#7: a Louis Riel birthday in which the cat came back

For the first time ever, James's birthday fell on Louis Riel Day--Manitoba's newest provincial statutory holiday, which corresponds to Alberta's, Saskatchewan's, and Ontario's Family Day. I was surprised that it's taken other provinces so long to climb on board: after all, Alberta has celebrated Family Day since 1990 (probably in imitation of the U.S.'s Presidents' Day, also known as Washington's Birthday). When a new stat was first proposed in Manitoba, the Winnipeg Free Press reported that some employers feared it would be costly to implement. I say it's about time that employers start giving back; it seems to me that it's been a decade and a half since the average employee was expected to do the work of only one person instead of two or three. And I would think the rate of absenteeism, and its converse, presenteeism, would be highest in February, one of the bleakest months of the year; a stat might counteract that nicely. Actually, I didn't realize until 2001, when I compiled a list of holidays for an hr/payroll project involving many unions across the country, that provinces may observe different stats. I think we should standardize across the country, because everyone deserves the equivalent of NL's Regatta Day (more on that here and here). Essentially, if the weather's right the first Wednesday in August, you head down to the lake. Kind of like "snow day" or "storm day" in reverse, but for adults.

Thanks to family & friends who called to wish James a happy birthday; and if you didn't, no worries, 'cause he was becoming a little overwhelmed with all the extra attention. He enjoyed a mellow day at home: slept in, went to the gym, worked on his computer, enjoyed another slice of that PC Mississippi Mud Pie cheesecake, napped, retrieved Darth from the vet, picked up supper at the local Shawarma place. He claimed it was the best birthday ever, so who am I to argue.

James checking his hockey pool scores, Darth taking in the Phoenix vs. LA match
on the big screen (not visible in photo), remotes close at paw.

Yes, our little Darthy is home again. For those who missed it, we first noticed Darth was ill on Thursday. All of Friday he stayed put in one spot in the basement. I thought he had improved by Saturday, since he was moving around the house, albeit more slowly than usual. However, by Sunday afternoon he had thrown up at least two more times, and he was evidently dehydrated and spaced out, so I took him to Ottawa Veterinary Hospital (OVH). The vet took x-rays, which showed there was something blocking his intestine, and put him on IV to rehydrate him. I had to leave him overnight, but I saw him before I left, hooked up to tubes taped to his right front paw. The IV seemed to have an instantaneous effect, since he was curiously examining his environment and paid no attention to me. OVH called at 6:15 a.m. and again at 11:00 a.m.; each time Darth's status had improved. The vet advised to check back at 3 or 4 p.m., by which time he was deemed good to go. So we picked him up, and he seems as good as new. Fortunately, he did not require surgery (which we were told could have run $1200-$1600!!). Even so, the amount we paid to nurse him back to health could have sponsored an underprivileged child for a whole year and then some.