Pictures!

http://community.webshots.com/user/gmpiazza0880/profile

I uploaded most of my pictures to this website since Blogger wasn't cooperating when I tried to incorporate them into my posts. I didn't get any pictures physically developed yet since I have to pick my favorites. I'd like to eventually put a scrapbook together. I just got in to Allentown last night at 11:30 after waiting for 5.5 hours on standby to get on a flight home. I have a ton of stuff to do before getting back to work tomorrow and hitting reality
again. : (

Thank you all for keeping in touch via the blog. I think it made my trip that much better knowing that you all were right there with me and supporting me the entire time. It showed me what great friends and family I have and have to come home to. :)

Oprah?!

Where's Oprah when you need her?? It looks like I have an extended vacation-I'm stuck in Chicago for the night. hint: Do not book any flights that fly into, around, or out of a place dubbed "The Windy City". Maybe this is a sign that I belong in Kanab?? I always wanted to see Chicago...

Here's my travel day from hell in a nutshell:

• Woke up 2 hours late for my drive to Salt Lake (always remember to turn the alarm ON after you set the time)
• Drove to Salt Lake City in record time (I beat both Mapquest and AAA, all doing the speed limit - sort of)
• Drove around the airport twice because Advantage rent-a-car was the only rental place without good signage to direct you where to leave the car.
• Was delayed 2 hours leaving from SLC to Chicago
• Finally left but I missed my connecting flight (it was cancelled anyway) How nice of them to remove it from the board after they tell us to head to the board to check for our connections.

Call #1 to United Airlines.

• It took me 2 hours to rebook a flight and find and reserve a hotel room (I, of course, stood in the customer service line for about an hour before someone told us there were phones direct to an agent we could use. Some woman behind me kept moving her carry-on up with her foot everytime the line moved. I think she was trying to cut in front of me. I kept thinking "Lady, you better back off. I have had a really long day and you're in my personal space, not to mention trying to squeeze me out of line." Instead, I moved my foot out to stop her when she started moving up her bag and looked at her with a nice-but-not nice smile. Made me chuckle to myself.

Call #2 to United Airlines before I used the house phones.

• Re-booked my flights to tomorrow.

Call #3, 4, and 5 to the 800 # for hotel reservations.

• Booked my hotel room.

Call #6 to the shuttle service for the hotel.

• Got on the wrong shuttle for the Double Tree hotel. The woman I spoke to didn't mention there were 2 different shuttles for the 2 different hotel locations. At least the shuttle driver was nice enough let me stay on to go back to the airport so I could pick up the right shuttle. It was amazing that the right shuttle was there as he was letting me out.

While on the correct shuttle, I noticed that Kenny G, after a 14 hour day of travelling, is enough to make you scratch your own eyes out. No offense to any Kenny G fans.

I am now in a Double Tree; the beds look like heaven and there are 5 pillows to each one! I'm a little wired right now so I figured I'd take advantage of the free internet. It's about damn time. I also got free deodorant, toothpast, a toothbrush, and a comb from the front desk. (I'm being optimistic anywhere I can.) I also got a Double Tree cookie, which is good 'cause that's dinner... I really think I'll try to see Chicago tomorrow morning; my flight doesn't leave until 1:30 and I won't get to Allentown til 7:30-ish. I think this was a great "adventure"; it showed me how resourceful I could be (i.e. scouting out electrical outlets in the airports and making nice with the bored TSA guys for info). It's nice to know that I am missed! I'll see you and talk to you all soon! And I tried to upload pictures but after I do it I can't find them, sorry, I'm giving up...

Cats a.m. & p.m. - Last day :(

Today is my last day and I am very sad. There was a change in my volunteer plans, to the disappointment of many of you; I will be volunteering in the "special needs" cat house all day. They need all of the help they can get, as you can imagine, and I can't resist all of the special cats there that need affection. Paralyzed, neurological, geriatric, incontinent, and having FIV and cancer, they all need so much care. I am so amazed with this place and in complete awe of the people who work here, day in and day out. The pay isn't anything to be envious of and it is alot of hard work but it truly is a labor of love. I always thought I was too much of an idealist but after my visit here it was proved to me that you can love what you do EVERY DAY. No one here has ulterior motives, is striving for a raise, is brown-nosing their way to upper management, "suggests" 11 to 12 hour days and working 7-day weeks without any intent of doing so themselves, or makes their reports feel incompetent. And while everyone here is different, all have the common thread of caring for animals; animals that were thrown away because they weren't perfect or the novelty has worn off or they aren't "designer" pets, made famous by the media. All of the creatures here have a place and are very special. They all deserve care and to feel secure. They are all known by their names, not numbers, and every caregiver knows each one's personality and quirks. My heart and soul have found a home here, this is what I want to do. (Don't worry, not right away ;) .)

My sleepover dog was an absolute sweetheart with eyes and ears that would melt your heart. I was disappointed to return her and not have anyone around to take our picture together. She also watched as I drove away which made me cry (although I'm sure it effected me much more than her). I have new neighbors and they seem very nice. Too bad I'm leaving tomorrow. After my afternoon of volunteering I will be headed to the visitor's center to shop a little (I'll just keep repeating to myself "It's for the animals, it's for the animals, it's for the animals..."). I would love to bring Bruce the cross-eyed siamese mix home or Fanny because she is in need of a caring home, but (and some would say thankfully) I wouldn't want to put anyone through the stress of flying home. I think I'll just need to plan a drive out here... hmmm, we are shutting down over Christmas... See you and talk to you all soon; there will be a ton of pictures for you all to see! I think I will post them on webshots or something when I get back.

Cynthia - I will be on the lookout for the shady dog lady but I think yesterday was her last day and I unfortunately didn't have my camera with me. I'm glad you liked the plants :)

Birds a.m. & Cats p.m.

When I arrived at Feathered Friends I met the parrot and domestic bird caregiver and began changing newspaper under the cages and sweeping floors. I met Cody, an African Grey, who has an extremely large vocabulary and can say about 100 phrases and Tarzan, a Macaw who kept showing off by attacking his rope toy and then looking at me. It wasn't a bad start to my day, being whistled at and showed off for. Then we took a break, the cargiver I met this morning, another volunteer, and myself. The other volunteer was elderly and was really nice but she kept telling us about her dogs (who she refered to by name so we weren't sure who she was exactly talking about), her stroke, and how she thinks a dog napping ring took her 5 dogs away via a lawyer. Very interesting story indeed. It kind of sounded fishy, like she wasn't able to take care of them and while she was in the hospital after her stroke the social worker told animal control to take the dogs because she was going to die. There was some silence after all of that and the caregiver turned to me and said, "So, is today your first day volunteering???" as if to change the subject because he didn't know what to say to all of it. After break was over I went around with the caregiver who takes care of the raptors and outside birds, like peacocks, ducks, etc. I met one of the ravens, Forever, who lost her mate, Nevermore, a month ago. She's so old she's bald but was still a very good mother to her last set of offspring. They also have 3 barn owls, 1 snow owl, 1 kestrel, a prairie falcon and a red tailed hawk to mention just a few. They were all so beautiful and since they can't go back out into the wild they are used for educational purposes. Then it was off to the cats. It was the most relaxing afternoon, just sitting and loving anyone who wanted to get attention. Some were feral, some were just shy. BJ had alot of problems. The poor guy has a crooked tail, is neurologic, his eyes are weird, and he has chronic resp. problems, but all he wanted to do was lay in my lap. Clancy didn't like to share the attention, Nathan was a sprayer so I had to keep an eye on him and where he was pointing his rearend, Little Black Friend was so incredibly sweet and followed me around when I moved seats (he also gave "love bites"), and Licorice couldn't get close enough (he ended up crawling on top of my shoulders and then began to "knead", which was sweet but those claws hurt). Celine, a feral, was a complete wreck. She came out of a box and her fur was all matted and a mess, like she didn't care to groom herself. She was fine, no med. problems, and it was kind of humorous to see her come out all a wreck and not caring what anyone seemed to think. There were around 40 cats, 20 to each side of the enclosure. I picked up my sleepover dog, Fanny, after that. She looks like a lab/sheperd mix and she's very sweet, with funny ears and sweet brown eyes. I'm going to go outside with her but I'll talk to you all soon! (Tomorrow is cats a.m. and dogs p.m.)

Dogs a.m. & Horses p.m.

I had a great time today with the dogs! I walked 6 dogs - a total of 3 miles of trail in sandy soil. What a workout but so much fun! A few of the dogs I walked: Virgil - a very shy greyhound mix, Quizno - an also shy, beautiful hound mix, Ogy - a sweetheart pitbull mix, and Drake - a 10 year old mix, given up because his owners of 10 years said he was ripping up the new landscaping :(. They all had such personalities; it's going to be hard to pick one for my "sleepover"! I didn't get to spend time with any small, yappy dogs ;) but they are kept in a different area to keep them safe from the 50 pounders and up. I met Michael Mountain today, president of Best Friends. He spoke at today's lunch. I think I also met one of the original founders; he was asking me about being here and I was so excited about my day that I was gushing and forgot to ask who he was. And I'll tell you about the extremely annoying volunteer I met this morning who, so kindly - not, took me under her wing. She only found out about BF 3 weeks ago and thinks she knows EVERYTHING about it because she started reading the book. I was getting so annoyed that people thought we were together just because I was wearing my University of Wisconsin t-shirt and she happened to be from... you guessed it, Wisconsin. The shirt was a good conversation starter though. I really enjoyed my afternoon with the horses. There were a few hardcore "horse people" and some "cowboys" but all were very nice and super friendly. I painted 2 crosses for the horses that are buried there, mucked out 4 pastures (just like scooping a litterbox - not bad), and then went around and fed all of the horses in all 6 pastures, including the sheep, goats, and donkeys. I met: Appy - a horse that was going blind so he'd knock into you to be petted, even while I was mucking. He was a riot, almost knocking me down and then chewing in my ear. I couldn't help but laugh, and the caregiver laughed, when I said to Happy "You're rude!". Grandpa Bernie - an elderly donkey who really fit his name, grandfatherly looking and ornery (but not mean, just vocal) and, Dee - the 45 year old horse who came in weighing 600 pounds about 10 years ago (~500 pounds underweight). These are just a few, obviously, who had personalities I was able to appreciate. I noticed today how different various animal people are. The "dog people" are very different from the "horse people" and some animal people really have no people skills. I did meet 2 non-annoying volunteers at lunch. One of them came alone like me; I may have dinner with her tomorrow so our sleepover dogs can get together and have a play date. Sleepovers are very important in seeing the dog's personality out of the kennel setting and it increases their adoptability. I met alot of Katrina dogs, some with very sad stories, and I was amazed at their adaptability. Most dogs in general here are painfully shy. I also stopped at Angels Rest, the cemetary here. Thought about Gabe and how much I miss him and also thought about Kitty. It was a very peaceful place, with hawks (sorry Cyn, I don't know what kind they were) soaring overhead. I tried to upload pictures but dialup is so slow that it timed out in the process - sorry. I have to head to town for a corkscrew (for the bottle of wine I wanted to open last night to celebrate being here while sitting under the full moon surrounded by desert sounds) and some creamer for coffee. I only have one grocery store choice, the other is a Morman run one that doesn't sell anything with caffeine in it or alcohol. I'll try to upload at least a few pictures later but I'm not promising anything. ;) Night!

FINALLY! Access to the internet...

I pulled into Best Friends a few hours ago and all I have to say is "WOW!". Of course I said that after I stopped crying... because 1. I am actually here 2. I'm seeing it in person and 3. I will be volunteering. I got a lot of great pictures of the Grand Canyon, both around sunset and sunrise. I hope they do the beauty of the place justice. I was floored with how HUGE it was and so quiet; it didn't even look or seem real at first. To exemplify just how impressed I was and wanted more time to see it, I got up this morning at 6 just to take more photos. I also got to see and hear an elk. I saw some cool things on the way here, like the Colorado River and Dam and views of the GC from the East and North sides. I will try to post some pictures now, no promises because I'm not that savvy with this stuff and this is dial-up. I'll be spending my morning tomorrow with the dogs and afternoon with the cats. And yes, there are alot of "special needs" animals here that are already tugging on my heart strings. I have no cell service, obviously because I am in the middle of nowhere - literally, so here's my cabin's phone number: 435-644-8642. I have an answering machine in my cabin but I don't think it works. I'll try for another one tomorrow because I'd love to hear messages from you. Talk to you all soon! I really miss you all. (Cynthia-I'm really disappointed in your lack of creativity;) )

This is great!!

Okay, this has to be quick 'cause I'm paying for this time online at Grand Canyon Nat'l Park. It is harder than I thought to find wireless access... I am having a great time! Had soooo much fun in Albuquerque! Found some really great amber-yay! My drive to the Grand Canyon was great; weather was nice, top was down on the car. Couldn't be any better. Although there are things I learned quickly... 1. NM/Alb. drivers ARE very aggressive (rank 13th) and 2. Altitude and jet lag can really kick your ass. K, my time's running out. I'll post pictures on my way to Best Friends hopefully. Got some really great one's! Love you all! Thanks for the comments!

Nervous and very excited

4 more days and I'm on my way!!! I am so nervous about the trip in general (like I didn't plan enough) but also very proud of the thought of this trip being entirely mine. A few last minute things to do and I'll be as ready as I could be. Hopefully my next post will be from Arizona or New Mexico.

A traveling tip:
No matter how much you say and make yourself believe that you won't need much and swear that you'll pack light (and don't say you don't because deep down inside you know you do - at least once)...
IT WILL NEVER HAPPEN. :)