Stuff

I should become a police officer. Seems I’m always spotting people doing stupid things on the road and there’s never a cop in the right place at the right time.

One of the things that pisses me off the most on the highway is when people cross in and out of the HOV (high occupancy vehicle)lane. You’re allowed to drive in the HOV lane if you have 2 or more people in your vehicle. My husband and I use it to get to and from work. Not only is it a $500.00 fine to cross in and out of that lane at a non-designated area but it’s dangerous. One of those dangers being kicking up large rocks in the area between that lane and the other lanes. We have many a dent and a couple cracks in our windsheild from people cutting in right in front of us. Cops could make a killing if they’d patrol that lane better and enforce the no getting in or out of the HOV lane crap. Most people just use it to pass people that are driving slower than they’d like to be in the left lane. Or to use the HOV’s exit ramps to the mall and stuff because they’re less crowded. They either need to enforce the laws or put up the cement barriers because my car is taking a lot of abuse. People have nearly hit us many times as well. I’m considering writing the DOT or someone.

I think the cops are patrolling our street a little bit once in awhile. I heard them out there last week when we went in late to work. They were pulling people over. They’re doing it during morning rush hour though which isn’t going to help anything. The problems are at night. *rolls eyes*

Ah well.

Sara is doing a bit better this morning. I feel so bad for her, laying down and standing up seem to be what she has the most trouble with. We had planned to let her rest outside of her crate for the whole evening yesterday but she wasn’t all that interested. She wouldn’t lay down in the living room or anything. Finally we went ahead and put her in her crate and she layed down and went to sleep. When we went to take her out to let her go back into the living room she looked up at us like she really didn’t want to get up so we left her. We coaxed her up at 9pm to go outside one last time then she slept for the night. She was more interested in getting up this morning. She’s moving around more but still seems kinda groggy. She looks so sad but she’s really good natured about the whole thing. She even let me check her incision without a problem.

We’ve been having a lot of kitty time-outs at our place. Sophie is a little terror. She’s very strong willed. Kittens that haven’t had rules have to be taught that they’re not the boss. If you put her down she attacks you and gets right back up. Attacking me more than once in a row results in a time out in the little bathroom. The length depends on the reason. Last night for instance, she was given a time out for not staying off the stove while it was on. That meant she had to be in the little bathroom until the stove was off and no longer hot. No chance of danger. They learn eventually. It’s mainly a matter of positive reinforcement. We always recognize and reward good behavior. A kitten that lets you pet her without attacking will get picked up and loved or a treat. A kitten that attacks your hand when you reach down gets ignored and walked away from. A kitten that attacks you when you punish it receives a time-out. They learn eventually that certain behaviors result in something good and certain behaviors result in something not-good. The most important thing to remember when dealing with a cat, or any animal for that matter is that if the animal is given NO attention they’ll take whatever they can get be it negative or positive. If the only time your kitty gets any attention from you is when it tears up your shoelaces and knocks things off the counter then that’s what it’s going to do to get attention. If you make sure to reward good behavior, even if the good behavior is as simple as it playing with it’s own toy or taking a nap you’ll win the kitten over and it’ll want to do good.

Sally and Kenny were actually playing with Sophie this morning. I was glad to see that because I was a bit worried about her way of interracting with the other cats. This morning, for example, Sophie wanted in the window that Casper was in so what does she do? She reaches a paw out and smacks Casper. *slaps forehead* Sometimes it’s like dealing with children.

We’re going to finish the porch tonight. Finish as in getting the door closing and getting the place cleaned up. I was standing out there last night at 9 while hubby had Sara outside. It was great, there weren’t any bugs on the porch. I can actually sit outside and enjoy the nice warm summer evenings. I’m going to be in heaven. 🙂

I have a meeting today with a bitch. I have another meeting tomorrow with another bitch. It takes every ounce of energy I have to be nice to these people. Luckily my boss is going with me to the first one. We have the same problem though, sitting across from my boss once at one of the meetings I could tell she was furious but she’s good at keeping her cool. At my last performance appraisal I found out my boss has one of the same issues I do. Titles mean nothing to her. The CEO could come down and ask for something and she would treat him the same way she’d treat anyone else. I’m the same way. I treat everyone as equals. Titles don’t mean shit to me. I don’t care if you have a degree from such and such University in business or whatever and have worked here for 20 years. You can wait behind the intern with a question and I’ll get to you in time. We’re all equals in my eyes. Anyone who comes to me will get treated with the same amount of respect I’d give anyone. The way to earn or lose my respect is to treat me well or treat me poorly. Someone who has treated me well in the past will win out over someone who has treated me poorly. If two people come to me with a problem of equal importance. I’ll help the person that’s been polite to me in the past before helping the person that’s been rude and unkind. Even if the rude person has a higher position in the company. It’s not good for office politics but I’m not one for office politics, they’re superficial and stupid. I may not move up in this company this way but I don’t care, I’m not here to move up. I’m here to earn enough money to pay the bills.