Stressed

{Warning: I'm incredibly whiny and neurotic today. Proceed with caution}

Have you ever had one of those weeks where you wake up with a feeling of impending doom? That's this week for me. Just thinking about the week makes me nervous. This morning I honestly wondered if going back to bed would make it go away. It's not Christmas, although that's stressful enough for some people. It's just the wrong combination of things.

As most of you know I'm not a huge fan of winter. In fact I hate it. I hate the ice and the snow and the cold. I'm starting to get over my fear of driving but I'm still terrified of ice. So of course they are planning for freezing rain all week. Literally starting tonight we are supposed to have freezing rain and snow, pretty much nonstop, until Friday afternoon. I'd be upset about that normally but even more so considering we will be traveling this weekend. I'm supposed to head to St. Louis this coming Friday. Heading out of town in freezing rain and sheet ice is the stuff of nightmares for me. Trigger my weather nerves.

Add to that the fact that I'm helping a friend out with some pet-sitting. I told her I would check in on her puppies each day this week. She has someone coming to take care of them but I need to check in daily. Now I love her dogs but I'm not always good with pet sitting. Much like baby-sitting, taking care of someone else's pet or child is pretty stressful on me. It instantly moves me into stress and worry mode. I am constantly worried that something will happen to them on my watch. After watching me babysit one afternoon, Jeff just smiled and told me it's a good thing we didn't have kids. I'd never sleep. Add that worry to the mix.

Last night I came home to find that my upstairs window sills were wet. Well not just wet, soaked and damaged. Apparently my windows are leaking under all the stress of the snow. There is still well over a foot of snow on some sections of the roof and the gutters are filled with ice. So it is now leaking into the house, either through the attic or through the window seals. I'm hoping it's the seals, less worry for mold. The sills are destroyed and now I'm worried that it has moved into the walls. Repair is going to be costly. I'm hoping the association will cover some of it, but I'm worried that it might cause other problems.

Oh and add the fact that I have three people I haven't bought for, a Secret Santa I just picked up on Friday, and you can consider me one walking pile of nerves. I'm a worrier to begin with but I think things are starting to stack up on me. Weather, pet-sitting, home repairs, shopping, and slippery travel. Should be a fun week.

{Sorry all. I probably shouldn't be writing this today. I know I've got it pretty good and that I'm whining needlessly. It was just weighing on my mind.}

Pets and other Animals

{Warning: I'm up on my soapbox for this post}

I was out of cat food so after dinner tonight Jeff and I went to the pet store. As usual we fawned over the kitties waiting for adoption, played seek with the hiding lizards, watched the birds, and were amused by the small rodents. I both love and hate the pet store. I love that everything there is for the comfort and joy of animals. I hate the idea that some of the animals there won't find a home. Tonight was obedience night so there were a lot of dogs roaming around the store. I was in dog heaven. 

I left the store thinking about pets and the "other animals". The American Pet Product Manufacturing Association estimates that we will spend $10.5 billion on pet products and services here in America in 2008. Dogs will go to daycare or the groomer. Cats will get expensive toys that they will shun for tissue paper and hair ties (I'm not speaking from experience or anything here :-) ). Dogs and cats will get elaborate Halloween and Christmas costumes. Heck some animals get massages and psychotherapy. There is a story out there in the news that Ricky Gervais's dog got Botox. 

I'm not saying that we can't love our pets. I know I love mine. But I'm an animal lover. I also love the deer that live in the creek near my house. I feel sorry for the raccoon that met its end on the road the night before. And I watch with sadness as new housing developments go up and more wild land is plowed under to make way for movie theaters and strip malls. I don't understand how we (as a society) can have such love for our pets and such apathy for the rest of the animal kingdom. 

October 4th is World Animal Day. The day, which was started in 1931, celebrate the animal kingdom as a whole and our relationship with animals. There was little notice of the day in the press. With a quick Google News search I found 76 mentions of the day, 10 of which were from the US. Pakistan actually had more mentions of the holiday. The news actually has very little good things for animals. The current administration is attempting to rewrite the EPA guidelines to allow businesses and other government agencies to determine whether their projects will injure the environment. That's a little like asking the coal burning power plant if maybe they shouldn't build because the plant could destroy some wetlands. I have a hard time believing they will care. 

The World Wildlife Fund, one of the largest conservation organizations in the world, had a budget of $160 million for projects and administration. That is only $10.3 billion short of the pet product market. We hunt animals, conduct research on animals, confine animals for meat, cage animals, and destroy animal habitat. The hardest thing for me to understand is the apathy we as a society feel for these creatures. I read a story recently about a huge wildfire in Florida. The reporter happily reported that no one was injured. There was simply no mention of the hundreds upon thousands of animals that lost their lives. We simply don't notice them. 

I'm pointing the finger at myself recently. I have been meaning to join the World Wildlife Fund or the Humane Society for a long time. That, by the way, is not just for pet animals but for all animals. I certainly can't say I helped at all on October 4th. Instead I flew home from a cruise. Talk about expanding my carbon footprint. But my eyes are starting to open. I look at the ever expanding city and wonder what will happen to the wild places. I wonder how people can ignore the damage we have done to diverse ecosystems. And I wonder how long we can justify population growth at all costs and in the same breath talk about culling wild animal populations. But that is a rant for another day. I'll leave you with these. Some beautiful images to remind you how incredible our natural world is. May we learn to love our animal neighbors.

Reuters/Beawiharta photographer of this newly hatched Green Turtle

Getty Images/Paula Bronstein photographer of this unemployed elephant and his mahout

 Reuters/David Moir photographer of this 3 week old Tapir.