Reading and writing and maybe teaching.
Author Archives: David Crampton
Expecting agression
I am afraid of telling the people that I love what I want.
It only seems to really be with those I’m in a relationship with, or my blood family. It hits me the most when I feel guilty about having done something wrong, whether or not I have. I suppress my wants to fulfill the wants that are set before me by those mentioned above. The really bad part of this? I get frustrated and annoyed and irritated with it later.
This is not new. This behavior has been with me in my marriage, and in relationships before that. This is a cyclic behavior that, over time, amplifies irritation and frustration beyond a reasonable level, and I’m doing it to myself. This needs to stop.
Even when I give myself a chance to breathe, I expect to have to defend myself verbally from those that I care about. I expect agression and attacks. Admittedly, my choices in friends and romantic interests have definitely lead toward those who have a sharp wit, and aren’t afraid to exercise it. But, over the years, my ability to differentiate between sharp wit/banter that’s friendly and biting attacks has approached zero.
Yes, it’s a logarithm. I used to be good at math, so sue me. :)
I’m at the point that I must remind myself that there is no reason to defend myself; I’m not being attacked. It no longer follows, in my head, that just because someone loves me, that they will not verbally attack me. With my memory the way it is, I have to wonder if I’ve ever been secure in that during my adult life. My relatives, sure, my friends, yeah, but the person I’m in love with? Why defend from the one you’re in love with? Why not be able to show the vulnerable side?
Am I that much a slave to my past experiences in love? Have I been hurt so many times, over and over again, that the instinct to protect myself from hurt looms taller than anything else?
And here I thought I had learned from my past, and had been exempt from repeating it. Clearly, this is not the case.
I’ve got another chance, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let the past prevent me from having a future.
Writer’s Block: What You’d Accomplish if Success Was Guaranteed
Create a Lansing-based company with the goal of providing a profitable fiber-optic high speed internet product that would be available to every American at a reasonable price.
PRESS RELEASE
PERMISSION TO CROSSPOST GRANTED
For immediate release:
Dachshund Rescue of North America, Inc. (www.drna.org) is involved in what may be the largest puppy mill raid in history. On Saturday August 23, the Humane Society of Parkersburg, Humane Society of the United States, Best Friends Animal Society, Humane Society of Missouri and others sprung into action removing 1,000 dogs from Whispering Oaks Kennel in Parkersburg, WV. Local authorities had received complaints about discharging pollution without a permit and went in with law enforcement to investigate the situation. They found dogs of many breeds housed in small pens with the dogs standing on wire. While the conditions weren’t as horrible as some puppy mills, the stench was overwhelming according to volunteers and the shear number of dogs is impossible to care for with 4 full time kennel employees. The owners, Sharon and Edwin Roberts agreed to surrender the dogs and other conditions to avoid or minimize prosecution. We are not privy to those discussions and the matter is still under investigation.
DRNA is helping as it has with similar situations over the past 10 years. We took custody of 138 Dachshunds on Wednesday, August 27, 2008 from a warehouse where the dogs had been taken, vet checked, cleaned and fed. According to Jill Blasdel-Cortus, President of DRNA, “The operation in the warehouse was amazing! There were rows and rows of kennels stacked two high as far as you could see. Probably 100 volunteers tended to the dogs, cleaning crates, washing bowls, getting the dogs checked out by several veterinarians on the scene and then moving them out to various rescues. As soon as we loaded a dog, the kennel was cleaned and disinfected.” It took 7 hours to load all 138 dogs that were moved to Tell City, IN and Markleysburg, PA for further vetting and distribution to eleven states where our members are organizing foster homes.
All dogs will be spayed/neutered, have rabies and DHPPC vaccines, heartworm tested and on prevention, wormed, dentals as necessary. A variety of conditions including dehydration, parasites, skin infections and irritations, dental problems such as retained baby teeth and extreme tartar, ear inflammation, eye irritation and infection, etc. have been found thus far and treated. We have a few dogs that are in critical condition though most are in good condition. They will need to be socialized since they have not been handled for their entire life. Most are scared but are not trying to bite. That is a positive sign since many mill dogs have been handled roughly and are terrified of humans. “These dogs are more neglected as opposed to abused” Ms. Blasdel-Cortus added. Dogs will be ready for placement immediately and over the next 3 months and standard DRNA placement fees will apply. Puppies under 1 year of age are $350. Dogs up to 9 years old are $250. Over 10 years or with on going medical conditions are $135. Puppies will be kept with their mothers until they are at least 12 weeks old and the will be alter prior to placement as well.
Ms. Blasdel-Cortus also wanted to remind prospective adopters that foster homes and local shelters are also filled with many other dogs that need homes and that this influx puts additional burden on the participating humane organizations. Not all adoptive homes are prepared for the challenges that can come with a mill dog such as the socialization and house training issues. Please look at all of the needy dogs that would love a Forever Home.
The publicity surrounding this event is also increasing our volume of applications and email inquiries. “Our priority is the care of these dogs so please be patient and allow our volunteers extra time to respond. Email is the best method to communicate with us. In addition to caring for the dogs, most of our members have other full time jobs too. We do not have a central facility or telephone number so generally the callers are getting our cell phones. We simply refer them back to the website for more information and we will try to post any updates on these dogs” said Ms. Blasdel-Cortus.
We have also received several requests from other organizations that took dachshunds in addition to some of the other breeds. Unfortunately they did not consult us in advance and assumed we would have foster space for those dogs as well. We will do our best to place dogs quickly so that we can assist them in getting those dogs into foster care. Additionally another team of DRNA members drove 9 hours on Friday to evaluate and possibly bring in another 6 dachshunds that other rescues rejected for temperament issues. They will be evaluated and will probably need long term foster care. We will update as information becomes available.
Photos will be loaded on the DRNA website as well as dog listings. Please allow us at least 4 days. These poor dogs don’t even have names much less an evaluation of what kind of home is needed to assure their successful placement.
As a very positive note on the entire operation, Best Friends disclosed to DRNA volunteers that no dogs were euthanized in this mill closure.
If you would like to donate to DRNA to help pay for the tremendous medical costs associate with the 138 or more dogs, please visit our website www.drna.org for paypal donations or checks can be mailed to DRNA, 7821 Sabre Court, Manassas, VA 20109.
Contact information:
Jill Blasdel-Cortus
Dachshund Rescue of North America, Inc.
President
226 E. Central Ave.
Greensburg, IN 47240
jill@drna.org
Discomfort with endings
I have to admit something. I’m looking forward to the court date. I’m happy to have it, and I can’t wait for the closure that it will bring.
I’ve shared this feelings with my friends, mostly via IM, and have gotten a lot of mixed responses that I wasn’t expecting. It dulled my excitement a bit, that my friends were sometimes put off, or were confused about how they should react, or were uncomfortable.
I could see mutual friends being uncomfortable… no, scratch that. As far as I understand things, both parties should be looking forward to this closure.
I want to rant about this. I want to rave. Did some people hold hope out? Trying to ignore that it was happening? Trying to forget about it, or pretend it doesn’t exist?
Could be a more reasonable explanation. Maybe people are uncomfortable with endings, especially with marriages ending. With over half of them ending, and the statistic growing worse every year, (I now hear with absolute clarity the hollowness of the “sanctity of marriage” argument against gay marriage.) I can’t imagine that it’s something unfamiliar.
Maybe that’s the problem. Maybe it’s happening so much, and the hope for lifelong matehood has been worn so thin, that another divorce might just snap the thread. Maybe another one so close makes it a greater thread to hope. I know that I was intent on it lasting for the rest of my life. I know, at the beginning, that she was, as well. She was determined not to repeat the mistakes of her parents, as she said it, and I was determined to emulate mine.
So, with a pledge of lifelong partnership ending far before the end of life, what value does the pledge then hold for others? What value does it hold for me in the future?
I think maybe it’s that first question that’s bugging the people around me.
It’s the second one that is of paramount importance to me at this very moment.
Job opportunity in Plymouth, MI
Got this email from a friend of mine:
Hey guys!
I think you both know now that I’m changing jobs in two weeks. One of the things I’m tasked with is finding a replacement.
If either of you know of anyone that would be interested in the Plymouth area, let me know. Optimal is a Tier-1 automotive staffing and engineering supplier, but they’re a fairly small company. I manage two servers running an ’03 AD and about 25 desktops and laptops all told, as well as an ancient PBX telephone system I’ve been trying to upgrade. There’s a lot of pretty confidential data hanging around, of course, and these folks like to find projects for you if it looks like you’ve got time on your hands, so there’s the opportunity to go in some pretty interesting directions, especially if you’re into project management.
If either of you know anyone that’s interested, have ’em drop me a line and we can talk about the position.
Thanks!
Leave a comment here or email me if you want his contact info.
Book Review
While Waiting by George E. Verrilli
My review
rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was a quick and simple book that explained a bunch of the process of the alien podling’s development inside of the host female’s abdomen.
Um. I mean, the baby’s development in the uterus, and the resulting effects on the mother. Definitely covered a list of do’s, don’ts, and suggestions. Since I’m a total newb at this, and my partner is not, I’ve been able to ask her the questions that this book raised.
So, it wasn’t complete, but it wasn’t written to be. It was a very good introductory book, and prepped me for more in-depth books that are to come.
Too long, too long.
Some county clerks are extremely helpful to those that are doing this whole divorce thing without a lawyer. Or, so I hear. The clerks in my county, however, do not live up to that. Maybe because I’m in the state capital, the clerks are all friends with lawyers? This was a suggestion made to me.
I don’t think so, Tim.
I spent weeks contacting the office, with the simple goal of discovering if I had filed all of the forms that were needed to get a court date. WEEKS. Turns out, I did not have the correct forms filed. Well, I had, but I had attempted to time travel, and the courts frown on anything involving a flux capacitor.
I filed the divorce in June. The forms were all signed on the same day, before the day of filing. One of the forms, the Answer and Waiver, is a form that says the defendant – her – doesn’t need to be officially served. They relinquish that right. It’s considered a literal answer to the divorce filing, and you can’t answer a filing before the filing is made. Did they alert me when I filed the form? No. Did they answer my calls? No. Did they answer my voice mails within 24 hours? About half of the time. At OHMYGOD o’clock, when this second shifter was snoring away. So, the Answer and Waiver form was re-signed, re-filed, and I spend another TWO WEEKS pestering them to find out if all of my forms were submitted. Yes, yes, they were.
All I had to do was call and schedule a court date. To be entirely fair, the clerk in charge of scheduling answers her phone every single time, and when I’ve called and left her a voice mail (after her stated hours, so I knew I was going to), she returned my call within my requested time frame. This clerk gets a thumbs-up.
I have two weeks and six days of waiting until my divorce hearing. According to the previously-mentioned awesome clerk, there is about an hour of waiting time for five minutes of court time. Now, I have to file two documents before that date, and then bring three copies of the Judgement of Divorce to the hearing with me.
That’s right. I get to fill out the actual Judgement. The Judge just signs it.
Two weeks and six days.