Credit Card; "Torchwood"; How I'm Feeling; Pet Urine

At last the credit card I requested appeared in the mailbox on Saturday. As you will recall, it is a secured card, since that's the only kind I can get considering the bankruptcy. A secured card means you transfer a certain amount to a bank, and the credit card company in effect issues a card against those funds.

My main objective is to have a little flexibility and to avoid the outrageous overdraft charges on my regular checking account. I'm hoping this will work to my advantage, especially if I can pay off the complete credit card amount each month.

Apparently, if you're willing to go to the trouble, there are any number of ways you can obtain credit after bankruptcy. The major reason being, you can't get out of the debt by declaring bankruptcy again until the end of a seven-year period.

I've come across some shocking figures that indicate that most bankruptcies are from middle class people WITH insurance who are unable to pay off medical bills.

In my case, I paid off all the medical bills, at least $25,000 out of pocket, but then couldn't pay the credit card bills.

"Torchwood" is a BBC production whose main character, Captain Jack Harkness first appeared in season one of Doctor Who. Captain Jack is played by the gorgeous John Barrowman who is gay in real life, and whose character is bisexual. In fact, amazingly enough, all the main characters of "Torchwood" are bisexual. Certainly a first for any tv production.

John and his partner of 16 years, British architect, Scott Gill, participated on December 27 in a civil partnership ceremony in Cardiff Bay, Wales. The only photo available at this time is the one in the article from "The Daily Mail" of John, who was born in Glasgow, arriving in traditional Scottish garb for the ceremony. The ceremony was covered exclusively by the British publication "OK" magazine which will be out soon.

Back to "Torchwood". In a recent episode, Captain Jack returns to WWII England, and in the process meets the man whose name he assumed. And what follows is one of the most romantic gay moments in tv history. Within about 30 seconds, I was weeping. Below is a video of the scene via YouTube:

The Captain Jack of the past was killed the next day in a German attack.

I know we've visited this topic before, but I do feel considerably better than I did two weeks ago.The breathing is so much better. The headaches are not nearly as bad. The anxiety attacks have stopped, for the present, and I've not had to take an Alprazolam (generic xanax) for four days.

However, I still have to be careful how much I do at one time. This afternoon, I was dealing with washing, treating the rugs with pet-odor remover (akin to sprinkling them with something like baking soda), and then vacuuming the rugs. And after about 30 minutes, I could tell I was doing too much.

I've discovered that the culprit in these incidents is Tiger, Tiger. Why I don't know. Establishing territory is my best bet. I've been thinking of it being done behind my back, which does happen, but I've discovered he does it right in front of me, but he is so fast that I don't catch it.

The other day, I had just opened the drawer in the table in front of the couch. It could not have been open more than a few seconds. Tiger, Tiger jumps into the drawer and urinates. I was so stunned and astonished, I sat here with looking dim-witted. Fortunately, I had a paper towel at hand, so I was able to clean the problem up in a few minutes.

The worst problem has been the rug in front of the couch. Which at this point, I think is beyond re-use. For the second time, I've removed it to the car port. The floor was splotched with black stains.

I finally got around to checking the web for info. Urine is comprised of three major parts: urea, the sticky tacky part; urochrome,the pigment or color part; and the uric acid crystals and salts.

You can get rid of the first two, but the crystals simply become dormant. And when they become wet, the odor returns. You have to obtain a special product that will attack the crystals. Most over-the-counter products attack the first two components. But the odor sticks around until the crystals are gone.

Of course, the most pungent smell to an animal will be urine. Which helps the creature find home. Or mark territory. But nature didn't take into account house-bound pets and companions.

One solution for working with floors appeared at several places and is certainly something I never would have thought of. Cover the splotched area with a towel soaked in hydrogen peroxide. Not only does it work on the color, but it also removes some of the crystals.

So I covered the area in question for several days, and it works to a degree. The spots are not nearly as dark. I may need to come back and use it again. I'm also using some soaked towels on the back side of the rug on the car port.

PAX!