The Talk.

My Assistant Boss Karen has a very hard time staying put.

Her official Assigned place is the office which I share with her. To be more specific, her place is the chair in my office which I (sometimes) share with her. (Sometimes I sit on the desk because I can snoopervise her better from there. Also, I can ask for treats and drink from my Very Own water cup.) (Oh, and sometimes I sit in another chair and nap.) (And sometimes I get locked out of MY office because there's some laptop cord I'm not supposed to nibble on lying around--but that's a story for another day.)

So the problem here is that I can't properly manage her from anywhere, because all of this running around cuts into my Naptime. If she would just stay put, I could snooze peacefully somewhere in my Office and know that she's getting things done. I don't have time to follow her all over the place, and there are certain places that I will NOT follow her (like Outside).

So I decided that I need to have a Talk with her about her overly-active lifestyle. So that she would take me Seriously, I asked AABs Becki and Bonnie to join us. (I'm not afraid to use a little Intimidation--sometimes it's necessary with this one.)


See how we all tell AB Karen to Stay Put?!? This Bossing is serious business, my friends.

Unfortunately, I must report that this Talk had absolutely zero effect on AB Karen, and she continues to zoom all over the place during the day.

But she does generally carry a bag of treats with her when she's moving around, so that's something.

Bossing is Tough Stuff,

Tober

One Hard-Working Cat

Let me tell you, I am one hard-working Library Boss.

In the picture below I am Multi-tasking. This is when you do several things at one time.


Task 1: I am appearing to be disinterested in having my photo taken because photos are more fun that way.

Task 2: I am looking at Linda and Bonnie to see if they are admiring me.

Task 3: I am listening intently to Cathie as she exclaims how sweet and handsome I am.

Task 4: I am standing near the Valentine I made, so people will be reminded that I am a very thoughtful cat (who likes treats).

Task 5: I am holding down the magazines that Cathie would like to catalog, because when she is cataloging magazines she is not petting me.

Task 6: I am, as always, listening for any of the smallish, noisy humans that invade the library on especially hot days.

That is 6 tasks at one time! I think my Multi-tasking ability is why I am the Boss here; I have seen my staff trying to Multi-task and they just seem to get all confused and run around in circles. I have Multi-tasked 6 things, and only slightly turned my head and swished my tail the whole time.

I think I will train my Staff about Multi-tasking later this week. They could learn many things from Us Cats.

I can even Blog and Nap at the same time!

Tober

Oh what a week!

I am very, very Sorry that I haven't had time to post in the last week. It has been very busy at the Library, and the Staff has worked hard to prepare for the new Library system. They all did Training so that they can be Very Good Library Staff when we open at 2:00 on Monday.

They have asked me to relay a message to our Wonderful Customers: "Thank you for being very patient with us and for making the effort to return most of your items by this week-end. This will make the transition easier for all of us, and we can't wait to see you again when we have our new Evergreen system up and running!" Or something like that.

Monday they had a Staff Meeting which I attended. I have learned that I should be present for Staff Meetings, because when I roll over in the center of the table, anyone within reach is unable to resist my remarkably soft belly-fur.

They worked hard with this Evergreen thing. . . so hard, that at first I thought the attentions to ME were going to decline. This was not the case. I got Catnip every day. I usually don't get Catnip every day, but I think they felt Guilty because they were focused on Other Things.

Here I am loving my Catnip:


I am also learning that the library has many wonderful Sleeping Places. It has been warm here, and there are lots of things to watch out the windows as Spring comes. (I guess Hoodie-Hoo Day works, so I must be on the lookout for other Human Super-Powers.) I find that it is very Peaceful to take afternoon naps in the Adult Stacks.

Here I am hanging out in a Favorite chair by a Favorite window:


Can you see me?

On Friday I found something to Hunt in the Technology/Genealogy/Head Librarian/Cataloging Office (this office has a LOT of Staff in it). It was on Linda's desk, and I tried to rearrange things to get to it. It was very Exciting, although I never caught the thing:


Notice how very Serious my Assistant Boss Karen is in this photo. She and Cathie, Linda, and Christine were all very dedicated to the Hunt of the thing. My Staff makes an excellent Team when called into action. If the thing is still in the Library next week, we will undoubtably find it and give it a stern talking to. If I don't eat it first.

The highlight of the week was on Saturday when I was visited by a Celebrity. Big Red, a renowned Beanie Baby Bear, was driven to the Library by his Personal Assistant Judy Cox. Big Red is a World Traveler, and I was Most Excited to meet him. He is small in size but very big in Personality and Charm (kind of like me!). We had a photo session--with TWO photographers--which in my opinion is Very Big Doings.

Here I am posing with Big Red on my desk:


I even signed Big Red's autograph book and gave him the link to this blog in case he wants to keep in touch. I think I should have an autograph book, too, so I can keep track of all of the Very Important People I meet!

As you can see, it was a very fun-filled week!

Have a nice Sunday!

Tober

An apple a day. . .

I have recovered from Monday. Assistant Boss Karen did make an attempt to put a Collar on my neck on Tuesday morning, but I quickly let her know that it was a Bad Idea. Several treats later, I decided that she was forgiven, and we are all getting along just fine now. The Collar stays out of my sight, in a drawer--where it belongs.

The training of the Library Staff is coming along quite well. I've learned that I can entertain myself for hours watching them pick Apples up off of the floor. Actually, they are SO well-trained that I only need one Apple for almost an entire day of amusement.

I discovered this talent yesterday, when Karen fetched an apple from lunch and brought it to my desk. She placed it on the edge of the desk, and I carefully picked it up in my teeth and dropped it on the floor for her. She got all excited and picked it up. She seemed to enjoy the activity the first time, so I did it again.

Let me tell you--once these Humans get excited about something, they like to do it over and over and over again! Karen even set up an empty basket to catch the Apple, I think because she was tired of looking for it underneath things. After a while, I tired her out, and she washed and ate the Apple to give her energy.

Today she brought another Apple upstairs to play with. This one was very small, but it had a nice big stem for grabbing and dropping.

Here I am with Karen and her little Apple:


Karen wanted to photograph my Very Good Job of picking the Apple up and dropping it. Here is an Action Shot. Notice the little shadow under the Apple:


Here I am licking the Apple:


Here I am putting my teeth into it. It feels nice, like a Cord:


Here I am picking up the Apple by its nice sturdy stem:


Here I am about to drop the Apple. Notice also my technique of sitting on Karen's papers throughout this Training Session. This prevents Karen from becoming distracted by Other Unimportant Things.


Here is how it Ends:


I must say that I am Very Satisfied with the progress of the Staff in this latest Training. Several of them have visited to participate, and many have become proficient Fetchers. If they take too long to retrieve the Apple, I yell at them, and they quickly comply with my Wishes.

I used this Apple for several Training Sessions, and it was quite battered by the end of the day.

The Library Staff is doing so well that customers are taking note. Pastor Jim Allen watched me train Karen for a while, even though he is Allergic to cats. He seemed impressed by Karen's progress, as well as my excellent Apple-dropping skills. I hope they find a Cure for his Feline Allergy so he can visit me more.

Lovin' the Library Life,

Tober