Thursday, July 17, 2014

Wednesday, July 16, 2014: A Day of Disruptions

Although we ended last night on not quite the best terms, during the night Tommy moved closer to her usual spot on the bed and by morning everything seemed better.  She still was a bit skittish and opened her mouth to bite, but she wasn't following through on the action, so I think we’re getting better.
I knew that today was going to be hard because the building is testing the alarm system and will be setting off the fire alarm on every floor and then verifying in each unit that the speaker system is working. What I didn't realize was that today the balcony inspection and repair would also be making a stop on our balcony.
As the platform carrying the crew moves passed our floor Tommy is always curious about them and watches the platform even as it moves to the floors above.  Today, the platform stopped at our balcony and Tommy went into “guard mode” growling from the safe confines of under the dining room table far across the living/dining room area. They decided to move up. (I’m sure the actions of guard kitty told them to move on!)
Later they stopped again and as they got out the vacuum hose and other equipment, Tommy decided to hightail it into the bedroom where the blinds were still drawn.  I closed the balcony door and we hunkered down in the bedroom until work was finished and the platform had left our balcony. When I finally persuaded Tommy that the coast was clear, she came back out although she continued to walk warily around the condo.
We survived the fire alarm system check.  When the alarm started on our floor, Tommy was sitting on the sofa. Within a few seconds there was a knock on the door and Tommy, I guess, decided to either see who it was or follow the directions and “head for the nearest exit.” I had to corral her and put her in the bedroom while I headed to the door so maintenance could verify that the speaker and alarm did work in my unit.
After my unit was checked the other eleven units on the floor also needed to be checked, so the alarm continued which bothered Tommy (and me). I decided that we should just stay in the bedroom until the alarm stopped. After a few minutes it ended and we went back to having a “normal” day.
The remainder of the afternoon was uneventful, but I did want Tommy to get used to my comings and goings. I left to take a much needed walk. I was gone for about 1 ¼ hours and walked almost five miles.  It felt good to get out and walk in the beautiful summer weather.
When I returned Tommy reminded me about leaving her and that she deserved a treat.  She sat on the bed near the drawer that has the bag of treats in it. It seems that she’s realizing that sometimes I need a reminder. The rest of the night we just hung out.  During part of the evening everything seemed to go well until Tommy suddenly became very skittish and appeared to be upset. I have no idea what set her off, but she stayed under the bed for quite a while. Later she came up on the bed and we settled in for the night.

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