Counter-Offer Sissiness

Well, the firm's counter-offer was not enough to keep me, so I thanked them and politely declined. I have spent the last week coming in early and leaving late to make sure that everything is up to date and perfect before I go. It has occured to me today that Even if I get here at 7:30am again and don't leave until past 6, I won't get everything done by tomorrow. Not that I HAVE to get everything done, or anything, for that matter- but I pride myself on completing things I take on, and I am a perfectionist in the worst way. I feel so sorry for the paralegal to whom this is all going back- it is a full-time job in itself. Still, she is getting paid well for the work, so she may as well do the work. I am not being paid for this on top of my actual job, so I guess I don't feel so sorry for her afterall.

Back to my beloved mortgage company!

2 out of 3 is... Better

Well, it turns out dear Tobey did indeed have a bladder infection. I now force-feed her a tiny white pill every 12 hours to clear the infection up. She seems in high spirits (minus the dirty look I get every time I stuff another pill down her throat) and has used her litter box twice and the tarp once. Beth, the one-stop-cat-wisdom-machine, advised me to ditch the tarp, as if it has retained even the slightest odor of urine, Tobey will think of it as a second box, infection or not. I told Tobey that if she can use her box three times in a row, she can sleep with me at night and not in the bathroom. At five times in a row, I'll let her go into the bedroom when I'm not home. Right now she is at one time in a row. She should be up to 2 by the time I get home from work, and should reach her 3-goal by the time I get back from jujitsu. I predict a kitty in the bed by tonight.

I also had the vet remove Tobey's claws while she was in, and the whole household is feeling better for it. Tobey hasn't been squirted with the water bottle since she came home Saturday, and I can finally remove the scratch barriers I have placed strategically around the apartment. She doesn't seem to mind having her claws out, and actually spends a good deal of time "sharpening" her imaginary claws on my bedspread.

In work news, after I gave my notice on Friday, the paralegal who has been my mentor alerted me that the firm intended to make a counter-offer to keep me. Sweet. They haven't gotten it together yet, but I told her that I was going to accept the mortgage offer at 5pm if I didn't get a better deal. She wrote down a "list of demands" and told me not to agree to anything till she got an official offer from the partners. They now have one hour and 5 minutes to come up with something good.

One Week's Notice

Today I am giving my one week's notice at my firm. It's nothing personal, it's just that I found a job that actually uses some brain power and pays 40% more than what I am currently making. I know you are thinking, "isn't it supposed to be a two week's notice?" But silly you, Tennessee is a "right to hire" state, which is a catchy way of saying I can quit or they can fire me without any reason at all, as long as it wasn't discriminitory in nature. I'm not contractually obligated to give them anything more than the finger as I waltz out the door, but because I would like to retain a reference, I'm going to give them a week and tie up all of my loose ends here, and then turn the whole shebang back over to the paralegal to whom it all belongs.

Yes, I have finally been wooed back to the mortgage company for which I worked as an intern over the summer. They have had an opening in the Auditing department that sounds like a good match for me. Very detailed work, more responsibility-- I get a stack of work to do every morning that I can work on at my own pace, and there's opportunity for overtime if I want it. And did I mention a 40% pay raise? With a bonus structure? And they don't care if I got to NY the last weekend of March? I'm excited.

Now, on to the bittersweet task of turning in my notice letter. I really like the guy who hired me, but I don't think I'll miss this place. I may miss how easy it is from time to time, but I can't handle not thinking for 8 hours every day. I need something to wrap my mind around. Onward and Upward!

On Tarps and Deterrence

I bought an 8' x 10' blue tarp on Tuesday and spread it out over the bed when I left for work Wednesday morning. When I returned, Tobey had peed on the tarp in two places. While the tarp is considerably easier to clean than the sheets, it didn't really serve as a deterrent, like I had hoped. This morning, I was getting ready around the house, and since Tobey was already laying in my bedroom floor, so I went on and shut the door while I was in the kitchen. (I shut my bedroom door when I leave if I am the only one around so that if Tobey does destroy something while I'm gone, it's only in my space and not the common ones. I'm trying to be considerate to my roomies). Anyway, right as I was going to leave I remembered I needed something back in the bedroom. I walked in, and Tobey was laying in the floor, but behold! a fresh urine puddle on the tarp. Good thing I had already spread it out.

So this is the first time she has peed in my room when I'm home, but of course, she didn't know I was home since I shut the door. I still think this is an attention ploy, and not a urinary tract infection. (The UTI is the most common cause of kitties using the bathroom where they are not supposed to). I'm going to take her to the vet either tomorrow or saturday and see what they say. If it is a UTI, then some antibiotics will clear it up and she will be fine. If it's behavioral, at least they can give me some tips on how to changer her behavior. In the mean time, my substitute-Dr. Spock, Beth, says to try putting a small litter box on the bed, and then moving it to the edge of the bed, then off the bed, then into the bathroom... sort of like leaving a trail of breadcrumbs. This may work. Then again, Resolve Oder Eliminator might have worked. And the shoebox. Or the tarp. But hey, at least my sheets are clean and dry.

At Wit's End

Tobey peed on my bed again yesterday. Twice, actually. Once while I was at work, and then again when I was at Jujitsu. She peed on my bed while I was away at Georgetown. I have determined that it is an attention ploy. She never does it in front on me or when I am home, only when I have left. I am going to pick up a plastic painter's sheet and start covering my bed when I leave. Today I had to lock her in the bathroom while I'm away at work. I feel terrible for doing it, but I just can't have her peeing on my bed every day. Until I can get that sheet tonight, she'll just have to be in the bathroom when I'm not home.

I feel like I imagine foster parents feel: they adopt an abused child, give him love and attention, and then the kid just flips out on them one day to see what they'll do. Or maybe to test to see if their love is only conditional. Or maybe because he is just so starved for attention that he will take anything he can get. At any rate, that's how I feel with Tobey. I give her love and everything is fine until one day, and then she up and pees on my bed. I clean it up, leave the house, and she does it again. Arrggh.

One thing is for sure, I sleep on the most frequently washed sheets in town.