Reunion!
Ruby came to visit a couple weeks ago which was great since she hasn't been here since 2004. I was still renting an apartment back then, so I was excited to show her my townhouse. Those five years have passed by so quickly and there have been a lot of changes (hopefully for the better) since then. It was great to be able to spend time together like we did when we were 15. We're still the same people fundamentally, but just a bit weather-worn around the edges and wiser. While I do have many acquaintances here in DC, there's nothing like friendships that go way back. I hope to visit sometime early next year.
Speaking of visits and reunions of sorts, 2009 has been a good year bringing Ruby and Alex to DC, and bringing me to Belgium to see Jimmy. I wish my friends lived closer to me.
I'm looking forward to a fresh start in 2010 and this will be the first holiday season and New Year that I haven't dreaded in a long time. After two bittersweet years of miniature disasters, it's time for alignment and focus.
Time flies...
..whether you like it or not. Colorful photo with pups is from last year's trip to LA to visit Ruby in August. Photo above is from a reunion of sorts in NYC this June. Missing 4th sister, perhaps?
Progress!
It's coming together!! We laid the tile today. It's set in mortar only, so we still have to grout and seal later this week. We also haven't killed each other yet, so that's a good sign too. So far, the project cost about $200. I think the going rate for tile installation is $5 per sq ft but I don't know if that includes the price of the tile and other things like removing the old floor, toilet, etc. I'm guessing it doesn't because if it *did*, I would've called Home Depot in here two years ago!
Since the project began Friday after work and it's been nonstop since then, my fun weekend officially started at 10pm Sunday night. Even though there are other fun things I could have done today like ride my bike, or doodle or do some chores that have been piling up, there was something very rewarding about doing work that I don't usually do. We'll see if I still feel this way after giving the floor a test run!
I'm dreading this week because it's already packed. Tomorrow will start off with waking up at 7am to drug the dog, then a drop off shortly thereafter at the vet for dental surgery. Work, work, work. Then, I wanted to go see Ruut play, but it's somewhere in MD and it starts at 8pm AND takes an hour to get to. Don't think this is going to happen, but it might. Wednesday is soccer at 10:40pm (jeebus!) and Friday it's back home to drop of Judy. We've had her since Christmas, and I'd keep her longer, but work travel is going to make it impossible. If she was less psycho, maybe it could work, but Craig is always at odds with her. Why can't she be normal??
Mmm. It's nice to have hobbies. I need to get back into mine.
I hate HGTV
Two hours of HGTV is enough to make you want to stash a lit match somewhere in the house. Or put everything you own in giant trashbags and take it to the dumpster. Or take a knife to your house.
I don't know how we found ourselves in this situation, but the bathroom has been completely prepped after some 12 hours of laboring and the floor is ready to be tiled. I'm fine with the rip everything out part, but I'm unsure if everything will come together like it should. Just like everything else, you can't quite execute the job by the book because every situation is different. Combine this with lack of experience, and lack of physical ability (made possible by daily desk job) and you're about ready to swing by 7-11 for some help.
But, the show must go on! It would be nice to close the door and forget about the bathroom, but the door is unhinged and in the bedroom, which incidentally is also where the vanity and toiletries are too. The toilet is in the tub, in case you were wondering.
We took a refresher how-to class at Home Depot earlier today on how to lay tile, which we took about 6 months ago. We didn't actually go through with the project then, but intended to around the holidays. HD is enormous, and we have no need for the majority of items in that store given that we live in a townhouse condo. This project opened up 5 aisles for us containing things that we need. Earlier this week I was contemplating searching the market for a single family home with the intent to rent the condo, but the work that comes with (real) home ownership is something I'm not willing to do right now. I have never had to mow the lawn in my entire life (and damn proud of that too!). Install gutters? Paint the roof? What?
We're documenting the progress here and there, but not enough to put together a how-to resource. The best part of doing hard, honest work is that sleep is so much better!
Soccer
Craig came up with the jersey idea. This is a photo of my work soccer team.
Found: Men's Bling
Today has been a very strange day between Judy news and work news. Not to sound cliched, but it's been one
roller coaster of a day. It doesn't help that I'm in a I-hate-everyone mood, or that I'm particularly emotional (read: teary-eyed at work, hiding in the bathroom stalls). I wonder if we're in a full moon cycle now.
This morning, I woke up (always a good start I suppose) and it felt like a Saturday. Except it wasn't Saturday. It was HUMP day, but I thought it was Thursday anyways. I haven't been doing well with keeping things straight. I put on some gym clothes, walked the dog, sat around downstairs for a bit, then decided to go to the gym for 30 minutes of
cardio to see if it improved my mood during the day.
I did a manual 30 minute program squinting the whole time as the sun was in my eyes as it rose and peeked above the valence. This is good, right? You don't get much sunshine sitting at work. I noticed a watch on the water cooler. Probably some piece of junk Fossil or something. I checked it out, and it was a Tag. Probably a fake one, as it had a lot of signs of wear and some things just didn't look right. I put it back down. But, it's a Tag (maybe) and what if someone else takes it? I put it in my pocket. Turns out, it is real. Craig posted a note in our community bulletin board and tomorrow, we'll tape a note to the mailboxes. If the person is a watch freak like we are, I bet he's pretty salty about losing the watch. It's an older style Tag, probably mid-90s, metal bracelet, blue face. Hopefully the owner will step up.
Poor Judy
We've still got Judy, and it's been a while. Three months to be exact. I've noticed that she has been leaving her chew toys all around the house, and her breath has been REALLY stinky lately. Also, she has been favoring her right side when she does decide to chew. The thing that really confirmed my suspicion is when we were playing. She retrieved a soft toy, started chewing on it, then suddenly screamed and dropped it. I made a vet appointment for the next available morning slot.
The problem with taking Judy to the vet is that it's a process. She needs to be sedated (drugged) and muzzled. I managed to get this accomplished, and arrive on time for her 8am appointment. I explained the situation to the vet, and we agreed to sedate her further by injection to perform the nail trimming, and
pre-dental exam. While she was out, they performed all sorts of tests and
bloodwork since she needed dental surgery. She fractured her rear top molar on the left side and it was infected. Poor Judy!
We picked her up, and were sent off with a two week treatment of antibiotics to be started immediately. I was supposed to call the next day for the
bloodwork results, but I forgot. It was the weekend.
Monday morning, I get a call from the vet regarding the
bloodwork. At first, she mentioned abnormal levels of some kidney enzyme which is indicative of
Cushing's disease. This usually doesn't happen to younger dogs. Strange. I talked to the vet again today in more detail, and she also mentioned that there were abnormal levels of two out of the five liver enzymes too. These things could be transient, caused by diet, or injury. Alternatively, it could be onset
Cushing's or liver disease. She recommended an ultrasound. These run something like $400 or $500.
Hmm.
The thing is, Judy isn't
exhibiting signs of discomfort. And, if I do go forward with the ultrasound, it seems like the end result is the same. Good outcome, do nothing. If there's a bad outcome, there's really not much you can do for a dog within reason.
In my heart, she's still my little baby- a 7 week old puppy. But when I look at her, it's hard to ignore how white she is in the face, and how she has aged. She'll be 7 in July which is middle-aged for a dog. So I guess with dogs, and some other pets, you keep them until it's inconvenient, or until they're enduring so much suffering that it's inhumane then make the determination to put them down. I am still wrapping my brain around this one. It's hard.
My childhood pets were easier. I'm talking about non-negotiable death, like coming home from school and finding the fish floating in the bowl, or the bird on the bottom of the cage with his legs sticking straight out. There's no deliberation, or putting off the inevitable for one more day. It just happens. With dogs, I don't think it "just happens".
Logically, I understand the way it works. They're not around forever. It's a 10-13 year commitment. And, the dog has probably had a much better life in your care than other scenarios. As crazy of a pup as she is, I wouldn't have done anything differently. It's just hard to think about that day when she's not around.
Hello 2008!
I didn't make any New Year resolutions. One of my friends resolved to "be a nicer person" which is an honorable goal. I have no such goals!
Craig got me the Canon Rebel DSLR for Christmas and it is awesome! It's so much more responsive than my Lumix, and even though it's 10x the size, I don't care. It's coming everywhere! I should have a good batch of photos by the end of this month. I'm going on a 10 day cruise leaving from NYC to the Virgin Islands. My cousin organized it for the family, so it's our clan plus the other eye-talians. February's a good time to leave the frigid weather and head to the islands. Go snowbirds!
I started up a work soccer team which is much appreciated by my coworkers. Sadly, for most of them, it's the only exercise and event outside of their normal lives so they really look forward to it. We have a very dismal record, but I'll blame that on the fact that we're in the wrong division. Ask again how it's going when we're in the bottom league. (Hopefully better?)
We've got Judy for a few months to dog-sit. At first, she acted like a hostage, but I think she's acclimated pretty well to the carpet and townhouse steps and grassy places to pee and poo. I think she likes it! An added benefit is that she also cleans up after me when I'm cooking. You know how those food odds and ends will fall to the floor during mid-stir, or when you're transferring food from one place to another? Judy's on it.
Unfortunately for Craig, Judy is quite obnoxious when I leave. It's a chihuahua thing. She'll howl, whine, whimper and cry every 20-30 minutes for hours. When I'm gone for the cruise, it's going to be a long 10 days for him. She likes me better. See?
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Ok, now for some more photos. Last week, I took a quick trip to Disney with my sister since mom was already there for a conference. Hooray for mooching! We went to the Magic Kingdom and Epcot one day, and the Animal Kingdom the next. And that was enough for both of us.
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Do you like phall..um...Fantasaia? They did at the parade!
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African spoonbills at the Animal Kingdom.
I got back home Friday night. Later that weekend, Craig and I went to the zoo to check out the pandas.
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Until next time...
No Ho's
I saw this article that was
.
Santas are being encouraged to say "ha ha ha" instead of "ho ho ho" because the latter is degrading to women.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Quirks/2007/11/15/santas_told_not_to_use_ho_ho_ho/3388/
Ruby came to visit a couple weeks ago which was great since she hasn't been here since 2004. I was still renting an apartment back then, so I was excited to show her my townhouse. Those five years have passed by so quickly and there have been a lot of changes (hopefully for the better) since then. It was great to be able to spend time together like we did when we were 15. We're still the same people fundamentally, but just a bit weather-worn around the edges and wiser. While I do have many acquaintances here in DC, there's nothing like friendships that go way back. I hope to visit sometime early next year.
