I had one case of shingles and it was enough to make me hope it never breaks out again.

The pain pills our vet prescribed for Kitkat were flavored or something because she ate them like treats. She cared not for the liquid meds I had to squirt in her tiny maw, though.

My comic book guy wants me to come work for him at the shop. GUYS: I COULD WORK AT A COMIC BOOK STORE. *breathes*

Ooh, Cash!

So good to read about your dad doing so well, Jilli!

Cousin squared is adorbs

I throw treats for the cats to chase. I wonder if I could trick 'em in to taking a pill that way. Once.

Is anyone paying attention to the ongoing police drama in Chicago? I listened to the Mayor's speech to the city council today. Rahm has had the cocky knocked off of him. You can hear the stress in his voice. Here's hoping he actually means the things he's saying and follows through.

Apparently shingles uses the same nerve paths set up by chicken pox. What's even freakier is that psoriasis uses those same nerve paths, so if you have chicken pox, you're susceptible to shingles. But there's a genetic component to psoriasis, so one's at risk for that only if one's predisposed.

Bodies are freaky.

I bet Burrell's link already covered this, but Chicken Pox and Shingles are the same, danged virus: Varicella. You catch the Chicken Pox version as a kid. Then, Varicella reignites as Shingles, when you're an adult.

And yes, it attacks your nerve endings. If you get on anti-viral meds very quickly, they can help, but that's a little hard to accomplish.

And also yes, if a Shingles rash breaks out near your eyes, get your tushy to a doctor.

Hi, my Buffistas. I hope you are well. I'm so sorry to hear about Ginger. What a love.

Is anyone paying attention to the ongoing police drama in Chicago?

Not as much as I'd like, but I've got a good excuse.

My sister's in-laws had to cancel a shopping trip to Chicago recently because of the protests along the Magnificent Mile. I wasn't very sympathetic to their plight. Like: 'oh noes, you can't shop. That's so terrible. So much more terrible than police killing black people. I don't know how you'll cope.'

Even worse? They'd already finished their Christmas shopping! SO THEY DIDN'T EVEN NEED TO SHOP. ARGH.

My sister's in-laws had to cancel a shopping trip to Chicago recently because of the protests along the Magnificent Mile.

They know the protest was only on the Mag Mile that one day, right?

Honestly, today it was much easier to navigate through and around the protest march when I was out getting lunch than it was to navigate the tourists when I was leaving at the end of the day.

There's a gaping hole where Ginger should be

This. It's morning here and I soon have to be out for a fun day off at a small yet lovely sci-fi con, but a large piece of me feels hollow. I think it sinks in, little by little. And I don't want it to sink in yet, because I don't want to believe it.

I am so sorry for everyone's loss.

I'm just so sad, y'all. I hate this.

Yeah. I feel like I am doing okay pretending I am not a hot mess, because I need to at work, but then I get home and stop pretending.

They know the protest was only on the Mag Mile that one day, right?

Yes, well. Elderly white grandparents who possibly are Republicans tend to clutch at their pearls.

Thanks for the cat-drugging ideas, guys! She still really likes to eat the pill pockets, just figured out she could eat around the pill, so I don't think it's another flavor of those, but cream cheese is an interesting idea! Apparently the thyroid meds are effective, in that her bloodwork looked better, but it hasn't changed her throwing up at all, so I'm not that pressed about giving it every day, really.