My CoCo
Not long after Cookie died, my mother decided to get a new dog. I was home at the time- it was the week when I was in transition from Aquinas to Mercy. She called and mentioned something about Lollipop Farm (a local pound), but "not adopting a dog today". I decided to go with her.
I hadn't been out to Lollipop Farm since I was a kid. It's pretty nice, for a pound. Mom said she wanted a small dog, something she could pick up when it got old. She hated seeing Cookie agonize about going up and down the steps when she (Cookie) couldn't walk. She also didn't want a dog that was too old because she was afraid to get attached and have it die right away.
We walked up and down the row of dog kettles for an hour. I talked her out of a wiener dog because I think they are mean. There was another dog she liked, but it was 10 years old. Then we saw a fluffy small white dog.
The dog was going out for a walk on a leash. Mom decided to wait for it to come back. She inquired at the desk about the dog and found out it is a purebred American Eskimo dog. When the dog came back, we went into a room with a handler and the dog for 20 minutes to "get acquainted". I felt like we had to take the dog on a date-- maybe take it up to Starbucks for a frappaccino, go for a walk on the pier...
The dog seemed fond of my mother, my brother and sister. Against her initial intentions, my mother put down money on the dog. The dog had to be fixed, so she couldn't pick her up until the next day.
My mother seemed impressed that the dog came with papers. According to the papers, the dog's father is "Jack Frost" and its mother is "Stardust".
On the way home, we had to think of names for the dog. I suggested CoCo, like CoCo Chanel, because she seemed like a poofy, frilly thing, especially with a pedigree. The name stuck.
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CoCo's lived with Marlene for a few months now. My mother says that she is a pig. She (the dog) has eaten a whole pan of brownies that Katie left on the table, as well as a roll of paper towels. When I come over, the dog barks at me. I can hear her start when my car pulls into the driveway. As I walk into the house, she barks furiously and then hides behind my mom. My mom tells her to shut up.
When I went over my mother's yesterday to pick up a coupon for yarn, I stood in front of the dining room window and watched CoCo freak out. She barked and barked. I waved. I saw the dog's head turn; someone was yelling at her.
I went around to the back door. As I walked into the kitchen, CoCo started barking and then ran behind my mother's legs, peering at me from behind.
"I championed for you to leave the pound. Why do you bark at me?" I asked the dog.
"Because she's a dickhead," my mother said. "Shut up, Dickhead," she scolded the dog.
Now what's strange about this is that I have never heard my mother use the word "dickhead". She kept telling the dog, "Shut up, Dickhead." It's like she just learned a new swear word. I wonder if she will start dropping it in conversation so people know how cool she is.
She's a Dangerous Lady
Today was pure hell at work. The architect of the media center hired a photographer to come in and photograph the building. I was under the impression that the photographer would be there taking photos for 5, maybe 15 minutes at most.
His assistants were setting up the media center for the photo shoot when I came in at 7:30. They covered our chairs because the pattern was too 'busy' for the photo. By 8, I had a class in the media center. As I worked with the class, the photographer and his helpers rearranged all the furniture, unplugged the copier and moved it. Mind you, no one asked me about this before hand. I was getting pissed.
After the class left, we had a 40 minute break. The architect took it upon himself to take down the Orlando Bloom poster on the circulation desk, much to the chagrin of many of our students. He also took down the posters and called the flower in the reading room "tacky". I was livid!
The next class came in to use the laptop computers to do research. In the middle of looking up stuff for their project, the photographer unplugged the computer cart, thereby cutting off Internet access to all the laptops. The students and staff became frustrated. At this point, we also had in 10 girls for study hall. Total pandemonium had broken out in the media center.
Then the phone rang....
I was struggling with a computer that had lost its connection when Danielle said the call was for me. I picked up the phone.
Me: Hello?
Marlene: You gotta get a flu shot.
Me: I'm kinda busy....
Marlene: It's loud there! What's going on?
Me: Well, I have a class in using laptops. There's study hall and there's these stupid photographers who just took apart the media center.
Marlene: Why did they do that?
Me: To take photos.
Marlene: Well, call your OB to find out about the flu shot. Since you are pregnant, you are at high risk.
Me: Okay, I'll do that when I get a free second. Listen, I gotta get going...
Marlene: Okay. (pause) Did you hear about the accident on Flower City Park? They crashed that sports car and those people got killed.
Me: (somewhat rushed) No, I didn't. I'll look it up on RNews when I get the chance.
Marlene: It's terrible.
Me: Mom, I really gotta go.
Marlene: Okay. Bye. (She hangs up).
Work has become more interesting since my mother has figured out I have my own extension and I will answer the phone during the day. Last week, I called her because a student had whooping cough. She couldn't talk. I decided to go to lunch, since I got tired of waiting for her to call back. She called while I was eating and told Danielle she was "disappointed, because I was supposed to wait for the phone call." When I called Mom back, she yelled at me for eating. I told her the baby was hungry.
Danielle thought my mom was really mad at me. I had to explain to her that it's just Marlene.
Picture of Marlene
For a photo of Marlene, check out
www.buffalo.edu/~kmconiff/writings.htm
It is part of a project for my Library Science technology class.
