Lost Cat Found

A guy that lived in my apartment complex lost his cat, Claude, right before he moved out. Since I moved in back in August, I've seen posters all around the neighborhood with pictures of the cat. And in September, the guy actually showed up at my neighbor's apartment to ask them if they had seen Claude since their cats used to play together. I felt bad because this guy was clearly desperate and really wanted his cat.

Today, I popped home to grab lunch before heading to the Humane Society for volunteering and there on my apartment stairs was the missing cat! I got super excited and immediately went down the mail center to get the phone number off of the missing poster. I called, but it went to voicemail so I gave him as much information as I could and then took a picture, just in case the guy wasn't able to get there before the cat took off.

I checked my phone eagerly throughout the day, confident that the guy would call me and tell me that the cat was found. But no calls. When I finally got home that evening, the cat was gone. And I still didn't hadn't gotten a return call. At that point, I wasn't sure what to think. This guy had been plastering the neighborhood with fliers and seemed like he really wanted to find the cat, but maybe he had given up. Or maybe he had come by, found the cat and was trying to avoid giving me the reward he advertised (which I would have refused anyway). In either case, it seems like my happy dream of reuniting pet and owner isn't going to be.

Pocket Susan Advice: Take care of car maintenance before winter is here! A few items to remember include rotating your tires every 3,000 miles, checking and changing the oil if necessary, refilling the windshield wiper fluid, and replacing the wiper blades. For more car maintenance information, see your mechanic or visit the Texaco website for a quick guide to maintenance.

Taking Travel Turns

I enjoy the fact that my friends are spread out across the country. Admittedly, there is a midwest and southeast concentration, but I do have a few on the west coast and in the southwest. I look forward to traveling around and visiting them. Seeing an old friend and a new part of the country is a great combination. Then I check my bank account balance for a reality check. With the increasing travel prices, it's getting more difficult to casually book a flight and head out to San Francisco.

An added frustration is that some friends are extremely eager to get together as long as you will come to them. My friend recently ran into a girl that she went to college with who now lives an hour or two away. They were not really close in college, more friendly acquaintances and had not stayed in touch in the three years since graduation. The girl was SO excited to see my friend and insisted that they should really get together soon and hang out. When could my friend drive up to see her? My friend told her that it would be difficult for her to drive up any time soon because her work schedule is (legitimately) very hectic, but she would like to get together. The girl accepted this, but rather than suggest that she might drive down instead she told my friend to let her know when she would be able to make it up.

This is a mild example, but hopefully it illustrated my point. What happened to taking turns or meeting half way? I've told some of my friends (and am extending it to you as well) that if they can come up with the funds for a trip to see me, I will pay half of their airfare. Mainly because I know that when it comes to taking travel turns, I am just as guilty.

Pocket Susan Advice: Renew your relationship with the US Postal Service. Yes, I know that email is faster, easier, cheaper, and more environmentally friendly than snail mail, but there is an immeasurable satisfaction in opening your mailbox and seeing an envelope that is hand addressed and not a bill. If you don't think you have the time, try keeping a box of stationery in your desk at work and writing a quick note during your lunch hour or between meetings instead of checking Facebook.

If the South Rises...

I lived in South Carolina for two years during graduate school and although they are becoming rare, you can still come across a guy or two who has a confederate flag sticker on the back of his pick-up truck cab and proudly declares that the South will rise again. And after two years I still have no answers to my questions regarding this issue. If the South rises again...

1. What will the issue be that gets people riled up enough to declare sovereignty? Is sovereignty even the goal? So what is the goal?

2. Which states will be considered "The South"? Just the ones that were before or will they expand to include the southwest as well? Are we still going by the Mason-Dixon line? What about Hawaii?

3. Where will the capital be? The most permanent capital during the war was in Richmond, VA, but the proximity to DC makes that seem like an awkward placement with all the commuters and whatnot.

4. Who will be in charge? Now that Strom is gone, I just don't think the SC senators really have the weight to pull it off. Not to mention a potential lack of interest on their part.

5. What will they do with all of the Yankee transplants? Will we be rounded up and deported?

Pocket Susan Advice: Make use of random rewards programs. All sorts of companies have developed rewards programs to encourage brand loyalty, take for example Coca-Cola's program mycokerewards.com. I am a loyal Diet Coke drinker, but I never really paid attention to the point labels inside the lids or boxes because I thought it was a waste of time. It wasn't until last year when my roommate (who drinks regular Coke and sometimes Sprite) and I realized that we went through a ton of points. I began to collect the points and enter the codes online and have gotten two 1-year magazine subscriptions for free, which saves me about $5 a month. So if you faithfully use one brand or stay in one hotel chain, then it might be worth it to check into their rewards program and get a return on your loyalty.

I Get Tingles When I Vote!

My new state has early voting, which I have decided is fantastic! Even better, my county has an early voting location right where I work so I didn't even have to drive to vote and didn't have to take advantage of the time off we're given to vote. It makes things much simpler.

I had to visit the voting location to ask the workers a question pertaining to my job. When we finished that discussion, I asked the woman if she would use my driver's license to check whether or not I was registered. I registered a few weeks ago when I registered my car and got my license, but I hadn't received my registration card in the mail yet and I was worried that my paperwork got lost or hadn't been processed. The woman graciously agreed to check for me and quickly scanned my ID. Then she asked me if I was ready. "Ready for what?" I asked.
"Are you ready to vote?" she asked.
"Sure," I said. "But I'll have to come back later, because I need to get back to work." The line to vote was about 30 people long and growing as we spoke.
"It's okay," she said. "I already scanned you through. Just sign the paper and head to a booth."
So yes, it was technically cutting, but I don't care. It totally made my day!


Pocket Susan Advice: If you haven't already voted and are in the "undecided" category you may want to check out this website www.votegopher.com It is a nonpartisan website that breaks down the election into issues rather than parties and let's you compare your opinions on those issues to the positions of the candidates. You might actually be surprised to see with whom you align most closely.

The Day She Almost Died... And Didn't Even Know It

At this time, it's necessary to report on my worst bus experience to date. It was a combination of two of my biggest pet peeves: public cell phone conversations that should be private and poor parenting. This was so horrible that I don't really want to write about it and relive the experience, but I am also a firm believer in sharing. Sharing in this instance means that you will have to suffer with me.

I got on the bus to go home after work and sat down, realizing too late that there was a baby directly behind me. Someone sat next to me in the aisle seat so I was trapped for the next 30 minutes. And of course, I forgot my IPod. The baby was quiet so I thought that it would be okay. But then I realized that his mother (who was probably about 19 or maybe 20) was talking on her cell phone. It was all downhill from there. It's okay to cringe.

The mother I will call Nicki, because I can and it seems to fit. The person she was talking to, even though we can't hear him, will be referred to as Chad. And my thoughts will be in brackets [like so] just so you can follow along with the narrative in my head.

First, the conversation topic was about how Chad always makes Nicki feel stupid and used to make her cry. We can ask a person named Crystal for verification of this fact if we don't believe Nicki. This must have upset Chad because Nicki said, "See, you always just fly off the handle. You're ecstatic."

Chad must have informed her that her use of ecstatic was incorrect, because Nicki then launched back into her speech about how Chad is so smart and makes her feel stupid, randomly throwing in that that was why they could never date. She paused to yell at her son who was pulling himself up to the window and standing on the seat, pulling on the Request Stop cord. I also feel it is important to note that the baby was only wearing a diaper and shoes. [It's not that warm out and buses are dirty places. Perhaps you should spend less on the unlimited cell phone minutes and more on clothes for your child. Just a thought]

The conversation progressed with about 10 minutes of Chad asking Nicki to explain her "we can't date" comment and Nicki begging him to stop pressing her about it [when clearly she wanted to talk about it because she's the one that brought it up]. At this point, the bus driver asked her to make her child sit down because it's a safety hazard so Nicki swats at her son and yells at him to stop. [Very effective.]

Next we learn that Nicki isn't saying that she doesn't want to date Chad, but she doesn't understand why he would possibly want to date her. According to Nicki, Chad is extremely attractive, intelligent, has everything going for him and could have any girl he wants. [He must also have a huge ego because he manages to get her to repeat his litany of attributes at least three times.] And Nicki wants to know why he would want to date a girl with a one year old to take care of. [Good question...]

The baby starts crying when Nicki pulls him down from his standing position and yells at him again. At this point, most mothers would focus on quieting their child or entertaining him because he's clearly bored, but Nicki is consumed with the bigger priority of keeping Chad on the phone and convincing him that he should come over tonight. The baby stands up, the bus driver yells, Nicki yells and hits, and I fight the urge to go into the fetal position.

By the time we make it to my stop, I've actually started to feel bad for Nicki. It's become obvious that she doesn't have a lot of self-confidence and at the end of the day, this whole Chad thing will not turn out well for her. But then the baby starts to cry, Nicki ignores him, and I flee the bus leaving any sympathy for Nicki behind.

Pocket Susan Advice: Make a difference in your community by volunteering. If you go online to www.volunteermatch.org you can do a search for volunteer opportunities in your area using keywords like "mentoring" or "animals". Volunteer Match even has virtual volunteer opportunities that can be completed at your home on online if you aren't able to volunteer in person.

Rain and What's In a Name?

Two significant things happened today. 1) It rained for the first time since I moved here two months ago and 2) my apartment was bought out and they changed the name of the complex.  

I was actually excited about the rain, but the apartment buy out was problematic because we had no advance warning.  When I came home from work and started to turn into the complex, I realized that it wasn't my apartment!  The name on the sign was wrong! I froze halfway through my turn in the opposite traffic lane, stopping perpendicular to the potential oncoming traffic that could fly over the hill at any moment.  I did a quick scan of the area and realized that it was all familiar, pulled myself together and turned in thankful that I didn't cause a major accident.  

Rather than send out a memo notifying residents that there would be a change, the new management decided that it would be a good idea to just switch the sign.  Surprise!  They assure us that the terms of our leases won't change and our deposits will transfer so there is nothing to worry about.  Except I just don't know what to do with the logo mouse pad they gave me as part of my move in gift.

Pocket Susan Advice:  Update your resume.  Even if you aren't planning on job searching in the near future, times are a little rough and it's better to be prepared.  Also, by the time you are ready to job search you will probably have been in your current position for some time.  Duties and responsibilities that you had at the beginning may no longer be in your portfolio, but it is still important to record them.  If those duties have been replaced, you may forget to list them when you're updating in a hurry.  A more relaxed time is when you will best be able to reflect and remember everything.  You may also want to check out the career center website of your college. They always have good tips and methods for resumes and may even offer special services for alumni.

Young Professional Today, Cat Lady Tomorrow

I was not aware that my single status was of great concern for anyone other than me. Actually, I'm not all that terribly concerned either so I didn't think it was a big deal. Period.

Oh, but I was wrong. I learned this week that if you graduate, get a job, and move to a new city that your next immediate priority should be finding a significant other. I have been here for two months. That's it. Just sixty-one short days. But I guess that should have been more than enough time. A loved one called on my birthday and the conversation was more or less as follows.

Loved One: Happy Birthday! How are you doing?

Me: I'm great! I really love it here!

Loved One: That's great, how do you like your job?

Me: That's great too!

Loved One: Fantastic! Have you met anyone?

Me: Sure, there are a lot of people that I've met at work and where I volunteer.

Loved One: Oh, but have you met anyone important? I mean, how's your love life?

Me: Well that's not really a priority right now.

Loved One: What do you mean, it's not a priority? You've been single for a long time.

Me: Yes, I suppose so, but I'm not worried. It will happen when it happens.

Loved One: I think you should at least make an effort. If you don't put yourself out there...

Me: If I don't put myself out there... what? I will die in a big house with just my 50 cats for company?

Loved One: I'm just saying, you're not getting any younger.

Breaking News: Spinsterhood is apparently not an outdated notion. It is alive and well and we can all breathe a collective sigh of relief to know that the women's liberation movement was not a complete success.

Pocket Susan Advice: Celebrate yourself! Regardless of your relationship status, it's always important to remember what's great about you as an individual. It sounds a bit cheesy, but you should take a couple of minutes to jot down all the things that you love about yourself. Or if you're not comfortable writing it, just make a mental list. You'll walk away a little bit lighter and more confident. Never forget all the ways that you're amazing!

Imagination!

One of my friends reads this blog, usually when she's procrastinating, but I'll take readers any way I can get them. She asked me why I never give out personal information and if I was concerned about attracting a stalker. The idea was so ridiculous to me that I laughed for almost 30 seconds before I realized she was serious. No, for the record, I am not worried about stalkers. I didn't even realize that I was doing this until I reread my posts. It's true that I haven't specifically mention where I live or what I do for a living and have changed people's names in my stories or left out names completely.  Now that this tendency has been pointed out to me, I kind of like it and I think I will continue it.

Here is my rationale. When you read a book, you get to envision the elements like the characters and setting in any way that you want. There might be a description, but with a book, there is always room for imagination and I think that's the best part of reading a book. These are my stories, but you can probably imagine them taking place in your city, your office, and with your friends. (Who hasn't been forced into the awkward 3rd wheel position? Anyone? Anyone? Buehler?)

So I may release some details one of these days, but in the meantime, use your imagination! You might be a little out of practice so it will be good for you!

Post Susan Advice: Print out pictures. I love digital photography and the delete button has saved me from potential blackmail more times than I'd care to remember, but there is something special about prints. The ability to hold them in your hand and sift through an entire night of memories definitely trumps staring a computer. So go print them! Frame them! Mail them to a friend that you haven't seen in far too long! Enjoy them!

Post Update

A couple of weeks ago, I published a post about people not understanding whether or not I'm joking. Well, I have a real life, honest example that I take from a conversation with my friend Jon from last night.

Jon: I saw a bobcat this summer. It was really dark, like black, so at first I thought panther, but there aren't any confirmed sightings of panthers in this area and hardly any in the US so it must have been a really dark bobcat.

Me: Well, maybe it was just a dirty bobcat. Perhaps it fell in a mud puddle.

Jon: I don't think it was dirty. I think that it's fur was just dark.

Me: Jon, I was joking. I doubt the bobcat fell in a mud puddle.

Jon: Oh okay, I thought you were being serious.

Pocket Susan Advice: Everybody wins when you make a donation! Now that the weather is beginning to change in most parts of the country, people are transitioning to their fall and winter clothes. It's a great time to find some items in your closet that you're ready to part with. I saved my parents about $600 on their taxes in the past two year. The benefits of a donation are

1) You are able to declutter without the annoyance of holding a garage sale.

2) If you record the items you donate and ask for a receipt, you can save on your taxes. Use the Goodwill Valuation Guide if you're not sure what your items are worth.

3) And hopefully, the charity you donate to will receive some quality items that they can sell to support their mission.

The Power of 1

Have you ever had an experience when 99 people will do or say something nice, but you can't really appreciate it because 1 person didn't? I realized today that I have a tendency to get caught up on the 1.

Facebook is an amazing online tool for social networking/stalking and makes it easy for people to keep track of their friends' birthdays. I had many people use Facebook to wish me a Happy Birthday. Others sent ecards, texts, or called. I feel loved and appreciate them all greatly, but as my birthday winds down, I am acutely aware of who did not extend their best wishes. And while Facebook is a blessing to birthday tracking, it can also be a curse. I have a harder time excusing people that forgot my birthday. They didn't even have to record it on a calendar... they just had to log in. Since the advent of Facebook the reasonable excuses for forgetting a birthday have been whittled down to 1) Out of country, 2) Don't have Facebook or 3) Death.

So thank you to all of my friends who acknowledged the date of my birth. And to those of you who didn't, well, you should probably start working on that story about a last minute business trip to Bora Bora because, believe you me, I noticed.

Birthday Cake Blunder

Her jaw dropped as though I had said that I spend my weekends kicking puppies or overturning the elderly in their wheelchairs. I didn't think it was a big deal, but apparently in my coworker's eyes, I had just said the unspeakable. I intended to bake my own birthday cake.

I like to bake and in particular, I like to bake cakes for my friends' birthdays. I don't care for store bought cakes because there is always too much sickeningly sweet frosting. And I think it's fun to put a spin on a cake and make it unique. If it's my birthday then I should be able to do something that I like. And if that something happens to be baking cakes then I can and will make my own cake damn it!

And that's exactly what I did.

Pocket Susan Recipe: I baked a two-layer round chocolate cake for my birthday. The difference between this cake and an every day chocolate cake was the frosting. Mix a 3.4 oz packet of vanilla instant pudding mix with 1 cup cold milk. Whisk for about 1 minute. Add 1/2 cup of creamy peanut butter and continue to whisk. Finally, add 1 cup thawed cool whip and mix well. Spread on cake like normal frosting, but make sure you refrigerate or it will melt! Enjoy!

Who Does This?

One of my coworkers went out on a first date yesterday.  She was so excited when she told me about it this morning, especially about the amount of laughing that they both did.  And when she told me some of the stories, I was laughing too!  It had clearly been a success since they had scheduled another date in three short days.  This afternoon, I glanced up from desk and saw a flower delivery man head toward my colleague's office.  All I heard was, "You're kidding!"

And that's what she said for the next ten minutes.  "You're kidding!" And, "Who does this?!"  

It's been a while since I've had to opportunity to see a romance blossom from the beginning stages and it definitely warms your heart. 

Pocket Susan Quote:

I used to feel so alone in the city.  All those gazillions of people and then me, on the outside.  Because how do you meet a new person?  I was very stumped by this for many years.  And then I realized, you just say, "Hi."  They may ignore you.  Or you may marry them.  And that possibility is worth that one word."

- Augusten Burroughs, Author of Runing with Scissors

A Man Who Knows What He Wants...

I was shopping in The Container Store this weekend and admiring all the wonderful organizational tools that they offer. I can't afford them and, realistically, they wouldn't help me get organized anyway.

As I wandered, I came across a woman with two little boys in tow. One was probably about three and I would guess that the other one was around five. They were dressed identically, which I don't understand because they were clearly not twins, but I digress. As I walked past them the older boy said to his mother, "I've been thinking."

His mom asked, "What have you been thinking?"

He replied, "Well, I know what I want."

His mother asked, "What do you want?"

He answered very seriously, "A man bag."

Be the Job?

I was talking to a colleague today about our weekend plans. My main goal was to relax and do as little as possible, aside from a Saturday morning orientation to volunteer at the local SPCA. I mentioned; however, that the special event our office was holding on Saturday afternoon still required volunteers and I was considering signing up. I'm still trying to accrue comp hours and this would be a great opportunity. Cindy, my colleague, said, "You know, when I first started working here I worked ridiculous hours and had a ton of comp time stored up. And then I found myself still at the office on a Friday at 7:30pm. I thought, well I don't have anywhere to go or anything to do so it's okay to be at the office. But then I realized that as long as I stayed at the office, I would never meet anyone and would never find anything to do. I was letting my job be my life instead of going out and living my life."

Pocket Susan Advice: Search for Good. When we're strapped for cash, one of the budget items that suffers first is our charitable giving. It's hard to give to the poor when we are the poor! One way to help your favorite non-profit organization is to volunteer your time. A second, easy option is to use GoodSearch.com as your preferred internet search engine. GoodSearch is powered by Yahoo and every time you conduct a search, they will donate $.01 to your selected charity. It doesn't sound like much, but if you make 1,000 searches per month you will make $10 for your organization! It adds up!

Dr. Purple Helmet

In an effort to save the planet and some money, I take the bus to work. I usually find a seat and turn on my IPod and zone out. Only once have I talked on my phone while on the bus, but I don't usually mind if someone else does. The other day, though, I forgot my IPod and was treated to half of a phone conversation that should not have been taking place in a public place. One of the other frequent bus riders is a middle aged man who works downtown. He brings his bike with him every day so he also wears a purple bike helmet every day. He is also a frequent cell phone user. On this particular date, I ended up sitting a little bit closer to Mr. Purple Helmet and because I didn't have my IPod, I was forced to listen to his entire 25 minute conversation. I've provided the beginning of the conversation for you in monologue format.

Mr. Purple Helmet: Hi Brandon, it's your Uncle Steve. Is your mom there?

Mr. Purple Helmet: Hey Lisa, I talked to Joe and he told me about your medical situation. I can't believe you had to go the hospital. Are you feeling okay now?

[And here's where it went down hill...]

Mr. Purple Helmet: Yeah, you remember Donald right? His daughter had the same thing, an ovarian cyst that burst. I can't imagine that kind of pain.

[I have to wonder if Donald's daughter appreciates her father discussing her ovaries with friends...]

Mr. Purple Helmet: From what I understand, there isn't really a cause or a way to prevent these cysts, they just develop and usually just go away. Did the doctor know why yours burst? What medications did he give you? What's the recovery time?

I'm not sure what Lisa's doctor told her, but apparently Mr. Purple Helmet didn't agree because he went on for several minutes about the meds Lisa should be taking and what her recovery time should be. All based on webmd.com and Donald's daughter, which makes him an expert and worthy of the title Dr. Purple Helmet. The next time I have an issue with my female reproductive organs, you know I'm going straight to him for a diagnosis.

Pocket Susan Advice: Use multiple banks. I barely have more financial expertise than Dr. Purple Helmet has medical expertise, but I have picked up a few things. One of the most important is to use multiple banks. It goes along with the saying, "Don't put your eggs in one basket." So if you have a checking account and small savings account with one bank then open a money market account with another bank. Clearly, our economy is hurting right now and banks have been failing. Even if a bank is insured, you may only get part of your lost funds returned. It's tempting to pull it all out and hide it in your mattress, but simply splitting your life savings between multiple banks is a smarter move.