Mission 034: Where Susan gets her act together

Almost three months since I have written in this blog. What a poor effort.
It's so embarrassing that I've decided that a new post should come before this morning's breakfast and shower. Although not before coffee, of course.
Why such sudden slackness? After all, I've moved to the other side of the earth, away, allegedly, from all the cultural attractions of London, to a place that should have allowed me more time to write.
But I didn't factor in the time that it takes to adjust to a new lifestyle. New job, new house, new garden, new pets.
Not long after I wrote the last post, I started working as a contract writer, part time.
I also planted a garden.
Then we got a dog, a Kerry Blue Terrier called Lein.
Then the dog bit the plumber.
So we had to take the dog to a behavioral specialist.
The behavioural specialist cost $170 a session.
So I had to work more hours to pay for it.
Then the cat got into a fight, got an abscess and needed antibiotics crushed and hand fed to him twice a day for a week.
Then he got fleas, and from the fleas, tapeworms. We treated him for both. And the dog, too.
The dog needs to be walked, fed and trained twice a day.
The vegie garden needs to be watered every day, weeded every few days, and monitored for ripening vegetables.
Aphids must be plucked by hand from the young leaves of the new lancewoods I have planted in our front garden.
There has been no time for TV, going to the movies, eating out or going away. Let alone writing.
The funny thing is, this is all normal stuff for most people here. But after living in London with no pets and no garden, it has been hard to adjust to. I'm only just starting to find a balance. But would I change it? Hell no. Here is the dog:



And from this week, the blogging is back.

Mission success! We have pets!

May I introduce Bobby and Suzie, our new foster cats. Finally, after several long months, we had a cat charity drop off these two beasties for our care and attention. The volunteer told the Buckwell and I that Bobby was the thinner one (on the right in this picture), and Suzie was the fat one (on the left). However Suzie is so massive and manly that we are sure she is actually Bobby, while Bobby is quite petite and jittery - although smoochy when you win him/her over – so we think he's actually Suzie. Neither of them answer to either name, of course, which doesn't help. Anyway, we have taken to calling them Blobby (the fat one, obviously), and Schmoozie (other one). Perhaps we are confusing the poor creatures. Maybe we should just call them non-gender specific names like Sam and Robin/Robyn, which don’t bear any phonetic resemblance to their real names.

Blobby and Schmoozie spend most of their time sitting underneath the sofa, or trying to get into the bedroom to get underneath the bed, although in the last two days they've discovered the windowsills. (The ones offering a good view of the birds in the tree outside.) Unfortunately we are having trouble getting them to eat, although they will deign to lick tuna off a spoon or eat luxury kitten treats from the palm of your hand. Um, it's all getting a bit tedious.

And I am also unbearably allergic to them.

They have quite bad cat dandruff/dander, so I had to go and buy some anti-allergy pet wipes, which you wipe over the cat as if patting it. I think the cat thinks someone's giving it a big lick - it certainly ends up quite damp. Meanwhile all the dander goes onto the wipe, supposedly. The cat's skin allegedly benefits too, thanks to the aloe vera in the wipe (if it's good enough for humans' toilet paper, it's good enough for cats). And voila, less sneezing. I'm not sure if it's working, though. Maybe yesterday I sneezed 347 times, compared to 351 the day before. As time goes by, I'm sure I will develop a resistance to them, though.

So yes, this fostering lark ain't the constant sunshine and cuddles thing I had in mind. Although I know of course it takes time. I think it’s just confirmed the fact that I am mostly a dog person (I’m not allergic to them, either - woo-hoo). Or a cat person, as long as the cat keeps its fur mostly to itself.

Miission 005: Woof, meow, squeak

My new mission is to acquire a pet. This is actually a joint mission with the Buckwell, who is suffering acute pet deprivation.
The main problem with this mission is that we're not really in a pet friendly situation, so we need a temporary pet. We have therefore identified our market as 'London pet rescue services' (as foster carers).
I've taken the liberty of doing a SWOT analysis for this mission - below.
See here if you're unfamiliar with entry level management tools:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swot_analysis

Strengths:
Ability to take a dog to work (the Buckwell)
Experience with a range of pets
Secure environment for a pet
No small children to pull tails or ears

Weaknesses:
Bad allergy to cats (me)
A small apartment with no outside space
Inability to take a dog to work (me)
Tendency to travel often and no one to feed the pet when we are away
Expensive furniture that could be scratched and ruined
No transport to collect pet or pet food

Opportunities:
Foster a small/invalid dog for Battersea Dogs Home
Foster a mother cat and kittens for a cat rescue centre
Foster a shy or unwell cat for another cat rescue charity

Threats:
Estate agents and prospective buyers coming to view our flat may not appreciate the presence of a litterbox
Reliance on charity to provide pet
No choice of pet could mean we end up with a dud
London weather can make walking a dog unpleasant

Where mission was conceived: 2nd floor, Astral Towers
Type of location: Workplace
Idea-fuelling beverage: Licorice tea (again)
Likelihood of success: 50/50 is probably slightly optimistic in London
Mission deadline: Sunday 25 Feb 2008.