Day 1552

I'm usually completely oblivious to anything that's not on my "to do" list. Whenever Janet travels, I become painfully aware that there is a lot more on her list than I thought. I've been going to the store quite a bit lately because I realize we've run out of something that is not usually on my list. So, wherever you are in the sunny Caribbean, thanks for looking out for me. Life is easier when you only have to remember half the stuff that needs to be done.

The only productive thing I did today was write a letter of resignation and formally end my membership in the Wednesday morning networking group. In fairness, this is a great group of guys, and I'm sure what they do makes perfect sense for them. I'm just not a group person and probably never will be. I thought it was time I finally admitted that I was just going to these meetings for the bacon. Hey, I like breakfast a lot more than I like business. What's wrong with that?

The rain finally stopped today, but that doesn't mean that Spring has returned. It actually got colder. A lot colder! I had to get out the duck down ski jacket again for our morning walk. I wonder how many more of these extreme hot cold cycles we are going to go through before the warm weather is finally here to stay? Even the landscape guy told me yesterday that this is the weirdest Winter he has ever seen.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting. Dash needs to fast because I'm taking him to the cancer center in the morning for another CAT scan. Both dogs need to go on a walk right after they get up, so they will poop and pee. The only thing Dot and Dash think about when they wake up in the morning is food. So how do I feed Dot without Dash noticing? I guess she'll just have to wait until I get back from dropping Dash off for his CT scan. It won't be so bad Dot. I'm not eating my own breakfast until I get back anyway.

I was going to get my taxes ready this afternoon and drop them off with my accountant on my way back from the cancer center. That didn't happen. The day just got away from me. Maybe I can still get all the files ready after breakfast tomorrow and drop everything off at the accountant's office on my way to pick Dash up later in the afternoon. That sounds like a good plan, unless a paying job magically appears overnight.

I need to figure out how to change the alarm on the clock radio. Janet gets up early and it's been going off at 4:45 AM every morning. It would probably only take me five minutes to find the instructions on Google for disabling the stupid thing, but so far it's been easier to just hit the snooze button.

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 918

I was invited to one of those business networking breakfasts this morning. In theory, these type of things seem like a good idea. A group of non-competing business owners get together for breakfast and agree to use each other as vendors and suppliers whenever possible. There is supposed to be only one member in the group for each type of business. You might be sitting at a table with a dentist, a real estate agent, a body shop owner and an insurance agent. This sounds like a good way to introduce your services to a receptive audience, but whenever I'm invited to one of these things there is already somebody else who does websites. Today, the other guy who did websites was making the morning's presentation. When I was introduced, I just said I did the same type of thing as the other guy.

I honestly don't know why I'm even invited to these things. I don't seem to fit in. I don't even want to fit in. While the others around the table are talking about their Spring ski vacations or the upcoming marriages of their kids, I'm just wondering when I can get home to walk the dogs. The last time I was excited to be around a group of people talking about their chosen profession was when I used to go to SXSW in Austin every Spring. Being around a bunch of talented indie filmmakers was exhilarating. I always came home from the festival wanting to make another film myself. Somehow, looking at a PowerPoint presentation describing yet another small business marketing plan isn't quite the same. I shouldn't complain though. Breakfast at the Park Cities Club is always great. If the breakfast were served at 9 AM instead of 7 AM, the whole thing might be worth a try.

A lot of people in our dog training class must have gotten caught in last week's big hailstorm. When we got to class tonight, everyone was showing their iPhone videos of the storm to each other. I'm still amazed at how much damage a twenty minute storm like this could cause. Janet finally managed to get her car into the body shop today, so we're both driving loaner cars at the same time. I just hope that there's not another hailstorm in the near future. I want to get these loaner cars returned safe and sound. I've already learned the hard way that damaging someone else's car is much worse than damaging your own.

I noticed that all the birthday greetings on Facebook yesterday caused my Klout score to go up three points. Hmm. Is this what Internet influence is all about? Maybe so. Probably the folks with really huge scores are the people who post all those LOL Cat pictures.

Alamo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 397

I've finally gotten enough things installed correctly on the new computer that I'm starting to tell people "I love my new computer" instead of "I hate my new computer." I've successfully transfered just about all of my image files, so I can start doing design work again. Dreamweaver can communicate with all my clients websites. My accounting system is functional. I'm just about ready to put the old computer back in the box and haul it off to the storage warehouse. Most of the things my friends told me about Snow Leopard are true. It definitely loads faster and appears to be relatively trouble free. I love the new built-in app store. I've grown so fond of the iPhone app store that it seems like a fabulous idea to have the same thing available for my computer. I may never buy software in a shrink wrap box again.

We've got three new Dalmatians entering the rescue program this week. One is coming from Longview, one from Waco, and the third is here in town. All three new dogs are females, which is a good thing, since currently we only have males available. I need to get these new dogs photographed early next week so we can get them up on the website and find them homes. We haven't had this few dogs available to adopt for a long time. That's actually a good thing too, since it means we did a pretty good job of finding them homes last year.

This is the third or fourth day in a row that I've woken up to the sound of rain on the roof. The rain eventually stopped, but it was cold and dreary all day. The dogs knew it was the day they usually go to the dog park, but of course the park was closed again due to bad weather. They were completely disgusted by all the house cleaning going on and kept standing by the front door, waiting to go somewhere in the car. As soon as the floors were clean, we took them on a walk, so they could track mud in the house again.

I joined an association of local pet business owners this week. I never really think of my company as a pet related business, but I guess it is. I design websites for veterinarians. I photograph dogs and cats. I sit on the boards of rescue organizations. I'll probably fit right in with the groomers, dog biscuit bakers and day care providers who are the other members of this group. I still do some writing for the oil and gas industry too. Just enough so I can join their organizations as well.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day