Day 32: How to have a good day

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 32: How to have a good day

Today was my lucky day. 

I went to the mailroom to pick up some documents from the printer. Nothing was printed as there was no paper in the machine. I opened a new ream of paper, placed the sheets in the printer drawer and was about to throw away the wrapping paper of the printing paper when I noticed something in the bin … a book entitled ‘How to Have a Good Day’ by Caroline Webb.

Well somebody was quite obviously not having a good day as he/she threw the book away. Personally, I have never done such a thing. Okay, I’m lying, there is one book I threw in the garbage bag but the extremely well-known authors shall remain nameless. If and when I don’t like a book I give it away or leave it somewhere for others to find.

Even though I never read self-help books, I intend to give ‘How to Have a Good Day’ a go. Heaven knows I can do with some tools to have better days and if I find something interesting or useful, I’ll be sure to share it with you.

But speaking of losing and finding … yesterday I most definitely did not have a good day.

I got a man at my desk looking for his new cellphone and laptop. I checked the room where the company keeps all incoming packages and with little or no effort, I found the cellphone. As for the laptop … that I couldn’t find anywhere.

I checked the top of the table, under the table, on the floor, on cabinets … there was no laptop for the man. Since he was looking at me questionably, I invited him into the storage room and together we went through all the packages. No laptop. I promised him if and when the laptop showed up, I would give him a call.

This missing computer kept bothering me though. How could a package just disappear? Nobody but Elizabeth (not her real name), Frank (not his real name), the building management and I have access to this storage room. Elizabeth wasn’t there, she was on vacation, so who could have taken that laptop?

Eventually, I went to check the room again. I meticulously went through all the packages and checked every name. No, no laptop. By then it was close to home time, so I packed up and left. 

This morning though, I had to put a package away and while I was in the room I decided to have another look. And there the laptop was, in a rather big brown box. How I could have missed it I’ll never know. I checked that room and its content three times, the recipient of the laptop had checked the packages with me and neither of us had found what we were looking for. And now, boom, within five seconds I had located the box.

As for looking for things … lately I ‘lose’ all sort of stuff: my cellphone, keys, lipstick, and other small stuff regularly go missing. It’s gotten to the point that I’m considering getting a Golden Retriever to find my things.

It not really a case of losing things but rather misplacing them. For instance …

The other day I couldn’t find my reading glasses. I looked everywhere … I went around the house checking the living room, my bedroom, Dieter’s room, even the bathroom … no glasses.

Thinking that perhaps the cats had played with them, I checked under the coffee table, under the dining room table, even checked under the lounge chairs, thinking that my glasses might have skidded under there. But no, no glasses there either.

Feeling hungry I decided to make myself a sandwich. Maybe, while eating, it would come to where I left them. I opened the fridge to get the butter and … hello, what were my glasses doing in the fridge! I suppose it’s a question that will remain unanswered.

Anyway, let me take a look at that book ‘How to Have a Better Day’. Since tomorrow is Friday, winning the Lotto Max jackpot would definitely make for a better day and all day to follow. Fingers crossed.

Day 31: Laura - kicked out of obedience school

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 31: Laura - kicked out of obedience school

Yesterday I mentioned that I prefer cats over dogs. That doesn’t mean that I don’t love dogs, as a matter of fact, I had a couple of dogs in my younger years. One of them was Laura.

Laura was a Belgian Shepherd and while a beautiful animal, she was not very obedient. Taking her for a walk was nothing to look forward to. She would strain on her leach, the leather cutting into my hand, and I would hardly be able to keep up with her. And heaven forbid when she saw a cat or a bird. She would take off like an arrow from a bow, dragging me behind her.

When a neighbor suggested obedience school I made inquiries and Laura was accepted for the September/October class.

The first Saturday afternoon we showed up at the school, which was a large grassy field with a pavilion, I was surprised at the attendance. There must have been 60 men and women there, accompanied by German Shepherds, Labradors, Border Collies, Golden Retrievers, French Poodles, Dobermans, and an assortment of mixed breeds.

While the owners made conversation, the dogs sat next to them, lay down on the grass, or tried to get acquainted with each other.

At precisely 3:00 p.m. one of the trainers called the gathering to order and requested them to go their allocated spot: beginners, intermediates and advanced. It was obvious who the intermediates and advanced men and women and their dogs were, as they knew where to go. Only the beginners class stayed behind.

Laura and I, along with 10 other dogs and their owners were directed to the left-hand side of the field. The class started by commanding our dog to sit.

“Sit” I commended Laura, but she looked up at me with an expression that said she was perfectly fine standing. “Sit,” I said again and again and eventually she must have thought ... okay, if you insist. So, she sat.

Next came the command to lay down. When I commended Laura to lay down, she had no problem with that. She lay down, front paws elegantly stretched out in front of her. Good dog. 

Getting her to get up again proved to be difficult and I could see her point ... first, you want me to lay down, now you want me to get up ... make up your mind.

We practiced and practiced and eventually Laura understood, she sat and lay down on command. Now came the part where our dogs had to sit and had to remain in place while their owners walked away (a short distance). Laura was having none of that. I had barely taken three steps or she came after me. Walking away while Laura lay down proved to be just as impossible.

Week after week Laura and I joined the other men and women and their dogs, most of them well behaved if not super obedient (the dogs I mean).

Toward the end of October, obedience classes came to an end and the training season would be rounded off with a party. One of the staff members handed me an invitation and Laura promptly bit her arm. Not bad, but enough to warn her.

“Never extend your arm to an owner while the dog is present,” one of the trainers said. “The dog might think that you’re going to attack the owner. Do it slowly and let the owner extend his or her arm first.”

So, while technically Laura had done nothing wrong, we were banned from any future lessons. Biting a staff member, even with the intention of protecting an owner, was not acceptable.

“Don’t feel bad,” the instructor who had been working with Laura said to me. “Laura might not be the most obedient dog, but where it comes to protecting, she doesn’t need any lessons.”