The More Things Change...

So many things have happened since my last post. I started my new job at the OKC Animal Shelter as Foster Coordinator, was accepted to help in the Animal Cognition research lab, and went through the clichéd breakup with my first love. I feel like my life is really taking the path I always hoped it would (knock on wood). I love my job, my coworkers, and the fact that I am actually making a direct difference in numerous animals' lives daily. What could be better?

Speaking of animals, I brought home my first foster kittens today. Somebody found them in a dumpster (people are heartless bastards). They are basically my first cats/kittens I've ever had. At about 4 weeks they are just old enough to be loud and rowdy but too young to be independent in any sense of the word. Too bad Lizzie hunts them continuously. She definitely has some hangups when it comes to small living things.

I guess this is the dreaded part where I should mention it. All I have to say is that I'll get past this eventually but I don't think I'll ever be so naive in that area again. As strong as I am, this is awful and I hope to God I never feel this way again. I never would have guessed out of every possible scenario that this would be the way it would happen. But I do believe in fate and I definitely believe in karma. Take that as you will. ;)

What It All Comes Down To

It's an Alanis kind of night.

"And what it all comes down to is I haven't got it all figured out just yet."

This song pretty much sums up my life. 

And what it all comes down to, my dear friends, is that everything is just fine fine fine.

Old Habits Die Hard

Well, it's the Sunday before midterms and I'm back to my old habits. Instead of studying for the three tests I have next week (two of which are my hardest classes), I have been looking at research opportunities and enjoying my dogs. But since I have an assignment due in oh... five hours... it's probably time I get working on it. But I don't wanna!!!

On the plus side- I was approved to be a volunteer at the OKC Zoo! I am the newest addition to the Cat Forest which includes big cats and bears. Woohoo!

Just Breathe

Part of being a lazy overachiever means I am constantly putting things off but still care enough to stress like crazy that I'm not doing them. I know, talk about self-destructive behavior. Well, there's about a million things I could be doing that are more important than this blog but this is the only thing I WANT to be doing. So why not?

Lately, I have been trying to take a step back from things when I get in stress mode. I ask myself a few questions and tell myself to just breathe, it will all be ok. Is the world going to end if I don't do this thing I should be doing? No. Is anyone going to get hurt? No. Is it going to severely impact my future? Probably not. Is it going to make things harder later? Likely. Is it something I can't handle? No.

The point is, it's easy for us overachievers to get really caught up in the little things. Hell, it's easy for anyone to get caught up in the little things. I like things to work how I want when I want but that doesn't mean I want to do them! So, yes there are a lot of things that I would like to happen that I just put off. Like organizing the closet, doing some extra reading for a class, cleaning out the fridge, or filling out forms. These things matter but aren't the end of the world if they don't get done. Other, more important things aren't the end of the world either. 

Problems only become problems when you let them.

Note to self: Remember these things when I am not feeling so "zen" and am stressing out over something stupid.

Procrastination at its Finest

Well, it is the night before a super hard biochem test and it's already 11pm. How much studying have I done? Ha. Next question. So what have I been doing all day? Well, I went to the Pet Food Bank for a few hours to volunteer, I made lunch and played with my pups (very important things), went to an AVA officer meeting, and have been creating a powerpoint, editing an agenda, and generally procrastinating in any way I can (hence the blog).

It's just... I can't help it. And now I can feel myself getting sleepy. Why do I only get tired on nights that I should be pulling an all-nighter to study? Well, my bad habits are going to get the best of me when I flunk out of college and go from three to degrees to a big fat zero. Ha.

Story of my life.

Valentine's Day

Nothing spectacular happened today which is just how I like it. I originally wasn't going to write this post, but then I remembered one of my main goals for this blog was documenting the little things I'll forget later. So here it goes.

Overall, today was a pretty good day. My pups were good, my boyfriend was happy, and I had coupons. All sorts of places were doing things for VDay so we went to Qdoba for BOGO (and STILL spent $10... wtf?). We also went trapping with Hands Helping Paws because some jerk dropped off a few kittens at a local restaurant. Unfortunately, we didn't find the kittens but that was likely because they were hiding due to all the heavy traffic.

I got beautiful roses and chocolate from Dayton and we had to give a big smooch at the register in order to get a free entree at Qdoba. It was funny because Dayton and I are not the PDA kind of couple and the girl behind the counter was desperate to see all the couples kiss. So we gave a big smooch and got our free burrito.

Every holiday I make Dayton take pictures with me for a solid ten minutes or so. I'm addicted to photos so he's learned to just smile and bear it (literally). Here's a couple from tonight.

 

My Name is Jennie

It's not Jenny or Jennifer or Jenni. It's Jennie. Yes, that is the name on my birth certificate. Yes, not many people spell it that way. Yes, I'm SURE it's not Jennifer.

God, people are stupid. I have seriously been asked, "wow it's really not Jennifer?" as if I'm lying to them or mistaken. The best is when people on facebook, you know where my name is clearly spelled out in front of their face, spell it wrong. Or when somebody replies to an email and spells it wrong, nevermind that my first name is fully spelled out in my email.

Yep, just had to get that off my chest. That is all.

When Type A and Type B Live Together

Miss Type A-

All of my life I have been told I'm a Type A personality. I can see how that would be mostly true. After all, I'm competitive, impatient, and sometimes a little "overly" ambitious. And above most other things, I HATE wasting time. It drives me absolutely nuts. I like to walk fast, get where I need to go, and do what I want on my terms not everyone else's. It's hard for me to work in a group and it's really hard for me to "do it your way." I like my way. You know, because my way is the only way.

It's going to sound funny to you Type B's and you hardcore Type A's can probably relate, but I absolutely love when the next semester's class schedule comes out. I really enjoy looking at all of my options for classes between all of my majors and then checking the schedule to see how I can arrange things. I'll spend hours doing it. I love making lists and I really love organizing.

But I procrastinate to no end. I can't help it. I make all of my lists but can never seem to check them off. I either lose them or lose interest before hand. This would likely drive all you "pure" Type A's nuts!


Mr. Type B-


And then there's Dayton. Talk about laid back. This guy has lost his temper maybe only 20 times in five years. I always say he has the patience of Buddha and that he should lend some to this girl. He rarely gets irritated if people are driving slow in front of him or if someone else is running late. And I don't think I have seen him make a list ever. He's just easy going.

So it's funny when I start making my lists for school or things to do or whatever else I make lists about. He pretends to act interested as I rattle off all of my classes and I pretend like I'm oblivious to the fact he's not really listening.

Opposites Explode-

Then there's those other times. You know, when I'm a little too overbearing or pushy and Mr. Calm and Collected has had enough and walks off. Or when Mr. We'll Figure It Out Later Babe forgets to figure it out later and I have to frantically come in and fix it at the last minute. And our communication styles are a little... off set as well. Whereas Miss Upfront and Direct wants to hash it all out in the moment, Mr. Passive Aggressive wants to hold his tongue and avoid the fight only to let it explode later. And that's exactly what happens eventually.

Opposites Attract-
It would seem like opposites would be a great match, and don't get me wrong, we are... most of the time. Whenever I am obsessing over the little details, he's able to pull me back to the real world where "it's going to be ok." He's really good at keeping his cool when my head is spinning and I feel like I'm being pulled in a thousand different ways. Similarly, when he's being a little too relaxed and forgets that rent is due, I'm there to frantically make sure we get a check in the mail. Or when he can't quite remember what plans we made for when, little Miss Planner is there to remind him of the dates and times of each arrangement. So yeah, a lot of times it works just fine.

Overall-
We are young and we are happy. All I can say is when we fight, we all out battle. And when we love, it's the best thing I've ever experienced and wouldn't give it up for the world. I'm sure a lot of couples have our relationship dynamic, it would be hard not to with total extremes at both ends. Maybe if we were both more in the middle, things would be different. But they're not and I'm grateful. 

My First Foster

Meet Kody

. He's an Aussie mix that is simply gorgeous. He is a very "happy go lucky" kind of dog. All he wants is to be by your side and have your constant affection. Which makes me wonder how he ended up in the position he's in. A lady found him with a collar (no tags) and kept him for a week looking for his owner. After no one came forward, she took him to the OKC shelter.

That's where I came in. 

After a day and a half of trying to reach a lady that said her rescue would take him in (mind you dogs only get 3 days before they're put down) we were able to reach her only for her to say she was backing out. So All 4 One Rescue stepped in (visit their facebook here) and I was able to foster. I picked him up on his last night.

And man was he a dirty boy! But so very sweet.

He knows sit, is housebroken, and seems to get along very well with all sorts of animals. Yep, even my guinea pig and hedgehog. All the while, the smile never leaves his face.

He is seriously one of the best dogs I have ever met. And in all of my volunteering and animal-loving, I have met quite a few winners. He really does just love loving you and being loved back.

Kody is the kind of dog that always wants to be by your side. He will curl up and fall asleep at your feet every time. He's the true, stereotypical loyal dog. 

It's going to be really hard for me to say goodbye to Kody. Not only because he's my first foster, but because I know I will never meet another dog like him. There are a lot of happy, sweet dogs but very few that are calm. And even less that have that genuine sparkle in their eyes.

Mostly though, I'm just happy to have been able to save his life. There were so many people involved in saving him and I am so glad that he has confirmed things I always knew. The first being that: This is me. This is what I am meant to do. Not just save one, but hopefully save thousands. Kody has also showed me how important it is that the rescue community works together and how awesome some people can really be. 

P.S.- Another amazing rescue involved in saving Kody is PAWS. They are a cat rescue but never stopped fighting to save him. You can visit their facebook here.

Lacking Purpose

Let me start off by saying, I have no real purpose for starting this blog. I guess if anything, I'd like to document the little things. I'm no good at the old fashioned way of journaling, I've tried. I always end up losing them or they get torn up, that kind of thing.

I have never been an avid follower of any blog so I definitely don't expect that from anyone who might happen across my page. This blog is for me and thus, I can not guarantee anything clever or witty. I definitely don't plan on getting too heavy. I just want to note those little things that I might not remember later (for those that know me very closely know I have a terrible memory).

Warning: There will probably be many rants, pictures of animals, and a general whining about my hatred of school. If you're ok with that, read on my friend.

That being said, I skipped all my classes today and how productive was I? Well, I created a blog. Ha. Despite having a couple of killer classes this semester (Biochem and OChem Lab), I decided being home was much more appealing than fighting for parking. I am taking too many hours again this semester and yet I can't make myself go to class. Talk about a lazy overachiever.

That's all for now. Here's a picture that says it all: