Friday, September 28, 2012

Oh, Polly

It's really something else to be relied on, to care for a living thing.

Until we got Polly, I don't think Tim and I knew what that was like. If we didn't care for plants and they died, it was sad but we really didn't care. Frank needs weekly food/water/litter fill-ups but mainly just does his own thing. Between Tim and I, we care for each other and rely on each other in an emotional way, but Tim doesn't really need me to make dinner in order to survive. (Right, Tim? :)

Polly is teaching us things.

To start, she needs us. She needs us to let her out, to walk her, feed her, and to give her water. When we are late with any of those basic needs, she lets us know -- sweet, sad eyes, accidents, insane hyperactivity (last night, I found out Polly was NOT turning into devil-dog, she was just really, really hungry).

Polly graduates from puppy class next week. I'm not sure I really realized this until this week's class, but I really care about her development, also. I want her to be the good, loyal, sweet dog that I know she can be. When she's not, I question her AND I question my own ability as a puppy owner.

Allow me to paint a picture for you.

Before puppy class, I left Polly on her lead outside because she was flipping out. Every time I got near her to pet her or let her off, she would start jumping and barking and scratching me. I was seriously wondering if this was it, if getting a puppy was a huge mistake. By the time Tim got home, she was still freaking out and he took her to her crate for a time-out and calm down (sanctioned by our puppy trainer, no judgement if you have a dog and have crate trained, haha).

We let her out, fed her, and voila, she was calmed down. She was just hungry.

We got in the car and went to PetSmart for class, and she sat with her front paws on my lap in the back seat the whole time, and just melted my heart. I was so happy that it seemed like she needed me and she was learning that I was one of her caretakers. The scratching wasn't personal.

Then, when we got to the store, flip the switch. Polly was pulling at the leash, jumping around, could hardly wait to get inside. During class, she was obstinate, jumping on everyone and everything and the whole time all I could think was "PEOPLE ARE JUDGING US! SHE'S GOT COOKIE IN HER CHIN FUR, SHE NEEDS A BATH, AND SHE'S FORGOTTEN EVERYTHING WE'VE TAUGHT HER. SHE'LL BE A SOCIAL OUTCAST."

At the very height of the night, we were in the back by the grooming products, trying to practice "stay" and "recall" and Polly took a giant dump. Oh my goodness, we were so embarrassed. I felt bad, Polly was trying to go outside. But Tim and I were tense. He was trying to find a clerk to help with the mess and I was just aware of the poo on the floor and trying to get him to use the grooming station's help, before we BOTH realized that there was a self-cleanup station nearby.

Mess cleaned, and the trainer came over to observe Polly's skills. More jumping, some listening. It was not her best performance.

And that's when I realized, Polly relies on us, and we care very much about raising her up to be a good, healthy dog. She needs us to feed her, yes, but she needs us to show her consistency and patience, too.

I asked Tim on the way home if this is going to be a "Marley and Me" type of story. But it's not time to think about how the story will end. (And Tim told me that Polly is nowhere near as naughty as Marley. The trainer might not see it, but I agree :)

Thursday, September 27, 2012

I've got thoughts

I've been reflecting a lot on where we were this time last year. Anyone else do that? Is that another sign of adulthood?

This time last year, we were moving out of our apartment and into my mom's house to hang out until we moved into our house. It was a big transition, and a really exciting time for us. I can't believe that soon, it'll be a year that we have lived in our home. Time is just passing so quickly, and we are so blessed to be homeowners and steadily employed.

I think it's really important for me to remind myself of that as often as I can. We don't talk about it like this, but it's become the American way to complain about what we don't have and what we expect others to do for us (or not do for us). On a political level, at work, in our personal relationships. We are hyper-focused on what we feel like we are owed. (Bee tee dubs, I'm not a Republican, even though you might think I was by the mail we've been getting lately). 

I can get stuck in this trap too -- one bad week at work and I'm spending a lot of energy wishing I was a lottery-winner and could do what I wanted with my time. I could buy this new thing or that. And the whole time, I'm just missing the bigger picture. 

Tim and I can provide for ourselves. We have what we need (and then some). We have dreams for what we want to do with our time and talent, and you know what? It will take TIME, sacrifice and hard work to get there. It won't happen overnight and no elected official or boss will make it easier/harder to get there, if it's what we really want with our future. (Sometimes, I think when we are complaining, it's about something that we aren't really committed to changing ourselves.)

For those of you NOT living in Iowa, we are getting slammed right now. Robo-calls, mailers, commercials -- campaign coverage is taking over my morning NPR programming. Most days, I hesitate to bring these thoughts to a group of people. We live in a divided society, and we can't talk about our (true) values and the political landscape easily. We are quick to complain and judge.

But, in this height of a campaign season, I've got something to say.

We give our elected officials, namely, our president, too much credit.

After all, they are merely a reflection of us, right? I'd like to think of our senators, representatives, governors and presidents as just a more concentrated version of us. (Because they are). If we are unhappy with the partisan, fear-mongering, complaint-driven nature of our political dialogue, we need to start by reflecting on the conversations we're  having at the kitchen counter at night. Who are we blaming today for the things we aren't getting?

The brilliant thing about studying marketing is that, you start to realize how much a movement can capture a person's worst. The biggest human emotions to market to are fear, greed, exclusivity, and vanity. Political campaigns and politicians are great marketers. They understand what emotions are likely to motivate us, the American public, and they sell to them. And we eat it right up.

So, back to my original point. Each election is our opportunity to change the dialogue. In between elections, we have the choice of consuming what's being sold, or not. If we are unhappy with the state of affairs, we can change it. 

If we are unhappy with the lot of personalities up on the election block, it's because we spent so much time complaining and shifting blame that we missed the bigger picture.

Change the conversation.

Tuesday, September 25, 2012

Just keeping things interesting

Hey there. Just when you thought your morning/afternoon/evening blogrolls were finished, I pop in with an unexpected post. You're welcome :)

MORE than a month has passed since my last post (wow, that almost sounds like how you start confession with your priest). Life is just moving along here.

We've already done a lot of what was in my last post -- we've watched football, I made spicy/warm things, we've spent good times with our family and friends, and I turn the air conditioning off -- and theeennn turned the heat on this  past weekend when the nighttime temps got into the 20s and 30s. I lit our first fire in the fireplace this weekend and napped nearby. These are the simple pleasures, folks.

School is good. It's mostly what I would have thought it to be. Quirky professor, lots of class discussion, readings to finish during the week and yes -- Wednesday is a really long day. I feel like I'm learning things that are foundational to my job and I love it. (I like feeling like I know things). I'm already term-dropping in my visits with clients ("Ah, no we don't use psychographics the way you mean,  but THIS is similar" and then a flip my hair and smile. Just kidding, but not far off).

I am still really, really nervous about my quantitative courses -- statistics, finance, accounting, etc. For one, 3+ hours of that subject in one night is enough to make me doze off right here. And second, these are always my weakest spots. Hopefully I can fly under the radar and pass without anyone wondering how I managed to get admission to the program. (Seriously, I got through the GMAT with a quant score that represents a wing and a prayer).

Work  is also keeping both Tim and I busy. Between that and chasing around a huge, energetic puppy, we are in full swing, and that is part of the reason that a whole month goes by before I even realize it. And it'll happen again. We have so many things to look forward to in the coming weeks: more plans with friends (including getting to meet a new baby!) trips to see family, a work/fun trip to NOLA, Halloween and Thanksgiving in there somewhere, and before you know it, I'll be writing my annual posts about how stressful the holidays are :)

Because they are.

But I look forward to them EVERY YEAR.

Also, this just in: the new season of "Grey's Anatomy" starts this week and I can't remember the last time I was this excited about a week night. Seriously, it's the simple things, yo. I'm even trying to figure out what special dinner I can make for the night to celebrate. Well, anymore, whenever we actually make dinner, it's special. So, tater tot casserole will be special, right?