Sunday, October 10, 2021

LOOKING UP

 Gentle Readers . . . and Maxwell,

Years ago, Sweet Cheeks got me some shelves for my office supplies (he knew that shelves and a steel front door were the way to this woman's heart). Recently, I piled books on them in addition to the pens and papers and staplers and paper clips. Saturday afternoon I moved the shelves so I could clean up a vast accumulation of dog hair and this happened:








It was too much. I had already been disappointed by the job that isn't a job. The collapse of the shelves frightened Franklin, who hightailed it outside and refused to come in.


It was a nice afternoon and I was in no rush to deal with the reality of repairs and picking up, so Penelope and I joined Franklin outside.











We enjoyed the sun.
Penelope listened to birds overhead.

I looked up at the trees.











When we went inside, I checked my phone and found an email from a recruiter who thought I was a good match for a certain job. She asked some questions; I answered some questions. We made an appointment for an initial phone interview. This job is a real job with better pay and benefits that begin on the first day. I'll let you know what happens. Some other opportunities are also promising and I have not turned down the job that isn't a job. It pays and might lead to a real job with the company.

Because it is autumn, Sweet Cheeks' annual rage against the University of West Virginia's football coach is in full swing (SC grew up in West Virginia and attended WVU). Last Saturday, WVU lost by 4 points at the last minute. SC arrived morose. He cheered up after some affectionate embraces. About midnight he said, Well, I think I'll head home now.

But he didn't leave the recliner in which he rested, and a few minutes later, I heard a gentle snore. Soon he made the move to the chair next to mine and asked for a pillow and blanket. He finished out the night in my bed, where he stayed till 9 a.m. He often talks of not sleeping well at home (he sleeps on the floor, which I do not understand). I am glad when he leaves my home satisfied and well rested.

Yesterday, however, West Virginia lost by a lot. Really a lot, in a game they should have won easily, according to my Sweet Cheeks, and it is all because the football coach does not do what my Sweet Cheeks says he should do, which has something to do with a quarterback. He arrived grumpy. I had started picking up the mess on the floor and much of it was spread across the dining room table. I reneged on my offer to prepare tender chicken with the seasoned rice he loves and requested dinner out. He didn't want to go someplace to wait and stand in line and it would be too much trouble and this and that. I made a reservation online and off we went and were seated immediately. His mood improved.

He dozed off in the recliner when we returned. After he awoke, we had a snack and then enjoyed a gymnastics exhibition in bed. He fell asleep in the bed afterward and stayed asleep till 10 a.m., when he went home happy. 

I was pleased this evening because it was cool enough for Franklin and me to have our first walk in months that exceeded the trip around the block we sometimes make in the heat. I chatted with the parents of a Greyhound and a Shiba Inu while Franklin and the dogs exchanged butt sniffs.

Franklin walked happily and easily and not once did he turn around to request we go home.

Yes, things are looking up.


Infinities of love,

Janie Junebug

from the inside of a Bark Box

31 comments:

  1. I am thrilled that things are looking up for you. Long may it continue - into the sky and then the stratosphere.

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    1. I'd rather not go as far as Jeff Bezos, though. But thank you. I appreciate the good wishes.

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  2. Excellent news! And, Sweet Cheeks sounds like a keeper. ☺

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    1. I've had him a long time. Occasionally he goes home and doesn't turn up again for months, but somehow we always end up together.

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  3. I had no idea you were a gymnast! And Sweet Cheeks, too. It’s nice to have something in common.

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    1. It's lovely. We enjoy performing a type of semi-synchronized pairs gymnastics. It keeps us in good health and spirits.

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  4. Looks like it's time for a visit to the thrift store for some new shelves! Good luck with the job search. The prospects seem to be looking up a little.

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    1. I think I can live without new shelves. I've given away some books so I think the office supplies can go on bookshelves.

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  5. I'd have gone outside with the kids rather than deal with that shelf explosion!

    Sending good thoughts for the interview!!

    xoxo

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    1. I had a short interview yesterday and a longer one today. I think it went well. I have another interview tomorrow for a different company.

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  6. Glad he was able to rest at your place.
    Did he fix the shelving? Or is he not good with those things?

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    1. He's not good at those things. I tried to put them back together but they were too far gone to be saved.

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  7. He sleeps on the floor? Like, on a mattress on the floor, or just on the floor? No wonder he sleeps so well in your bed!

    I hope the shelves can be repaired. Furniture ain't what it used to be!

    Good luck on the job front.

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    1. On the floor! He has a lovely king-sized bed with an excellent mattress. I don't think he's ever slept in it. Sometimes Sweet Cheeks mystifies me.

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  8. When things start to look up we feel better

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  9. Things looking up all around. Best wishes.

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    1. Thank you, my dear. Now I want things to look up for you.

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  10. Two questions. Did you ever pick up? Was it a 'personal' gymnastics exhibition?

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  11. Fingers crossed for the job that is a job!

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    1. I had a second interview today. I think it went well.

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  12. That shelve thing is a version of the straw that broke the camel's back. Don't let that happen to you, and good luck with the job(s) and the floor-sleeper

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  13. Unfortunately, my Sweet Cheeks loves his books and papers. My house looks like that more often than not. Right now there's a taped box marked "BOOKS" right at the foot of the stairs. I'm not even going to ask.

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    1. Sweet Cheeks saw the mess and said if it had happened at his place it would all stay on the floor.

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  14. All of my boys have attended WVU and they wholeheartedly share SC's complaints about the coach and the QB. I don't watch WVU football. I'm a Marshall Alum and I still bleed green.

    Congrats on your new job prospects. I'll keep my fingers crossed for you!!

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    1. Thanks, Elizabeth. I'll tell Sweet Cheeks he is not alone.

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  15. I had some Milk Crates collapse that were old and brittle and I'd used them as Bookshelves... luckily nothing got broken, but what a mess. So I sympathize with the Bookcase explosion!

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    1. It was like Humpty Dumpty. It couldn't be put back together again.

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  16. A good sleep can make you feel like a new person. I'm glad you have SC in your life, Janie.

    I've had avalanches like that. I'm terrible at getting rid of paperwork and it often piles up and then falls down. No broken shelves involved :)

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    1. When Sweet Cheeks saw me picking up, he said if it had happened at his place, it would have stayed where it was. I know that's true.

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