Lessons Learned: Confuscious Say.....

When I went to work for the shelter, it was as an unofficial Accounting Clerk - an oxymoron if one ever existed. Did I work at an accounting firm for over 7 years? Yes, I most certainly did. --However-- I did not have any experience preparing invoices for payment, researching walkie talkies, entering medical records or tags into a database, or running backgrounds on potential adopters. No matter. I would get schooled - by the best - and learn to love working in a shelter.

I was to meet Kathi, the Accounting Clerk responsible for making sure everyone in the shelter got paid, paying the monthly bills for the shelter, and "other duties as assigned" by Vern, the head honcho of said shelter. Lou from TempForce assured me that I would love Kathi, that she was quite funny and irreverent and that she and I had similar backgrounds. (Hey, wait - did that mean she thought I was..? Nevermind. LOL)

At 8:30 am, I arrived at the shelter, but the main doors were still locked. A sign said they opened at 9 am. "Just great," I thought, as I cruised around the building to a side entrance where people were freely coming and going. As I was about to act like I just belonged there, a woman outside smoking a cigarette said softly, "Can I help ya, hon?" (This, I would later learn, was Theresa, who manned the switchboard.) I told her I was there to meet Kathi and she smiled and said, "Well, Kathi doesn't usually get in until around 9:30. You might want to come back..." Shocked, I said that this was my first day and that Kathi was supposed to meet me to get me started. She put out her cigarette and walked me inside the office. "Hang on, hon, I'll call her cell." She directed me to a back corner, where a desk with yellow caution tape around it was, "This is Kathi's desk." She *is* funny! I thought.

When Kathi answered her cell, I heard Theresa tell her that I was here waiting for her. There was some small talk and then Theresa told me to have a seat. She smiled and said that Kathi had forgotten it was today and would be in soon. She patted my arm and said, "...like I said, honey, she'll be here about 9:30..." then went over to her desk (which wasn't very far) and began answering the phones.

By now, some of the vet staff had begun arriving and I started hearing dogs howling, cats hissing and crying, and the general noise of the shelter began full-swing. The vet's office was just right across the hall from where I was sitting and they left the doors open. Wow. How could anyone concentrate with all that noise?

Curious, I got up and wandered outside to the hallway. Sure enough, there was a cat on the table and the vets were performing some sort of surgery. (Always with a curious mind, I often posed questions to Kathi and learned that the vets spent 95% of their time spaying and neutering the steady stream of strays that came to the shelter.)

Then I decided to walk around - take a look - after all, this assignment was for three months. I might as well get comfortable. I walked out of the office area through the double doors and was in the lobby. I remembered fondly adopting my last dog here - Domino - and wondered if the Adoption Center was still run by the same woman, Susan. To my right was the cat room - a room full of cages of gorgeous kitties mewling and wanting to play. On the spur, I decided to go see them. An avid animal lover, I worried that I would become attached, but still, I had time to kill, right? So I spent an easy twenty minutes going to each cage, speaking to each animal, checking them out, reading their names....

Then, before I knew it, it was 9:30 and I rushed back to Kathi's desk, but thew! - she still wasn't in. I settled into her guest chair and waited. At 9:45, she arrived, looking nothing like I had imagined. For some reason I had pictured her tall, thin, with dark hair - instead, I was met by a 50-something woman with long gray hair in comfortable-looking jeans, a sweat jacket, and sneakers.

I liked her almost immediately. She had a great smile and said to me, right off the top, "Hi there, I'm Kathi. You're not gonna want to wear those pretty clothes here. See me? Jeans, t-shirt, sneakers. Keep it simple. You never know when you're going to have to assist the vet staff."

She blushed and said, "Sorry about forgetting you. I'm not too good about punctuality, but I work my ass off. I told 'em when I started not to look for me at 8 am. You know? I'll work until 7 - 8 pm," (said with a wry grin) ''cause I have no life - but don't ask me to be early. I don't do early." And that is when I knew Kathi and I were going to hit it off.

She was cool as shit, loved animals, didn't play games, spoke highly of her co-workers, and worked hard. What more could a girl ask for?