Up at 7 a.m. and make a French Press of coffee with a peeled and sectioned grapefruit, followed by a bowl of oatmeal. Today is my first day at the animal shelter, starting my shift a 11 a.m. and ending a 4 p.m. But first I must run a couple of errands, one over to the post office to mail a couple of packages. And then to a “super liquor store” located near the Millenia Mall by the name of “Total Wine and More.” Think of it as a Sam’s Club for booze, wine, and beer! They had a coupon in Sunday’s paper for a buck off a six pack of beer costing $6.99 or more, and the buck was good for up to 4 packs. So I head over there to check things out, and it’s almost overwhelming. There are 2,500 different type of beer alone! I can’t get my usual Rolling Rock, because that’s only $6.49/six pack, and I can’t use the “coopen” (as comedian Ron White calls a coupon). So I experiment with a couple of new brews: A Reingold lager, and a Red Hook pilsner. We’ll see how those go. Also, I buy a bargain bottle of tequila and some margarita mix. (I don’t believe it’s necessary to buy expensive tequila for margaritas; expensive tequila is for sipping. So I buy a one liter bottle of “Durango” tequila -- the cheapest they have -- for $11.99.)
I get to the shelter by 11 a.m., sign in, and begin my shift. There are tons of kitties (cats and kittens) as I noted in my Friday Dec. 2 entry. I start in the cat condo area and bring the kitties out one by one and socialize them, clean their quarters, and check on their food and water. Then I go to the general cat area and so the same. There are so many, that I can’t get to all of them, but I try to pick the ones who look friendly and interested, because I think those are the ones that stand the best chance of being adopted. During my shift, I help adopt out an adult female Siamese with crossed eyes (name unknown), and I also help reunite a lost cat with its owner (a rare occurrence, by the way). I show several other cats, but all the people are still in the “thinking about it” stage.
I have a sandwich packed for my lunch, and go to the break room about 1 p.m. and share a table in the small break room with three prison release workers, whom the shelter uses for general duty. One of the guys has a mouth full of gold teeth. Their general discussion revolves around the “box lunches” they are eating from a local Mexican deli/market. They can’t decide whether the “meat” in their Styrofoam containers is beef, pork, or chicken. But if you’ve ever had one of these “poor man’s platters” from a Mexican deli, you at least get a TON of food: a generous portion of some kind of “meat”, and a big pile of rice and beans.
I finish my shift, then head over to the fitness center (I have my bag packed and in the car). I know that if I stop back the condo, I will never make it back out the door! The gym is busy because this is “busy time” when all the normal 9-to-5ers come to exercise. I have a good workout, followed by a swim and a soak. I am really tired and sore now, and I think, "This is what it must be like for 'normal' people who work a physical job 8 hours a day."
On the way back to the condo, I stop at Bubba Lou’s Bodacious Bar b Que up the street from me (next to the Starbucks) because I want to try their bbq. I order a pulled pork sandwich platter which comes with beans and French fries, and I add a side of cole slaw to that. I get back to the condo, and haul everthiing upstairs (booze and beer, gym bag, and dinner). I am famished. I dump a generous pour of tequila, lime mix, and ice into my new blender and make a king size margarita. I discard the bun on my pulled pork sandwich, and devour the meat, beans, fries, and slaw. Everything is delicious. I am bone tired, but I watch the last hour or so of “The Fugitive” (Harrison Ford movie, not the TV show with David Janssen – anyone remember that?) on the TV, then head to bed. It’s been a long time since I have felt this physically exhausted!
Expenses today: booze and beer: $29, dinner: $11. Total: $40
Bruce
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