New Year, Less Work, Less Cats

So it's been four years since I posted. So much has happened. First off, I was laid off my job in August of 2020, (along with over 30 co-workers) during the pandemic, where I had just celebrated my 30th anniversary.  So, thanks for that anniversary gift, I guess?! Then to rub salt in the wound, they gave me one hour to go into work (since obviously, everyone was still working from home) and clean out my office. I finally negotiated a whopping three hours, but that still was not enough to get out and clean an office I had for 10 years. I left it a mess, but honestly, I could not have cared less. I just wanted to make sure I took out everything of mine. 

Do you know how hard it is to get a job after age 50? Then try getting a job after age 60 during a pandemic. I had job counseling and completely revamped my resume. I sent out many applications, each with a customized letter and resume. I did not hear from a single one. A good friend and former supervisor suggested I incorporate myself so I could work independently. I did all that in March of 2021 and have been working part time since April of 2021 with a remote law firm. After four years, it is still a struggle to not have a steady paycheck. Working hourly, I never know how much work I will have in any given week, so I can get as little as $500 for a month's work or $5,000. It would be a great gig, if I was collecting Social Security, but I want to hold off at least until full retirement age (two more years) so I can collect a decent monthly amount. 

Now to my cats. I have lost two more cats in the past four years. The first, my sweet Ollie. He was at least 15 years old and skin and bones, but a happier cat you could not have found. Always trilling and purring and just wanting to be near me. My vet had retired in 2019 so I took him to a new vet in October of 2020. They were very concerned about his weight but after a number of tests, everything came back very normal. He died very suddenly after having a few seizures in February of 2021. Then my big marshmallow, Mica died. He was a semi-feral, but started coming into the house regularly in 2022. He LOVED being in the house but I had to constantly supervise him as he would use the litterbox about 50% of the time. He was pretty smart and started waking me up with his meows around 4:00-5:00 most mornings to be let outside. Since he was a semi-feral-stray, I had no idea how old he was. He started losing weight around mid-January of 2023. But, his demeanor and appetite were completely normal. I called to make an appointment in early February, but could not get in to see the vet (since it was not an emergency) until early March. As with Ollie, Mica started having seizures in late February and seemed to fall into a coma. I called an in-home pet euthanasia group and someone came out and put Mica down.  But, I still have my darling Clementine and another semi-feral outside cat, Kiko. 

The issue that is taking up all my worry and energy is trying to figure out where I want to retire. Thankfully, my tiny house is paid off but it is a 1937 house with many old house issues that I have not had the money to address. Do I want to stay here and spend the severance money I received fixing it up? Do I want to sell it for a decent amount and get a nice condo for half the cost of what my house is worth? If I sell my house, do I stay in the area or move back to my home state of Minnesota where I have family and the cost of living is close to 40% cheaper? Moving back to Minnesota seems to be the best choice financially, but I've been living in this area for over 40 years! It would be very hard to leave and it makes me very sad to even think about it. 

Soooo, that's where I am today. I look back and its basically been a sad four years. Let's hope the next four years will be a little brighter 👍💓😺 

Ollie

Mica

Like a Phoenix - she rises!!

Hi all,

Who knows who will ever see this. I had completely forgotten how to log into my blogger account but just figured it out! Going on 10 years since I blogged last. So much has happened in the past 10 years I don't know where to start. I guess it always comes down to the cats. Since 2010 I've lost almost all the gang -- in 2011, Apu; in 2012 dear sweet Woody and Chloe; in 2013 Possum (who I only had five months; 2015, Chunky Lisa; 2016 Figaro; and in 2018, Sweet Pea and Toby. I now have only Ollie and I rescued another stray in the fall of 2018, my darling Clementine. So, two inside and outside, two semi-feral strays, Mica and Kiko that I feed and watch over.

Well, that's all for now. Let's see if I can even get it posted!! Hope all is well with everyone self-isolating!!!!

So Long---For Now

With my lack of posts I'm sure it will come as no surprise that I've decided to stop blogging...at least for now.

Stress at home (with one of my cats, Sweet Pea being ill), stress at work (many organizational changes in the wings since the Boss left and not knowing what my job will entail in the coming months), and the incredibly oppressive heat and humidity of this summer (they talk about a cool front that will lower the temps to 90!), has made one very stressed out and melancholic possum.

Rest assured I will keep in contact by checking out your blogs and by Facebook. It's just that there is absolutely nothing of interest going on in my life and trying to think of a funny and/or interesting post is just one more stress I don't need right now.

Thanks for reading...

Happy Anniversary Jane!

Today marks the 50th anniversary of Jane Goodall's pioneering research on chimpanzees at Gombe National Park in Tanzania. She spoke at one of our conferences a while back. Although it was only a featured session, you would have thought she was the keynote speaker with how crowded the room was. Since I should have been working at our HQ offices at the time, I pulled strings, cajoled, and basically pi$$ed off some people for leaving my duties to attend her speech. I did not care. It was well worth it. Somewhat shy and reticent, her passion for animals and the environment came through loud and clear. She is such a positive role model for me.

While she is on the road giving speeches 300 days a year, I read on her website that she is marking the anniversary by going back to Gombe getting reacquainted with her friends (both human and animal). She will be taking a solitary hike up "Jane's Mountain" and then attending a celebration in her honor tonight.

Thank you Jane for letting the world know that chimpanzees are smart, sentient beings with a complex social structure, and not the silly mindless creatures that had been portrayed for years. May you have many more years of health and happiness in advocating for those who have no voice.

Gombe: 50 Years of Research and Inspiration from The Jane Goodall Institute on Vimeo.

Elephant Fluff

On this Friday before Memorial Day weekend, I leave you with a happy Ele video. I've been meaning to post this before but, well, you know.

This video was taken in March. It shows Shirley and Tarra being very silly. This is a wonderful video since at 64 years old, Shirley is the oldest elephant at the Elephant Sanctuary and the matriarch of the herd and while she is pretty mellow and sweet, silly just isn't in her repertoire. Shirley has had such a tragic life in the circus. You will notice that one of her back legs is misshapen from when a bull elephant attacked her at a circus event and broke her leg, but she was never taken for treatment. You can see part of one of her ears missing from a fire when she was on a boat that had caught on fire while being brought to a circus. More recently, she has lost two of her dear ele friends in the last three years and the Sanctuary has been finding her many times off in the woods alone.

Tarra on the other hand is the gadfly of the herd. Wanting to makes friends with everyone and always wandering around with her dog, Bella. It has been amazing watching her spend more and more time with Shirley. Caregivers at the Sanctuary insist that they can tell that Tarra senses that Shirley needs extra care and some silliness now and then. Watching Shirley respond in kind is truly heartwarming. Keep an eye out at around 1.53 in the video as Shirley strategically positions her bad leg to give Tarra a little kick! Oh, also make sure your sound is on.

Enjoy and have a restful and thoughtful Memorial Day weekend.

(Dang, the right side of the video is cut off. If anyone knows how to fix, let me know--thanks).

Something to Plan For

The Board meetings have come and gone. Everything went off without a hitch. A co-worker mentioned to me that "it finally dawned on me that if ANY aspect of the board meeting went wrong, no matter how small, it would be on your back". Yes, I told her, now you know why I'm usually in an extreme state of stress right before and during the meetings.


Now, I am counting down the days to when my boss leaves. His last day in the office is the middle of June. While I'm not in fear of losing my job, the exact outline of what I'll be doing is still up on the air. There just hasn't been any time to discuss it. I have things written out about what I currently do and what I'd like to continue to do, along with a title change. I just need to get on the incoming Executive Director's calendar.


What keeps me going is my long term goal of working for my local animal shelter. While I can't think of looking for work there now, once my house is paid for I'll be able to take a job there at a lot less pay.


The shelter had a little reception and tour for the major donors last night. Now, I do donate, but am nowhere near a major donor. My neighbor is though and invited me along. I can't tell you how much I feel at home every time I walk through their doors. The Executive Director was once the chief veterinarian at a well known animal hospital in DC. He then became the Medical Director of the shelter's medical center. Now he is the Executive Director and a nicer man you will not meet.

I used to volunteer at the shelter until my own population of cats grew to the point (13) where I felt I was shortchanging them attention on evenings when I would go to the shelter. So, my plan is that in about five years, my herd (now at 8) should have thinned out even more and I can start volunteering again. Then, after I work my way into their hearts, and after my house is paid up, I hopefully can transition to employment there.


Would you like to see a few sights from last night? Sure you would...



This is Riley. Police were called to a domestic situation a little over two months ago. When they arrived they found three rottweiller puppies that had clearly been abused. All three puppies had collars that were so tight they were imbedded into their skin and had to be surgically removed. Riley also had a rubber band tightly wound around her front leg that had obviously been there for weeks. It had completely stopped the blood flow to the leg and unfortunately, they had to amputate it.

As soon as Riley saw this little one, she immediately hopped over to her. The surgery was two months ago. A vet tech took Riley home to foster and has now adopted her. The two other puppies were adopted also. The couple who had the puppies are being prosecuted for animal abuse.

We then took a tour of the kennel area (or as they like to call them, doggy condos). Many of the dogs look like these two. They take in a high percentage of dogs from high kill shelters in West Virginia and they all seem to be hound mixes.


This white shepherd came all the way from Kuwait. Did you know that the country of Kuwait has only ONE animal shelter? Well, that one burned down and while they found homes for all of the cats and some of the dogs, there were still 20 dogs that were left out in the hot sun in cages. The Rescue League took them all.

We then moved on to the Cat House. This is were I usually spent most of my volunteer time. There are usually a number of cats roaming around, playing or sitting in volunteer laps getting brushed. They even have a separate room for playing for cats who might be contagious with respiratory infections. Each cat condo has its own air filtration system. It has cut the spread of infections by 90%.

I, of course, was drawn to this black beauty. There must have been around 20 people talking and laughing and he was the most laid back cat, just taking it all in. As laid back as he was, he was no match for this one...

You could barely wake him up!

The evening ended with a tour of the medical center. The shelter has six veterinarians on staff. The Executive Director (pictured above) told us he barely gets to do any surgery any more but tries to give a hand a couple times a month. (A humbling experience was looking through the offices. The Executive Director's office is smaller than mine. Though he has the BIG bonus of being able to bring his two dogs to work with him.) The medical shelter is also a life line for over 6,000 low income residents and their animals who live in the District. A typical exam will cost $10.00 (if they can afford it), while surgeries costing into the thousands will never exceed $100.00 (again, only if they can afford it). Plus they host monthly free spay/neuter days.

Yes, something to plan for...

If I Were a Rich (Wo)Man...

...I would quit my job so fast it would make your head spin. But, I digress...

I've been lax in posting and commenting on other blogs lately. With board orientation meetings last week and our full board meeting starting on Sunday, any spare moment I've had has purposefully NOT been spent on the computer!! But, I didn't want too much time to go by without posting about a few surprise guests to my local shelter.

The actor Harvey Fierstein is currently in town for a few months playing Tevye in Fiddler on the Roof. He is a BIG supporter of adopting rescued animals (he has many of his own) and last week brought some of his castmates along for a tour of the Washington Animal Rescue League.

I've always thought he seemed like such a fun guy and now I like him even more knowing of his love of animals.

Unfortunately, I was not there when they took the tour. All photos are courtesy of WARL. I don't know why but this last photo just melts my heart.