Previous Life - Veterinary Technician

 Dear Pet Owners,

Most of the vet techs in your local hospitals are not college educated and we are likely more experienced than most registered techs. Does this surprise you?

I started working in animal hospitals when I was 14 years old - as a kennel assistant. I'm 36 now and have only worked with 2 registered technicians in 6 hospitals in my career. AT 16 I was learning how to administer anesthesia, placing IV catheters, using a vacutainer to draw blood, reading stool samples, running Idexx machines, looking at urinalysis results and other things I was not supposed to be doing until I was 18 by law.

Still by laws in some states, including Maryland, unregistered technicians (or assistants) are not supposed to administer anesthesia or medications - yet we do day after day.

I've spent a decade of my life on overnight shifts with no one else in the building except me. I've lost 6 animals in those years. Most of them were not a surprise though there were a couple that were.

The thing I will miss the most aside from the animal interaction is the discounted veterinary care. With 6 cats vaccines alone are a small fortune. Hopefully I'll be able to barter work for care if I should need it and for annual vaccines. With my resume I don't think it will be an issue.

The awesome thing about being an ex-veterinary worker is I still have friends in the field who can get me the stuff I need. A friend of mine is donating some small saline bags that will expire in the next 6 months for my first aid kit as well as getting me a few of the large sturdy cooler boxes that refrigerated vaccines and medications come in.

Now that I know I only have 30 days to find a vehicle before I am truly homeless I need to start selling my large appliances - the washer, dryer and fridge are going. I don't want to purchase a cooler in case I end up in a RV that has a fridge. Why spend money if I don't need to? The weather has gotten cool enough at this point that I can leave anything I need refrigerated outside in a cooler. A couple of bungee cords embedded in the thick styrofoam will keep any small critters from easily getting in. It;s a temp fix for a couple weeks until I know for sure what I need to get.

Halloween

For the first time in all my years I am not really celebrating Halloween. Usually I'm hanging with friends or handing out candy - I at least have a horror flick on. Oh I just remembered they have the Ghost Hunters live thing tonight and I think that douche with Ghost Adventurers is also doing a live show.

The Ghost Hunter deal will be on my TV only because Josh Gates is hot. So I guess I'll have some Halloween background noise but overall this is a low key holiday for me this year.

I gave some Halloween props to some folks up the street who do a big display every year. Since I won't need or use the large props in a small mobile house. Nice to know they'll be enjoyed.

Happy Halloween folks. Be safe, be spooky!

Citi Bank AAdvantage Card

For the second time in 4 months I received an invitation to get one of these cards. I shredded the first one but am sending this one back. I wrote in large letters with a black sharpie that I have already defaulted on this card once and am sending the application back to them.

In fact, I believe this card is the one in collections with the judgement against me. They tried to garnish my wages but since I was released from my job the month prior there is no wage to garnish. Their next step will, of course, be to place a lien on my house.

Get in line behind the mortgage company and the property management it forms to the left.

Why would they offer me a card that I already defaulted on? Bizarre.

30 Days Notice

Just received a 30 day notice from the community. Says I need to have all property removed from the community by Dec. 1. I wonder if this also means my house or if they are still going to pursue the lien?

Snow in October

Not typical for MD. I'm starting to panic about getting a RV and getting out of here before the weather really kicks in.

Brake Debacle Continues

So I still don't have my truck back from Mr. Tire. They're saying some hydraulic valve is the issue but they aren't sure. So they requested I purchase the part and they'll install it for discounted labor, What? Uh how about you find out what's wrong before you ask me to purchase parts that you aren't sure are broken?

I called this morning and asked them to put my truck back together so I can come get it.

Why Did No Police Help Scott Olsen?

Video of Scott Olsen being shot in the face with a "non-lethal police projectile"

This is shocking but what is even more shocking is that NO POLICE MOVE TO GET THIS MAN HELP. On the sidelines not only do police watch as other protestors try to get aid to Scott but they additionally toss a flash grenade into the group.

Since the start of Occupy I and many other people have been saying that the police are not our enemy. They are doing their job, what they are told to do by their superiors. After all, they each have their families and their lives to consider with respect to earning a living. None of us wants to see another family struggling to eat.

In my mind I thought that a good portion of police officers become police officers because they have an interest in helping the communities they work within. I thought there's a few bad apples but overall the police are good folks who mean well.

I'm rethinking my opinion.

No officers came to aid Scott as he lay unconscious on the concrete - not one officer came over the fence to help a person who was clearly wounded.

Why?

In Albany, NY police refused to arrest protestors which is a terrific first step in police officers taking their own minds back. I think we can all agree that some laws are in place for good reason but not all laws are worthy of enforcement. We need those police who joined the force full of good intention to help us in our good intention. We need to weed out those officers who joined the force so they can legally beat, harm, hurt, and otherwise harass peaceful citizen who are exercising their rights as Americans to have their voices be heard.

I can not understand why Scott received no aid. Why were there not ambulances there and ready? Obviously the Oakland PD knew what they were about to do by attempting to break up a large group of people. You can't tell me they expected there to be absolutely no injuries that would require medical attention. Even the crowd running from the tear gas canisters can cause a litany of sprained ankles, cuts, abrasions and broken bones so why were there no emergency assistance people on site?

Our system fails us - again.

Hang in there Scott! A lot of people are thinking of you and hoping to see you make a full recovery.

Time Article from 3/2010

10 Ideas for the Next 10 Years 

By Reihan Salam Thursday, Mar. 11, 2010

Middle-class kids are taught from an early age that they should work hard and finish school. Yet 3 out of 10 students dropped out of high school as recently as 2006, and less than a third of young people have finished college. Many economists attribute the sluggish wage growth in the U.S. to educational stagnation, which is one reason politicians of every stripe call for doubling or tripling the number of college graduates.

But what if the millions of so-called dropouts are onto something? As conventional high schools and colleges prepare the next generation for jobs that won't exist, we're on the cusp of a dropout revolution, one that will spark an era of experimentation in new ways to learn and new ways to live.

It's important to keep in mind that behavior that seems irrational from a middle-class perspective is perfectly rational in the face of straitened circumstances. People who feel obsolete in today's information economy will be joined by millions more in the emerging post-information economy, in which routine professional work and even some high-end services will be more cheaply performed overseas or by machines. This doesn't mean that work will vanish. It does mean, however, that it will take a new and unfamiliar form.

Look at the projections of fiscal doom emanating from the federal government, and consider the possibility that things could prove both worse and better. Worse because the jobless recovery we all expect could be severe enough to starve the New Deal social programs on which we base our life plans. Better because the millennial generation could prove to be more resilient and creative than its predecessors, abandoning old, familiar and broken institutions in favor of new, strange and flourishing ones.

Imagine a future in which millions of families live off the grid, powering their homes and vehicles with dirt-cheap portable fuel cells. As industrial agriculture sputters under the strain of the spiraling costs of water, gasoline and fertilizer, networks of farmers using sophisticated techniques that combine cutting-edge green technologies with ancient Mayan know-how build an alternative food-distribution system. Faced with the burden of financing the decades-long retirement of aging boomers, many of the young embrace a new underground economy, a largely untaxed archipelago of communes, co-ops, and kibbutzim that passively resist the power of the granny state while building their own little utopias.

Move Out Date Is Imminent

Today the sheriff posted a notice on my door about my eviction court date - it's tomorrow. Why do you only get one day notice? Not like I was going to show up but 1 days notice? In any case, I noticed on this eviction they have asked to foreclose my right of redemption which means they want me out no matter if I were to pay or not.

Not sure what sort of timeline this gives me.

The Fuzz (Part 1)

Figured it might be nice to put some faces to some names of the soon to be on-board crew. I'm sure I'll speak of them often.

 Barracuda (L) - female, Cuda for short. She's extremely shy. I've had her for three years and she's only just starting to approach me to be petted. She's 4th as far as age. Gobie (R) - male, suffers from brain damage due to head trauma. He's the love bug of the bunch makes up for the fact that he isn't the brightest. He's 2nd as far as age.

Anchovy - male, oldest. Yeah, he looks like an alien. He suffers from urinary issues which are controlled via diet and occasional fluid therapy. He loves EVERYONE as long as they are paying attention to him.

Brake Debacle

Last week I dropped $400 into the rear brakes on my Durango. I need to sell it, I need to fix the brakes so I can get as much as possible out of it and so I feel ok selling it. I can not sell someone a vehicle with brake issues, I just can't.

The repair was a complete failure on Mr Tire's part. They fixed the brakes less than 8 months ago and here they are messed up. They said some cylinder failed and that's what I paid to replace plus the labor because the last work was more than 6 months prior.

I don't drive a lot. I've driven the truck 3 times and now the other side is messed up. I'm headed back to Mr Tire tomorrow and I'll be damned if I'm paying a dime for whatever is wrong now.

Hellraiser

Okay, folks who know me know I am a horror junkie. I worked in the horror industry for 10 years as a moderator to a very well-known horror search engine, I worked as the author program director at the horror conventions that said website put on, I've worked as a horror fiction pre-reader and editor - so, I know my way around a horror tale.

Hellraiser has been and always will be my #1 horror movie. Sure the mythos gets a little foggy in the middle of the 9 movies that have been put out. Especially since 5, 6, 7 and 8 were all written as stand alone films that incorporated the Hellraiser mythos after the fact.

6, 7 & 8 were pretty much crap and 9, since Doug Bradley refuse to reprise his role, is already missing something as far as I'm concerned. I know Doug rather well, he's a wonderfully articulate guy who cares about the Pinhead character (see his one man show, AN EVENING WITH DEATH or read his book BEHIND THE MASK OF THE HORROR ACTOR if you don't believe me) and if he is unwilling to take on the role then I'm almost dreading seeing it.

Once upon a time a few years ago (4 now I think) I was looking to purchase a houseboat which I fully intended to dub HELLRAISER and deck it out in full Hellraiser motiff - perhaps my new home on wheels will go that way? I doubt I would be allowed into a campground if I did that though ;)

There were talks of a remake of the original that also does not have Doug as Pinhead but because the folks at Dimension Films are morons and the revolving door of directors the project will likely never grace our eyes and I'm thinking that's probably a good thing before they do any more damage to the franchise. The films really should have stopped at  after we got the full back story on the Lament Configuration .

Edit 11:15pm = Just finished Hellraiser:Revelations - the title has nothing to do with the movie. It should have been called Hellraiser: Shenanigans because this was one turd of a film. The absolute worst of the franchise so far. Guess that's what happens when you have your special effects designer write the script, replace Doug Bradley as Pinhead with a horrible actor who seems as though he's never seen a Hellraiser move (and by the way where were the sclera lenses? Pinhead is not Pinhead if he's got regular eyes FFS) and then film the whole thing in 2 weeks. You get a shoddy movie that is horribly acted and looks like it was filmed in two weeks.

Ugh. Gary, I'm sorry, I adore you but please stick to the effects and let someone else handle the writing.

OWS Money Hoarding?

I read an article earlier (as soon as I dig it back up I'll post the lin) that said that the OWS people have pulled in over $250,000 in monetary donations and tons of supplies.

Can we talk for a minute on why that money is not being funneled to other occupied cities? Why they are not sharing their money and supplies as most of them are pushing for.

I started off a very strong supporter of this movement but daily my support wanes - from overbearing moderators in the chats who ban people for exercising their 1st amendment rights to watching what was a movement for change turn into a single solitary goal of ruining the banking structure.

Sure, I'm poor and losing my house but I really don't care about the fed or any of that garbage. I'm upset because we, as Americans, do not get the fair say in our government that we should and people in general need to look out and do for each other more. Those are my only two investments in the Occupy movement.

Right now I am very disenchanted with the "people running things" and don't believe there aren't set leaders because there are and they will bite your face off if you speak against them.

Television

I watch very little TV as I've said but I do have a few guilty pleasure shows. Psych is one of those. The show cracks me up and is a nice giggly diversion from my current stresses.

Milk

I drink a lot of milk. I'm not kidding I can go through about 4 gallons in a week. 2% is where it's at! Of course living in a vehicle milk became a concern since I live on the stuff. Storing gallons is going to be difficult and it's not always easy to find bagged milk. Recently a friend cleared out her pantry and gave me a box of goodies including a box of Borden Shelf Stable Milk. I love Borden cheeses (mmm cheese) but was skeptical about the milk.

I stuck it in the fridge and used it the next day and to my surprise, it was good. I couldn't really tell a difference between my regular 2% and this milk.

HOORAY FOR SHELF STABLE MILK!

The down side is the container sizes versus the cost. Shelf milk is much more expensive but it's going to be one expense I'm going to take on. There are few of my daily creature comforts that I am taking with me traveling - my bed, my cats and now shelf stable milk.

Occupy - What Now?

This is just my streaming consciousness on what I think needs to happen for this to at all be successful.

I've seen a lot of the different GA's in many places having the same issue. They keep getting bogged down by the comfort issues that they put the important stuff until the end. The facilitators for each group need to have mini GAs and each night of the week should be dedicated to ONE MAJOR topic. It gives the mini GAs a chance to poll and take votes then bring those issues to the larger GA.

Does any of this sound familiar?

We have a government system that mostly works it just isn't working for us (the people) anymore. Instead politicians are bred to be just that and they have corporate sponsorship to do it. I think one of the major flaws with our current government is the electoral votes. They're crap. The popular vote is what should be deciding our leaders. We the people should be picking our leaders and frankly, any American who wants to be president should be able to run.

Trial Sized Stuff!

I was doing some browsing today for trial size condiments. People who know me know I always say that food is merely a way to get condiments into my body. Now, you won't find me sucking ketchup out of a bottle or anything - there has to be food but the Don't Drown Your Food shows of my childhood were lost on me.

Mayonnaise, BBQ sauce, honey - these are main staples of my diet. When I get into a vehicle I really don't want to have to deal with bottles that may leak or get knocked over and I'm hesitant to leave mayo in my vehicle unrefrigerated even though I've read it's ok to do. Individual packages seem to be the solution so a brief internet search and I found minimus.biz. Wow.

Most of my pantry shopping will likely be done here. I'm one of those people who takes 4 bites of something and is full. Because of this I eat multiple times a day - upwards of 6 times or so. I only do one hot meal daily so this sort of shopping works well for me. I'm going to have to hit some local stores and see what I can find there and then fill out my non-perishables and cleaning supplies through the website.

Doing Something For Myself Tomorrow

I finally have the money together to go get my eyes checked and get new glasses. It;s been over 10 years since I could afford to do so. I'm having horrible headaches so I'm excited to get this fixed.

Goodbye Red Head

I've been a red-head for a few years now. Before that my hair was black. I'm now attempting to color as close to my natural lightish-brown color. Why? Because keeping up with hair coloring on the road is not something I want to deal with. Plus, I'm curious to see all the grey.

Occupy Boston

I'm just waking up this morning and I'm seeing reports that protestors were arressted in Boston.

I'm about to say something that is likely to be unpopular with my brothers and sisters. I do not speak for them, I speak for me.

The Boston folks were, as far as I know, politely asked to move back to their original encampment by the mayor and the police. The reason is because the second park just underwent expensive replanting and general landscaping.

If you were politely asked and offered a very good reason you should have moved and considered other options today. Instead several of our voices were arrested for no good reason.

Not only do we need to demand respect fro our side but we need to consider the other side. The people who may not be out there marching with us but are sympathetic to our plight. Ruining a recently renovated park that YOUR taxes paid to fix is a little on the stupid side.

A Few Of My Favorite Horror Flicks

I've been busy and have missed a few days in the horror list so here's a random list of some of my favorites

1. Hellraiser
2. Sleepaway Camp
3. Cloverfield
4. The Thing (original please)
5. Silence of the Lambs

All well worth watching on a chilly October eve.

OCCUPY YOUR HOME

The mortgage company has finally piped up and sent a threatening letter. They say they I am in default (duh folks, I made a conscious decision to stop paying you 589 days ago) and they say I haven't responded (nope, sure haven't) and if I don't contact them in 7 days further action may be taken such as acceleration of my loan. Meaning they may ask for all the money I owe in full (is anyone else laughing.) Seriously, the WHOLE thing , eh? Good luck getting that. I'm going to declare bankruptcy and live in an RV.

Right now to save my home I would have to pay $6,700 to the mortgage company and 3,000 to the property management (ground rent) let me pull that out of my unemployed ass. It's not worth not eating to even attempt to pay for it when I can use the bit of unemployment I get to ensure I have a place to go when I lose this place anyhow. I've been hanging on by my fingernails for 3 years here - I'M NOT DOING IT ANYMORE!

All these letters tell me is that they haven't EVEN begun the legal process to take this house from me and they aren't going to let some rinky dink property management sell off a 3 year old $40,000 trailer in great shape for the measly $3k I owe. Oh no, they're going to want their money. So for now I have time to hang here rent/ mortgage free while they fight over who's going to get to take my house from me. Gives me time to stash some unemployment money and get a decent RV for the cats and me to travel in the name of good instead of running in that wheel of misery I've been in since I was old enough to be put to work.

And at any time I can file bankruptcy and stop them in their tracks under either 13 or 7. I really don't see a reaffirmation of debt from me so I hope they don't count on it.

My lil nightstick is gonna get a workout tonight"

NYC police officer brags and premeditates the beating of protestors including a demonstration of how he plans to beat them.

Shame, shame NYPD the whole world is watching.

Change

I'm amazed that our people have been calling for change and even our current president ran on a platform of change and here we are 3 years later with no change.

With the last presidential election many Americans stepped outside of their comfort zone and elected Barrack Obama based on his platform of change. Racism runs rampant in this country and Obama's win should have been an indication of the sort of change Americans were looking for - after all, how many of us believed he would run the presidency differently purely because of his skin color and because his whole platform was based on his skin color? How has America changed other than that small fact? He has run this country just like "Big White Money" did. Good Americans were duped and what did you get for your trouble? Just look at what's happening around this country.

I'm going to say what I've been saying since I was a teenager - this country needs to stop electing people who are bred purely to be a president. We need to go back to have the everyman in office for our voices to be heard. I have voted outside of party lines since I was old enough to vote.

The Constitution was created to be changed, so that we were not locked into a system that wasn't working. Having your voice heard in today's politics is like screaming questions to a red carpet celebrity if you're a no name publication - you will be ignored. Now if you're a big name publication you'll have your VIP passes and a seat at the table next to t he celebrity of your choice as long as you greased someone's palm for the seat.

Economic separations have always existed in history and in every situation where that divide became too great and unfair the people rebelled. Throughout history you can see case after case of people becoming aware of their exploitation and fighting back.

This country is at a jumping off point the stand that people are taking now will be one for the books as long as people stand strong and find one voice.

Occupy Baltimore

What a good group of folks out there. I'm just getting home from dropping off some food/ sleeping gear/ paint. I got into Balt. around 11 and parked in one of the garages (The Gallery garage is only $6 if you enter after 4pm and leave before 6am on weekdays) and headed over. They are an organized but small group that I suspect will grow over the next few days. I will be adding my voice after 8pm until around 3 or 4am each day.

Sorry kids no movies today. I need to crash.

Go On With Your Bad Self, Lawrence!

Lawrence O'Donnell speaks about police brutality with NYC protestors

Occupy Movement?

I am not generally a TV watcher. I keep movies on for noise, I gave up watching the news when 20 minutes into a broadcast I realized they just told me about 8 dead people in my city. No weather, good news, politics - just 8 souls removed violently from this world. Who needs that sort of emotional beat down?

Yesterday was the first I've heard of the Occupy movement. Call me a supporter although I think they need to get a central message out because for now the media is treating this like a circus. They keep asking "what is the message?" and "what are you protesting?"

The difference between what's going on here and the Arab Spring (by the way whomever called this the American Autumn - love it) is that they had a singular solitary message and it was clear. I'm all but pretty sure the message that the 99% need to give is that we can live without their consumer goods but can they live without us buying them?

The answer is to stop giving money to corporate America for a bit and see if they get the message. The protestors out there with their high end electronics, designer clothing, buying food from chain restaurants - there is no message in that. STOP BUYING CONSUMER GOODS. Barter with friends/ neighbors/ local farmers for what you need. If the 99% trade our goods amongst ourselves we can survive, thrive AND send a message that we do not want our lives to be financially controlled anymore by the 1% of wealth.

So there you have my view of what I feel needs to happen, I hope this movement grows in strength and clarity and if it's still going when I need to leave here I will be heading to add my voice to the masses in person rather than from my little trailer.

I have added links to the two sites that so far seem to contain the most information to the sidebar.

WE HAVE THE POWER TO MAKE THE US DOLLAR WORTHLESS BY NOT USING IT ANYMORE! THIS WILL BRING EQUALITY TO ALL.

Let The Right One In

 I want to say that this is one of those movies that is best viewed without watching the trailers. Trust me they give too much away. This movie is more about story than gore (though there is blood)

Let The Right One In (official trailer) is a Swedish film so it's either dubbed or subtitled depending on your choice. It was remade last year as Let Me In (trailer) here in the states. Both versions are worth watching and although the US remake follows the original very closely the original is still the one to watch.

Why? Simply put because the filmography is beautiful and most of the time bright. The US version is more dark and gritty and to be totally honest I wasn't as sympathetic with Oscar in the remake as I was with him in the original.

If you watch the movie and like it I would also suggest the book. It covers much more ground than either of the movies.

Hello, Mother Nature It's Me Cherry

And I'd really, really like to know why it's 20 degrees colder than it should be this time of year. Can we please have the 70's of early Autumn back.

Maryland has been in a terrible cold snap the past couple of days - bad enough that parts of Western Md already got an inch of snow. I hope this isn't an indication of the winter to come and that if it is I am in my vehicle heading somewhere warm. 51 was our high today, that is usually our overnight low it's currently 49 and our low tonight is supposed to be 46. WTF I ask.

I know it's cold not only because I am wearing multiple layers but because the cats are staying close and rotating who sits on me. This is full blown winter behavior for them because I have never been a big heat or AC user. It dries me out too much and causes nose bleeds. I do turn the furnace on in winter but the average temperature is usually 50 and then in summer the windows are open and fans are going.

On the bright side we've had a lot of rain this past month which means the trees are going to be beautiful in about a week or so.

Martyrs

Let me say that if you have a weak stomach or if most theater horror movies are too much for you DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE. It contains disturbing/severe aberrant behavior involving strong bloody violence, torture, child abuse and nudity

The movie is also dubbed or subtitled since it's a French flick. Just so you know.

Synopsis: A young woman's quest for revenge against the people who kidnapped and tormented her as a child leads her and a friend, who is also a victim of child abuse, on a terrifying journey into a living hell of depravity.

Martyrs Trailer 

 I saw the unrated version so I have no idea what the R rated version has cut out. I would suggest seeing the unrated version so you don't lose any of the story.

Exorcismus

Ok so I'm a sucker for exorcism movies and I'm about to say something that most 'true' horror fans are going to cringe at - I disliked The Exorcist and it has absolutely nothing to do with the fact that Linda Blair is a complete douche in person. For its time it may have been scary but we are beyond that now so even as a classic, I'm not a fan. I just don't get the hype. That isn't to say that I don't recognize what the movie did for the horror film community - I just didn't like it.

This brings me to tonight's fare in Cherry's 31 Days of Horror. Sure. I just posted about a flick but I just watched another so deal with it or stop reading.

EXORCISMUS - I am not going to post the released synopsis - if you want to read it Google it. I fell the stated synopsis actually gives too much of the movie away. It's a standard exorcism movie but it's character driven and has an ending that matches the film unlike some others I could mention (The Last Exorcist) I'll admit to having issues with movie endings - they rarely make me happy. This one fit and for that I give it a 6 out of 8 cherries.

I also give it an extra half cherry for having the presence of mind as a British horror flick to include Doug Bradley in the cast. It may have been a short part but it was a nice surprise to see an old friend. :)

Yay, October!

I love the Fall and October is my favorite month of all. The smells and colors of falling leaves, pumpkins, big bowls of hot comfort food, apple dumplings and Halloween!

I'm sure there are more than a few sites going over horror movie lists and I am no exception so get your flashlight, grab your teddy bear and, if you dare, peek through your fingers as I undertake Cherry's 31 Nights of Horror

First up YELLOWBRICKROAD  (click to watch the official trailer)

Synopsis: 1940: the entire population of Friar, New Hampshire walked up a winding mountain trail, leaving everything behind. 2008: the first official expedition into the wilderness attempts to solve the mystery of the lost citizens of Friar.