Good morning! How is everyone doing after the 4th of July? My cats were okay, they aren’t too bad with the fireworks unless they are directly overhead. So it wasn’t too bad for us. Oh! And I ate too much food…but I think that comes with the territory of the 4th of July.
We are getting closer to the end of this series. It’s going to be sad when it’s over. But, we all have to move on So enjoy these last few parts of this Adventure story.
Now Hiring
Seasonal work for Portside Doggie Daycare. Starting at $10 an hour, part and full time positions available. Must be able to work as a team and work well with other people and pets. Feel free to come in and inquire about a job. We would love for you to join our team!
Kristen
I will come out and say this right now, I like kids. I have 3 of my own and I have 2 grandkids so far. Now, I understand that family is much different from other people’s kids, but I still like kids.
I remember that this interview because it was nothing like I was expecting. I walked out into the lobby to see a young boy running around the lobby. There was only one other person sitting in the lobby, a young girl who was dressed in a simple maxi dress. She stood up. “I’m so sorry ma’am. I couldn’t find someone who could babysit my son so I had to bring him. I’m sorry.”
I put my hand up to stop her. “Not to worry. He can sit in the office during the interview. Let’s get this started.”
She held out her hand for her son. “Travis. Come on honey, mommy needs you to come with me.” The little boy ran over and grabbed his mom’s hand and I walked them into the office. Kristen sat Travis down in one of the chairs and sat down herself. She gave him her phone that had a set of overhead headphones. “Okay honey. Let’s put on some Mickey Mouse Clubhouse while mommy talks okay?” She turned on the show before looking at me. “I’m sorry again.”
“It’s okay. If he’s occupied then we should be okay. But I do have a question for you. If you can’t find a babysitter for today, will you be able to find one for when you have to work?”
Kristen nodded. “Yes ma’am. My mom doesn’t work so she would be able to watch Travis whenever I have to work. Unfortunately today she had an appointment at the same time and no one else could watch him. And his dad isn’t in the picture so I couldn’t ask him to do anything for me.”
“Okay, good. So tell me a little about yourself.” I wasn’t really sure what to expect from this girl, but I still wanted to proceed with the interview.
She smiled. “Well. I’m 22 and obviously I have my son who is my whole life. I would do absolutely anything for him. But I love animals, my family has tons of them because we live on a farm. So there are animals everywhere.”
“Mama!”
Travis screamed and pointed at the phone. Kristen tapped on the phone screen a couple times and turned back to me. “I’m sorry.”
The interview continued on with Travis screaming every couple minutes for Kristen to do something on the phone. She seemed like a very sweet girl and her interview went well with the exception of Travis. When she left the interview I still wasn’t sure if I was going to hire her or not. But I knew I would make the right decision for the company when it came down to it.
I remember waiting a couple days before calling her again and letting her know that she was hired. She squealed in delight, thanking me over and over for giving her a chance and that she wouldn’t let me down. I smiled, thinking about how genuine she seemed during the interview and on the phone. I knew that I had made a good decision and she turned out to be a great employee.
Scott
We get some of the strangest people come through for interviews. And this guy was no exception. I remember sitting in my office and hearing some of the loudest music coming from the parking lot. I looked out the window to see an old car that was shaking from the low bass in the music. I watched the owner of the car walk into the lobby but I wasn’t expecting to hear that my interview was here.
I composed myself and walked out to see the owner of the car sitting on the couch. He was wearing a basketball jersey, saggy pants, dirty sneakers, and a bandana around his head. He was also sporting some large gold jewelry around his neck and big gold earrings. I stepped up to him. “Good morning. I’m Tammy.”
He stood up and pulled up his pants. “I’m Scott.”
“It’s a pleasure to meet you. Let’s go in the office and we can get started.” We stepped inside the office and sat down. I got a sudden whiff of Scott’s cologne and it was very overpowering. I really had to resist the urge to vomit at the smell. “So…tell me about yourself.”
“Yo man. I’m a rapper who goes by Scotty Sly. I spend all my free time in the studio cranking out rhymes and beats. So I need a little extra cash to help fund my rappin’, know what I mean?”
I felt a little shocked. Like…this is an interview right? I wasn’t dreaming, this was actually happening. “Uh…yes. I know what you mean. But will rapping interfere with you being able to work?”
“Nah man. I need this job to help me become a rapper. So I need to work to get the money to start getting my album out. Actually…you got a computer or a player? I alway share my beats so I can get my name out there.”
“A player?” This man was now speaking in words that I did not understand.
“Yeah man. Like a CD player. I gotta mixtape in my car that I can play for you.” His eyes lit up, almost like he really wanted me to listen to this CD.
I shook my head. “No thank you. Rap is not my forte. Let’s continue on with the interview. So you will have no issues working to get money for your rapping?”
Scott shook his head. “Nah man. Give me a job and I will work until I have enough money to pay for my career.”
“Okay…so if you can use one word to describe yourself, what word would you pick and why?”
“Talented cuz I am.”
I had to try very hard to not let my jaw drop to the desk. I slowly wrote down the word before asking the next question. “Do you have any experience working with animals?”
Scott nodded while looking at his phone. “Yeah man. I have 4 dogs of my own so I have a lot of experience. One my girls is having puppies soon. You want a puppy?”
“Um…no thank you.” I continued on with the interview with Scott traveling off on different tangents. I finished the interview and led Scott out of the office. He walked out the front door and he got in his car and immediately turned up his rap music. We felt the windows start to shake in the building from the loud bass.
I didn’t know it was possible for someone to go off on so many tangents while in an interview. It was odd but I wished him well. He seemed very determined to be a rapper and someone with that much determination could actually do it. So I hoped that someone would be willing to hire him, but he might have better luck at a music store.
Charlie
One of the requirements of working at our facility is that you like dogs and cats because you are dealing with them all the time. I guess you could not really like them, but you have to be able to tolerate them. But Charlie here, he didn’t want any of it.
“You are afraid of dogs?”
Charlie nodded. “Yes ma’am. If one gets too close to me, I will scream and run away. I’m afraid they will bite me.”
I cocked an eyebrow. “Did you get bit by one as a child?”
He shook his head. “No. But I didn’t want to take a chance. I’ve been afraid of them since birth.”
I looked down at my paper. “I see. So what are you hoping to do while you are working here?”
He shrugged. “I’m not too sure. Anything that doesn’t involve dogs or poop.”
That comment made me intrigued. “Why can you not deal with poop? Dogs and cats poop everyday the same as you and me.”
Charlie held up a finger. “That is a bold assumption. I do not poop. I will vomit if I smell it. So I have come up with this amazing liquid diet so I don’t have to ingest anything solid. I buy foods like yogurt, milk, protein powder, baby foods, and broths and mix them together in a blender to make sure that it liquefies. And don’t worry, I have consulted both a doctor and a nutritionist about this diet and they both say that it is good and that I am doing a good thing for my body. The last time I actually pooped was when I was in elementary school. And I started doing it because I would get very sick at school every time I used the toilet. So my mom started doing this for me and my life has forever changed.”
I stared at him with my mouth agape. How was I supposed to respond to this? I quickly composed myself. “Okay…so you are afraid of dogs and you don’t deal with poop. The only position that I have that you wouldn’t have to deal with either one of those is our reservation center. And unfortunately I don’t have any positions available in that department. So I don’t believe that this is the right job for you.”
Charlie’s face turned visibly red. “I’m sorry. I knew I shouldn’t have applied here. It was a terrible idea. I’m sorry I wasted your time. I will show myself out.” He quickly stood up and almost ran out the door. He hastily made his way to his truck and got in the driver’s seat. He sped out of the parking lot, never to be seen again.
2 Cats and a Laptop 