People are so different. Scent of garlic = scent of home.
Update, not rant - good news actually.
Had an impromptu development meeting with CEO and HR.
We have selected a new development director, has all the requisite skills PLUS she happens to be a very long-time volunteer (starting 20 years ago) and recent intern at our agency, from what staff have told me she was downright heroic in her efforts when we had lots of staff turnover/crises in shelter/case management. Bonus points for getting a BSW (Bachelor of Social Work) - somehow we found someone who is both competent and deeply committed to our specific mission.
Haven’t met her yet but people have been raving about her all day. Meeting her next Wednesday.
CEO apologized that we weren’t in on the interview process but she felt the common sense move was to hire her immediately, and it’s hard to argue from what I’ve heard. After the interview she sent a full proposal, with graphics, for a marketing campaign for our agency, along with a 30-60-90 plan - this is someone who very much wanted the job.
I think this sounds like a great fit because my friend and ex-boss had all the marketing skills but lacked the ability, for whatever reason, to understand the needs of our clients. This new person has all the marketing skills, plus direct service experience at our agency.
CEO reinforced during this meeting that I get to work from home, so hopefully that continues to be a thing. Her take is that as long as there are accountability measures in place and I’m meeting those targets, I can do whatever.
Since this is more of a positive post - happy Autistic Pride Day everyone! The kid is getting cookies, a lego rocket ship kit, and more magna-tiles. Ever-more magna-tiles. Last year he didn’t have a clue what we were celebrating, now I think as he gets older we can start having those conversations. Today I’m planning to inform him that 3.2% of the population is autistic, because the boy likes the hard numbers. We tell him often that he has a special brain but I think this will help contextualize what “special” means, statistically.
Awesome. 
Last week I took Rascal to the vet for his annual checkup. The vet recommended some blood tests, mentioning that because of his age (17) this would probably be the last time it would be done. Today I got an email with the results; feline hyperthyroidism. Treatment would initially consist of daily medication, either by tablet or liquid, followed by follow-up tests in six weeks. Additional treatment might include a one-time radioactive iodine injection.
I replied to the email with a request for further information on the treatments, including the possible costs. I had to go through this before when his brother developed diabetes a few years ago and died of kidney failure. I’m not sure if I can deal with it again.
That sucks. Hoping you are able to do the best for Rascal and yourself.
Oh rats, there’s a June-related rant. So I’ll just have to cross-post:
My elder cat has the same diagnosis and he’s doing well on felimazole, a 5 mg pill 2x a day. The pills are coated so they do slide down his gullet pretty easily. Tilt his head back pinch open the jaws pop it in.
The medicine the vet is recommending is called methimazole, twice a day. I’ve never had to give Rascal pills before, so this may be interesting. The vet suggested using Pill Pocket treats, which I’ll probably look into if he resists taking the pills.
My 14 year old kitty boy gets methimazole twice a day, in a topical ointment that I apply inside his ears. He does not like pills, but is okay with the twice-daily finger in the ear. We fill the prescription at the local formulating pharmacy.
Well, until this afternoon I was happy with my plan of disconnecting the UPS, which was howling for a new battery, and just switching everything over to a heavy-duty surge protector. And I guess I still am, but it pissed me off that there was a sudden power failure sometime around 5:30 this afternoon, and power wasn’t restored until around 8:00. I was in the middle of composing a long email and lost it all.
To be fair, there are some weird interacting weather fronts coming through with rapid temperature changes and very high winds, so power lines may have been affected if not perhaps an entire substation.
Speaking of weather, I’ll describe it in my usual Q&A format:
Q: I understand that the pup is having some friends over for a barbecue on Saturday. What is the expected weather?
A: It will be pissing rain.
Q: The pup also has a medical appointment on Monday some distance away in another town. What will the weather be like then?
A: Intense scorching heat that will almost certainly set a new record. It will be the kind of day that the pup would normally not even stick his nose out the door, and just curl up his furry belly against an air conditioner vent.
Here’s a rant.
The summer solstice is NOT the "first day of summer. It has been summer for weeks already. It really pisses me off that it’s labeled that way on calendars and in gnews reports, especially in weather segments. That bit really grinds my gears because the National Weather Service itself labels June 1st as the first day of summer (defined simply as the three hottest months - June, July, and August).
Midsummer festivals are held on the solstice, for Pete’s sake.
Meteorological summer is not equal to astronomical summer.
The solstice marks the start of astronomical summer. As you say, meteorological summer began on June 1.
Seasons, being a human construction, are a far more complicated concept than most folks understand. In much of the world there are not four seasons, but six.
Cecil agrees.
Culturally, the solstice, or thereabouts, is the start of summer in Quebec because it coincides with the end of the school year, which runs up to the St Jean Baptiste holiday on June 24th (more or less; today is the last day of school). So summer vacation starts this afternoon for the kids, daily routines get scrambled with different camp or sports or daycare arrangements, and it’s “summer” for sure!
School starts back up around labour day; typically before but the calendar this year has the first day of school on Tuesday September 2. It’s a bit earlier than the equinox, but a proxy for “autumn”.
Separate mini rant: I’ve been watching the young men (12-13 years old I think) doing the score keeping at my son’s baseball games, and today I watched him fill out a few thank you cards, and I’m not sure if I’m ranting at myself for being old and our of touch or ranting at these kid’s reality that they just can’t handwrite. I’m not talking about perfect cursive or anything; just printing is messy, uneven letter sizes, and incredibly slow, like they have to think about the shape of every letter.
While I absolutely know that life doesn’t require a whole heck of a lot of writing nowadays, I still would think having the ability to write a name like “Henry” would not involve forgetting to capitalize it and needing to pause three times to check the spelling (in a culture where the name is fairly common and not one from another ethnicity).
Asan aside from Henry’s poor penmanship I’m a little in awe that 12 yo Henry is actually writing his own TY notes. That he’s doing it at a ballgame while keeping score, he’s probably been procrastinating but has a deadline to keep. Now some onlooker is watching him make his letters poor Henry under so much pressure. 
Kid wouldn’t survive a day at my job with the multitasking I have to do!
For clarity, the kids keeping score are kids I’ve met through the years and I was sitting with their mom and chatting during the game. The process to transcribe the rosters to the score sheet was incredibly slow and tedious. Henry is a kid on one of the rosters. I haven’t seen him write anything but he’s a pretty good pitcher.
My son was doing the thank you cards for his teachers. I actually wrote the main message, he only had to write the teacher’s name and sign them (and I take responsibility for the last minute nature of that; I’ve usually had him write the message too).
I remember riding herd on my kids to do their duty Those were the days!
I’ve kept most of the cards and handwritten notes to me from their childish years, now they’re in their 20’s, I’m lucky if they return my texts.
What I love about cross stitch is that you can design anything using graph paper, and it’s all just pixels!
I suspect that Rascal would prefer that I stick my finger in his ear to forcing a pill down his throat. However, the vet did tell me that the tablets were “much less” expensive than the liquid.
The vet also offered to do a “porch delivery” of enough tablets to last until he is scheduled to be boarded in mid-August (I’ve got a trip planned to Seattle). Also, they can do the follow-up tests while he’s being boarded.