As I’ve noted before, it’s hard to get too worked up about the weekend when you’re unemployed, but hey, I can fake it with the best of ’em. Besides, this means I get to see more of Takaza, and that’s never a bad thing!
So I had a phone interview with the company in Hopkinsville, Kentucky yesterday. It seemed to go well, as near as I can tell – I have a lot of what they’re looking for. I’ll know by the end of next week if they want to fly me in for an interview. It’s a really small company, only 45 employees. I’m guessing domestic partner benefits are pretty unlikely. However, we might could get Dan a job in Clarksville or Nashville, TN if we split the difference on the commutes. On the bright side, it’s a lot closer to a lot of our friends in the Midwest: 7 hours from Chicago, 5 hours from Chambana, 4 hours from St. Louis or Memphis.
I also got a call from a recruiter today. I swear, this must have been her first call to a candidate – she was working with a recruiter I know well, so I played along. But there were times when I just wanted to say, “Look, calm down, follow the script, and I’ll give you the answers you want.” It’s a position for a company “near the North Carolina/Virginia line” which means Martinsville, Danville, or South Boston. The first two would work, I suppose, but South Boston is the middle of nowhere. We’ll see if I hear anything back from that.
In between several errands today I stopped by a dog show going on at the State Fairgrounds. Interesting time. I swear, I saw every character from Best in Show there. I don’t think I’ll be going back to a dog show any time soon – it’s people spending too much time to make dogs behave in un-doglike fashion, make them conform to some arbitrary standard, and, quite frankly, the dogs didn’t look like they were having a good time. T’heck with that. I’d rather visit a Dog Park. At least there you can pet the dogs!
So tonight the plan is to meet the usual folks for dinner at Porter’s City Tavern. The reviews look good, so I’m looking forward to it. Plus, they have steak for Dan – that’s always a Good Thing.
I do need to see “Best in Show” some time soon. sounds great! I missed the Kentuckiana Cluster last weekend, but then, as you know, I had more pressing priorities to deal with. (BTW, that’s the same show where I got you the Husky note pad).
Based on your comments, I think you’ll find Coppinger’s remarks in “Dogs” to be ones you may agree with. His analysis puts some science behind the general dis-ease some feel about AKC events. He not only comments on how AKC is ruining dogs, he shows it in terms of form and function, and measurable performance.
Regarding Kentucky, there’s a number of people in the fandom here, and a mailing list. Unfortunately, the largely seem to be teenagers. So I’ve not interacted with that list yet. Just hard to find much in common with them. But hey, I’m not an easy person to get along with either! (LOL!)
Take care, and best of luck.
— Bob
Good luck (as ever) on getting the job you deserve!
dogparks
From what I’ve been learning about dogs & dog shows, breeders benefit from the dog shows by being able to charge more for their dog services and pups if their dogs win in the show, as well the benefit of any prize money. Usually I’ll watch a few of the televised shows to learn more about particular breeds.
As for drama, there can be quite a bit of drama at dogparks too. I’ve been taking Althalus to a local dogpark, Mays Lake in Oakbrook. Today, just walking into the entrance, there were two dogs that got aggressive toward Althalus; lunging and snapping at him. Neither of the owners corrected their dogs for their aggressive behavior, nor did they apologize when they moved on with their dogs.
Later on, I watched a couple with a springer spaniel get freaked out when a boxer locked his jaws on their spaniel’s throat. The couple in a panic grabbed both dogs and were trying to seperate them by pulling them apart; lifting both off the ground before the owner of the boxer could make her way over to help. After getting the dogs apart, the couple calmed down after realizing their dog wasn’t hurt; the boxer apparently only grabbed skin & fur, nothing life threatening. They and the boxer’s owner talked things out, and everything turned out ok.
Dog parks can be a good experience, overall. You can learn quite a bit about various breeds from their owners, and get advice on training, local vets, and other pet services. If nothing else, for those that own dogs, it’s a great way to socialize with other dog owners, talking about what their dogs have been doing at home, as their dogs get some serious exercise that’ll give you a quieter evening at home ;o)