It has been an exciting couple of weeks in the Pruett house!
First, I officially changed my name with the Social Security office, who gave me a form and assured me it would take care of the DMV. It didn't. They were also supposed to give me ANOTHER form, so after a couple of trips, and a couple of hours waiting, I received my new license as well. The picture is not even that bad. All the credit card companies, banks, human resources, etc., were notified, and now I have a whole slew of pretty, new cards with my nice, new name on them.
After the events of my last post, I found myself rethinking the way I travel with the dogs. As much as I love the Element, it really is fairly small and forces me to crate the dogs in potentially unsafe wire crates toward the rear crash zone of the vehicle. Buster, a.k.a BEST HUSBAND IN THE WORLD suggested we trade in his Mazda3 and get the Honda Odyssey I'd always wanted. Then he would drive the Element, which is an automatic and not a manual (like the Mazda) and would make his life easier. Once we looked around at used, weighing the pros and cons of mileage and fuel economy on older models, we decided to look for a 2011 or 2012 base model. His car was appraised at Carmax for less than what we owed, mostly due to the high interest loan it was financed with. We ended up buying the Odyssey from the same person we bought the Mazda from 2yrs ago, got what we owed in trade in value, 0.9% interest financing, 5yrs of maintenance, a 200,000 mile warranty, and a few other extras. I now have an AWESOME new van that will allow me to safely crate the dogs toward the front of the van in their new RuffTough crash tested kennels. Very happy! the smell of a new car is almost as good as puppy breath.
Aside from new wheels, I have been awaiting a decision from my current employer on a position I had interviewed for a couple of weeks ago. In the meantime, Buster volunteered at a Pepsi function, and met with his boss's wife. Following some discussion of me and what I do, it turns out the she works for Baptist doing the very thing I was trying to get into originally here, and never got an official answer on. She also happened to be looking for another member for her team, and had almost given up hope to find the "right" person. She swore it was divine intervention, and after meeting with me informally last week, I had an official interview Monday afternoon. It was my best interview ever and I left feeling as if it was mine to take or leave. Turns out it was.
Less than 48hrs later, I got the offer. It would be over 9k more than I currently make a year. I was pretty thrilled, but had already told them at the interview I was waiting to hear back on the position with my current company.On top of that, in an effort to keep me in her department, my supervisor was trying to upgrade my position. Feast or famine, I swear.
Buster let it be known from the get-go what he thought of my current employer. They have done nothing but jerk me around and leave me hanging. However, the job at stake would pay enough for us to be out of debt in a fraction of the time. It would also involve working in a severly understaffed department, in a high stress environment, with unpaid overtime, nights, and weekends, for a company that may soon be going bankrupt anyway, and doing more technical work rather than the training and development that truly interests me. On the other hand, the offer I actually received was with an excellent company, doing the type of work I want to do career-wise, with people I seem to enjoy. I choose the bird in the hand, rather than the two in the bush. Buster is thrilled, as is the person who offered me the job, and I feel in my gut it was the correct decision.
My last day here will be July 6th before moving on to bigger and better things. Baptist EHR (electronic Health Record) Implementation Specialist. Has a nice ring to it. My boss was not happy, but still supportive and congratulatory, and made it known that I was welcome back any time I decided I'd made the wrong decision. I don't think that's the case, but appreciate the sentiment anyway.
This year has been pretty awesome so far, and it is only half way through. Even-numbered years seem to be the best for me. Wonder what the next six months will bring, not to mention 2014......
Friday, June 22, 2012
Tuesday, June 12, 2012
Take Nothing for Granted *UPDATED!!*
**SEE UPDATE BELOW**
I was going to write a post about my scuba diving debacle, my new job prospects, and my weekend at the SE Regional USDAA show in Perry. However, I woke up to find my Facebook feed completely dominated by an outpouring of sympathy and support for a woman in the agility community named Elicia Calhoun.
While I do not know her personally, I do know of her due to her success as an agility trainer and competitor. From what I have heard, she is also one of the nicest, most generous, and positive people in the sport. She and her six dogs were traveling home from a competition when she was involved in a terrible car accident. Her thirteen week old puppy died on impact, three of her dogs were injured and taken to the hospital, and two had fled the scene when help arrived. It was confirmed recently that Nika, her one-eyed aussie that had achieved great success in spite of the handicap, was hit by a car and did not survive. If that weren't tragic enough, Elicia has checked herself out of the hospital with a punctured lung to search for her red and white border collie Tobie, who is still missing.
This is quite literally the worst nightmare for those of us who travel with our dogs. It could easily happen to any of us, anytime.
The agility community, while at times subject to the same personality clashes, differences of opinion, and other conflicts that sporting events can inspire, has nonetheless come together with a show of support for this person that many of us do not know. Given that Elicia is self-employed, and will have staggering hospital and vet bills, a fund raiser has begun for her. Over $17,000 has been raised in a matter of less than 24hrs, with more donations pouring in.
It is enough to take your breath away.
Each of us that share a special bond with our dogs can feel some of the pain and fear that she must be feeling ten-fold. And we are giving to her the compassion and generosity that we would hope to receive if we found ourselves in the same situation. Every so often, something like this happens to both renew my faith in humanity, and serve as a reminder to what is truly important. Not ribbons, titles, dollars, or bragging rights, but the priceless, irreplaceable lives of those special to us.
As we all hold our collective breath for news of Tobie being found, we can help in some small way. Here is the link to the fundraiser:
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/bK4Ab?psid=7d8bdd94ef564486a41b6d65af6e6332
If everyone just gave $5, it could mean a world of difference in the lives of Elicia and her surviving dogs.
Don't take anyone in your life, two or four-legged, not a single day nor a single breath for granted. We have no guarantee to be here tomorrow, or for those we love to still be with us.
I am so glad that I truly enjoyed running Xander this weekend and that he, my other two dogs, my amazing husband, and all my wonderful friends and family are alive and well.
That's really all that matters.
**TOBIE HAS BEEN FOUND!!**
Compassion, empathy, sympathy....these are surely among the greatest of human traits. Miraculously, through the involvment of many, many caring people, Elicia's missing dog has been found alive, and seemingly unharmed! Tragic as it was to lose two of her dogs, it is a huge comfort to everyone that Tobie is alive and returned to her mom. This picture says it all.
Hopefully, Elicia and her surviving dogs will heal as they grieve for the two that were lost. Bless the agility/dog community!
I was going to write a post about my scuba diving debacle, my new job prospects, and my weekend at the SE Regional USDAA show in Perry. However, I woke up to find my Facebook feed completely dominated by an outpouring of sympathy and support for a woman in the agility community named Elicia Calhoun.
While I do not know her personally, I do know of her due to her success as an agility trainer and competitor. From what I have heard, she is also one of the nicest, most generous, and positive people in the sport. She and her six dogs were traveling home from a competition when she was involved in a terrible car accident. Her thirteen week old puppy died on impact, three of her dogs were injured and taken to the hospital, and two had fled the scene when help arrived. It was confirmed recently that Nika, her one-eyed aussie that had achieved great success in spite of the handicap, was hit by a car and did not survive. If that weren't tragic enough, Elicia has checked herself out of the hospital with a punctured lung to search for her red and white border collie Tobie, who is still missing.
This is quite literally the worst nightmare for those of us who travel with our dogs. It could easily happen to any of us, anytime.
The agility community, while at times subject to the same personality clashes, differences of opinion, and other conflicts that sporting events can inspire, has nonetheless come together with a show of support for this person that many of us do not know. Given that Elicia is self-employed, and will have staggering hospital and vet bills, a fund raiser has begun for her. Over $17,000 has been raised in a matter of less than 24hrs, with more donations pouring in.
It is enough to take your breath away.
Each of us that share a special bond with our dogs can feel some of the pain and fear that she must be feeling ten-fold. And we are giving to her the compassion and generosity that we would hope to receive if we found ourselves in the same situation. Every so often, something like this happens to both renew my faith in humanity, and serve as a reminder to what is truly important. Not ribbons, titles, dollars, or bragging rights, but the priceless, irreplaceable lives of those special to us.
As we all hold our collective breath for news of Tobie being found, we can help in some small way. Here is the link to the fundraiser:
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/bK4Ab?psid=7d8bdd94ef564486a41b6d65af6e6332
If everyone just gave $5, it could mean a world of difference in the lives of Elicia and her surviving dogs.
Don't take anyone in your life, two or four-legged, not a single day nor a single breath for granted. We have no guarantee to be here tomorrow, or for those we love to still be with us.
I am so glad that I truly enjoyed running Xander this weekend and that he, my other two dogs, my amazing husband, and all my wonderful friends and family are alive and well.
That's really all that matters.
**TOBIE HAS BEEN FOUND!!**
Compassion, empathy, sympathy....these are surely among the greatest of human traits. Miraculously, through the involvment of many, many caring people, Elicia's missing dog has been found alive, and seemingly unharmed! Tragic as it was to lose two of her dogs, it is a huge comfort to everyone that Tobie is alive and returned to her mom. This picture says it all.
Hopefully, Elicia and her surviving dogs will heal as they grieve for the two that were lost. Bless the agility/dog community!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)