My Non-Existent Blog

Yeah yeah yeah.  I know.  I suck.  If someone could create another eight hours in a day for me or better yet, a pill that enabled me to only need one hour's sleep a night, I'd get a lot more done.  

Work has been rough lately.  Really rough.  It is not uncommon to walk around a corner to see another employee in tears or to hear two employees who are really good friends, exchanging angry words.  Fuses are short and emotions are running high.  We are all there because of our love for animals and we are in the heat of kitten season and it sucks.  

Kitten season means that cats are out there producing at alarming rates because people are irresponsible and don't have their cats spayed or neutered and then they let them outside.  Those with male cats probably figure that their tomcat is not going to bring home any kittens and that would be correct but someone is finding them and bringing them to our door.  Little balls of sweet fluff who are unwanted in the world and who were brought into the world due to human irresponsibility.  It sickens me.  

The shelter is completely FULL right now which essentially means that anything that comes in right now is given a death sentence.  71 animals were put down in one day this week, simply because we are out of room and I would bet that the majority of that number were feline.  Each afternoon on break, I go back to the feline holding room, find a little kitten that fits in the palm of my hand and take it back to my desk to love on for 15 minutes and when I take it back to the cage I have no idea if I will see it tomorrow.  This is the reality of shelters  during kitten season.

Is this post doom and gloom?  Yeah, probably, but it is a hard time for us right now.  

Yet there are happy moments too.  Yesterday, The Genius was out walking the dog before I left for work and he called me from his cell phone, announcing he had found a "puppy" and no one was around.  I drove a few blocks over to meet him and the "puppy" was actually an elderly chihuahua.  I put the little girl in the back of my car where she sat politely for the ride into work.  Checking her out once we arrived, we found her nails had been recently trimmed and she smelled as if she had been recently bathed, but she was off the streets and not in any danger of being hit by a car or worse.

By that afternoon a crying elderly lady was at the shelter, so grateful that her beloved companion had been found and rescued.  The dog, who was actually 16 years old with a heart condition, had apparently slipped out when her husband had left for work, but now she was back safe and sound with her human mama.

These are the good stories and the reason I love my job.  I know we are working for the greater good, but at times it is so painful.  We see the stupidity of people firsthand; their lack of caring and their inability to comprehend that their decisions dictate a horrible fate to a lesser but in my opinion, far more superior species.  

We do the best we can.  If only the general public would strive to do better then maybe one day kitten season could cease to exist.

Oh and Strat, I dunno.  I have thought about writing THAT book before but am afraid they will find out and sue me for some reason...or stone me. 

Okay, Okay

So forty hour a week job, church activity, husband on the road at least every other week, two kids, house, five pissed off cats and one new dog who nips when he gets wound up and ya'll wonder where I've been?  Can't imagine.

Things are going pretty well with Rhys though a few bad habits are being uncovered.  He does get wound up and mouthy, as they call it, and I am trying to break it.  Asking around to people who have been there and am hoping to get with my big bosses wife to ask her.  Pat Miller has written a few books on dog training, five I believe, and has traveled to places such as Australia to teach dog training.  She also has a business and website called Peaceable Paws, so check her out.  Anyway, she is teaching a class at work this week so I am hoping to tag her as well for advice on Cutie McNippy.  Rhys is a great dog 95% of the time but there is a lot of puppy still in him.  According to my Executive Director, about 3 or 4 years of it.

At work, Rhys is an angel.  He plays with his toys and dozes and at lunch we take about a 40 minute walk.  He knows "Sit" and "Down" though at times will play a stubborn card and not want to do it, though I wait until he does, even if I have to push his rump down to achieve it.  The cats still hate him though a few of them are starting to stick up for themselves.  Micah spends most of the evening hiding though I believe he comes out during the day when Rhys is at work.  I feel guilty about this because they were my first babies but everyone keeps telling me if takes about a month for things between the cats and dog to calm down.  

We took him on Saturday to Central Dawgma and the Dawg Wash which is a car wash for your dog.  I plan to bathe him myself most of the time but it was fun outing for us and Rhys was very well behaved for the bath.

In non-dog news, The Genius has a girlfriend.  She is a year older than he is and so far I really like her.  I just have to be careful about the possibility of him sneaking off to see her.  Last night he told me she wanted him to meet her at 4:00.  I reminded him he had track practice and I know had that not come up, he would have ditched practice.  So we had the conversation about doing the right thing.  I am not sure I am ready for dating but the choice is not mine really.  Ugh.


Work is still good but I am so busy right now.  Our Spring mailers are coming in with a vengeance which is good, but I have about 100 letters to do at this point.  I am also getting things ready for a Volunteer Appreciation dinner on Wednesday and for a complete system conversion.  I went from looking for things to do a few weeks ago to now knowing how in the hell I am going to get it all done.

And I think I am coming down with another cold...which I really don't have time for.  I'll try to update more regularly but time gets away from me.  If someone would like to take my kids once or twice a week, I should be able to be more timely ;)

And I'm Oprah

I'll get to why I am Oprah in a minute.  

I have been battling the creeping crud again.  That thing that disguises itself as a head cold until three days later when all your....stuff...is green, indicating infection and me with no sick time till July 1st.  Not that I would call in sick, but seeing a doctor would be nice.  I do, however, have some leftover antibiotics from the sinus infection which I started popping today. I was pretty low key all weekend, just trying to kick this thing; only did some little things around the house and my church stuff on Sunday.  The crud is still hanging on.

Work is still good.  Caught up on all the backlog by last Wednesday.  Today I was actually bored as my boss and our new Events Coordinator went off site to a meeting.  In the absence, I finished what I was doing and then looking around for more work.  I found T, who I LOVE...what a doll...and she asked if I could put away supplies that had just been delivered to the supply closet.  I wound up cleaning out the supply closet, at least 90% of it.  It was in desperate need.

Another interesting story, at least to me.  Last week we had a staff meeting and they made us new kids get up there and introduce ourselves and then opened the floor for anyone to ask us anything, which was rather interesting.  One of the things that came up during my Q&A was that I sing with the praise band at my church.  After the meeting Nice Girl approaches me.  I call her this as she was one of the first people to talk to me and has always been very sweet.  We ended up talking about church and how she was very hurt by her last church (hmmm..sound familar?) and that she had not been in a church for about two years since that.  I told her that I had a similar experience but that I went and found a new church that I have been not only thrilled with, but spiritually uplifted by.  At the end of our conversation, she hugged me and said "I'm so glad you're here!"
Today, NG (Nice Girl) came in and rushed over to me and said "I went to a new church yesterday!  It was like coming home! I had missed going so much!"  She went on to tell me how two people she had not seen in a long time were members there (she did not know this when she walked in the church doors Sunday) and how they were able to reconnect.  Loved seeing her JOY!  Loved seeing how God is already using me in some ways that I am not aware of till they happen which just seals the deal on the fact that I am where I am supposed to be!

So, Oprah!  I have a new favorite thing.  Check this out!  I can't stop watching it, but then I love birds!  And she has some babies under her!

I am so in love

I cannot begin to tell you all how much I love my job.  LOVE.  I am just still in awe about the whole amazing thing.  This is the first time in my 30ish years in the workforce that I feel completely and utterly at peace with a job.  I feel like I am where I belong; and it is where God led me to be.

I know I keep talking off and on about the church thing, but here's the thing.  Is it not completely amazing that what was probably one of the worst times in my life caused this amazing new opportunity where I not only feel fulfilled but I am working with people I share common interests with for common goals.  How funny is it that at a time when Christians elected to persecute me God decided to completely fulfill me in ways not even I could imagine.  Once I placed the whole situation in His hands, He delivered me from a place where I could not grow in Him.  I'm just so in awe of the whole thing and how it happened.  I look at the other jobs I interviewed for and I knew that though at the time I would have done almost anything to get out of my current situation, those jobs would not have been right for me and I would not have been happy.  

Then God puts Strat in my path, who was keeping an eye out for jobs for me, who leads me to the Humane Society website, where I apply and hear nothing.  Now, skeptics would say "So why if God was in charge would you not hear anything the first time?"  The reason for me is simple. I needed to learn to forgive those who had hurt me.  I needed to learn to pray for them.  I could not leave there feeling as bitter as I did and still make a true, clean start.

So them God puts Strat's hubby in the path of K, my new boss, (I assume that is who walked into his shop) and though Strat's husband had only met me once, he spoke to K about someone he knew who had applied and had not heard anything.  That caused K to go back and look for my application, which she could not find, and so Strat let me know I needed to reapply, which I did.

Everything fell into place in the time frame it needed to happen, but I still have to smile and offer thanks every time I realize how at peace I am now.

Thursday 13: I'm Back!

You know, I hope this is not just the honeymoon period because I am loving this job!  The week has flown by in a flurry of being busy and getting to know a lot of really nice people.  Like the church, no one hovers over me to see what I am doing, which I love.  K will walk by every so often on her way to or from her office and ask if I am okay...then she will tell me how much she appreciates how much I am doing, that she is amazed by how much I have accomplished, and she thanks me...for doing my job. Thanking me, to me, is not a necessity.  I am being paid to provide a service to her, but can I tell you how good it feels to know your work means something to someone else?  Pastor extraordinaire never said thanks for anything and I never really realized it until now because being thanked is a new experience.

So I have tons of work to do still to get things caught up where donations are concerned.  I have written 100 plus letters this week and P, the big boss on the site, signs every single one of them by hand, often putting personal notes on them.  These are people dedicated to what they are doing for a greater good.

The only problem I am having is my back has been killing me!  Leaning forward, hovering over a computer screen all day and my mid-back is aching.  I switched chairs today but it didn't help. Would a pillow help?

Okay, Thursday 13!  You ready?

13 things I love about my new job

1. Nice people
2. hour lunches
3. Challenging work
4. fulfilling work!
5. I can listen to my ipod through speakers while I work.
6. Close parking places!
7. I don't have to use my own car to run errands or do things for my job.
8. Casual Fridays
9. I kind of like dressing up a little after not having had to do it since 2001.
10. Weekends off.
11. Prime full time hours
12. Daily dog doses
13. It is only a matter of time before I have a dog of my own.



Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun!

Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!

View More Thursday Thirteen Participants

Whew!

Wow!  My mind is all a-jumble after today!

  Of course, the first day the kids are getting themselves off to school and it freakin' snows and they have a delay! But it all seemed to go really well.  I woke up at the butt crack of early at around 5:00 and could not go back to sleep, so I hit the shower early instead, which allowed me to do some cleaning up this morning and to take my time getting ready.

Got to the Humane Society and first filled out a ton of paperwork!  All the normal first day stuff, tax stuff and handbooks and policies, oh my!  After that, my new boss, K, gave me the grand tour as we reviewed how long animals had been on the floor.  See, Mondays are "Pet of the Week" day on our local television station, so we ask the customer service staff, if any animals need a special push to find homes.  We chose one adorable little black kitten and a Blue Tick Coon Hound to have their moments in the spotlight.  So, we finished the tour and then K went over donation data entry and letters that need to go out to the people that donate...and there are A LOT of donations and they are BEHIND as K has not had an Admin and was trying to do her own job and that of a Admin when time allowed.  

Before I knew it, the morning had flown by and we were grabbing a cat carrier and a leash to board our Pets of the Week into the van to head downtown to the television station.  The rather large pup was very excited and was quite the puller on the leash and was my responsibility.  But he could sit on command and hated the van ride.  We then led him through the station and I stood with him n the wings while K talked with the news people on camera about the kitty (whose name was Tippy and he is adorable!  Anyone want a cute, sweet kitty, check him out! Cannot think of the dog's name at the moment...brain overload!).  Once the kitty was returned to the carrier, K motioned to me and I go over and had the dog off to her.  Then when that segment is finished, his leash was back in my hand and we are on our way out of the station and back to the van.

Took my lunch break once we got back and they have a full kitchen.  Got to chat with some of my co-workers and everyone is highly friendly!  One other supervisor of another area told me that "No one bites here except for an occasional dog."  The rest of the day was spent organizing donations and data entry and before I knew it, 5:00 was here.  K told me I could bring in a radio (I am thinking ipod!) and picture and "it's your desk.  Do what you want to with it."

Let work exhausted and went to zumba which helped with the exhaustion.  So there you have day one in a nutshell!