Day 2787

When I went to breakfast this morning, a waiter immediately came to my table and brought me a tall Diet Coke. When I told him that I didn't order a Diet Coke, he got kind of snippy and said "That's funny, you asked for one just a minute ago." I didn't feel like arguing. I had only arrived at the restaurant a few minutes earlier and the guy with the Coke was the first person to approach my table. I just told him that I'd prefer some coffee and left it at that. Was this guy stoned or just a jerk? I probably just sat on the wrong side of the restaurant. I usually sit on the empty side when I eat at this place. Today I sat on the side full of people. This was a mistake, I'll go back to the empty side next time and let the bartender serve me breakfast.

I was sure it was going to rain when I walked Dash this morning. There were ominous looking clouds in the sky all day, but it was always raining elsewhere. I was actually hoping for rain this morning to lower the water bill a bit. No such luck. When I got home from breakfast, I turned the sprinklers on and started my day.

Watching grass grow was about as exciting as it got today. I glued the tail back on a ceramic Dalmatian that sits on the coffee table in the living room. I don't know how long the tail had been broken, but fixing the broken figurine has been on my to-do list for the past several weeks. Since the repair job was a success, I thought I'd try to repair the band of one of my favorite watches. Rubber from the 70's must not have been very good, because almost everything from that era with any rubber in it has disintegrated. This repair wasn't quite as successful. The watch looks fine sitting in a case, but it would probably break again if I ever wore it anywhere.

I had a conversation today with the creative director of a company I've worked with for a long time. He indicated that the company was moving in a new direction. I don't know if this means I will have different responsibilities, or just gradually be phased out. I said that I have always enjoyed working with them and hoped I would be able to help them in the future. What else could I say? When a bunch of young people want to move in a different direction, it often doesn't include someone my age.

Dash is still eating well, but he is becoming very bossy. If he doesn't get his meals or even his pills at what he considers to be the appropriate time, he starts barking incessantly. He wants to eat his dinner earlier now and that means that he wants his evening meds earlier too. You can't really shift the meds around too much, since they need to be given at specific intervals, but Dash is definitely a force to be reckoned with. We are having to shift our entire day around just to keep him from barking.

Tonight is supposed to be the best time to view the Perseid meteor shower. They will be visible from midnight until just before dawn, but I don't know if there will be much to see. We saw some pretty impressive storm clouds rolling in when we were taking Dash on his evening walk. It looks like we still might get that rain they've been forecasting.

Hannah is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1501

I'm having trouble telling whether things are even headed in the right direction anymore. Yesterday I thought I was almost finished with my ongoing battle with Hepatitis-C. Today a get a somewhat alarmed call from a nurse saying that my potassium levels were really high and I needed to get them under control before I could even begin my treatment. WTF? I've had hundreds of blood tests and my potassium levels were never in the danger zone before.

The nurse wanted to start me on some sort of medication immediately to remove the excess potassium. I wondered how the potassium got into my system in the first place and she asked me if I ate bananas, potatoes, or yoghurt, and drank a lot of orange juice. Well yes, actually. I do all those things frequently. The nurse told me to stop consuming potassium rich food and drive downtown to the hospital right away and pick up the medicine that would cause my body to get rid of the stuff. I still don't know why this was such a big deal, especially since other doctors have told me that potassium was a good thing. 

I've finally learned to follow my doctor's directions, so I picked up the medicine. I thought that I would be taking a pill, but it turned out I was supposed to drink a large bottle of horrible tasting stuff instead. The nurse said to chug the bottle in one sitting and then chase it with a soft drink to kill the taste. I don't drink soft drinks anymore and actually thought the Diet Coke I drank tasted worse than the medicine. I guess I won't be having a big bowl of bananas, blueberries, and yoghurt for breakfast tomorrow morning.

The tree is finally gone from my roof. The tree removal crew arrived while I was away having my Friday morning breakfast outing. When I checked on the dogs using the iPhone nanny cam, I noticed that Dash appeared very agitated and was pacing around the room. Dot was fast asleep on the bed, even though I clearly heard chain saws in the background on the phone. I know that old dogs sleep soundly, but this was pretty amazing. I think Dash was agitated because he knew that it was his turn to step up to the plate and protect the house from the offending noise, even though his older sister usually took care of this chore for him. The dogs were both fine when I got home, but since they are both prone to seizures, I stayed with them until the tree guys had finished their work. 

They sure finished a lot sooner than I thought they would. I had asked one of the tree guys if they could also clean up the dead branches the ice storm had knocked loose on one of the large oak trees in the back of the yard. Since the crew was already here, I didn't think it would be a big deal. The guy said sure, indicating that it wouldn't  be a problem to trim one more tree. A short time later the entire crew inexplicably drove off and left without an explanation. They didn't go anywhere near the oak tree. Why they left in such a hurry without bothering to trim the additional tree is as much of a mystery to me as my suddenly elevated potassium levels.

To complete the strange day, the stock market dropped over 300 points. I lost more in one day than I typically make in an entire month of writing.  I still believe that the market is my only real hope of permanently staying ahead of the game. Like I said earlier however, I'm having trouble telling whether things are even headed in the right direction anymore.  It's a very confusing world.

Holly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day