My online order of a journal, cap, and CD was delivered on June 23rd while I was out, and someone seemingly stole it off the doorstep, because I called UPS Mail Innovations, USPS, UPS and finally my post office to be told that indeedy, they did deliver it to my door and left it there, but they’ve had a problem with kids stealing things and the post people are supposed to leave notes and not the boxes, and now they will have to start doing that for the entire complex.
And then the guy added something very doubtful in his phone message: He said he noticed I live on the ground floor, and for first floor occupants, the package is usually left on the front door, but for the second and third floor people, the postman will slip the package into their patios. Rob’s comment: “Yeah, right, is he Spiderman?” In some of the buildings here, you can reach over and tag the patio railing of second and third floor people from the stairwell (still, it would be difficult to place a package on the patio unless one tossed it in), but we don’t have a stairwell separating our apartments in this building, meaning a postman would have to literally throw up a package to get it into the patio, and hope he doesn’t miss.
Anyway, I knew the only thing I could do at this point was to call the people I had ordered the package from, and explain what happened. So I called their customer service, told them what happened, and was surprised to find that they’re going to send me a replacement package. I could either have it sent to another safer address where someone would be there to sign for it, or as long as I was definitely going to be here, have it sent here. Only reason I wasn’t here for the package the first time was that it was my birthday weekend, I had spent the night at Mom’s. So the representative wrote specific instructions to UPS to have someone sign for the package.
Second time’s a charm! I’m lucky they’re even willing to send a replacement package, I thought they’d say, “Sorry, nothing we can do!” and that I’d have to buy the items all over again. So three weeks to a month later, I hope to finally receive my stuff.
So all the stress of being directed from place to place over a missing package, my lifelong feline companion dying of old age, it’s been a GREAT time. … Still, life always manages to throw in good moments. I can never say the entire time’s been miserable, and for that I’m thankful.
After Tippy passed, things got too quiet here. I got lonely. It hurt me really deeply that he had passed. I know it was his time, and he at least went peacefully in his sleep, but still, it hurt so much.
A few days later, we went to Petsmart, just to look at the animals. I thought I might bring a fancy rat home, but wasn’t sure. I looked at the rats there, but most of them were siblings, and I couldn’t bring myself to separate them. Not to mention, rats are best bought in pairs to keep each other company, and I only wanted a single pet.
So after playing with the rats, Rob suggested I could see the kitties next. I said I’d wash my hands and he said he didn’t think anyone was working over there today, so we probably couldn’t see them. Well that wouldn’t have been fun, so I flagged down a Petsmart employee and they said they’d page someone there. I went and washed my hands, then headed over and got to play with the kitties.
The first was a very luxurious looking feline named Lexus. She reminded me of my sister’s cat, Mama Red. Just this kind of air of royalty about her. We saw Lexus first, but she just wanted to explore the room, and then she started getting bitey and nippy at the employee when she tried to pick Lexus up, so we moved on to looking at Cincy, but she was too shy to come out of her cage and see us. Thirdly we saw Uno, an 8-month-old bobtail kitty. I didn’t know if she was a bobtail or if her tail had been in an accident, so I tried to avoid touching her bobbed tail in case it might be painful. She was very cute and affectionate, a real winner. And then I realized… I wasn’t just playing with the kitties, I was seriously looking for one to adopt.
I didn’t take out any of the younger kittens because I wanted to avoid picking one to adopt. The reason for this is that kittens are playful almost the entire time they’re awake, and they deserve someone who’s going to dote constant attention on them, like a child. I was looking for a feline a bit more mature, who I could play and relax with. Before Rob and I left, we read her sheet again and saw it identified Uno’s breed as a bobtail, so the bobbed tail was natural for her.
I really liked Uno so when I got home, I went to Second Chance’s site and filled out an online application. Four days later we were bringing Uno home. It’s been a joy to see her every morning, and every evening she curls up with Rob or myself, purring loudly. I’ve made Uno her very own web site and done some research on her breed, which I believe to be a Japanese Bobtail. I ruled out American Bobtail because it says they’re long-furred, and she’s short-haired. It also says JBT’s make a variety of sounds, and she certainly does. Yesterday she roared at a bird!