Midnight Madness

Sweetie is my first cat.  Having grown up with dogs all my life, I was not prepared for the midnight madness that would ensue being a cat owner.  Our first day together she spent behind the couch.  Let’s face it, she didn’t know what was going on and she felt safe out of reach of the strange lady.  I decided to let her be, and went to bed.  At 2am, she decided to check me out.  Jumping on the bed, she stood over my face and started to meow non stop.  Of course I woke up and pet her, thinking she was nervous and afraid.  This went on for days.

After a week of being sleep deprived, I decided to use a trick I heard about to get toddlers to sleep through out the night.  Ignore the cries, or in this case ignore the meows.  It worked!  Within two or three days, she left me alone.  But she didn’t go to sleep.

She Sleeps All Day So She Can Torment Me All Night

Although the meowing in my face stopped, the activity didn’t.  One night I was sleeping on my stomach, when suddenly I awoke to Sweetie pouncing on my butt, then running away.  It happened so fast, I didn’t have time to respond.  I fell back asleep, but five minutes later, it happened again.  I couldn’t help but wonder if this was going to happen all night.  Well, I was going to put a stop to that!  I pretended I was asleep and waited.  Sure enough, five minutes later, I could hear the jingle of the bell on her collar.  She was coming.  As she started to attack my butt, I lifted my head and said to her “What are you doing?”  She stopped mid pounce and calmly walked to the foot of the bed and sat down looking around as if to say “It wasn’t me.”

The butt pouncing never happened again, but that wasn’t the end of  her midnight madness.  One of her favorite games is something I like to call “rug slide.”  This is a game I’ve seen her play several times during the day, and I have to admit it’s fun to watch.  The objective, as far as I can tell, is to run around the apartment to gain speed, then jump on the throw rug in the entrance hall, causing the rug to slide along the wood floor until you fall off and bang into the wall.  Sounds like fun. 

Obviously, if it’s fun during the day, it must be extra fun at 2am.  One night I woke up to the sounds of jingle, jingle, jingle, swooooosh, Bang!  Okay, she’s playing rug slide.  I could tell from the jingle noise that she started in the kitchen, ran into the dining room, then living room, and ending in the entrance hall on the rug.  But one round of rug slide isn’t enough.  I heard the jingling start all over again, this time she decided to start in the living room, run into the bedroom, over the bed (and me), and into the entrance hall.  Swoooosh, bang!

Now, you would think that at this point all that built up energy would be gone, but no.  I started to hear the jingling again.  This time the plan is to start in the bedroom, go over the bed, jump on the dresser, for a quick exit into the entrance hall.  This time, she didn’t make it.  When she jumped on the dresser, she knocked over some pictures with a heavy bang.  “That’s it!”  I yelled, “Go to sleep now!”  She calmly jumped of the dresser, walked over to the bed.  Jumped up, and curled up into a ball at the foot of the bed.  Her playing was done for the night.

Once in a while she plays rug slide at night, but not as often as she use to.  That doesn’t mean she stopped play in the middle of the night.  Most of the time I don’t hear her anymore.  But there have been times that I woke to find that she had an active evening.  For example, I woke up one morning to find about 5 of her toys on my stomach.  I keep her toys in a basket in the bedroom.  She must have taken some out, put them on the bed, and had fun playing with her toys on top of me while I sleep.

Another time, I found a pieces of my camera in various rooms.  Not good.  I left the camera on the dining room table.  She swatted the camera all over the apartment.  And yes, I need a new camera now.  It still works, but some of the buttons keep falling off.

So How to Get Your Cat to Stop

I’ve done a lot of research on how to get your cat to stop.  Almost all my research suggests the best way is to play with your cat an hour or two before you go to bed.  This help get all the energy out of their system.  I got into the habit of taking out Mr. Fishy (one of her toys) and putting it on the bed about a hour before I go to sleep.  We play catch?  Fetch?  What ever you want to call it.  She attacks Mr. Fishy, then flips it over to me.  I flip it back, and she attacks it again.  This goes on for about fifteen minutes until she decides her paw is dirty, and needs to be cleaned. 

If you’re having problems with your cat letting you sleep at night, give it a try, and leave a comment to let us all know how it went.

Oh, and have a good night sleep, too.

Beware of Employment Scams

With the unemployment rate going up, so are scams aimed towards desperate people looking for a job.  If you are unemployed you need to think clearly while doing your job search.  You are already of victim of the economy, don’t be a victim of your desperation.

I, myself, have been unemployed for almost a year now.  I was in the banking industry for 23 years before my life was turned up side down.  I started my job search the day after the bad news.  I used a variety of different job search engines, but didn’t open an account with any because I wanted full control of my search.  It didn’t take long before the scamers found me.

My first experience was when I applied for a position I found on Craigs List.  I received a reply from someone claiming to be Sister Mary Joseph, (I kid you not).  She(?) told me that based on my resume, she had several clients who would love to meet me for an interview, and guarenteed me a job within 3 months.  She also provided me with her website for me to check out.  Well, I checked it out, and it appeared to be nothing more then a resume writing organization. 

I sent her a message telling her that I was not interested in having my resume redone, but would like to set up interviews with the 10 companies she told me were interested in me.  The response was a three page e-mail that basically said my resume needed work and she wouldn’t be willing to submit it to her clients until her company created a new one.

Ding….Ding….Ding…Ding.  Yes the bells went off.  Oh, they went off when she said she was Sister Mary Joseph.  I may not go to church on Sunday’s but I was raised a Catholic, and I didn’t think nuns were able to work outside the church.  I don’t know if that’s true or not, but still, it seemed weird to me.  The second thing that set off the bells is that she told me she had clients who wanted to interview me.  Well that was based on the original resume I sent in, so what changed? 

At this point I realized some type of scam was going on.  Yet, something in me wanted to make sure it really was a scam.  So I e-mailed her back, and told her my resume was already professional done, and didn’t need to be done again.  In addition, I didn’t understand why suddenly her interested clients weren’t interested any more unless I purchased her resume services.

Once again, she replied.  This time saying it was her clients that didn’t like my resume, and that she can offer me a payment plan via Paypal for her resume services.  As far as I was concerned I received my confirmation that this was a scam, and broke off all communications with her.  I then mentioned the entire story to my sister who put it on her website, An Eclectic Mind.  Sure enough, someone who knows all about Sister Mary Joseph, made a comment about it.  It turns out that she is a he named Harris Black, and is wanted for a ton of scams he’s involved with all over the world.  There is even a website you can check out that pertains to his cons, http://www.harrisblackwatch.com. 

What to expect when you sign up with a job search engine

 I would love to say this is the only scammer who’s contacted me, however it’s not.  When I reached my 6 month mark of unemployment, I decided to do what I really didn’t want to do, and that is set up an account on CareerBuilder.com.  Now I want to make it perfectly clear that there is nothing wrong with CareerBuilder.com, and it is a legitimate website.  So feel free to use it, and pay attention to the safety tips they provide to keep you safe from scammers.

Within the first 24 hours of posting my resume on CareerBuilder, I was bombarded with phone calls from insurance companies telling me how perfect I am for their company.  These are legit jobs, however, they charge you start up fees to work for them.  The fees could be for training, getting a series 6 or 7, sometimes to purchase their computers, and it’s a commission only job.  Don’t let their affiliations fool you.  It is not the normal go to work and get paid job.  Some people are successful, some aren’t.  So if you get a call from any of these companies, just keep that in mind.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is 

The other thing that happens is you start to get e-mails for jobs that sound too good to be true.  I get at least two e-mails a week from a company who is dying to get me on board for a great position with them.  The pay is $2,500 a week for the first 3-6 months which is a probation period, then twice as much after that.  sounds legit, but it isn’t.  One of the requirements is that you are a US citizen.  You need to open a bank account and make deposits from an international company.  They lead you to believe that anyone outside the US can not hold a US bank account, therefore they need your help so they can conduct business in the USA.  Guess What?  Not true.

I mentioned before that I have 23 years experience in Banking.  That includes writing policy and procedures based on government regulations, Anti money laundering, sanctions, know your customer, etc.    What they are doing is highly illegal and a federal crime.  Legitimate companies outside the US can and do have bank accounts in the US.  There is nothing wrong with that.  If a company needs the help of a US citizen to open accounts in your name in order to make deposits, well needless to say, They don’t want a paper trail leading to them.  This indicates that there is some type of sanction on the company, or there is money laundering going on, or the checks they want you to deposit aren’t real checks.

In addition to the above e-mails I get, there are also the ones from so called recruiting firms.  They usually only have a first name in the e-mail address, and they lead you to believe that at some point you contacted them.  They ask you to click on Job 1, Job 2, job 3, to find out about a position that they personally found for you.  Do yourself a favor, don’t click, just delete the e-mail.  Remember, right now you need your computer, don’t expose it to hacker’s, viruses, Bots, etc. 

Stay Safe 

Times are hard right now, but you can’t let your desperation for a job get in the way of good old common sense.  Things to think about are:

• Is the position too good to be true?
• Are there any bells going off in your head that this might not be legit?
• Did you contact them, or did they just appear out of the blue.
• Are they asking you to do something that might not be legal?
• Do you have to pay them to work for them?
• Do you have to pay them to get an interview?
• Do they clearly identify themselves in an e-mail?

One more thing to think about when filling out online applications.  Never put personal information like your social security number on any forms you fill out on line.  If the company is legit, and they ask for this information, it would be an optional field.  The same holds true if they call you on the phone.  If they really need that information, you can give it to them when you go for the interview as long as the interview is at the company office.  If it’s at a coffee shop, don’t do it!

Good luck on your job search and be safe!

Pet Adoption

I’ve recently added a new page to the website called “Adopt A Pet” .  I feel very strongly about this topic, and hope you take the time to visit the page.  You will find information and links that will help you help those poor animals in need of a home. 

I’ve also added a link on the side bar that goes to the Pet Finder website, a great source of information about pet adoption. 

I’m sure you will find these resources helpful when you or a friend decide to add a new member to your family.

Leonia Summer Craft Fair and Classic Car Show Success!

As I mentioned in my blog, “Getting Ready for the Craft Fair”, on July 18th, The Leonia Summer Craft Fair and Classic Car Show took place on July 26th.  It was a bit touch and go due to the possibility of severe storms forecast for the day, however the promoters, Nikki and Christine, didn’t let the 4am thunder storm stop the festivities.  We all received an e-mail with the plan to go as scheduled, and with tips on what to bring in case of rain.  The show went on, and it didn’t take long to realize they made the right call.  With the exception of five minutes of slight drizzle, the sky cleared up, and everyone came out to check out the crafts and classic cars.

This Is All New To Me

This is the first craft fair I’ve done, and I really didn’t know what to expect as I pulled up to the Leonia American Legion.  I was thrilled to see how well organized everything was.  Each space was clearly marked with the vendors name, and it didn’t take long at all to find where I was to set up.  There were plenty of staff member, clearly marked as “Staff” to help anyone who required it, and of course the free coffee and donuts for the vendors at set up time was a wonderful welcome.

It didn’t take long at all for me to set up my little cat toys.  I didn’t have a tent like most vendors, after all this was my first craft fair, and I didn’t know how well it would go.  It didn’t make much sense to spend a lot of money on a booth, not knowing if I would do it again.  So I sat back and finished sewing a quilted cat mat that I started the day before.  Christine and Nikki stopped by while they made the rounds to all the vendors, and gave me a great sense of encouragement about my products.  Now that I felt better about my abilities, I plugged in my IPod and waited.

One of the many classic cars at the show

I didn’t have to wait long, with the sun out, so came the people.  By 11:00 the classic cars started to arrive and before you knew it, the fair was on in full force.  There was a Moon Bounce for the kids, Great food, Raffles, and of course the crafts and cars.  There was also a whole lot of smiling faces.  I would say, the fair was a success!

Memorable Vendors

Although all the vendors had memorablecrafts, there were two that stuck out in my mind, that I would like to share with you.

Panda Bows

Amanda Newell, Panda Bows

Amanda Newell is the owner of Panda Bows.  She creates handmade hair accessories for not only little girls, but babies as well.  Anyone who has a small child knows that it’s not easy to find hair accessories that actually stay in place.  Well look no further, Panda Bows has your answer.  All bows and clips are high quality and the cutest things you’ve ever seen.  She also makes bow holders to keep the accessories when not in use.  In addition, she can do custom orders.  It would be well worth checking out her website www.pandabows.com.

Pisces Are Dreamers

Pisces Are Dreamers

Pisces Are Dreamers sells hand painted recycled shoes.  Owned by a fellow Etsy shop owner, this shop had a big must see booth.  Astrologically inspired, these shoes are hand painted with glitter glue.  They look like they cost $80-$100, (and that’s conservative) but guess what, they’re not.  Women’s shoes go for $35-$40 and men’s shoes are $40-$50.  This picture doesn’t do it justice, so please check out her Etsy shop at http://PiscesAreDreamers.etsy.com.  If you don’t see your zodiac sign, not a problem.  Tell her what sign you are, and she’ll make it for you.  You can even send her your own shoes to be painted.

Where You Can Sell Your Crafts

On July 24th, I wrote a post about where you can sell your crafts and I gave you an overview about Etsy.  Now that I’ve done this craft fair, I certainly would recommend it.  I was very impresses by the way the fair was advertised, managed and set up.  The success of this fair was due to the hard work of Nikki, Christine and the wonderful staff of “ The Craftique Creations and Promotions ”.  

I strongly suggest you check them out at www.thecraftique.com and www.eventlister.com/thecraftique.  They are located in New Jersey and you can get lists of up coming events, sign up as a vendor, get information to contact them, and see feed back from prior shows.  Even if you’re not a vendor, you can check to see if there are any fairs in your area to attend.

As a vendor at one of their shows you can expect:

• Well organized set up and break down
• Help from the staff
• High quality vendors, (No Flea Market stuff in sight.), and a big variety of crafts
• Extensive advertising
• Great Locations
• Activities for everyone which brings in bigger crowds
• Up to date information about the event
• And, to me the most important feature of all, the friendliness and caring that you don’t see from a lot of promoters.

 

A Great Way to spend the Day

All in all it was fun for all, whether you’re a Vendor or just someone looking around at what’s going on.  What better way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

P.S.  Don’t for get to check out

• Panda Bows
• Pisces Are Dreamers
• The Craftique Creations & Promotions

Why I Make Cat Toys

I adopted Sweetie in 2006 from the Bergen County Animal Shelter.  She was about 6 years old when I bought her home.  I was told at the time, that she loved mouses, so I went out and bought her one.  She slept with it cradled in her front paws as if it was a teddy bear.  But within 3 days it was gone.  I search every where, and just couldn’t find it.  So I made a special trip to the store to get her a new one.  After all, She truly loved her toy, and I had no doubt that the toy helped her cope with the sudden change in her life.

The new toy was a hit.  She played with it for about a half hour (which is a long time for a cat), before taking a nap with her toy.  But once again, the toy disapeared within a matter of a day or two.  This time, I decided to buy five toys, this way I wouldn’t have to make a toy run every other day.  Within two weeks, all the toys were gone.  It was at that point that I realized I had a black hole in my apartment that seemed to only zap away cat toys.

One day I was at Pet Smart buying supplied, when I saw a container of catnip.  I was working on a quilt at home, and thought, why not use the left over fabric to make toys for Sweetie.  The first toy was a mouse.  It was very primitive looking, but she didn’t seem to mind.  So I made about 10 of them.  Soon, the artist in me wanted more then a simple mouse, so I started to design other toys. 

The Fish toys are the most popular.  At first I thought she would reject it, after all, it’s not a mouse.  But to my surprise, she loved it.  That’s when I decided to sell them.  I went to the quilt shop and bought colorful fabric and felt, and got sewing.  I then opened my Etsy account,  Crazy About Catnip, and was thrilled that after 3 days I had my first order.  The fish became so popular that I created an easy to follow pattern which I also sell, so people can make their own toys.

As time goes on, I plan on creating different styles of toys.  I’ve done about 10 so far, but only 2 have passed the Sweetie test of funness.  I’ve also created a cat mat which she loves to curl up on.  That idea I got from my love of quilting.

If you have a black hole in your home, I recommend trying to make your own cat toys.  It’s fun and you don’t have to make a toy run every other day.

How Sweetie’s Mind Works

Sweetie is a very lovable cat, and she loves getting kisses.  I got into the habit of kissing goodbye every time I went out.  It was a routine the two of us got into very quickly.  She would sit with me in the kitchen while I watched the news and drank a lot of coffee before leaving for work.  She knew when the pocketbook came out that it was time for me to leave.  I’d say “Mommy’s going to work now.” and she would run into the bedroom, jump on the bed, and stretch her head out so I could kiss her on the forehead.  Then I’d leave for work.

About six months after I adopted Sweetie, I got a real bad cold.  I was home sick for several days, and Sweetie just loved it.  After all, now I’m always available to scratch her butt, and feed her upon her demand.  When I took a nap, which was often, she rolled up on the bed next to me and slept too.  She was in her glory, and never wanted it to end.

She thought she had it figured out

After several days I started to feel better.  It was time to go back to work.  Within 10 minutes of waking sweetie realized that I was back to the old routine and would be leaving her for the day.  She watched my every move that morning to confirm her suspicions.  Finally, it was time for me to leave.  “Mommy’s going to work now,”  I said, following her into the bedroom to give her kisses.  But instead of jumping on the bed, she ran under the bed.  I couldn’t reach her, therefore give her goodbye kisses. 

I went back into the kitchen disappointed that she was reacting that way.  She had never done that before.  I was checking to make sure the coffee machine was off, when I noticed her looking around the corner at me.  “Mommy has to go to work, give me kisses.”  I said to her.  She ran back into the bedroom with me in tow.  Once again, she ran under the bed.   That’s when it occurred what she was thinking.  If I don’t give her kisses, I can’t leave the house.  Makes sense, but she was wrong.  I left feeling weird over the disruption of our routine.

When I got home, she practically jumped into my arms over the excitement of seeing me.  She did her mommy’s home dance, and wouldn’t leave me alone the rest of the night.  In the morning when I left for work, she jumped on the bed for me to give her kisses, and she hasn’t denied me the goodbye kisses again.

It just goes to show the way the pet mind works.  She had a theory and went with it.  If you think about it, that’s pretty amazing how she figured out how to keep me home.  She was wrong, but she gets an A+ for the effort.

Where to Sell your Crafts

I like to think of myself as an artist.  In fact I was an art major my first semester in college.  Back in the ’80′s it wasn’t such a practical major, so I changed it to marketing.  But I never gave up my love of creating things. 

The problem with with having a hobby like that is, what do you do with all the stuff you make?  My sister was the one who gave me the answer.  It’s an online website called Etsy.com.

About Etsy

 Etsy.com is a website for artists and crafters who want to show and sell their hand crafted items without spending a small fortune.  Membership is free, you only pay for your listings and a minor fee when you sell your items.  It’s easy to use, and comes with some wonderful features that are free to all members.

These Features include:

• Customizing your shop to appear the way you want
• Add Categories, Tags and up to five pictures to your listings
• Listing will appear for 4 months
• Pick your shipping and payment options, including Paypal
• Set your own policies
• Vacation mode
• Web analytics
• Custom item bidding
• Promotional tools: Referrals, showcase. Etsy Mini Shop
• Newsletter with great hints and ideas on how to make your shop a success
• Blogs, forums, virtual labs, chats, articles
• Teams that you can join

There are several other things too.  For further details about Etsy, check out the website at Etsy.Com.

Learning From others

One of the Etsy Features that I really enjoy are the teams you can join.  A Team is a group of crafters that share something in common.  In my case I joined EFA: Formally known as Etsy for Animals.  The team members all do something to help animals.  In my case, my shop, Crazy About Catnip, donates 10% of the profits to the Bergen County Animal Shelter.   Member can choose their own charity, or donate to the EFA Charity of the month.  There is great support from all members of the team, and it’s a great way to social network about your products and causes.  You can even download tags to attach to your listings, shop, web side bar, and banners. 

You can check out the Charity of the Month, Member list, FAQ section, Articles and Blogs, Monthly Challenge, Links, and contact information.  Everyone is nice and friendly and want you to be successful.  Who can ask for anything more.

Etsy for Animals is only one of  probably a  hundred different Etsy teams you can become a member of, depending on what your craft and interests are.  So if you’re thinking about going into business selling your handmade items, I strongly suggest you check out Etsy.

How to Get Your Cat to Eat Dry Food

If your cat is anything like mine, being given dry food is cruel punishment.  At least in her eyes.  Unfortunately, dry food is more nutritious then wet.  In addition, it’s also better for your cat’s teeth.

I made the mistake of giving Sweetie wet food every time I had a meal.  We always ate together, still do.  The result is that whenever I’m in the kitchen, she thinks I’m going to give her Shredded Turkey and Cheese.  She can be sound asleep in the bedroom, but the minute I open the silverware draw, she comes running.

For years her doctor yelled at me about this.  Although Sweetie is only 9.5 pounds, she’s considered over weight.  She has a small frame, probably the runt of the litter, but her under belly is big.  The doctor informed me that I had control over what she ate, but let’s face it, who has control over who.  When she begs, I feel bad and give her what she wants.

I keep a dish of dry food out for her all day.  This way if she gets hungry, she has something to eat.  During the course of the day and night, she will nibble here and there on it.  A dish of dry food usually lasts about two days.  I have another dish that I use for her wet food.  Since I usually eat in the living room ( when you live alone, you can do that), I put her wet food dish on the coffee table, so we can eat together.  She gobbles it up, then checks out to see what I’m eating.  She acts like I starve her to death.

Food Always Taste Better in the Wet Food Dish

During my last trip to the vet, I received yet another lecture from the doctor.  She told me I need to be strong, because I’m literally killing my cat with love.  Don’t get me wrong, she got a clean bill of health, except for her weight.  I got a whole list of what could happen to over weight cats, and I have to admit it scared me.  So I tried to be strong.

No sooner were we home, when Sweetie jumped on the coffee table and demanded Shredded Turkey and Cheese.  Normally, I would have given it to her, but not this time.  After trying to coax her to the dry food, I finally decided to take a handful of it and put it in her wet food dish.  To my amazement, she started to gobble it down.  I guess the moral of the story is “everything tastes better in the wet food dish.”

If you’re having the same problem, why not give it a try.  She’s happy, I’m happy, and she’s lost nearly half a pound since then.

What’s Up With The Post Office

In the last 4 months, I’ve had major problems with the post office.  They seem to be losing my mail.  Oh sure, they can find me when it comes to the bills, but the important packages seem to disappear off the face of the earth.  And if you expect the post office to find them, you’re out of luck.

The latest issue was last week.  My mother sent me a package of specialty fabrics that I can use for making my cat toys and products.  I’m doing a craft fair in Leonia, NJ on  July 26th and wanted to add cat mats to my product line.  The fabric she sent was perfect for this product. 

Since I needed it right away, she spent extra, over $11.00, to send it priority mail so I would get it within 2 or 3 days.  That was 10 days ago.  I still don’t have the package.  Yesterday, I went to the local post office where the mail comes in to see if they could find it.  The line for inquiries was five deep, and growing.  Only one person was working the window, and she wasn’t paying attention to what was being told to her.  After disappearing for five minutes, she told the woman she was helping that there were not packages for Clinton Ave. 

“I live on Clifford Ave.”

“Oh, I didn’t know that, I thought you lived on Clinton Ave.”  She said and went to the other side of the warehouse like room.

The woman being helped turn to the rest of us on the growing line and said, “I don’t know what her problem is, she has the paper in her hand that clearly says Clifford Avenue.”  Of course this started an entire conversation about how the post office personnel have no idea what they are doing, nor do they care.

When I finally got to the window, the woman was gone and I had a guy helping me out.  His competence was worse then his co-worker’s if you can believe that.  After explaining my situation, he told me that I need the slip that was put in my mailbox to get my certified letter.  Where his brain interpreted priority mail package into certified letter, I’ll never know.  I explained it again. 

“Oh, Priority mail, your mail carrier would have delivered it.”

“I never got it, is it possible that she would have brought it back if it didn’t fit in my mailbox?”

“She’d still deliver it.”

“So she would leave it behind on the floor.”

“No, she would never leave a priority package behind.  She would bring it back here.”

Isn’t that what I just asked?  Does the post office only hire the stupidest of the stupid.  How do you get a job at this place because I would love to sign up.  Hell, I would make Post Master General within a year.

The long and the short of it, he wasn’t willing to look for my package and insisted that he had to ask my mail Carrier what she did with it.  Like she’s going to remember one package out of the million she delivered all week. 

Delivery Confirmation

If you’re thinking my mother should have sent it with delivery confirmation so it can be tracked, well, let me tell you what happened six weeks ago.

I have been unemployed for 11 months now.  I found 8 jobs with the U.S. Census bureau that I decided to apply for.  Because of the type of position they were, the USCB would only accept mailed in applications.  An address was given, and the application process took me three days to complete, and consisted of my entire life.  Yes, we’re talking about information that can lead to major identity theft.  But when you’ve been unemployed for as long as me, you’re willing to take the risk. 

Since the information was very private, I got delivery confirmation with it.  This way I know that it was delivered, and if not, I can track it.  About a week after mailing it, I went on line to see if it was delivered.  What I saw shocked me.  “Unable to deliver with address provided, will be returned.”  The following week I checked to see where it was.  No update.  Last know location, New York, New York. 

I called the post office to find out when it will be returned.  They told me it could take a month to get it back.  I should wait 2 more weeks.  At the end of the two weeks, still no sign of the package, and the tracking information had not changed.  I called the post office again.  Yes the investigation department.  They told me they will give me my money back.  I don’t want my money back, I want that package.  I explained the reasons why.  “well, we don’t know where it is, and we can’t find it.”  Did they bother looking?  I doubt it.  They acted like I was bothering them.

A lot of good Delivery Confirmation does.

Other Problems

Two months ago, I ordered a large supply of catnip.  After two weeks, I still hadn’t received the package, although I did get an e-mail from Pet Smart saying the package had been shipped two weeks earlier.  I decided to track the package, and the post office system said it had been delivered.  What!  Well isn’t that great.  Where is it.  I was about to call the post office, when I remembered seeing a package in front of my neighbors door for well over a week.  My neighbor doesn’t live there any more, in fact no one lives there and hasn’t for several months.  On the off chance it was mine, I took a walk over there.  Sure enough, it was the package I had been waiting two weeks to get.  Checking the address on the box, I noticed the address was correct.  I guess I should be grateful no one came along and took it.

Wait!  I’m Not Done

Four Months ago, I ordered something from the Apple Store.  Once again, I got an e-mail saying it was shipped.  Once again, I waited two weeks to get it.  Once again, I went on line to track my package.  “Attempt to deliver” was listed three times.  Did I get any notification?  No.  I went to the post office with a copy of the details from the tracking system.  I got my package, and couldn’t figure out why it wasn’t left in my mailbox.  The box was very small, didn’t need a signature, and the address was correct.  Also, why wasn’t I notified that attempts were made?  “I’ll have to ask your mail carrier.”

Product Development Blues

I spend a lot of time thinking up new products to sell at Crazy About Catnip.  Variety is the spice of life, and if I had to deal with stuffing toys with catnip all day, I think I would go crazy.  Ideas are easy to come by, it’s implementing them to a saleable product that’s not.

I keep a notebook handy at all times and jot down my ideas as soon as they pop in my head.  You never know when it’s going to happen, and I guarantee that if I don’t write it down ASAP, it will be gone.  Each day I spend an hour or so on product development.  I pick one of my ideas and make a sample.  Then it goes to my Vice President of Product Research, Sweetie the Cat.

My Biggest Critic

The problem with Sweetie is she rejects more products then I would like.  Probably 75% of what I make.  The toys I have no problem with.  Sweetie loves catnip, so she goes wild when I give her a new toy.  But I want to expand my product line to include all natural treats and quilted cat mats.

Yesterday, I decided to work on the cat treats.  I cooked up a chicken breast, put it in the food processor, added various ingredients, and started baking.  I chose Chicken because that’s all Sweetie would eat.  Knowing that if she likes it, I could make it in other flavors like tuna.  Just follow the same recipe.

Once the treats cooled off, I put them in Sweetie’s dish.  She got excited and jumped on the coffee table where she normally eats her shredded turkey and cheese every night.  She looked at it with puzzlement on her face, then looked at me as if to say “What is this?”  Then jumped on the couch to get away from it.  I moved the dish to the couch, thinking if I force it on her she might give it a try.  All I got was a dirty look.

Okay, so that didn’t work.  I thought about it more.  What if I add catnip to the dough?  So I gave that a try.  After the next batch was done, and cooled, I gave it to Sweetie.  Same result.

Back to the Drawing Board

I was very disappointed by the results.  Why didn’t she like it?  So I tried one (non catnip treat).  Not as gross as you would think considering all the ingredients are things we eat every day.  It tasted like gold fish crackers, and didn’t smell like chicken at all.  Now I know what I have to do.  I need to get it to taste and smell like chicken.

Simple, yes?  Not really.  Keep in mind, I want these treats to be all natural.  So back to the drawing board.  I have a lot of research to do today.  With luck, I’ll get her begging for these  treats by the end of the day.