All in a year...

2010 seems to have been a whirlwind of a year. So many firsts, good-byes, changes, experiences, and adventures. Quick recap...

January - Turkey vacation (traveling with some great friends by plane, train, automobile, and walking).
February - Big decisions and hard choices (Job fair in Dubai-- accepting and turning down positions).
March - Leprechauns and the trip to Agjabedi, Azerbaijan (wowed).
April - Ultimate trip to Georgia-- fantastic! Welcoming new beginning for friends (Alex's debut). Then the sad ordeal with Pishik.
May - Track meet and visitors :), Lada Ladies take to the road, and International weddings, and the beginning of the many good-byes.
June - Camping trip with MIDDLE SCHOOLERS (what was I thinking?? :)). Final good-byes in Azerbaijan :(
July - NEW YORK, NEW YORK!! And... Olga visits the USA, reconnecting with friends in Nebraska, having an amazing experience in ALASKA, meeting my niece in VEGAS, and spending quality time with my family.
August - New beginnings in Abu Dhabi--- wow... what a change from the bai-jan.
September - Birthday in Dubai-- good times.
October- Dragon boat races, visitors, and concerts....
November- Camping in Oman-- SUPERB! 1st annual Thanksgiving dinner at my place!
December- More camping and Egypt trip!

AND now... 2011 has arrived--- and I am hoping it will be a promising year--more firsts, adventures, decisions, and accomplishments.

Invertebrates and Middle Schoolers

The middle school students just finished their unit on INVERTEBRATES-- what a great review for me!  So it was time to get out of the school setting, visit McDonald's, and head to the beach to find invertebrates.  What we ended up finding were a mix of invertebrate and middle school awkwardness...  middle school students are not coordinated and can't balance on anything....especially when they are close to water, they always chose the GREEN rocks to step on!  :-)

It was a good trip and experience for us all-- lots of laughing.  It was also a great place to get some more shots of Azerbaijan.  The President's house was on the other side of a wall, near our choice spot.  It was interesting to see the set-up-- two concrete walls about 10 feet apart, cameras all along the inner wall, and in the middle the military walked and watched.

We were also able to explore an old tourist type of place.... it looked as though people would ride the lift from the top of the hill to get to the beach, making me think that this place was once a booming and thriving beach.  It would have been nice to see it during it's functioning period-- because eventually nothing will be left and the areas story will be covered in more rubble and trash.

heartbreaking news...

Pishik had been at the vet since Tuesday afternoon, and the prognosis on Thursday was good.  I planned on getting her on Friday, but when I called they said that she wasn't so good again.  I was told to come in on Saturday (after she got her daily dose of medicine) and we would go from there.

The wheels in my head were turning... my plan was to get her, take her to another vet, and figure out once and for all what was going on.  However, when the nurse met me at the door, I knew something was wrong.

There was this feeling of disbelief as I listened to the nurse... and even after I insisted on seeing Pishik.  It was awful.  She was already gone.  Pishik had died sleeping in her box (with her comfort blanket), and without me around.   I wasn't able to say goodbye to her properly.

And now, I am left to wonder and think about how this could have happened...

In the first place, why did I need to get her spayed now, here?  Why didn't I take her to another place sooner?  What the hell went wrong?  She was an Azeri street cat-- they are supposed to be indestructible.  I must not have researched her symptoms enough... did I overlook something?  How did this happen?  How did I fail her?  Where did everything go wrong?  The "shouldas" and the unanswered questions are eating me up.  

Pishik was such a sweet little cat-- spirit, spunk, high-maintenance spurts, and that lovable nature made her truly unique.  I never thought I would be attached to an animal, especially a cat, like I was to her.  Heartbreaking.  Truly heartbreaking.

Pishik is missed, and will be missed forever.  She was--as my friends would say-- my little baby.