#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

I finished setting up the website/blog for the rescue group my clinic works with: Faith Hope and Love Rescue. The webpage they currently use is the basic info page shelters get when they sign up with PetFinder.com and its really simple. 

The one I set up for them is also basic but its more pleasing to the eye and I think more user friendly. I set it up through my blogger account, currently it will just be informative but if they would like to use it for posts and updates I'll help with that as well. (Here's the new one)

They were really excited to see it and I'm hoping that the next step will be to purchase a domain name so its easier to find them. The big plans in process for the rescue is trying to get funding to open up a shelter. I really want to help them get started with that. I gave them my email and phone number in case they want to ask me for help with anything. 

Another animal advocacy group I'm involved in is the No Kill shelter movement. I've also given them my contact info because there is going to be very important animal advocacy legislation coming next year. January is when they are planning to reach out to us for help. Here's a few links about the group, and this isn't a new idea. The first no kill open admission shelter celebrated it's 10th year of saving 90% or more of pets. The average in regular shelters is about 50%, some better, some worse (*coughpetacough*).

And in awesome news: 

David and I have planned our weekend getaway to Miami! Yay :) Going to see a comedy show, lay on the beach, shop a little, and just have fun. I can't freaking wait! We are driving down in my pretty car and I just know we will have a blast. 

Starting today is National Veterinary Technician Appreciation week. We are often an under-appreciated profession, by our bosses, coworkers, and customers. (Not at my place though! Our group is great together.) Take a moment this week to give them/us a special thanks :) I can't wait to get my two fellow techs little gifts. Also one of the techs is our manager and boss's day is Tuesday so we are going to make sure she and our vet get something nice. 

#nerdsunite

<3 Lindsay 
twitter: @thecraftafarian
blog: craftafarian.blogspot.com
email: craftafarian at gmail d c

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!! </editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

Not too much going on around here this week. I got a new (used) car which I absolutely love. Its a 2009 Scion XD. It's perfect for the dogs and for taking little trips with David. It should work too if I still have it come time for babies (not for a while yet). I didn't really want it until I test drove it and then I fell in love. It was a great experience because the salesman could have sold me a more expensive car but he knew that this one would be perfect based on what I told him. He was a really nice guy and we talked about animals and random things while we waited for the loan application to go through. I really felt like John (the salesman) was looking out for me. I initially went there to look for a Honda Fit but he kept telling me that vehicle didn't rate very well in terms of safety. Good thing they didn't have any of that model. He showed me the doge caliber, scion XD, Chevy HHR, Mazda something, and a few others. I decided to test drive the scion, HHR, and caliber. We started with the scion since it got the best gas mileage and although it was really cute I didn't think I would like it and wanted to get that test drive out of the way first. I didn't drive another car. Its so smooth, responsive, and I'm already getting twice the amount of miles per gallon than I was. I love driving it around which is important because I drive between 30-50 miles per day. I'm so excited because it has an auxiliary jack so I can hook up my iPhone and play MY music. FINALLY. I have been so sick of the radio, playing the same 15 songs all day long regardless of which station. I'm currently patiently waiting while my love (David) is creating a delicious steak dinner. He's the best cook ever, I may be biased but I think it’s true. There's football on in the background which I don't care for but I'm going to have a glass *or two* of wine and watch cartoons later so I'm content. 

I've saved enough money up to do my kitty's surgical biopsies to try to determine if she has IBD or lymphoma. I'm really nervous about it, I know she will be fine through the surgery but I'm afraid to find out what is going on with her. It's been a very slow illness, most of the time she is fine. Whatever the condition is, it's causing a vitamin B deficiency so maintain on vitamin injections has been working very well. Otherwise my boss would have just done the surgery immediately but I want to be able to pay the clinic and she's doing fine so waiting was ok. Even though I have a car payment I am saving so much in gas we are also going to take a mini-vacation (one or two nights) to Miami and explore the area, play on the beach, relax, and spend some much needed romantic time together. We've been there a few times and love going. Once we just spent a few days there playing on the beach and checking out fancy hotels but another time we went to a beautiful Spanish monastery. The building is beautiful as are the gardens.  If you are ever down there you should definitely check it out: http://www.spanishmonastery.com. 

I'm pet sitting a lot this month so I know the vacation will be an amazing reward! I hope all you nerds are doing well :)

#nerdsunite

<3 Lindsay
twitter: @thecraftafarian
blog: craftafarian.blogspot.com
email: craftafarian at gmail d c

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

What the hell just happened???

It was like 8pm when I was walking the dogs right outside my apartment building. As I'm walking towards the grass I see a group of teenagers or young adults coming from the park area into the parking lot. I happened to be glancing that way because-- 1. I was just looking that direction and 2. There was a group of people coming my way so of course I’m going to look that way and 3. I have two large dogs so I need to be aware of my surroundings (as you should anyway).

This one kid yells "What the fuck you lookin’ at?"

I look up, turn towards them (I was just standing there waiting for the dogs to pee), and say "Excuse me?" not entirely sure what had just occurred. This kid gives me the stink eye. You know, the evil eye, the devil stare, death look, the glare, the look, bitch face, etc.

"Yeah you, why the fuck you looking?"

Slightly taken aback, I pause for a moment before responding, "What the fuck, dude. I'm just walking my dogs. Do you even live here?" The girls in the group tried to tell him to stop but he wouldn’t listen. They apologized to me for his behavior.

The brat spoke up again, "No I don't live here, fuck you!" I really didn't feel like having a shouting match with what appeared to be a child nor did I feel like being bullied by some punkass kid.

"I don't need this shit. I'm just walking my dogs over here and you start yelling at me, what the fuck man? If you don't live here you need to leave. "

He yells "Fuck you, I don't have to leave"

Pffft. "Fuck this," I said, "Get off the property or I’m calling the cops, or security."

The girls plead with me not to. I have my cell in my pocket (they don’t know that) but I start walking towards the building. I really didn't want to deal with security or the police. One of the other boys walks over to me and shakes my hand.

"I live here and we were just leaving. I'm really sorry about him, please don't mind him. You don't need to call anyone, we're leaving" This kid was kind of slurring his words...then it clicked. Fucked up kids.

"Dude," I said, "Is he drunk?"

The nice boy replied, "Yeah he's wasted and his grandfather just died so he’s really messed up right now. He’s really drunk."

As this kid and I were talking the others usher the obnoxious one into a vehicle to shut him up.  I told them, "It’s cool guys. I wasn’t staring you down I was just walking the dogs and you guys happened to be there. And then he started yelling at me which is bullshit"

They continue to apologize and tell me, "No, you're cool. He’s just messed up. You didn’t do anything. His grandfather was shot twice in the head and it’s got him really fucked up." I tell them no worries and that we are cool and everything is fine. Two cars leave and another kid on a motorcycle comes over and apologizes also. I tell him not to worry about it, shit happens, and I understand.

The dogs were freaked out and thought they were in trouble. Now that I think about it I'm surprised Wynnie didn’t have a meltdown. I was so annoyed I went right over to the boy who walked over to me without thinking about her reaction (she wouldn’t attack unprovoked) and the boy must have been pretty drunk too as he wasn’t hesitant around the dogs like most people who don’t know them are.  It was rather amusing after the fact. Although, I was ready to throw down with some kid. Good thing he had friends who were more level headed.  When I told my boyfriend, David, about it he was perturbed. He told me that next time i should get him and he'd deal with it. He was upset that I even engaged in the argument--said they could have ganged up on me. I don't know about that.

1. They were drunk or on drugs

2. I had two big dogs with me that can be scary when needed.

3. I’m pretty sure I could have defended myself.

But i guess it was a group so more of a problem--but I’m pretty sure my dogs wouldn’t tolerate any funny business. What a weird night. 

#nerdsunite

<3 Lindsay
twitter: @thecraftafarian
blog: craftafarian.blogspot.com
email: craftafarian at gmail d c

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

My boyfriend got the job! He’s getting

I'm almost afraid to be happy about life right now. It keeps improving but I guess I'm just waiting for the next stupid thing to happen. Now that I re-read those two statements, it sounds awfully silly to be so worried. David got his promotion to lead server so now he gets full time hours, full benefits, vacation accrual (WOO), and a little raise. He's super happy and I'm really happy for him, he really deserved to have something great happen. He told me that he is rethinking the culinary school business and maybe wants to do hospitality or something more involved in a restaurant then just cooking. As long as his new job keeps being as awesome as it has, he will probably stay there for a while. Which is great, as I've been at my job for almost 4 years and absolutely love it. Damn, there goes moving to Colorado anytime soon. Oh well, there's always the future.

My pet sitting business is going extremely well, too well. I'm freaking exhausted. I've had to recruit my mom and two brothers in case of any more reservations. It's great though because its really helping fill in the gaps with bills. Soon with us both working full time we will get back to normal. I need to make some new business cards and possibly t-shirts for everyone to wear when they are working. Oh and my etsy shop has been getting a little bit of traffic here and there, I've sold a few more things which is great. And my friend had me make a her 7 month old a crocheted apple hat. So now that I can make more of those and keep it stocked. One of the pet rescues that my clinic works with has invited me to participate in a fundraiser they will be having. She said I can sell my items there and donate whatever I would like to the rescue. I can't wait to do this! I plan to crochet a few different hats, make some cat nip toys, maybe a few dog bandanas, and then jewelry of course. Yay!

What else is going on...

Oh yeah! Football season started so David and I have our fantasy league (I'm not totally sure I know what I'm doing) and his dad has season tickets for the dolphins so if Dad can't go, then I get to! So we are trying to plan a little vacation to Miami for a weekend so we can play on the beach, relax in a hotel room, and go to a fun game. Hopefully this will be after I get a newer car as the current one seems to be getting cranky. If you are trying to watch football games, play fantasy, or whatever else I would definitely recommend reading Derek's series of posts: http://www.talknerdytomelover.com/home/tag/derek-jimenez.

Financially we are almost back. David's school and other stuff will be dealt with quite soon. My cat's surgery will be scheduled likely by the beginning of October. We have a vacation coming up soon!! And possibly a newer car for me. I need something with crazy good gas mileage so I am seriously considering hybrid cars. That's all this week nerds, my boyfriend made me a yummy apple martini so I'm off to enjoy that!!

Peace, Love, and Pawprints. 

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Lindsay on Twitter!

#NerdsUnite: The secret life of a veterinary technician

<editorsnote> Nerds, meet my buddy Lindsay. She and I met ... well, somewhere in the social space. I think we might have started talking through this site directly, then through facebook - maybe ... I'm not sure. But she's awesome. I talk to her on twitter almost every day, and she's really rad and TOTALLY a big huge animal lover. Like crazy huge!! In these series of posts she will be talking about her life and random adventures with sometimes more than two legged creatures. I guess there's only one more thing left to say ... HIT IT LINDSAY!!</editorsnote>

#TalkNerdyToMeLover's @TheCraftafarian

Life has been on an upward trend for us lately.  David has been working more hours at his new job and just interviewed for a promotion there, we will find out in the next few days. I know he's qualified for the position and he really deserves it. He works so hard! That would mean full time, full benefits, and a raise! This new job although he's not making as much or working nearly as many hours (but at least he gets paid for EVERY hour he works) is leagues better than his old one. I'm actually getting to have days off with him and he's not exhausted and grumpy all the time from being unappreciated, overworked, and cheated out of overtime. This job actually has management that thanks him and makes sure the entire staff takes break/eats. They do mealtime per shift and always have food for the staff if they choose to eat it. Sounds pretty nice!

As I told you guys last week we have our internet back! YES. Although apparently they reset our wifi network name and password to a default or something and we don't know the login information. That's next on the to-do list, it's such a hassle to call customer service. At least we have internet when we plug in via Ethernet to the modem-router-thing. I'm serious, it's not your regular modem and router combo. It's this all in one box that Brighthouse has with their super crazy fast "lightning" internet. Once we got that back I started getting caught up on my blog/website stuff. I'm redesigning (I guess that's what you call it) the look. I just tweak a little bit at a time. Usually I learn as I go, it's an interesting and time consuming process. I'm trying to make it more organized, more appealing to the eye, yet professional-ish. Bah, I'm just doing what I want, whatever. Hehe :)

Thanks to family and friends (and social media, yay!) I've sold a few items from my Etsy shop (http://www.etsy.com/shop/craftafarian). I can't wait until I can find some time to create some more things to add to the shop. I want to add some crocheted items, maybe some stuff for pets (cat nip toys, etc) and David suggested adding some jewelry made with old or foreign coins after they are polished up. I thought that was pretty cool. The money from the sales has been a great help lately--plus a portion of it goes to local pet rescue: Faith, Hope and Love Rescue Inc. This rescue has been helping my clinic find homes for our foster kittens by alternating weeks at their featured adoptable spot at the local pet store.  In fact, one of the kittens I fostered at my apartment for a few weeks was adopted this week. It was bittersweet as I was kind of sad but also happy that she finally found a home. I hope they bring her to our clinic to get spayed so we can see her again.

School has been going really well. I'm attending San Juan College's Veterinary Technology distance learning program aka online. I'm only taking one class and its just the first few weeks but I'm really enjoying it. I've been trying to be very diligent about studying. The tests and quizzes are timed so even if you wanted to try to look up the answers you really don't have time.  One class in process, 29 left to go until I've completed the AAS in Veterinary Technology and I will have been educated enough to take the national exam. Good times.

Once we get but on track will all the bills, get David's school and other stuff situated, get my cat's surgery, then we should be saving for hopefully a house. *happy dance* Yay, future.

<3

Lindsay

#nerdsunite

Click here to follow Lindsay on Twitter!