Curiouser and Curiouser

Why my life is made of awesome right now:

- Bowie! He had a big day yesterday. He had a good shed for once (first time all in one piece! I'm so proud!) and was back in a good mood. We went to PetS* in the morning to get a cat crate for my parents and a heat mat plus food for Bowie (I found surgical tongs! Score!). They were out of anything smaller than medium frozen mice, which was upsetting, but I bit my pride down and went to Petc* instead. While there, I was happy to find that their brand of frozen rodents came in individual packs, something I'd been looking for. So I got my baby a 3-pack of Pinkies and a single Fuzzy. People fawned all over him, and he was very well-behaved! I got to educate some kids, talk to some other herpers (a bunch of redtail owners), and he got to nose around my shirt and embarrass me. He slept most of the time while driving and at Sutman's with the three of us watching TV, but sprang back up when I put him in his feeding tank and prepared his first Fuzzy ever.
He ate the entire thing like a champ.
So now instead of three pinkies he gets a fuzzy every week. For reference, the former is like eating a burger whole. The latter is like eating the waitress.
It's the first time he's ever had to stretch his jaw so wide - it took him a good few minutes to swallow the whole thing and ended up with the tail sticking out of his mouth like spaghetti. It was adorable! He was in a food coma until this morning, the lazy little git, but is now perky and satisfied.
<3 my baby.

- The love of my life is coming home soon!

- Gogol Bordello in concert was amazing.

- Rocky Horror tonight!

- Bower Bird auditions are next week! Holy shit, a play I wrote is a feature show. Holy shit.

- Work, pt 1! Although passive-aggressively pushing me into a position I didn't want, said position isn't quite as bad as I thought. And despite them wanting me to do amounts of work that are, frankly, ridiculous in the time they schedule me, the dogs in my classes are more than making up for it. I have a couple of dogs who were abused-turned-rescued, and I'm helping them and their new owners acclimate. I have a bunch of dogs I'm training to be companion/service/therapy dogs, and some are just adorably goofy puppies that I get to watch grow up. I've also started a new thing that my students are happy about, which is helping them set up play dates with dogs from other classes (dogs get to play with other dogs where both sets of owners know that each dog is healthy, trained, and controlled). I also had my first graduation today~! Pictures later.

- Work, pt 2! I asked, rather short notice, for a few days off this coming week so that I could go ahead to Canada with Sutman and Carmen. Manager K* hemmed and hawed and said, essentially, no. We had a bunch of people out, and a few quit/let go. I was needed. I was disappointed, but understanding. I check the schedule today and - lo and behold - I work until 2pm Wednesday and then not again until class on Saturday morning! Canada is a go, and I'm SO baking Manager K* cookies.

On the other hand, I feel bad that every morning, after my car has been in the driveway overnight, there's a gorgeous spiderweb sitting between the bushes and my driver's side door handle. I relocate my end to another leaf on the bush, but darned if that spider doesn't move it back every damn time.

Off to go sing in the shower.

-H

The good:
PetSmart (shoppes at Blackstone Valley) called today and offered me the job(s). So, starting Friday, I'm a Pet Care specialist. As soon as I take the instructor orientation/lessons, I'll be teaching their dog training classes as well. I get above the starting pay, even though I'm just starting, because they wanted to ensure that I came on board, and they also apologized for finalizing it so late - there was trouble with their computer system and they had to call corporate to verify me. Even so, they held off and offered me the position rather than turning to other applicants.
This was a huge confidence booster, as not only was this my first time going through the job application process on my own (before, I either worked as a favor to someone shorthanded or was given a job on the spot at Christo's), but I beat out every other applicant and was hired for two positions at the store. Needless to say, I was happy.
The managers are exceptionally nice, and were very excited to hear that I accepted the job. It's a good feeling when someone says that they can't wait for you to start working and see what you can do - even when it's something as simple as companion animal care.
I'm also doubly excited for the dog training coach job - I get to teach classes! With dogs! They've mentioned that I'll probably be teaching the puppy classes, which is great, else I'll spend my time working with the small mammals, reptiles, and birds. I'm so looking forward to work.
I also got to introduce elenuial to Blazing Saddles as our Intercon Wind-Down movie, which has always been a favorite of mine. It broke him in places and lagged for him in others, but overall, he seemed to really enjoy it and remarked on the style of an early Mel Brooks.
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The bad:
My aunt is dying. The Friday of Intercon, I got a call from my cousin Whitney (the one who seems more like a sister) saying that my third-eldest aunt on my mother's side, Suzanne, was stopping treatment. She's had multiple cancers, and has said many times that she's "had it." She was given an estimate of a month remaining, and was thrown a short farewell party on Sunday. Saturday night seemed to be the more emotional one, from what I heard, where a lot of the grief came to the forefront. She's been battling cancer for years, but now there's a time limit and it's shorter than anyone expected.
This is especially hard on my mother. She's eighth born of eleven, and Suzanne is the first of her siblings to face death. Virginia (the second eldest girl) came close a few years ago, but checked into rehab and moved to a quieter place. However, my smoking-but-otherwise-completely-healthy mother has been, as per usual, taking the mediating job herself. Suzanne's daughter (we call her Little Virginia to differentiate cousin from aunt), has been a wreck. We also call her Virginia the Miserable, because she (quite frankly, though I hate to speak ill of suffering family) has never been happy. Nothing is ever her fault, and the world revolves around her, including her mother's death. She is grossly overweight, cruel, and spoiled, and has been harping on her mother like she was the one dying.
As I was talking with my mother over the phone tonight, I expressed my thought that the last thing someone who has accepted death needs is someone constantly smothering you and bawling every minute. It undermines her strength, and to spend time panicking rather than enjoying the time left is something easily regrettable later on. My mother agreed, and will be spending Wednesday with my aunt, labeling little crystals with the names of those Suzanne wants them to go to as mementos. I'm very proud of my mother for this; she has a tendency to collapse under the weight of her own emotions.
Although she has started her typical way of dealing. When I talked to my father this afternoon ("Dad! I got a job!" "Wow. Didn't know they had strip clubs in Worcester."), I asked how she was, and he simply replied: "Guess."
She's thrown herself into her work, as per usual, and I'm fully expecting a breakdown when she crashes against a wall sooner or later. In the meantime, I'll try to slow her down and help her process everything threatening to ruin her composure, and then plan to come home as often as needed. I'll be going home on Sunday to cook for her and keep her company, as well as make a day to visit Suzanne.
Though the thought of it disturbs me on a level I'm not quite sure how to describe, I'm keeping my calendar clear after Lunacon. This probably means no Yale Tango Fest, as it's on the weekend that marks the end of my aunt's life expectancy. When the inevitable happens, I want to be able to drop everything and go back home to the family, like a good daughter and a good niece should.
I'm not sure how I feel about this yet. I have a hunch that it'll hit me like a punch in the face one day, but until then, I seem to be cruising.
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To my newly-added friends, I'm sorry for the depressing post! I've just been meaning to talk about it for a while and type best while elenuial games in the background. I'm usually much more chipper, I promise.

-Haz