I just wanna bang on the drum all day

I love my new job. Things were slow tonight, so I knocked out several rows of Mo's In Threes Cardigan which I am making as a pullover. I have run out of this yarn in this color and am deciding if the rest should be green (and thus Christmassy) or if I should use lavender (which will match nicely but it's scratchy). Who knows whether Mo will consent to wear it no matter what color I make it. Why am I teaching her to think independently again?


Also I did a doodle of this drowsy doggie. She had emergency surgery earlier in the evening. The doctor removed a corn cob from her digestive tract. Nasty things corn cobs. They are unfortunately the perfect size for swallowing and the perfect diameter to act as a cork within your pet's vital systems. When I left for the night this puppers was in recovery and doing just fine.

Quotations

Edwin Arlington Robinson: "Two kinds of gratitude: The sudden kind / we feel for what we take; the larger kind / we feel for what we give."

Jon Krakauer: "Heaven, for me, is one focused project — it's like a weird form of autism. And if it pans out, you get the royalties and you get to write the next one."

Beverly Cleary: "When I am writing a book I also enjoy ironing, an idiosyncrasy that probably makes me sound more domestic than I really am. Working with my hands frees my imagination."

Daniel Boone: "I have never been lost, but I will admit to being confused for several weeks."

Perspective

Just when I was feeling sorry for myself for having a tough week (Robb on a business trip while I was at home with a sick kiddo cutting a molar), I went into work last night, and we had five scheduled euthanasias for the end of the night. Five! That's totally unheard of. Each of the pets was very sick, and it was the right and humane thing to be doing, but still it makes for a very heart-wrenching work day. I overheard the doctor patiently explaining to a three-year-old why his (poor cancer-riddled) doggie was such a good boy that God needed him in heaven. *gah* And then I went home and promptly hugged both my dog and my child. No one who dreams of growing up to be a veterinarian probably envisions that aspect of the job. I really felt for one of our newer nurses who was fighting hard not to cry in front of the clients because she doesn't realize yet that it's not unprofessional to cry a little when someone is saying their final farewells to a beloved family member. It's a sign of compassion. It communicates to them that you are human and caring and...  Here's hoping today's work day involves baskets of puppies and kittens and sunshine.

The shutdown cometh

I blame every single politician in Washington, DC, for this debacle. But I am really frustrated with the Republicans for allowing a small radical minority to hold them (and by extension all of us) hostage, and by that I mean the Tea Party. Apparently they are chanting, "Shut it down!" as if the federal budget is an enormous game of chicken.

Here's an oxymoron: federal worker.

The overwhelming majority of federal employees are not fat leaches who chuckle amongst themselves about how they are really screwing the American taxpayer. My great-grandfather worked for the Department of Agriculture. My grandfather worked for the Department of Labor. My father worked for the Department of Veterans Affairs. My husband works for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration which is part of the Department of Commerce. I have family and friends at the National Institute of Health, Department of Justice, Social Security, Census, Department of Defense, Army, Navy, defense contractors... Overpaid? Hardly. The lawyers and doctors and scientists and executives could all do much better if they went over to the private sector. Instead they choose to spend their careers dedicated to serving their country.

And when the government shuts down, they will all be furloughed. No work and no pay in the middle of an economic crisis. In Maryland alone that's 250,000 people. As the President stated last night:

"800,000 federal workers and their families impacted; millions of people who are reliant on government services not getting those services -- businesses, farmers, veterans; and finally, overall impact on the economy that could end up severely hampering our recovery and our ability to put people back to work."

Also government agency websites will be unavailable. The national parks, Smithsonian museums, and the National Zoo will shut their doors. Tax returns will not be processed. Pay to our servicemen and women will be delayed. The list goes on and on.

Robb and I are nervous about what's going to happen. We were told that his department will be made "essential personnel" for two weeks, but it hasn't gone through yet. If they remain non-essential, then they begin the cumbersome and expensive process of pulling all of their survey teams and equipment out of the field. Let's hope there's no shutdown.