Day 3337

I had trouble getting back to sleep after I took Dash outside last night, so instead of counting sheep, I tried to remember all the ad agencies I'd worked at in the correct order. This was surprisingly difficult. The first three agencies were easy. So were the last four. The ones in the middle were a muddled mess though. I guess my memory lapse is understandable. I worked at seventeen ad agencies before starting my own company. I eventually fell asleep, but I still have no idea where I worked before I went to Popejoy & Fischel. I can't remember who Popejoy was either.

It was nice to see the sun again. The temperature was warmer too. Dash thought is was a nice day as well. For the first time since his severe diarrhea episode, we were able to take two walks again. Dash still isn't walking normally and probably never will, but he has quickly learned how to use the Help 'Em Up Harness. I basically provide just enough support to keep him from slipping. Dash is still moving his legs on his own. If you have a dog with mobility problems I can't recommend these harnesses enough. They really help.

It was time to vacuum again. Actually it was long past time. There has always been a ton of dog hair in the house, but lately I'm finding Dash's food all over the place. He's having trouble chewing now and food just falls out of his mouth. There are dog biscuit crumbs and little bits of chicken and rice all over the place. Dash's teeth and gums are terrible now, but it is not safe to anesthetize him anymore, so a regular dental cleaning is impossible. I swab his mouth every day with an oral dental rinse and we try to brush his teeth, but it's a losing battle.

Since it was clear and warm this afternoon, I went up on the roof and removed the remaining water. The pumps actually did a pretty good job during the rain. There wasn't as much standing water as I anticipated. I had the entire job finished in less than thirty minutes. The forecast looks good for the immediate future, so maybe I can stay off the roof for a while.

I was happy to see the stock market rebound today. It's unsettling at times that I need to depend on this increasingly volatile market. When I was younger I never gave the stock market a lot of thought. If I needed money, I knew I could always go earn more. Not so easy these days. My skill set has become largely irrelevant. At least I believed in saving when I was younger. Some of my friends didn't. We'll see what the future brings. Somehow I don't think it's going to bring a guaranteed return on my investments. I see a very bumpy road ahead.

A roof panel blew off the greenhouse again last night. Jeez. I thought I'd already fixed that. Apparently, I'm not a very good carpenter.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1892

The days are starting to run together. I get up at 4 AM to take Dot out to pee. I go back to sleep again for a few hours. I walk Dash. Janet and I figure out a schedule for who is going to monitor Dot during the day. I do some writing. I work on a few websites. I take a shower. I worry about Dot some more. Now, what day is it today?

During one of the periods where it was Janet's turn to watch Dot, I went to the storage warehouse to look for my Anton Bauer Quad charger. I couldn't find it anywhere. Did I throw the charger away years ago because it was defective? Is it really at home somewhere? Is it hidden away behind a cardboard box in the storeroom somewhere? I don't have a clue. What is the use of having a storage warehouse if I can't find anything anymore?

On my way home, I stopped at the pharmacy to pick up a prescription. I was surprised to see that the price had doubled. "Has my coverage changed," I asked the pharmacist? It was a legitimate question, since insurance coverage is constantly changing. "No, your coverage is the same," the pharmacist said. "We just raised our prices."

I finished my component of the new business proposal that my friend and I are working on. He thought it looked good, but wondered whether we could deliver something so ambitious. I think this is doable, but we'll never know till we try. If we get this business, I'll be even busier than I am now. A lot busier. Busy is good though. At least I won't worry about vet bills so much. It's amazing how much better I've become as a writer since I've been forced to totally depend on this skill for a living. What I accomplish in an hour these days used to take me an entire day at the ad agencies. That being said, I had a lot more fun as a young ad agency creative. Work has been more of a chore than an adventure lately. That's what I like about this new proposal. If we get this gig, it is entirely possible that the adventure may return.

When my vet came over this afternoon to give Dot acupuncture and cold laser therapy, I asked her what she would do about surgery if Dot was her dog. "I'd probably go for it," she said, and then quickly added, "but only because I'm a vet." I wanted to ask "But what would you do if you were me," but of course she isn't me. This is a very rough surgery for a dog as old as Dot, and I don't have the knowledge or the resources that a good vet has. When she's having a good day I want to leave Dot alone. If she's only got a year left anyway, why make six months of that year an arduous recovery from major surgery? When Dot is having a bad day, I want to pull out all the stops and do everything possible. I need to remember that this go for broke attitude doesn't always work.

I still regret trying to intervene when we discovered Greta had liver cancer. The surgeon was very good, but the cancer had already metastasized and Greta was too old and weak to survive. She never even made it out of the hospital. Spot's second TPLO surgery was a mistake. The surgery on his left knew was so successful that we thought it would succeed equally well on the other knee when he tore a second anterior cruciate ligament. The second surgery failed. Spot was a lot older by then and even though the surgery was technically a success, Spot never walked again. It's hard to forget these things, even though many other surgeries succeeded brilliantly.

Janet is going to stay with Dot tomorrow morning so I can go enjoy my favorite breakfast. She goes to the gym almost every day now to stay sane. I depend on a great breakfast at least once a week.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1858

I got a lot done today. I attribute the day's success to seeing the sun again. We had a great walk this morning. It was still chilly outside, but with shadows on the ground and the sun on my face, it all seemed reasonably comfortable. My shoes were still muddy when we returned, but it was no big deal. All is forgiven when there's lots of sunshine. Janet went to breakfast with me for the first time in recent memory. She liked the food, but I don't think she'll become a regular. My go-to meals have too many calories.

I was a little surprised that I've never heard anything further from the new client that was supposedly headed my way. The initial inquiry was from an ad agency, which probably explains everything. Ad agencies are notorious about not following up on things. I probably won't hear from them again until late on a Friday afternoon when they have some kind of rush deadline that will ruin my weekend.

On days like today, I'm not sure how many new clients I could handle anyway. I was almost late for my physical therapy appointment because I had trouble finishing my writing assignments. I got a lot done, but I'll still have to do some additional writing this weekend. When I returned from therapy, I had a big website update to complete. There were 24 new pictures that needed to be resized in Photoshop, plus captions and bios under each picture. Everything was uploaded to the server just in time to begin feeding the dogs their dinner and give Dash his Palladia chemo medication before taking our evening walk.

I'm glad the weekend is here, although Saturday and Sunday aren't much different than any other day when you're freelancing. I like to think of the weekend as a restful time, but I'm not kidding anyone. All my clients know that I'm still here, and if they need something, they're not shy about asking me. The oral surgeon initially wanted to remove my wisdom teeth on a Friday, so I could have the weekend to rest. Rest on weekends? You've got to be kidding. I tried to explain that my office didn't shut down at 2 PM on Friday afternoons, like his did and that weekends were often the busiest days of the week for me. I don't really care when they do the surgery, as long as they do it at 10:30 in the morning. Any earlier and I won't be able to walk the dogs. Any later and I'll get hungry, since I can't eat before surgery.

I had a different therapist today, since my regular therapist had a scheduling conflict. This therapist was stronger and gave my arm some serious tugs. I actually think this approach might be better. My shoulder got this bad in the first place because I was always trying to avoid pain. If the therapist tries too hard to avoid causing pain as well, I probably won't accomplish much. It's a fine line though. Too much discomfort will cause more inflammation and make the whole situation worse. Maybe I just need pain as a yardstick to measure things. I've kind of lost the whole concept of pleasure.

I did manage to find Comet Lovejoy last night. I couldn't see it with the naked eye because of the city lights, but it was fairly easy to spot with binoculars. Right below the Pleiades was a soft luminous smudge that had to be a comet. Either that or my binoculars were dirty.

Selby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1305

Timing is everything. The best time to eat breakfast at my favorite restaurant is 9 AM. All the work slaves have left for the office and the people with nothing better to do haven't even gotten up yet. I practically have the place to myself.  The best time to walk the dogs is 6:30 AM. This is not the best time for me, mind you. It is the best time for the dogs, and you should know by now that dogs rule. The best time to go grocery shopping is 10:30 AM. This is when I see the produce managers putting out fresh produce and most importantly, when the Chef Prepared section is being filled with fresh tasty dinner items. By the end of the day, everything is picked over, but not at 10:30 AM. The best time to go to the gym is at 2 PM. None of the Type-A fitness fanatics are here then. They all arrive either at the crack of dawn, before they go to work, or later in the evening on their way home. At 2 PM, it's just me and the cardiac rehab patients. You're probably seeing a pattern here.

Maybe I've grown too comfortable working in my quiet little room with a dog under my desk. Occasionally, I think I'd like something more exciting, but when I try to think of something specific, nothing comes to mind. I have an almost encyclopedic knowledge of Apple computers, but I don't think I'd last long working at the Genius Bar. The Apple stores are just too busy and chaotic. I don't think I'd make a good film producer anymore, even though I spent the early part of my career doing precisely this. I just don't have the patience to hire and manage a film crew these days. I don't even think I could work at an ad agency. Agency life used to be fun, but whenever I visit an ad agency these days, you can smell the stress in the air. It's a dying industry and everyone is treading water, just trying to hold on to what they've got. I suspect than in ten years, the ad agencies I remember will all be gone.

I do like blogging. I keep hoping that if I keep stirring this pot, it will eventually start to boil. Who knows. Maybe people will eventually want to pay me for writing about nothing. Hey, it worked for Dave Barry and Seinfeld. In the long run, it doesn't really matter, but I learned long ago not to rule anything out. The world is a strange place and almost anything can happen.

I can't figure the dogs out. They absolutely hate to take a walk in this hot weather we're having lately, but they seem to love to lie out in the back yard under the same hot sun. Often, they lie on their backs with their paws in the air. I guess it's not that surprising that a Dalmatian would rather sunbathe than exercise. I've got to keep an eye on them though. They sunburn easily.

A new spare tire cover for the Defender 90 came in the mail today. After ten years, the old tire cover had pretty much succumbed to the elements. It was tattered and torn and tended to fall off every time I went through a car wash. As I was putting on the new tire cover, I realized that it was the high point of my day. It was just that kind of a day.

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1249

It was a busy day. The roofers woke us up with a lot of banging and pounding over our head. It's clear that roofers get off to an earlier start than I do. The dogs have kind of an "out of sight, out of mind" attitude about all the activity. As long as they can't actually see the roofers, they don't bark all that much. I guess they're pretty used to noise on the roof. Quite a few tree limbs have fallen on the roof over the years and of course, I'm up there myself quite a bit getting the water off.

I had lunch with my ad agency friend today. I'll have to admit I was a bit envious of my friend. He drove up in a brand new Lexus IS convertible and proceed to tell me about the fantastic vacation in Rome he just returned from. My friend has never looked healthier or happier. He's on permanent disability. Nice work if you can get it is all I've got to say.

After an unusually healthy lunch, considering the way we both used to eat, I went grocery shopping at Central Market and then returned home to finish my work for the week. I was glad to see the roofers leaving for the day when I arrived. I had put up with all the noise I could handle this morning.

I went to the airport this evening to pick up Janet. I checked the American Airlines website just before I left, to make sure that the arrival time or the gate hadn't changed. They're always changing gate assignments at the last minute. The gate was the same, but the website said that the flight was going to be early. While I was driving to the airport, they must have changed their mind. When I arrived at the designated baggage claim area, I discovered that the flight in question was actually going to be late. This happens all the time. No wonder this company went bankrupt.

Dot and Dash were delighted to see Janet again. Dash got so excited that he started jumping straight up in the air. When he makes these vertical leaps, he can get three feet off the ground. All this activity would have been fine, except he was doing his wild leaping around in the living roof. I'm always scared he'll land right on top of the glass coffee table and cut himself. Once we let the dogs outside to blow off steam, they both quieted down and were calm again. They must have known what was coming next: some tasty dog treats from one of the suitcases in the hall.

I think the roofers said they were coming back tomorrow. Oh, well. We certainly won't need an alarm clock in the morning.

Susie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 940

I had lunch with a friend who used to be my boss today. My friend has always been good at landing on his feet and, unlike a lot of other ad folks I know, is still the creative director at a well respected ad agency. We had fun talking about how the business has changed and who among our friends have survived.  The lunch wasn't just a trip down memory lane though. The agency happens to have some high profile jewelry accounts and I just happen to have some experience writing about luxury goods. I was hoping to get a little work from my old buddy. I think I have reason to be optimistic. My prospects of getting jewelry account projects are probably a bit better than getting that trip to Singapore from my other client. I'm a dreamer though. I'm still hoping that both things will come through.

I ought to have lunch with ad friends more often, because this is still the most dependable way to get business. I don't know if I have the capacity to actually eat lunch anymore though. I quit eating lunch about five years ago and now whenever I have a noontime meal, I feel full and bloated for the rest of the day. I still feed the dogs a rice cake at lunch, because they've grown to expect something to eat. I don't eat anything though. Mostly because I don't like rice cakes. It's hard to believe that I used to eat three large meals every day, washed down with various alcoholic beverages. I just can't do it anymore. I still eat a big breakfast, but there's nothing for lunch and usually a light supper. '

I read an article today that said it was very important for bloggers to answer all their comments and establish a dialog with their readers. Is this what you guys really want?  I hope not. I'm terrible about answering comments. I usually just post things like a guy on a deserted island, throwing notes out to sea in a bottle. Occasionally, some of those bottles wash up on a distant shore and are discovered by beachcombers. At least that's how I think it goes.

I can tell it's been a long week. I'm ready for it to be over. I'm already thinking about what to order for breakfast on tomorrow's Friday restaurant outing. Pancakes sound good to me.

Winston is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 905

Yes, the rain did find a way inside last night. No, it didn't find its way to the carefully placed buckets I set out before I went to bed. Leaking water has a mind of its own. It just goes wherever it wants. After I cleaned up the puddles in the living room and utility room, I drove down to the rent property to make sure that water hadn't leaked in there as well. The place was clean and dry. It even smelled nice, because the real estate agent had set a bowl of potpourri on the coffee table when he staged the place.

It's kind of ironic. The rent property I'm selling is actually in much better condition that the house I'm living in. To keep the place occupied and tenants happy, I've always made necessary repairs to the rent house almost immediately. In contrast, I tend to put things off at my own house. "Maybe I'll have more money next year," I think. "What's the point," I rationalize. "The dogs will just tear it up anyway." Sometimes I even convince myself that the problems will fix themselves. At any rate, the rent house looks really nice. Maybe that's why the new owners bought it.

I had a lot of errands to run today. It was nice to drive around in a new car. I think this is one reason the dealer gives you these nice loaner cars. After driving around in a new car for a week, it's easy to convince yourself that your old car is rubbish. I'm sure they'd like me to trade up to a new Land Rover. I wish I could get a new car every three years or so, like I did when I was an ad agency employee. As the owner of a small business, my income fluctuates too much to be casual about large purchases like I used to be. Some years I do pretty well, but other years, I make almost nothing after expenses. You just never know. I think a new car will just have to wait until the stock market makes a dramatic rebound. And when will that be? After the events of the past two years, I'm inclined to say never.

It rained off and on today, but thankfully, the dogs were calm. I think it's thunder that really sets them off. They're both smart enough however to associate rain with the thunder they fear. Even a gentle shower will make them nervous. They're always waiting for the other show to drop. I guess I'm the same way. I'm still superstitious that something's going to go wrong with the sale of my rent house, even though we close nest week. Janet thinks I've made the dogs neurotic. Of course, maybe it's the other way around.

Domino is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day