Vacate the Premises

See you in a week...we're going there.

"All Things Go"

It's been a busy couple of weeks and since I currently lack the time and energy (and since I just got four websites assigned to me at work today and oddly I'm not in the web writing mood anymore), here's a whirlwind tour:

I spent last week in Chicago with my department at the Internet Retailer Conference living it up with the suits and skirts, getting lost in Chicago on foot at night, and worst of all, networking. It was interesting though, and I gained some SEO knowledge despite most conversations being entirely over my head.

Meanwhile, Jesse - who has been job-searching for months - got so desperate that he applied for a position as administrative assistant to a property manager (he just got out of property managing in May). They called him and scheduled an interview the same day he faxed his resume and cover letter. He also received a call that day from First Step Family Violence Intervention Center, a domestic violence shelter and education facility in Fostoria. He had applied for the job about three weeks before hearing anything. One of our friends told him about it, but the position hadn't been posted and funding was up in the air.

Jesse interviewed for the property managing job and was offered it the same day. He asked for a week to think about the position because he had an interview with First Step scheduled, but they of course wanted to know by the end of the weekend. So naturally, Jesse accepted Monday, worked his first day on Tuesday, interviewed at First Step on Wednesday, was offered that job on the spot, then went back to the property manager and quit.

Currently, I'm back at my desk writing endless copy while Jesse is fulfilling his two weeks to the property manager. He's having a surprisingly good experience there but is looking forward to being a part of something bigger at First Step. He'll be working to build a program to educate and treat male domestic violence victims and offenders. (And I'm the one that wants to get an MSW...ah well.)

This weekend we're planning on heading to Yellow Springs to celebrate our anniversary since our actual anniversary will be spent tent-camping with the rest of the Kauffman family en route to Seattle. I'm ready to get out of BG...for non-work purposes, that is.

Snook's n' Crooks

This last Saturday we had the pleasure of seeing two more of our friends (4th of 10 this season)"tie the knot". It was lots of fun as Anna and I danced the night away with many of her bosses. The groom is the son of the President at Anna's place of employment, and I was pleased to meet all these people I've heard so much about. Many of them I've seen from a distance at different functions, but it's nice to finally meet them and be introduced.

The reception was at Snook's Dream Cars, which is an Automobile Museum of sorts at the edge of Bowling Green. I have been so curious about the inside of this place for quite some time, so on the outside chance that you too are wondering what the inside looks like, I'll include a picture or two of the place and one of us looking dressed up as proof that I can look formal(ish).
Monday was an exciting day for me; while Anna was hard at work I was at home with "the boys". I started the day by feeding Ron and Padfoot. I like to open the top doors and pull out their bowls on both the cages before I open the bag or pour the pellets into the bowls. Well I filled up Padfoots dish, closed the door and then moved on to Ron. I filled up his dish and placed it in the cage when I realized that I still needed to take out the garbage bag of their droppings. So I walked their droppings out to the garbage can. As I was walking back from the garbage I noticed how many weeds had popped up in our front flower bed. So I decided it was time to take care of that! I weeded the front and then realized there were probably the equivalent amount of weeds in the vegetable garden. The back of the house was a popular place this morning as there were easily 8 squirrels running around the trees above my head. It has been my experience that black squirrels always seem to be more aggressive than brown ones and so I've kind of formed a prejudice against them. I know its a prejudice because while I was watching them run around I realized that I was cheering for the brown squirrels in the mix. One black squirrel was really sticking it to one of the brown guys. As I began brainstorming about where I could find a BB gun to save the brown squirrel from the wrath of the black, I realized that the black squirrel was in fact protecting what I'm assuming was a female squirrel snuggled up in the corner gutter of the apartments behind us. The black squirrel was clearly trying to protect the gutter squirrel and perhaps some young from this intrusive presence when he chased the brown squirrel off the side of the roof. The brown squirrel fell until he could catch himself on a window sill. After three failed attempts at climbing the gutter back up to the roof, the little guy gave up the pursuit and scampered off. As you can see, I've included a photo taken at the scene of the altercation above.

The adventure continues! Once I was done weeding and witnessing, I walked around the front of the house to water some grass seed that I had planted. As I was uncurling the hose, a squad car drove up to the house across the street accompanied by a woman in her vehicle. I thought perhaps she had been pulled over, but then they both proceeded to walk up to our neighbor's house across the street. I think the woman across the street babysits, so I figured they were parents picking up their children. I finished uncurling the hose and walked into the house to get the nozzle for the hose when I looked up to find this!Caught red pawed! In my absent-mindedness I forgot to close the top door to Ron's cage and he had some adventures in mind. I have to give the little guy some credit for hopping through the top of his cage. Even though they're accomplished hoppers, it would still be a challenge to complete a vertical hop as such. Good work buddy! Now don't do that again. Thankfully he looked a little too scared to jump to the floor.

After returning Ron to his cage, I found the nozzle for the hose and began watering the front flowers and grass seed. As I was working away I noticed that the police officer and the woman accompanying him were still standing outside chatting with the woman who lives across the street and the conversation seemed to be escalating. I realized these weren't parents seeking their children when not one, but two more squad cars pulled up. They decided to take a break from talking on the porch and the woman who pulled up started talking to two of the officers across the street on our lawn. This was fine by me until the wonderfully awkward moment came when I had watered every other patch of grass seed except the one at their feet. Feeling confident that I wasn't breaking any laws or really being all that rude, I inched up to them, smiled, and started watering the patch a foot or two from their feet. They pretty much ignored me. I wish Anna would have been home to take the picture, it had to look pretty funny. Two officers talking to a woman who is clearly worked up and me...watering the lawn.

I finished my business and went back into the house. An hour later I noticed the officers were still outside talking and another character had joined the production. I don't really know what the conversation was about, and nobody was cuffed and escorted away, but here's a final photo.

Perhaps someday the exciting life of crime will be mine (more than just speeding tickets) but for now I'll settle for watching.