Day 2637

Weekends are supposed to be relaxing. Mine are typically hectic. I seldom see anyone during the week. On weekends I get to deal with traffic jams, rude people, and crowded stores. I wish there was a reliable, cost-effective way to get groceries delivered, but even if there was, I wouldn't trust anyone to pick strawberries for me. Stores are diabolical about hiding bad strawberries inside a package of seemingly good ones. It takes me forever to sort through each package, looking for the illusive package without any hidden rotten berries.

Even buying packaged goods can be a challenge. I was suspicious last week when my favorite brand of coffee pods had a different looking box. Maybe just the packaging changed, I thought. Nope. The coffee tasted different. I think they decided to put fewer beans in each pod, because the coffee is definitely weaker than it used to be. Every time I buy detergent, the bottle gets a little smaller, while the price stays the same. It's a jungle out there. Don't even get me started about the traffic. I need to figure out a way to do all my errands while other people are at work, because I'm tired of dealing with the traffic. Amazon drones that deliver everything to your front door couldn't come soon enough for me.

I ended up having to wash a lot of rugs again this morning. Somehow getting up one hour later on Saturday morning makes all the difference for Dot. Usually we can make it safely outside if I get her up at 6 AM. Waiting until 7 or 8 AM is almost always a disaster. You'd think I'd learn, but I'm always so tired that it take quite a commotion to wake me up in the morning. The only reason things work during the week is that Janet gets up at the crack of dawn to get ready for work. Left to our own devices, Dot, Dash and I would sleep till noon.

I'm probably going to wreck the washing machine continuously washing these heavy rugs. I don't think there's much of an alternative though. I've tried cleaning them outside with a hose and they never really got clean. Unless I decide to sleep next to the back door with Dot, I think I'm just going to have to live with this situation. I see those ads for Depends on TV all the time, but I hope I never become incontinent myself. It's a horrible mess.

I only used five gallons of gas last week. That's not very much, is it? Sometimes I worry that I'm becoming too isolated. Then I turn on the television and realize that there's a good reason I have no desire to get out much. Society appears to be crumbling. I don't think a lot of people even realize how nice life was back when I was a kid. I'd like to go back to those times, but unfortunately it isn't going to happen. Like it or not, it's onward toward the apocalypse.

Orion is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2363

I had breakfast in a different part of town this morning. Instead of beards and flip flops, I was surrounded by Mark Cuban wannabes wearing carefully curated Robert Talbot and Ike Behar shirts. The guys nearest me were talking about deals they had made or were about to make. These budding venture capitalists seemed to think that if they couldn't double their six figure investments in less than a year, it wasn't worth the trouble. What a difference a few miles can make. Sometimes I overhear people in the hipster cafe talking about money too, but when it comes time to finance their dream, they're going to be getting a loan from the guys I saw today.

It's weird how fragmented our society has become.You see it in politics. You see it in fashion and music. You even see it in the simple act of eating breakfast. I don't think America is a great melting pot anymore. We have reverted to tribalism. One place I eat breakfast is full of school teachers. Another is full of hipsters. Still another is a favorite of octogenarians. Today's restaurant seems to be where the baby billionaires hang out. Nobody seems to have any desire to venture far from their own tribe. This is not a good thing. Perhaps I'd feel differently if I knew what tribe I belonged to. Observers like myself are seldom joiners, so I doubt that I'll be experiencing a tribal awakening anytime soon. I just watch and wonder as we continue to grow more fragmented.

Dot was definitely out of sync today. She pooped in the house three times during the day and did absolutely nothing on her two walks. There is no rhyme or reason to the incontinence anymore, but it does test my patience. Although cleaning up after Dot kept me busy, there really wasn't much going on today. I almost went up on the roof, but while I was getting ready, it started to rain again. I paid a few early June bills and wondered how I was going to make it through a month where last month's big plumbing and car repair bills were both going to be on my next credit card statement. I think my homeowners insurance is due this month too. I keep hoping that July will be better, but I bet Dot's oncologist is going to want her to start taking the expensive Palladia pills again. It's always something.

I noticed that crews are laying fiber optic cable in our neighborhood. I wonder what that means? It would be nice if it means faster Internet. Maybe the cable has nothing to do with the Internet, but it seems like it should. At least I know why they've been spray painting the location of all the utilities on the streets. I guess they want to make sure that the people putting in the fiber optic cable don't inadvertently cut through a gas or water line.

As I was walking Dash this afternoon, Erykah Badu smiled and waved at us as she was driving home in her Porsche Panamera. The dogs and I have been walking past her house for decades. I wish she'd invite us in sometime. She has a really cool house. With coyotes, pelicans, rock stars, and some of the last native prairie in Texas, it's definitely an interesting neighborhood.

Freckles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day