Last night, I came home from work with two six-packs of beer in my hands. My roommate took one look at them and my face and said “One of those days, huh?” (For the record, I only had two. He drank three.)
I try to be positive on this blog, I really do. But sometimes, you just have one of those crappy ass days where you think to yourself, “WHY am i doing this?” Also, “that’s it, I’m GOING to change my life and my work.”
It is not abnormal for my hospital to get phone calls with questions such as:
- “Is this something I should bring my pet in for? It was in dog fight and now it’s eye is sticking out from its socket.”
- “My dog has been vomiting and has had diarrhea for the past seven days. Do you think I should be worried or bring it in?”
These are the calls that make me want to bang my head against a wall or go outside and do a (not) silent scream in frustration. I want to say to these people, “Well, gee, if you had your eyeball sticking out of its socket, would YOU want to seek medical attention?! or If you had it coming out of both ends for a week, would YOU want to go to a doctor and get something for it??!! Then why would you think it would be any different for your pet?!”
Usually with these calls, we then get the story of how they can’t afford to have their pet treated. We give out the phone numbers to the low-income clinics. Or we get told that we are selfish money grubbers who only care about money, not if their pet lives or dies. And sometimes they hang up on us. One day, it happened to me three times. Because, you know, it’s MY fault that they can’t afford to take care of their pet.
Nothing could be further from the truth and it pisses me off so much. I want to say, “Trust me. I make $12.50/hour so I’m certainly NOT making money off of your pet.” But I can’t. I have to try and be as nice as possible with them.
Public Service Announcement: Please, please, please, people, if you can’t afford to take care of a pet when it gets sick, DON’T adopt it. Or find a way to save for its health needs. Or take out pet insurance. Or hell, get a job at an animal clinic so you get a huge discount on their pet care. Or call the low-income clinics and find out when or if they have special clinics for certain health needs like vaccination clinics or spay and neuter clinics. I could go on and on. The point is — DO SOMETHING.
Don’t expect the person answering the phone at the animal hospital to be a miracle worker or the receptacle for all of your problems and frustrations. Because WE are people too. We really are. We have feelings. We are scraping to get by just as you are. (In fact, many of us joke that we work there so that we can afford to take care of our pets or pay our vet bill. Unfortunately, it’s also kind of true.) And also, if you’re there with us in person, don’t treat us as if we are stupid because we are standing behind that desk. I have advanced degrees. I have CHOSEN to work with animals because I love them so much.
One thing my mom taught me, and I wish other people had learned as well – never assume that the person assisting you is beneath you or doesn’t deserve your respect. You NEVER know who you are talking to. And believe me, it’s true. And you never know if that person could be the one to help you out when you need it. I mean, truly need it.
The point of all this is that yesterday was one of those days where I became even more resolved to change my life from its present circumstances. Tonight, I will take a transcription test or a remote researcher test (another option for me to make extra cash) so I can start earning more side hustle income, and make one of my dreams more of a reality – being able to do freelance work to support myself. I want to have multiple streams of income so that if my writing can’t support me or I just plain fail miserably at it, there are still options that I can rely upon.
Today is a new day. I’m going to try to remind myself to not let my emotions get caught up in what is going on around me and which I cannot control. Easier said than done, for sure. I need to take a deep breath. Or three. Or four. Or ten, as the case may be.
If you’ve ever felt this way about your job or your life, please share below or feel free to share this post with someone who has. I’d love for us to be able to talk about it.
As always, thank you for reading, and thank you so much to those of you who have commented on or messaged me about my last couple of posts about being brutally honest or my talk about money, either here or on Facebook. They have really helped to keep me inspired.
********************
If you need to shop online, I’d greatly appreciate it if you use my Amazon affiliate links or Ebates referral link! Every little bit helps, and it costs you nothing to do so. Thank you!
Chasing Simple Dreams 