Day 2820

I got a letter from eBay saying that they hadn't seen me in a long time and that my account would be deleted if I didn't return to buy or sell something within the next 30 days. I didn't click on any of the links because I thought this might be some sort of Phishing scam. It is true that I haven't visited eBay in a long time though. Maybe the letter was real. I used to be hooked on eBay. I would visit almost every day, fascinated by all the weird and wonderful stuff you could find there. I didn't need any of the stuff I bought. My purchases were somewhere between a habit and an addiction. I never bought anything very expensive, but I did buy a lot of stuff. It was fun to get little packages from all over the world.

One day I woke up and my eBay purchases seemed silly. I quit visiting the site and over time I even forgot my login password. I've thought about selling the stuff I bought on eBay, but I don't want to deal with the buyers. There are too many scammers now. I don't want to deal with bad reviews or people who claim their item arrived broken and want their money back. It's just not worth the hassle anymore. If I ever have to resort to selling things on eBay to pay my bills, I'm probably in pretty bad shape. Let's hope that day never comes. Assuming the letter I received is real, I think I'll just let eBay delete my account. Been there, done that.

I have a long laundry list of things I used to be excited about that no longer interest me. I don't write and record songs anymore. I don't have any interest in becoming a fashion photographer. I don't read several books a week these days. Jeez. I'm lucky if I read several books a year. I stopped collecting art years ago when I ran out of walls to display the stuff. I'm not even interested in going to movies anymore.

Sometimes I wonder if I'm interested in anything at all until I look a Dash and realize that I still love dogs. When I'm walking in the evening, I'll look up at the sky and realized that I'm still interested in astronomy as well. If the carpal tunnel in my wrist wasn't so bad, I'd probably play guitar more. Guitars are cool. Maybe this is enough. It is kind of astonishing how my world has shrunk. I used to be interested in everything.

I wonder why I haven't heard from the appliance repairmen. I thought he would have returned to replace the two thermostats in the refrigerator by now. Maybe appliance repairmen are just like plumbers, electricians, and roofers. I have to call the roofer ten times before I can get him to come to the house. There's always a chance that I don't even need the new thermostats. The refrigerator is still working fine. Even the ice maker works now and the repairmen didn't even touch that.

I think Dash is feeling better. He didn't seem as obsessed with his paw today. I was able to let him wander around without the cone on his head for hours at a time today. He had a couple of relapses where I had to resort to the cone again, but things are getting better. It would be nice if he didn't have to wear the cone at all tomorrow.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2582

Today seemed surprisingly normal. There was no need to get up early. The temperature is back above freezing. And Dot woke up on a dry pad for the first time in a long time. It's too early to celebrate, but starting over with the Incurin medication appears to be working. It still felt like Winter on our morning walk, but the sky was clear and the brisk air felt good. I had a feeling that it was going to be a good day.

I've noticed that I'm not eating as much as I used to. I don't think there's anything wrong, but my appetite has certainly diminished. There was a time when I routinely ate three eggs for breakfast. For many years, two eggs seemed plenty. Lately, I've noticed that one egg fills me up. Of course, when I have eggs for breakfast, I usually have toast and sausage or bacon as well, but I eat less of these too. Maybe this is just a natural part of aging. Eating less probably helps keep my weight stable. I have a feeling that I don't burn nearly as many calories as I was when I was walking Dot and Dash six miles a day.

When the dogs grew too old for our marathon walks, it became apparent that I wasn't going to stay fit by watching TV. That's when I started going to the gym. I didn't have high expectations when I went to the gym today. I'd eaten too much over the holidays and skipped my workouts for two weeks. Much to my surprise, I did pretty well. The normally empty gym was almost full today. I guess people haven't given up on their New Year's resolutions yet.

I stopped by the REI store on the way home. I don't need anything, but it's always fun to look around. Camping food certainly has gone upscale. I was amazed to see that you could get freeze dried versions of Chana Masala, Vietnamese Pho, Chicken Piccata with Tagliatelle Pasta, and Chicken Vindaloo. The prices weren't bad. I'm so lazy about cooking now that I was intrigued about getting some of these meals for my regular evening dinners. Cooking freeze dried camping meals is easy. You just throw the stuff in a pot of boiling water, wait twenty minutes and you're done. I'm also fascinated with Goal Zero solar powered generators. These are basically just very expensive storage batteries with a built-in power inverter. It takes forever to recharge them using solar panels, but everyone who has fantasies about living off the grid needs one.

I can vaguely hear the Golden Globe Awards playing on a TV in another room. I don't think anyone is watching, since Janet is asleep. It's hard to believe I used to really be interested in movies. I watched something new almost every week and even took movie reviews seriously. Just not interested anymore. I don't even know who a lot of the younger actors are.

How can a person's interests change from movies and award shows to freeze dried food? It's all part of life, I guess.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day