Damn you, Twitter!

It's just so much easier to Twit from my iPhone than sit down and actually compose a blog these days. I feel like such a loser.
My schedule usually these days: Sunday, work from 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m., Monday off sometimes, Tues through Fri - 6 am Pmart, and Saturday, work from 3 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Wash, rinse, repeat.
I'm loving it. I kinda wanna to get a third job to fill in the gaps, but the idea of trying to coordinate between them all is daunting. Well, so is finding another job. Duh.
The newsroom...is...a newsroom. It's freaking awesome. Bantering, noise, talking, tvs going, police scanner, etc. It's, gasp, a real newsroom. Not the pale imitations that Greenspun houses.
And my boss, Monica, is probably the most awesome boss I'll ever know. She's this tiny strawberry blonde with super curly hair cut very similar to mine, short in the back, long in front. Laid back, but knows how to get the work done. Totally cute. =) Hence, the copy desk consists mostly of tiny, cute girls...We all get along, and the banter is hilarious. I've never met more down-to-earth, educated girls who are gorgeous to boot. If that sounds snotty, that's because it is. I only wish I could bring in the gorgeous editor girls I know back home.
The building I work in is ancient, and the Macs are from 1998...oh, and we're laying out in Quark. Which is much less of a hurdle than I expected, as it's very similar to InDesign...just dumber. I often find myself using hot keys for InDesign that totally confuse Quark, as it doesn't have them or they do something completely different. The only issue is not knowing when everything is going to freeze and crash, but the computers have been taken care of as best as one can with ancient Macs, so it's not too bad.
I've even been laying out the front pages of the B sections. Amazing. They never even let me touch front pages at The Home News. Plus, the NCT's styles are a lot looser in that white space is OK in certain circumstances, if you have to put a photo above an ad stack because there's no other way to do it, that's OK, etc. etc.
I can also pick up extra hours pretty easily...if someone goes on vacation. =) Did I mention it's $20 an hour? Regardless that I work 16 hours a week usually, I still make more there in two days than I do at Pmart in a week.
I do still love my Pmart gig, though. =)
Speaking of Pmart, the ringworm thing...Sasha needed a shave. So I used my 30% employee-day discount to get a shaver for her, and we buzzed her short, short, short. Her entire back leg looks like it was mauled because of the hair loss and sores, and she has sporadic sores along her back. =\ Poor dog. The pills seem to be helping, and I can topically treat the sores with her hair so short...so he we go. Cross fingers for her.
Having some friends over for dinner tonight. I'm sure I won't blog for another month again. Whups. =)

Sulferated Lime dip

So the dogs and the cat all have to be weekly dipped in a substance that temporarily stains them yellow, permanently stains anything else it touches yellow, and smells like the worst combination of rotten hard boiled eggs and fireworks. The doc believes Shorty and the cat are carriers of ringworm, that Sequoia is under control, and that Sasha is totally covered. I feel like a git.
The dip helps eliminate anything on the fur and skin, but in Sasha's case, it's systemic, and she has to go on tablets. The thing is, the drug, Griseofulvin, not only doesn't come in generic, but Rite Aid doesn't have it, and both CVS and Costco want to charge $220 to $270 for 60 tablets. Petmeds.com and drsfostersandsmith.com don't carry it. It's been a trial, but the doc tracked down a distributor that can get it to me for roughly $119.
The other issue with the oral antifungal meds? They can wreck the liver. So, she had to have a blood test done prior and then will need it every two to three months until she doesn't have to take the drug anymore.
Meanwhile, she's itchy...and itchy...and itchy.
Oh, and my brother, his wife, their dog, and my 10-month-old CRAWLING nephew are visiting this week. I need to bleach every surface I can, as well as rent a steam cleaner for the small amount of carpet we have...and lock the dogs up for a week. They can NOT come in contact with that baby, not to mention their dog.
I'm still so, so, so looking forward to their visit, though! Just need to jump this fungus hurdle. HAH.
I start my new job tomorrow - oh, yeah, btw, I got it! So excited. Check out their site here. Will blog more on it after this week! Wooooo!

Twitter Two

OK...so, um, I've been tweeting. Like a total dork. =) I got the app for my iPhone, and I check it every now and then...and it's really nice to "hear" my friends. So I occasionally throw something up there...I feel a lot more connected to everyone back home.
Hoo boy. Is my face red. =P
Meanwhile, I've got an upcoming interview at the North County Times, and I am very excited about it. More on that later!
The animals are doing ok. Not great. Sequoia has ringworm above her right eye, which we've been treating, but it doesn't look nice. Poor thing. I've been calling her Groucho because her skin is black underneath her fur, and ringworm makes the fur fall out.
It's my fault; we had some infected guinea pigs at work that we were treating, and I must have brought it home on my clothes. I don't have it, but poor Sequoia. So now I don't go inside without first removing my work clothes in the garage. Damage has already been done, but maybe I can cut back on any further damage happening.
Sasha is itchy, and she's got red bumps all over. The doc treated her already with a food supplement oil thing and some steroids, which did temporarily make the itching stop, but the sores didn't go away, and once she was off the meds, she started chewing again. So we're all heading back to the vet today for more followups and shots and etc. etc. etc. It's amazing how easy dog owners have it in the Mojave. No fleas. No ticks. No heartworm. No real need to worry about things like Lyme Disease or Leptospirosis.
Ringworm, though. That's everywhere. I got it back in 2001 or so when I worked at the NSPCA, and I didn't treat it right, so it did this thing where it goes dormant...and it comes back every now and then. Lovely stuff. See here if you like.

Twitter

Screw Twitter. Screw Facebook. Screw MySpace. There. I said it. I really hate them all. I created a Twitter account last night because my husband did. And, immediately, I wondered why. Sure, it's fun to see what my friends are doing right at that precise moment, but who has time for this shit?? I'd much rather write a blog, get the creative juices flowing about something or other, than....Twit. Tweet? Twat.
Had to say it.
Meanwhile, I listen to Tool and wonder what the heck I'm doing with my life. I think I really will sign up for vet tech school...I mean, I love my job. I want more hours. Always. But I feel like I should be doing more...more to help animals, I mean.

Tawny Frog Beak!

So I interviewed for a management position in the dog hotel and didn't get it solely on the fact that I'm still in training back there; I don't know enough yet to be taking on a position like that. I totally understand and predicted that outcome, and the store's management is being really supportive. It's really good to feel appreciated in this crappy economy and job market.
Otherwise, things are the same. Went to the WAP again this past weekend, saw some of what they call the "Animal Encounters" wherein a park member brings out a critter to highlight. Saw this awesome bird called a Tawny Frog Beak from Australia. It looks like an owl, but is actually related to Whip-Poor-Wills in that it has a huge beak, is an opportunistic eater, and relies mainly on insects. Freaking cool. Here it is.
Oh, and I got to feed the Lorikeets some nectar.

Gone blonde

Yeah...I like being blonde.
'N some pics from the Wild Animal Park. Abe and I went this past weekend. It's like 15 minutes away. Very cool.

Take heart, Obama

If President Obama's gaffe about the Special Olympics is on Reuter's Oddly Enough, then I think it's pretty much blown over. See here.
Regardless, I think the comment was pretty funny.