Oogy: The Yin/Yang of Humanity

This is Oogy. He was featured on the Oprah Winfrey Valentine's Day Special show (2008). His face and story are unforgettable.

Oogy's life began in hell. As a puppy he was tied to a stake and used as bait for pit bulls in a dogfighting ring. Afterwards, he was thrown into a cage to die. Fate was kind to Oogy that day as a police raid occurred on the facility and Oogy was rescued. The scars of his ordeal are permanent. Not only was his jaw crushed, but his skull was damaged and his face and ear were ripped off.

Oogy received extensive treatment and survived his trauma. One day, a family visited their local veterinarian and saw Oogy at the facility. It was love at first site. The family took Oogy into their lives and special bond was formed as the family's twin sons were themselves adopted, just as they adopted Oogy. The family stood by Oogy and got him additional treatment to reconstruct his face and decrease his chronic pain. The family that took Oogy are impressive as they have worked hard to ensure Oogy has a comfortable life. To this day Oogy still cannot be crated due to his trauma. As a result, the family does not crate Oogy and, when they travel, it is by car.

If only we could do more to help other animals out there. If only we could stop the brutality placed on so many dogs and cats out in our society. It is horrible to think how so many people consider pets to be as disposable as disposable cameras and batteries. Families will move and leave their pets behind, or grow tired of the work that goes into caring for a pet. As animals get older, they are seen as less cute and more annoying as their health concerns increase due to the normal process of aging. Guess what . . . This happens to adults as well and we do not like it when our relatives consider dropping us off at a nursing home rather than care for us.

I would love for people to love their animals as they love themselves, but we are in an egocentric, narcissistic society that promotes caring for oneself. The irony to me is that I hear Americans make jokes about Asians eating dog meat . . . At least many eastern cultures make use of those things Westerners discard and take for granted. One way or another, animals are cared for and not left to wander the streets in fear of being run over by large vehicles.

What it must be like to view the world from the eyes of a cat or a dog. Everything so massive, loud, and frightening. Most of us do not consider this as we are the highest thing on the food chain. What do we have to fear? Perhaps it is without this fear that we have forgotten how to be compassionate--truly compassionate. Oogy's story reminds me that there are caring people in the world, but saddens me that there are not enough kind acts.

What a day

Well, it has been an intersting day full of all sorts of news and emotions -- all of which I do not think I can fully appreciate at this time. One the one hand, I received another internship interview offer which puts me at 4 sites! Woohoo! Then my mother calls and tells me my father has been admitted to the hospital as they think he has had another stroke. I just don't know what to think or feel right now other than a bittersweet lull. Oh, and my lymph nodes on my neck are swollen.

Top 10: Clues that you are probably a Psychologist

• 10. You were trained as a scientist, and your profession's journals reject 80% of submitted manuscripts.
• 9. You don't dare move out of state for fear that you might not be able to get licensed in the other state.
• 8. You have just spent $450 on a professional workshop, plus another $650 on travel and hotel expenses to find out what you had hoped you would learn is unethical to do without a two year post-doctoral program.
• 7. You have a doctoral degree but make less than occupational therapists and physical therapists with a bachelors degree. Your professional association encourages you to provide free services.
• 6. Even though you have just completed 6 years of post graduate training, and have a doctoral degree, you still need two years of supervision to be allowed to take a licensing examination.
• 5. Your main competitors for jobs have masters and bachelors degrees.
• 4. Your colleagues who were appalled at the use of medications to treat behavioral disorders ten years ago ard now active advocates of prescription privileges.
• 3. You are in a doctoral training program that requires an internship and there aren't any.
• 2. The professors who taught the core content of the background and discipline of your profession publically express serious doubt about whether your applied activities have any validity or merit.
• 1. Your colleagues have vigorously and publically debated whether schizophrenia really exists for the past 50 years, and your are genuinely perplexed as to why the Alliance for the Mentally Ill is not impressed with psychologists.

What "PhD" Really Stands for...

* Patiently hoping for a Degree
* Piled higher and Deeper
* Professorship? hah! Dream on!
* Please hire. Desperate.
* Physiologically Deficient
* Pour him (or her) a Drink
* Philosophically Disturbed
* Probably headed for Divorce
* Pathetically hopeless Dweeb
* Probably heavily in Debt
* Parents have Doubts
* Professors had Doubts
* Pheromone Deprived
* Probably hard to Describe
* Patiently headed Downhill...
* Permanent head Damage
* Pulsating heaving Disaster?
* Pretty homely Dork
* Potential heavy Drinker
* Professional hamburger Dispenser
* Post hole Digger
* Professional hair Dresser
* Progressive heart Doctor
* Professional humidity Detector
* Piano hauling Done
* Pro at hurling Darts
* Professional hugger of Dames
* Private house Detective
* Pizza hut Driver
* Pretty heavily Depressed
* Prozac handouts Desired
* Pretty heavy Diploma
* Pathetic homeless Dreamer
* Please hold Dangerous
* Permanently held Dear
* Proudly half Dead
* Promised hell Down-the-road
* Precisely helping Deadheads
* Processed here, Dammit
* Probably heavenly Death

Oh the joys of what I have to look forward to!  As a faculty member told me a few
weeks ago after passing my dissertation proposal, "Good for you, now you are one
step closer to unemployment!"  I love this job.

Why God Never Received Tenure

-- Author unknown

1. He only had one major publication.
   
2. It was in Hebrew.
3. It had no references.
4. It wasn't published in a refereed journal.
5. Some even doubt he wrote it himself.
6. It may be true that he created the world, but what has he done since then?
7. His cooperative efforts have been quite limited.
8. The scientific community has had a hard time replicating the results.
9. He never applied to the ethics board for permission to use human subjects.
10. When one experiment went awry, he tried to cover it by drowning the subjects.
11. When subjects didn't behave as predicted, he deleted them from the sample.
12. He rarely came to class and just told his students to read the book.
13. Some say he has his son teach the class.
14. He expelled his first two students for learning.
15. Although there were only 10 requirements, most of the students failed his tests.
16. His office hours were infrequent and usually held on a mountaintop.

Thank goodness for the important things . . .

Finally, a little down time to at least breath and catch up on household chores, emails, and sleep. I cannot believe that it is nearing the semester's end - time passes quickly when you are inundated! Thank goodness that I was able to get everything done from my to-do-list: dissertation proposal successfully passed, internship applications all out on time, assessment reports getting done, and maintaining teaching assignments. And to think a classmate told me to give up and wait until next year to apply to internship because she felt I could not get things done - she said it was impossible. *Phooey*

If it were only that easy . . .

*tick tock* Time is running out on me as the dissertation proposal is around the corner (11/13/2006 at 11.30am) and internship applications are due as well. It's times like these that I question why I quit my job to go back to school. While I keep trying to remind myself of the joy I have working with individuals and their families, I cannot help but feel the weight of the fatigue, sorrow, and loneliness at times. Hmmmm . . . It's 12.15am, another day.

Graduate School Barbie

Graduate School Barbie comes in two styles!
Delusional Master's Barbie (tm) and Ph.D. Masochist Barbie (tm).

Graduate School Barbie comes with these fun-filled features guaranteed to delight and entertain for hours:

• Grad School Barbie comes out of the box with a big grin on her face that turns into a frown after 2 weeks or her first advisor meeting (whichever comes first).
• Adorable black circles under her delightfully bloodshot eyes!
• Two outfits: a grubby pair of blue jeans with 5-year-old gap T-shirt, and a floppy pair of gray sweatpants with a matching "Go Screw Yourself" T-shirt!
• Grad School Barbie talks! Just press the button on her left hand and hear her say such upbeat grad school phrases as, "Yes, Professor, It'll be done by tomorrow" "I'd love to write it all over again" "Why didn't I just get a job, I could have been making $40,000 a year by now if I had just started working with a Bachelor's degree. But noooooo, Mom and Dad wanted a masters degree" and "I wish somebody would drop a bomb on the school so that I'd have an excuse to stop working on this degree that's sucking every last drop of life force out of my withered and degraded excuse for a soul..." (9 V lithium batteries sold separately)
• Grad School Barbie is anatomically correct! Experience the exciting changes that come with pursuing a higher education! Removable panels on Barbie's head and torso allow you to watch as her cerebellum fries to a crispy brown, her heart race at 150 beats per minute, and her stomach lining gradually dissolve into nothing!

Deluxe Grad School Barbie comes with specially designed eye ducts. Just add water and watch Grad School Barbie burst into tears! Fun for the whole family!

Other accessories include:

• Fun Fridge (tm): Stocked with microwave popcorn, Coca-Cola, Healthy Choice Bologna (99% fat free!), & small bottles of Mattel Brand Rum (tm).
• Medicine Cabinet: Comes in Fabulous Pink and contains Barbie sized bottles of Advil, St. Johns Wort, Zantac, and your choice of 3 fun anti-anxiety meds! (Barbie Medicine Cabinet not available without a prescription).
• Computer Workstation: Comes with miniature obsolete PC (pink of course), rickety desk, and over a dozen miniature Mountain Dew cans to decorate your workstation (Mountain Dew deposit not included in price, tech support sold separately. Miniature cigarette butts and Oreo packages also available)

Grad School Barbie is not alone! Order now get two of Barbie's great friends!

GRADUATE ADVISOR KEN: Barbie's mentor and advisor in her quest for increased education and decreased self esteem.

Grad Advisor Ken (tm) comes with a supply of red pens and a permanent frown. Press the button to hear Grad Advisor Ken deliver such wisdom as:

• "I need an update on your progress"
• "I don't think you'll be ready to graduate this spring"
• "This is no where near ready for publication"
  

REAL JOB SKIPPER: When Barbie needs to talk, she knows that she can always count on her good friend Real Job Skipper (tm), who got a job after getting her bachelor's degree. Press the button to hear Real Job Skipper say: "Sometimes I wish I went for my masters degree" and "Work is so hard! I had to work a half an hour of overtime!" Real Job Skipper's Work Wardrobe, Savings Account, and New Car sold separately. (WARNING: Do not place Grad Student Barbie and Real Job Skipper too close to each other, as there have been several mysterious cases of children leaving the room and coming back to find Barbie's hands mysteriously fused to Skipper's throat.)

Mutts Comic Goes Postal . . .

HSUS's Gallery at Zazzle

There are new postage stamps out that feature the Mutts characters! They are too cute! Moreover, your purchase will benefit The Humane Society of the United States, and gives a gentle reminder about the importance of (1) adopting pets and (2) spaying/neutering. Click the link above to see all of the 10 different styles of Mutts stamps.