Another coworker gone

I heard today a coworker had been fired this week. He wanted lasted Sunday off, but no one would work for him so he had to come in. He decided to call in sick. He has been skating on thin ice from multiple infractions and this was the last straw for my boss. This should cool off another coworker who always threatens to call in sick if he doesn't get the days off he requests. One time he actually got mad about not being allowed to leave early so suddenly he wasn't well and needed to go home immediately. Who do these people think they are kidding?

Oh sure, I would come in to work if I didn't get my requested day off. I just let it be known that if I have to miss certain things (like a graduation), I will be a grouch all day. So far I had not had this problem. Post later. Bye!

Pop, pop, bang, bang

I can tell the 4th of July is coming and so can my cat. The days and nights are filling up with pops and bangs from firecrackers. Sure fireworks, other than sparkles, are illegal in Iowa (manufacturing, selling, buying, possessing, and lighting), but that never has stopped people from setting them off. But then, a law is only as good as its enforcement. How does one enforce a ban on fireworks with them going off all over the place? My coworker from Florida was so depressed finding out about our law. We explained we get our fireworks from Missouri, so on the way home we are perfect drivers not wanting the police's attention. It is common knowledge people go to Missouri for their firecrackers and roman candles around here.

Now is the time for melon tests on TV to display the dangers of fireworks. Melon tests are firecrackers and cherry bombs placed in melons and lit. It is fun to watch melons explode on TV. Post later. Bye!

Volunteering

Today on my way to my volunteer position at a museum I got off the wrong exit and took 5 minutes to realize this. The activity they had for me was help weave cattail mats for the floor. The leaves were sometimes less flexible than I would have liked. Next I often got lost in the strands and sometimes skipped one or two causing me to unravel to fix it. My cold last week and the heat of the day must have fried my brain. When needing a break in concentration, I helped scrape the buffalo hide. It takes them 5-6 days to prepare a hide for tanning. When we got the last visitor we packed up and went home. My kitty was glad to see me. Post later. Bye!

Babysitting

I babysat my toddler niece again so my sister could go to her doctor's appointments. She had a sore foot and the doctor said she had a stress fracture. But the next time the doc can see her is in 2 weeks so she has to sit and relax with her foot up during that time. Yeah, right, with a toddler and errands to run she can't sit for 2 weeks. Today she was walking around the house without shoes. The stress fracture is in the bone between the ankles and toes, whatever those bones are called.

My niece and sister had pizza delivered because their fridge is broken. It actually broke down 2 days ago and the repair people can't visit to inspect where the problem is for another 2 days. They have a small fridge on the table to keep important things like milk cold.

Next we read books, played dolls, and rested trying to get her to take a nap with so much excitement. My cat got into a cat fight with my sister's cat. I broke it up and carried away my kitty. He runs back to the unplayful cat and laid down next to it, then all was well.

Just when I was about to give up trying to get my niece to sleep, she falls asleep. I took out my kitty to explore the background. My sister came home just as we stepped out. I had the harness on wrong so I had to pulle the cat out of the bushes to get it on right. It was twisted, but better on. It is hard to get a harness onto a wiggly cat. My sister chatted in the backyard. Lastly, we went inside to check on the baby and she woke up. After a snack, we left. Post later. Bye!

Print on Demand

Since I can't get anyone I know to read through any of my stories and so far been rejected by book publishers with no feed back, I decided to check around for Print on Demand companies to get it published. It is very hard to improve a story wih no feedback. I did once get the suggestion of publishing it myself and try to sell the book at bookstore and see if anyone buys it. I assure you this struggling author can not afford to print 1000 copies just to see if anyone lifts it off the bookpile. People need to do their homework before giving suggestions on selling my book.

My comparative study of Print on Demand companies.

1. They are more concerned on appearance than quality of the story. Of course they offer editing services, for $1000, or more if they charge per word. It takes more than a pretty cover to sell a story. Harry Potter only has illistrations only on the chapter headings so $25 per illistration seem unnecessary to sell a book to the public. Cover art is $200 to $350, $150 to copy the author's artwork.

2. You only get 2-5 free copies, naturally you have 40% author's discount but how does one make a profit buying your own book. Plus they don't include the retail price of your book you get 40% off of. You get good royalities from sales, 40-50%, but at what price are you getting that 50% from?

3. Review comments from newspaper book reviewers cost only $100-$150. The problem with only positive comments to place on the cover is the lack of sincerity in the comments. I have seen outstanding reviews from famous people endorsing books I bought to find out the books really sucked and a waste of my time. Negative reviews and comments are just as necessary to a struggling author as positive. I gladly will review a book or movie for that matter for free, but I doubt anyone will take me up on that.

4. Lastly it costs another $100 or $300 to format your story to be ready to be published in their system. Sure you can do it yourself for free on your own computer, but you have to buy Acrobat Reader to do it so that way is not exactly free either.

For a struggling author with no cover art or illistrations, no one to review it or edit it, a whole package can cost $800 to $4000, depending on how much help you need to make a book. And after you spend this small fortune, there is no guarentee the public will love reading your book. Then again, if it is Print on Demand, can your book be returned by the reader if they don't like it? That part is also not advertised in the packages. Plus, they also do not advertise how many books you have to sell to get your money returned. I think I'll take my rejections from book publishers like a woman and edit my own story. Post later. bye!

Family reunion

I went to a family reunion today. My Mom's cousins and sisters are usually the ones who come. This year we had a guest of honor, my uncle from Spokane, WA. We ate a potluck dinner. I made macaroni and cheese, a giant cookie, and lemonade. There is a little lemonade and macaroni left, but the cookie is all gone. I called my cookie masterpiece, I ran out of frosting. I had blue and red covering most of the cookie with purple parts where they mixed. I placed yellow sugar roses on top.

We played badminton and frisbee. We played on the swing and playground equipment. My toddler niece was frightened of the slides until I went down them 5 times. Then she wasn't so scared. Next she climbed up the slide following her cousin's example. I surprised she could cling on the slide like that. It rained off and on so the slides made our shorts wet and dirty. One of my nieces climbed a tree with my cousin's girls. We sang Happy Birthday to my aunt and then followed each other to my Mom's cousin's new house nearby. It is very nice and next to their fishpond complete with fountain. The house is on the slope of the hill so it should not flood. She had a former sewing machine table as a display table in the entry, she still has the anceient before-electricity sewing machines. Now I'm home again playing with my kitty. Post later. Bye!

Pet issues

I read a magazine article about problems people have with their pets.
Usually the problem lies within the human, not the animal. I say: If you
can't handle scratches on your furniture or scampering at night, then you
should not get a cat. If you can't handle a dog barking or digging in the
yard, then you should not get a dog. If you can not handle a squeaky wheel
turning in the middle of the night or tiny teeth biting into your skin, then
you should not get a hamster. If you can not handle allowing a bird freedom
in the house for short periods of time or its squawking, then you should not
get a bird. If you can not handle maintaining proper heating lamps or buying
dead flies, then you should not get an iguana. Get a fish, they make no
noise, have short lives, do not need out of tank stimulation, and require
less yucky cleaning.

People often think of pets as status symbols and displays the people's
personality. Sadly, they do prove how shallow, or how loving, or how
relaxed, or how rash, etc. someone is. They also show how responsible people
are in other areas of life. If one can not handle the responsibilities of
owning any particular pet, do us all a favor and not get one. The animal
shelters for abandoned pets will thank you along with animal control. Post
later. Bye!

Cat sneeze

I received my first sneeze in the face from Precious this morning, spray and all. That's ok, I coughed in his face a couple days ago so it makes us even. I hope I get over this cold for the picnic Sunday. I still have congestion and no appetite, but feel more energetic than yesterday. I plan to make a giant cookie and lemonade. Mom always wants lemonade every time we go somewhere. Well better get ready for work. Post later. Bye!

Gift

I received an unexpected gift on my doorknob as I left, a blue cat
collar complete with bell. I am thinking the bell ringing all day and night
will irritate me and my neighbor below me, so I gave it to a coworker. She
lets her cats out by themselves at her house. Besides that, I dont' really
need a collar for Precious to wiggle out of and I have search all over for
it. It was a sweet gesture though. Too bad I don't know who to thank. Post
later. Bye!

1st night

We had our 1st night after surgery and Precious is back to normal. And I have a bad cold. I picked him up from the vet and he slept all the way home. Not a single meow. He meowed when we got home, but only a couple times. Groggy like a drunk, he tried to walk around and I placed his pet bed in front of him. He wobbled toward it, then stopped and laid on the floor. I picked him up and set him on his pet bed.

Next I finished a movie with many dark scenes and whispering so it was hard to tell what was going on. I checked on Precious to find him walking around the hallway. He followed me back into the living room and fell asleep in my lap. Soon it was time for food to be offered. Precious wasted no time eating something and fell asleep with his nose in the food dish. Didn't drink any water. I laid down on the floor so Precious wouldn't have far to go for food and cuddled with the kitty. Even little boys need their mamas. For a strange reason I felt very tired anyway and needed a nap.

When it was time for bed I put Precious in my bed and cuddled against him. My sleepiness was explained by not being bad allergies because of the rain (I turned on the air conditioning to rid the humidity), but a cold when my nose refuse to stop running. I hate summer colds. The heat and humidity make me feel worse.

Morning came without much sleep. Even Precious had a hard time sleeping with me sitting up to blow my nose and shaking the bed sneezing. After I called my volunteer place to say I would come next week instead, Precious seemed to be more active. I went to sleep. I got up at 2:30 well rested and feeling a little better. Precious drank most of his water and ate most of his food. I have to go shopping today because I'm out of beverages. I have to write a Thank you note for my aunt's kitty gift of $10. I have to tell her it was very nice of her and tell her Precious is a him. Plus everyone at work says my cat is spoiled. I say my cat is not spoiled, he is loved. A friend actually told me it was a good thing I didn't have kids, they would be spoiled rotten and spoiled kids are very demanding. I spoiled my nieces with love and lots of presents, but they are ok with the word no. They are good kids and Precious is a sweet kitty. Besides, the thing Precious and my nieces demand most of all is my attention. I have plenty to spare. Post later. Bye!

Vet's call

I recieved a phone call from my vet informing me the surgery was successful and they had a surprise for me. Precious is a boy. They shaved for surgery and noticed an extra, small appendenge. So my Precious is a him. That would explain a lot of feistiness she had. Post later. Bye!

Strange

It feels strange to sit here in my living room without no cat sleeping on my lap. She is being spade today and getting the last of her vaccinations. Poor thing. I read a paper about what to do after surgery. No food the 1st night, water late in the evening. Light, moist meals until she feels better. She may puke from the anethesic nausea. Keep her in warm and quiet room for the 1st 4 nights. That would be my room and turning on air conditioning to keep out the airplane and traffic noises. I'll have a groggy cat who should not play until recovered. That will be quite a change from the wildest cat my brother-in-law has ever seen, a comment he made yesterday. No jumping until healed, but at least we don't have to deal with stitches. Nowadays, they use a glue that dissolves on its own in 10-14 days. My poor baby. Post later. Bye!

Babysitting again

I went over to babysit my niece agin. I arrived after lunch and got started on laundry. Read, dance, play flashcards, and watch a movie before my sister came home from her doctor appointments. Next she wanted to tidy the place a bit before our uncle arrived. I watched my niece outside and asked if she is suppose to be in the driveway. My sister goes out to grab her and our uncle shows up. I hold back my cat as they came in.

We had supper and our uncle had a picture show on TV of his new house and grandsons. I asked if likes his rental car from my company. He does. He also visited the place I volunteer at. Eventually, Precious and I had to leave because we need to feast before fasting for her spading tomorrow morning. She gets into my food so I have to fast also, and not turn on the faucet because she can't have any water. I gave her extra treats at home and finished her nap on the balcony. The food and water are gone now.

I watched a show on TV about helping girls get guys. Poeple give me tons of advice, but none of it ever works. I saw nothing on the show that could help me snag a man. I can't even get a single man to go out with me and my friends can't get any guys they know to meet me. How do I fix that? Post later. Bye!

Amazing weekend

I went over to my niece's dance recital to discover the dance teacher changed the time of the recital and missed the first dance on the program. My nieces were difficult to spot with their hairpieces changing their appearance. One dance had a girl's hair fall out when she did a cartwheel. Another dance had girls do back flips over each other and two girl's hair got stuck and they had to complete the song connected. My oldest niece was invited to a pizza party with her boyfriend and friends and came home at 3 AM.

Saturday held my second niece's softball tournament. She is the pitcher and a switch hitter. Her team lost, but they would play again several more times before the tournament is over. I gave her a hug good-bye and told her she did a good job after the game. Their next game was in a few hours so they took their equipment to my brother-in-law's truck (he's the coach). On the way, a girl carrying the stick holding the helmets dragged an end through a puddle and then lost a strap. She said it was not her fault. My brother-in-law told her not to be George Bush avoiding responsibility. She stuck her tongue out making a face.

I gave my Dad his Father's Day present, Season 1 of the TV show Alf. I showed off my new cat album and my 3rd niece wished I brought her with me. A 3 hour car trip is too much to demand from a cat. Besides, my sister doesn't want a cat in her house.

I heard very good news about my Dad's cancer condition. He is in remission and for the moment, cancer free. The radiation makes him feel like there is a burn inside his body and still is very tired, but no longer on death's doorstep. I found out when my sister asked about his cancer. I later asked when Mom had planned on telling us this news. She thought she told everybody. Obviously not.

I came home to read the note from my friend that my cat didn't eat much in my absence, but there was vomit in 2 places so she had eaten something. My poor kitty distressed. I took her outside after putting everything away. I heard one neighbor fighting and a pair of shoes fell from a balcony. I think her kid did that. Another neighbor told me that she sees my cat's head peeking through the balcony railing when they go in and out. Yeah, I said, she likes to do that. Tonight she mewed like crazy and ran to the door when I heard a lady saying goodbye to her girls outside.

I cleaned the litterbox and put in new litter. It is a dirty job, but must be done once a month. Now I am ready for bed. I had a full day. Post later Bye!

No kitty

I heard back from the animal shelter about the one-eyed kitten I tried to reserve and adopt so my cat has a companion. They decided on a family who wanted to adopt 2 cats. They have a mother cat with kittens and said possibly when they are ready for reserving I could have one of them. The family is adopting the mother cat as their 2nd cat. Post later. Bye!

My luck gets better by the day. I find out there is a rock concert in
Waterworks Park with one of my favorite bands, Poison, this coming Saturday
and I will be in Nebraska. I cut out their picture in the paper and placed
it next to the one I cut during their Flesh and Blood tour that my college
roomate laminated for me. Even at age 45 (or however old they are now), they
are still hotties. Maybe I will catch them next year.

I also had a thought about the starve the cat 12 hrs. before her spading. I will also have to stop eating for 12 hrs and brush my teeth early since the cat has to stick her nose in my food and drink leftover water sitting in the sink. Post later. Bye!

Quitting

I am quitting my volunteering at the local animal shelter. I didn't sign up to come over again. I doubt they will notice my absence. There nothing to do, nobody talks to me unless I speak first, and their fundraising events are on days I work. They are most antisocial people I ever met, they must work office cubicles where idle conversation doesn't happen. They don't welcome people coming to see the animals and barely speak to each other. I didn't come across town to spend hours twiddling my thumbs asking 4 times if there is something, anything I can do. I did stock the merchandise, fold up carriers for adopted pets, and separate newspapers. I got my other musuem volunteer work that has people willing to speak to me. Sorry, being a salesclerk made me actually want to speak to people. Customers expect conversation even if it is just about the weather. Post later. Bye!

Babysitting again

I babysat again today. Once I arrived my niece didn't want anymore breakfast. I started my laundry and fell asleep on the couch. 2 hours later I wake up to my niece playing on the floor. I toss in more laundry so I can get done soon and start dinner before my sister shows up. Once I said Mama, my niece kept asking where her Mama was. I heated our dinner in the microwave and her is my sister in a different car. Her's is being repaired. We take my kitty outside and my sister soon joins us. I finish my laundry and we are on our way, it is naptime.

I come home and my Precious sleeps for about 6 hours. I get a discount card from my retail store credit card for 10% off my next visit. It expires in 4 days. I wish I had gotten this discount coupon card 2 days ago when I bought $200 worth of pet supplies and ink cartridges, and some movies for myself. I'm not buying anymore. Sure getting 10% off is great, but I have to fork over the 90% out of my budget.
Post later. Bye!

Writing guides

I received my Oprah Magazine today and eagerly read the articles on how to write a good story. Snore, snore, snore, how much longer is this article. I read several books on how to tell a great story, though most of the advice is blah, blah, blah, what does this have to do with me.

I think the probelms with writer's advice is too much analyzing. Example: ballet or if you are not as cultured, a rock concert. If you analyze with paper and pencil all the steps these dancers do, you will find the same steps being repeated in various orders and in altering directions (left foot, right foot). At the end of your analysis paper, you might realized you had not enjoyed the ballet, or concert, as well as if you simply just watched the flow of movement.

I can tell you the ingredients of a good story, and I'm not even a professional writer.

1: Must have catchy title. I have no idea what The Catcher in the Rye is about, but I can tell you J.D. Salinger wrote it. That is a catchy title.

2. Must have flow from one idea to another, or flow scene to scene without jumping around and confusing the reader. This is why I hate mysteries from the all the jumping around without much connection between scenes, they mainly connect person to person.

3. Learn to think backwards. Start with deciding how the story ends or the purpose of the story. Then decide on the means and motivation the hero, or villian, will use to get to the ending. Lastly think up a cathcy introduction full of drama and wonder to lure the reader into the story.

4. Decribe things with verbs and emotions more than adjectives and adverbs. Rushed in a panic sounds better than Ran swiftly with achy feet. Reading about every object that sits in a room or everything a person is wearing is quite boring.

5. Write what you know. After all, the most popular stories are the ones where the reader can say, This could be me and what would I have done. Why do think Harry potter is so popular?

Post later. Bye!

Shopping day

Today I had a long list of things to buy. I took 2 trips to my car unloading things. One thing that bothers me about baggers is that thye place large objects in huge sacks. Some things can be unsacked and still be carried.

I got a new pet bed for Precious, leopard print. I got a cat jungle gym (above photo)she was playing on while I put it together. I got her a new fishing pole, she chewed off the tip off the other one until the string came off it. I got new food dishes and another carrier for my future cat. Precious barely fits into the up to 12 lbs. carrier, standing up that it. I got soem new stuffed animals she likes to carry around and attack. My last present was pet grass.

All else was groceries and ink cartridges. I got a toenail clipper like the one the vet uses. I snipped the tips of her nails while she napped so she held still this time and I clipped all 4 paws. I don't clip all the way to the quick (blood-filled nail bed) because she needs her claws to jump up on the couch. They are tolerable now when she walks across the lap. I put up balloons on the balcony railing to keep her from jumping up too high. I had a full day. Post later. Bye!

Kitty baptism

I was refilling my cat's water bowl when she wanted to drink from it. She actually let the running water pour over her forehead until I turned off the faucet. Strange cat. Even stranger, she quit eating the tuna she loves so much. Perhaps she still likes her sardines. Have to give her that. Post later. Bye!

Awful color scheme

My apartment complex has decided on a new look, even gave us newsletters of the summer's progress. I bet a man came up with this color scheme. A woman would have chosen better colors. On the exterior is chocolate brown, lemon yellow, and white. The interior is the ugliest tan I ever saw, cobalt blue, and white. I feel I am living in a giant Hershey's Kiss. Even worse is them painting the handrails black, even though they were already black. Have you slightest idea how disgusting it feels to drag you hand across paint? The doors are harder to open now since they painted the doors entirely and paint is sticky when dried. Post later. Bye!

Phone call

I received a phone call from my sister today. I am the reward for my niece
going pee in the potty. They will call back if she does it again. Dr. Phil
says to call a superhero as a reward for going in the potty chair. I'm still
above Elmo, how flattering. Post later. Bye!

Nightmare

I was playing on my computer as usual when the mouse stopped working. I tried to put it in hiberanation a second and un-hibernate it that ususally starts it working again. No, not this time. Log off and on, restart computer and nothing happens. Then I go under mouse keys where I can use my tab and arows to click on things, but it won't let me send an email. Try to turn it off and start again in the morning. No, I have to send my email before shutting down. After attempt after attempt trying to tab and arrow to the send square of my email, my computer completely freezes so the mouse keys won't even work. After a hour and 45 minutes of frightening my cat with anger she never seen before, I leave in in hibernation and try to fix it tomorrow. I was tired.

Computer still frozen hours later and still can't move the mouse. Turn off mouse keys to see if mouse will work now. No, still frozen so I try unplugging the internet connection. No go. Next I go into the help again. Last night I discovered by accident that hitting control and escape in that order hit the start button in the corner and then I arrow up and over to the help square. Alt tab and control tab along with arrows keys help move around even with mouse keys off. Check on rebooting. Can't reboot a laptop, you can only restart it. Check on frozen mouse again. This time I go under a different category to see I have to check mouse properties first. Last time under frozen mouse I set up the mouse keys. Go under properties and select touch pad mouse. My mouse is disabled. How did that happen? Tab and arrow to click Enable mouse and now my mouse works again. Sometimes I want to toss this computer over the balcony, it is a big headache when it stops working. My Mom often asks how do I know what key to hit at work to make the computer do things. I say just keep hitting keys until you hit the right one. That way works eventually. Post later. Bye!

Walking kitty

After volunteering at the local musuem, I took a long nap from getting up so early 3 days in a row. My time at the museum was spent watering the beans and squash (the deer ate the corn), scraping at a buffalo hide for the tepee, and being eaten by bugs. I had bug spray on, but the flies still bit. My 3 hours napping refreshed me. When I got my head back together, I strapped on the kitty harness and took Precious outside. She is a strange cat. She acted like she didn't want to leave when I opened the door. I guess she only jumps out when I am leaving her behind.

Finally made it out and she only wanted to walk on the sidewalk, but then cats do love cement. I stepped out into the grass and she followed me, but she much preferred the bushes. One bush gave her burrs that she did not like me pulling out of her fur. She climbed up trees and scratched at the dirt. She chased a stick I threw, but unlike a dog she just sniffed at it.

A mother came by with her 2 boys and petted the Precious. I told her first boy approaching that she loves to be petted. She even licked the mother's fingers when she turned playful. Then the poor mother had to pry her kids from my cat, they wanted to take her with them. Precious followed them to their door and I held her back saying it was the wrong door. She watched them go upstairs and I thought it time to go back inside, it was getting dark.

I shook Precious up by cleaning the toliet. She did not like being locked out of the room. I saw her paws sticking out under the door. Poor kitty. Now she is out is out on the balcony again absorbing the night air. Tomorrow is back to work again. I don't feel I have had a day off. Post later. Bye!

Babysitting day 2

I made it to my sister's house on time and realized I forgot my cat's food at home. My brother-in-law lets me in and I go to find nail clippers to cut Precious's claws. I have the most difficult time trying to get her claws exposed. I squeeze her paws, but her fur hides the claws until she grabs at something. Then my niece wants to play piggyback while I'm on the floor, pushing things aside to get to the cat hiding in dark spots of the room where I really can't see her exposed claws. Naturally the cat does not hold still for this. My brother-in-law goes to take a nap.

Next my sister comes home. Now I wonder in my head why I was asked to come babysit if they were going to be home. I planned to take my cat outside again, but now I should be going home soon.

I keep trying to clip her nails and even have my sister hold her so I can get it done faster. My niece throws a tantrum and I decide to hold the cat while my sister clips. I instruct her to clip the very tip of the claw. My niece jumps in her lap and my sister holds the weeping girl. Explaining to my niece she can't hold her and clip my cat's claws at the same time, the cat wiggles free and jumps down. I give up. I think I got most of her nails anyway, I keep finding the nails I already clipped. I explain to sister that her clipped nails have a dull edge so she has a harder time climbing things. We go home as naptime approaches and my niece is screaming. I say I should go now because I forgot my cat's food. We were there about 2 hours, but eventually Precious will be hungry.

I didn't really say why I chose that day to clip them. I decided to clip after I caught my cat climbing a window screen in my bedroom that has only a 3-story drop to the grass on the other side should that screen come break loose. I can't have my kitty fall out of a window, so I started keeping that window mostly closed. if she managed not to climb the patio door screen, I'll open the window all the way again. Before now, she hasn't been strong enough to leap that high. I guess I should watch more carefully on the balcony. She keeps jumping up towards the railing's top edge, but has yet to get on top. I don't want her on top of the railing, another 3-story drop if she slips off the catwalk. Enough for today. Post later. Bye!

Sleeping cat

I took shots of my Precious today sleeping, yawning as she woke up, and making a funny face when she realized I was taking pictures of her, flashes have a way of doing that. Post later. Bye!

Babysitting day 1

I babysat my niece today and will again tomorrow. I got up 3 hours earlier than usual for my first day off. I was ready to go back to bed, but my sister needs me. When I got there, my niece was barely woken up. She squeals Precious's name making me think I've been replaced by my cat as my niece's favorite thing.

Her father gets ready for work and fixes her breakfast. Then splits when I put my laundry in the washer. Precious meows to go outside, so I ask my niece if she wants to go outside. Oh, yes. I wrestle with Precious down to strap on her harness she despises as my niece laughs at me.

I get her strapped and leashed ane we are on our way. Precious climbs 3 trees and I wish I had my camera. She relaxed on a branch and jumped down. My niece walked around pointing out everything. Bird, tree, bush, boy, car, airplane.

Eventually we came inside and I folded laundry. Lunchtime came and I fed her leftover spagetti and broccoli. She got spagetti sauce everywhere so I grabbed my sister's camera. I also changed her clothes.

Soon I needed a nap from getting up so early and my niece threw doll blankets on top of my head. She even gave me her toy lamb. My niece slept in a chair while I crashed on the sofa. Naptime over with, I made a snack of Teddy Grahams and juice. After snacktime, she cooked on her toy kitchen and tried to feed the cat empty plates and cups. She started to wave around a fishing pole with cat toy on the string, but soon played something else after my Precious ran up to her. I took over the cat toy since Precious was already wound up, we can't just suddenly stop.

My Precious scratched my niece's knee when she tried to jump on her lap. My niece doesn't like Precious being that close to her. She watches her from a distance. Though she did pet Precious a few times when I was already petting her. When my sister came home she scratched my niece's neck as if she were a cat. My niece is jealous of her Mommy paying attention to my cat. We watched a movie my sister recorded and then it was time to go home.

Taking my laundry outisde, my Precious escaped so I didn't really come back in to say good-bye when I finally dropped her in the cat carrier. I waved to my niece in the window. I will see them tomorrow. My Mom called after coming home. As usual, she wants to know what my sister is doing. I can't have a life because my sister needs a babysitter at a moment's notice. If I didn't do it, my Mom would be and she has to drive around 20 miles to my sister's house. My Mom commented how I leave my cat behind when I go to work, but bring her with me to my sister's house. Yes, I do leave my cat when I work, which is why we have separation problems whenever I go somewhere. I can hear her meowing all the way in the parking lot. My kitty needs to be loved, but explain that to Mom. Post later. Bye!

Today's rantings

What is this, Yell At The Sales Clerk Day?

We are extra busy this week courtesy of the World Pork Expo so after a mad rush of customers off a flight, there is few cars to select from. But try telling that to the Queen of Sheba pissed off saying she hates small locations like ours because of the lack of selection (and lack of butt kissing I'm sure). Well Your Highness, if you were here 7 customers ago, we had a larger selection to choose from. At the end, she preaches how some locations have a separate lots for club members, some locations let you pick your own car, some locations don't make you sign paperwork and some don't make you stand in line. Does this bitch really think I have never heard that before? Go ahead and insult me, you are not saying anything I have not heard before. If she would have ask nicely, I would have informed her which nearby locations have the member lots. As my coworker said after she stormed away, Don't come here if you hate our location so much. The car rental next door say the Member Card means "License to Abuse". Apparently they get more verbal abuse because they are not privately owed like mine.

Then I get people who decided not to make a reservation because our website said we had cars available. Sure, but at the moment I don't have the keys to the car you want, but will be getting keys in 2 minutes (or whenever the car washers bring them over). Just because there are 20 cars sitting outside does not mean I have the keys to give customers.

And on top of our car shortage for the moment, I get a jerk on the phone demanding to know the price of his reservation went up $7 from last year's price. He declares he will shop around at our compeition because that was not right. Click. Sir, my car insurance went up $40 for no reason this year. My phone bill increased its taxes this year. My electricity and gasoline for my car went up from last year. I believe it's called inflation.

I'm just glad I don't work the next 3 days. We are sold out, which means "No reservation, No car". During sold out days, we always get the Queen (or King) of Sheba demanding cars cause they are club members. That don't mean a thing when we are sold out. Then we get people with broken down cars who badly need a car to rent crying how they have no way to get home because someone dropped them off. Sorry, but sold out means sold out even if that means have to walk home. Post later. Bye!

Happy Birthday Jody

My supervisor turns 40 today. Like me turning 30 last year, she intends to have fun. She even took the whole week off. I sent her an email at home with the Happy Unhappy song from Alice in Wonderland altered to wish her a Happy Birthday. It is more fun to type than the regular Happy Birthday song. Post later. Bye!

Adventure for the day

The adventure of the today was a guy who did not speak a word of English,
but only Spanish, needing assistance to use the phone. My kind coworker
calls the phone numbers on the business card he had to discover the business
is closed and the numbers for a certain guy on the card were incorrect. My
coworker is unsure if someone is suppose to pick him up since he doesn't
have a driver's license to rent a car. A paper the man has says the job he
is here to do requires English. Frustrated, my coworker starts asking if
anyone around her speaks Spanish. No. He calls a former employee from El
Salvador to translate what the guy needs help with. He needs a taxi cab to
get to his destination. My coworker walks out to the cabs with him and tells
the driver where to go. The man needs a price. My coworker writes the price
down for him. Now there is a good deed done that will never be found in the
customer comment box. Post later. Bye!

Volunteering at the shelter

Yesterday I volunteered 4 hours at the local animal shelter. Yeah, 4 hours of separating newspapers. They like the full sheets for the dog kennels and half sheets for the small critters' cages. The ads they toss out. They got new puppied that very morning and one left with a family while I was there. One puppy was adopted before I showed up. I was so happy to see the puppy go. They got new kittens too, but I shied away from them. I will be tempted to stuff one under my shirt for Precious to play with. They are so cute, how do I pick just one. I got their website to look at photos when I got home. They don't have too many babies on their site. I went to other local shelters and found the cutest darling called Sugar Ray with one eye. It is only a month old and it came to the shelter with an injured eye that had to be removed. Poor thing. I am trying to have him reserved to adopt later. Precious was sorta sprung on me so I am taking me time with this one. Post later. Bye!