Trump Card

Life is changing for me...again. I started my Master of Arts in Literature this summer at Cleveland State University. It was a six-week condensed session and a pretty hefty workload. Not to mention the professor was the Director of the English grad program and it was important to impress since all assistantship decisions fall into her hands! I finished the class at the end of June and have been enjoying my time off from school since I know fall semester is right around the corner.
Last week my prof called and offered a full graduate assistantship to me, which means they will pay my tuition and provide a small stipend. In return, I will tutor in the Writing Center and teach a workshop to a small group of students. I was floored by this offer and accepted it without hesitation. The best part is that this assistantship paves the way for real student teaching...and it might be possible for me to teach 101 (or a similar course) as early as next semester!
The only downside is that I'm not sure what this means for my future at Tri-C. I love working here so I'm hoping to work in some way, shape, or form, even if it's as a freelance writer. I'd love to write for Tri-C or help out with special events...plus the extra money will be nice! Time will tell.

I'm happy to report that Elijah was adopted last week. I dragged my mom, my sister and a friend to meet him (in the hopes that one would adopt him). With a leash in hand, I headed to his cage. When I saw a small white face in place of his cute black one, I panicked. I raced through the adoption floor to see if they moved him into another cage but couldn't find him. As a last resort, I went to the "dog holding" (which is where the sick or recently fixed dogs are held) and he wasn't there. I was terrified that he had been euthanized...it didn't even occur to me that he would have been adopted.
I asked two of the volunteers (who were there working on their senior projects) if they had seen him. They told me he had been adopted the day before! Phew! I'm so happy he found a home; it comforts me to know that he's no longer in the little cage.
Of course, before I left, I spent some time with a few dogs and I fell in love with another sad little creature. Her name is Georgia and she is so sweet. Great, here we go again.

I've been volunteering at the Cleveland APL for a few weeks. For two hours on Mondays, I walk dogs. I do this partially because I like to volunteer and because I love dogs and can't have one at my apartment so I enjoy spending time with them. I also do it because it's rewarding - you should see how excited they get to go outside for a walk...it's priceless.
When I talk about what I do, people often respond with: "Oh, I couldn't do that. It would be TOO hard." It hasn't been that hard even though I've wanted to take a dog or two with me but knowing that I can't has made it somewhat easier.
However, this past week I walked a dog named Elijah and I've been thinking about him since. He's a setter mix and a very sweet, energetic dog. He was my last dog of the day and I noticed that he hadn't been walked since the day before...this bothered me. He was quite excited when I went into his cage to put the leash on. While outside, he was a very good boy. Knowing that he had excess energy, I jogged with him and let him wander around for quite some time. I was surprised that he knew the command "sit" because many of the dogs surrendered to the APL do not. He listened to me when I told him to leave the other dog walker and dog alone and he wasn't hard to walk with.

When it was time, I took him back inside. He was very well behaved when I hooked him to take his harness off and I rewarded him with treats. Once we entered the holding area with the cages, things changed. Elijah got very upset and tried to pull the leash out of my hand. He backed against the wall and tried to pull away from me. I told him no and then he repeatedly jumped up on me to stop me from pulling him toward his cage. To be honest, he frightened me for a second because I was afraid he'd knock me over. I finally got him in his cage.
I was startled by this because he was such a good dog up until that moment. I knew he wasn't trying to hurt me - he just didn't want to go back into his cage...and I don't blame him. My supervisor asked me about his behavior and I told her that he was difficult to get back into his cage but I didn't elaborate because I don't want her to give up on him. The APL only euthanizes dogs that are really sick or "unadoptable." I'm really worried about Elijah because his reaction to going back into his cage may ruin his chances with possible adopters. And it's a shame because he's an awesome dog other than his resistance to being caged. I honestly believe that the only reason he exhibited that behavior is because he's been caged for awhile and he hates it. I don't think he'd act that way in the home...

I'm trying not to let this affect me but I'm worried about him and, for the first time, desperately wish I could adopt him. I'm surprised this hasn't happened to me sooner...but Elijah is the first dog I've walked that I could see having trouble being adopted. If anyone is looking for, or knows anyone who is looking for, a sweet, energetic dog, check out Elijah. I would adopt him in a second if I could.
Here's his page on the APL: Elijah

Note, he's not small as they indicate. He's a medium-sized dog and is very healthy, possibly a little lean for his frame.

Today I told myself that I must address the inevitable: Lately I've felt that this blog is pointless. I'm not sure why but I simply don't feel like writing it anymore. I noticed I started writing less because I was working more. And then I didn't have a computer due to wine-spillage. And then I started playing sports and volunteering at the APL during much of my free time away from work. But I know that I would make time to write on here if I really wanted to so there must be another reason.
I've come to the conclusion that I've written this blog during the past few years because I needed to - I needed it to serve as a creative outlet, or as a place to vent, or as something to kill time. Somewhere in the past month or so, I think I stopped needing this blog; and, honestly, I keep forgetting about it. I'm not sure if that's good or bad but it's the truth.
When I do remember it, I have to wrack my brain to think of something to write on it.

The feeling I have right now is the same feeling I had the day that my six-year-old self realized that I'd stopped doing something I loved - sucking my thumb. Laugh all you want but I was attached to that particular behavior and all of a sudden I stopped doing it. The realization was a sad one and left me feeling vacuous. My point - I grew out of it and every time I think of this blog, I feel the same thing. Which makes me wonder, have I grown away from this blog?? Or am I simply in a weird place right now? I'm not sure and I guess only time will tell.

Update: the mono test was negative but my doc thinks I had a virus and a sinus infection rolled into one. Solution: Rest and fluids to kill the virus and antibiotics for the infection. He also didn't like that my airways were constricted so he gave me some stuff to help clear that up as well. I'm nearing the end of my medication and I'm finally beginning to feel better. Thank goodness.
In the past few days, I've heard of several people who seem to have the same, awful illness that I had. One theory is that it's a strain of the flu that escaped the vaccine. All I know is that I've never felt that way before and I hope I never do again.

My lack of posting lately has been partially due to the fact that I haven't felt like myself for a few weeks. I'm fatigued and have a fever that appears and disappears whenever it feels like it. To top it off, my sinuses and my eyes are bothering me as well. I've had multiple blood tests done (and have pretty bruises on my arms to prove it) and I'm waiting for the most recent test results. My fear is that I have mono; if that's the case, all I can do is ride it out. Major bummer.

I've been living without a computer since Saturday and I must admit that it's a little strange. I hadn't realized how accustomed I'd become to plopping down on my couch and surfing on it each night
My roommate's friend spilled some wine on our white carpet and IN my computer last weekend while I was away playing in a softball tournament. The Spiller felt awful that she busted my computer so she did some research regarding what to do to fix it. She called a bunch of places/companies to see how much they charged to examine my little laptop and what she could do in the time being to try to save it. The Spiller and my roommate removed the battery and used a blow dryer in the hopes that they could dry out the wine. No such luck.
The Spiller talked to the Geek Squad and discovered that they charge $100 simply to look at your computer. Even if they look at the device and discover that it's completely fried and they cannot do anything, you have to fork over the money. So we went for another option: We took the computer to a guy named John who works at Cleveland PC Repair on Bridge Street in Ohio City. This guy ROCKS. Not only did he look at my computer for free, but he explained everything that he was doing as he took my computer apart. Once taken apart, I did see some red wine dried inside my Dell...although there wasn't much. At this point, my roommate texted The Spiller and told her that wine came pouring out of the computer and that it was totally ruined (it was actually John's idea to mess with her)! She started freaking out so we didn't carry the joke on too long.
Then John removed the hard drive and plugged it into his computer to see if any damage had been done - thankfully there were no errors and everything was A-OK. He examined the laptop further and it turns out that all I need to replace is the keyboard. He ordered one for me and said he would clean out my computer while he waited for the part to be delivered. The keyboard costs about $26 with delivery and John will charge about $15 for his services so The Spiller is really happy we went there instead of calling the overpriced Geek Squad!
It's funny though because I'll probably get my computer back tomorrow or Thursday...and I don't even miss it anymore!