!

Advertisment, EPL, and Presentations

After the reading assignment I feel better about going into this next paper/project. It helped me to better understand what needs to come out of it and what expectations should be met. One of the things that really stood out to me was the emotion that we feel when we see pictures of something. At one point in the reading it was talking about the emotions that people felt after seeing pictures of Pearl Harbor and how people felt the same emotions after seeing pictures from planes crashing into The World Trade Center on 9/11/2001. It's interesting to think about it that way and it's true that everything we look at sparks some kind of emotion. Even sometimes things we hear spark an emotion, for example music. Music can take us back to a point in our life whether it's our childhood sitting in the back of dad's mercury listening to The Beatles; or a point in your life when you were going through a breakup and had the same song on repeat. This reading also gave good tips on presenting in front of an audience. I.e. who you audience is, why they are there, the setting of where you are giving your presentation, body language, speaking clear and not too fast, not going into too much detail, etc. Although I am not a shy person I don't like to stand up and present in front of people, reading gave me some good tips on how I can be more comfortable and give a good presentation. All in all we did read a lot of information and I am ready to start the next paper/project! =)

Writing process.

I sat down to start writing my paper fully armed with pineapple juice, air heads, and music. Music usually help my writing process and my concentration. I am writing a proposal to the US government about FREE healthcare for all. My topic would be persuasive because I am trying to persuad others (meaning everyone in America) to make this proposal to the government. I have had writers block while writing and have inlisted the help of others, especially my mom. My mom and I have had plenty I conversations regarding my proposal and she's helped me shape my paper a lot. I just feel like wiring can be frustrating for me in general.... I can write well on Facebook, a blog, journal, etc. when there doesn't need to be a strong structure and I am just talkin to others. I am working on my paper and striving for an A!!! =)