Daily Archives: March 17, 2023

Worcester Polytechnic Institute (WPI)

Posted on by
2

Hey! I forgot to post the great news here! We had a snow day on Tuesday and Lex decided that would be the date to commit to his college of choice.

WPI has an excellent computer science program, which is his intended major, but they also have a great music program AND a close relationship with FIRST Robotics. Apparently Dean Kamen, founder of FIRST, attended WPI but dropped out in 1976 to work on his insulin pump invention.

My favorite drummer boy with his percussion buddies, accompanying the high school choir at last night’s concert.

I’m so happy that Lex wants to keep music in his life. He arranged a song (based on a popular video game) that the jazz band will perform at their next concert. He loves making music in Minecraft and recreating songs. He was writing his own song too, but I’m not sure where he stands on that. He really likes the combination of music and video games. WPI gives him plenty of opportunity for both of those, plus it’s near Boston, hosts FIRST competitions, and is a really nice campus with modern technology and amenities.

He got a really good financial aid package from him, but the balance is still staggering compared to what I paid for Syracuse University many years ago! I immediately have a better understanding of the student debt crisis! I think he will be able to manage it though, especially if he sticks with that computer science degree.

This has also been the next step for me in the letting go process. All of the emails go to him, so I’m gently reminding him to check his email and keep an eye out for important things like move in dates! I want to have ALL the information immediately, but now I’m (kind of) patiently waiting for information to come from them to him to me. Eeek!

A trip to the vet

Posted on by
Reply

Today I had to take Jasmine to the vet. She HATES her car carrier and wails like a baby (really!) the whole way there. In an effort to make her trip more comfortable, I bought one of those “cat bags” like you see in Instagram and Facebook ads. They say that cats are calmer and happier in them. So I figured I’d give it a try.

Jasmine exploded fur everywhere as we tried to get her into the bag, then promptly pulled her head in like a turtle. LOL. We had a good laugh.

She stayed in the bag, mad but quiet, while I sat on the couch holding her for a few minutes, but when we passed her around a few times so Eve and I could get our shoes on, then brought her out to the car, she found her voice again! Once in the car she also found her bladder and peed in the bag, which leaked right through onto Eve’s lap and my car seat! Eve put her on the floor, still in the bag, while she went to change. I went inside to get cleaning supplies and came back to find Jasmine with her two front paws out through the neck hole. I grabbed the old carrier and Eve and I managed to get her out of the bag and into the carrier, despite the fact that she was covered in pee! Ewww! We took her to the vet, listened to all the compliments (apparently she is very strong and muscular), held her down for a vaccination, paid a ridiculous amount of money for it all, then went home.

Jasmine promptly went to the end of the hall to clean herself off. Huxley was very interested, so she had to bat at him for awhile too. That’s probably why she’s so strong!

All is well in the end, but it was an eventful afternoon!