Big Red Bull's Eye

   Hello, readers!

   It's been some time since my last post, but I honestly haven't had a lot to write about until now. The weeks since I lost my job at the bookstore have been a little tough with the job markets being so lean. Anyone that's been out of work for a while can tell you how frustrating it can get, especially in this day and age of online job boards with vague postings and faceless hiring procedures. You send them an email or resume and wait for a response.
And wait.
And wait.
   Even though I have hobbies like playing music, photography, and scale model ship building, I still found myself getting kind of bored and stir crazy.
   Well I'm happy to report that after almost two months of sitting idle I have found myself a new day job that I'll start soon. Not only that, I've also recently heard from some of the people I worked with during last summer's music festival season and they would like me to work with them again this summer!

   My new day job will be at a brand new Target store set to open here in Victoria this Spring. They hosted a hiring fair last week and I decided to go and meet them. The best part about Target I discovered is that they are very flexible in their scheduling. I told them during my interviews that I like to be a roadie in the summer months - which, by the way, they thought was "so cool!" - and they said there should be no problem balancing both jobs so long as I've got plenty of notice. Perfect!

   So, starting March 12th, I will be part of the receiving and merchandising team at the new store. Yes I'll have to get up pretty early, but it sounds pretty straight forward. The products come into the store and I help get them onto the shelves. Once in a while I'll be called upon to help a customer find something. Nothing I haven't done before. There's no commissioned sales or anything, so no worries there. I never was the strongest salesperson. I'll help a customer, but I'm not out to get them to spend more than they intended to.
   I've got a little shopping to do before I start my new job. Anyone familiar with Target likely noticed the staff dress code of red shirts and tan pants. I'm okay with that and I look good in red, which is something else I joked about near the end of my interviews when I knew I had the job. It made them laugh and I know I scored an extra point.
    I should be glad my new job isn't on the Starship Enterprise or that red shirt would pretty much make me a big red bull's eye!

Image courtesy of Google. 

The Wandering Oak

Elizabethan Collar...the latest in fashion for cats.

Hey Gang,

"Yep, my humans have decided to post an embarrassing photo of me on the internet."

   Actually, this photo is also going to be the photo of the day on my 365 page. Let me tell you what happened.

   On Saturday afternoon our little cat Merlin was giving himself a regular bath, like normal cats do, but we noticed that he was fixating on the area just under his tail a lot more than usual. This was a red flag for us because several months ago poor Merlin suffered from a condition in which the little scent glands near his bum became inflamed and swollen and even abscessed. Sure enough, when we checked we discovered that he was having a relapse and we weren't going to let it get as bad as it did last time.

   Now last time we were able to put Merlin in his carrier and take him to our regular vet within walking distance, however because of the holiday long weekend they were closed so we had to call a taxi (Merlin HATES car rides) and rush down to the 24hr Emergency Veterinary Hospital. The staff there was terrific and even though they were very busy they were able to treat Merlin that day and didn't have to keep him overnight. It just took a few hours. This time the vets actually put Merlin under anesthetic while they lanced, drained, and flushed the wounds and kept him under observation for those few hours as the anesthetic wore off.

   When we picked him up at 9:30 that evening he was as high as a kite and was sporting one of those fashionable Elizabethan collars. Anyone who has ever had to take their cat or dog into the vets for any procedure that involves wearing one of these things knows that this can be both heartbreaking and hilarious at the same time. The poor little guy keeps walking into walls and corners that he would normally clear and you can almost see the frustration in his eyes. Unlike dogs, cats don't grasp the concept of walking backwards and so poor Merlin would often keep hitting the same spot.

   The real challenges came when he tried eating or drinking. My wife and I had to find creative ways to elevate his food and water in such a way that he can reach it while wearing the cone, but not knock it over and make a mess when he misjudged the distance and clipped it with said cone.

   Then there are mornings. Like many cats, Merlin loves to come and wake his humans up by climbing up onto the bed and getting his face as close to ours as possible and meowing loudly while gently tapping our faces with his paws. Well the paws are fine, but that cone hurts when it hits our faces - and it amplifies the meow!

   As for the cause of this whole ordeal, the vets simply told us that poor Merlin just has narrow ducts that are prone to blockages and that the best thing we can do is keep our eyes on him and bring him to our vet for regular exams. Fortunately those exams will cost far less than the hundreds of dollars we've already spent getting him treated twice. But we love our cat and this is exactly why my wife and I have money put aside for emergencies.

   Poor little Merlin is going to be fine - and for now he gets lots of TV channels.

The Wandering Oak