Day 1604

It seemed important to catch up on things today. I attacked a big stack of unpaid bills, wrote checks for all of them, and took them to the post office. Utility and telecommunications bills are especially irritating, because they seem to go up almost every month, with no improvement in service whatsoever. I changed my data plan on my phone last month to lower my bill, and just one month later I discover that they've raised my rate on my new "lowered" bill. Very frustrating.

I also got a long overdue haircut this afternoon. With a busy work schedule and lots of dog problems, I haven't had time for anything but the absolute necessities this Spring. A haircut certainly isn't a necessity, but mine was getting so unruly that it was getting pretty close. It's much better now. I'll be able to go out in public for at least another month without embarrassing myself.

Dash continues to improve every day. He is stronger now and is starting to take normal walks again. He still isn't up to speed however, since Dot, who is usually the one who tires out first, is in the lead on our walks these days. This is good in a way, since it's easier now to get both dog's turned around for the trip home when Dot gets tired. It's hard to tell how much the radiation burn on Dash's neck is bothering him, since he is still taking the Tramadol for pain. The wound looks better though. It's not nearly as red and raw looking as it was last week. I don't think it will be too long before we can resume our trips to the dog park and re-join our training class.

It was hard to get excited about my writing assignments today. Call me old fashioned, but I still think the primary purpose of writing should be to educate and entertain. When the primary purpose is just to improve someone's SEO rank, it can get pretty boring. I shouldn't complain about the writing jobs though. The website design work isn't particularly exciting either.

I've started to notice that one-by-one, most of the friends I grew up with are starting to retire. The ones who spent their careers at large corporations or working for the government all retired first. Now, even the people who didn't wind up with a great pension are considering retirement. This includes most people in advertising. You might make a good salary while you're working, but you don't generally take a lot away from the table when you leave. The self-styled artists and the folks who got divorced too often are the only ones who never talk about retirement. Most of them can't afford to retire. I generally put myself in the "artist" category. Maybe that's why I occasionally find myself envying former coworkers who seem to spend all their time traveling the world after they've sold their house and moved to their beautiful mountain or seaside vacation home.

They're still predicting severe storms in the area tomorrow. That's why I got most of my errands taken care of today. If it rains tomorrow, we'll do what we usually do. I'll write articles and revise websites right up until the power goes out.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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