Day 3037

I'm losing track of the days again. The main thing that make one day different from the next is how Dash is acting. He is totally unpredictable. Last night he slept all night, although I woke up several times in anticipation of his usual need to go outside. He seemed disoriented when he woke up this morning, but returned to normal after about thirty minutes. He seemed in good spirits on our morning walk and then slept most of the day after we returned. When it was time for dinner, he turned his nose up at everything. I couldn't tell if he was feeling nauseous or just being stubborn. I tried all his favorites and he wouldn't eat anything. I left some food in his bowl and went about my business.  About an hour later I noticed that he'd changed his mind and decided the food was OK after all. He wouldn't take an afternoon walk with me, but when Janet came home from work he decided that walking was OK again. I wonder what causes these mood swings? Dogs are supposed to be predictable.

I'm having trouble getting people to return my calls. I'm ready to clean up the back yard and get new St. Augustine grass put in, but the landscaper hasn't called me back. I haven't heard from the roofer either. He sent me an e-mail about a month ago saying he'd take care of things, but that was the last I've heard from him. I did finally get a call from the tree guy, but he just told me that he was in the middle of something and to call him again tomorrow. Eventually, I'll get all these things taken care of,  but nobody seems very excited about my little projects.

I was slightly excited when I the UPS guy delivered the special silicon glue I ordered. I had to order two tubes of this exotic adhesive to meet the company's minimum order requirements and shipping cost $10. I could have found a replacement UP3 fitness band for about the same price. I wonder why I'm so obsessed with fixing things? Oddly, I'm really curious to see whether this glue works.

We encountered a bunch of Great Egrets along the shoreline this morning. I wanted to get closer so I could take a good picture, but Dash wasn't interested. Dash is not interested in birds at all. I always carry a small pocket camera with a 30x zoom but the pictures often leave a lot to be desired. I never take a good camera while I'm walking Dash. Dash is a great companion, but he's a terrible photo assistant. It's easier to just concentrate on walking.

I watched another Space X launch on my computer this afternoon. These guys are really getting good at this stuff. Today's payload was a telescope that will look for planets orbiting other nearby stars. I wonder whether humans will eventually reach the stars or just become extinct after we ruin our own planet. It's a toss up.

Mattie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2047

Breakfast was the high point of the day. I like predictable, consistent things and this place doesn't let me down. I always order the Amigas plate with Chorizo and tell the barista that I want three cups of coffee. Since I've never varied my order in over two years, I don't even have to say anything when I walk up to the counter. They start cooking my breakfast when I walk in the door. Amigas is basically a plate of scrambled eggs, tortilla strips, Chorizo, cheese, onions, and a very spicy tomatillo sauce. It is served with three flour tortillas and pan fried potatoes. It's a hearty meal, so it takes me three cups of coffee to finish it.

I'd like it if the rest of my day was as relaxing as breakfast, but it seldom is. Apparently, Friday is stressful for a lot of people. I couldn't even get anyone to return my calls today. They were all in meetings or in crisis mode. I kept getting put on hold or dumped to voicemail. I always think my calls are important, but to a lot of people I'm just an old man who asks way too many questions. People prefer to send three word text messages these days. They don't want to spend fifteen minutes going over things in detail. I often realize when people ask me a question they don't really want an explanation at all, they just want me to say yes or no. At any rate, when people say "please call us if you have any questions," and then they won't take your call when you actually do have a question, you can start to feel irrelevant.

Dot ran out of Palladia pills today. This was one of the many questions I was calling about. "What do I do now," I wanted to ask? How can a major cancer center run out of one of their most frequently used medications? When one of the nurses finally returned my call, I was told that all they had left were the 10 mg Palladia pills. The 50mg and 15mg pills were unavailable anywhere. At any rate, next week I will be giving Dot six small pills three times a week instead of two larger ones. The total dose will be 60 mg each day, instead of her usual 65 mg. The oncologist said that this would be fine. I don't know what was wrong at some of the places I called today, but I'm sure the Palladia shortage contributed to the stress at the cancer center.

The temperature continues to get hotter and hotter. I'm impressed with how smart Dash is. He instinctively knows not to walk on pavement now and always chooses to walk on the grass at the side of the road. He never used to do this when the weather was cooler. Even the mornings are getting warmer now and I've had to delay our evening walk until the temperature starts to drop a bit as the sun nears the horizon. My water bill has certainly gone up. It was almost twice as much as it was last month. August will probably be even worse. We've still got grass though. That's a plus. By this time last year, the grass was gone.

It looks like it's going to be a slow weekend. I've got to pick up Dot's Palladia pills in the morning and get a few groceries, but that's about it. Work has slowed down. The dogs have slowed down. There's really no reason for me not to slow down as well.

Molly is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day