New Car

This is my "new" car. It is a 08 Ford Edge. I got it while I was in Amarillo for Thanksgiving

Trip Cancelled

Well, I was supposed to be in Missouri this week with mom and dad, but my vacation got cancelled last week. We had project reviews with the Vp's last week and my manager promised them that I would have the first microbiology training course done this week.....well it's done now....I find it pretty funny that someone that has been there 18 months is training people that have been there 30 years. It looks like after the first of the year I will be going to Vermont the beginning of January to do some collaborative tests with a vendor and then I'll be making a trips to Houston to talk with customers, and going to different area field labs to train people. I don't know when I am supposed to get my "actual work" done, since currently I am the only person working on three projects.

Today seemed like it went on forever, I started looking at the clock early today anticipating my vacation next week. Monday morning Brice and I will head to Amarillo. The "catties" are going to be boarded for the first time since Jack doesn't travel well. It will be nice to get away from Duncan for a while.

Buddies

Things have been pretty good this week with the new addition. We have been waking up a little early to take the pups on a walk and been walking after work.

Bailey trying to love on Brice

Rusty and Bailey are buddies already...hard snuggin on the couch

Bailey is super excited to come out of her kennel...she is usually not this crazy

New Addition!

Meet Bailey, She is a mutt that is about 3 years old. (she was already named before we got her). Bailey is the dog that I fell in love with last weekend at Bark in the Park. She had actually be adopted by an older lady last Saturday. I went to the shelter Saturday morning to pick of my item that I won in the raffle and figured I'd volunteer while I was there. I had been there a while and had just finished cleaning dishes and the cat room, when the lady came in with her. She said that her husband had passed away suddenly on Tuesday and two dogs were too much for her to take care of one her own. I called Brice several times and he didn't answer his phone. I told the shelter manger, LaRae, that I was going to run home and talk to Brice....she told me to take her with me and to bee back by noon. I had been joking that morning about coming home with a dog, but had no intention of...I actually never even went in the dog section of the shelter. When I got home, I rang to doorbell...before Brice said anything, I clarified that I hadn't adopted her...yet. We let her and Rusty hang out for a little while and she also met the cats. We got back to the shelter a little before noon and adopted her. They weren't going to make us pay the adoption fee since she had already been adopted, so we decided to partially sponsor two dogs that had been at the shelter for a long time.

Bailey is super calm, walks great on a leash, and is potty trained already. She is a little stubborn. She sleeps like a rock, once she falls asleep she is not moving. She is also the ultimate lap dog. The cats and her get along good, and Jack is very interested in her long tail. I think Bailey and Rusty are going to be best buds. We still need to teach her what toys are...she just seems to be confused by them.

Bailey Face

Bailey, trying to figure out why Rusty is always messing with these things

Napping with Bailey

Bailey and Brice

Bark in the Park

Bark in the Park was this past Saturday. It is the Humane Society's largest fundraiser. Brice and I along with some other people from Halliburton showed up at 7:45am to help set up. Around 10:00 people starting arriving with their dogs, so I went home and grabbed Rusty. It was a lot of fun to watch the different contests for the dogs/owners. The shelter adopted out 30 animals and raised almost $20,000 dollars. So far my volun-tolding group has raised $1,200 for the shelter with essentially no effort.

The dog next to Brice in the picture below, Bailey, was up for adoption.....she was the sweetest dog ever and was super calm. We both wanted to adopt her, apparently she got adopted at the very end of the day. I still want her...I think her and Rusty would have been good for each other.

Halliburton Crew at Bark in the Park

Brice, Johanna, Me, Nancy, and Donna

Dogs: Bailey, Rusty, and Dylan

Nancy and I presenting a check for $725 to the Humane Society that we raised from a bake sale

Volun-tolding

There still isn't much happening in Duncan, which realy isn't a surprise. We have manditory volunteer groups...which i now call refer to as "Volun-tolding." I am leading a volun-tolding group that is helping out our local humane society. We had a bake sale a while back an raised $725. We are helping with a big fundraiser this weekend called Bark in the Park. We are planning on taking Rusty up there for a little while to get some "dog time." I have actually had fun with my volun-tolding group, but I haven't gone into the shelter, because if I do I will want to bring them all home.

I just finished writing my second paper and working with our patent attorneys to finalize a couple of patent applications....which is good, mostly because it means a little bit extra money. I guess now I have to get to work on my projects...I am leading three projects right now, and currently I am the only person working on it....but that is going to change soon hopefully. I just moved into my new office yesterday, only to find out today that I am getting kicked out. It looks like I am moving to a different section of the building and getting a lab twice the size of what I have now and an office. I get to remodel the lab and basically have a brand new lab, which will be nice not having to deal with someones unwanted junk that was left behind.

I eat car salesmen for lunch :-)

I have been thinking about getting a "new" car. I have been looking at SUVs that are low miles and just a few years old. I went to look at an Infiniti FX35 in Lawton, that I have been checking out online for a few weeks. I wasn't going to pull the trigger and buy today, but I wanted to test drive it. We ended up getting sucked into going inside, because we wanted to see the carfax report. I thought I'd see how low they'd be willing to go....the guy came back to me almost $1000 more than the online price. I told him that was unreasonable and we left getting chased into the parking lot by the salesman. I told him, "I'm not playing these games! All I wanted was the best price."

I had the following email the coiner of the dealership from a few days ago:
Lindsey, I wanted to follow up on your inquiry on our 2007 Infiniti FX 35 and see if you were still in the market or if I could answer any questions for you.
Chris

This was my response back today:

Chris,
I just returned from test driving the 2007 Infiniti FX35. I really liked the car, although I will not be doing business with you. I was prepared to write a check for the car today, but when I asked for the best price, I was told the absolute best vehicle price was $XXXX, nearly $1,000 more than the online listed price. Then after telling the salesman, he said he could only take $35 off the listed online price. I was hoping to stay local with my car purchase, but have found that will not be possible for me because of the way your dealership is run. I have found comparable cars for much better prices and at dealerships where I am not trying to be taken advantage of. In the future I will not purchase from you, nor will I recommend you to my colleagues. Regards,Lindsey Gloe

Car Salesmen beware...I am not putting up with your games :-)