Together on Tuesday (Late Edition!): Take this Job and...No, Don't Shove It!!

Okay, you caught me publishing my Together on Tuesday on Wednesday...the very nerve of me...sorry folks, I'm a day late!
This week's topic:  If you could have your dream job, what would it be?  How would it change your life?

Believe it or not, I actually had to mull over this one a little bit...mostly because I really, really like my job and I am very blessed to have a job that I really like and that actually pays me well.  But then I dug deep to figure out what my DREAM job would be, and I don't think anyone's DREAM job is crunching numbers and data all day...granted, some of us weirdos like it on some level, but I don't think any little girl or boy sits and dreams of doing my job when they grow up.  They want to be astronauts, nurses, teachers, scientists...you know...movers & shakers, world changers. 

I don't think my dream job will shock or surprise any of you, as a matter of fact, some of you will probably just sigh and think, 'oh, geez...here she goes about the dogs...again!'  But, first, lets backtrack to a couple weeks ago when my friend and co-worker actually posed this very same question to me (to be clear, in her question, money or income from the job would not matter - in that particular scenario I would have no need to earn certain number of dollars per year).  My off the cuff answer then was, "would sit in a rocking chair and hold puppies all day long!"  So, I decided to take that, and create the job that would make me happiest.  So what I came up with was to have a Doggy Daycare at my house.  I know there are lots of doggy daycares out there, because we used to take Watson occassionally, but how great would it be to have a handful of people drop their pups off in the morning for me to play with all day long, and then they would pick them up at the end of the day!  Plus, an added bonus would be that I would be home with my two pups Eli and Austin all day (granted Eli is completely neurotic and would freak-out at the idea of having strange dogs coming to our house everyday, not to mention his need to challenge each and every one of them for alpha power on a daily basis...but I am dreaming about my perfect job here, so we won't worry about that right now).  It would be win, win...wait for it...WIN!

Doing this would change my life in many ways.  First, I would have an opportunity to spend my days with creatures that I absolutely love.  No matter how bad of a day that I have had, my dogs are always able to make me smile, laugh, and feel needed.  Eli is my cuddle bug and Austin is the class clown.  Secondly, it would make me happy to know that other crazy dog moms like me who are stuck at work all day would know that their beloved Fido was somewhere being loved, entertained, and having his energy level worn down to a tired frazzle which always certainly makes for a more peaceful evening.  Personally, I hate the fact that my boys are stuck inside all day.  Sometimes, I even feel guilty about it.  It would also give me the opportunity to teach dogs proper behavior and develop their social interaction skills with other dogs, which is something that I really believe in (although...any of you who follow my Austin stories may not buy that!).  It can be very easy for a dog to get a bad repuation.  But, oftentimes, when you get to the root of the problem the dog is simply reacting to the situation they have been forced into by their owner.  As Mark and I are well aware, a dog that does not get enough excersise and play time is going to be very high strung and difficult to deal with, and that pent-up energy WILL come out...the question is, will it be in a proper place and setting such as your back yard, or will it be in the room where you keep all of great-grandma's delicate China that has been handed down for generations?? 

As a side note, I am also going to pretend that being home would give me an opportunity to keep my housework done more regularly (but who are we kidding here, I'll have dogs to play with all day).  It would also cut my daily commute right out of the picture...an hour each way...that would be TWO whole hours each day, FIVE days a week that I would get back...that is TEN hours per week!  I can't even imagine having ten extra hours of my life back per week.  Plus, I could wear whatever I want since I am working right at home...as a matter of fact it would be downright irresponsible for me to wear nice clothes to play with dogs all day...so, no more business casual for me!

So enough about your local crazy dog lady...what is YOUR dream job??

Together on Tuesday: How Dependent are You on Technology??

Today, I accepted my friend Danielle's invitation to join the weekly 'Together on Tuesday' blog group with her and her friend Michelle (okay, I make that sound like a Pony Express courier delivered me a hand-engraved invitation carved in Italian marble, but it was really more of an open invitaion to all of her friends).  This is my first Tuesday of doing this, I hope you enjoy!

This week's topic:  How Dependent are You on Technology?

In a nutshell...way more dependent than I care to admit in front of everyone I know. 

There are so many advantages to the spoils of technology...the world is at your fingertips, literally.  In an instant, you can reconnect with old friends that you haven't spoken to in years through social networks.  GPS units make it possible to take your family on vacation without the fight over who can or can't read a map, but more importantly, it solves the age-old problem of no one being able to get the damn thing folded back the way it was.  You can buy ANYTHING...seriously, ANYTHING you can think of on the internet...including a disturbing thing I was told about yesterday called Picnic Pants...if you think the Snuggie is the most horrific thing ever invented, I suggest that you Google Picnic Pants just to prove yourself wrong about the Snuggie.  But I digress...

A Few of My Favorite Tech Addictions:

#1:  I fully admit that I have a love affair with my iPhone.  For me, there is no turning back.  If something horrible happened to my beloved Apple Smartphone, I would pay a ridiculous amount of money to replace it at full-price if I had to.  On some level, it is like a friend that lives in my purse and keeps me company anywhere I go.  Waiting in the Doctor's office?  Meeting my husband somewhere but he's stuck in traffic?  Stuck in traffic myself?  Sitting at the airport?  No problem, I'll just whittle away the time on Facebook, catching up on local or national news, playing DrawSomething...and if I blow through all of that and still have time to spare I can simply download a new app to keep it going. Simply put, it takes the boredom out of waiting in places where I hate spending time.  It gives me something to keep my mind occupied.  It turns something that is potentially a total waste of time into something that is mildly productive.  That is probably the crux of my addiction to my iPhone.  It entertains me when otherwise, there is nothing around to entertain or occupy my time or attention.  Don't get me wrong, there are some majorly productive things about the iPhone, I am just confessing what fuels my addiction to it.

 #2:  My Garmin GPS.  It gives me directions to anywhere from anywhere.  There is a button programed to HOME, I push that and it tells me how to get home from anywhere.  One of the categories in the 'Attractions' menu is wineries...no matter where I am, it will find me the nearest winery...or wineries!  Need I say more?  I think not.

#3:  Texting.  True, this could be classified in with my phone, but I like it so much I thought it deserved its own bullet point.  I don't really like talking on the phone, so this gives me an out, but still allows me to communicate as neccessary.  Short, sweet, and to the point.  Unlike phone convesations that can meander on and be difficult to end politely with those who keep talking no matter how many times you say, 'okay, well...I gotta go...'.  End of story, case closed.  Its that simple.

#4 Dual (or more!) Computer Monitors.  My company has spoiled me.  Again, no turning back on this one.  We are blessed to be given dual computer monitors at work.  I deal with lots of spreadsheets and data systems, so I always have a million applications open.  This way I can see several of them at at time.  My husband is totally on board with this at home...our desktop computer at home has three monitors!  If I had to go to work somewhere else, I would have to negotiate to get dual monitors or something...I don't think I could live without dual monitors at work. 

#5 Our Blu-Ray DVD Player.  Forget the Blu-ray visual technology part - I really don't care about that (yes, I do realize that some of you have burning eyeballs right now just from having read that).  What I DO LOVE about that little machine is that it connects directly to the internet and we can cut out the computer and stream Hulu Plus and Pandora right through the TV.  Love!

#6 Digital Photography.  Does anyone actually miss the days of waiting until a roll of film was finished...then taking it in for processing...waiting...waiting...waiting...then getting back your photos only to realize that half of them are plagued with bad lighting, closed eyes, red eyes, or some ridiculous looking stranger lingering around in the background of your great family vacay photos?  **insert cricket chirping**  Didn't think so. 

Is there any technology that I am able to reject?  Yes. 

#1:  Cable TV.  About a year-ish ago, Mark and I realized that we were paying a ridiculous sum of money each month for cable.  We were watching less than three hours of TV per week, usually, only about an hour and it had been that way for a long time (apparently we only commit to loyally following one TV show at a time...right now, it is Modern Family. Which, conveniently is on network TV).  For us, paying what we were paying for cable was the equivalent of standing on one of the bridges and just tossing our money into the Ohio River.  So, we cut down to the most bare minimum of basic cable you can get.  Not only do we not miss the cable, we rarely notice that it is gone.  Then for about $9 per month, we subscribe to Hulu Plus.  Much, much cheaper...and anything else that isn't included in basic or Hulu, we can pretty much find online. 

#2:  E-readers.  Nope, I have not done it.  I have not purchased a Kindle or Nook, and right now, I can't say that I plan to.  Mostly because I don't make myself find time to read, so that seems like it would fall to the wayside shortly after the initial excitement of having it wears off.  Besides, I still like that idea of having an actual book in-hand...yes, I am one of THOSE people. 

Consequences...good, bad, or indifferent??

So, what are the pitfalls of all this technology making life, "easier"??  Well, I have already mentioned that it allows me too easily to opt-out of actually TALKING to people whether it be face to face or by phone.  A lot of feeling and emotion can be lost in the translation of texting, e-mailing, or messaging.  You can't actually HEAR all of what that person is saying...you lose all intonation, voice, and body language. 

Additionally, we have become a society of instant gratification.  We have become all about 'me, me, me...now, now, now...'.  Being unable to get everything now is no longer acceptable.  As a result, I believe our patience with one another has eroded badly.  Just drive somewhere, anywhere.  Everyone is in such a hurry to get where they are going that any notion of politeness is out the window.  All bets are off...it is every car, truck, mini-van, and SUV for themselves. 

But, may I point out that it is not the technology doing these negative things, it is merely the vehicle that we use to be impersonal, rude, etc...the problem is the people.  You, me, and everyone else.  It is purely a human choice.  I challenge all of us to choose to tidy up our 'tech manners', myself included. 

Losing the Watson Tree

So, as most of you know, for the last few weeks we have been in the process of building a workshop type building at our house for Mark.  This will also house the boat, which will remove it from the harsh outdoor elements during winter (assuming winter actually shows up in years to come...).  Most of you also know that in October of 2009 we had to make the HORRIBLY difficult decision to put our precious and sweet dog Watson to rest.  These two things went seemingly unrelated until Sunday evening. 

After losing our dear Watson, I decided that in addition to the little engraved memorial rock my mom got us to put there, that it would bring me some kind of peace to plant a tree in the back yard next to where he was laid to rest.  It became known to Mark and I as 'The Watson Tree'.  In the process of planning this workshop, I was well aware of the fact that this building was going to be cutting it very close to the Watson Tree.  But, for some reason it didn't worry me all that much - which looking back was completely careless on my part.  Going back to the tree itself, well it didn't exactly thrive after we planted it...it remained this skinny bare stick standing about 3 or 4 feet up out of the ground that typically produced a whopping 3 leaves per year at the most (in the fall when the leaves were turning and falling, Mark and I would jokingly talk about going out to rake our LEAF up from under the Watson Tree).  When we started planning the building and the topic of the tree's future came up, Mark wasn't all that concerned because in his opinion, the tree was dead...but my argument was that it just had not hit its prime yet, but that I had a strong feeling that this was going to be 'its year.' 

So, you can probably imagine where this story is going...  The ground-leveling guy (for my lack of ability to recall his actual title) had been here several times leveling the ground for the building and re-routing the water drainage to go around the back of where the shop would be.  Then, they came and in ONE day, framed and built that whole building!  One day, four guys, wow!  BUT, the ground-leveling guy was not finished, he had to come in the day after the building was completed to work on the ground around the building.  This is where things apparently go bad.  The tree had survived the entire process up to this point and I was no longer concerned about it, I mean they had already build the damn shop...the Watson Tree was home free, right??  Wrong. 

Sunday evening, we had some friends stop by and we all walked back there to show them the shop...Mark, the proud papa, wanted them to see his new baby....and why shouldn't he?  He designed it and spent a lot of time and money getting this thing done.  As we stood there talking, I realized something was missing from my line of sight, my tree...my Watson Tree...was gone.  I said something at the time, but not wanting our friends to think I was a complete lunatic, I curbed my desire to yell explicitives about the ground-leveling tractor man who had apparently bull-dozed down my Watson Tree.  I was okay on the outside, but on the inside I was becoming Clark W. Griswald in the scene where he flips out over his Christmas tree going up in flames. 

But, as a couple days have now passed, I just cannot seem to put it behind me.  I think the reason I am still dwelling over it is because that tree symbolized something for me.  It was a living, growing thing that would memorialize the life of the wonderful dog that we had to let go.  I considered Watson my baby...he was really my first dog.  I bonded with that dog from day one.  Watson went nearly everywhere with Mark and I, especially when we lived in Bloomington.  We walked the neighborhoods, we hiked the trails in the summer..spring...fall...and even in the snow, we were watching the very moment that he figured out how to swim...when he ran far enough into the water that he had to sink or swim - and he swam, like a champ.  That dog loved to swim.  So it seemed so fitting to mark his memory with a tree, he was a dog that loved nature.  But now that tree, that symbol of Watson and his love for the outdoors is gone.  It is like there is a hole in my heart.  Not because I can't plant a new tree, but I think the hardest part for me is that the ground-leveling tractor man probably, in all honesty, didn't even see the tree in his path or even realize that the had razed it into the ground.  I know that in my head.  But in my heart I still keep asking, how could he not have known it was there??  Didn't he see it the first few times that he came?  Why didn't he tell us that the tree was going to be a problem?  And more painfully, I keep asking myself why I didn't tie a bright orange flag around the tree so it couldn't be missed.  I cannot undo the destruction that was done to our Watson Tree.  I cannot undo the guilt that comes with not taking more care with it.  But deep down inside, I now see the true realization...I cannot undo losing Watson.  No tree, or rock, or anything can undo that.  That is the real pain, I now realize.  It was never really about the tree.  It was about those feelings that losing the tree drudged back up...the way I felt the day we lost our Watson.