Fall-ing

It's so nice the weather has cooled off. I love going outside this time of year, (well anytime of year, really) but my staff person is a little perturbed at me because I keep hearing interesting things on the other side of the fence and make apparently the wrong decision to check them out. Not only that, I've discovered the neighbors garage door doesn't shut all the way, so I've been investigating all the different things in there. Take this morning - staff person let me out, and although usually she comes outside and sits while I patrol the yard, this morning was a bit damp and chilly for her. She stood inside the screen door, but then that black thing made that ringy noise (you know - the one she picks up part of it and talks into all the time) and she went off to see what it wanted. I heard her talking to it and just at that moment was overcome by this need to get on the other side of the fence. Staff person came back out looking for me a few minutes later, but I guess she's on to me. She came out the gate and went immediately to the neighbor's garage, like o-n-e second before I was going to slip in and check things out again. She yelled at me, kinda loudly too, so I decided maybe it really wasn't worth checking their garage out. I scooted back over to the gate and came back in the yard. I guess I blew it though, she snatched me up and brought me back in the house saying, "Back inside for you, Missy." Sigh. Now she won't let me back out. Yep. I blew it.

For the few brief minutes I was outside (gahhh!) it smelled like rain. Staff person says we need it, but I don't like it when it rains. Guess that means I'll be doing a lot of napping today. Oh, speaking of, staff person took this picture of me last week. She had just gotten some clothes out of the thing that makes wet stuff dry, and put them on her bed. She disappeared for a second, and well, heck, they looked like a good place to me! I jumped up and decided to take a nap on those warm clothes that smelled really good. Of course, as soon as she came back she took this picture and then booted me off the bed. Aren't you supposed to SLEEP on a bed? That's all I was trying to do. She's so picky sometimes...sheesh.

Nuttin' Honey

So, all those great leads and interviews and nothing's happened. I'm still in touch with the one person who almost offered me a job, and I think at some point it may turn into something; meanwhile I could really use a positive response from someone/anyone.

Anyway, it's Friday, so enough of that.

I'm thinking more and more of ways to try and get our book published. Some folks know of the book a friend and I wrote; some of you have even had a chance to read parts of it. (Sorry Marian - it's coming, I promise!) I've had positive feedback and then some negative feedback as well, so we're reassessing things. My nephew thinks we should try and publish it online - he says it's good. Someone else thinks we need to turn it into a 30 minute tv show. Everyone agrees it's funny - it just needs editing. I'd just like to have someone I don't know at all (oh, you know, like an editor...) edit it and then we could maybe publish it as a book and see where it goes from there. (J.K. Rowling - we want to be just like her!) I think it's pretty funny - it makes me laugh out loud when I go back and read it. I'm sure all writers think their stuff is the great American novel, but I do think it's good. My cousin says it's hard to be creative and easy to be a critic. (I don't take criticism very well, apparently.) My co-author and I think a lot alike except she's a little more a charter member of the grammar police than I am. I just read about 50 pages of an unbelievably bad book and tossed it in the trash. I can't believe it even got published - and our stuff is so much better! And the thing is, we have so much more to write, we're writing new sections for the next book - we can't even seem get the first one edited and have almost a hundred pages written on the next one. Go figure.

Patooie!

So, I guess you read how my staff person didn't give me any food after midnight one night, or water, and then next morning cruelly tossed me into that @^#$ carrier and carted me off to the vet? I gave her my most piteous cries on the way there, but she just gripped the steering wheel real hard and kept driving. Once there, instead of going in the little exam room with me, she...she.... abandoned me! Someone took me back where they keep the riff-raff of petdom and took me out of the carrier and put me in a CAGE! I was so shocked I didn't even think to fight back! After a couple of hours they caught me unawares and stuck me with something and then I got reallllllly sleepy and decided to take a nap.

When I woke up I had a bandage on my leg, and discovered they'd even shaved some of my fur off underneath the bandage! And my teeth hurt. I don't know what's up with that, but they did feel funny-like - kinda sore, ya know? I was still in the cage and feeling groggy, but nothing like the last time I was here. After another couple of hours (and, okay, a couple more naps), they took me out of the cage and opened the door to my carrier. I ran in there lickity-split and the door shut and I finally felt safe. A few minutes later I was picked up and carried through a door back out to the front and I heard MOM! Er, I mean, my STAFF PERSON! I could just barely see her through the air holes, but was sure glad to see her, 'cos I sorta knew that meant I was going home. The vet came out and talked with her a while - telling her he only used a half dose of something and that I did just fine. He also said I probably wouldn't want anything to eat that night. Was he nutz? I hadn't eaten in 16 hours - I was starving! I meowed at her to 'get me the heck outta here', and finally we left.

At home when she let me out of the carrier, I went straight for the food bowl; now filled with food. My mouth felt a little funny, but I was too hungry to care and chowed down about half the bowl. Won't want to eat! HA! Then it was time for a nap. I stayed a little miffed at her for a couple of days, but then relented. She does love me; I'm pretty sure of that. And for a staff person, she's not all that bad. If I could just get her to NOT take me to see that vet guy I'd be a happy kitty.

Vet update

Jypsy did fine today. I think I've raised such a ruckus they've now started giving her star treatment. When I went to pick her up today the vet came out himself to tell me how things went. He said apparently she's sensitive to the anesthesia (No! Really??), and he only gave her half of a normal dose for a cat her weight. It still knocked her flat out. When I brought her home she walked out of her carrier on all four legs, which was a lot different from the other two times when she crawled out, couldn't stand up and had to pull herself along with her front legs to get anywhere. She's currently asleep in her box-du-jour, so I'm guessing she was pretty stressed by the whole thing. Maybe almost as much as I was.

Now here's something funny - the vet said she probably wouldn't eat anything until tomorrow; she came out of the carrier and went straight to the food bowl and ate almost a whole bowl of food. Guess her teeth didn't hurt that much. ☺

Oh, and just fyi, I have another job interview tomorrow - things are definitely improving.

Of teeth and gums

Jypsy is currently at the vet getting her teeth cleaned. I'm very concerned - the two times she's had it done before she was overdosed for two different reasons. The first time they gave her an auxiliary drug meant to help calm pets down; Jypsy however was one of the few who had an allergic reaction to the drug. She survived. The second time someone wrote down her weight including the carrier, so the amount she was given was way too much. I thought I was going to lose her that time. That led to several long conversations with the vet, who I really like and does a good job with her, about these problems and he's very aware of my apprehension. According to her chart, it's now marked she does not get the auxiliary drug, and a different vet did the last one (and is no longer there). My vet requested I make darn sure he's the one on duty whenever I bring her in. I can hear folks now saying, "Well, don't get her teeth cleaned!" My answer is I had a dog years ago that I loved as much or more than Jypsy and the vet that took care of him never suggested teeth cleaning. In my dog's later years he lost teeth and had problems eating due to dental decay and bad gums. I don't want that to happen to Jypsy. So, I'm sitting here trying to keep myself occupied while she's at the vets where I dropped her off at 7am this morning. I reiterated, yet again, how I want extreme caution taken with my cat. I even suggested maybe they should give her even a little less than what they felt was the right amount for her weight. Still. I can't help but worry. I'm waiting on the phone call to let me know she's fine and I can pick her up. A watched phone never rings...

Ups...and then downs

I allowed myself to get just a wee bit excited last week...I made an appointment to visit the office of the man I met during the census over the phone who suddenly finds himself in need of a new employee, I had a phone interview with a lawyer looking for an assistant and discovered I REALLY wanted to work for her, and a friend sent me an email about another company that might be looking for someone. I started thinking to myself, "could this be it? could this be the start of something....employable???"

I'll start with the job I really wanted....working for the lawyer. It's a small company; only two lawyers and they deal in a very specific area - abuse of children. We spoke over the phone and it sounded like something I would be proud to be a part of. She freely admitted she and her partner were seesawing over whether their new assistant needed to have a legal background. I didn't hear anything from her so sent an email message I would be more than willing to take some legal courses to bring me up to speed with their operation. She responded she had hired someone temporarily because they were so swamped, but would get back to me. She thanked me for offering to take classes. I thought this might be a good opportunity for me to learn something new, and I knew I was already capable of taking care of their two person office. The silence however is pointing in another direction.

The note from a friend of mine was exciting too. Working for a major non-profit company would also rate high on my list of desirable jobs. I wrote back something to the effect of "Who do I contact????" I've heard nothing in return, so it could be he's just trying to find out info for me, but I'm thinking maybe not....

I had a very good second meeting with the fellow I met during the census - his company is well known, and I could be what he expects of all his employees...as long as I could get some training in a field I've never really worked in before. The software doesn't faze me - it looked very similar to programs I've worked in before. I know if I had training I could pick it up and be an excellent employee. I just have to wait until I get the word. I want to ask all my friends who follow this blog to keep your fingers crossed for me. I need to get back to work. March of 2008 would have been the optimum time, but I'll take October of 2010 just as readily.

Meanwhile, I continue to apply for jobs. I can't stop just because I've had one little nibble. I'll continue looking. Three job tidbits in a week though? Can't help but smile...just a little.

The Audacity!

I'm really miffed. See, I found this perfect hiding place underneath the deck thingy in the back yard. There's like tons of bushes and stuff around it and I had a little spot in there all hollowed out and I could sit (um...sleep) for hours. Apparently my staff person did not care for that - she's such a party pooper! She said it was because she never could be sure if I was really THERE, as opposed to somewhere over the fence. To see if she could spot me she had to get down on her hands and knees with a flashlight (it's really dark under there), and practically crawl through the green stuff to spot me. But...that's what made it such a perfect place!

Yesterday she left me inside and went out - I could hear all sorts of banging and clanging out there. Once she came in for something and she smelled suspiciously like rosemary, which pretty much completely surrounds the deck thingy. Sure enough, when she let me out after it cooled off, the entire area around the bottom of the deck thingy had been covered over with some sort of wooden slat looking stuff and underneath the steps, where I used to slip under, was screened off. I can't get in anymore! I'm mad about it too. Now I'm spending my time underneath the bed. Grumble. That'll teach her! But somehow it's just not the same...