claudiaveja's blog

Who knows ?

2011-02-21T22:26:00.001-08:00

I was talking with my husband a few days ago that it would be nice to be able to share from our experience with others and that in fact is not quite possible. Was his idea I'm sure but I agree.

When we are very young we thing that we know it all. After a few more years we realize we were wrong but we think (again) that that's the point when we actually do know. And then we become adults and gradually we realize that in fact we know so very little and that maybe, just maybe we know a bit about the very few things we are really passionate about or a bit more about what we do for a living.

When we are mature enough to have some life experience to talk about, and some things to share we realize that the little that we know we can not even really share to others because one has to live it to understand it. How could they understand when we had to experience it so many times before until we almost got it?

Then I wonder why when we finally know "so much" that we might have a chance to finally do the things we know at their best we are soon (I guess) unable-ed by the fact that we are getting old and maybe (I'm not old yet so I'm not quite sure) we can try to share the little that we know with someone mature enough to know how to learn from others people mistakes. But probably that is not the usual case.

I have no idea what's the point then. I don't say I don't enjoy the ride but still. Why can't I be 17 or 19 and know all that I do now. Why? That would be awesome !

But the question "why do we live" still remains. I know how we are suppose to live and who I want to live. I was raised in a Christian home so I should know, but why do we live I forgot if I ever did knew.

And now the " Love the people around you as yourself " is kind of impossible with the Internet bringing huge numbers of strangers right on your face book page. Just kidding ;)

Movies I like

2011-01-23T11:31:00.000-08:00

The most influential movies that I've seen :

Man on Fire (2004)

The Pursuit of Happyness (2006)

La vita è bella (1997)

The Terminal (2004)

Precious (2009)

Schindler's List (1993)

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

American History X (1998)

The Point / Oblio (TV 1971)

Chéri (2009)

The all ages and most fun movies :

Ratatouille (2007)

Sweet November (2001)

WALL·E (2008)

The comedies I like :

Stranger Than Fiction (2006)

Office Space (1999

Small Time Crooks (2000)

The Parole Officer (2001)

Tropic Thunder (2008)

Curb Your Enthusiasm (TV Series)

Elf (2003)

Meet the Fockers (2004)

The 40 Year Old Virgin (2005)

The classics never old type:

Charles Chaplin

Pink Floyd The Wall (1982)

Amélie (2001)

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Pulp Fiction (1994)

How to Steal a Million (1966)

Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)

My Fair Lady (1964)

The Birds (1963)

The Saint (TV Series 1962–1969)

Psycho (1960)

Once Upon a Time in America (1984)

Mary Poppins (1964)

The Object of Beauty (1991)

The new movies but as good as the classics:

How to Lose Friends & Alienate People (2008)

Sherlock Holmes (2009)

Bridget Joness Diary (2001)

Big Lebowski (1998)

Mrs. Doubtfire (1993)

Meet Joe Black (1998)

Erin Brockovich (2000)

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Psycho (1998)

American Psycho (2000)

Rat Race (2001)

Senseless (1998)

Step Brothers (2008)

Two Can Play That Game (2001)

Never Been Kissed (1999)

Secretary (2002)

Forrest Gump (1994)

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)

Bicentennial Man (1999)

I, Robot (2004)

Gattaca (1997)

Good Will Hunting (1997)

The Thin Red Line (1998)

Seven Years in Tibet (1997)

Avatar (2009)

One Hour Photo (2002)

The Incredibles (2004)

Up (2009)

Just Like Heaven (2005)

Four Rooms (1995)

Thick as Thieves (2009)

The Beach (2000)

The Remains of the Day (1993)

The "smart" action type :

Fight Club (1999)

The Matrix (1999)

The Edge (1997)

Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003)

Salt (2010)

The Tourist (2010)

Gladiator (2000)

The romantic or drama type (but not too much)

It's Complicated (2009)

How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days (2003)

Notting Hill (1999)

Girl with a Pearl Earring (2003)

Proof of Life 2000

The Age of Innocence (1993)

Girl, Interrupted (1999)

Gia (TV 1998)

Sense and Sensibility 1995

Gone with the Wind (1939)

Scoop (2006)

How to Train Your Dragon (2010)

Hercules (1997)

The Iron Giant (1999)

Ice Age

Lilo & Stitch (2002)

Bartok the Magnificent (1999)

Anastasia (1997)

The Cars

Tangled (2010)

Cinderella (1950)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

The AristoCATS

The Jungle Book (1967)

Other movies I like

Failure to Launch (2006)

Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)

Love Actually (2003)

Wedding Crashers (2005)

The Family Stone (2005)

Zack and Miri Make a Porno (2008)

Instinct (1999)

The Hours (2002)

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Nine Months (1995)

Did You Hear About the Morgans? (2009)

MOVIES I HAVE TO SEE :

A Christmas Carol (2009)

Bee Movie (2007)

Envy (2004)

There's Something About Mary (1998)

Because I Said So (2007)

The Heartbreak Kid (2007)

White Chicks (2004)

Rumor Has It... (2005)

Systematic corticosteroid treatment can kill

2010-04-03T17:19:00.001-07:00

I would have never believed this could happen.
From a simple cold our little cat died by nocardia infection in pleura but what is most important to know is that he died because of the corticosteroids injections used by the doctor to stop the immune system to react and the symptoms to show up anymore but did nothing to treat the cold and find out how bad it was. After that is also important to know that any old infections that did not came out might do eventually show up if the immune system is shut down with corticosteroids like in this case.

Usually a (not so good) doctor who is to busy to care or dose not know what the problem is with your cat would find in the corticosteroids injections "the perfect solution" because the cat would show no symptoms no more so this would make you happy again that your cat is safe when in fact the reality could not be further from the truth (this can be done to humans as well by our doctors and also the nocardia infection can be transmitted to humans as well).

Last Update about Kikki (our cat) :
He was feeling fine after the second surgery but despite the nocardia treatment received Kikki died one week later in the operation room under anesthesia.

Most Nocardia infections are acquired by inhalation of the bacteria or through traumatic introduction and like I said you should really know that humans can be infected too and signs are not so obvious as we'd like. Nocardiosis was consider rare but is not and it's a serious disease. We've lost a special family member this way. Though my heart is broken I'm wiser than before. From the first signs go and do all the test to rule out the possible scenarios.

Cats and humans are very similar but cats can't talk so you would not see much signs.Most frequently occurs as an opportunistic infection in those with a weak immune system. Common symptoms include cough, dyspnea (shortness of breath), and fever. It is not uncommon for this infection to spread to the pleura or to chest wall. The cat would hide and depending on the body part where the infection would take place the sings would be according to that too but you probably would see also sings on the skin sooner or later * Skin rashes or lumps, * Skin sores (abscesses), * Swollen lymph nodes. Usually the infection would produces necrosis cells.
It is not uncommon for this infection to spread to the pleura or to chest wall. Kikki died by pulmonary nocardiosis infection to the pleura. Pre-existing pulmonary disease, especially pulmonary alveolar proteinosis, increases the risk of contracting a Nocardia pneumonia. Every organ can be affected if a systemic spread takes place. Do a lot of test to be sure do not take chances. Take care of you and your loved once.

Update :
He is feeling great after the surgery and great in general but still needs a lot of treatment and care. Today he had the second surgery but the risks were a lot less.
In a couple of days we will find out more from the antibiograma. After that we can fight directly against the enemy we find that caused all this.

The things will help you with your cat are in the lines below :

NOTHING WOULD MAKE ME HAPPIER THEN TO SEE HIM FINE AGAIN!

Made me promise, I'll try my best to make it happen!

Very much so like in my future posts on flickr with a friend who survived cancer, we never think this or that could ever happen to us or anyone close to us. So we do not do much or next to nothing to prevent any of it. I am so sorry I didn't know more. I didn't care enough.
For instance in our cat's case we thought, (him being so so strong, aggressive almost, pampered and spoiled) that a little cough is not going to take such a tragic turn. The little soul we had growing in our hearts is not felling good at all. Far from it. Our little cat Kikky (that you know from my pictures)

had an ordinary cold which was not actually treated like we thought for almost 3 months. He just got some steroids that made him feel better but did not take care of the cause obviously and now he is so sick that is unable to breath properly. He's eyes close in pain that I can hardly watch it. We had no idea that we should have done a lot more. The doctors here do not talk not even with humans about their exact medical problems or what treatment are available and stuff and when is a pet involved the info provided is minimum so we did not realize what is going on only after several visits. We went to the vet, he got that injection (steroids are great for breathing and bronchitis) and because that made him feel a lot better and he was fine for 1-2 weeks we thought is not a big deal. Then we would go back and only after the third visit we really started to asked for test so we could know what the problem was and also asked to stop the injections that (we thought) are not doing nothing. Well the injections are good for making the cat breath but along with a treatment and that we know only after looking for another clinic. The Coughing at that time got to the point that it could have been several thing especially asthma. So we had to know for sure.

The new vet doctors started with one treatment (amoxicillin) against the infection but we didn't find out about the liquid from the lungs (pleura) until recently and now we are at a second treatment (cephalosporin) and is not easy to know for sure what the problem is only from the test and X rays.

He might need a "puncturing / piercing" to take the liquid out form the lungs (pleura most likely). See in the image the black little area from the lungs it's the only part left for breathing. The rest of it is full of liquid. The other X ray shows even a smaller area (no more then 20% of the total) which is making all this so painful for the little cat that we now deeply care about. I watch him breath or listen and I can not take it sometimes when is not going well. The process is not actually going to better results so far. It went for a while then it stayed the same and now sometimes it's going back words.

Now my dear fiend Costel which happened to have a very similar situation made me realized what was missing form the treatment. The elements for each problem.

At first only the breathing was being tacking care off, then the infection and some of the breathing but not entirely and nothing for the liquid only occasionally. The treatment he's cat got was with all 4 elements. Bronchodilator, diuretic, antibiotic for infection and also something for the breathing, this steroid that actually is keep the cat alive and stable.

If not even with a complete (presumably) treatment there is no progress still (who knows how long we should wait to see), then the only thing that we got left is the operation that has 30% chances of death and 70% of success. I only though that is fair and logical first to try the treatment first before we take this risk. I don't know how we'd feel if he would be dead just like that. I would have really made a lot of a difference if we would have been told all that we know at the right time. Also if more info would be available somewhere on the internet. Well documented and with real cases like my fiend's situation.

I also wish we could know for sure what it's best for in a situation like this.
NOTHING WOULD MAKE US HAPPIER EXCEPT TO SEE HIM FINE AGAIN !
"Made me a promise" I try !

Btw.
At the post before this I made a note about the cat situation along with stuff about the photo session and the only rely I got concerning the cat was Mago Costel's post.. Then I erased the note thinking to make a full "report" (this one) about the situation and also "made me a promise" to create a category in my blog called "Things you should (have known) know " and maybe another which was on my mind for quite a few years now "The ugly truth". So you are invited to post relevant links & comments about things that would have been great to have known in advance and that would make a tremendous impact in the decision making department.

Let me give you a preview of what I might say : My daughter Stephie had polyp removal operation. If I would have known this crucial details like the fact that some doctors still operate without any anesthetic she would have never get on that doctor's hands.

Yes she is fine now but the trauma was totally unnecessary and sometimes knowing a "detail" like that can make the difference between life and death (see my next post on flickr). You are invited to post your stories here.

2009-12-15T14:41:00.001-08:00

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Oldies but Goodies

2009-11-23T15:15:00.003-08:00

Listen to good music ;)

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natural vs strobe light

2009-11-23T13:38:00.000-08:00

"You Post It, Facebook Owns It"

2009-10-14T10:21:00.000-07:00

Facebook claims rights over the photos & videos we upload on the site! Rights like worldwide license to use for instance.

"On February 4th, the largest social network by all accounts, Facebook, quietly updated it’s terms of service to grant itself an unending and irrevocable license to use all content ever uploaded to its service." Do You Know Where Your Facebook Photos are?

Facebook faces furor over content rights via www.cnn.com

Facebook Statement of Rights : "For content that is covered by intellectual property rights, like photos and videos ("IP content"), you specifically give us the following permission, subject to your privacy and application settings:
you grant us a non-exclusive, transferable, sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide license to use any content that you post on or in connection with Facebook ("IP License"). This IP License ends when you delete your IP content or your account unless your content has been shared with others, and they have not deleted it."

Statement of Rights and Responsibilities

on CNN site: Facebook faces furor over content rights

You Post It, Facebook Owns It

Terrible products of ZARA !

2009-10-08T08:14:00.000-07:00

Was a happy day for the fans when Zara opened a new store in our city mall.

I also jumped to buy ZARA's ~~brand~~ products. I decided for some fancy looking pairs of Zara's jeans and one leather high hills booties (or so I thought).
Both Zara's products were great looking but a nightmare to wear.

I liked the look of zara things mostly because they keep up with the fashion trends but that's pretty much what they are good at because quality is terrible.

ZARA's shoes problem.
When I got to wear the "leather" booties I discovered that only on the outside were in fact leather and on the inside there was no leather or not even another fabric like it should be but plastic, ordinary plastic. Not even polyester type or fabric but some ordinary plastic (bag like). They also have some plastic all over see here . I always look at this things but thinking that is a brand, this time I didn't. It is like a barrier against liquid if you can imagine !!! so no breathing what so ever. ZERO. After a 30 minute of wearing the shoes they have drops of "water" from the condense process that is normally happening. It's like you would breath on a window (which is obviously colder then the surroundings) and after a while bit by bit you have drops of "water".... That results in wet which is "so nice and comfortable" especially in cold weather. This is a brand to wear. NOT !

Then the jeans . Even thou they were again great looking and all of my fiends told me are something to keep, they were on the other hand very uncomfortable to wear. Why? Because they left the metal buttons inside the jeans uncovered and they touch the skin directly. This direct contact with the skin all over the places with no protection was making the inside of the buttons to pinch to the skin quite often. Isn't that peachie?

You think is just me experiencing this? Oh no. See this:

I like the look of zara clothing and love the price but unfortunately, the fit is usually shitty and the quality is terrible. they do a good job of adding a lot of details that a high-end garment would have but its just really poor quality

Beware, some of the are of poor quality , as Zara ones.

You can google some more words to find even more info. I just googled "poor quality Zara" and "terrible Zara shoes"

More stories like this hopefully soon. Stories about things like the ~~brand~~ tags that "HAVE TO BE " on our neck scratching so ~~"softly"~~ our skin so we can be sure we have a "great" brand to wear all day long LOL

removed picture

2009-08-21T14:12:00.000-07:00

Last week Flickr took down a photoshopped image of President Obama that makes him look like the Heath Ledger (Joker) character from The Dark Knight. The image was created and uploaded to Flickr by 20 year old college student Firas Alkhateeb while “bored over winter school break.” It was also later altered yet again by someone else and used to create anti-obama posters that went up in Los Angelessee all article here

facebook

2009-08-15T11:29:00.001-07:00

Photoshop editing or how not to get carried away

2009-08-15T11:27:00.000-07:00

The text that explains all the techniques in detail you can find on my site @ the tutorial page. Enjoy

drunk

2009-08-15T11:14:00.000-07:00