Day 2583

The good thing about January is that it represents a kind of symbolic reset. You can easily trick yourself into thinking that the slate has been wiped clean and that none of the problems of the previous year will follow you into the next. The bad thing about January is that none of this is true. January is just a block of time that follows December. I'm always reminded that the slate is never wiped clean when all of my December bills arrive in early January. It's easy to spend a lot in December. There are Christmas presents, year-end business purchases, subscription renewals, and some of the biggest heating bills of the year. January is when prices go up too. Health insurance always seems to cost more in January. None of this would matter if I sent out a lot of invoices last month, but business is always slow in December. Basically, January is when the chickens come home to roost.

I might have been overly optimistic about Dot's progress with the Incurin pills. Yesterday I thought that they were already starting to work, but last night she woke up in a puddle of pee around 3 AM. Part of the problem was that I went to bed too early. Usually, I take her outside one last time around 11 PM. Yesterday, we called it a day around 9 PM. This obviously didn't work very well. I guess I'll be staying up late again tonight. Hopefully, after we finish the two week loading dose, the Incurin will help get Dot stable again.

Weekdays are mostly just getting up early and going to bed late with a lot of nothing in between.  It's not that weekends are that exciting, but at least I get to sleep in longer. I try to make my meals last as long as I can to make the day shorter. It's nice when there's a assignment to keep me occupied while the dogs are sleeping in the morning, but that doesn't always happen. I had a small website revision to make this morning, but the job took me less than an hour. I don't exactly meditate while I walk Dot around in the backyard, but I do try to empty my mind. You can't rush Dot and you can't fake being patient. Sometimes controlled breathing exercises seem to help. Other times daydreaming works. Either way, it can be a long day.

At least the weather is getting warmer. Holding up Dot's rear legs and waiting for her to get the urge to pee is a lot harder when it's fifteen degrees outside. Lately, I'm having trouble getting Dot and Dash on the same page. Dot is growing more receptive to the idea of afternoon walks and seems to enjoy them. Dash, on the other hand, sometimes refuses to leave the back yard. He'll go to the back gate, sniff the air, and then turn around and head back to the house. Dash used to love long walks, so I don't know what is going on. There is nothing wrong with him physically. It's too bad that I can't walk the dogs together anymore. Dash likes walking with Dot, but he doesn't understand why she walks so slow.

Dash goes back to the vet tomorrow for a follow up visit to check the swollen lymph nodes in his neck. I think he's better, because I can't feel the swelling anymore. He's just about finished with his antibiotics too. Usually, a vet appointment is all it takes to change a slow, uneventful day into a hectic one. Neither dog travels well in the car, but at least Dash doesn't poop in the back seat while I'm trying to drive. I was kind of bored today, but I don't think I'll have this problem tomorrow. Vet visit days usually wear me out.

I had another opportunity to apply for NASA press credentials recently. I don't even follow up on these opportunities anymore. It's going to be a long time before I view another space launch.

Mack is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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