- It's a violation of the lease. The lease clearly spells out that your are not supposed to feed stray animals so as not to attract more.
- Management knows who is feeding the cats, but does nothing about it. The man is an attorney who threatened to sue if management actually enforces the lease. It's people like him, people who believe they're entitled to do whatever they want by threatening lawsuits, that are what's wrong with our legal system.
- Stray cats are not taken care of. By this I mean that they do not have flea or tick prevention treatments, they are not spayed or neutered, nobody cleans up after them, etc. This means my dog can pick up fleas, ticks, and diseases from relieving herself the same place they do, not to mention the kittens that show up occasionally.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Karma
There's a man in my complex who feeds stray cats. This bothers me for various reasons:
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Heroes
One of my brothers is training for a marathon and has recently started training with a running group. One of his running partners shared this story with him, he shared it with me, and I decided that it was just too good not to share with anyone who happens to read this blog.
When this guy started training, his plan was to run a 5K. Shortly thereafter, one of his young children asked him if he was going to run a marathon. Their conversation went something like this:
Child: Are you going to run a marathon?
Dad: No, I'm running a 5K.
Child: How far is a 5K?
Dad: It's 3.1 miles.
Child: How far is a marathon?
Dad: It's 26.2 miles.
Child: Oh. Nobody in our family could ever do that.
He started training for the marathon the following day.
I think this is a great story for many reasons, but mainly because of this father's determination to show his child that nothing is impossible. This is what a real hero is -- someone who teaches children not to put limits on themselves, someone who teaches them to reach for that seemingly impossible goal. We need a few more of these heroes.
When this guy started training, his plan was to run a 5K. Shortly thereafter, one of his young children asked him if he was going to run a marathon. Their conversation went something like this:
Child: Are you going to run a marathon?
Dad: No, I'm running a 5K.
Child: How far is a 5K?
Dad: It's 3.1 miles.
Child: How far is a marathon?
Dad: It's 26.2 miles.
Child: Oh. Nobody in our family could ever do that.
He started training for the marathon the following day.
I think this is a great story for many reasons, but mainly because of this father's determination to show his child that nothing is impossible. This is what a real hero is -- someone who teaches children not to put limits on themselves, someone who teaches them to reach for that seemingly impossible goal. We need a few more of these heroes.
Wednesday, December 22, 2010
People of Walmart
I don't particularly like going to Walmart, mainly because it takes at least 30 minutes to get out of the store, even if you're only buying one item. However, I must admit that Walmart makes for some interesting people watching.
I had to stop by yesterday to pick up a few things, and let's just say that it didn't disappoint. It took me 45 minutes to get out the door, and I was only picking up something I had ordered online. I thought it would be quicker if I didn't have to go find it, then wait in line to pay. I was wrong.
As for the people watching, you had your typical women wearing way too little, men wearing mullets, and tattoos galore. Now I have nothing against tattoos personally, but I never realized that many women had them on their breasts. All I can say is, ouch!
One thing did catch my attention though, and not for a good reason. I saw a kid, roughly 5 years old, in a diaper. Yes folks, a diaper on a kindergartner. I understand some kids have issues with the whole potty training thing, but seriously? I admit I could be mistaken on the age, but not by much; this kid was at least 4 years old, and I think older. Wow. That's all. Just, wow.
I had to stop by yesterday to pick up a few things, and let's just say that it didn't disappoint. It took me 45 minutes to get out the door, and I was only picking up something I had ordered online. I thought it would be quicker if I didn't have to go find it, then wait in line to pay. I was wrong.
As for the people watching, you had your typical women wearing way too little, men wearing mullets, and tattoos galore. Now I have nothing against tattoos personally, but I never realized that many women had them on their breasts. All I can say is, ouch!
One thing did catch my attention though, and not for a good reason. I saw a kid, roughly 5 years old, in a diaper. Yes folks, a diaper on a kindergartner. I understand some kids have issues with the whole potty training thing, but seriously? I admit I could be mistaken on the age, but not by much; this kid was at least 4 years old, and I think older. Wow. That's all. Just, wow.
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
Christmas Already?!?!
I can't believe that it's already December 21st! Christmas just sneaked up on me this year. Maybe it's the weather - it's been in the mid-70s all week. Maybe it's because I've been super busy - finals, graduation, bar prep. Maybe it's the lack of Christmas decorations - I don't even have a tree! Whatever the reason, I can't believe it's Christmas already. I don't have a tree, I don't have any decorations up, and I haven't finished my Christmas shopping.
But in the spirit of full disclosure, I should share that I don't plan on having a tree and I usually don't have my Christmas shopping completely done by now. The Christmas shopping really needs to get done today. I have a couple of things left to get, and I already know what they are, I just have to make it to the store. I even have a few things that I purchased online that I haven't gotten around to picking up yet.
As for the tree, I'm not doing one this year for two main reasons - I don't have a tree and I have a puppy. First, for the last couple of years I've left town as soon as finals were over and headed to my parents' house for the holiday break. I didn't bother putting up a tree because I didn't have time (too much studying) and I wasn't going to get to enjoy it anyways (I was leaving). That's pretty much was happened this year, except my bar prep classes got in the way and my parents decided it would really just be easier for them to come up here. Since plans were finalized, I haven't had time to go get a tree. Second, my puppy likes to pull leaves off of plants and loves shiny things. I can just imagine her grabbing a hold of either a branch or a decoration and pulling until the tree came crashing down. So, no tree this year. I do have a plant we could put presents under. But then again, my puppy loves boxes and paper, so that might now work either.....
I'm sure we'll figure something out. :)
But in the spirit of full disclosure, I should share that I don't plan on having a tree and I usually don't have my Christmas shopping completely done by now. The Christmas shopping really needs to get done today. I have a couple of things left to get, and I already know what they are, I just have to make it to the store. I even have a few things that I purchased online that I haven't gotten around to picking up yet.
As for the tree, I'm not doing one this year for two main reasons - I don't have a tree and I have a puppy. First, for the last couple of years I've left town as soon as finals were over and headed to my parents' house for the holiday break. I didn't bother putting up a tree because I didn't have time (too much studying) and I wasn't going to get to enjoy it anyways (I was leaving). That's pretty much was happened this year, except my bar prep classes got in the way and my parents decided it would really just be easier for them to come up here. Since plans were finalized, I haven't had time to go get a tree. Second, my puppy likes to pull leaves off of plants and loves shiny things. I can just imagine her grabbing a hold of either a branch or a decoration and pulling until the tree came crashing down. So, no tree this year. I do have a plant we could put presents under. But then again, my puppy loves boxes and paper, so that might now work either.....
I'm sure we'll figure something out. :)
Monday, December 13, 2010
Graduation Day
This weekend I graduated from law school. Or I guess I should said, this weekend was my law school graduation. I can't say I graduated until all grades are in (something which was pointed out about half a dozen times during the ceremony). As far as graduations go, this was a good one. And I'm not just saying that because it was mine.
First was our entrance. The graduation ceremony was held in a local church (which is absolutely beautiful!), with the actual ceremony in the sanctuary. They had the graduates get ready in the room the furthest from the sanctuary, which I didn't understand until after we started our walk towards the sanctuary. All our professors and deans had lined the hallways dressed in their robes and applauded and cheered as we walked through the tunnel they formed. By far the coolest thing ever (at least as far as graduations go). One of the great things about going to a small school is that you get to know the professors and they get to know you. I got so many congratulations by name from my professors. That was cool.
Second was the actual ceremony. It was funny, it was poignant, it was short. We got some good advice from the dean and guest speaker, and we got some good laughs from our class representative. Everybody got hooded, no names were butchered, and hundreds of pictures were taken. And it all took an hour and a half. Another great thing about graduating from a small school is that you don't have to sit through a 4-hour ceremony for the 15 seconds that you actually care about. Afterwards, the graduates headed outside for the class picture, and I joked around with the dean as he tried find a spot where he wasn't blocking any of us short people on the front row. Refreshments and more pictures followed as we all hung around the courtyard with family and friends.
The rest of the day was also great as I got to hang out with my family. We smiled at my niece's giggles as she was raised high into the air by my brother over and over, and then laughed as my brother realized he had broken a sweat and was too tired to pick her up anymore. We headed to dinner at this small local Italian restaurant that has the best bread ever and enjoyed a nice family dinner with lots of great conversation. I had plans to meet up with friends later that night, but was so tired after all the activities that I fell asleep on the couch around 8:00 p.m.!!
While I'm not technically a lawyer yet, this was a big step in getting there. Keep your fingers crossed that all my grades come back somewhere above a D- and I can pick up my actually diploma soon.
First was our entrance. The graduation ceremony was held in a local church (which is absolutely beautiful!), with the actual ceremony in the sanctuary. They had the graduates get ready in the room the furthest from the sanctuary, which I didn't understand until after we started our walk towards the sanctuary. All our professors and deans had lined the hallways dressed in their robes and applauded and cheered as we walked through the tunnel they formed. By far the coolest thing ever (at least as far as graduations go). One of the great things about going to a small school is that you get to know the professors and they get to know you. I got so many congratulations by name from my professors. That was cool.
Second was the actual ceremony. It was funny, it was poignant, it was short. We got some good advice from the dean and guest speaker, and we got some good laughs from our class representative. Everybody got hooded, no names were butchered, and hundreds of pictures were taken. And it all took an hour and a half. Another great thing about graduating from a small school is that you don't have to sit through a 4-hour ceremony for the 15 seconds that you actually care about. Afterwards, the graduates headed outside for the class picture, and I joked around with the dean as he tried find a spot where he wasn't blocking any of us short people on the front row. Refreshments and more pictures followed as we all hung around the courtyard with family and friends.
The rest of the day was also great as I got to hang out with my family. We smiled at my niece's giggles as she was raised high into the air by my brother over and over, and then laughed as my brother realized he had broken a sweat and was too tired to pick her up anymore. We headed to dinner at this small local Italian restaurant that has the best bread ever and enjoyed a nice family dinner with lots of great conversation. I had plans to meet up with friends later that night, but was so tired after all the activities that I fell asleep on the couch around 8:00 p.m.!!
While I'm not technically a lawyer yet, this was a big step in getting there. Keep your fingers crossed that all my grades come back somewhere above a D- and I can pick up my actually diploma soon.
Sunday, December 12, 2010
Little Old Ladies
I've had a very busy last couple of weeks, but now that things have finally slowed down, I thought I'd take a minute to share a story from about a week ago.
I was at the post office and waiting my turn when I noticed a little old lady at the front of the line with a box on the floor at her feet. When the postal employee called for the next person, the gentleman behind her offered to carry her box to the counter, and she graciously accepted his offer. He was a rather young man, probably in his early twenties. I couldn't help but think that his mom would be proud, and wonder if the lady had been concerned about how to get the box on the counter.
The lady was mailing a Christmas gift, but because it was wrapped, it needed to be placed in a box for shipping. I watched as the postal employee put three different boxes together, each time carefully placing the lady's gift inside to see which one would be the best fit. When she found the correct size, she taped the box together, packed the gift inside, and sealed it shut for the lady. Then she was nice enough to address the package for her. This might not seem like much, but at least at this post office, the postal employees never do this kind of thing, especially when they have a line of people waiting and they're the only one working at the counter. They usually just point you towards the rack with all the flattened boxes and leave it up to you to figure out.
But from the gentleman who carried her box, to the postal worker who helped her pack and address her shipment, to the customers who patiently waited in line, it was as if the holiday spirit hit everyone. Instead of forcing a lady to either struggle with a box or ask for help, a young man decided to be a gentleman. Instead of embarrassing a lady who didn't know how to put together a box and couldn't see well enough to address the small shipping label, the postal worker gracious did both for her. Instead of impatiently tapping their feet and give the lady dirty looks, the other customers waited patiently while talking about all the Christmas decorations in the post office.
It was nice to see everyone acting so compassionate. I don't know if it was because everyone caught a bit of that holiday spirit, or because we all realized one day we would be that little old lady, but it was nice. I hope it continues through the rest of the year.
I was at the post office and waiting my turn when I noticed a little old lady at the front of the line with a box on the floor at her feet. When the postal employee called for the next person, the gentleman behind her offered to carry her box to the counter, and she graciously accepted his offer. He was a rather young man, probably in his early twenties. I couldn't help but think that his mom would be proud, and wonder if the lady had been concerned about how to get the box on the counter.
The lady was mailing a Christmas gift, but because it was wrapped, it needed to be placed in a box for shipping. I watched as the postal employee put three different boxes together, each time carefully placing the lady's gift inside to see which one would be the best fit. When she found the correct size, she taped the box together, packed the gift inside, and sealed it shut for the lady. Then she was nice enough to address the package for her. This might not seem like much, but at least at this post office, the postal employees never do this kind of thing, especially when they have a line of people waiting and they're the only one working at the counter. They usually just point you towards the rack with all the flattened boxes and leave it up to you to figure out.
But from the gentleman who carried her box, to the postal worker who helped her pack and address her shipment, to the customers who patiently waited in line, it was as if the holiday spirit hit everyone. Instead of forcing a lady to either struggle with a box or ask for help, a young man decided to be a gentleman. Instead of embarrassing a lady who didn't know how to put together a box and couldn't see well enough to address the small shipping label, the postal worker gracious did both for her. Instead of impatiently tapping their feet and give the lady dirty looks, the other customers waited patiently while talking about all the Christmas decorations in the post office.
It was nice to see everyone acting so compassionate. I don't know if it was because everyone caught a bit of that holiday spirit, or because we all realized one day we would be that little old lady, but it was nice. I hope it continues through the rest of the year.
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