The One With Only Two Dogs

Well, Muggsy moved out this week. I fixed him up a nice dog room in the garage, and our fence was finished this week, so now he spends all his time in the yard and in the dog room. I never see him. It's really weird. Chubbs acts different when he's not around.

In my silly human way, my feelings are kinda hurt that he doesn't want to spend more time with me. But I understand that it's good for him to spend so much time away from Chubbs, just relaxing. I hope it improves his attitude in the house. He still gets excited when I go out to see him. He doesn't even sleep in the house anymore.

As for my dog who still lives with me, Chubbs did excellent in agility class today. He even jumped through the tire on the first try, which he hates. He does really well at things that most dogs are afraid of because he's not afraid of anything, but he just doesn't run very fast or jump very high. Today, though, he listened to all my commands and did everything right the first time, except one time when he ran off to try to get a toy that was lying on the ground.

It's funny because the basset, Flash, was behind us, and her owner was telling me that she watches the dog in front of her and does exactly the same thing that dog does. When Chubbs did well, she did well. So when Chubbs ran for the toy, we all waited to see what she'd do. She started to run toward the toy, but her owner caught her. It was really funny. It's interesting what dogs will do.

The One With the Loser Club

Since I've moved to California, I haven't made a lot of friends. There are a few people at work now, but very few who invite me out on the weekend with any regularity. Most of the people I know have lived in the area their whole lives, have the same friends they've had their whole lives and aren't looking for people to join their clique. I recently found out that I'm not alone.

In my advanced obedience class tonight, I was telling one of my favorite students that she needs to have her friends help her with the supervised separation portion of the Canine Good Citizen test. She's this loud red-head from New York, obviously one of the more enjoyable characters I've met since I've been here. Her husband is big and quiet and intimidating, but for some reason, they both really seem to like me. Well, she responded, "I don't have any friends." I said, "I don't really either. I think it's because we're transplants." So I turned to another woman in the class, a shy woman who has to be from the Midwest and asked her if she had friends to practice with. She shook her head. Then, another woman in the class said that she had lived here 10 years and still didn't have any friends. Interesting.

We jokingly talked about starting a club so we'd all have friends to practice dog stuff with and do some socializing. I guess we should actually do it to keep all of us from suffering with no friends.

But isn't that funny? Lots of people are having the same experience I am. Interesting...

The One with the Next Big Star

Check out Chubbs! He's going to be a star!!!

http://www.oldnavy.com/browse/info.do?cid=15027&mlink=5151,391086&clink=391086&affiliate_id=1a

Well, shoot. The link didn't go directly to his page. But if you hit "Sort by Name" off to the right and then his 24 hits per page, and look at page no. 867 ... he's the fourth one. Dang. That's a lot of work!

The One With My "New" Job

Sorry for the lack of blogging lately. Since I moved to just working for one District, my life has gotten really busy. You wouldn't think it would be this way, but I used to work in a department of four, and now, I'm the only one. I'm getting all kinds of responsibilities, which is great, but it does cut back on my at-work e-mail/blogging time.

Things have been going well. My new boss is the anti-Joanna. He's really laidback and funny, and I really enjoy working for him. He lets me keep my own schedule and doesn't really monitor what I do that closely. We're in the process of hiring my new full-time manager. So far, there have been three applicants, all older men. I wonder how that will work. I'm so much happier going to work every day, not dreading what Joanna will say to me or what ridiculous work I'll get assigned. Now, I'm being invited to important meetings and being asked to help with lots of different projects. It's really exciting. I've temporarily stopped the job search.

Speaking of job changes, my old college roommate just got her first real law job. She graduated from law school last May and has been working in a law office in Chicago, doing I'm not exactly sure what. But she just got a job doing the exact type of work she wants to do in Kansas. I'm really excited for her! It's always nice when you get just the right job.

For the last several days, I was also busy because my mom was in town visiting on her quarterly visit to California. I've gotten very boring in my old age, so we didn't do a whole lot but go out to eat, watch movies and do dog stuff, so I hope she had a good time. I think she likes California. She made what I think was a joke about looking at some apartments down the street from me. Hmmm. Anyway, I was sad to see her go. It was nice to have her here.

Muggsy did very well with her here. I thought that with his recent experience at the vet and a visitor in the house so soon after that he would be pretty hard to handle, but he tried really hard. He hasn't attacked Chubbs since Game 4 of the Spurs-Mavs series. Every Wednesday, I take him out to Yorba Linda for a long walk and then he waits in the car while I teach dog class in Costa Mesa. Tonight, however, it was in the 80s, too hot to keep a dog in the car. So I had to put him in a crate and keep him at the side of class. It was pretty uneventful. I had to turn the crate around so he couldn't see, but he behaved a lot better than Chubbs does when he's a spectator in class.

So I guess that's about it. I lost a dollar to Ross on the Pistons-Cavs series. It started as a joke when I jokingly said that it would be great if the Cavs, who I cheer for because of Drew Gooden, beat the Pistons, creating an easier road for the Spurs. Ross said that would never happen so I bet him a dollar. When the Pistons won the first two games in blowout fashion, it became even more of a joke, but then the Cavs came back and won three in a row. I talked a lot of trash, but in the end, the Pistons won. It really doesn't matter because the Spurs didn't win, losing to the Mavs in an exciting Game 7. It's pretty disappointing because I love the Spurs, and I think the Mavs-Suns series is going to be really boring. I hate basketball where there's no defense. It bores me. I'm cheering for the Pistons because I love the way they play and think they have a better chance than the Heat, with Wayne Simien, of beating whoever comes out of the East.

I know none of you really care about the NBA, but my best friend, Mindy, just e-mailed me to tell me that the Supersonics (Nick Collison) and the Bulls (Kirk Hinrich) are going to play an exhibition game at Allen Fieldhouse Oct. 15. I wish I lived closer because I would love to go to that. No one will care about anything other than Nick and Kirk, but what a good time. I really hope to get back to Allen Fieldhouse in the next couple years. I haven't been there since they got the new court and video board, and I really want to see the new Hall of Fame. I was just thinking recently about how much I miss Allen Fieldhouse...swaying with the person next to me during the alumni song, the sound of the Rock Chalk chant, tearing up newspaper, clapping the fight song, singing buhnuhmuhnuh... I don't think I've been there since Roy Williams died. It's been a long time.

The One with the Series Finale

So, I've become addicted to Grey's Anatomy. I mean good-looking doctors having desperate sex ... what's not to like? It doesn't hurt that Chris O'Donnell is guest starring as a vet. The three-hour season finale played Sunday and Monday night. There were a number of tragic story lines: the Chief's 17-year-old neice who found out she has ovarian cancer and missed her prom; a top surgeon was a victim of gunshot and may not be able to continue his career; and a heart patient who is in love w/ Izzie, one of the surgical interns, gets his transplant but then has a stroke. All heart-breaking, tear-jerking stories. And which one made me sob? No, it wasn't any of the ones I just told you. I bawled like a little girl when they had to put down the dog, Doc, because he had cancer in his leg and it had spread to his brain or lungs or something. Just sobbed uncontrollably. I guess I was feeling guilty that I wasn't with King when Dad had to put him down.

I knew Rach would understand ...

The One With the New Cubicle

Good morning, everyone. I realize that I haven't blogged in awhile, but things have been really crazy around my office. As you all know, I have (or should I say "had"!!!) the boss from hell. She was critical, over-bearing and the worst micromanager I've ever had. To go from being an independent reporter to having to ask permission to use the restroom was a pretty big leap. Anyway, the squeaky wheel finally got oiled.

After getting my offer letter to the opposite District as my crazy boss, things starting getting worse. She wanted every minute of my time accounted for. I had to tell her where I was going at all times and what I was working on. Unfortunately, I was working on projects that she couldn't know about. This was a big problem with her and resulted in several spats. I've never her seen her so angry as she was at me last week. So I went to my new General Manager and several other managers at my new District and began to complain about my hostile work environment. Finally, Tuesday, the GM told me that I was being moved downstairs into a temporary cubicle and was going to be given an interim manager until they hire the person who will be my manager. Needless to say, this was the happiest day of my PR career.

I am currently residing in a cubicle half the size of my old one, but all the pictures of my dogs still fit on the walls and all my books still fit on the shelves. I don't have a window anymore, but it's not like I can't find one. At this point, I'm really not that picky. I'm just ecstatic to not have to work for the she-devil anymore. I now come and go as I please and work on what I want. My new manager told me that as long as the work was getting done, he didn't care if I included him in anything. I'm just supposed to let him know if I need any help.

Plus, my department is great. There's only one other girl in the department, a huge plus. If you've ever worked in a department with all women, you'll know what I mean. I was going nuts. I don't like to talk about stupid girl things, I don't spen $150 on my haircuts and I hate mani-pedis. I also don't act vengeful and catty when someone is different from me. Not to say that all women are like this -- I'm a woman myself, of course -- but when I first moved here, one of my friend's husbands said to me, "Los Angeles women are their own breed." I think it's true.

With that drama solved, I now had to turn my attention to Muggsy, who has been melting down a little too frequently lately. It was time to get his blood drawn again to test for thyroid problems. This is just as hard for me as it is for him. No matter how hard I try to calm myself down, I cannot stop my stomach from churning at the thought of this. I hate making Muggsy do things that so completely stress him out. But it's a part of life and it has to be done. So I did it, with the help of my blood draw team, of course -- my boss, my boyfriend and the toughest vet tech chick I've ever seen.

While behind the door, Muggsy bucked and kicked and somehow managed to turn himself over, cutting and banging his nose. Well, for all of you who've had a bloody nose, you know how much blood that can be. When we pulled him from behind the door and I saw a huge pool of blood coming from my best friend, I started crying. The vet tech made me leave. I've never been more embarrassed. What a terrible mother! How could I not toughen up and be there for my dog. Muggsy and I are both fine. I left, he got cleaned up and his nose was swollen for a couple of days. I'm still waiting for the results of the blood panel. Muggsy dumped his anal glans on me and I had to go teach class afterward -- always pleasant. Such is the life of a dog trainer, I guess.

But everyone did admit to me afterward that they were all queasy and upset by the site of Muggsy's blood. They were just better at composing themselves.

The One with the Announcement

I'm excited to announce that I got hired to teach another MBA class this fall for KU! In the MBA program, if you don't have an accounting or business undergrad degree, you have to take some introductory accounting courses. Well, I'm teaching Intro to Financial Accounting. It's just a 2 credit class, so it's only 8 weeks, one night a week for 3 and a half hours a night.

I don't know if you remember, but two falls ago I taught Intro to Managerial Accounting. I'm encouraged that the program thought I did well enough to ask me back. Managerial is definitely not my strong suit, and since I taught Financial for 4 semesters in college, this time around should go much smoother!

And you thought I was going to say I was pregnant ...

The One with the Evil Dog Whisperer

Rach, I remember you telling me how awful the Dog Whisperer treated the dogs he trained. Now he's being sued for almost killing this lab ...

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory?id=1929775&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

I'm sure you've heard about this, but I thought I'd get your comments. I love how the spokesman tries to divert blame by saying "Cesar was not there at the time the injury occurred, he never worked with this dog … Cesar is a tremendous dog lover and has been a tireless advocate and professional dedicated to improving their welfare." Really? Then why would you have employees who abuse a dog in this way?

On a lighter note, I volunteered for the Humane Society at the Pet Expo this weekend and got to see lots of fun doggy stuff, like flyball! David loved that. Also, there were two basset rescues so I hung out for a while with Clyde (10-year-old and looked like King, only pure Basset), Ruby (dwarf Basset), and Murphy (11-year-old cancer survivor). One of their flyers had the following list:

You may be a Basset Hound person if ...

1. You are not a fastidious housekeeper. Bassets tend to drool and shed year round.
2. You can appreciate a melodious howl.
3. You like snuggling on the couch with your companion.
4. You are not looking for a jogging partner (Hey, Mags jogged for a whole block tonight, before she slowed to a plod!)
5. And my favorite ... You can accepts the Basset owns you!

The One with Maggie

Well, I can't leave Maggie out. She whines and cries and tears open bags of trash when Theo gets to go running with me and she doesn't (I'm sorry Mags, you're just so-o-o slow!). So here's one of Maggie-Maggie-Quite Contraggy! I think we can all agree she's a basset hound!

The One with Theo

Here's a little fun for your weekend. I finally got Theo's haircut last weekend ... I'm not used to this long-haired dog business ... so you can see his true colors. Let's all guess what kind of dog he is!

The One With the Offer Letter

I got one!!! I just feel so relieved. It's exactly the same position I have now, except there's only going to be one of me, and I'll be expected to help with everything for awhile. He said that we would be getting raises, like we are supposed to, July 1, and I did mention that I was supposed to be getting a promotion, so hopefully, that works out for me.

The General Manager of the District that I will be going to said he had appreciated my honesty with him through this process and wanted to make sure that I knew that I was the kind of person that he wanted for this job. He also assured me that the person he hires to be my manager will be someone who fits with my values. They are also hiring a leg person and an education person. So I'll be moving downstairs in two months, and I don't have to worry about working for my crazy boss anymore.

I just happened to be in the HR office talking to one of the women that work over there when the GM came out of the office and asked who was next. They were doing it in alphabetical order, and we all know how far my name falls on that list, but he said to skip to me. I was very excited, to say the least.

Now, I can just relax and enjoy my job, I hope. He said he's ready for me to get started helping them with things immediately. I gave him a hug when I left. Couldn't help it. ("Would it be totally inappropriate if I gave you a hug right now?" "Yes." "Then how about a handshake? I did not mean to touch that, I mean, you there.")