Missing My Dog

It's been almost a week since she died so suddenly. Tomorrow night will be the hardest thus far. I had come home last week from school to my mom at my house, my husband waiting for me at the door to give me a hug and say two words I never thought I'd hear so soon: "Angel died".
She was only 8. The last dog I had as a kid lived to be 13. Both German Shepherds. I had to know why she died so young. The autopsy said she had a small heart and thicker heart muscles, so the heart had to work harder to pump blood. It was just a matter of time before it stopped for good. This is a condition common in cats, rare in dogs.
If you ask me, my dog didn't have a small heart, she had a big one. She loved everyone she met and quickly made friends with all the neighborhood kids - those in our old neighborhood and those in our new.
She loved to play. When my husband and I would come home from work, we would get our 5 minutes of fame from a tail that wagged the dog. Then she would run to find a toy as if to say, "You're home now, time to play!"
She was well traveled and loved to go for rides in the car. She was very smart and knew a lot of words. My husband and I had to resort to spelling words, just like you would for a small child, so we would not rile her up too much.
She loved her ice cream. Many trips to Ritters, and most recently this summer, to McDonald's.
The house is quiet when we come home now. Her toys lay scattered throughout the house; as I am not ready to move them. Her leashes, backpack, harness and seat belt still hang in the back room. Her snow boots are in the laundry room in the cupboard. One dish is now water for the cat. Her food dishes remain empty. We free cycled her food, as we had just purchased a new bag the week before. I couldn't see it going to waste when so many others could use it.
I remember saying goodbye to her that morning. She drank my leftover cereal milk and hopped back up on the couch. I miss her so much. The house is quiet and I have no one to be home for. All the little things we don't have to do anymore - let her out, be home, take her for walks - I miss already.
I'd rather have those minor inconveniences and have my dog back then to not have her at all.

Just call me Gracie

Well this was not the start of a good day, but turned out to be much better. This morning, when my alarm went off, I decided to do my husband a favor and let the dog out so he could sleep. She was ready to go out and wouldn't wait until after my shower. So halfway down the stairs, I slip on the carpeting and go crashing down to the second to last step, then had to scoot on my butt to the first step and then to the floor. I yelled for my husband, because my foot was swollen and I had heard a loud "crack/snap" before I finished falling. I had also seen my foot in a direction it wasn't supposed to be in. That kind of scared me. So after calling my mother-in-law, who is a nurse in Ohio, we headed to the ER in Novi. Called my mom along the way, who said she'd pick up a shower chair for me, because I knew I couldn't stand up at this point long enough to get clean. So in the ER, we got a wheelchair for me right from the start, because walking would have been painful and taken all day. Didn't wait too long in the room, and the x-rays were done by the time my husband had to leave to take the dog to the vet.

The doctor came in shortly later, or should I say, meant me in the hallway where they left me, and told me that I had, in fact, broken my ankle bone and fractured another one. Wonderful. But I have some Vicidin to take and an appointment with a foot doctor recommended by the hospital to put my foot in an actual cast. Meanwhile, I have a splint made of fiberglass on that can't get wet or have weight on it or it will crack.

For three or four weeks I will have a cast, depending on how long it takes for the break to heal. Let's see what's going on in the next three to four weeks: I am leaving my current job next Tuesday and start my new job the following Monday; my husband starts his new job on Monday; I start classes again the beginning of April; our friends from Australia are coming in for Easter until April something; we have a wedding April 5 in Ohio; I have Altar Guild meeting minutes April 7; I'm on Altar duty Easter morning 7:00am, Easter Sunday in Ohio, and the day before in Novi. In short, this was not the greatest of timing.

But, like I said, my husband got a phone call today and an offer for a position about 10 minutes from my new job. So he will have steady income again, and we can carpool. I just worry about our dog being home alone for almost 12 hours a day, as compared to 10 hours she was, and now with my husband at home, she wasn't alone all day. We'll work something out. We were both thinking the neighborhood kids could get paid to check in on her, and there's also Camp BowWow, down the road from my work.

A vacation of a lifetime/New job

We are headed to Australia today, thanks to friends that are living there for a couple years. I can't wait. Which reminds me, I need to set my vacation email. Ok, that's done.

I have also recently turned in my resignation, and am starting over. It's time. I haven't been happiest where I have been in a very long time. Whether it be employees that drive me crazy or not enough work to do, I am ready to move on. I have another position higher up, in management, that I am looking forward to. The benefits are awesome, and I already know my boss from my soon to be ex-employer. I prayed about this, and God heard me. I am truly thankful.

Pet housing crisis

I recently read about the newest victims of the mortgage crisis - pets. It surprised and sickened me that people who have lost their homes, leave their pets in there to die - cold, alone, and hungry. How could you do that to your pet? Even people who have had their animals for years have done this. Their pet was not the cause of their foreclosure, and how could you do that to them? They know you, you are the center of their universe, and they wonder where you went and why you left them alone. They die, longing for you. How could a family do that? I've heard that the people don't want their pets to be at a shelter where they will be put down. So the alternative is a slow, painful, lonely death for their pet. How much sense does that make? My pets are my life. My husband knew that coming into the marriage and they have grown on him too. Our dog is so smart and knows so much English, it's scary. I hate leaving her alone during the day while I work, or when we go out, because she always looks so sad that she doesn't get to go along. I couldn't imagine turning my back on her and leaving her behind. I would gladly take in any animal that needs a home, even if temporarily, but I beg you, please do not do this to your pet. They are your family and should be treated as such.

Work stinks

What can't I say about my job this time? I am so tired of this member loyalty training and sales training and more training that I want to hurl. Training, training, training. That's all we do. I have to spy on my employees and coach them on how to talk to people like a robot rather than have a real conversation with the person on the other end of the line. I hate being a supervisor. Middle managment gets all the crap and none of the benefits. I don't want to stick around anymore, but I really should finish my degree first.



I am in accounting. Accounting does not have the benefits of being face to face with a member to sell them something. We are problem solvers. All the time, the answer to the question is "call accounting". I get none of the benefits of my boss, who as senior management gets a wonderful bonus of cash at the end of the year, while all employees simply get a visa gift card of $50 or $100 depending on how long they've been there.

Jena 6

Let's set aside skin color for the moment. Does anyone care that SIX boys beat up ONE boy? It seems that the good reverends Al and Jessie don't want to see SIX young men get justice for beating up ONE man.

I'm not racist but I am tired of Al and Jessie butting their noses in where they don't belong all in the name of race. They DO NOT speak for the entire black community, as I read an article written by a black woman who said to please stop calling Al and Jessie when you want an opinion from the black community.

I want to see the young man that the SIX of them beat up get justice. Those that were responsible for hanging the nooses up at school probably should be punished BUT their crime was no where near as bad as the SIX men who beat up ONE man.

Bail should be denied and they should all be punished for what they did.

New Immigration Law

MSNBC says Republicans are concerned that new immigrants will vote Democratic and bring down the Republican party. I say that it's just more money that immigrants will be able to get from our Social Security so that there is none left for honest hardworking Americans.

There should be tougher laws and more border patrols able to make decisions on their own and take matters into their own hands. Illegals should not be allowed to cross, make money and send it back home.

There will not be enough Social Security when my generation begins to retire because we are just handing it out to every foreigner who enters this country. I have privy to see many children's accounts who have Social Security going into their account and have both parents. Why should they get free money because they don't speak English, and 15 or more live in one house? Why should they live off us? That isn't fair. If they don't learn the language and get a job to support the economy and pay taxes, they shouldn't be here. Because it is foreigners like that that want us to conform to them, even in our country.

Don Imus

He's a shock jock, what did you expect? Everyone knows that good ol' Rev Al and Jesse Jackson are both racists, why are they not held to the same standards? Don Imus apologized, a suspension was enough, not a firing. People overreact today like you wouldn't believe. Imus should sue CBS for wrongful termination due to freedom of speech. I guess we can't say the word "nappy" anymore (at least white people can't) because black people will have a hissy fit, after all, it's a word that refers to their HAIR, nothing else.

I'm not a racist, but I am tired of affirmative action and people of other races not being held to the same standard. We can't say the "n" word, (the older "n" word) but how many times do you hear it spewed from the mouth of black people, all in the name of hip hop music and freedom of speech?

I am glad affirmative action in the state of Michigan is gone. I know that I can't get into U of M Ann Arbor on my grades alone because I will be trumped by some minority who doesn't have to work as hard to get into the 7th best school in the country. Mary Sue Coleman has to look at the state taxpayers who fund her salary and see that more than 80% of them said no more affirmative action.

It was a good thing back then when times were different. Now that black people are equals, there is no need for any program that looks at their skin color before making a judgment call. Maybe someday we will truly get past those labels and look at the person.

I think Martin Luther King Jr was a great man. He fought for the rights of black people, and he did so PEACEFULLY. He marched, he organized sit-ins, and look what he accomplished in the years he was here. Amazing, isn't it? What a novel concept, to do something without rocking the boat and get it done right. Some people still can learn from him.