Exhausted and Stuff

I totally am! But that's okay. I wanted a job, I wanted to get out more, so this is what I get. Don't get me wrong, I enjoy my job. I get to play with animals, tend to sick animals, and help find animals good homes; as well as help people with their pet questions. In time I'll need to find better shoes to work in; my feet are killing me! It's always nice to come home and be spoiled by a husband, although he works more than I do! I'm almost full-time...being in the 30-39 hour range. So we don't get to see each other as much, and I don't get as much free time as before. But, debts are being paid off (luckily I get paid weekly), extra money is being saved (and a little spent here and there), and school is being paid for.

The job itself is going well. I opened the store for the first time Thursday morning. I woke up at 4:30am, and arrived a little before 6am. Usually when you open, you want to be done by noon. My shift was supposed to end at 10am, but we were short people, so I was kindly begged to stay longer. So I stayed until 2pm. A four hour shift turned eight hour shift. But I came home, crashed, and felt good about sticking it out. I had heard that opening involved a lot of things; I just never imagined it was more than I had expected. Not only do you clean out all cages, you have to disinfect all bowls and water bowls, scrub down everything to make it look clean, make bedding for the reptiles, give all the sick animals medication, disinfect and soak all food and water bowls in the sick and new arrival rooms, get shoulder-deep in mud to clean out the hermit crab and turtle aquariums, clean out the aquariums (get rid of dead fish, scrub algae, etc), do a dead cricket count...and yes, there's more. But just typing it out is getting me exhausted. At least the person I was opening with was pleased to see that I was okay with holding the snake. He said he's never seen anybody else hold any snake, except for that dog trainer I mentioned earlier. One of the king snakes is slightly aggressive and can bite, but I pulled him out anyway, without any gloves, and set him aside. That earned me points; the snake didn't bite me. It sure wanted to, but it didn't. I think the guy was relieved he was able to leave me alone with the snakes while he went and did other things to help with opening. They're just snakes, people!

I was bitten later by one of those pesky little Russian hamsters. I like the regular hamsters; they don't bite. But we only sell the tiny little mean ones that bark and bite you. Heh, at least I sold the thing. Here, let me shorten my work experience thus far:

• I get shoulder-deep in aquarium goo several times per day
• While cleaning out an aquarium, I accidentally broke a life pipe and got a nice shower from it (quite funny actually)
• I've sold endless amounts of fish
• I've sold rats and hammies so far
• I have been told at least twice by customers how pretty my eyes are
• One customer in particular went to a manager and praised me; apparently she had been shopping the other day, and a group of co-workers were standing around talking about a party, while I was the only one working
• I get to tend to sick animals and give them medication; most of them have ringworm
• My co-workers and managers are awesome
• And last but not least, I got an award yesterday for my great customer service, as well as my boss pulling me aside and thanking and praising me for doing a good job

Oh, and yesterday. My original shift was to be 6-10pm. Around noon, I had this thought "What if my manager calls and asks me to come in early?" So, I go and check my cell phone. Sure enough, there was a message waiting. "Emilee, call me if you can come in at 2pm." So, I called back, said I'd be there at 2, and had a long day yesterday. But like I said earlier, all is good!

Okay, the topic of work is out of the way now!

Since our income has increased a bit, and weather is warming up, Gary came across a deal at Walmart. It was like a puppy with a new play toy. He visited me at Petsmart yesterday, bringing Dexter (soooo cute...and okay, that was the last mention of work), and asked if it was okay to buy it. What a sweetie. Of course I was okay. So, he gladly went on his way and did so. I've never had an issue with Gary buying things. In fact, I tell him not to bother reporting in with what he buys, unless it's a big purchase like this one. Besides that, I don't care how he spends his money. I know, it's our money, but he earns 98 percent of it. And he's never done anything stupid with money. I've trusted him since day 1 when it comes to spending. If he wants to make a big purchase, he always has a plan. And he follows through every time. So yes, I'm a wife who lets her husband do whatever he wants with what he earns; because he's great at it.

ANYway, this is the new toy:

 Beautiful, huh? And a great deal, too! Walmart is having a nice special. So, the grill was $165, PLUS, we got a $50 gift card to Walmart. And the propane tank was around $45. I love new toys :)

After church we'll be having a nice BBQ at the DeMasters. Good ol' warmer days! And I'm definitely looking forward to Catalina this summer, too!

Let's see, anything else to update? The weather has been absolutely gorgeous. I love Spring! And we went and signed another year to our lease. Yay! The only thing about Spring and having the patio door open is those crane flies that love to come inside. You know, the daddy long-legs with wings? Mosquito eaters, as people call them? Although they only eat nectar, and not mosquitoes. In fact, those things can't even fly right; they only exist to mate and die. Completely harmless; don't even bite. It's almost sad. If they weren't so creepy looking I'd like them more. Hey, Dexter's sure enjoying them though. Most of the time he can't even get to them because they stay up high, so he chatters and meows pathetically at them. Poor cat. Oh, and I need to start taking more walks now that the weather is getting better. More morning walks, when I have time and my schedule allows it. But evening walks are good, too. The good thing about Santa Clarita, even in the summer, is although the day can be super hot, it always cools down in the evening time.

Okay, now I'm just rambling. If I think of anything else, I'll add it. Time to get ready for church!