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Archive for July, 2010

Four Goods and One not so Good

July 31st, 2010 at 03:53 am

Starting with the good:

1. This morning before I had even finished my shift, one of the ads posted resulted in a phone call (possible sale!).

2. I got paid for yesterday and today. Smile First income since May!

3. I sold another textbook on half.com!

4. I was watching one of the It's Me or the Dog episodes tonight where Victoria teaches the command "stop" to these 3 Maltese dogs when they start barking. I thought that was a great idea, because Buddy has taken to barking at phantoms since mom and stepdad have been gone. So I managed to teach him that cue. It's actually kind of cute -- he'll do a kind of quiet gruff, gruff, then turn his head towards me to see if I'm watching. Big Grin I don't mind him doing the quiet gruff gruff, or even one or two short barks - it's just the constant barking I don't want him to get in the habit of.

Not so good:

Going down the stairs while holding Buddy (I do this when he seems desperate to go outside, otherwise there's a good chance of an accident happening on the stairs), I slipped *again*! Thankfully I didn't land squarely on my tailbone, but I sure got a good bounce and shake. Thankfully also I didn't lose my hold on Buddy and drop him.

Unfortunately it seems as though my back (and my left ankle) are saying "enough abuse already!" I was just about healed up from being knocked down by that dog last week. Now my back is NOT feeling good at all. And my ankle is not feeling all that great either.

UGH!!

A job!!!

July 29th, 2010 at 03:23 pm

On Monday I was perusing the Craigslist job listings in what I thought was more futile effort. But I'm stubborn like that. So there's this ad for someone to write advertisements for merchandise and clean it up for pictures.

I called the number and found out it was a resale business. He was wanting someone in the morning so the ads would have a better showing. I went over and applied, and even did a sample posting. I chose this binder full of football player cards from 93.

Well I guess he must have liked my write up, cuz this morning (while I was out walking Buddy) he called. He wants me to start tomorrow! Next week forward it'll be mon to Th from 8 - 10. I think it pays 15/hr!!!

It may only be temporary - he wants to see if this will pick up sales or not. However long it lasts, it'll be more money than I have now! And if it does last, I think I'll be able to fit my tutoring student in afterwards. This way I'll be able to offer him a lower charge per session.

God is so good!

Scary run this am - updated

July 19th, 2010 at 02:19 pm

This morning I set off on what was supposed to be my long barefoot run for the week around 7 am. I was in the middle of my first run interval getting into the groove, when all of a sudden I found myself knocked flat on my back!

In my neighborhood there are a lot of these little "arms" that branch off from the main streets. On this particular one there are three houses. Most of the arms don't have houses. One of the houses has two dogs - what I think is a Doberman and a collie. They have ran out to greet us many times before - every time though has been when I/we were walking.

Today though the Dobie saw me running past it's territory. I immagine that set off its prey instinct. I think it barreled into the middle of my back. The worst damage was a scraped elbow and broken hair clip (head hit the ground). Mostly I was a little dazed.

The owner ran out and apologized profusely and kept asking if I was ok. After I reassured him that I was, I continued my run. I did cut it in half though. A bandaid and a couple of asprin later, I am fine. I just hope the owner didn't punish it's dog - I'd much rather have the owner work on teaching the dog yard boundaries. It was after all just doing what comes naturally for a dog.

I do think I'll be skipping this particular section on my runs from now on though. It could have turned out a lot worse.

Update (6:45 p.m.): My stepdad talked to the homeowner who saw this happen this morning. The dog is a Boxer. According to the homeowner, the dog was running across the street and would have missed me, but I turned around and we hit. I don't remember turning around, and don't understand why I would have turned around, because at the end of that section is where I usually do my stretches after having had a bit of a warm up (and I hadn't reached the stretching area). The dog also was injured. Frown Its leg was scraped and somehow it got a hole in its hindleg skin. Frown I guess we kind of bounced off each other.

I don't have a bump on my head, so I don't think I had a concussion. I think my barette took the brunt of impact. My stepdad thinks I may have whiplash. I'm debating right now on whether or not to go to one of those emergency clinics and get xrays just to be sure. Their insurance will pay for it (reimburse). But especially if the dog wasn't actually running straight at me ... I'd hate to make their insurance go up - especially if it is something that'll go away with ice and rest.

What really bums me out is that I was just starting to make some good progress with my running. Now I'll probably need to take a week off. Ugh.

This and That

July 19th, 2010 at 02:44 am

* I received another scholarship! This one is one that is possible to renew for the spring semester!

* We now have the Bitter Apple spray which seems to be helping Buddy stop chewing on his leash. Yay!

* Buddy has now learned: sit, down, shake, sit pretty, take it, drop it, and is getting there with spot (go to your spot) and leave it. I also think he hasn't had a potty accident since Friday (which was my fault for not taking him out in a timely manner).

* I have a number of clicker training books on hold at the library - two of them are already in transit. I also put all the DVDs of Patricia McConnell on Interlibrary Loan. No idea when they'll come in. (Of note - This is the first time I've ever actually used ILL for myself. Ever. I'd used it before for my boss at the oil and gas company, but not for me.)

* Saturday I had the wonderful pleasure of celebrating the baptism of my good friends son. I've known him since he was just a few days old. I cared for him during the first two "false labors" and the final real event of his little sister coming into the world. Smile He is a quality young man who as of tomorrow will turn 10. His extremely high IQ was showing through the examples the pastor was using of analogies he (the 10 yo) had come up with regarding life as a Christian. For example, he likened the need for us to read the Bible, pray, etc. to practicing soccer. Both are ways to get ready for the "end" game. He had a couple other analogies too which were really spot on.

* I am finally getting faster at my barefoot running. For the longest time it was taking me 30 minutes+ to complete 1.5 miles -- although most of it was done walking. On Thursday I completed the 1.5 miles in 24 minutes! (Still not very fast, I know. But I'm regaining ground I lost from not running for a while.)

* Tuesday Buddy goes for his next round of shots. That'll have him protected enough for me to take him out on a "real" walk. I've been practicing loose leash walking in the house with him, but it will be a real test on Wednesday morning when we go out in the "world". Smile I'll have the clicker and a bag of goodies with me. Smile

* My mom and stepdad are leaving on Wednesday for ten days. They're going on an Alaskan cruise. A long held dream of my moms. I get the house to myself for ten whole days! Something that hasn't happened since I moved out of my apartment last August!

* Only a bit more than two weeks left of my summer class. Then only 4 classes to go! Hopefully I can hold on to my current GPA. Big Grin

* Mom gained 3 new tutoring students, so she is completely full. If she gets any more, she's going to refer them on to me. She keeps telling me that the way to get them is to "get out there". But the way she "gets out there" is getting her hair done, or her nails done, or going clothes shopping ... all of which takes something I don't have any of -- $$$. So I keep perusing Craigslist and other places, and wait patiently for the new school year to start again.

Frustrated!

July 9th, 2010 at 04:06 am

How do you handle it when three adults who are related to each other do not agree on how to deal with a puppy? Especially when one person (me) is the one who spends the most time with it?

One family member in particular just doesn't seem to *get* that as much as they (person) hates it, it is *better* for the puppy to be on leash 99% of the time. When puppy is off-leash, and runs away or starts chewing on things such as expensive shoes, or digging in plants -- um.. who's fault is it??

Seriously! I heard Buddy yelping away in his expen tonight. So I went downstairs (without engaging with him - trying to not encourage the yelping/barking for attention). Family member orders me to not take him out of the expen - that he's in there for a good reason and knows it! I'm like, um, no. He has no clue why you put him in there and are ignoring him. Corrections and redirection only work *at that moment* not 30 minutes later! Family member didn't like what I said.

I feel like telling family member that they can take total charge of him. Coddle him, give him the run of the house, and then get mad at him when he "disobeys" (commands he hasn't learned yet!!!) Yep, then family member will end up with the dog that creates. I'd like to see said family member getting up at 4:30 a.m. when Buddy is desperate to go potty. HAH!! I hate it myself -- so not a morning person -- but today there was a glimmer of hope - he didn't wake me up till 6:45!!

As much as I love this puppy, I think it was a huge mistake to have gotten him. He's going to be one confused dog, and probably neurotic.

Woo hoo! A scholarship!

July 7th, 2010 at 09:05 pm

Today I got a pre-recorded call. Normally I would just hang up as soon as I knew it was pre-recorded, but for some reason I kept listening. Turns out it was a good thing I did!

The call was telling me that I needed to activate my debit card with my university because I had a refund due me. Since I've been waiting to hear about all the scholarships I applied for, I thought maybe that was the "refund" they were talking about. I hadn't received a card though ... so after a bit of research, I found a number to call.

Two phone calls later, I found out that I have one scholarship of $75, with possibly more later! $75 isn't a lot, but it is almost a month's grocery's or gas. They're sending me a replacement card, which should be here by Monday. It took me about 20 minutes to apply for the 8 scholarships - so even if all I get is $75, that still is pretty high value hourly work. Big Grin

Got "paid" to run today. :)

July 6th, 2010 at 04:25 am

This morning I went out for a run. An integral part of barefoot running (and walking) is keeping an eye out for what's on the ground in front of you. Today I was very happy to run (ha ha) across a quarter! A nice shiny one, so must not have been on the road for very long.

Last Thursday I mailed off a birthday card to my dad (today was his birthday). I'd mailed a similar sized/type card for Father's Day for $1. On Thursday the person tried to charge me $2.17. I asked her to please double check that since I'd only been expecting $1. She did, and it was. Smile

We had a nice holiday weekend. Saturday night we went out for a frozen yogurt at this neat place called YogurtLand. You get to put whatever flavors you want, however much you want, in a large cup, and then add whatever toppings you want. All my flavors were variations of chocolate, and then one of NY Cheesecake. Smile Afterwards, we watched a nice 20 minute fireworks display.

Then Sunday night we ate out at Souper Salad, and then saw Toy Story 3! It was really good. (My mom was treating all of us for these things.)

I started click*r tr*ining Buddy (Maltese puppy) today. Mom says the sound is really annoying, so I'll have to do the training either outside or once she's out of bed. Smile We had a bit of a sit down tonight hashing out about the puppy. Mom agreed to keep him on a leash *most* of the time. That will hopefully help cut down on her complaining about him getting into everything. Rolleyes