The Queen of Tight Scheduling

That's what one of my friends called me when we were working on projects & trying to find mutually good times to meet. Today I lived up to that title. I got a text from Patrick yesterday, asking if I could transport a Wedge-tailed Shearwater (WTS) chick for the Hawai'i Wildlife Center (HWC) in the early afternoon. Since Thursday is my usual day to have the morning off to do banking, medical appointments (for both me & the cats), grocery shopping, etc., I checked whether it could work; the timing for the transport was perfect! So here's how my day went; the scheduled time is listed first, if there is an italicized time that is the time it actually happened if it was different than scheduled:
0645/0646 leave home
0700/0659 start Walk #1
0745 finish Walk #1
0800 return home for post workout snack
0815/0818 hang laundry (which was washed last night while I slept)
0845/0842 prep checks for deposit
0915/0914 leave home
0930/0928 start Walk #2
1015/1007 finish Walk #2  & go to credit union
1025/1022 arrive at credit union
1035/1030 leave credit union & go home
1040/1036 load Shiro in carrier & go to vet
1100/1050 arrive at vet for chemo appointment
1130/1120 leave vet
1140/1128 drop Shiro off at home, pick up HWC paperwork for bird transport, backpack for Maunalani, & snack for lunch
1150/1143 leave for Feather & Fur
1220/1214 arrive at F&F, pick-up WTS chick, text Patrick at HWC
1235/1226 leave F&F for State Ag Department
1305/1300 arrive at State Ag Inspection
1310/1305 leave Ag for Hawaiian Air Cargo
1320/1313 arrive at HAC (this is a critical cut-off time for loading live animals), text Patrick at HWC
1335/1330 leave HAC for Maunalani
1405/1400 arrive Maunalani
Why didn't I leave earlier to pick up the bird? Having them sit around on a noisy, cargo loading dock with lots of things moving around them is stressful and with a chick they need to eat more frequently so sitting too long without food is not a good thing. We try to get them there right around the cut-off time to minimize stress on the animal.


The morning walk went well; I made good time and finished as planned. Everything at home also went smoothly as I prepared for the rest of the day. The mid-morning walk also went well; I gave myself a little extra time to finish it but didn't need that time. On the way to the credit union I passed another one of the newly painted traffic control boxes and was able to take a photo as I waited for the light to change. I have passed 2 others but was not stopped so I couldn't take a photo.

Corner of Waialae & 10th.

Shiro loaded up in his carrier very easily; he had very little strength to fight to stay out of it. But I also have perfected my cat-loading technique over the years; I can even load Chibi easily! Shiro got his Leukeran (chlorambucil) chemo treatment plus a Vitamin B12 shot today. We now have a calendar for his chemo treatments, B12 shots, & prednisolone regimen. I will be giving him the weekly B12 shots that are not on the week he gets chemo at the Cat Clinic; they will give him the B12 shot when he gets the chemo.

Lunch on days like today is very much like what I used to eat when I needed to take Mom (or Dad) to the emergency room. I always had a couple packets of Trader Joe's Simply Almonds, Cashews, & Chocolate in my backpack and I would grab a 1 pint container of coconut water to go along with it. Today I had plain water along with the nut & chocolate packet.

Yes, I ate it in the car; its 4 mouthfuls that I load up on at stop lights.

The afternoon walk was mainly uneventful, except that I scared a Kolea into flight as I got to the field. As I was coming around the other side of the field I saw the other Kolea; I got within about 20 feet from it before I saw it  staying very still; fortunately I was able to change course immediately without scaring it off.

Dad picked at his dinner but managed to eat 1/4 of his half an egg salad sandwich. He also ate about 1/2 of the piece of chocolate cake for dessert. And of course, he drank the supplements.

Hurricane Walaka is now about 880 miles northwest of us and has been weakened by cooler water temperatures. Maximum sustained winds have dropped down to 75 mph, which is just barely a Category 1 hurricane. Hurricane Walaka is expected to continue weakening & become a post tropical low by Saturday.


Happy Birthday to Cathy, Ilsa, & Ananda! Happy 9th Anniversary to Kari & Brad!