Email Updates

Hi all. I've decided to send out mass emails instead of blogging for now. Since I'll probably be talking about my new employers and housemates, I'd just rather it not be out there for the whole world to see. If you'd like to be on the list, just send me an email: anika.roth@gmail.com. Cheers!

I'm a god! (according to Biscuit)

Let me start at the beginning. PetPeeps interviewed a new client near where I live. At first, Gus said that the dog was too aggressive for us to take on, but then he changed his mind and asked if I'd like to walk it. Now, we walk dogs with some pretty big issues, so if Gus was going to decline a customer, it had to be a big deal. When he went to meet the dog, the dog freaked out. When she finally calmed down, she put her head in Gus's lap. But then she wouldn't move it. And when Gus tried to move her head, she started growling.

One of the conditions to walking this dog was that I had to meet with her trainer first. So I met with Brandon the trainer who introduced me to Biscuit and showed me how to walk her. Her problem is that when she's walking, she will see other dogs or people and have fits. But Brandon said that this is mostly a "mommy issue" because 1) the mom secretly kind of wants Biscuit to defend her and 2) the mom freaks out when she sees another human or dog. When the mom is walking Biscuit and sees a distraction she starts freaking out thinking that Biscuit will freak out. And Biscuit picks up on that anxiety and fear and she acts out. So obviously when I walk Biscuit, I'm not supposed to freak out if I see a distraction. And number one is that Biscuit needs to know that I'm the boss and she doesn't need to defend me. So when we walk, if she pulls in the slightest, I will jerk back her leash. And when we walk by distractions, I can calm her in a low voice. If I use a high voice, it will sound like I'm praising her, and her anxiety will be reinforced.

So I met Biscuit with Brandon and then came back the next day by myself to walk Biscuit. And this is how she greeted me that day and every day thereafter: laying on the floor with stuffed cat toy in mouth, tail wagging, ears down, rolls over so I can pet her belly. She is like a stick of butter. This dog never pulls on her leash. She's the best behaved dog I've ever walked. Yesterday we were walking and my shoe laces kept coming untied. So I had her sit while I tied them. When I knelt down, we were face to face, so she laid down to be lower than me! Wow! This dog definitely got the message! I love walking her and I'm so proud of her and me for how well she's doing. Although, I gotta say, my joy is a bit dampened because today...

... I witnessed her first fit. She lashed out at another dog. But I don't blame myself because here's what happened: we saw this dog approaching on one of those retractable leashes. He was getting a bit close, so I gave him a wide berth, which in dog-walker language means "my dog is not friendly," but the owner kept letting the leash out. So I said "my dog is not friendly" but the guy kept letting the leash out! And the dog runs up to Biscuit, and the guy says something like "are you going to eat her alive?" Like he's egging on Biscuit to attack his dog! Then when Biscuit had a fit, the guy apologized and I gave him a dirty look. I should have said "what part of 'she's not friendly' did you not understand?!" Granted, I think Biscuit should be able to let a dog come up to her without biting the other dog's head off, but I don't think she's ready for that yet. And since Biscuit is not the only non-dog friendly dog that I walk, I've started to get really irritated at people who let their dog off the leash or let their dog run up to the one I'm walking. They'll say "it's ok, my dog's friendly." Well my dog isn't!

Anyway, the moral of the story is: listen to your dog trainer. Then your dog will be like a stick of butter and think that you're a god.

I Got Doored

Apparently that's what it's called when you're riding your bike in the right-most lane, next to the parked cars, and someone sitting in a parked car opens their door, and you run into it. I was biking to a dog-walking job on Tuesday when it happened. A woman opened her car door wide, a second before I hit it. I think I had time to realize that the door opened, but not enough time to break. My neck hit the top of the door, and then I fell over on my side. I'm not sure if I hit my head, but I had my helmet on. My neck was what hurt the most. It is a little scraped and bruised. The woman kept asking if I needed an ambulance. I didn't think I needed an ambulance, but I didn't know what to do. Luckily, a guy pulled up who was a police officer or detective or something. He called some cops on his walkie-talkie. (Turns out we were right in front of a police station.) They came and got our ids and the woman's insurance info. They called an ambulance even though I didn't think I needed one. When the ambulance came, like 9 EMTs stood around staring at me. One guy said "I get worse cuts than that shaving." I think he was trying to make me feel better, but it didn't work. They told me I could "refuse care" and that I could always go to the hospital later if I wanted to. So I did that. My bike was still ridable, although I have to straighten the handlebars.

I came home and slept for about four hours. I had a pretty bad headache, but I'd had a headache before the crash. It was hard to know how badly I was hurt and whether or not to go to a hospital to get checked out. When I first ran into the door, it definitely hurt and I was freaked out. But because of the adrenaline and shock, it took awhile for some of the pain and rational thoughts to register. Plus with some injuries, like concussions, the symptoms might not show up for days. And whiplash and sore muscles usually get worse for the first few days. So I took it easy. I was supposed to dog-sit Oliver that night, but Patrick convinced me not to. That was easier than me convincing my boss that I couldn't do it. Rather than just give me the contact information for some other walkers, he first felt it necessary to confirm that I actually needed to stay home. "You didn't go to the hospital. And you're not going now. So... why can't you do the dog sit?" Well, Gus, maybe in the next few hours I'll decide I need to go to the hospital, and what will I do with Oliver then?? Sheesh. All that said, I probably could have done the dog-sit. Instead of feeling worse the next few days, I only felt better. One night before bed I took some arnica pills and put some arnica gel on my neck. The next day I almost felt completely better! For those of you who aren't familiar, arnica is a homeopathic remedy for sore muscles, joints, bruises, etc. Arnica is also how a pirate would say my name: ARR-nika! Thanks to Aunt Pat for introducing it to me.

You know what I was thinking moments after running into the door? Besides "ow my neck hurts," I thought "I don't have insurance, I don't have insurance, crap crap crap crap crap!" Believe me, it was high on my priority list to buy insurance after my volunteer insurance ran out. But when all I found was a part time dog walking job, I knew I couldn't afford it until I got a farm job. So I'm doing the mid-20s "nothing will ever happen to me" thing, I guess. And getting doored got me thinking. If I'd had to go to the hospital, or the doctor, I would have had to pay out of pocket. Or I could have tried to get the lady who doored me (or her insurance) to pay. But that would probably mean suing her. Which would mean court costs. And stress. And time. And any time I have to go to the doctor or hospital, not only am I hurting, I'm stressing out about how I will pay. Which is not good for anyone's health. Pretty soon it will be illegal to be uninsured. And I wonder, will I have options I can afford? Will I have to go through all kinds of red tape to get the government to help me pay for it? Why can't we all just be like Germany??? A social health care system means you don't have to worry about what it costs to be in the hospital. Heck, the other day I said something about how expensive it is to give birth in the hospital and Patrick was like, "what do you mean cost? It doesn't cost anything to have a baby." Yeah, not in Germany. You know, I would willingly give 40% of my income to taxes if I didn't have to worry about health care, schooling... Well, that's one big thing Germany's got going for it.

Speaking of schooling costs, I got a nice big"thank you" from AmeriCorps when I finished. They give those who complete one year $4700 in education money to be applied to loans or future schooling. I applied it to my loans, and it finally went through. That means I have ... drum roll please... $2200 in loans left to pay!!! I am ecstatic! I could pay it off right now if I wanted to. But I want to wait until I get a real job, which will probably be within the next 2 months. Unless something drastic happens, I will be paying off my loans in under 3 years. Hooray!

Pet Sitting

Hooray for having a job! Over the winter holiday season, Pet Peeps gets a rush of work. I learned pretty quickly that it's not just about dog walking. Most of my jobs were cat sits. I would go visit the cats for half an hour, play with them, brush them, refill their water and food, scoop the litter, and give them their medications if necessary. I found myself on my toes with about 7 visits a day, but some people were doing 20+ visits a day. I met some of the other pet sitters at our weekly Monday meeting. The best part of these meetings is the awe that I get from seeing the mass of keys each person has. When they pull the key chains out of their backpacks, it's like clowns pulling never ending scarfs from their bags. These things could be used as weapons. Or for weight lifting. And now I've got my own massive wad of keys. I feel pretty bad-ass.

I mentioned that 7 visits a day was enough for me. That doesn't sound too bad, 7 half hour visits = 3 and 1/2 hours of work. But you have to factor in travel time. And when it snowed 18 inches... well, that was awesome. I get most places on my bike, and luckily the snow melted fast enough to get the roads clear quickly. But it's still cold. In the morning I wear a tee-shirt, sweatshirt, puffy vest, coat, long underwear, jeans, hat, scarf, gloves, and now that I've worked my way through all my long socks, leg warmers to cover the gap between ankle sock and pant. I don't need all these layers for regular dog walking, but I need them for standing at the bus stop for long periods of time before the sun has come up. I rather unthinkingly took a job out in "Fairfax Village" which is impossible to get to easily. I found a bus that will take me there, and another that will take me back (because the first one doesn't go back the same way, apparently). Except for the walking required from bus stop to destination, this system would have worked well if the buses ever came on time. I decided to go 15 minutes before the bus was due (because sometimes they come early) and expect them to be 15 minutes late (because often they're late). But how is it that I sometimes end up waiting 45 minutes for a bus that comes every half hour?! When I agreed to the job in Fairfax Village, I'm not sure I knew it would be in the time slot 7-9 a.m., or that I would have another pair of cats to visit in the same time slot. But it all works out as long as I get up early enough to allow for buses to be ridiculously late.

I was surprised that most of my first jobs were cat visits, and even more surprised when I was assigned... a bird. The bird uses its beak like another limb. He will use it to climb by lightly holding the bar (couch, pants, curtains) in his beak as he grabs higher with his feet. I also think of him as a bit like a baby, in that he puts everything in his mouth to explore (and destroy) it. I met Sidney (that's the bird's name) on a Monday, and my first visit was the next day. On Monday, Sidney's owner introduced me. I held Sidney, he climbed on my arm. The owner told me how to maintain a position of dominance and how to calm Sidney down when he got overworked. On Tuesday, I opened the cage and held out my hand for Sidney to climb on. He bit me. So I tried to calm him by holding him on his back like a baby with my hand over his head, like the owner showed me. DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME. The bird bit me about six times in rapid succession. He was freaked out, and now I was too. I called the owner, who gave me some advice. Sidney and I made out alright for the rest of the visit, until I had to put him back in the cage. I decided to use the towel technique to cover him and put him in the cage. This is not as easy as it sounds. Getting the towel back out of the cage was the tricky part, especially since Sidney was clinging on with his feet. Just as I got the towel out and was closing the door, Sidney bit me, hard. From then on, I wore thick leather gloves to visit Sidney. Do you have a bump on your middle finger, on the side of your top knuckle? I have one on my right hand from writing. And now I have one of those on my left pointer finger, but it's not from writing.

As people come home from vacation, I have fewer cats to visit and more dogs. People take their dogs with them on vacation, and when they come back, our regular dog walks resume. My regular dog walks will be twice a day: Bella, a ridgeback mix, Honey, a toy poodle; and Muffin, a Yorkie (Honey & Muffin are siblings). For the next few weeks I also have 3 of Jessica's dogs (a Pet Peeps coworker who is on vacation). They are a Westie, a Schnauzer, and a German Shepherd. Already I have learned not to leave items (bike helmet, scarf) in people's homes, because I will undoubtedly forget about them and have to go back 3 times. So I stuff unwanted items into my backpack, which also holds my bike tire repair kit, emergency information for the pets, water, visor, etc. The pockets of my coat and jeans are all designated for specific items: cell phone, hanky, keys, gloves. I'm learning to simultaneously keep a tight reign on a German Shepherd while removing a glove and putting it in a pocket in order to dig in another pocket to get my hanky and blow my nose, then put the hanky back and the glove back on. This is necessary about every block if it's windy or if you have a cold, which it is, and I do. (If it's both windy and you have a cold, you have to do it every half block.) I also manage to keep an eye on the clock and try to time it so that we get back in exactly a half hour, which is tricky when you have sniffy dogs. When the dogs like to sniff, it's impossible to predict how long they'll take to walk down a block. They may sniff for 5 minutes in one spot, and then trot along for the next 5. Imagine the people who walk like 5 dogs at once. I see these people, and I cannot imagine how they do it.

Lest you think I don't like my job, be reassured. I am making money. I am getting exercise. I am forced to go outside every day at certain times, and to maintain a schedule (woo hoo!). And the animals are adorable. I have gotten to look after so many sweet, soft, playful cats and dogs. Even the bird is cute when he's not attacking me. Witness:


Oliver's a roller. He especially
likes to roll in dirt. I finally got a picture of his face. He's a sniffer too.

This is Sheriff. He's one of my faves.

Bella is sooo sweet. She's my official favorite. She found a toy outside.

I Got A Job!

I haven't updated until now because it was too depressing... but now I have a job! I'm working for a dog walking/ pet sitting company called Pet Peeps. There will be a lot of work for me over the holidays. On Christmas Day, for instance, I'm visiting about 6 different houses so far (I still might get more). Most are cat visits. I come, change the water, play with the cats, etc. Now, normally I would be sad that I don't have more dog walks, but since it just snowed 2 feet, I'm kind of glad. I can't believe we'll have a white Christmas. It doesn't snow like this in DC! I'm going to go to my friend's house and play with their 5 year old in the show, because my housemates are all boring. Now I'm glad that I got those snowpants at GoodWill (I got them for cold farming days)! Happy holidays, all!

Halloween, Generous Donor

For Halloween this year, our house maintained its tradition of dressing up and giving out candy together. Here are our costumes.

Pippi Longstocking (Anika) and a pirate (Alicia)!

Scream Mask Person (Marcel) and Greatly Mustaccioed Soccer Player (Carlos)

Juno (Julia)

Everybody. Of those not previously seen: A flapper, a vampire, a hippy, a doll, and a door.

The whole outfit. Unfortunately a little blurry.

Our doorstep Jack O Lantern curtosy of Alicia.

Even scarier in the day light - look at that mold!

Recently the church that owns the Brethren House has started to pay a little bit more attention to us. One kind woman suggested that we needed a new fridge... and proceeded to buy us one within days! Here it is.

Old fridge with crap all over it VS New and shiny fridge!

Inside of old fridge.

Inside of new fridge.

New fridge door.

The freezer's on the bottom! And the basket pulls out. Ah, convenience!

But enough about that. Lest you think I'm pampered, it's time to show you some hard work.

See tree in ground. What to do?

Let's try pulling.

Victory!

And that's how easy getting trees out of your yard is. :)

New Job or No Job?

Well, I was expecting to hear about about that job in Virginia last Tuesday, but no go. I'm surprised because they've kept in touch really well in the past, so I don't know what to think. I'm assuming that no news is bad news, but I called today to hear for sure. The answer is... probably there will be a job position opening up, but all the details need to get worked out (and since I want to live on site, that's another obstacle), and it could take who knows how long. I already asked the housemates if I can stay on for a few more months. I hope to find a temp agency/job, and then find a real farm job in March if not sooner. I don't want to wait until then - 4 months! - but it must be done.

I haven't kept this blog up with the saga that is the Brethren House, probably because it was too depressing. We are currently house-manager-less. In August, our house manager finished up her year after moving out early. She was in law school and too busy for all the drama. Plus, she was freaked out when one of the housemates punched a dent in the wall after a particularly upsetting house meeting. I don't blame her. We got a new house manager in August. His behavior worried me from the start, but not enough to say anything. Until... he got VERY drunk one night and threw a whiskey bottle into the TV to break it so that the house board would have to buy a new (and better?) one. The next day, Mike the house manager went around asking everyone if they knew what happened to the TV, because he supposedly didn't remember breaking it. This led to hours upon hours of house meetings and actual mediation in which we eventuallly asked Mike to leave. He agreed at the mediation session, but then later said he thought the process was unfair. He fought tooth and nail to stay in the house, but finally the house board did something right and told him that he'd have to resign or they would fire him. We still gave him a month to get out of the house, which was excruciating. He is finally, finally gone. I feel so much better, and now can focus on the million other problems with the house (maintenence, bad blood between folks, negligent house board, nonexistent presence of the church that owns the house).

I volunteered to be interim house manager for a month or so until we can find a new house manager. A lot of the responsibility for finding and communicating with potential house managers is falling upon the current residents. We're also trying to create a better, more thorough contract for folks that live in the house, a better interview process for potential housemates and house managers, landscape the front yard, and get the board to keep up with maintenence. Recently the church that owns the house got a new pastor and she came to a house/board meeting. She was a very helpful presence and I'm hoping to meet with her sometime this week to go over some of my concerns.

So. There's the depressing update. I will post pictures hopefully soon of Halloween. Let the job search begin!