Thursday, November 19, 2015

Six Sentence Story: Division of Labor

"I'm not so sure she's going to be a good fit in that position," the Ms. Cathy said, never breaking her stride as she put cats in carriers for vet visits.

Sadly, i may have to agree with you, i told her, trying to stay out of her way; when Ms. Cathy is moving, it's best to stay a step ahead or behind, she moves fast.

"I mean, the division of labor between morning and evening caretaking is clear, but everyone has to give medications because some of the cats have to get doses twice a day.  If she doesn't want to do the feeding she can have a morning shift, if she doesn't want to do litter boxes she can have an evening shift, but if she can't give meds, it would be a problem on both shifts."

Again, i agree, i said, and she's tried several times but she just can't get the hang of medicating the cats, although she wants to try one more time before she gives up.

"Well, as long as you are willing to work with her, that's fine, but if she can't do it, we will have to find something else for her to do," Ms. Cathy concluded, and i left knowing that, by next week, this new volunteer will probably be washing carriers or doing paperwork, but very unlikely to be covering a whole caretaking shift.

Linking up with Uncharted Blog and Six Sentence Stories, where the cue is Division.



Today is: 

Alligator Wrestling Day -- internet generated, and i wonder if a cat that doesn't want its meds counts?

Automatic Toll Collection Day -- the first machine went into use on New Jersey’s Garden State Parkway on this day in 1954

Catholic School Principal Appreciation Day -- originally designated by the National Catholic Education Association 

Discovery Day -- Puerto Rico

Equal Opportunity Day / Dedication Day / Remembrance Day -- anniversary of the Gettysburg Address

Fast for an Abundant World Harvest -- now unsponsored, but one way to help can be found here 

Fete de S.A.S. le Prince Souverain -- Monaco (National Day)

Flag Day -- Brazil

Garifuna Day/Carib Settlement Day -- Belize

Great American Smokeout -- save money and your life, try not to smoke today; started by the American Cancer Society

"Have a Bad Day" Day -- for the hidden, or not so hidden, grouch in all of us; sponsored by Wellcat Holidays

International Men's Day -- Australia; Canada; Ghana; Hungary; India; Ireland; Jamaica; Malta; Singapore; South Africa; Trinidad and Tobago; United Kingdom; United States

Liberation Day -- Mali

National Carbonated Beverage with Caffeine Day

Please Maintain Your Focus Today Day -- internet generated, but a good idea

St. Obadiah's Day (Obadiah the Prophet)

Use Less Stuff Day -- a great idea!  not an officially sponsored day, but you can get information about using less stuff at www.use-less-stuff.com/

"What Ever Happened to Gary Pucket?" Day -- internet generated, and a fun question to research

World Philosophy Day -- UNESCO 

World Toilet Day -- sponsored by the World Toilet Organization (yes, really, to raise awareness of the 2.5 billion people who don't have access to proper sanitation)


Anniversaries Today:

Zion National Park is established, 1919
Women's Christian Temperance Union is founded, 1874


Birthdays Today:

McCaughey Septuplets, 1997
Kerri Strug, 1977
Savion Glover, 1973
Gail Devers, 1966
Terry Farrell, 1963
Jodie Foster, 1962
Meg Ryan, 1961
Allison Janney, 1960
Anne Curry, 1956
Eileen Collins, 1956
Scott Jacoby, 1956
Glynnis O'Connor, 1955
Kathleen Quinlan, 1954
Ahmad Rashad, 1949
Calvin Klein, 1942
Garrick Utley, 1939
Ted Turner, 1938
Dick Cavett, 1936
Jack Welch, 1935
Larry King, 1933
Roy Campanella, 1921
Indira Gandhi, 1917
Peter Drucker, 1909
Tommy Dorsey, 1905
Billy Sunday, 1862
James Garfield, 1831


Debuting/Premiering Today:

Heaven's Gate(Film), 1980
"Rocky and His Friends/Rocky and Bullwinkle"(TV), 1959
The first Automatic Toll Collection Machine, at the Union Toll Plaza in New Jersey, 1954


Today in History:

The Council of Clermont, called by Pope Urban II to discuss sending the First Crusade to the Holy Land, begins, 1095
Rabbi Isaiah b Abraham aha-Levi Horowitz arrives in Isreal, 1621
The Jakobinen club forms in Paris, 1794
The Jay Treaty, the first US extradition treaty, is signed with Great Britain, 1794
Lewis and Clark reach the Pacific Ocean, becoming the first European Americans to cross the continent, 1805
Warsaw University is established, 1816
The St. Petersburg flood, caused by storms, kills 10,000, 1824
The second Canadian railway line, the Montreal and Lachine Railway, is opened, 1847
Lincoln delivers his Gettysburg Address, 1863
Boss Tweed is convicted, sentenced to 12 years, 1874
Carrie Nation attempts to address the US Senate, 1903
NY receives the first Marconi wireless transmission from Italy, 1911
Samuel Goldwyn and Edgar Selwyn establish Goldwyn Pictures (anybody want to guess what this eventually became?), 1916
The first issue of Time Magazine is published, with Emperor Hirohito on the cover, 1928
Télé Monte Carlo, Europe's oldest private television channel, is launched by Prince Rainier III, 1954
The first automatic toll collection machine is introduced on New Jersey's Garden State Parkway, 1954
Ford cancels the Edsel, 1959
Apollo 12 astronauts Pete Conrad and Alan Bean land at Oceanus Procellarum (the "Ocean of Storms") and become the third and fourth humans to walk on the Moon, 1960
Egyptian President Anwar Sadat becomes the first Arab leader to officially visit Israel, when he meets Israeli prime minister Menachem Begin and speaks before the Knesset in Jerusalem, seeking a permanent peace settlement, 1977
Lt. Gen. Maurice Baril of Canada arrives in Africa to lead a multi-national policing force in Zaire, 1996
Vincent van Gogh's Portrait of the Artist Without Beard sells at auction for $71.5 million USD, 1998
The People's Republic of China launches its first Shenzhou spacecraft, 1999
Claudia Castillo has a successful trachea transplant from stem-cell created organ, 2008
Many nations urge lower fishing rates on the Atlantic bluefin tuna; quota limits on the critically endangered fish are discussed by major fishing nations in Paris, 2010

16 comments:

  1. I have always found it very hard to give medication to cats, they just spit it out. I can sympathise with her. Maybe as long as she can get to play with the cats and be of use in other ways, she will be OK.

    ReplyDelete
  2. I have always found it very hard to give medication to cats, they just spit it out. I can sympathise with her. Maybe as long as she can get to play with the cats and be of use in other ways, she will be OK.

    ReplyDelete
  3. a dose of your life in a nutshell there. :)

    ReplyDelete
  4. It's not easy medicating cats. I hate it when one of ours needs medicine.

    ReplyDelete
  5. When we have to medicate Bubba, it's a two person job. I am always in awe of folks who can actually medicate a cat without a wrestling match.

    ReplyDelete
  6. It's a two person job for me back in the day. One to hold and the other to get bitten. Bless their hearts.

    Have a fabulous day. ☺

    ReplyDelete
  7. Giving meds to animals is never easy. I have the same problem with my dogs as well.

    ReplyDelete
  8. That sounds an awful lot like my experience at our local animal shelter this summer! There were simply jobs I couldn't handle physically and that made it difficult to be a full-blown volunteer.
    Anyway...
    Great sentence... "when Ms. Cathy is moving, it's best to stay a step ahead or behind, she moves fast." Love the description and how it tells a bit about her personality.

    ReplyDelete
  9. Thank goodness dogs are more easily coerced

    ReplyDelete
  10. Thank goodness dogs are more easily coerced

    ReplyDelete
  11. dogs! have a fairly developed medicine strainer system... I have seen my dog each what amounted to an entire hamburger, like, totally chewing and enjoying every morsel and then, at the end, look up and let the quarter-tablet of medicine drop from her mouth! lol

    ReplyDelete
  12. Cats are the most difficult animals to medicate or clip claws! I have had cats all my life; I have one now, a two year old black and white, green eyed male named Romeo. I just clipped his claws today and I do this every three weeks. As do most cats, he hates it, but tolerates me doing it. It was worse when he was younger, he hissed, growled and bit me. Now he may growl just once through the entire procedure, but I know cats' body language, and am able to pull my hand away before he bites.

    The most problematic with cats in clipping their claws is that they are the only animal with retractile claws! However, and thankfully, my cat is not a polydactyl (extra toes), so there are just the usual five claws on the front paws and four on the hind ones. The dewclaw, (their 'thumb'), is the hardest on the front to clip due to its angle and of course he pulls in the claws, always making it more difficult. I manage to get it done, though. Whew! Long comment. :)

    ReplyDelete
  13. Curiously as I read this and the comments I immediately thought the point is being missed that the woman is not suitable for the job and is making it difficult for others by no fitting in and trying to be a proper help. Let her go at the end of the week!

    ReplyDelete
  14. It's a volunteer job. Slack, please.

    ReplyDelete
  15. I did so much litter duty when I was growing up as a kid. If we all take cat cuddling duty, won't the rest somehow take care of itself?

    ReplyDelete
  16. It is hard to find volunteers who want or are able to do the stuff that isn't so easy or fun. We'd all love to just cuddle the cats and pet the dogs! Division of labor is an issue that comes up at almost every workplace I've been at, with some always willing to learn/take on more, and some never willing to do their fair share of feeling very pressed-upon if they do. I am so blessed now in that all four of us work together as a great time, in fact I'm downright shocked that it could happen! I hope your volunteer finds a role that is useful and that she can enjoy.

    ReplyDelete

Thanks for meandering by and letting me know you were here!
Comments on posts more than a week old are moderated.
If Blogger puts your comment in "spam jail," i'll try to get it hauled out by day's end.