Writing Prompt - Day 4

Bullet Point Your Day 

• This article hit home really hard over the last couple of weeks I've had. It's like Booooooooom Erin. Wake up woman! Hello. Sometimes you need moments like that. http://thoughtcatalog.com/tim-hoch/2014/06/10-ways-youre-making-your-life-harder-than-it-has-to-be/
• This week has been one of those "PLOT TWIST!" weeks. Completely blindsided by the emotional toll some things are taking on me. It's not that anything has gone "wrong" in that sense of the word, it's just life, but its... I just don't know! 
• I was going to paint things today, but its raining. Hard. And everything's wet. So. No painting. I miss the sun. 
• Super impressed that I managed to get out of the house before 2PM on a weekend. *high-five's self* Even made myself take Tally despite the rain. It workd out because the rain ceased just long enough for me to spend way more money they I needed to and make it back home. 
• I've also decide to make my bedroom just that, the room with all the beds. I have three bedrooms, but being single .. one room is my office/dog kennel, one room is my closet and the other is where I sleep. My "closet" has a full size mattress and box spring crammed in their with it, so today I'm moving it.
• Seriously. I spend an hour picking up stuffed toy fluff. I look over to see yet another one being destroy. REALLY. 
• Operation Mattress transfer was sucessful. But now my back hurts. (wtg erin) 
• kthanxbai - MY NEW PHRASE! HAHA 
• I had nineteen things on my "to-do" list today. I've done exactly 2.5 of them. Its 12:22AM, I'm going to be. 
• #itwillbetheretomorrow 
• #blamenetflix 

Writing Prompt: Day 2

2. Talk about something you feel strongly about

There are so many subjects to be written under the heading “Something You Feel Strongly about”, choosing one is proving to be more of a daunting task that I first anticipated…. 

The rant worthy possibilities are endless … Gun control, Hobby Lobby and their Healthcare fiasco, religion, government in general, the government's involvement in health care, relationships …. but there are few that will increase my blood pressure more than animals not being treated fairly. 

That last sentence was awkward, and I’m sorry … 

As I’ve started writing these blog posts, I find myself very scattered on this subject, since there are so many aspects that create angst in my mind when it comes to training a dog. This includes, but is not limited too: how people treat their dogs, how people think about their dogs, how they train, what they use to train…etc 

Over the last eight years my knowledge about dog training has increased, and I firmly believe there is a right and wrong way to train. Yes, each animal is different, and there shouldn’t be a one size fits all technique, but no technique should ever involve the use of electricity, hitting, pinching, choking, strangling, intimating, spanking or the like. [See also: alpha rolling] 

I can find no place in the realm of TEACHING where that needs to be a necessity. To me training isn’t about having a dog that follows direction, but is a form of communication between a human and a non-verbal being.  We as humans bring these animals into our lives with the expectations that they will provide companionship, protection, in some cases independence, or a sense of identity.

I feel as if 80% of dog owners don’t really think about the fact that they are living with a DOG. 
I know that most owners don’t realize that 90% of “good dog” behavior has to be taught by the humans. (Yes there are exceptions.) 

Did you know? Dogs don’t come from the womb inherently knowing that they will be named and have to respond to it? They don’t know they aren’t supposed use the human as a chew toy. They don’t know that “SIT” means put your butt on the floor and don’t move. They have no idea why in the world you would want them to COME for something hideous like a bath, or a punishment. AND THEY ABSOLUTELY AREN’T POTTY TRAINED. 

You don’t know how many phone calls I’ve fielded with frustrated pet parents (yes, I just used that word)  who can’t figure out why their puppy keeps peeing in the house! 

“Well, here’s the thing, your puppy is… 7 weeks? Yes, their bladders are super tiny and need to be relieved every 15-30 minutes, so what you’ll need to do is create a schedule, I like to start around 7AM (or earlier depending on your schedule .. *cue fading out audio* 

One of the biggest behaviors people don’t realize needs to be TAUGHT is how to walk on a leash. Once again, dogs don’t come out of the womb leashed and wearing a collar! (You learn new things everyday! Right?) So whether its a young pup you just adopted (cough) or an older dog.. if you never put a leash on him/her .. when you finally do, rest assured you are going to create some angst in their doggie mind. 

They don’t know why suddenly their movements are restricted, but they quickly realize they can still pretty much do what they want because they are stronger than the human. 

Thennnn out comes the prongs, and the choke chains, and the e-collars. 

‘We tried EVERYTHING’ and nothing worked except [insert barbaric device here]. 

[insert my skeptical look here] 

“You do realize ma’am that you have to TEACH them how to walk well on leash right?”  

I spent the last year and half working at a vet clinic, and have heard every excuse in the book as to why people rely on these tools for their particular dog… however underneath the mantra I kept hearing was… 

“WE” didn’t want to train, we just wanted the behavior to “go away” 
We wanted a quick fix.
We had to do something NOW or else we’d have to re-home him. 
We were tired of dealing with it. 
“We tried trainers! We went to puppy class and he knew it then, but now he doesn’t!” 

I’m sorry, do you remember everything you learned in elementary school? Oh wait, you don’t? What? But you knew it then! Why don’t you remember it now? …so why do expect your dog to retain that knowledge if you don’t work on it, at least on a weekly basis? If you want a good dog, it takes work! 

That’s something that I feel as if most dog owners don’t want to put it. 

Well, people get a cat. 

Hello.

I regularly have requests for dog training after seeing my, very well behaved if I do say so myself, yellow pup. I would laugh and respond: Yes *i* can train them, but you’d still have to train and maintain as well. 

My friend Rebekah is learning this lesson as we speak. ;) 

Let’s not even get into the WAYS people train their animals. 
Or tail docking, ear cropping, declawing ...

In conclusions… are there any other questions about what I feel strongly about? Heh. Nope? 

Welp. 

Sionara. 

What? 

Never mind. 

Toodles. 

Writing Prompts: Day 1

One of my goals this year is to become a better writer, and cut down on my use of commas. For me, writing is more than a way to communicate, but is a life necessity.  Short-term memory loss at age 24.8 years of age is not fun.. Just the other day I walked into a store to buy ONE THING. Didn't remember that that was my goal until I was driving home an hour later.

So I write because if I don't, I would never get anything done, but I also write because I like to. I like seeing the words in my head start to make sense, but as the old saying goes, practice makes perfect; I spent a lot of time Sunday, garnering writing prompts from pinterest, with intentions to start Monday writing a prompt a day.

Today is Wednesday and that hasn't happened yet.
I knew that goal was too lofty.

But, as the old saying goes, better late than never!

Prompt #1: Five Ways to Win My Heart 
Alt Title: Five ways to become my new BFFL (Best Friend for Life aka Biffle)

1. It's you or the dog? Oh, you silly person! 
• If you know me at all, you know that I have a deep, abiding love for all things furry and four-legged. I own two dogs, two cats and regularly foster between 1-3 other animals. These guys are seriously important to me, and if you feel the same way, I 'm pretty sure we'll get along famously. Don't get me wrong, I do have a few friends that aren't huge animal fans... but they are fans of animals in some sense. I don't 'get' animal-haters. 
2. Listen to Me
1. No this isn't in the bossy sense of the word, though I could show you countless examples where people SHOULD have listened to my sage words of wisdom and could have avoided calamity... *ahem* No, sometimes I just need someone to listen. Not offer advice, not console. Just listen.  Cause I can talk your ear off. To me? That's love. 
3. Be open minded in regards to music 
1. My parents are to blame in this regard, the love of music was instilled in me at a very young age, I started taking piano lessons at five or six, and have been surrounded by music ever since. I'm a get up in the morning and blast your music kind of girl, ride with the windows down and sing at the top of your lungs, anything from Disney to the Fal.l Out Boys. If you join in and sing-a-long we'll be the best of friends. :) 
4. Respect me for who I am
1. This. I think is a basic human need, but recent events have made me realize just how important, accepting me for who I am NOW, not who I should be, could be, or who you want me to be, is hugely vital in a relationship. 

Coming up with five ways was more difficult than I thought it would be, and I couldn't think of anything that wasn't super cheesey to add, so I'll just leave it, feeling warm and fuzzy thoughts about the people I call friends. 

Friday, August 30, 2013

sounds

Jump 5 blaring through my cell phones small speakers at 7AM (Google them, its been awhile since they were "cool" i know) 

The high pitched squeaky bark of my friends yorkie pup visiting 

The soft thump of a 15-year-old dachshund headed for the back door, and her morning relief 

The subsequent thumps of human feet as they dash after her, to make sure she gets outside in time. (Old age ... aaaah ) 

The squeak of mattress springs as the human makes another mad dash BACK to bed, two hours till its "really" time to get up. 

..... 

Refrigerator doors opening and shutting

The rustle of thin worn pages 

Kibble hitting metal bowls

The crunching of dog teeth 

The swish of fabric being pulled on 

...... 

The comforting sound of a "healthy engine" 

Music blaring through the speakers in an effort to pump oneself up for work 

 ...... 

The ringing of phones

The banging of doors 

The requests of customers

The response of co-workers

The laughter,

The sighs

The eye rolls (... oh wait, that's not a sound!) 

..... 

The clink of coins hitting plastic 

The swish of a mop 

The locking of doors 

The sighs of contentment, turned to consternation once the realization that the day, while over starts a new in the morning ... 

...... 

The soothing sound of an audio book reader 

The roar of a vacuum cleaner

The hum of a microwave

The growls, grumbles and thumps of playing puppies 

.......

The high pitched squeaky bark of my friends yorkie pup protesting bed time

The squeak of a mattress spring as the human + dogs claim spaces for the night 

The clicking of the lamp turning off.. 

And the high pitched scream of one mad little puppy.

Then silence 

My Writing

Reverb10: Writing
What do you do each day that doesn’t contribute to your writing — and can you eliminate it?
(Author: Leo Babauta)

Truthfully, I believe I'm my biggest hindrance to my writing. I have all these great ideas in my head, but when it comes to writing them down...I get distracted.


Typically it takes me about a day to write one post... simply due to the fact that I'm trying to do an gazillion other things at the same time. It starts small, first I'll leave the dashboard screen to go edit my photos to be uploaded, then I'll see something that reminds me I need to check __fill in the blank____ on Amazon.com, from their I'll start browsing their book section, then my phone will let me know I have a new email, and I'll go check that; effectively forgetting I was even writing a blog post. 


By the time I happen to click on the tab, housing my draft...the idea, the passion, the thought..is long gone, and I'm left trying to put the pieces of that post back together again.


When I am able to learn to focus...or the internet dies, one or the other, I'm 85% I would be a better writer. 

Looking to the Future

* Final for Expository Writing, we were asked what our goals for the next 10-20 years were, and here's what I said.

As a goal oriented person, it might seem strange to find that I do not have many long term goals in place. In everyday life I am continually making lists and goals for things I want to get done over the week’s time. My calendar is always close by to make sure any new situation, event, appoint, can be fit in. So it may be odd that I do not really have a clear cut idea as to what I want to do in my future. For me the reason is simple: I do not like change. Once I set a goal or have a plan as to how I want things to go, it is extremely hard for me to let go of that idea and go a different way. God has taught me it is better if I just let Him take of the future and focus on the now. That being said, I do have some idea as to what I where I want to be in about ten years….a college graduate, working a job I love and perhaps preparing to find someone to spend the rest of my life with.

My goal is to graduate with my associates’ degree in Photography and perhaps return and complete my degree in Web Design. College is extremely important to me at this point in my life, as it will dictate what types of jobs I will be qualified for in the future. But on a personal level, it is more than that as it is an opportunity to show myself that I can accomplish something I set out to do. Two years into my “college career” I moved to Tennessee and changed my major from Web Design to Photography, I have hit a mental road block knowing that I am starting over. While my self confidence is strong in some respects, the doubts that I can actually get a degree and be good in said field still linger. I need to complete this to prove to myself that I can do it, one semester down, three more to go.

My next goal would be finding “the” job for me; at the time of this writing, I have worked at four different part time jobs. I am more than ready to find a position that I not only can excel at but move up in as well. I want to be able to enjoy my job enough that I would be willing to stick with it year after year. I am not a materialist person and money is not enough of a motivator to keep me in a job I do not like, so I will do whatever it takes to find the job that I will be happy doing for at least five years. In my mind that perfect job would be running my own photography business.

My third goal becomes a little hazy, as I know this is where God will have to step in and help out. Once I have completed my schooling, had some time in a career, enjoyed life as a single person…. I want to find that person who I can spend the rest of my life with. This is exactly what I mean when I say “I do not have many plans for my future”, I know I have this idea in my mind as the way my life wants to go, but if God has something better, sooner, then I need to be willing to leave my plans behind and take what He is offering me, because I know that it will work out so much better. At the same time I can still prepare for whenever that time period is, by saving my money and getting me to a point where I can be a help meet to someone. I am an observer and I like to watch the marriages I see around me and take note. I listen to how other women talk about and to their husbands, and how their husbands treat their wives. There are I things about myself I want to have changed before I get into a serious relationship with someone and I want to spend this time working towards that goal.

Life is a funny thing to try to plan around but we do our best. I look forward to the day when I can walk down the aisle clothed in the polyester robe wearing my flat tasseled hat, and receive my diploma from Pellissippi State Community College. I cannot wait until I spend my days doing something I love and make money at it too; and most of all I am excited to see who God has for me later in life. Ten to twenty years seems like a long time now, but I know it will fly by.