Intruder alert!

A strange red dot has sneaked into my room. I can't kill it. I've stalked it stealthily, and pounced on it, but when I open my paws, nothing is there.

My coworkers keep saying "Good job, Tober, you got it!" Are they nuts? It keeps coming back! It's the same dot; it smells the same, it looks the same, and it's just as quiet and sneaky every time. I'm a little creeped out, and yet utterly fascinated, with this strange red dot.

See? In the picture at the right, here, I HAD the dot. There is NO WAY I could have lost the dot by clumsiness. I don't have toenails, but I have very strong and muscular paws, and I had that dot firmly in my grip.

I will catch that dot one of these days. I will corner it, and pick it up in my teeth, and carry it proudly to one of my nice officemates to present as a gift. Maybe I can get it before Christmas!

There is dot-hunting to be done.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Tober

Why you should love cats

I've heard through the grapevine that there are people that prefer dogs over cats. I can't understand it. We cats are lovable, beautiful, friendly, silky soft, and we show affection with a gentle purr. . . rather than noisy, annoying barking and destructive tail-wagging. We exhibit self-control and polite manners, and we're usually quiet until provoked into an argument (or until we get hungry).

As I look around my quiet new home, I'm wondering, are there any library dogs out there? Probably not. A dog couldn't be trusted to guard his workplace with dedication and alertness. A library dog would be sleeping right now, I betcha. A library dog would exuberantly greet the smallest customers (they're so cute, and they wave at me!) by jumping up and knocking them down. A library dog would potty in the floor and look sheepish in the morning!

Not me. No, a highly-trained, responsible library cat (like me) would never do such things!

Okay, enough about dogs. Some people like them, I suppose, and I hear that the baby ones are cute (until they grow into huge, drooling, snarling monsters).

Still, I will end by saying this: Cats--particularly library cats--will someday rule the world! And that world will be flooded with unbelievable cuteness!

See! How cute is that? We'll even make peace with birds.

Okay, I'm going to take a nap now.

Sweet dreams,

Tober

Teens are fun to watch!

First of all, I must say that I am a very lucky and happy cat to be living in a climate-controlled building. My coworkers have been coming in and peeling off big coats in the mornings, so it must be cold out.

Today was a very busy day! I spent the morning napping, bathing, and gathering my thoughts, since I must maintain my attractive appearance and friendly attitude for my PR position. The office was very quiet today, except for one bothersome coworker who kept coughing all the time (I think she has a hairball). The others were very nice and stopped to pet me whenever they passed by. As they should.

But this afternoon was crazy! All of the teens showed up at 4:30 for this thing they do. They call it Teen Scribblers, and they get together and write about different stuff on the 2nd and 4th Tuesdays each month. I was a little freaked out at first; I was napping in one of my favorite chairs when I looked up and saw ten people peering back at me through the window. It turns out that I was the topic of the writing project for this week! Can you believe it?

They were supposed to write about what they think I do at night when all of the human employees have gone home. I've heard some of the ideas they had. . . they seem to think that I do very bad things, like knock things off desks and eat paper! Well, they may be right, and they may be wrong. I'll never tell.

I have to admit, this Teen Scribblers thing looked like a lot of fun. It's open to teens 13 and older, and the writing topics change every week. Sometimes they can even freewrite about whatever they want. The next meeting is Tuesday, November 25, so some more teens should come and write, because it is very interesting for me to watch through the window!

Tober

My work uniform

Today one of my colleagues presented me with my new work uniform. It's a purple collar (she called it a necklace, ha ha) with a fish on it, and the number 636.8. She said it was the Dewey number for a cat. I tried to tell her that the work uniform was completely unnecessary; I know I'm a cat, and most of the customers should be able to figure out that I'm a cat. . . so what's the point? I'm perfectly handsome just as I am!

So she put the collar on anyway. Let me tell you, I let her have it! I scrunched my head back as far as it would go, laid my ears back, and glared at her. She couldn't get that silly thing off me quick enough. She's been apologizing ever since.

We'll just see if any other coworkers try to put a collar on me. I WILL NOT HAVE IT!

Other than that bit of humiliation, my first week of work has been great! Many customers have come in to meet me, my coworkers have responded to my every whim, and the seating here is fabulous. They even put the teens in a special room, and I can sit on Linda White's desk to watch them. It's like an aquarium, only filled with people (and books). Kinda neat!

Have a happy weekend!

Tober

My very first blog!

Hello! My name is Tober, and I am Thorntown Public Library's newest employee! I am a 2-year-old orange tiger-kitty, and I'm just getting to know my new home. I was rescued by my boss, Karen Niemeyer, who thought that I would be a perfect fit for library work. I live in a staff office in the adult department, where I am learning my new job as PR Director.

This is only my second day at work. I was a bit intimidated on my first day; I spent most of it hiding under a colleague's desk, wondering if I could handle the job. However, I made good use of my evening off, inspecting the facilities, the sleeping arrangements, and the cafeteria, and I've decided that this will be a wonderful place to work!

This morning they took me to the doctor. We could've skipped that (I tried to tell them, but no one wanted to listen), but the people at the Thorntown Veterinary Clinic were very nice. They complimented my looks (nice AND smart!), petted me, and told me I was a good kitty. I came home to my adoring colleagues, and have spent much of the day trying out new chairs and watching our customers come and go.

That's all I have to say for now. I have to get busy working on my job description!

Tober