Journal of a Sabbatical

November 4, 1998

cat control

the book pile

Copyright © 1998, Janet I. Egan

Someone surrendered two cats this morning. They dropped them off when only Bonnie-Wednesday was there and they didn't have the surrender forms. Supposedly they want to trade them for Ralfie. The new staff member, also named Bonnie, was on and off the phone with Stacy and with Eileen about this constantly. Ralfie is already on hold.

A couple who want to a adopt a cat and had come last night during adoption hours only to find the place closed because the new Bonnie had gone home sick when her ulcer started bleeding came today by appointment. We don't usually do adoptions while we're cleaning anymore. Too stressful for the cats and the potential adopters not to mention for us poor cleaning people. They had to discuss every cat in detail and they decided they wanted Ralfie.

And while all this was going on, Wendy got returned. Normally that's not such a big problem, but I guess Wendy's person didn't know he could return her for peeing outside the litter box and well anyway she's a real meanie and two friends of Dawna's went over to the guy's house and captured her and brought her in. She peed and pooped all over the cat carrier, not to mention the scratches she put on the arms of her rescuers.

What is it with Ralfie? He's already on hold. Now people want to trade two other cats for him and these other people want him. Newsflash - we have plenty of orange cats. There's Joey and Lakota and Matthew and I forget who else. Not to mention all the other cats of all kinds and colors. But everybody wants Ralfie.

Meanwhile, Alexis and Chantal are still there. The people changed their minds. Guess they really didn't like snot that much after all.

The ringworm outbreak is winding down. Shiloh is out of the ringworm room, looking like a badly barbered Muppet, but ringworm free.

We're still short handed and I got up a little late this morning so I was there well after noon. I had skipped breakfast - even coffee - to get there reasonably close to my usual time despite my late start. This was not good. I was ravenous when I stopped at Perfecto's on the way home for a large Vienna Roast coffee and an everything bagel with garlic herb cream cheese to go. On my arrival home, the Beans of Egypt Maine's car is in my parking space and there's another car behind it. I can't get anywhere near my space. I park out by the dumpster and shuffle across the parking lot clutching my bagel in one hand and the hot coffee in the other. Grrr.

I sit down to eat said bagel while it's still hot (oh yeah, I ordered it toasted). Ditto for the coffee. As soon as I have my mouth full of bagel and cream cheese, the Mom Bean of Egypt Maine knocks frantically on the door...." I'm so sorry. I was unloading groceries. I'll move the car right now." etc. I grunt something unintelligible because my mouth is full and go back to eating my bagel and slurping my coffee.

After my much delayed breakfast, I sat down at the computer to pay bills and do correspondence. Grrr. MCI has once again failed to bill me for a month and then sent me bill with a nasty note saying I didn't pay last month and better pay up immediately. This is the second time this has happened. Where do my phone bills go? Is someone stealing them or did MCI really not send it?

So I thought I'd treat myself to dinner at Caffe D'Amore (Love at First Bite) for a change to kind of unwind from a hectic and irritating day. It was cold there so I kept my jacket on. Shortly after I ordered my eggplant Parmesan, the phone rang. Some guy was trying to sell pens with the restaurant logo on them. He wouldn't take no for an answer. She hung up on him. He called back. She said no and hung up. He called back. And so on. The phone just kept ringing. She got her husband to answer it. He told the guy not to call back. The guy called back. By the time he stopped calling, I'd eaten about as much eggplant and pasta as I was going to and was still cold and somehow even less relaxed than I was when I'd gone there to relax. I paid my check and told them not to buy any pens.

On the way back I stopped at The Stamp Lady and bought some acid free card stock and a thing that punches out little cat shapes. I don't need either of these things. I probably won't make any cards, and I have no idea what I bought the punch thing for, but I made a nice little scan of some cat shapes against some of the paper, which sort of fit in with the theme of the day. The one on the upper left looks kinda like Ralfie.