Job Description

WANTED

People to work long hours with frequent mandatory overtime. Few holidays and weekends off. Must be able to keep massive amounts of paperwork up to date while making split-second, life or death decisions.

Must be immune to verbal abuse and able to neutralize occasional physical assaults. Must display patience, kindness, understanding, and caring even when your personal life is coming apart at the seams.

Must show no aversion to blood, vomit, oozing infections, or human body wastes. Salary in no way commensurates with knowledge and ability. Only those interested in dealing with depressing situations on a daily basis need apply.

The El 6/24/09

Girl in excessively short plaid skirt with cat ear head band. Guy in pimped out pin striped suit with fedora carrying the metal leash attached to the girl and a black leather flogger. On a Wednesday people!

Healthcare Basics

There's so much I could say about the current discussion on healthcare in our country. I'm just so glad we're finally having it. The system is broken. That much is clear. I was too young in '94 to know or care about what the Clinton's were trying to accomplish, but I'm glad that the door is open wide to healthcare reform once again. For a basic overview of why we so desperately need reform, check out blurb's great post on some of the most important healthcare talking points. You might know him better as dooce's husband. It looks like he's planning on doing a couple updates on this very current issue, and I for one plan on reading them.

Twitter

I decided to finally try Twitter. I have no idea if I will actually do it. But so many times I have a thought that I would love to blog about, but by the time I get home to do so, I've forgotten it. So I will attempt to share them with you via Twitter. We'll see how this goes. Look to the left for my last 5 updates. At least it's something to do at 4am at work.

Shoes That Make You Smile

Because of my various recent illnesses, I've been watching a lot of TV. Probably more then is healthy. A lot of TV means a lot of commercials, and one I've been seeing got my attention. It's an AT&T commercial that features a company called TOMS shoes. The commercial points out that for every pair of shoes you buy from TOMS, they give a pair to a child in need. This is SO ME! Of course, I had to check it out. I easily found their website and decided to buy myself (and a kid in need!) a pair.



The first thing that struck me was how colorful and fun the fabrics of the shoes are. I decided on the pink big dots for myself. So cute!

TOMS shoes are based on a traditional Argentinian design. They have a relaxed, comfy fit. They're very light. I would compare them with flip-flops in terms of comfort and support. There is some very slight arch support built in, but not nearly enough for me to wear all day. Most of the styles have a leather inner sole which helps make them a little more durable. The outer sole is made of rubber. These are the perfect shoes for summer when you get tired of your flip-flops! They're also great to throw on to run errands, or just do a little running around. Just DON'T wear them in the rain. Your feet will be soaked. The major downside I've found so far is that these get dirty! The fabric extends over the entire toe box and almost down to the ground so it's nearly impossible to keep them clean. I haven't tried to get the dirt out, but because of the leather, you can't really put them in the wash. I'll let you know how it goes! Also, because they're canvas, expect some stretching with wear. But I have to say I've gotten tons of compliments on them. And there's something to be said for shoes you can feel good about wearing. They come in mens, womens, and babies sizes with youth sizes in the works. And they come in vegan styles too!

Why can you feel good about giving shoes to a kid in need? Children in developing countries often go barefoot. Because they don't have access to other forms of transportation, these kids can walk miles a day. Having shoes offers protection, and the ability to walk distances that couldn't be covered barefoot. It also protects them from all sorts of preventable diseases. One of the most common ways for many diseases in developing countries to be spread is through the soil and into cuts and sores on bare feet. The simple prevention? Shoes! So get yourself a pair, and make a difference to one child today.

The El 2/3/09

Twenty-something black male (clearly not homeless as he was dressed pretty nicely) with a small vacuum cleaner and a Pokemon lunch box worn messenger bag style around his body.

Cat Tree: A Product Review

In order to improve my rambunctious cat's behavior, I decided to buy him his very own piece of furniture, a cat tree. I hoped that the tree would encourage him to climb, scratch, and sleep there instead of on my furniture, as well as give him a comfortable view out the window. For the most part, this plan has worked perfectly. He's constantly in his tree. So in this sense, I'm very pleased with my purchase. I am a little disappointed, however, with the product I chose.

After a long online search, I chose the Amusement Park from Drs. Foster and Smith. I chose this particular one for various reasons. Among them, the company's long list of reasons why their product is superior to all the others. Others included the color choices, the mix of sisal and carpeted poles, and the general design and layout of the piece. It was just the size I was looking for. Not too big and bulky for my apartment, but still enough levels and features to provide some interest.

For the price, and how big a deal Drs. Foster and Smith make about their superiority, I found this product a little disappointing. The seams in the carpet are extremely obvious and thin. Plasticy carpet strings were hanging everywhere after assembly and took a good 5 minutes of trimming to get it looking presentable. And as the cat scratches certain places more strings appear. Also, with the scratching, there are small pieces of carpet everywhere. The included breakaway toy is nice and the breakaway definitely is safer for kitty, but at 5 lbs, it's not very fun for larger kitties. Mine takes about 45 seconds before it is on the floor and another minute before it is under the couch. And you have to attach the toy to the breakaway snap with a string you tie yourself and I'm a bit skeptical about my knotting abilities.

All of these things were only minorly annoying. I did get the tree on sale ($150 I think) so I was willing to deal with a few minor annoyances. Over the last week though, I have been noticing that the whole tree is crooked and wobbling terribly. So tonight, I spent ten minutes tightening all the legs and the bolts on the bottom. It is self assembly, but I was still shocked at the amount it loosened up in just six weeks. Two of the bolts were so loose I could actually turn them by hand. If I have to do this every 6 weeks, it's going to get mega annoying.

In contrast, my parents bought a smaller $75 cat tree from Petsmart (I couldn't find it on their website, but I know they have it in the store). They've had it for three years with absolutely none of the problems mentioned and, in fact, bought a second one which they've had for two years. Both still look as good as the day they were purchased and have never been tightened.

Overall, the Amusement Park is ok. But I wish I had saved the $75 and bought the more generic, but better quality Petsmart model.