The second cat may have been a poor choice!

Jadzia is the bane of my existence.  She is always bad and getting into things.  I had her spayed a month ago and I had really hoped that she would have calmed down. Negative Houston! She is just as crazy as ever.  

One of her favorite activities is to sit in front of the big screen TV, stretch out super long, and run her claws on the front of the TV.  HELL NO!!!   That is not acceptable kitten behavior.  I try to redirect her but she thinks it's a game.  First she jumps on the dresser and looks at me to see what I will do.  I use my meanest voice and yell at her to get down.  Usually that only garners a ear wiggle so my next action is to get the water bottle out and hit it against the table.  She understands what that means except that she no longer cares.  At first it was fairly effective.  I would spray her and she would run away.  Now, I spray her and she tries to get behind the TV.  Then I get up and drag her out.  This game could go on for hours or at least until I shut her in another room. 

Saturday was the final straw for me. I was watching the exciting Butler game and in her craziness she ended up unplugging the cable from the TV.  I got very angry so I shut her in my closet . I had to watch the next portion of the game in the living room on the Old School SD TV.  Not cool!  At the next commercial break I raced into my room to determine what wire was loose so I could watch the rest of the game on the good TV.  At that time I vowed to take more drastic corrective actions.

On Sunday evening I went to the grocery store and I purchased some double sided tape.  I have heard rumors that cats don't like double sided tape and they will stay far far away after they have experienced a paw getting stuck.  When I got home I found an empty Cherry Zero carton and I cut it up so it would lay flat, and then I strategically applied the tape to the box.  Then I waited....and waited....and waited.  To my dismay, she never tried to get on the dresser the rest of the night.

When I got home from work on Monday I saw no evidence of her tangling with the box and tape so I had hoped that this would the end to our little "game".  All hope ended about an hour later when she made her first jump to the dresser.  She landed and slid because the box was not anchored to the top and as soon as her paws hit the tape she freaked out and jumped to the safety of my lap.  She curled up next to my leg and took a nap.  So cute! FYI...her cuteness is always short lived.

I WON!  I WON!  I WON!  I couldn't believe that I finally beat the cat.  I was ecstatic! That was until a couple hours later when Jadzia was refreshed from her evening nap and she was ready for some trouble.  She walked to the end of my bed and hopped the short distance to the dresser. I sat there smiling while I waited for her to freak out.  Um...she didn't.  She walked directly to the box and started to lick the tape.  What!  How could she know that licking the tape would make it less sticky.  Damn Cat.  She spent the next few minutes licking the tape from the edge of the dresser and then she ventured onto the cardboard box with no problem.  She quickly got used to the tape and she didn't mind her feet being mildly stuck to the surface.  As a matter of fact she had a new toy.  She took to chewing at the box edges and trying to tear the tape off of the box with her teeth.  Sigh!  I admitted defeat and I removed the box from the dresser and let her play with it on the floor.

A few minutes later she got bored with the new toy and she wanted to play with the TV.  God Damn CAT!  We went in circles with her jumping on the dresser and me spraying her and then removing her from behind the TV.  My finally resolution was to redirect her to the living room with some catnip on her scratching post.  That is where she is supposed to scratch...dumb ass cat.

My next move is to try some duct tape on the cardboard and some Bitter Apple Spray.  I may have lost several battles but I WILL EVENTUALLY WIN THIS WAR!

Books

I spent the weekend in Ohio with my two little nieces and nephew. They are 13, 11 and 8 and they don't like to read.  I was fascinated and disturbed by this information.  Reading is so important to me and fills many of my blank and unallocated hours.  What makes a person interested or disinterested in reading?  Parenting, environment, learning ability?  IDK.

What I found so disturbing wasn't that they didn't want to read but they were disdainful of reading and people who read.  They made several derogatory comments about my interest in reading.  For example, we were watching one of the Harry Potter movies and one of the children made a sneering comment that I must not be interested in the movie because "I read the book".  Yes, I read the books and enjoyed them but that didn't stop me from liking the movie version. 

I tried talking to the oldest child about this but I couldn't ever get a clear answer as to why she wasn't interested in reading.  I gave them books as part of their Christmas presents several years in a row and I am pretty sure that they got tossed in the corner and eventually thrown away.  What a waste.   I tried to explain my experience with books and why it was important to me but it fell upon def ears.  She just had her own ideas and she didn't want to listen.

I don't feel that anyone pushed me into reading.  My mother didn't read books for enjoyment and I think her reading comprehension was very low but I know my dad LOVED to read and he always had books lying about the house.  However, I don't remember him encouraging or discouraging me from reading.  He was just a positive example.

There was one book that I read in the fourth grade that really piqued my interest in books.  I don't remember the name of the book but it was about an overweight girl who gets stranded on an island several miles from the shore of her home and the adventure of her living on the island by herself and learning to survive.  My imagination exploded and I had many fantasies about living on that same island and catching fish with spears.  That book was pivotal point in my childhood as my book consumption exploded after that experience.

I wish I could find something like that for the children.  I want them to be enthralled with books and used as a tool to expand their imaginations.  I just don't know if that is possible without daily positive examples around them.  Plus the thought of them never enjoying books makes me sad.

Afternoon Break

I had the following conversation with my boss this afternoon.

B:  Can you take this check to the bank?
C:  Sure.  Would you like me to take it today?  (It was 3:30pm)
B:  No, it doesn't have to be today.
Boss thinks for a few moments...
B:  Sure, if you can go today that would be great.
C:  I don't mind.  I would be happy to take it over this afternoon.
B:  (He gives me an odd look)  That would be great.  Thanks!

I was all excited for my little afternoon outing.  I gathered my coat and phone and practically skipped out of the office.  I immediately called one of my friends as I entered the elevator to utilize my "free" time and as I got to the front door I saw that it was furiously raining outside.

Dun..Dun...Dun...

Damn...my boss bested me.  I thought I was getting a much needed reprieve from my desk and he used my enthusiasm against me.  *&$$**&  I knew I couldn't let a little (Ok...a lot) of rain prevent my afternoon break so I got my umbrella and started out again sans the skipping. 

Score 1 for the boss and score 1 for me!

Facebook...

It is interesting how Facebook can bring people back into your life.  I received a FB message from a very old friend from High School and College yesterday. The message was totally unexpected and out of the blue.  The message was short and breezy and it brought back the most vivid memory I had of this old friend.

We became friends when I was Junior in High School and we ended up going to the same culinary school.  She started school in July but I waited to start until September.  She quickly became accustomed to the college life and she started dating a guy right away.  When I started school things quickly went downhill for her.  She suspected that she was pregnant and I took her to a clinic for a free pregnancy test.   To her relief they ended up telling her she was not pregnant.  A few weeks later she made a regular doctor appointment and her suspicions were confirmed.  She was pregnant at 18. 

I think the first clinic was a bit suspicious.  They asked her several questions including whether or not she was considering an abortion.  She answered yes to the abortion question and the test results were negative.  When we left they handed us several pieces of literature that was anti-abortion.  I always believed that this "free" clinic had an anti-abortion agenda and gave her a false answer to the pregnancy test.

She lived her life normally after she found out.  She didn't make any changes to her diet or lifestyle.  She just behaved as if it had never happened and she didn't tell the guy.  She stopped going home for visits when the pregnancy began to show and she made excuses to her parents for her absence. 

There were several of us who were worried for her.  She wasn't caring for her body or the baby and she was in complete denial.  She wouldn't listen to reason or change her behavior.  When I went home for Christmas I was over at a mutual friends house and we were discussing the problem.  We knew she was never going to tell her parents and she was going to be surprised one day when she went into labor.  So...we decided to write an anonymous letter to her parents to fill them in on the situation.

I felt awful about that.  I felt that it was necessary but I still felt that I jumped way over our friendship boundaries.  She asked me several times if I was the person who wrote the letter but I always denied it.  I think she always knew I had a hand it, but as I remember she was never really mad at me for taking that step.  Perhaps she was happy that I told her parents for her but I just don't know.  

After her parents got the letter they immediately made the trek to the college and helped get her back on track.  They got her a regular doctor and made sure she had nutritious food to eat.

All of the feelings of guilt came back to me when I got her FB message.  It made me feel like those events happened yesterday.  I still don't know if I made the right decision but since I cannot change the past I will not dwell upon my actions.

I responded to her message on FB telling her a bit about my life today.  I don't know what will come of this correspondence and I never imagined talking to her again after I lost touch with her when I left college.  Life sure has some interesting twists and turns.  Thanks to Facebook for making this communication possible.

When I was a Mormon

Some people have "Band Camp" stories, well I have several "being a Mormon" stories and one popped into my head today.

When I was in Junior High I was a Mormon and I attended youth church classes every morning before school.  I think the bus picked me up at 5:30 or 6:00am.  I don't really remember except that it was super early every day.  On one of these mornings I walked into the building and saw a member of the church sitting on the floor with tons of papers spread around her.  Every member of the class ignored this women and proceeded sleepily to our class room.  Little did we know that this was a lesson in kindness to others.  The lessons was that we should have recognized that this women was in need of our help and we should have stopped to help her pick up her papers.  Plus, we were all properly chastised for not being kind.  I believe that lesson is still ingrained in me today. 

I was walking back to my desk when I saw a co-worker sorting items from three different boxes from Staples.  Instead of sitting down I promptly went over and asked her if I could help her put some stuff away.  She said yes, and I happily took the items she handed me and put them away in the supply room.  I couldn't ignore her as it just wasn't possible.  I guess some lessons from childhood stuck with me even during my turbulent and emotional teens.

What’s in a Name?

My name is Candace but oftentimes people call me Candy.  That is the name that I am used to but not the name I prefer.  I prefer Candace.

I should have remembered that the first day of my new job.  Duh, because I immediately began to introduce myself as Candy and then I would sign everything as Candace.  This was very confusing to my new co-workers.  Then they started to set up my new user ID’s as Candy and I knew I will have to live with that forever…or as long as I am employed at my current job (Let’s hope a long time;).

It is funny because when new people ask me what I prefer I act like a deer in the headlights of a giant hunting truck.  Scared and unable to move.  After a few moments of thinking and stuttering I usually say Candy even though that isn’t what I mean.  I don’t really know why I have a hard time with this name thing.  I have had it my whole life.  I think I hate the way Candy looks written down.  I always sign everything as Candace or CDS.

Doesn't it look delicious.

I think this began when I was a teenager and I was traumatized with my name.  I lived in a college town with tons of inappropriate young men that worked in the service industry.  When I would call out for pizza, I did this often as it only a mere $5.50 for a small Myles pizza to be delivered, I learned quickly to give a pseudonym as the inappropriate young men would often make rude sexual comments about my name and it made me uncomfortable.

There was a brief period where I embraced this side and I decided to change the spelling of my first name to Candi.  Yes…that is an “I” at the end of my name.  YUCK!  I believe this lasted from junior high all the way through high school.  Plus my brother will never let me forget this period in my life.

You can still call me Candy but know that I don’t really like it.

Biking to Work

I had this idea a few months ago that I wanted to ride my bike to work this summer.  I wasn’t sure if this was going to be a fleeting idea or if it was going to stick.  It stuck.  I think about it all the time and I am frequently scheming about how to make it work out.

Here is the plan.  I would drive my car from my house in Noblesville to the Monon trailhead at 146^th street.  I would need to leave my house by 5:30am and I would get to the trail and be ready to ride by 6:00am.  I would pack my backpack with work clothes and necessities and have everything ready the night before.  I think it will take me about 90 minutes to get downtown and that would get me there about 7:30am.  That time line should work as my official start time is 8:30am.

Now for the hard part.  I knew my office building had a gym and I heard a rumor that it was going to be open to employees very soon.  I got the email on Friday and I was super excited until I read that the facility doesn't have a shower.  Damn.  I really need a shower before work.

The second idea I had was to ride to NIFS to shower and dress in the mornings.  They offer a commuter package that includes a small locker for your stuff and use of the facilities for $30 a month.  I though that would be a fair deal.  I looked at the map and it is 1.2 miles from my office building.  Damn, that is just to far to walk in the mornings and still be fresh for work.  I crossed that idea off of my list.

I recently got an email from The Bicycle Garage and they announced that the City Market was going to open a bicycle hub in their location and it would include showers and bike lockers.  Woo Hoo!  That is a great location at a half mile from my work and a brand new facility.  I am excited about this idea…except that it isn’t slated to open until July 4, 2011 and they are still waiting on final approval.  Dun Dun Dun

Good news for the long run but nothing in the short run.  At least this exciting/disappointing news opened my eyes to another possibility.  The YMCA is very close to my work so it would be easy enough to go there in the mornings to shower.  I would just have to sweet talk my boss to let me keep my bike somewhere on our floor of the building as I wouldn’t want to leave it outside unattended all day.

There are so many variables that I would need to work out before I rode to work for the first time but I know I can do it.