Day 3491

I guess I was surprised that the carpenter actually showed up. My expectations are pretty low these days. I liked the guy. His life seemed like the carpenter's version of mine. He'd worked for a number of large construction companies and employed other people himself before concluding that he was happiest working alone. He asked all the right questions and seemed knowledgable. If his bid seems reasonable, he'll be the guy I use to rebuild the greenhouse. Hopefully, by the end of the Summer I can cross this task off my list.

I also called a sculptor friend to see if she could repair a backyard sculpture that got broken during the same June storm that destroyed the greenhouse. Since I was feeling industrious, I climbed up on the roof to see if I could patch some small tears in the elastomer coating using the Liquid Rubber in a Can that I bought at Costco a few weeks ago. After examining the area carefully, I chickened out and begged the roofer who's trying to avoid me to bring me a new supply of the Armor Flex silicon material instead. If I use anything else, I think the repair will fail because silicon only sticks to silicon. The Liquid Rubber in a Can also had all sorts of danger warnings in very small print in the can. I don't have a good feeling about this stuff.

I was a little envious to learn that several of the folks I went to Kennedy Space Center with were participating in Apollo 11 50th Anniversary events today. One got invited to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama to hear Buzz Aldrin and other Apollo era astronauts speak at a special 50th Anniversary Dinner. Another was at the Smithsonian in Washington DC for the unveiling of the restored spacesuit that Neil Armstrong wore on the moon. A third was taking his wife to see a Duran Duran concert in the Rocket Garden at the Space Center. There wasn't much on my agenda. After talking with the carpenter, I just took another very hot walk in the park.

I don't know why this summer seems like the hottest ever. Last year it was well over 100 degrees at this time. I remember a year that was so hot that the lake started to dry up. So far this year it is only in the 90's. It still seems miserable to me though. Maybe I'm just getting old. I need to start watering the grass more often. Everything is turning brown and going to die soon. I hate the thought of humongous water bills though. I find myself wishing for rain and hating rain at the same time. Basically, I'm ready for Summer to be over.

Fifty years ago this morning Apollo 11 started its journey to the moon. There certainly wasn't anything momentous going on today. As I channel hopped while I was drinking my smoothie for breakfast the only things on the news was more of the endless bickering you see in Washington DC these days. I'm enjoying all the documentaries about the Apollo 11 Anniversary, but I wish something equally exciting was going on now.

In lieu of excitement, I picked up a prescription at the pharmacy and finished updating the Dalmatian Rescue website. At least I did something today.

Laura is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1749

I wish there was a longer gap between the end of Spring allergies and the beginning of Fall allergies. Fall allergies are back with a vengeance and it seems like I only had a single month of relatively pollen-free peace. With literally hundreds of different plants continually shedding their seeds and spores in the park behind our house, I've just about resigned myself to a lifetime runny nose.

Since antihistamines leave me loopy, I've resorted to using those big, blue rolls of shop towels like Kleenex. It's good that I work alone, because it seems like I spend the entire day blowing my nose. I think the dogs are having seasonal allergy problems too. They've certainly been licking  their coats a lot lately. Allergies usually affect a dog's skin instead of their nasal passages, but I'm sure it is equally irritating. I've got my own skin irritations this week as well. I thought yesterday's fire ant bites would have gone away by now. Instead, the red puffiness around my knee has resolved into dozens and dozens of hard red little bumps. It kind of looks like I have chicken pox. I don't know how long it will take for this mess to go away, but at least the ant bites don't itch as much as chigger bites.

I only had one thing to do today, but the task proved so difficult that I still haven't finished everything. I'm not sure I even want to be a website designer anymore. I initially got interested in doing this type of work because it seemed well suited for a solitary guy like me. I could sit at my computer and create beautiful things without having to deal with printing companies and production managers like my print-based contemporaries. This business model worked for a long time, but lately I find myself spending very little time actually doing graphic design. It's all about Javascript, PHP, and SEO these days. The thrill is definitely gone. I don't like modifying other people's Wordpress themes either. That's what I was doing today.

I often envy the dogs. We like a lot of the same things. They like to eat. So do I. They like to smell every bush while we take our walks. I like to photograph every bush. It works out nicely. When we come home, the dogs go to sleep. I wouldn't mind going back to sleep either, but unlike Dot and Dash, I've got bills to pay. I wonder if they realize how lucky they are.

I hope I can get my website project finished quickly tomorrow, because some new writing assignments came in late in the day. Tuesday is usually when I have to update one of my animal rescue websites as well. No rest for the weary. I'm already looking forward to Friday.

Sweet Pea is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1604

It seemed important to catch up on things today. I attacked a big stack of unpaid bills, wrote checks for all of them, and took them to the post office. Utility and telecommunications bills are especially irritating, because they seem to go up almost every month, with no improvement in service whatsoever. I changed my data plan on my phone last month to lower my bill, and just one month later I discover that they've raised my rate on my new "lowered" bill. Very frustrating.

I also got a long overdue haircut this afternoon. With a busy work schedule and lots of dog problems, I haven't had time for anything but the absolute necessities this Spring. A haircut certainly isn't a necessity, but mine was getting so unruly that it was getting pretty close. It's much better now. I'll be able to go out in public for at least another month without embarrassing myself.

Dash continues to improve every day. He is stronger now and is starting to take normal walks again. He still isn't up to speed however, since Dot, who is usually the one who tires out first, is in the lead on our walks these days. This is good in a way, since it's easier now to get both dog's turned around for the trip home when Dot gets tired. It's hard to tell how much the radiation burn on Dash's neck is bothering him, since he is still taking the Tramadol for pain. The wound looks better though. It's not nearly as red and raw looking as it was last week. I don't think it will be too long before we can resume our trips to the dog park and re-join our training class.

It was hard to get excited about my writing assignments today. Call me old fashioned, but I still think the primary purpose of writing should be to educate and entertain. When the primary purpose is just to improve someone's SEO rank, it can get pretty boring. I shouldn't complain about the writing jobs though. The website design work isn't particularly exciting either.

I've started to notice that one-by-one, most of the friends I grew up with are starting to retire. The ones who spent their careers at large corporations or working for the government all retired first. Now, even the people who didn't wind up with a great pension are considering retirement. This includes most people in advertising. You might make a good salary while you're working, but you don't generally take a lot away from the table when you leave. The self-styled artists and the folks who got divorced too often are the only ones who never talk about retirement. Most of them can't afford to retire. I generally put myself in the "artist" category. Maybe that's why I occasionally find myself envying former coworkers who seem to spend all their time traveling the world after they've sold their house and moved to their beautiful mountain or seaside vacation home.

They're still predicting severe storms in the area tomorrow. That's why I got most of my errands taken care of today. If it rains tomorrow, we'll do what we usually do. I'll write articles and revise websites right up until the power goes out.

Spot is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1056

Occasionally, I look at the profiles of people who appear on my Google+ stream and become envious of how idyllic their lives seem. Then I look at my own profile and realize that it's not that different from the rest. I guess appearances can be deceiving. I think even the scrupulously honest often put the accent on the positive to avoid depressing those around them. I do this myself sometimes. It's good to have a positive attitude. I just don't always believe you.

The fog was thick as soup when I took the dogs out this morning. I though I'd take a good camera with me on our walk and try to get some pictures before the fog lifted. What a disaster. The big camera around my neck was continually getting tangled in the dog's leashes. When I did find something to photograph, Dash would tug on the leash just as I was pressing the shutter and ruin the shot. If I spent too long looking through the viewfinder, I would inevitably look up to see one of the dogs eating something disgusting at our feet on the ground. I did get a few decent shots, but it was hardly worth the effort. It is much easier to take pictures with a cell phone when you are walking Dalmatians.

I didn't have much better luck trying to find out why the State of Missouri is telling me I owe them money. After sitting on hold for an inordinate amount of time, I finally was able to speak with someone in the state's tax office. They weren't much help. All they could tell me was that they had received a 1099 form with my name on it. They couldn't tell me what I supposedly owed, or why I was on their list. I kept telling the official that I had never lived in the state of Missouri in my life and that I had already paid all my taxes for the year in question anyway. My very rational argument seemed to fall on deaf ears.

Sadly, I think this is the shape of things to come. Government agencies at all levels are strapped for cash and they are getting more and more creative in their attempts to reel in the money they need. I've already noticed that the Dallas County government is quick to raise real estate taxes whenever house values go up, but they are very reluctant to lower taxes when real estate values go down. Income taxes are only a small part of the total picture. Have you looked at your phone bill lately? It's appalling how much of your phone bill goes to pay a bunch of weird hidden taxes. Are you concerned about the price of gas? If you could just get rid of all the taxes they place on gasoline, you could fill your tank for a very reasonable price. I don't think I would mind paying taxes so much if I could control where my money went. I have very little control of where my tax money goes however, and neither do you.

I think this is really what the election is about tomorrow. People want to control where their money goes. Each side has very different ideas of how to spend the tax money we send them. If you don't happen to agree with these ideas, you can start to feel like you vote isn't worth much. It doesn't have to be this way. I'm convinced that if people could decide where their tax money would go when they paid their taxes in the first place, we wouldn't have the divisiveness we are experiencing today. Hey, if you want to fund the military with your taxes, go ahead. If you want to fund social programs, send your tax dollars there. Roads and bridges seem important? That's OK too. If you just let the people decide for themselves where their tax dollars went, a lot of current problems would vanish. Some programs would thrive. Others would vanish. So be it. The people would have spoken. With something this direct and simple, maybe we wouldn't need congress at all.

Coach is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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