my computer is fixed (or at least, it is back to the way it was behaving a month ago, rather than being on the verge of death). i went to compusa at lunch & bought a new heatsink, then barry put it in once i got home. everything seems to be running smoothly and, more importantly, quietly. so i'm all set, at least until i try to upgrade more parts (my burner has been flaky since i installed xp, for example, refusing to work with any program but windows itself, & i think i might need to buy a new one to get full functionality).

i also just got back from walgreens, where we picked up leland's prescription heart medicine (diltiazem). poor baby has to take 1/2 pill everyday, and he's a very finicky eater so i don't think i can trick him by sneaking it into his food. (i just tried to give him some moist food with his pill in it, & i don't think he ate a bite. he got up & ran over as soon as i opened the can, but once i put the bowl down he didn't eat any. he doesn't seem to eat much of anything but dry cat food.) barry has volunteered to be the one who has to force leland to take his medicine each day... and i'll probably let barry do it because i'm a big wuss about things like that. the idea of holding his head, forcing his mouth open, and then forcing him to swallow something just seems to mean, even if it is for his own good. i just wish there were a more pleasant way, without having to go through some online specialty pharmacy (even with a good-tasting suspension, we'd still likely have to force his mouth open to dose him).

but the sites i looked through about diltiazem at work (sorry, no links) sounded promising, saying that it can prevent or reverse hardening of his heart cells, as well as increase blood flow & make the heart's job easier. so i'm really happy to give it to him; i just wish there were a way to do it that wasn't so violent.