This movie looks interesting....

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I guess this movie is based on some children's series. It looks interesting--a good December it's-too-cold-to-go-do-anything movie. Of course, right now, it doesn't seem like we're going to have that type of December here. Oh well. Take the kiddos to it. Fuel their imaginations.

Go to the website and find out who your daemon is (or, if the word frightens you, your animal familiar). I think mine is pretty accurate.

Back home again

Summer has finally caught up to Texas. We had a very long, rainy, cool Spring, but Summer has finally remembered us. And we remember her. It's so freaking hot! And it's not a "dry" heat!

I miss the sound of the wind in Colorado. The sound of people in the parking lot and traffic on I-35 just doesn't compare. I miss the clean air, the clear--very cold!--tap water, open windows all day and night long, and, best of all, not having to take Clariton-D every day! (No molds). I am determined to buy a parcel of land up there. You wouldn't believe how inexpensive they are! Even after adding electricity, well, and septic tank, it's a whole lot less than trying to buy a house and keep up with property taxes in Austin!

So, it was back to work. Aye-yay-yay. Why do people have to create such DRAMA out of something that really isn't that BIG OF A DEAL? They're called Negaholics--and they thrive on it! As a manager, I must not feed into it. That's why I invest so much in wine these days! I'll have cheese with mine, thank you. One of the guys at work asked me the other day, " You've changed--Why don't you gripe and complain about anything anymore? Why are you always smiling? You're always in a good mood." I asked him, "What's the point?" Really...there is no point in complaining about something you have no control over. I learned to do that in traffic a long time ago, thanks to living in Dallas. Now, I've learned how to at least hide it at work. I really did grow up and become an actress.

So, yes, I'm back to the grind, but with dreams of Colorado giving me something to reach for. I want land up there. I want a house up there. And I will get one...someday...........soon...I hope.

UPDATE ON ABANDONED KITTY:
The next door neighbor was able to adopt her and she is very healthy and happy in her new home. She was at a perfect weight, hydrated, and glossy when I saw her this week. Sigh of relief for at least one mistreated kitty. No word on her previous owners, though.

Don't want to come home

Colorado is absolutely wonderful!!! Of course, this is not my first trip here, but this time, the isolation has been a much desired break. There are no strip malls here, no traffic, hardly even a road, and it's paradise!
The weather can turn on a dime here. It was about 82 degrees today, but the storms rolled by in the afternoon and now it's 66. No humidity! No mosquitoes! It's so wonderful.
I don't want to go back to civilization. On the drive to Taos yesterday, there was miles and miles of open plains. Just nothing. Just wide open space. The stars in the sky here are incredible! My mother's house sits right underneath the Milky Way. I haven't seen that since I was a kid. The sky was peppered with diamonds. The moon, also, was much closer here than in Austin. Sitting in the woods the other day, I realized how much the city is sucking my soul dry. I hate it. The only problem is, with these open plains and no strip malls or the regular forms of civilization, there is also no job. I need to be independently wealthy to move here. I must find a way, because I know I can't wait until I retire.
There is no vet clinic in "town", though, and lots of people have pets up here. Wonder if any of my Vet colleagues would be up to a move? Mom said I should go to beauty school, quickly. There is only one hair stylist within 50 miles of here, and she has a booming business and isn't even that good.
Hmm....the mind quickens.

Countdown

One more day and then it's off to Colorado for a few days.

I can't even begin to tell you how much I need this!!!! I plan on getting lost in the wilderness for a few days. I won't even be near a cell-phone tower, so NO ONE will be able to call me.....AHHHHHH, bliss. I'm really looking forward to getting away from work. I hope I've been able to mask how frustrated I've been lately. If not, I apologize. I do try.

So, I'll blog more when I get back. I'll talk all about how gorgeous the house is that my mom and her husband are building and all about the views. Hopefully, I'll be able to see a bear; they supposedly wander through the "back yard" all the time.
Yeah...then I'll probably be more motivated to find a job that I can actually retire from where I can get paid and not work, because Mom is retiring. She's going to be able to concentrate on her writing and do nothing else as well as being able to do all this in her own home that was planned to her specifications in the middle of the mountains and forest in Colorado. She plans on wearing her pajamas for a year. I actually want a beach hut in Belize or Costa Rica. Just a hut will do. Really.

Pets are not disposable

Sometimes, you just can't help but take work home with you and things keep you awake or wake you up in the middle of the night, such as tonight. At least it's not about something involving scheduling, employees, or the every day operations of the place tonight. Just the occasional case that comes in that my mind has trouble wrapping itself around.

I'm fortunate that in the eight years that I've worked for a veterinary hospital, I have not seen many cases of animal cruelty. I work at a somewhat pricey hospital, so most of the patients we see are of the spoiled variety. (Really, people who will spend $300 on a dental procedure for their dog or cat are not generally animal abusers; although, we do still get the occasional client that thinks Ol' Roy is quality dog food--joke: I'm not saying that people who feed their pets Ol' Roy are animal abusers) Cases where a pet has been abused usually comes when one of our clients has adopted a rescue animal or has seen a kitten tossed from a car on the highway and, risking their own lives, rescues said kitten. One of our clients adopted a dog from a rescue group that had been taken out to the gulf in a boat, tossed overboard, and left. (Apparently, they didn't want to deal with a pregnant dog.) Luckily, some nearby boaters saw the incident and were able to pull the dog into their boat.

It has always rancored me when one of our clients brings in a dog or cat that they want to take care of or have "inherited" due to the fact that someone has moved out of their house or apartment and abandoned their pets. How can someone just leave their pet? This is an animal that has formed a bond with their owner, and sometimes, I'm sure the owner has a bond with that pet, but they just leave them. I try not to pass judgement on these people, because I don't know what kind of situation they're moving into, but still...We've seen them left because a baby was born; because someone is getting married and the fiancee doesn't like the dog/cat (Hello??? Why are you marrying them? Package deal!); because they're moving somewhere that they can't take their pets to, etc. I realize, that some may think that it is better than taking them to a shelter where they may be euthanized instead of adopted. Believe me....it's not.

Today, one of our clients came in with a cat that had been abandoned by its owners. She lived in the neighboring apartment to this cat and hadn't realized the owners had moved out. If she had known that they had moved out, she would have notified management much sooner about the incessantly barking dog next door. I don't know how much time had passed, but someone finally went into the apartment. The dog, by this time, was dead.

(Just letting that sink in a little)
The people who left them, probably weren't intending to be what they thought of as "cruel". They left food out. Too bad they didn't leave the water running in the bathtub or something. The cat was very cute and sweet (a bob-tailed, dilute tortie with big green eyes). She was not in horrible condition--she was alert and active. I have never seen a cat, in my entire life, go for a bowl of water like she did when I brought one in the room. She had it almost emptied in less than 30 seconds.

I can't imagine what this cat went through, what was in her mind, as she was there day after day with her housemate as the water ran out of the toilet bowl and then watching her friend and housemate die, knowing that she would too if someone didn't come soon. Wondering where that person was that had always taken care of them--fed them, kept their water bowls filled; petted them, played with them, gave a lap or bed to lay on.

The girl that brought her in just couldn't contain her tears, thinking that she could have saved the dog, too, but didn't get management to go into the apartment next door when the dog wouldn't stop barking. It's not her fault, but she feels terrible. She wants to keep the cat, but for right now, the cat is evidence in an animal cruelty investigation and had to be surrendered to police and taken to the shelter. A doctor there will examine her. Our client will have to go through the adoption process once evidence is gathered and a judge rules on the case. I just hope the cat doesn't get a horrible upper respiratory infection at the shelter. They do the best they can there, but URIs are inevitable.

So, how can people just leave their pets? Why don't they take them to a shelter if they can't keep them, or find a rescue group that will take them in? There are hundreds of rescue groups out there! How can they just abandon them and think that it's the best they can do for them?

I don't know how many people besides my friends and co-workers read my blog, but I want them to know this: Pets are not disposable. When you get a pet, it's almost like taking care of kids, when they're puppies or kittens, to taking care of aging parents as they get older. They are a commitment and a responsibility. They require veterinary care and preventative medications. There is no such thing as a free pet. They cost money. If you get one and find you can't take care of it, please, please find a shelter or rescue group that will. Don't just abandon them. They depend on you. They love and trust you. Don't break that faith because somehow, some way, it will catch up to your soul.

Uh...Hi

Well...it's July. Sorry I haven't posted for a while. I have been so busy, so tired, spinning around in a thousand different directions. I think I'm getting the center of my gravity back, though.

I quit my restaurant job. Finally. Working so many hours at BAH and with everything that's going on there now, I just wanted to go have a couple of Margaritas, not make them. Plus, there are new owners at the restaurant. One change per job, please. I didn't want to deal with change at two. I am missing the extra money right now, though. Strange how even a bad night equaled a couple extra hundred bucks each month. And then, there were the good nights. Not to mention the good food and the margaritas, but now I know how to make excellant margaritas and mexican martinis. I've also become the Queen of Quesadillas at home. So easy to make at the end of a long day. I'm going to have to get the Albondigas recipe from Letty for winter...and maybe the Chili Verde.

Not much else going on. Work is my big focus now. Figuring out exactly what I should be doing, because no one is really telling me. Of course, there is all these grand plans, but, I've worked there long enough to know that those might take a while. Right now, I'm just trying to focus on getting my staff on board with some enthusiasm.

It's gonna be a long summer.

Catch up

Well...I'm officially now one year and one week older. I don't know how I feel about that. So many things that I thought I would have by now are just not here. I pretty sure by now that I will never have my own children.

I've seriously considered going to Africa and taking care of orphans. No...I'm serious. My only problem is my psychotic cat: who would take her? What would I do with her? She freaks out if I'm gone for a week. Her blood work that I did during her last annual was perfect. She's too mean not to live forever. She is something to consider.

The reason I think about this: Africa has a lot of orphans living in horrible conditions. It would give some meaning to my life, since apparently, I'm not doing anything here. I know there is plenty to do here, but there are things here that I would need to get far away from in order to concentrate on the task at hand. Things are still way up in the air with the love of my life: we still love each other deeply, but circumstances keep us apart. I will wait for only so long...after that, I have to leave for my own good. I have reason to believe that I will have my answer one way or the other by the end of this year. Meanwhile, I will look into Africa.

Other things are going fairly well. I got a promotion at work--I have visions of change; I only hope that others can see it, too. The Longhorns are, again, in the Regional playoffs--hoping that this year goes better than last (I can't go two years in a row where they are not in the College World Series). I've found the world's best liquor store where my favorite Tequila is $20 less than in any other store (If you are still drinking Cuervo, you have no idea what Tequila is!) The Cubs suck again this year, so, obviously Hell hasn't frozen over yet and the world continues to stay on track. (Damn Cubs!) I finally had a member of the family come to Texas for a vacation, so I've had guests. (Boy...they're kind of exhausting!) I'm healthy...first mammogram was A-OK. (If you've ever just wanted to play with breasts, you should be a mammogram tech.) As long as I keep busy at work, I don't dwell too much on the love-life. Busy doesn't look like a problem, at least for the upcoming month. And, I found out recently that, despite all the times I feel alone, I do have friends. For that, and for them, I am very grateful.