Making a Living

I am almost hesitant to post this, as I don’t want it to come off as unsympathetic or negative, but there is always one aspect of my job that bothers me than others. We frequently get calls from people who need to bring their pet in but “don’t have money.” And I fully accept that there are people out there who, for whatever reason, have fallen on hard times and are struggling to make ends meet, including health care for them and their pets. There are many others who simply feel that pet care should be free and that we exist only to rip people off and cheat them out of their money. (I have had one client make a comment — after a $70 vet bill — that he was “in the wrong profession.”) It’s not uncommon for people to complain about a bill after professing that they “will spend anything” to save their pets, asking to “be billed” of “set up payment plans,” and usually we are lucky to see even 10% of the bill. We have people get upset when we tell them that we must have some form of payment at the time of the visit, most of whom act so indignant that we would even make such a request. And then there is my favorite — the belief that vet bills should be almost nothing because we “aren’t real doctors.”

Allow me to address these. The clients who genuinely can’t afford the vet bills are usually the ones exhausting every last resource to find a way to pay. These people exist, but they are rare. It’s hard for me to accept not having enough money to pay for a $15 vaccine when they have fresh ink on their arms and an iPhone 4. What people fail to understand is that this is how I make my living. This is what I studied for 8 years to do, sacrificing time, money, and a good chunk of my sanity. I don’t do this for the money; I don’t do this because I want to go on lavish vacations, have the latest most expensive car, or spend my lunch breaks on the golf course (which I have actually had a client accuse me of when I wasn’t there on my lunch break to see her as a walk-in). I still drive the same car I had in high school, and I’ll probably be paying on my debt until I die. I do this job because it is my passion, because nothing makes me happier than seeing a pet feel better and watching the owner light up when it happens.

Still, this isn’t free. I still need to eat, make payments on those loans I’ve accumulated, put gas in the 10-year-old car I have, feed my pets, and occasionally put a bit aside for when something goes wrong. There have been months when my bills exceeded our combined income and it was only by the grace of having saved up in the months prior that we made it through. I have taken on additional jobs to bring in even a small amount of extra income. There are costs associated with running the clinic. We have to pay for everything you see us use. Every syringe, every needle, every pill that goes out the door (and the bottles it goes home in) costs us money. There is the cost of the electricity, the water, the heating and cooling units, the cleaning supplies to keep the rooms sanitary, the equipment we use for diagnostics, insurances, the machines to process credit cards, the paper we give receipts on, all of this has to be paid for. Then there is the issue of paying for our time. Sure, you can go get advice from the breeder down the street or the pet store owner, and you can buy some vaccines and medicines at the local feed store. But what about the knowledge needed to use these safely? No matter how many years a pet store employee or breeder has been in business, they do not have the proper training to know the intricacies of medicine. As veterinarians, we are expected to train yearly and further our education regularly or we lose our license. How many breeders are operating on knowledge from 20 years ago? We go through the same amount of school that an MD goes through, and they only have to learn one species. And if you compared our starting salaries, you would probably be shocked at how little veterinarians make in comparison.

Emergencies are another cost. In some big cities, there are clinics that specialize in taking cases after normal business hours. In small towns like here, usually the emergency clinic is “waking your vet up.” Yes, these cost more. We sacrifice sleep, family meals, family events, holidays, all so that we can be available in a time of need. Our families sacrifice these things with us, because it disrupts their lives as well. Again, this isn’t something we do to make money, we do it out of a commitment to providing the best service available to our clients. We do it willingly because it is part of our job, something we knew we would have to do when we started this journey. (Keep in mind that an emergency surgery at 3am will use more electricity, water, etc than what is used during a normal business day, again adding to our costs that we have to pay for).

Please do not think i am complaining. I love what I do and love where I am. We do all of this because this is what we want to do. Of course there are veterinarians out there that DO try to squeeze every last dime out of their clients, but they are the exception to the rule. Veterinary medicine isn’t the latest “get rich quick” scheme, it isn’t an elaborate hoax to use a person’s concern for their pet to swindle money for no reason, it is a passion. So the next time you are tempted to grumble over your vet bill, please keep these things in mind. This is how we make our living, no different than any other person with a job. The thing that separates us from many, however, is the amount of passion we throw into our work. And that isn’t something you can buy.

Oops

I’m always impressed by professional bloggers who can keep up with an online blog.  Obviously I’m not that great.  I guess the main reason is that I always feel like I have nothing worthwhile to say, that my life is so boring that no one really wants to read about it.  Then again, most of the blogs I like don’t have anything to do with life but are actually just thoughts and dreams that we are lucky enough to be a part of.

I’ve always been better at keeping an old fashioned journal, pen and paper.  Even then my track record is embarrassing.  I can look through my old journals and there will be two entries 7 months apart, and that’s just my own personal story!  I’ve been doing better recently though.  Sometime I just need the proper motivation.  I’m currently working through the Book of Awakening, an awesome little daily meditation book that gives me prompts when I am stuck and really don’t want to talk about vaccines anymore.  It’s an awesome book, one that explores different aspects of existence that aren’t touched on very much.

Living in the Bible Belt for as long as I have, I’ve seen many of the narrower definitions of Christianity, few of which appeal to me anymore.  It’s not that I don’t believe in God — quite the opposite really — just that I don’t accept the examples I’ve been given as a true representation of who He really is. I’m sure that most of my religious views now would shock a good Baptist into a heart attack, and I’d be lying if I said that doesn’t make me smile a little.  I have a hard time reconciling the image of a loving God with such a vehement hatred toward other people, and frankly, I’ve just decided that the examples people are setting are not in the true nature of the Divine.  I’ve felt closer to God in my yoga studio than any church I’ve ever been to, and if I want to use non-church-approved methods of seeking Him out, then I will and I will no longer feel guilty about it.  If one can’t recognize God in everything and everyone around them, they are missing the whole point.

I recently finished reading the entire Chronicles of Narnia (yes, I know I’m a bit behind), and needless to say, if the were a church of C. S. Lewis, I would probably go there.  It’s not just the Narnia books, every work I have read by him sums up a lot of what I believe.  I hate to spoil the ending for anyone who hasn’t read the books, but I have to share my favorite part.  (And if I say that The Last Battle is pretty much the book of Revelations, I won’t be ruining anything.). At the end, Aslan meets a man who belonged to a different religion and sought out a different god (Tash), who essentially represents the devil.  Aslan tells him that he counts all of the good works this guy did to be in his service.  The guy can’t understand why Aslan hasn’t sent him away and is asking if the rumors were true that Aslan and Tash were one in the same.  Aslan tells him that it’s because they are polar opposites that he counts his service to him, saying that a man cannot do good works, even in the name of Tash, and truly be serving him, because Tash is pure evil.  Likewise, he also tells the man that he can never accept an act of evil, even if the act is committed in his name, because one cannot do evil and serve him.  Deep thoughts, but how powerful is that?  That one cannot do good works without serving God, and no evil can be done in service to God, even if it is done in His name.  How would living by that principle change how we interact with each other?  Instead of worrying about condemning each other to hell and persecuting each other, what would happen if we chose only to do good, to only seek out good, chose to love each other instead of pointing out faults?  Sounds more like the truth of the teachings of Christ than what most churches are focused on these days.  Hence why I no longer attend.  I will choose to seek God in whatever way connects me to all of His creation and attempt to live the example of unconditional love that He set.

I will try to do better at keeping up. I say that every time and fail miserably, but maybe there is someone out there who, like me, is frustrated by the religious extremists and doctrines of hate who just wants to know that God is still out there, still loving them, even if those who claim to hate in His name do not.  If that person finds this and is inspired by it, the I consider it to be a good work.

(P.S.  I’ve tried to catch all mistakes, but it something doesn’t make sense, it’s because my autocorrect apparently had a little too much coffee this morning.  Or something, half of the “corrections” aren’t words in the English language.)

Absence

First, an apology.  I know I’ve been gone awhile.  I know my last post was essentially unavailable.  These past few weeks have been a little crazy for me.  Last month I attempted (and succeeded!!!) a daunting goal for my jewelry business, and for the first time in 2 years, I am finally able to watch my business start to grow.  This is good for two reasons: one, it provides a fun hobby outside of my full-time  job, something that lets me escape the stresses and low points of the medical field.  As much as I love my job at the clinic, it’s not all peaches and rainbows, as everyone can imagine.  It’s nice to have something to do outside of work that provides a fun way to meet people and just chill for awhile.  The other benefit is, of course, the financial help, which has been a huge relief when trying to pay bills each month.

I recently had a very dear friend visit for a week, and it was so good to hang out after a year!  In today’s society, it’s so easy to think we are “constantly connected” to friends and family thanks to the internet, phones, email, etc., but in the end, what does it really mean to “be connected?”  I recently read an article about how the US has some of the shortest vacation allowances from work and how we are supposedly the only “industrialized nation” that doesn’t legally require employers to give vacation time.  Thinking about that article brought a lot of sad realities to life.  I tried to think about the last time I took a real vacation and, while it was fun and relaxing, it was short — only a few days.  I began to think about what I would do if I could just walk away from the office for 2-3 weeks, where I would go, what I would want to see…and realized that I don’t know if or when I will find out.  Most of my vacation time goes to conferences that I have to attend to keep my license active, so I barely even get to enjoy the places I am going.  What little time I have left might be allocated to a few days here and there, but as for a real lengthy vacation, it’s just not feasible.  Even the days when I take a half day off work I feel guilty for not being there.  I feel as I contribute little to housework for the simple fact that I am only home for a few hours outside of sleep, that all I want to do when I get there is nothing, and yet I feel guilty when I’m not at work.  It’s a vicious cycle, and in today’s workaholic society, it’s not something that is likely to change anytime soon.

What is it that makes us feel the need to work so hard?  Money is the easy answer, but as someone who is paid on salary and not an hourly wage, that isn’t the only answer.  What drives people (like me) to be at work for more hours than required, earning no additional pay, and taking as little vacation time as possible?  What is it that makes us go to work sick, exhausted, run down, and burnt out?  As easy as it is to point to a few extra dollars in our pocket, the truth is that most Americans fear losing their jobs if they show any sign of weakness.  From an evolutionary perspective, it makes sense — show no weakness or the pack will eat you alive — but as the article pointed out, working ourselves into the ground is counterproductive.  We have little times left over for our families and households and even less for ourselves.  We are punished if we try to take care of our minds, our bodies, our souls, if it in any way can be viewed as a threat to some corporate bottom line.  I watched a classmate of mine be told that he would have to make up part of a rotation because he took 3 days off for the birth of his first child instead of the allowed 2.  Mothers are expected to pop out their children and return to work as soon as possible, which is just so insane its indescribable to me.

For me, there is a personal sense of responsibility to my clients and patients, that any time I take for myself is taken away from them, giving my boss more of a work load to carry, and ultimately creating a lot of hardship for everyone else.  I can’t take off time that is available to me because of what it will do to everyone else.  Perhaps it’s ironically selfish, to assume that I am so important and necessary that the clinic will collapse without me, that I am the only thread holding everything together.  But given the vast scope of this predominant belief, I have to ask where it came from.  What created this strong sense of guilt for wanting to take care of myself, for wanting to get away from the stresses of work and life for awhile and just enjoy being alive?  I look back on this year, how quickly it has already flown by, and I can’t help but ask, “What have I actually done?”  Is there anything memorable, anything that sticks out in particular?  I look at my oldest dog and cry when I realize that she is 10 years old now and that I have barely even seen her, that this beautiful soul I brought home from the shelter so many years ago has gone through life without me to watch her and love her like I think I should.  And yet nearly half a year has gone by and I can’t help but wonder how much quicker it will go before I simply run out of time to enjoy the little things around me.

I love my job.  I love where I am and I love what I do.  It wasn’t until I got into vet school that I realized how precious time is, how easy it is to watch it fly by as we pour everything we have into a particular task or job.  And now that I’m out of school, I still have yet to feel the pace slow down.  I give everything I can to my job, so much that when I go home I feel that I have so little to give to my husband, my pets, and even less for myself.  By the end of the day, I have nothing left, and yet the beat goes on.  If it weren’t such a staple of our society to act this way, I would think there is something wrong with me.

The day rolls on again.

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Balance

Ever since starting yoga, I can definitely tell my physical balance has improved.  However, it doesn’t stop there.  My mental balance is better.  I feel like I have a better outlook on everything, better able to handle diversions and obstacles, basically anything life throws at me.  I can always tell when I miss a day or two, because the day after a class I can feel my breathing is more regulated, I sit taller, I breathe deeper, and my mind feels more clear.  It’s truly been an incredible experience and I am so glad that I have such a wonderful place to take classes.

I didn’t actually come up with the title of this post to talk about yoga though, and despite my delinquency in typing it up, this has been floating around in the back of my mind for awhile.  Where I work, it truly is a matter of balance.  I feel that my boss and I can balance each other well, from diagnostic techniques and skills to how we manage different situations and clients.  I’ve always said my husband is a good balance for me because I have very little tolerance/patience for bulls***, whereas he can be much more capable of dealing with things.  He’s usually holding me back when I’m ready to tear someone apart.  (The flip side is that when he’s not willing to fight for something worthwhile, I step in and things get done.)  That being said, at work we have a *few* clients that are only here because I’m not in charge.  My boss can handle the difficult clients with much more grace than I would ever be able to.  The key is though I’m usually fine if someone’s attacking me.  I can handle those sorts of things.  When someone starts yelling at one of my techs, that’s when mama bear mode flips on and I’m only prevented from throwing someone out of the office by the fact that I don’t own it.

Even in my business life I can feel a sense of balance.  My jewelry business provides a fantastic balance to the craziness of the medical profession.  At my shows, there is no right/wrong, no one’s life depends on my jewelry choice, and even people who just come to eat snacks and hang out with friends feel the benefits.  Medicine is full of extremes, and having a constant is always nice.  With Premier, it’s not about the income, it’s about the women I get to meet and the fun we get to have.  I never have a bad day when I have a show, and despite my signing up to have a little “fun money,” I can’t see myself ever leaving.  And while the highs of saving someone’s pet or providing them an answer and a treatment for even the most benign of ailments are wonderful feelings, there will always be a need for a lift during the low times.

Life is full of balances.  Have you found yours?

A Breath of Fresh Air

Whew!  After several weeks of routine sameness, finally get some excitement in my days.  This weekend has been busy, and I am ready for a nice break, but lots of interesting things.

I had two jewelry parties last week, and those are always high points for me.  I get to have lots of fun and meet all sorts of new people.  Both parties were a complete blast, and I am now nearly to my monthly goal to be recognized in the Queen’s Court.  So exciting to be taking my business to this level!

Lots of interesting cases as well, especially celebrating the 1-year anniversary of graduating from vet school.  Diagnosed my first case of cytauxzoon in a cat, which unfortunately carries a poor prognosis, but it was definitely an important refresher for cases I will see in the future.  Then, celebrating Mother’s Day with a 5am emergency c-section on a 50 pound dog (proving that going into exclusively small animal practice will not prevent those late night baby pullings).  The good news is that we only lost one pup that had died earlier, the others were alive and healthy so as long as the dog doesn’t develop an infection, it was a whopping success.  The downside was the whole 5am thing, meaning that I spent most of Mother’s Day asleep.  I got to cook a nice dinner for my mom, but that was really about it, and by “cooking” I mean “warming up the ham,” lol!

So after a busy exhausting weekend, today has been absolutely amazing.  I booked yet another jewelry party and I am SO excited to get to hang out with a friend I haven’t seen in awhile.  Plus, my boss offered me a day off to let me recoup from the weekend.  Hubby surprised me for lunch and I found out that I have hit the 30lb mark for my weight loss since January!  Top that off with stocking up on the new BBW fragrance (including a CUTE tote bag I didn’t even know they had) and yoga tonight…..seriously a wonderful day.

Loving life. 

One Year Ago…

It’s hard to believe that nearly a whole year has passed since I graduated from vet school and ventured out into the world.  So much has changed; I went from being a scared new doctor to having some level of confidence.  I’ve learned more than I could ever imagine I would.  At times it seems like school was a lifetime ago, while others it seems like I just stepped out yesterday.  Some memories are still strong, others have begun to fade.  I have come up with many things that I wish people would have told me that I thought I would share in case any new graduate stumbled upon this page and needed some advice.

*Internships aren’t everything.  Finding a good mentor/supervisor is everything.

*Vet school sets up unrealistic expectations.  You want to test your diagnostic superpowers?  Try doing it with $100 to cover the appointment, meds, and any tests you might be able to run afterward.

*There are other ways of doing things, and not all of them are bad/evil/wrong/malpractice.  If the two doctors teaching you surgery can’t agree on the proper way to ligate an ovarian pedicle, then chances are neither will your future employer.

*Specialists are all fine and dandy until it’s 3am and that surgery can’t wait until next Tuesday.

*The “common” diseases you hear about in school really aren’t that common.  Likewise, the ones they breezed over will be the ones you see in your first week.

*The name of the blood vessel you just cut through isn’t as important as knowing what to do next.  Look it up later if you care that much.  It’ll probably change names in a couple of years anyway.

*This video will happen on a regular basis.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xJ0S8UgPQYc

*You can work there for a year and still send clients into a panic when you walk into the room instead of their regular vet.  You will get asked what happened to the other vet.  And you will have clients refuse to see you for no other reason than you aren’t Dr. So-and-So.  The world will not end.  Smile and move on.

*Free advice is expected of veterinarians.  Frequently after hours.  Sometimes multiple calls in one night.

*People in the medical field can sometimes be a pain.  Sometimes they genuinely think they know more than you.  Others just want to be respected for actually knowing more than the average joe.  Treat all these people like the latter.  That way if they ignore your instructions, it’s not because you were a jerk.

*Not all breeders run puppy mills.  And no matter what, breeders are clients and real people with real animals who need real help.  Do not treat them as anything else because of your own personal beliefs.  Same with pet shops.  Unless they are making medical decisions and dispensing stockpiled meds to someone else’s pets, let it go.

*On that same note, you CAN learn things from people outside of the profession.

*No matter how much you think you know when you graduate, you will still get stumped on your first case of ringworm.

I could probably think of many more, but those are the first to come to mind.  Anyway, just some random thoughts as I approach the one-year anniversary of being expected to know everything that was taught.  Keep learning.

With Liberty and Free Jewelry For All!!

So I’ve totally been slacking at the updates.  Sorry about that, but I figure I can only say, “Today was a busy day of vaccinations” so many times before people would quit reading.

Lots of history has been happening the past week, and despite my history minor from college, I just can’t get too excited.  I refused to get up early for the live coverage of the royal wedding because, honestly, I have to work and that’s what YouTube is for.  It was cool watching the carriage processional to Buckingham Palace and recognizing places I’ve been, and of course, the girl in me wanted to see the dress, but that was about it.  Then there was the long-awaited death of Bin Laden, which I might care more about if I thought it actually meant anything.  Fighting a “war” against a nameless, faceless enemy is not going to automatically end because a figurehead is gone.  The only solace is hoping that maybe the families of 9/11 victims might be a little more at peace now.

Enough of that.  May is looking to be a fantastic month for my jewelry business, and I am absolutely THRILLED to be having shows for such amazing ladies!  Looking forward to giving away tons of free jewelry to my wonderful amazing hostesses.  This is definitely the month to find jewelry collections “fit for a queen” and it’s so easy to get everything on your wish list for the cost of tax and shipping only!!  Anyone living in the Tulsa area who would like to get in on this wonderful deal, leave me a comment and I’ll let you know what my available dates are!

There is my one and only nod to history.  Back to present day and off to lunch.

Doing Good With Attitude

Yes, I realize I haven’t updated in a week, so my apologies for those who want more insight into my incredibly boring life right now because this post will have very little to do with me.

Many people out there are aware of a site called Etsy, a place where artists and craftspeople can come and set up online shops to sell their creations.  It is an amazing site and there is no limit to what you can find on there.  This is, of course, where I have my own art shop.  I also have friends with shops here and have met people with amazing creations through here, people that I would love to go out for a coffee with someday if I ever make it up to Oregon.  However, no good deed goes unpunished, and Etsy is becoming overrun with resellers (who buy in bulk and resell for 500x the cost), people who don’t sell “vintage” or even attempt to make it appear older than 20 years, and those who blatantly steal other peoples’ designs and sell them as their own.  Not only is this sad for the people directly involved, it also is a black eye to the entire site that either cannot keep up or simply chooses not to.  This is where Regretsy.com comes in, a website created to call out resellers, art thieves, and people who just generally make “more interesting” creations than others.  The great thing about this website is, aside from being downright hilarious, it opens up a whole other world of art, because as always, one person’s junk is another person’s masterpiece.  Trust me, I have found my next purchase after the shock of taxes wears off.

The other amazing thing about this site is the amount of charity work that is done.  Each month, a different charity or Etsy seller in need is featured and funds are raised to help them out.  It truly is incredible seeing people coming together to create for good, and I can’t wait until I can contribute something to the shop.  In the meantime, I have to settle for buying things I can’t afford.

The website is here:  http://www.etsy.com/shop/AprilsArmy and I encourage everyone to check it out.  If you can afford it, make a purchase.  All the money from this shop will go to help an Etsy seller who has a loved one fighting pancreatic cancer.  This is an awesome opportunity to help someone out as well as support handmade and artisans.  And while you’re at it, check out regretsy.com to get backstories on some of the items you see.  (If it doesn’t make sense, it’s in a Regretsy archive, I promise you.)

I will update on my own life later, but for now, go enjoy some fun, hilarious, and crazy items made by people who enjoy doing good with a little bit of snarkiness thrown in.  Because seriously, what part of life isn’t made better with cats, snark, and vodka?

Long Night

Hubby and I are currently living in a farmhouse that used to belong to a professional astronomer, which may not mean much to most but to us, it means we have a giant telescope in our backyard.  And I do mean giant.  It has it’s own building that can be opened up for night sky viewings.  After two years, we finally learned how to use the bloody thing, and let me say, it’s pretty darn awesome.  The building, on the other hand, is a bit difficult to manipulate.  Getting it open isn’t too bad, but trying to put it back together can be tricky.  And by “tricky,” of course I mean “damn near impossible.”

Last night, hubby decides that it would be a perfect night to go look at the moon through the telescope, since it was full enough to see some pretty awesome detail but not too full to blind you looking at it.  Never mind that I’m on call and he has a biology test, it’s a good night for moon viewing.  Plus, we start at about 7:00pm, so in theory, we were planning on being in bed around 10pm after getting a good look at Saturn.  Obviously, my use of the word “theory” should tell you that something didn’t quite go as planned.

Backing up a bit, I will try to explain how the building comes apart.  See, the roof and 4 corner beams are on tracks and can be pulled out away from the walls to open up the ceiling, creating the appearance of 4 walls next to a giant carport.  There are 4 wheels, each on the corner of the beams, and then one on the top of the roof for a track going down the middle.  Then, the top half of the walls are on hinges and can be folded down, allowing a relatively unobstructed view of the sky.  So to recap, giant carport on wheels next to 4 folding walls.  If you are able to picture this, good on ya.  I’m also sure you can imagine how this can all go horribly wrong.

The first thing we notice is that we can push the carport back about 2 feet before hitting what feels like a giant rock on the left side.  We discover the problem — one of the metal support brackets is too tall to allow the wheel track to pass over.  This happens several times, all in the same spot.  Thinking, “this isn’t right, we got it open and never had this problem,” further investigation reveals that the top wheel in the center of the roof has come off the track.  (By track, I mean “single beam.”)  At this point, we are trying to figure out how to get a 10ft (or higher) roof wheel back on the beam.  We realize that the only way to make that happen is to somehow figure out how to raise the roof up enough to replace the wheel.  This is where tire jack #1 comes in handy.  We manage to use a jack to get the roof up enough to push the wheel back on the track.  (We wind up having to do this twice, but I’ll spare the details.)

Once we get the top wheel aligned, the next step is to try to raise the left corner wheel up enough to get it over the bracket.  Tire jack #1 is used again, and we get the frame over the support beam, but in doing so, the bottom left wheel leaves its track.  It’s now about 11:15pm and we have made a solid 6 inches of progress.  Hubby runs to get tire jack #2 and tries to figure out a way to lift up the wheel to get it back on track.  Placing the jack was difficult due to all the metal framework, but eventually we get it set and lift the wheel up enough to put the frame back on the track.  Celebrating our victory, we continue pushing the roof frame back onto the 4 walls — and get about another 1.5ft before hitting obstacle #5,792.

Great.  At least this one is on the top, so no tire jacks should be required.  After removing a piece of weather stripping, hubby realizes that the problem is one piece of metal is literally splitting another in half.  The part that is split has also buckled into the track, making it impossible for the wheel to pass through.  Now hubby is ready to just leave one wall panel down, which would be perfectly fine except for the storms we are supposed to be getting soon.  And given the cost of the telescope (unknown, but probably more than my salary) and our inability to simply move it inside for the time being (ground bolts and all), I refuse.  So now we are using any possible long straight tools we have to try and straighten out that buckle.  The little tool used to remove the bolts from car tires came in handy for this part.  So finally after much straining and cursing, we get it flat enough to push the wheel over.  And make it about another 3 feet before hitting yet ANOTHER problem.  This was a minor snag on the right side and was fixed in no time.

We finally, around midnight, get the building closed up, hitting two more snags on the left side thanks to the fact that the top track has a bent corner and is snagging on everything, and just as we are ready to fold the final walls up, we find we are about an inch too short.  The roof won’t move, and after inspection, find that the chain that holds the base to the cement slab has gotten caught in the track.  This is like getting your zipper stuck on your shirt, except with metal.  More banging and swearing, we get the chain loose, close everything up, lock the building, and crawl into bed around 12:45-1:00am.

At 1:15am, the first of 3 early morning emergency calls comes.

And that?  Is why I ate 3 donuts for breakfast.

The upside to this whole fiasco?  The two photos below, taken with my iPhone through the telescope.

 

Some things are just worth the hassle.