Work? You Call This Work?

I’ve been feeling a little guilty about how wonderful my work situation is these days. Just yesterday, I found myself sitting outside in the sun reading about sex all day . . . and getting PAID for it. That’s right, paid for it. Now, before you start to wonder if I’m employed by someone who puts those sketchy ads in newspapers (And who could blame you? I DO live pretty close to “The Valley,” the U.S. epicenter of porn production), let me tell you – I’m doing a developmental edit of a Human Sexuality textbook. All on the up-and-up. [Insert your own corny phallic joke here.] The authors are neat people too. Case in point, this passage from a “Menstrual Health Care” box regarding tips to alleviate cramps in the “Female Sexual Anatomy, Physiology, and Response” chapter – “2. Apply Heat. A Heating pad or hot-water bottle (or, in a pinch, a cat) applied to the abdominal area may help relieve cramps; a warm bath may also help.” I just love that parenthetical. I guess I can now add one more entry to my list of Zoe’s redeeming qualities (Zoe is my cat, for those who may not know).

Workin in the Kitty Kommode

I didn’t bargain for how annoying it would be to have the cat’s litter box in my home office. Don’t get me wrong, I did think it would be annoying. (Trust me, if there were any other logical place to put it in the house, it would already be there.) It’s just . . .

Maybe it’s my imagination (or, more likely, my Murphy’s luck), but I swear she waits until I’m elbow deep and really getting into my work to be particularly ‘productive’ herself. Of course the EPA has not officially measured it, but I’m fairly sure the ensuing air quality is unreasonably hazardous to my health. They don’t have “toxic pet excrement” on their list of IQA offenders, but I’m sure it’s just because they’ve yet to meet Zoe. (IQA stands for Indoor Air Quality. You see, in California, we worry not just about our outdoor air quality [smog, wild fire smoke, Hummer exhaust, what have you] but our indoor air quality as well.)

So, yes, if you’re looking for a consumer report on the latest candle and plug-in scents, I’m your woman. I may even merit connoisseur status. (Glade apple cinnamon is refreshingly realistic, by the way.) Now if only this invention really existed (for pets):

Postscript
For those of you who get cheesed off by people who name their stores and products with twee misspellings like Kathy’s Korner, . . . :) Now you have an inkling of my annoyance with the aforementioned daily olfactory violations. Yes, I’m asking you to share my pain, out of friendship. (What? You didn’t think I would allow you to be the only one in this experience enjoying a little Schadenfreude, did you?) ;)