Animal Instinct

Here's how I tell whether a person is someone with the right qualities: if they don't like animals, it's a total dealbreaker for me. I've said more than once that, in general, I like most animals better than I like most people. And I think people's attitudes toward animals tells a lot about them. I am automatically suspicious of someone who doesn't have an affinity for animals. Lots of people, for a variety of very good reasons, may not have a pet in the house. But they can still be "animal people."

For the past couple of weeks I have been watching a pair of eagles raise three chicks in a nest high above a property in Iowa. There is a 24-hour live camera feed, and it is fascinating and wonderful. I work for a person who has, as near as I can tell, the bare minimum of empathy and humanity required to be an actual person. This person has absolutely no sense of humor (another dealbreaker for me) and a sense of personal entitlement that is truly staggering. What brought it home for me was when this person asked what I and a couple of coworkers were looking at online. When we explained about the eagles, it was dismissed with a flick of the hand and an "oh," and that was it. No interest whatsoever. To me, that demonstrates the worst side of a person.

Lost and Found

It's the little things that rattle me the most and upset my equilibrium. When is the last time I lost or misplaced something important? I just do not do things like that. I know where things are, I keep things where they belong.

Yesterday I took the car in for routine maintenance and the annual inspection. Late in the morning the service guy called to say they couldn't find my registration. The registration is always in the glove box; why would it be anywhere else? They took everything out of the glove box--no registration. I can't begin to think what could have happened to it. How long have I been driving around with no registration? Of course, my first thought was that Philip would surely know where it is. Instead, I ordered a replacement online for $25 and I still have to get my inspection done.

Every day seems to bring another unfamiliar path I have to navigate, more questions unanswered, things lost that I cannot find. I'm a competent, organized, capable person, but I feel as though I'm floundering. Who loses their car registration? Downright embarrassing. Nothing will be normal again.