Rant VIII: The Reckoning

Dec 3, 2008
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Tejas
One of us! One of us! One of us!!

Meanwhile...

Tomorrow is the first official day of school. I've been working on the schools for the past week or so, helping to set up the classrooms, sharpening pencils, yadda yadda. Tomorrow? It begins.

The first half of my internship is a Kindergarten/Grade 1 split class (no idea how that works). The second half is with a Grade 2 class at another school.

Aaaaand...I'm freaking terrified. I'd mentioned before that I've been in and out of school, trying to finish my undergraduate degree, for about 13 years. So now, I'm coming to the end of academia and I'm just absolutely terrified.
The first time a student called me Mr. (Last name), I turned around and looked for my Father.
 
Nov 26, 2008
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My Dad calls me when I get out of class tonight to tell me he and my brother won't be home. He wouldn't tell me why and he's not answering his phone, he just mentioned "Everybody's as fine as they can be right now," VERY odd way to phrase it. And ended his call with "I love you." Which is what REALLY got me worrying. I got home to find bloody gauze in the trash can and a small blood spatter on my brother's room floor. And I have no way of finding out what happened until he picks up his phone :(
 
Jan 9, 2009
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My Dad calls me when I get out of class tonight to tell me he and my brother won't be home. He wouldn't tell me why and he's not answering his phone, he just mentioned "Everybody's as fine as they can be right now," VERY odd way to phrase it. And ended his call with "I love you." Which is what REALLY got me worrying. I got home to find bloody gauze in the trash can and a small blood spatter on my brother's room floor. And I have no way of finding out what happened until he picks up his phone :(
Jesus fucking Christ. That's like my nightmare, right there. Hope everything turns out alright man.
 
Dec 3, 2008
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I just picked up a rib-eye for the old dog. He'll be going out in style...[DOUBLEPOST=1346952072][/DOUBLEPOST]I've been confusing the hell out of my coworkers. I still have the habit of calling the dog "puppy," even though is over 12 years old. And about 5 of us here have actual puppies from the same litter. So I'll slip and let someone know that I am about to put the 'puppy' down, they think of the one to the left, and not the one above.
 
Nov 27, 2008
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So, my career in major crimes is probably over before it really even started. Following my current health issues I'm probably going to be transferred somewhere less stressful (read:important).
 
Apr 29, 2009
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My son was really sad coming home from school today. I asked him what was wrong, and he said that a classmate of his passed away from a brain tumor. They're having a memorial service for her tomorrow. He picked out a shirt and tie to wear tomorrow, and colored a vase with flowers to bring tomorrow, because he thought that she'd like it.

My son is five, and now that's two school friends in two years he's lost.
 
May 10, 2012
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My neighbor's dog (a Chocolate Lab) barks constantly when they leave home. Despite both houses being closed up, I can hear her barking and barking. I complained to my neighbor once and was told she didn't care if it bothered anyone. I am tired of having to hear her bark all morning and into the evening. I want to feed her bacon-wrapped bonbons! SHUT UP STUPID ASS DOG!![DOUBLEPOST=1347509330][/DOUBLEPOST]Also, their daughter doesn't clean up the dog crap when the lab takes a dump in our shared front yard. I don't have a dog. I don't think I should have to clean up the "yard bombs" when I want my kids to play out front.
 
Mar 15, 2012
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I feel ya. My damn neighbors have 3 dogs that they almost never play with or show any attention, so all they do all day is bark at anything. They aren't vicious dogs either I remember walking towards one and it just ran away scared. For fucks sake get a damn do sitter!
 
May 10, 2012
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I hadn't even thought about the barking being a result of the family not giving the dog attention. The dogs (there's also a Golden Retriever) are stuck in the house all day until the wife comes home after picking up her son from school. Then the son has gymnastics and flag football most evenings, too. Our private yards in the back are small so even when they are let out to "do their business" a few times a day it's not like they can run around. And I know those breeds well enough to know they need activity. Now I'm not so annoyed with the dog, but more ticked at the neighbors. :/
 

Far

Nov 28, 2008
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At our old place there were two german shepards across the street that were left out all day, every day, despite the rather wet weather that we're known for here. They would bark constantly at passerbyes. There was also a shitzu that ran around in their yard occasionaly that would yip like a son of a bitch along with them.

A few months before moving, a couple moved into the tiny house nextdoor, more of a converted garage really, with two, massive great danes, that they left out in the yard all day. When one yard started barking, the other returned in chorus. It would get so bad somedays I was happy to be leaving for work just to get away from it. What bothered me most about it all is how difficult it is to find a place in this city that allows dogs. I tried, I have a Jack Russell I had to leave with my Father when I moved out here because we couldn't find anything. And here these people are pissing away the joy that these animals could bring to them and their family because of the bit of extra time caring properly for one entails.
 
Jet discovered he could reach his light switch last night.

He was up to 11:30.

Even after he did go to sleep he kept waking up crying.

I consoled myself with that fact this probably meant he wasgongi to sleep in this morning.

Nope, he was up at 6:30.

The world will burn.
 
Mar 15, 2012
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I hadn't even thought about the barking being a result of the family not giving the dog attention. The dogs (there's also a Golden Retriever) are stuck in the house all day until the wife comes home after picking up her son from school. Then the son has gymnastics and flag football most evenings, too. Our private yards in the back are small so even when they are let out to "do their business" a few times a day it's not like they can run around. And I know those breeds well enough to know they need activity. Now I'm not so annoyed with the dog, but more ticked at the neighbors. :/
Yup, from my experience there are two reasons why dogs bark. The first is one is to warn people of their presence. The second is to get you to notice them, and or they are bored and barking at things is a noble pass-time. This is just my experience with canines mind you.
 
Dec 3, 2008
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When I lived with my bro, I had a German Shepherd and he had a mini-dachshund. After a while it became apparent that they would take turns barking. And it turned out that my dog barked at everything, and the other dog barked at NOTHING.
 
Dec 1, 2008
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My neighbor's dog (a Chocolate Lab) barks constantly when they leave home.
Our neighbor's dog does the same thing (Dober/Rot), except that he'll bark all day long even when they are home. But they're moving out within a month or so, so the end is in sight.

EDIT: There was a time I was considering purchasing one of these fine products* to take care of the problem, but if they're leaving anyway, I will save my money.

--Patrick
*These people have all manner of interesting devices, and they've been around for decades (long enough for me to still have one of their catalogs from before they had a website). Definitely worth a look.
 
My sister's dog barks at animals on the TV. Any commercial with a dog or a cat in it, she won't shut up until it's over. We watch a nature documentary on lions or bears, she won't shut up. She's a fat little half lab half daschund, she couldn't stand a chance, but it doesn't matter, she'll bark at just about any animal. Also if there's a black person on TV, she'll bark at them. She's a racist.