Just good manners

I was discussing with a friend the other day about the me-centeredness of our younger generation. I'm sure that is a common them of EVERY older generation but some of the things that I see 20-somethings doing today are things I would have never DREAMED of doing when I was that age.

Case #1: My most recent cabana dwellers were really respectful of the fact that they were living in my house. They did use my kitchen but it was always clean. She apologize a few times for arguing loudly and hoped I wasn't disturbed by it, but the truth is I never heard a thing. Once they gave me a gift of an extra $100 rent because they were grateful for being able to stay in a place that was so inexpensive, giving them an opportunity to catch up on some bills.

Why is it, then, that a full 3 months after they moved out, the majority of their belongings are still here? They packed up their car and said he was going to come back and get the rest of the small stuff and they were going to try and sell the furniture on Craig's List. I've been calling for a month now and I'm still getting the "We're working on it" message. I was supposed to have someone move in there THIS WEEK and was asked "Well - does HE want to buy our furniture?" Even if he DID, there is still the matter of your clothes, books, cds and various other personal effects. Then came, "Well - maybe you could just ship that to us." I know the intent was to reimburse me for the shipping, but I don't have that kind of time. It involves packing up boxes of stuff and then hauling it to UPS. The suggestion was to have UPS do a pick-up but I had to remind that I work all day and can't sit at home waiting for a UPS truck.

I'm giving them another week to give me a definitive time frame, then it's off to Goodwill with the whole kit and kaboodle.

Case #2 - I received an e-mail that said there was a young man desperately looking for a new living situation. yada yada yada......I offered the cabana (the person who WAS going to take it this month no longer needs to) and we spoke on the phone Tuesday. He said he was going to come by Wednesday between 6-7 PM to look at it. No show. No call. I know I'm a complete stranger, but when a complete stranger offers to help you out of a bind, then you could at least call and say, "Thanks. I no longer need it."

It's just good manners.

Who's training whom?

Dog training update:
I'm back to ignoring the dogs. I played with them this week and gave them undeserved, unearned attention. Now they are taking me for granted so I have to ignore them other than walks, food and commands. My own fault; I take full responsibility. I just needed some doggie love too.

After church, I took Queso over to a new doggie park. The rule was that he needed to sit on command before he could go in; he didn't. We stood at the gate, I said "Sit!" He backed up and looked at me as if to say, "WHAAAAT?" I counted to 10 and then made him leave. We'll try again tomorrow.

Guava's homework was to go to an outdoor seating area (we chose Starbucks) and "sit/down/stay" for 30 minutes. She got up at 10 and it was a struggle to get her down and start over. Then she made it to 20 before she was distracted and got up. Then 25 minutes into the 3rd try, a man walking by wanted to pet her. She stayed down. He tried to get her to jump up and I had to tell him not to, but it didn't matter; she stayed down. For 30 minutes! Tomorrow we have to work on "Heel" again.

I sure hope they pass their tests in 3 weeks!

Back on track

Today proved to be a more productive (and therefore encouraging) day. Did some "homework" with both dogs, got some groceries, dropped a few boxes off to Goodwill, met with my AdvoCare team (and made some good $$), came home and swam 30 minutes, graded some work for school and am now falling asleep! I'll have a great night's rest, I'm sure.

Mulligan on the week

Things were moving along quite swimmingly for a few months and then this week hiccuped. It started REALLY well as we were off school Monday and I spent the entire day catching up on errands and projects around the house. By Wednesday I was tired, unmotivated and just bleh. I hadn't practiced with the dogs for school, so their last session was disappointing. I was behind on school stuff, then a deadline hit me in the face. I wasn't exercising so my health goals were backsliding. My AdvoCare business wasn't developing as steadily as I'd liked. My previous tenants were STILL trying to figure out how they were going to move their belongings out of the cabana, almost 3 months after they moved back north while I was trying to get the cabana ready for someone who needed it in 2 weeks. The roofer finally billed me for the final payment, but my paycheck still didn't reflect my raise and extra supplements. Thursday, a boat swamped during sailing practice with two kids on it and then I got to my car to find not only a flat tire, but a flat spare as well. I just couldn't seem to get a solid grip on anything. OH, and there is a full moon tonight. No coincidence, I'm sure.

The good thing is that setbacks are only temporary. As long as I keep that in perspective, it's all good. I HAVE been working consistently with the dogs for over 9 months, so this one week of slacking can be overcome. My school deadline is do-able because I did prep work for it a month ago. I can start running/swimming again today AND I learned that swimming at night with the moon and the patio lights is just as good as swimming in the daylight. The AdvoCare business is moving forward because I've been putting steady hours into it every week and that consistency is paying off. I've got two people moving to the Advisor level this afternoon and my 2 week check will be twice as much as any I've received before. The tenants are taking care of getting their stuff and it looks like the new tenant isn't coming after all. My last paycheck was finally accurate and I'm able to work on a new budget for the year.

Tiger Woods has practiced his golf game his entire life. If he has a bad tee-off, he's entitled to a mulligan. I think I'll take on on this week and hope I won't need another for quite some time.

As for this afternoon, I'm taking Queso to the park to practice, then Guava to Starbucks for her homework. Then I'm meeting with my AdvoCare team to help them with their business (which ultimately helps mine). Then I'm setting my goals to get through the week. Wish me luck.