It's FRIDAY!!!

WOW! So this is what it feels like to know that when I leave here I have the whole weekend to NOT WORK!! TGIF I can now say that with feeling and hope and excitement! Lovin' it! This week has been hectic. I can't remember what I did Monday after work. Must have cleaned or something. Tuesday I met up with Owl and Potential Landlord. Turns out that there has been a bunch of miscommunication going on. He is moving out of his house this Monday and I am helping him clean up a bit and pack on Saturday. We worked out price and bills and everything and now things are much clearer and I think that this will be a good place for me in the coming months. We will be setting up electricity very soon and learning how to deal with gas/water/trash in a house (not apartment!) I have been watering my Jardin and it appears to be just sitting there. Give it a few weeks and hopefully the seeds will sprout. I need boxes!! Frank has been working trimming trees on the side so we have a little extra expendable income at the moment, which is nice because tomorrow is out anniversary :) only 5 months, but it feels like it has been much longer than that. We are going to a haunted house tonight and I plan on yoga Sunday with Yogi. I need to stop by a fabric store for a few odds and ends for my costume. I'm pulling out my faerie costume from a few years ago. I made a skirt all by myself and learned quite a bit about sewing. I also made some wings out of wire clothes hangers. Much better than the flimsy, lame, expensive ones you can get at party stores. Well it looks like we are cutting out 15 minutes early. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE LOVE LOVE FRIDAYS!!!?

Hoping, Wishing, Dreaming, Planning

I did end up working out one more time last week at Momma's gym and I did yoga again on Sunday morning. Disc golf again and we went to look at a house. Not to buy, but to rent. With the dogs I would love to have a backyard so we have been searching for a new place when our lease is up. My good friend Owl called me about two weeks ago, her friend had a house that he was trying to rent out. 3 bedrooms and 2 baths, two living areas and a huuuge backyard. We were planning on splitting rent and sharing the place. Frank and I got excited, so we did a drive by. I met the nice neighbor, an older gentleman by the name of John Smith. He showed us the backyard and gave us a history on the house, which was nice. The house itself was relaly cute, but the yard needed to be cleaned up quite a bit "Yeah, Potential Landlord isn't really the outdoorsy type." The grass hadn't been mowed in three years! Mr. Smith was the one to cut the grass back then.

Frank and I decide that we can deal with a little yard work ourselves, awesome! It sounded like a good little house with some awesome potential. However, Owl informed me today that Potential Landlord hadn't paid his mortgage in three months and owed the electric company $2,000. Frank and I are now looking at new places. There are two homes in particular that have grabbed my attention. One is halfway between my job and Frank's school. Three bedrooms, Two baths, big yard but no fence. A few block from the lake so that we can walk down and go fishing if we want. It's a little more expensive than the other house but not having to deal with the horrible landlord will be worth it. The biggest issue that I think we will have is that I have the two dogs and Owl has the two cats. Pet deposits for each of us will be enormous at this new house, if they even allow that many pets. I think Frank and I may have to end up just getting an apartment. No yard. No garden. Having lots of neighbors in close proximity. I'm just not sure that we will be able to find a place for all of us together. Owl pulled up a few places that are pet friendly, but most of them are less than 900 sq ft and having so many critters in the house will make that space super cramped. If we could find a third roommate to chip in on rent, then the houses with pet deposits will be easier to deal with but I have had bad experiences with roommates in the past, I'm actuallya little worried about rooming with Owl, she can be a handful. And so can I. I suppose only time will tell.

This weekend I did some pretty creative stuff! I planted herbs! I have a (bad) habit of holding on to things maybe I shouldn't. Like old speghetti sauce jars and butter tubs. I use the butter tubs as tupperware but the jars I have had no earthly idea what to do with. Until now! I painted them. I took five, I have a few more so I can do this again if I want! I painted them five different colors, sky blue, midnight blue, purple and red and pink. Then I painted yellow around the rims and wrote on them in contrasting colors. I planted Basil, Rosemary, Thyme, Chives, and Sage. In the Jars. I wish I could post pictures of them but I can't because I'm on my work computer. I may post pictures over on the facebook though. I watered them and I'm now (im)patiently waiting to see the first little bitty tiny green bits coming up out of the dirt! I'm really excited about my Jarden!

Time Flies

The weather has been amazing the last few days, if only it would stay like this a little longer. I know that it will either heat back up or drop another 15-20 degrees in the next few weeks so I'm trying to enjoy all this amazing weather. Saturday after I got off work Frank and I went out to dinner and recieved a phone call from his old friend Busch and Wife. They wanted to come over, so instead of going home and curling up on the couch with a movie as planned, they came over and brought their son, who is about four years old.

I look at Frank "The house is definitely not 4 year old proofed". He drops me off at home for a quick clean up and he runs to the store for a bottle of wine. When he gets back he asks if his friend Biker and his new girlfriend can come over too. I would like a buffer between me and Busch and Wife so I enthusiastically agree. I may go into why I don't care for Busch or Wife later on if they come up again. We turn the Xbox on and start up the fighting game as Busch and Wife knock. ADD Child wastes no time in throwing a hissy fit about being there. I suppose I don't blame him, it is 9pm and most 4 year olds I know are in bed by now. he stands in the corner for about 45 minutes.

Frank and I play a round of DOA5 and we pass the controller around, winner gets to keep playing. Just as I decide that I've had enough of these people, Biker and his girl are at the door. I introduce myself to her and we start chatting. She isn't into the game, and I get bored with it pretty quickly. ADD Child is now running around asking all of us if we have games on our phones. They didn't bring anything for him to do while we visited. So he kills the battery on three cell phones and looses interest halfway through four different matches on the video game. After two more (brief) visits to the corner I suggest coloring in a coloring book. Can't find my crayons, but if I color with him, markers should be fine. So we sit down to color a picture of a fish that he picks out. He decides on a very dark grey green marker and squiggles all over it for about 20 seconds before making a tiny mark on his hand. He begins wailing. Wife informs me that he isn't supposed to get messy. I try to explain to ADD Child that a small mark on his hand is ok, we can wash it off when we are finished and he just cries harder. So I cap the markers and take him to wash his hands, where I am informed that he doesn't need soap, and that by picking him up to reach, I am hurting him. I give up trying to help with him. He ends up in the corner a few more times before the evening is through. I sit back down to talk to Biker's girl. She asks about the dogs and I ask about her job.

OMG she teaches a yoga class.

She is a yogi!

Yogi also does massages. How cool is that? Biker, Frank, Busch, and Wife all go outside to smoke and I sit inside and talk to my new friend. They do paddle board yoga sometimes, I should join them! Actually, she has a class in the morning at 9:45, I should come! Frank and Biker come back in and ask if they can go play disc golf in the morning. Looks like Sunday is going to be a great day.

After an intense yoga session with Yogi, we meet the boys at the disc golf range. JK, who I have known for about two years happens to be there, funny running into someone like that! So we all play together, Yogi tells me that she is pretty horrible, but she has fun anyway. I am pretty horrible too. I think I threw a +25 on 18 holes (baskets?). Frank did +2, not bad for a beginner! We decide to do it all again next week!

I decide that yoga makes me feel awesome. I love yoga, I took a class at the local community college. Twice. So I have decided that I want to do something every day. Maybe not yoga every day, but something. So Monday I went to Momma's to do laundry and I walked down three flights of stairs to the gym where I rode the eliptical and did the hip abductor thing. 3 sets on the hips, 7 minutes on eliptical, 3 sets, 4 more minutes on, three more sets, 5 minutes on, three final sets. After 3 minutes on the eliptical the first time my heart rate was way up at 185, so I tried to keep it closer to 175 after that. Wow did my legs hurt after! Then I had to walk back up three flights of stairs. I meant to do yoga yesterday, but I didn't make it. Today I am going back to Momma's to do another load of laundry and more of the gym stuff. I'm going to try to keep record of what I do here on the blog, I think it may help me keep up with it!

Four Letter Words

Waking up at 6am has always been hard for me. I don't usually do mornings. Last night by 10:30 I was out. Exhausted. I hardly ever get to sleep before midnight. My schedule is changing. I may have to aquire a taste for coffee, I have heard great things about the stuff. For the first time in my life I have to dress like a real person to come to work. I have been here for 5 days and I'm running out of appropriate outfits. I need to check out a second hand store so I can pick up a few things but I'm not sure when I'll have the time, working both jobs. I also need a pair of shoes that aren't tennis shoes or high heels or dirty flip flops. I want to take the dogs to the park so we can play but by the time I get home and changed, I just don't have the energy. I'm glad Frank is home with them while I'm at work, it's nice not to feel guilty that they are home alone all day long, because they aren't. :) Next week will get better and then the 14th is the last day at the old job, so I'll be home at 6ish instead of 10ish.

I did a crossword puzzle at work yesterday. The one I am working on today is much more difficult. Anyone know of a five letter for "burning up" ?vir? I'm having trouble with that one. And a few others.

Strength Enough to Know Enough

Last night I got off work and drove 30 minutes back to my old job. Because I still work there. Because I love the dogs and I care about my students. So I changed back into my uniform and taught my two classes last night. Doesn't seem too bad, and thinking about it beforehand I was a little nervous about my new job but figured it would be no big deal to work both while I completed my ongoing classes.

When I got there, my manager gave me a really hard time because I was scheduled at 4pm and didn't show up until 6pm. When I put in my notice last Monday I let them know I would be starting my new job next week and will be working in Dallas until 5, I took care of any students the change would affect and let my managers know. Then I came in last Thursday on my day off when I knew they were making the schedule and took a peek. 4pm Monday. So I went to a manager, schedule in hand and let them know, "Hey, I can't be here until 6pm on Monday, I start my new job. In Dallas. Until 5pm."

"Oh ok, that's fine, we will change it."

Friday I called in, they were very upset, but I only had two students and I needed the day off.

Saturday I get to work and all of my belongings are in a box under register 4. The other two dog trainers are there ready to teach my very confused students. I walk in the door and shoo them away. I explain to my students that I got a job offer and would be leaving, but I will finish out their classes. They are happy for me, sad that I will be leaving. I care about my students.

When dogs 'graduate' from a class I take a picture of the dog and put it up on my wall. Just like every other pet trainer in the company except one of the trainers. She has only been with the company for 6-7 months and likes to think that she has a new/better way to do everything. From the hand signals to the way we organize our binders. Which is great, I love new and fresh ideas. But all of that stuff is corporate policy. We have to do it that way. Or we get in trouble. So she doesn't take pictures of any of her students. She was born up north and has a weird twang accent and I have had students and customers tell me that she is rude. I think I'll call her Trainer 1.

Whatever.

But Saturday morning before I get to work they take all the pictures down and stick them in the box of stuff. Trainer 1 sees me walk in and gives me a look that could kill. As I pass her she rolls her eyes. So not only do I have to explain to my students why Trainer 1 was there to teach their class out of uniform but why my pictures are all gone and I don't have cards anymore and that I'm leaving the company.

So I teach my class. At 11am we have a brand new class starting that I am not teaching. New Girl is teaching this one. It will be her very first class ever. She was very excited about it when I spoke with her on Monday. 11:05am, no New Girl. So I teach that class. Have to explain why New Girl isn't there. I have no clue.

"She must be running a bit late today..."

"Why aren't you teaching the class from now on? We know you."

"Well, I'm leaving the company, I was offered a postition that will help me finish school faster."

"But we like you."

That class overwith I teach my next class, it's an Intermediate class which means that these students have been through classes with me before. They are all very sad to hear that I will be leaving and very concerned that the pictures that I took of their dogs are missing. Explain, apologize, tell them that New Girl will be excellent.

Hopefully.

Lunch. One more class taught, explain, hugs. I get called into the office by a manager. They sit me down and explain that calling in on Friday made it very difficult for them. You see in addition to my two students that they were able to call and cancel for me, an 8pm class showed up. There was supposed to be a new class start the week before but no one signed up for it and nobody showed up for it so I assumed that no one would be there. Four dogs showed up. How am I supposed to anticipate students I have never met or spoken to showing up to a class that doesn't exsist? "Well it was your class, where was the paperwork for it?" There was no paperwork. The class didn't exsist until last night, I've never even met those dogs or people before. "You should have told us about the 8pm class."

I wanted to rip my own hair out. Right after I punched someone in the face. "Ok, next time I will do better." So I signed the formal action plan and was informed that if I screwed up again I would be terminated. Great. Thanks.

"Oh by the way, remember that we spoke Monday, Tuesday and Thursday, I start my new job on Monday and won't be in until 6pm, the schedule still says 4pm but I won't be able to come in until 6."

"Yes we know, thank you."

I went fishing with Frank Saturday, we didn't catch anything, but got muddy and laughed and had fun trying. Sunday = laundry day, so I went to Momma's and did a few loads. She has a gym at her apartment so I rode the bicycle machine for 30 minutes while I was waiting for a load to dry. 6.15 miles, not bad! Then I went home and we went over to my Aunt's to show off the new car, and then to my cousin's to say hi and show off the new car. We stayed way to late, didn't leave until 10:30pm, stopped at What-a-Burger for dinner and then went to bed. Work was great. Then I got off work and drove 30 minutes to my old job.

Last night when I got home from what I now lovingly refer to as PetHell I was tired of being yelled at and cranky and really feeling like Baby from Dirty Dancing...

"We're supposed to do the show in two days, you won't show me the lifts, I'm not sure of the turns, I'm doing all this to save your ass, what I really want to do is drop you on it!"

But I love the dogs. I care about my students. The right thing to do is to keep going until all my classes have graduated. My managers all think that I'm going to just drop off the face of the planet, leave without telling them and they will have to pick up the pieces. I would really like to. It's very tempting, especially when they are treating me as though that is what I will do. But at the same time, that is not my intention, my intention is finish out my classes. Prove them wrong.

Frank says that being at PetHell is bad for my serenity. That I have trouble accepting the things I cannot change about the job, that in order to be strong enough to change the things I can, I went out and found a new job that I really enjoy. Now if I just had the wisdom to know when to let go; if I should let go before I told them I was leaving or if I will be strong enough to work both jobs until my students graduate.


"Some of us think holding on makes us strong; but sometimes it is letting go."

Hermann Hesse

You Have Won!

Friday when I checked the mail I received one of those mailers that has a scratch off thing that says "You Have Won!!" and there is a big picture of a brand new car and in really big bubble letters "$25,000!!" So I call the phone number and the lady says to come on in to claim my unknown prize. I tell my boyfriend, let's call him Frank, what she said and get out of the car to go inside. He tells me that we are going now, because my Mustang is falling apart and I have been talking about getting a new car anyway.

We head to the car lot.

We pull into the lot and walk into the used car building and Frank keeps talking about Chargers and Ram 1500's and Big Shiny Loud Cars. So we ask for Mr. David like the lady told us to and are informed that Mr. David doesn't exsist. Ken is happy to help us. I show him my flier and ask what I might have won. He gives the flier to his manager and says "He will take care of that, let's find you a car." So he finds out what I'm looking for, something that will last, low mileage, front wheel drive, good gas mileage. I keep talking about Rav4's. Frank informs me that we shouldn't get a Jeep, Jeeps have bad engines, not enough headlight fluid.

Ken shows us a few cars, none of them feel right, I like this one, and Frank points out this or that. Frank likes one and I point out that or this. So I ask Ken "What did I win?" $25,000 is a lot of money. He hems and haws and says something about his manager.

Finally we are walking through the lot and from around a corner I see a car. The clouds part and the sunlight hits it and the angels start singing. I walk up to it and notice, front wheel drive! 36 MPG! 23,000 miles!

"Look the dogs will love this backseat, it's a bench and they each get their own window!"

"Wow, we can fit camping gear in the back, lots of room back there!"

Ken pops the hood, only four cylindars but something about shifting up and down even though it is an automatic. Frank says that Jeeps have bad engines. So Ken starts telling him about all the headlight fluid! And elbow grease! And new, better engines! We take it for a test drive and Frank starts noticing how quite it is, even on the freeway. Ken tells him all about roll cages and smart air bags that can tell if it is me or him driving. Frank likes the stereo. It's gray. I like gray cars.

So we get back to the dealership and work out how much it will be for the car, not too bad. I can do that! I ask again "What do you think I might have won?" And Ken says he will ask his manager. I work out my insurance and they take a look at the Mustang. Wow, it really is falling apart, but something is better than nothing. Financing goes well and I hand over the keys to the Mustang and they hand me the keys to my brand new (used) Jeep Compass. "Oh hey, this is for you," says Ken as he hands me a five dollar gift card to Wal-Mart.

Guess What!

Today I start my brand new job. I have been training dogs for the last two and a half years. I'm excited about my new adventure. It is my very first full-time job, I will be sitting at a computer for eight hours a day, five days a week, 8am to 5pm. (I get an hour for lunch!) I am a receptionist, which basically means that I sit here all day and answer the telephone and wait for someone to walk through the door. I get to read a lot. So I decided to dig out the old blog and start updating it again. I may not keep up with it but I thought I would give it a shot, it may become something I really enjoy doing. I work for this little bitty family owned company that has something to do with oil, I mean, I am in Texas so what are the odds really?