Houston, we have a problem

A barking problem.

As I feared predicted, Pinch is not taking my return to work very well. Last week I worked Tuesday to Saturday at TCS, and Pinch barked every single day, all day. By Friday, Max was sending me frantic text messages to the effect of "I can hear your dog barking across the parking lot IN MY OFFICE!"

(Of course when the dog is being a pain in the ass, he's MY dog, and when he's being good, he's OUR dog.)

The neighbours (and Max's colleagues) have started making remarks to him about the dog and Max has started getting increasingly stressed out. By Friday night, he had called a comportementaliste for dogs (think, French Dog Whisperer) and set up an appointment for next Monday evening. It's something we should have done a long time ago, but always put off, finding temporary solutions to Pinch's separation anxiety elsewhere. But now, with my return to work, we can't figure out a way to make him calm the eff down and stop barking, so it's time to bring in an expert. (And good lord it's so much cheaper here than the ones we had researched while in Paris!)

When we lived in Paris, Max worked nights and I worked days so the dog was rarely left alone for more than a few hours. Since I started work last week, Pinch is alone all morning and all afternoon. If the building we lived in wasn't so ghetto (and lacking any kind of sound proofing), it probably would have been ok, but considering we can hear the neighbours below us sneeze, I can only imagine how bad Pinch's barking must be for everyone. I'm not expecting a miracle from this dog behaviour guy, but I'm hoping that he might give us some tips on how to help Pinch's separation anxiety (one of his many, many issues), and, at the very least, show the neighbours we are taking this problem seriously. I've seen enough Dog Whisperer episodes to know that I am clearly the problem (although Pinch getting savagely attacked 3 years ago didn't help either...), but I'm at a loss as to what to do. Now that the neighbours are getting ticked off, we can't not do everything possible to make the situation better. Stay tuned to find out how our first consultation with a French dog whisperer goes!

I just finished my second day at the museum and I love it there! The team is great, the castle which houses the museum is just gorgeous, and the 100 acre park surround the museum is so beautiful and relaxing. My hours are good; I can be there in 15 minutes by car (no traffic and no highway driving!), and a big part of my job will consist of sitting in various exhibition rooms reading. Well, I'm supposed to be there watching to make sure that the visitors don't touch the paintings or break anything, but in the winter, visitors are few and far between so we are allowed to read to pass the time.

The atmosphere in the castle is very serene and I'm still in awe of how impressive the building itself is. The staff has access to all the hidden rooms that the public doesn't see, and today as I was cleaning the glass display cases, it was so calm and quiet you could have heard a pin drop. I have time to think, time to sit, time to appreciate the art lining the walls of the museum, and time to chat with my colleagues and integrate into the team. I start at 9:15, have a 45 minute lunch break (no exceptions - these are fonctionnaires, they take their full 45 minutes and at least 3 coffee/cigarette breaks per day), and finish at 5pm. By 5:01 yesterday I was in my car (we had our coats on at 4:55), and by 5:17 I was home. I'm not sure I'll find anything better! And, while nothing is official, I think this job might turn into something more permanent later, so I've made the decision to stop at TCS.

I have nothing negative to say about TCS really, other than I just think it's not for me. It's a long day (the commute to and from Grenoble doesn't help either), on my feet, and I'm not sure I see a future for myself there. I worked a full week there last week, so I know what I would be getting myself into if I stayed, and I prefer to be honest with myself and with the owner and get out before either of us wastes our time. I appreciate her interest in me, and her patience until now, but I think I'll be happier at the museum, for many reasons. I haven't spoken to TCS owner yet, but I'll see her on Thursday and let her know my feelings. Right now, it's better that I get this tourism experience at the museum and be more available to work with Pinch at home. My unemployment will round out my end of month pay with the museum, so I'm not losing anything by stopping at TCS. It won't be easy to look the owner in the eye and tell her I don't want to sign a contract, but I know it's the right thing to do - for me (physically and mentally), for my marriage (I saw Max a whole 5 minutes last week), for my pets (my barking dog is on his way to getting us evicted).

I feel good about my decision and I feel good about working at the museum. With a bit of luck, I'll be signing a more permanent contract in March and staying on all summer, if not longer. I'll be home to make dinner every night and until March, I'll only be working part-time which will help the transition with Pinch. I know a lot of you must think I'm crazy for taking this whole "barking dog" situation so seriously, but until you have experienced it, you can't really understand how much it can stress you out. It's so important that we maintain good relationships with our neighbours, and after last week, I'm worried everyone will start to shun Max because of my our dog. I'm in a position where I can work part-time and I've found the (seemingly) perfect part-time job, so I think I'm going to run with it. Right now, I've really got nothing to lose.

Where I work - the entrance to the museum is the little door to the far right of the castle :)