Doin' Good

I went to the shelter to volunteer today for the first time in weeks.  It felt pretty great to be back.  I ran into the aid that helped us with Satchmo's adoption and she was stoked to hear he was doing well.  I'll have to bring her a picture of the two kitties together.

There were a lot of Youth Volunteers around socializing the cats and there wasn't a lot of public foot traffic, so I went to the back and did dishes for most of my time.

I did not wash all of those (most had already been washed), but I did put all of them through the sanitizer.

It took forever because it's really slow.  Each load takes about 7 minutes.  The one at the shop only takes a couple.

I also folded a small pile of small animal boxes.

Come to think of it,  I do basically the same tasks volunteering at the shelter as I do at the shop.  Ha.

Welcome, Satchmo!

Ian and I went to OHS on Wednesday and met with "Fuzzle," one of the Animal Care Technician's favorites.  He was totally sweet and his huge head made him irresistible.  I suggest "Armstrong" because of his puffy cheeks, but Ian preferred "Satchmo," Louis Armstrong's nickname.

I put a hold on him since the shelter was closing and came back the next evening to grab him.  He ended up free because I get a discount for being a volunteer and there's a $25 dollar special on all cats over 1 year during May.  I tried to pay for him, but they wouldn't let me.

So, in two weeks when he no longer has to live in "quarantine," Ava will have a boyfriend.  Things may be rough to start, but I'm sure that they'll grow to be friends.  She needs someone to keep her company when we're not there.

   

His last nap as the OHS kitty named "Fuzzle."

Safety first.

Cheeks!

I had a video of Ava playing with the laser pointer that I bought at the shelter, but my phone failed to email it, so I'll have to record her angrily chasing it this evening and post it.  It's pretty hilarious.

Oregon Humane Society

Every Tuesday I spend at least a couple of hours volunteering at the shelter.  During the (slightly over) two hours I was there today, I showed four cats and all four were adopted.  A good day indeed.

It's on a super busy street, basically a highway.  Walking from volunteer parking to the entrance always sucks.

One of the coolest things about this shelter is that there is a teaching veterinary hospital in it.  There are giant windows where the spay and neuter surgeries happen, so you can watch.  I think that's a pretty positive thing for the general public.

Sorry about the blurry photos.  This is Shiloh.  He weighs 21 pounds and has the tiniest squeak you've ever heard for a meow.  He was adopted today by a couple who was really excited about getting him healthy.

These are called colony rooms.  6-8 cats coexist in these rooms.  Companies sponsor them and are allowed to design them as they choose:

Here's the website if you want to learn more about it.

Channeling

Goal:  To post something every day/night for a week.  Hopefully that will set the habit.

I recently began volunteering at the Oregon Humane Society here in Portland.  I'm totally stoked.  I volunteered in Tacoma at the Pierce County shelter.  I also did some kitten fostering with my roommates during senior year.  That's how I ended up with Ava.  I'm what you call a failed foster.

But, come on:

The shelters are totally different, as it turns out, so I'll be doing a lot of learning over the next few weeks and I'll fill you in on all of it as it comes.  I'll be working with cats to start, but I intend to be trained for dogs and small animals, as well.  I'll be there every Tuesday and occasionally on Wednesdays or Thursdays.

OHS has the most wonderful ad campaign, so I thought I'd share a few of my favorites.  You can see all of them, here.

One Picture an Hour

Several months back Chelsea, from the Dearilou blog, put out a couple of posts in which she captured her day in pictures.  One per hour, to be exact.  I thought I'd try my hand at it.

It turns out, actually, that she's a lot better at it than I am, because I forgot about it in the evening so the whole thing ends prematurely.  I'll be giving it another college try in the future.

I decided to capture yesterday (Wednesday, the 2nd) this way because we were going to a Habitat for Humanity site to help out for the first half of the day (successful).  Then we were meeting friends for vegetarian pho and fun times (unsuccessful).  Keep in mind that these shots aren't at the hour, necessarily, they're just within the hour.  I tried to keep them pretty well spaced apart.

7am:  Kitty.  Every morning begins, for me, by feeding Ava.  She actually gets upset by about 6am, because she gets fed on workdays by 5:15am.

8am:  Pack.  Lunch is ready to go.  Dried apples and raw almonds (to share as a snack), homemade whole wheat bread, raw broccoli and snap peas, hummus, and a cara cara orange.  Ian packed a salad, homemade whole wheat bread and a pink grapefruit.

9am:  Dig.  We have our task.  We're to dig a trench here for the phone and cable lines.  

The day on the site started as I expected, we stood in a half circle and listened as the leaders explained the project and a little about Habitat for Humanity itself (for us new kids).  Then they divided us into groups for jobs.

10am:  Progress.  Four of us are working on this.  Ian and I and a Tanzanian couple who will soon be home owners via Habitat.

11am:  Oops.  Ian strikes the power cable (to the trailer) with the pick.  Apparently it wasn't a big deal and it was fixed about 20 minutes later.

12pm:  2nd wind.  After our lunch break, Ian is ready to power through the 15 or so more minutes left on the trench.

1pm:  Mud.  After we finish digging the trench (a muddy job) we're asked to pick up scrap wood and shingles from around the site and take them to the dumpster (unexpectedly, an even muddier job).

2pm:  Menial.  They start to run our of work for us, so they give us the task of gathering, tying and hanging the power cords.

3pm.  Tired.  After a morning of very satisfying labor in on and off rain and an afternoon of odd jobs around the site, Ian and I start to drag ass.  Luckily, the feeling hits right as it's time to go home.  This picture doesn't seem to capture the muddiness of these shoes that I've owned since 12th grade.

The day ended without any good bye, recap, or finishing statement.  Not that we needed a hoopla, but it was sort of like everyone just bailed at the end.  No camaraderie.

4pm:  Play.  We're not home much, so if we are home, it's likely that we're using the opportunity to play with/pet/cuddle Ava.

5pm:  Relax.  Before heading out to meet Phil and Charlotte for dinner (at 6)  we take a little time to chill.  I, on the computer and Ian, playing PS2.  Which is happening at this very moment, too.

It stops there.  If I had continued like I had intended, it would have been something like this:

6pm:  Food.  Spring rolls, summer rolls and pho all around.

7pm: Miscommunication.  Everyone gets everything they ordered because they point at the menu.  Except Phil.  He doesn't point to the menu when he orders his strawberry smoothie, so he doesn't get it.  Even though he tried politely for an hour. 

8pm: Movie.  The four of us decide to go to the Laurelhurst Theatre and see Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 1.  Beer is had and so are good times.

9pm:  Dark.  I'm not sure how I would have managed to take a picture of us watching a movie without being the world's biggest ass.

10pm:  Sleepy.  I fall asleep for a few minutes in the middle of the movie.  Cut me some slack, I get up early.  This would also have been a difficult photograph.

11pm: Still.  As in, we are still in the movie.  Because it's Harry Potter and it takes time.

12am:  Voodoo?  Ian and I argue over whether to go over to Voodoo Donuts.  Vegan fritter, anyone?  We didn't.  So, this picture would probably be of been of my sad face.