The "What's on your mind?" Thread -2016

[Mamanyt1953]

 
Poor Artie!  That little guy has it so rough.  I really want to give him loves.

So, client monitoring was scheduled today.  The client has monitored me quite a few times and never had a single complaint.  Twenty minutes after I started calling, I got kicked out of the system and received an e-mail to stop calling for the day.  I was yawning, but it was between calls.  I'm pretty sure I didn't yawn at all while talking to people.  So I don't know what's going on.  I made a doctor's appointment for next Monday.  Maybe there's something I can do or maybe I can get a doctor's note about chronic yawning or something.  I just don't know what to do.  I can drink a whole pot of coffee or 2 or 3 energy drinks and still yawn.  And I know that much caffeine is really not healthy.  This is stressing me out so bad, it's making me physically ill.  I've been feeling really nauseous and anxious since I got that e-mail.  I'm at a loss.

When you see your doctor, have your oxygen levels checked.  Repeated yawning can be an attempt to get more oxygen to the brain.  Just a thought.

 
There!  I went to the kitchen to make myself some supper, and it suddenly dawned on me what is going on. 

@Alicia88, you have two problems with this job:

1. Clients say horrible things to you.
2. You have to follow stupid scripts and aren't allowed to do human things like sneeze, cough, yawn, or show emotion.

Right?

Wrong.  You have one problem with this job.  You have to follow stupid scripts and aren't allowed to do human things like sneeze, cough, yawn, or show emotion.  The clients who say nasty things to you aren't talking to you, they're talking to the stupid script.  Your employers have a major problem in that their view of a "customer satisfaction survey" actually pisses off the clients.  People who were perfectly happy with their car rental experience end up being angry because they're subjected to an annoying phone call asking them about their experience.

I can't tell you how to make your employers more sensible, but I can tell you that it's not you the clients are angry at.

Margret

Last night I realize the Hekitty will always be an only kitty.  Little Bit waltzed across the back door (glass pane center), and I thought for a minute that a dragon was loose in my dining room!  Dear heavens at the hiss!  I once stood next to a steam locomotive as it discharged, and the locomotive would have been PROUD of Hekiity!  I also learned the the hair on her tail is, apparently, 3 inches long, as she puffed that thing out to what LOOKED like a 6" diameter!  Then she spent the next hour and a half patrolling the door.  SIGH...I really didn't expect that, especially since she totally ignores dogs, even when my previous neighbor's chihuahua would bolt in my front door every time I opened it.

 

[margd]

@Alicia88   Hope you're having a better day today than yesterday.  

 

 

[raina21]

Got about 6 packages in the mail today. I'm excited because I get to wrap them I don't know why I get so excited about christmas wrapping. I just do. I always wrap gifts really nicely .

 

[tarasgirl06]

I love to wrap presents, too! My mom used to say I should get a part time job in the winter time wrapping packages in a dept. store. 

 

[Alicia88]

I love wrapping presents, too.

I e-mailed my boss and told her this whole thing was stressing me out so much it was literally making me physically ill and I needed to take the rest of the week off until my doctor's appointment on Monday so I could see if there's something I can do.  This was the response:  "As you are aware we must always conduct calls with the utmost professionalism when interacting with our client’s customers. If you feel a week off or so would prevent you from yawning on an open line, we would be willing to do that."  I swear, they act like these 30 second surveys are the difference between the end of the world and the sun coming up every morning.

I'm out of yogurt.  I think I'm going to have to go get more yogurt.

 

[tallyollyopia]

 
I'm about 95% sure I'm not pregnant.  I'm on the pill.  Period is due next week so if it doesn't come, then I'll consider the possibility but I think it's pretty unlikely.  And if I am, so be it.  I mean, I don't want to be pregnant yet, but only because I still haven't been able to get my divorce finalized.  I don't know where he lives or works so serving him with papers is difficult.  I even asked about using a process server, but I still have to tell them where to find him and I don't know.  And in Missouri, you can't get divorced if you're pregnant, even if there is 0% chance of the husband being the father.  And, considering that I haven't been in the same room as him for 4 years, I'm pretty sure it wouldn't be his.  Haha.  Other than that, I have no issue with getting pregnant and neither does John.  But, ya know, if it happens, I guess God wanted me to have a baby.

Went to see mommy the nurse tonight.  She said it's a boil.  She stabbed it with a needle and squeezed a bunch of gunk out of it.  Hurt like crazy.  Told me to keep a warm compress on it and try to squeeze it out if it gets puffy again and if I wimp out (highly likely, I'm not good at hurting myself) to come back and let her do it.

I don't really get to be "nice."  I have to follow a script and I have 7 pages of "pat responses" that I have to use word for word and I get in trouble if I say anything else.  It's pretty ridiculous.  They're ridiculously picky.  Still, I told her I was really sorry for her loss and if they yell at me for that (if they listen to that call), so be it.  I don't care at that point.  If they have a problem with me acting like a human, that's their issue, not mine.

That's almost as convoluted as the spousal laws in my  state. I have a friend who was renting a room from a man back in college and ended up common law married to him--and he  didn't want to sign the divorce papers, because it looked good for him to have a college-age wife! 

 (AWM and I had a little talk with him, and he did  sign the papers--with no need for alimony on either side, although he wanted it.)

 
Artie Update.

Artie has pretty much stopped with the dribbling from the enema. His bum is still yucky and sore.. poor baby..

He has not eaten much of anything.. mostly lapping at the extra water I put in. At one point, he had a choice of 3 dishes of food.. and refused all of them.. he had NV lamb, Solid Gold tuna with mackerel, and Pride rabbit..... just a few licks....

He is feeling a bit better. I was able to get a purr out of him last night, when he was on my lap...He does not stay there long. I think he is uncomfortable.

Artie cannot sit when he eats, cuz his bum hurts so much.. but he is alert...and loving.. He has lost weight from this ordeal. I am afraid to weigh him...I do not want to see any numbers down into the 9 lbs mark...

I feel helpless.. I am thinking of updating the regular Vet, but I am not taking him back in.. he has been through so much. He is constantly avoiding his carrier. I keep it out in the open and he uses it as a bed, sometimes....

I washed a full load of towels yesterday. I am going to replace the ones around the house...for his dribbles. 

I need to wash the floor, but I do not want to stress him out anymore..I have wiped down all the spots that I could see.... he is very skittish at sudden noises- at one point,  the TV was a bit too loud for him last night. I was watching Frozen with Artie on my lap.. I was surprised that he watched the intro to it.. the beginning scene..I

Right now he is curled up on my bed..

I gave him some Weruva Lamberghini --he wanted it, but just lapped a bit....I hope he gets his appetite back...

I guess I love him too much...to see him not feeling well really breaks my heart...but that is life...

thank you everyone for your well wishes for him...((hugs))

It sounds like he's feeling a little better. Maybe as he recovers he'll start eating more? Here's hoping! 

 
Poor sweet Artie. I really hope he feels better soon.  Darling boy. 

  

I've just scared Chula and Paul almost out of their skins.  The rotary paper cutter I'd ordered was just delivered so naturally I gave the cutting head a roll.  Argh!  My ears will never be the same.  This thing screams like some poor soul being tortured in the depths of hell.  To send it back will require a cab ride to the post office, which will cost more than I paid for it in the first place.  If the WD40 doesn't work, I guess it's back to the old scissors.   Aw, well, it's a minor complaint in the great scheme of things.  Grumble, grumble.

It might be a tightness issue instead. When RB got me a rotary cutter for my birthday, he had to loosen the screw holding everything together because the factory had just put it on too tight.

 
Well, they sent me another e-mail with a "written warning."

John's going to be getting a lot more hours as soon as they have the new side of the factory fully operational within a couple of weeks and that's going to mean a lot of overtime.  We'll be fine on just his income.  But I never again want to depend on someone else.  I just feel like crying right now.  I'm at the end of my rope.

Have you tried looking for a job right now, while you have one? From everything I've heard, it's easier to find a job while you're working than when you're between them.

Got about 6 packages in the mail today. I'm excited because I get to wrap them

I don't know why I get so excited about christmas wrapping. I just do. I always wrap gifts really nicely .

In our house we have a tradition--no one is allowed to have knives or scissors when opening presents, and we make them as difficult to open as possible, for laughs. (To counter this, I started opening my presents really  slowly. So while everyone else had to struggle to open their stuff, mine opened real easily! 

)

 

[Alicia88]

I'm gonna start looking.  Another job comes with so many complications, though.  And, since John's scooter was stolen, we have to deal with the complications of getting us both to work with only one vehicle.  That's why me working from home was so convenient.

Well, shark week started today so I'm not pregnant.  Just overly stressed.

 

[raina21]

Its 5am here and I can't go to sleep because it is about 50° in my room right now. I'm laying here shivering. With 2 blankets on. Oh how I wish the walls in my room were insulated. Our heat is set to 70° but my room is the farthest from the furnace and by the time the heat reaches my room, it's not exactly heat anymore. I could maybe call it lukewarm air. Lol.

I guess I will have to deal with it until I clean my room tomorrow. Then I'll be able to put a space heater in here.

 

[tallyollyopia]

 
I'm gonna start looking.  Another job comes with so many complications, though.  And, since John's scooter was stolen, we have to deal with the complications of getting us both to work with only one vehicle.  That's why me working from home was so convenient.

Well, shark week started today so I'm not pregnant.  Just overly stressed.

You have both my congratulations on shark week, and my sympathy. I know it sucks. I also understand the issue of only having one vehicle; I'm sharing with AWM (and when it rains, we all use the same vehicle, since RB's van can't run in the rain.) So, 

.

Its 5am here and I can't go to sleep because it is about 50° in my room right now. I'm laying here shivering. With 2 blankets on. Oh how I wish the walls in my room were insulated. Our heat is set to 70° but my room is the farthest from the furnace and by the time the heat reaches my room, it's not exactly heat anymore. I could maybe call it lukewarm air. Lol.

I guess I will have to deal with it until I clean my room tomorrow. Then I'll be able to put a space heater in here.

Why not grab your blankets and pillows and bed down closer to the heater? That's what I do when the fire's going.

Well, I just finished making four batches of cookies, which is more difficult than it sounds. First of all, I'm using a secret family recipe (literally), and it is fiendishly  complicated. If the ingredients aren't added in the right order, the cookies don't come out right. If the ingredients are the wrong temperature (eggs and butter must  be fresh from the fridge and vanilla extract must  be room-temperature, for example) the cookies don't come out right. If I cut the butter the wrong way, the cookies don't come out right. If the mixer is going too fast or too slow or I mix the dough for too long, it doesn't come out right. If I try to double the recipe, it comes out really  wrong. And even if I do everything  right, sometimes it still comes out wrong. No idea why. Still, I get it right eight times out of ten, which is more than anyone else in the house, so making the Christmas cookies is my job. (I had enough materials to make six batches, but I just don't have the stamina.) As soon as I get the energy, I'll clean up the cooking mess. In the meantime, I'm just relaxing with my feet up. 

 

[swamplady]

Hi. I am trying very hard to enjoy this season. I love Christmas. New Years is always a fresh start for me. My birthday is always the beginning of the holiday spirit. Last year we celebrated my birthday. Then we had a great Christmas. Then on the 27th my brother passed. This year his presence is greatly missed. I felt I needed to say something + this is the place I picked. Tiger was going to be his kitty. I was giving my brother Tiger on his birthday. Sadly it did not happen. Now I cannot even think of Tiger being anywhere else but with me.

 

[margd]

 

[Mamanyt1953]

So...where'd you get the photo of my cat?

Got off the phone with a friend in Nebraska.  Gonna be -17 degrees at her house tomorrow night.  I will not longer complain about our 28 degrees.  Although I am fretting about Little Bit.  Can't wait till I can afford to make my "secret cathouse!"

 

[Alicia88]

After hearing about those cookies, I really want to try one.  They must be amazing to be worth all that effort.

I'm very sorry for your loss.  The holidays always seem to emphasize the absence of loved ones.

Someone please shoot me.  I'm done.  I give up.  My grandma called me a little while ago with some news.  My sister is pregnant.  The 16 year old sister.  My other sister is pregnant, too.  She's 24 and this will be her 6th kid.  I've known about that one for a while.  But DD is about 2 months pregnant.  And her home life isn't all that great, either.  And there's nothing I can do about it.  Someone pinch me.  I'm asleep and having a nightmare, right???

 

[tarasgirl06]

I empathize.  There are so many things in this world that just don't seem just or explainable.  My best thing always is just to take it Upstairs, so to speak. 

 

[Primula]

After hearing about those cookies, I really want to try one.  They must be amazing to be worth all that effort.
I'm very sorry for your loss.  The holidays always seem to emphasize the absence of loved ones.
Someone please shoot me.  I'm done.  I give up.  My grandma called me a little while ago with some news.  My sister is pregnant.  The 16 year old sister.  My other sister is pregnant, too.  She's 24 and this will be her 6th kid.  I've known about that one for a while.  But DD is about 2 months pregnant.  And her home life isn't all that great, either.  And there's nothing I can do about it.  Someone pinch me.  I'm asleep and having a nightmare, right???

Alicia, it's tough, but you can't take on your sisters' troubles for yourself. They made their choices to get pregnant.

 

[Alicia88]

I'm having a day.  One of those insanely, ridiculous days.  In addition to all of the above, we were going to get groceries, but the car wouldn't start.  So, I spent the paycheck I'm getting tomorrow buying a new battery.  Apparently the battery was from 2008 so I guess I really needed it.  But, I don't think I'm gonna be able to buy my babies Christmas presents this year.  

 

[margd]

 
I'm having a day.  One of those insanely, ridiculous days.  In addition to all of the above, we were going to get groceries, but the car wouldn't start.  So, I spent the paycheck I'm getting tomorrow buying a new battery.  Apparently the battery was from 2008 so I guess I really needed it.  But, I don't think I'm gonna be able to buy my babies Christmas presents this year.  

It's been my experience that cars are greedy trouble makers who always develop problems at the worst possible times, especially around the Christmas holidays.  This is to ensure they get their present before anyone else does and it almost always works.  While we're sitting inside eating our Christmas dinner of gruel, they're out there grinning their smug grins, pleased with their ability to once again come out ahead of the rest of the family.  I can not tell you how many times some or all of my Christmas money went to the car.  Kick the thing in the tires and turn your back on it.   And check out these threads:

 http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264569/home-made-cat-toys

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/202866/home-made-cat-toys

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/284627/hand-made-toys-for-cats

And if you are into Pinterest, there is always this:  

 

[Alicia88]

They only get away with it cuz they know we need them.  Without the car, John would have no way of getting to work and we'd really be sunk.  I should buy a horse.  That'd show the car.

 

[tallyollyopia]

 
Hi. I am trying very hard to enjoy this season. I love Christmas. New Years is always a fresh start for me. My birthday is always the beginning of the holiday spirit. Last year we celebrated my birthday. Then we had a great Christmas. Then on the 27th my brother passed. This year his presence is greatly missed. I felt I needed to say something + this is the place I picked. Tiger was going to be his kitty. I was giving my brother Tiger on his birthday. Sadly it did not happen. Now I cannot even think of Tiger being anywhere else but with me.

It's always hard to lose someone. It seems like everything reminds you of that person and then time will pass and you'll be shocked at how much you associate certain events with that person. All I can say is 

, and thank you for sharing with us.

 
After hearing about those cookies, I really want to try one.  They must be amazing to be worth all that effort.

I'm very sorry for your loss.  The holidays always seem to emphasize the absence of loved ones.

Someone please shoot me.  I'm done.  I give up.  My grandma called me a little while ago with some news.  My sister is pregnant.  The 16 year old sister.  My other sister is pregnant, too.  She's 24 and this will be her 6th kid.  I've known about that one for a while.  But DD is about 2 months pregnant.  And her home life isn't all that great, either.  And there's nothing I can do about it.  Someone pinch me.  I'm asleep and having a nightmare, right???

The cookies are amazing. They're chocolate chip cookies, and they don't taste anything  like what you can buy in the store. (One year, obsessed with white-chocolate macadamia nut cookies I tried to use the base of the recipe and just add white chocolate chips and macadamia nuts instead of semi-sweet chocolate chips and pecans. They came out so badly I never tried again--the recipe is not meant to be tampered with.)

Now, about these upcoming babies, are these women in your life asking for emotional support? Maybe they just want you to feel happy for them? Just a thought--might be wrong, might be right.

 
I'm having a day.  One of those insanely, ridiculous days.  In addition to all of the above, we were going to get groceries, but the car wouldn't start.  So, I spent the paycheck I'm getting tomorrow buying a new battery.  Apparently the battery was from 2008 so I guess I really needed it.  But, I don't think I'm gonna be able to buy my babies Christmas presents this year.  

That's the nice thing about cats. You don't have to buy  them anything. Last year I went to the post office, picked up a few of those flat-rate shipping boxes, and taped them together for a maze. It didn't last long, but they enjoyed it and I spent two dollars (on the packing tape) for the whole thing and they had tons of fun. 

 

 
It's been my experience that cars are greedy trouble makers who always develop problems at the worst possible times, especially around the Christmas holidays.  This is to ensure they get their present before anyone else does and it almost always works.  While we're sitting inside eating our Christmas dinner of gruel, they're out there grinning their smug grins, pleased with their ability to once again come out ahead of the rest of the family.  I can not tell you how many times some or all of my Christmas money went to the car.  Kick the thing in the tires and turn your back on it.   And check out these threads:

 http://www.thecatsite.com/t/264569/home-made-cat-toys

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/202866/home-made-cat-toys

http://www.thecatsite.com/t/284627/hand-made-toys-for-cats

And if you are into Pinterest, there is always this:  

 
They only get away with it cuz they know we need them.  Without the car, John would have no way of getting to work and we'd really be sunk.  I should buy a horse.  That'd show the car.

Dress warmly. Those four-legged convertibles are freezing this time of year. 

 

[segelkatt]

@Raina21  This may be weird from someone who lives in SoCal and thinks anything under 65 is cold. I sleep with my window open year round and these nights it's around 50 or lower. Now I must say that I sleep with two down comforters and a blanket on me and I have 4 down pillows in a queen size bed plus one short  haired cat sleeping with me next to my head. If it gets around 40 I pull out a feather bed which is meant to be slept UPON, but my German background tells me to sleep UNDER it and that's what I do. So the room can be freezing (it got that way when I lived in WA and I still had the window open) but as long as I wear fuzzy socks I will be toasty warm in my bed. Getting out of bed during the night is no fun though. And I really shiver in the morning before I get dressed in layers so I won't have a huge heating bill due to running the heater all day. I just turn that on long enough to take the chill off, keep the heat off until about 3 and then turn the heat on until I go to bed. The door to my bedroom stays closed all day.