I'm moving on up too!

Sort of like Neil, I'm taking on temporary living arrangements for the next 15 days. In exchange for looking after a 6 bedroom, 5 1/2 bath house that is occupied with 2 dogs (chocolate lab and corgi) and 3 cats (all mutts), I get full use of the pool, a credit card for incidentals and cash for the inconvenience of moving my stuff over to the house. Oh, I forgot to mention the use of 4 cars, 1 truck and a scooter. I also have to feed the dogs, let the dogs out at appropriate intervals during the day, make sure all 5 water bowls are full and leave food in the bowls for the cats.

Perhaps I should reconsider finding a real job and do this for a living. I realize people actually do this for a living. However, here's the negatives as I see them:

1. Waking up and not knowing where I am.
2. Tending to animals that don't like me (thank goodness the aforementioned adore me - I know where all their good treats are and dole the treats out on a regular basis).
3. Tending to animals I don't like (snakes, rabbits, rodents and fish come to mind).
4. Using a car (truck or scooter) and getting into an accident.
5. Driving home to the wrong location.
6. Forgetting the alarm code.
7. Worse than forgetting the code is forgetting the alarm password so when you set off the alarm you need to remember that "Oh Shit" isn't the correct answer.
8. Getting use to the pool being right out the back door.
9. Getting use to not really having any bills to pay.
10. Always having to pack up and leave.

So while this isn't a bad gig for a couple of weeks, I am still out there looking for a real job. I just need to disguise my relaxed attitude when recruiters call while I'm lounging in the hot tub, sipping my wine and working on my tan! Reality will set back in when I have to return to my 2 bedroom, 2 1/2 bath condo with no pets, no pool, bills to pay and only one car (but it's a convertible - and just in time for the fall top down days!).

Tags: Atlanta, Observations, Personal Lessons, Lists