The Negotiator

I saw this on MSNBC the other day and it made me sad. Katrina Pets. Doctor Zombie may be an evil, sociopathic bastard, but god how I love dogs. The article made my heart hurt. I’ve since been driving Mrs. Zombie crazy with talk of adopting another dog. (There are a couple shelters here in Northeastern Ohio that have Katrina rescues. Her response was “No more dogs, no more kid, and certainly no more husbands.” Unfortunately for her, and our domestic tranquility, I’ll probably push the point and push the point, and then just come home with a dog. You see we've already got two dogs - Charlie, a fat assed, lazy beagle; and Nicky, a cranky, yappy Rat Terrier we rescued. Both dogs are a handful. Add to that mix two kids (three if you count me, the Doctor, as Mrs. Zombie is wont to say), and a smallish century home - and Mrs. Zombie is already at her wits end.

The thing is, those poor puppies are sad. That should count for something, right? So, I continue to push my luck...

The problem is, I’ve been pushing my luck a little too much lately with the missus. You see, I recently paid off my Kawasaki Vulcan 500. The Vulcan was a compromise purchase that was cheap. I wanted a motorcycle, and I bugged Mrs. Zombie to the point of giving in, provided it was cheap. So I went out and bought the first, cheap cruiser I could find. Sadly, I should have held out and bought what I wanted – a Harley. So, now that the Vulcan’s paid off, I’ve actively begun the campaign. I’ve even found two Harleys at my local HD shop – a 2004 Sportster Custom 1200, and a 1998 FXD that are within what I consider a reasonable price range. The FXD is what I would prefer as it has the 1450 Twin Cam 88 V-Twin in it and is not a ‘starter’ Harley. It has a gorgeous Harley Paint Shop Custom color (Real Teal) and is chromed out with some great Screaming Eagle accessories. The Sporty is nice also, and is customized as well with a gorgeous black and gold paints scheme and lots of chrome. They’re about the same price. The Good Doctor gets goose bumps thinking about rolling down the road with the rumble of a Harley beneath him. The ONLY thing I don’t like about either ride is that they are not black. The teal is not as masculine or spooky a color as I’d like, and as befits one of my brooding and gloomy temperament. The Sporty’s closer, but still not quite dark enough. Of course, If I buy this Harley, I’ll no doubt have it for years to come and will invariably repaint it later. So it’s a good trade-off.

Anyway, I’ve begun actively campaigning to trade the Vulcan in on a Harley, and the little missus has actively begun beating me. The funny part is that both of my kids have begun giving her a hard time, saying Daddy Zombie should get a Harley. I swear, upon their lives, I did not put them up to this… not that Mrs. Zombie believes that for a minute. For my part, I’ll keep pushing it, but I’m not sure if she’ll give in this time. I may have a better chance with the Katrina rescued dog… I’ll keep you posted.

On other fronts, I’ve applied for a new job here where I work. As I’ve mentioned, I’m a corporate trainer for a Fortune 50 company. Whereas I love training, my goal is to become an Instructional Designer. (Lots more money and a job where I’m actively writing, how could I go wrong?) In the last 2 weeks I’ve done 1 phone screen, 4 face to face interviews, and a final phone screen today with a manager from our Austin office. I’m holding my breath that I get this job. This is what I really want to do. I should know within a week whether I get it or not. I hope so because I would hate to think that I got all the way through the process and then didn’t make it because of some stupid reason. I’ll be calling on the Dark Pagan Gods and various other unnatural and unholy magics to influence the hiring manager, so keep me in your dark prayers, dear readers…

Besides, if I get the job, maybe Mrs. Zombie will let me get the Harley…

Later (8:22pm)
I saw this article and can only say… “NOOOOOOO!” I love Vanilla Coke and this just plain sucks. Thank god they still have Cherry Coke. (Or, Virgin Coke as my friends and I have called it since high school…) Now I'm stuck with the sickeningly sweet Vanilla Pepsi. Doctor Zombie is not happy. I expect I will be tracking down some Coke executives and turning them into mindless zombie minions.