On Becoming a Pruett

Hey, so I am married now. It’s going to take a little getting used to the new last name given that I’ve answered to the same name for 32 years, but I love the sound of it. Of course, the only “official” change I have made is on Facebook, there is still the matter of navigating the arduous task of actually changing it in the eyes of the law, but one thing at a time.

I suppose I should begin this blog just before the big event.

The week leading up to the wedding was busy and exciting. There was shopping, final preparations, a bridal shower thrown for me by my surprisingly generous co-workers, dinner with out of town family, and company in our house. I was blessed to have Friday off which enabled me to take the dogs for one last trip to the park for swimming and a bath before dropping them off with their respective baby-sitters. Aunt Lara had Xander while Aunt Ashley and Uncle Mike had the corgis, which was wonderful considering it allowed me a week of leisure without any worry of their welfare. Thanks again guys!

 It was also wonderful to be able to deliver them on Friday afternoon, because I was not home following that time. We all headed out to a place in Mayport that I’d never been to before called Singleton’s Seafood Shack. A shack it was indeed, but perfectly suited for our needs and possessing the delightful sort of character we require in our special events. We held our brief rehearsal in the area neighboring the parking lot, overlooking the water. Inside, the service and food were fantastic, and our table of nearly twenty was set in a room of its own filled with nautical artifacts and conversation starters. Not that we needed any. Our crowd was playfully loud and the room filled with laughter and friendship, even among those who had never met before.

Following dinner, the girls and boys parted ways to commence with the final celebrations of bachelor and bachelorette-hood. The boys apparently did an efficient job of drinking, while I was adorned with the requisite embarrassing accessories befitting a person in my present condition. This involved a tiara, two sashes (one of which was a pose able male stripper we nicknamed Scooter), and an X rated plastic straw from which to drink my cocktails through. My bridesmaids made sure the band was aware of my pending nuptials, and I received a great many congratulations as well as a drunken counter-proposal. Fortunately, we all made it home in one piece, boys and girls alike, although some a little worse for wear than others.

Saturday morning required last minute food shopping as well as picking up our trays of food and cupcakes from Publix. Not to mention generous doses of water and ibuprofen from those of us having indulged the night before. My girls were super heroes in terms of decorating the club house where the reception would be held, and we were showered and prepped in time for Kara to do my hair and head out to the beach.

We were married at Kathryn Abby Hannah Park, the site of our official dating anniversary outing back in 2009. The picturesque boardwalk, wilderness, sand dunes, and waves all contributed to a beautiful back drop for our ceremony. The girls and I remained sequestered in the air conditioning of my Cousin Jane’s car while “Going to the Chapel” played on auto-repeat for nearly an hour as guests arrived and were led into their place on the beach. Once Buster gave the ok to proceed, I was escorted over the boardwalk by my Uncle Gary who gave me away. The moment was perfect as he wore his Hawaiian shirt and straw hat. I looked down at the small but intimate group of assembled friends and family and Gary turned to me and asked offhandedly if I’d heard any good jokes lately. I laughed and told him the only thing I could think, originating from one of Buster’s friends in the days before. Velcro, it’s such a rip-off.

After passing me to Buster and exchanging hugs and handshakes, I faced my husband to be, who had tears in his eyes. This meant I had won the betting pool with my girls, although he had already assured them that it was just the sun in his eyes. The fact that he is a sentimental romantic is just one of the many reasons I was standing before him to begin with.

Our good friend and life-of-the-party, Rob Poole, acted as officiate, with the powers vested to him by the church of spiritual humanism. He delivered the material flawlessly and with great style, as the oceans waves broke behind us. My dress fluttered beautifully in the breeze, and when Rob pronounced us husband and wife, Buster delivered a crowd pleasing dip and kiss that knocked the decorative flower from my hair. The photos are breathtaking and the event could not have been more perfect with a bright blue sky and my handsome man and I standing barefoot in the sand.

His friends Mark and Amanda, professional photographers, were on hand from New York and joined my aunt and cousins in taking photos. I still have not seen them all, but there are certainly some amazing ones. Still, even without pictures, I will never forget the details of May 5, 2012. Cinco De Mayo will never be the same again.

Our reception following was fun and laid back. We had the traditional first dance to “Time of My Life” as Buster is my own Patrick Swayze. I didn’t embarrass myself too much or trip over my dress, so it was fun, although I never realized how long that song was until I had to dance to it in front of a room full of people!

We received a toast from our Best Man and Maid of Honor, Buster’s uncle Matt and my cousin Jane respectively. They were brilliant and perfect and we are so lucky to have them, not to mention ALL of the friends and family who were a part of our day. We cut our little cheesecake and did not smear it in each other’s faces (under the threat of physical violence due to bright blue food coloring). The same food coloring on our guests’ cupcakes resulted in a room full of blue tongues and teeth. I declared that it was a show of solidarity.

We had a picture frame for people to sign, complete with a stock image of man and wife who looked nothing like us, particularly after our guests had drawn mustaches, tattoos, eye patches and other enhancements on the unfortunate pair. We came home to the delightful surprise of an actual wedding photo taken by Mark and Amanda blown up and inserted into the frame. What an incredibly thoughtful gift from our friends whom I had only just met that day.

After the reception, our friend and another of Buster’s groomsmen Tyler, with whom Buster does his scuba diving, drove us to the hotel at the airport. Since our flight was due to depart Sunday morning at 7:30am, we’d decided to stay within a shuttle ride’s distance, so as not to burden anyone for a ride at 5am Sunday morning. Tyler seemed delighted to act as chauffer and was thrilled to be the last to see us before we left. So it all worked out quite well, even though I went to bed hungry from spending too much time visiting guests, and not enough time eating. I was so excited from the events of the day and the prospect of Cozumel, that I read my kindle and played on facebook until the morning rolled around.

Our first day as husband and wife was spent traveling. In spite of Florida’s close proximity to Cozumel, we had to fly to Atlanta first in order to catch a connecting flight to the Yucatan Peninsula. In spite of the long hours and stress of going through security, and now customs due to the international nature of our travels, everything went smoothly and we arrive at the Cozumel Palace Resort by 1:30 their time. (2:30 our time)

Before we even made it to our room, we’d scheduled our week’s activities with the hotel’s planners, as well as receiving a moist towel, a welcome drink, and our honeymooner t-shirts. Upon arrival to our room, we were welcomed with a honeymooner cake, a bottle of champagne and a bottle of wine along with a basket of snacks, a stocked mini fridge and alcohol supply. Our upgraded room was on the fifth floor, with a hammock on the balcony, a hot tub, and a spectacular view of the resort as well as the glorious blue and green ocean.

The resort was all inclusive, meaning that we could have whatever we wanted to eat or drink, whenever and wherever we wanted it. The staff was fantastic, and everything was beautiful and safe. We even made friends with an older couple while swimming in the infinity pool on the first afternoon, and accompanied them to the town for exploration and a little local flavor. Never did we feel unsafe, and due to the island’s dependence on tourism, we didn’t even need the pesos we had procured at the airport. We soon learned that the locals prefer USD!

The week involved snorkeling, swimming with dolphins(me), scuba diving (Buster), massages (us), romantic dinners poolside, water volleyball, scooter riding, lots of eating, and even more drinking. There were nightly activities, a fire show, a Mexican fair, and music to dance to. We learned some Spanish, read a couple of books each, didn’t turn on the tv, took naps and lounged by the water. It was a week of luxury, and although it was hard to come back, I was feeling a bit homesick toward the end.

Saturday was another long day of travel, some culture shock in Atlanta, and a delightful, but one sided conversation with a 79 yr old gentleman who was returning from the 100^th birthday celebration of his 4^th grade Catholic School teacher, bringing us home after 9:30 for one last quiet night. I picked up the dogs Sunday morning, who to my surprise were as tired as we were from their own vacations! Xander had spent the week playing virtually non-stop with Lara’s dogs and the corgis had spent the week peacefully with Mike and Ashley’s cats, but were relieved to be home as well. Other than laundry and grocery shopping, we all spent the day lying on the couch trying to recover before returning to our normal routine today.

We have a plethora of honeymoon photos thanks largely to Buster, which can be found here: http://www.snapfish.com/snapfish/shareereg/p=968131336939258372/l=4260606026/g=10102282026/cobrandOid=1000/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBFB/pns/snapfish/share/p=968131336939258372/l=4260606026/g=10102282026/cobrandOid=1000/otsc=SHR/otsi=SALBFB;jsessionid=B1E2FEEA03B82388CA5229B85317402E

We have a few wedding photos, but are hoping to have more eventually. Those we have are on our Facebook pages. Look for Bonnie Pruett, or my HUSBAND Buster. I never grow tired of noticing the ring on his finger. Sorry ladies, he is one of a kind, and is now officially mine.

Living it Up

The Tailwaggers club was hosting a three day USDAA trial down in Vero Beach this past weekend. Since we could not afford to do all three days, and what we really needed were standard, pairs, jumpers, and maybe a Grand Prix Q, it worked out perfectly that these classes were being offered on Sunday. We still need two snooker Super Q's, but snooker is offered more frequently than pairs certainly, and usually we only end up doing jumpers once as well. My friend Terri and her lovely dogs were there for the weekend, and she very graciously offered for me to crash with her Saturday night at the Motel 6 where Kaylee and I used to always stay. That sealed the deal.

We did some practice Saturday morning, took care of some chores and shopping, and hit the road around 4pm that afternoon. It had apparently rained buckets on the days previous, and the weather folks were predicting more. I was fortunate not to encounter any storms along the way and made great time to the hotel. The best thing, well perhaps the only good thing, about the Motel 6 is that it has lots of grass to walk the dogs on. Of course, since it is dog friendly, it is also a minefield of poop. In spite of that, we had a nice walk and stretched our legs before going into the room with Terri's dogs. Xander has been around my friend Lara's energetic dogs, and loves to play with Sting, but typically he ignores other dogs. Due to his difficult relationship with Kirby, I am always a little hesitant of his reactions to other dogs if they act dominantly toward him. I was blown away by how wonderfully he behaved in the tiny hotel room.

Terri has two border collies of her own, and then travels and competes with two of her clients' dogs, a pair of lovely aussies. Harley is a big, goofy, loveable red merle that is a little over two years old, and very much a puppy still. He and Xander had a wonderful time wrestling on my bed, and in my lap, before Harely was put in his crate to allow Bella to play. Bella is a gorgeous black tri and a huge flirt. Xander thought she was VERY sexy and put on his best show of posturing and the two of them had a long wrestling session with occassional attempts at humping.

Eventually, everyone settled down. This involved Bella pushed into one side of me, and Xander curled up on the other near my head. Needless to say, I did not get lots of sleep, but enjoyed it just the same. Terri and I talked about food and travels and dogs until late into the night before we finally went to sleep. At around 4am, Porsche, the eleven year old began pacing in the tiny bathroom. The bathroom was so small that the door would not close unless you lifted the tiolet seat first. Terri woke up fearing she was having a stroke, but we soon heard the cause of her anxiety when a loud crash of thunder and lightning knocked out our power and thus the extremely loud air conditioning unit. The storm raged for a while, but passed before our phone alarms woke us at 6am. Our power was not entirely restored however. I'm not sure how, but we had enough power for our lights to flicker dimly, but not to come on completely. It was like getting washed and dressed by candlelight. Agility is always an adventure.

The rest of the day was gorgeous. The sky was blue, the sun was warm, but the temperatures were mild and made for delightful agility weather. Although the trial is undercover, when it does rain, the tin roof makes a deafening noise and the crating areas tend to flood. I was glad I had arrived just in time for good weather. The big dogs ran first, which is always my preference since it doesn't give me time to psych myself out. We hadn't competed since early March, and at that time I was stressed out about the potential job and could not relax or focus. Our performance suffered obviously, as did my enjoyment level. This day was like a bonus and I had no expectations and no reason to be stressed out. I was only thinking of the two weeks until our wedding and honeymoon, and how much I enjoyed hanging out with Terri as well as regulars such as Kelly and Gail. I love USDAA folks. Previously, we have suffered from "one little thing" syndrome in standard and could not buy a Q. We had one, but single bars, tires, and other minor things had been keeping us from a clean run. Sunday morning we went out and had a beautiful clean run that was even good enough for 2nd place! Finally, our second standard Q was in the bag! One more and we will have our MAD!

After this came pairs, and for some reason, Xander and I have issues with it. Fortunately, Terri and Vette had issues with their half as well, so it wasn't one sided for either of us. It didn't bother me though, since the standard Q had made my trip worthwhile all by itself. Next up was Grand Prix, another class where we could never seem to qualify, although we don't run it terribly often. We had earned one last September, which was enough for our ADCH requirements, so this was just for fun mostly. We did Q, although it was not smooth enough to place and our lovely Vette won the class! Funny enough, I came home to look at our competition record and realized it was the last tournament Q we needed for his Tournament Master title! Good job Xander!

Finally, jumpers was built by around 1pm. It was so awesome to have four runs in about five hours, my kind of agility trial. We had two jumper legs going in, the course was fun and fast, and we came through with another 2nd place Q! That put us at three out of four runs for the day, a definite success! This means we need two snooker super Qs, two jumper, three pairs, and three standard Qs for our ADCH. Not bad for our fourth time in Masters. He really is such a good boy and does so well when MY head is in the right place! Best thing was, we made it back to Jax in time to go swimming at the dog park and wash off the clay. They all had "cheeto feet" after running in it. We were home before 6pm and in bed by 8pm. It was a great day.

Now Terri has convinced me to go to the regional to team up with Vette and Donna Brian's lovely dog Sting. Perry in June, our first regional event, why not?!

Time Keeps on Tickin

In a little over two weeks I will be married and heading to Cozumel for a six night stay at the Palace Resort. Pretty awesome.

In the meantime, life has been pretty steady. Making plans and slowly getting things taken care of. Buster and I bought our wedding bands a few weeks ago, and went downtown to get our marriage license. Both activities were much easier than I had expected. We have the food and the location and many of the minor logistics figured out, and things just keep getting checked off the list. I am feeling very good about it all.

I am still in the same job, resigned for the moment to a life of underachievement while I look forward to time away. Still no official word on the final open position I had applied for, but it's fairly safe to say that's not going to happen. Given the timing though, if something were to come through, I would rather it be after the honeymoon anyway. Stranger things have happened.

Buster and I have taken up disc golf, as we have a lovely course at the park down the street where we walk the dogs. After a week of chaos at his job, Buster finally enjoyed a normal evening of throwing the discs last night. He works SO hard, and cares SO much, and is still amazed when his bosses praise him for being fabulous. I just shake my head and wonder how he doesn't see it for himself.

We continue to love our townhouse, and have a backyard full of plants and grass and a garage now equipped with an inexpensive but highly fun ping-pong table. The barbeque gets regular use, and I still love every morning to open the backdoor and let dogs out to potty without having to walk them.

After devouring the "Hunger Games" trilogy, I have found an insatiable appetite for reading on my phone's Kindle (which is awesome). I just finished another reccomendation from a friend after a couple of days, and am moving on to the next one. I am also looking forward to reading another Stephen King "Dark Tower" book that is perfectly timed to be released so I can take it with me on our honeymoon.

On the agility front, Xander and I are heading to Vero Beach on Saturday evening to crash with my good friend Terri and to attend Sunday's USDAA trial. We are pairing with Terri's little red rocket Vette, as well as running in jumpers, standard and Grand Prix. We haven't competed since mid March, and I'm not sure when we will get to compete again, so this should be a fun little mini weekend before the big event.

Counting down the days until I become Mrs. Bonnie Pruett!

Life Goes On

While I have not gotten an official rejection in regards to the job prospect, the rumor mill says that our organization has changed the scope of the job and are therefore looking for people with the ability to program and do other such IT related things. Less teaching, more computer nerding. Sadly, I am not the correct type of nerd, so I am not holding my breath anymore. It is rather dissapointing, mostly because I was a horrible ball of nerves for two weeks and had heart palpatations every time the phone rang. However, it was a good learning experience, and it has made me realize some of the perks of my current position.

For example, although I have difficulty tolerating the person and place I work for, I get to go home after exactly 8hrs every day, which means I get to enjoy time with my dogs and Buster at the beautiful park five minutes from our house. I don't have to be away for weeks at a time for training, and can train my own dogs. Weekends can be spent hanging out with friends, doing agility, or planning for a wedding.

Speaking of that, my fabulous cousin Jane with the help of her fabulous sisters threw us an amazing wedding shower that was one of the nicest and most awesome things anyone has ever done for me. The people who came were SO generous in their gifts that we are able to afford a real honeymoon. In Cozumel!!!! Hard to believe we will be getting married and flying to paradise in less than six weeks! I have never been out of the country before, other than crossing the border from NY to Canada briefly....

Things are beginning to fall into place on the wedding planning, so it is another perk that I am able to focus on that instead of the job that wasn't.

The universe throws curve balls sometimes, but it forced me to reassess my situation, realize I was being selfish/immature, and that I should be patient and appreciate what I do have. Things will work themselves out.

Still Waiting

They are still in the process of interviewing. Seriously, it has been two weeks already. Let me get on with my life already!

Purgatory

Usually when I am at my most self-righteous, indignant, and defiant, something comes along and throws me for a loop. Such was the case after my last post.

I’ve been working this miserable job for almost 18 months now (and a similarly miserable one for the year prior), going above and beyond in an attempt to work myself into a better position. That opportunity had seemed to come along back in November, at which time I applied for a Training Specialist position. It would be the ideal way to do what I enjoy doing, while still benefitting from a steady source of income and all the perks of working for an organization.

Months went by, and nothing happened. I completed the professional certification, I taught classes, I volunteered and worked twelve hour shifts and sacrificed weekends of agility. Still nothing.

When I wrote my last post, I had reached the breaking point. I had had ENOUGH. No news had come on the possible great job, and I could not bear another day of making copies and serving as a trained monkey when I am capable of so much more. Ready to give my notice on a Monday, I decided it would be less stressful to break the news on a Friday, thus giving everyone the weekend to digest the information.

THAT DAY, I finally received the call to interview. Seriously?

I completed the first interview on Monday March 5th, and we spent the last 10 minutes laughing and chatting about our dogs. It seemed to go well, and after a couple of days, I received the call to schedule the follow up interview with a panel of managers.

I spent a stressful weekend of course building and trying not to obsess about the interview, while messing Xander up and costing us many Q’s along the way. He is a good sport though, and still had fun even though his handler was a space cadet.

Monday morning came, and so did my interview. Inquisitions are never fun, with five to one, but it seemed to go well, and I even had them laughing at the end.

Days have gone by, and I am still waiting for the decision. There were a total of four positions, two of which remain unfilled. My friend and colleague Sue has been waiting two weeks for the final verdict, but it seems it will never come. Three days have been torture for me, I cannot imagine two weeks.

I cannot concentrate or think of anything else. My life seems to hang in the balance. Will I remain on this path and make TWICE the money I make now? Will I travel to Wisconsin for training, and make a career out of this, or will I again find myself looking down that unworn path of uncertainty? Taking this position could lead us out of debt in a few years, and I could afford that training facility of my dreams within a decade. Buster could change his own path if he desired. The money could afford us so many options.

However, if I am not selected, how long can I tolerate this demeaning, demoralizing, and unfulfilling life? Jumping ship seemed like the only option, but in looking at how much money we spend, and the prospect of Buster being trapped where he is forever no longer seems viable.

I am stuck in limbo and have no control over what decision will be made. I have made the efforts, the connections, and presented my argument. Now all I can do is wait and see what happens.

I hate waiting.

The Road Not Taken

The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost


TWO roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth; 5

Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same, 10

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back. 15

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.


Probably the most over-quoted poem in history, but rightly so. My incredible 6th grade social studies/philosophy/life teacher introduced the students of James Weldon Johnson to a wealth of poetry, philosophy, and culture. This poem always stayed with me.

I grew up always feeling different.I know I am not the only one, but some people have an easier time fitting in than others. I spent my childhood SWEARING I would never end up in a boring, cramped office stuck behind a computer or crammed in a cubicle all day. My first jobs were all working with animals. Boarding kennels, grooming, vet offices, training....and although those jobs were physically demanding, I felt comfortable in those roles. I belonged there.

In recent years, I have betrayed who I am. Trying to be "normal" and essentially working to cram whatever odd shaped peg I am into the square hole of the corporate world. It doesn't fit.

I've been bored to tears, frustrated, anxious, and hurt from banging my head against a wall that blocks me from what is probably the wrong path anyway. Instead of ending up with a concussion and being unable to breath, I am going to turn around and run as fast as I can in the other direction. There is no path, no safe road with lights and signs and directions, just open, fresh air where I can breath again.

I am only able to do this thanks to the amazing man who loves me for who I am, even if I am not "normal" and can't do things the way the world expects or demands.

There is no guarantee that I won't end up back on the beaten path at some point, but I hope not. I am ambitious, intelligent, resourceful, and can handle a machete. Watch out unbeaten path, here I come.