Unsettled

Ever have one of those evenings where you just feel unsettled? It's not fun when the feeling lasts all night.

Snow Dogs

The dogs are having lots of fun now that the snow is melting. It's really amazing how different both of my dogs are from each other (of course, being different breeds it shouldn't be that surprising). Oscar, having very little hair, hates the winter weather. If the temperature's below 30, many times he'll refuse to go out entirely. He'll even stand with one leg lifted up out of the snow at all times when outside. Macy on the other hand, having some Arctic/Asian breeds in her, loves the snow and cold weather, and will stay out for hours at a time, regardless of the temperature.

During the snowstorm last week, a large snow drift (approximately 2.5-3 ft high) surrounded our backyard patio, and the dogs were trapped near the house. Since the snow has melted, though, the drift is now much smaller, and the dogs can (sort of) walk over it-they keep sinking into it too. I'm a little worried that they're going to jump into the neighbor's yard, though, since the drift is solid and high enough for them to step over.

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Last weekend we went skiing with friends-mostly people we tailgate with. The weekend was a lot of fun, if just a little cold. Luckily there was snow on the ground, but the slopes were a little icy. I haven't been snow skiing since 3rd year of vet school (and really have only ever been snow skiing 3 times in my life). I only got mildly injured while sledding, not skiing, this time (although it was worth it). It was nice to get out of Champaign for a while.

Busy

Insomnia Cookies Apparently they have 24hr cookie delivery service for those late night cravings....best cookies I've had in a long time, and they were even warm! Thanks!

To all of those trying to reach my office on the phone between 7 and 10pm: We apologize for the long wait. We were doing our best, but when there are only 10-11 people on the phones and we get 100 calls an hour during this time, we are not going to be able to answer all the calls on the first ring. Thank you for waiting.

Tonight was insanely busy. Usually our call volume is high on Thursday-Sat evenings during this time. Between 8 and 9pm tonight though, we received almost 100 calls (a ridiculous number). Unfortunately we were only able to answer approximately 69 calls (when you account for 11 total people on the shift, 2 on dinner break, one consulting only, that means only 8 people could answer phones), that equals out to about 7min per call per person (easy calls generally take 5 min, hard calls generally take upwards of 10 min). Or you could say approximately 1.5 calls were answered a minute, again an insane number. To make matters worse, people were waiting on hold an average of 7-9 minutes to talk to us. Surprisingly, few people were truly angry at the wait (or if they were angry, they kept it to themselves).

Fortunately, the higher ups recognized our efforts and rewarded us with cookies. I also treated myself to a much needed drink after work (and almost got my car stuck in the snow, but that's a story for another day). Now off to bed.

A Hard Day's Work

Thank God It's Friday! (or Saturday now)

This evening was by far one of the worst evening shifts I've had in a very long time. I had no less than 3 abusive callers, too many hang ups (where my phone rings, but the caller hangs up before I can answer the phone) to count, and a handful of difficult callers. This isn't counting the one or two stressful, difficult cases I had as well. To top it off, I was ignored by the rude people at Panera at dinner-a sure way to get my temper fuming.

I don't understand why certain individuals feel the need to be abusive to trained professionals trying to help them. It does the caller no good, it does the animal involved no good, and just frustrates the professional. The squeaky wheel may get the attention, but if it's loud enough or squeaks too often, it will just get replaced or thrown away, not fixed. If you're being irrational or abusive to me, I do not have to put up with it. It is not your right to take out your frustrations on me or call me names. And please don't swear at me and hang up immediately after-it takes away the satisfaction of disconnecting you before you're done (tongue-in-cheek).

Hang ups are not as bad as they seem. In fact, I would rather the phone is hung up before I get the call, because then I don't have to deal with the arguments, yelling, or hear any information about the animal that won't be treated properly by an owner that cannot place the animal's health above their indignation or self-interest.

Difficult cases are usually fun and stimulating. It's interesting to do some research and read the literature or go digging for information on a substance for which we don't have quick information. It becomes overwhelming at times though when you get several in a row and you can't seem to get caught up.

The icing on the cake this evening, though, was the people at Panera. I had only a short 1hr break to visit with Chuck, and we chose to eat dinner at Panera. Our main entrees went smoothely, but I decided to return to the counter to order a much needed chocolate dessert (and a refill on Chuck's drink) with 10 min left before I had to return to work. Plenty of time I thought, but no! The person ahead of me was the employee's relative, it seemed, and instead of quickly completing the order and moving to the next person-me, I waited in line for the full remaining 10 min, then left without even having an employee acknowledge me. (How long does it take to order a beverage, 4 bagels, several dessert items, and pay?) Mind you-there were only 2 people in line, the person ordering and me. 10 minutes! Good grief! After I said goodbye to Chuck and approached the door, that person was still at the counter talking and ordering, and there was still a line behind her! By the time I left Panera, I was so upset, mad, and disappointed by everything (work, food, having to return to work), that I ended up crying all the way back to work. At least the remainder of the shift was only slightly less traumatic than the first half.

Now I have a full weekend (2 days) off, a dinner with friends Saturday night, and the Bears in the Superbowl Sunday to recover from the hellish night.