Day 1539

My life is starting to resemble Groundhog Day again. The same health insurance claims get filed incorrectly over and over again. The large printer keeps clogging. My UP fitness band keeps breaking right after Jawbone sends me a patch that they claim will fix the problem. The insane redbird keeps pecking at my office window and pooping on my car. The same telemarketers and politicians relentlessly robo-dial my phone. I eat the same oatmeal and do the same work assignments over and over and over again.

I need to ask the dogs how they cope with bone crushing monotony. They both seem to have adjusted pretty well to doing the same things over and over again. Of course all Dot and Dash really do is sleep and pester me to entertain them when they wake up and realize they're hungry or need to pee. I'm sure I'd do better myself if I spent my entire day sleeping. It's much more frustrating when you have spend your day going through the motions of resolving problems that never seem to get resolved.

At least I saw the sun today. It was still cold as hell, but the blue sky looked promising. Today was certainly better than the relentlessly grey skies and sleet we had yesterday. I think the temperatures are supposed to climb back into the mid-sixties before the end of the week, when the whole cycle will begin again. I thought it would be too cold for the dogs this morning, but they seemed invigorated by the frigid air and wanted to walk longer than I had in mind. Dash still needs to take short walks and can't even wear his winter coat, since it attaches around his neck where his surgery incision is. Dot is just too old for long jaunts in icy weather. I'm always worried that she's going to fall.

I'm going to have to call an electrician soon. I can't even finish brushing my teeth before the LED lights in the bathroom ceiling start blinking on and off and driving me crazy. It would be nice to go ahead and fix the leaking shower pan and reinstall a large mirror that has come loose at the same time, but that would involve either finding a contractor who would inflate the price, or using a jack-of-all-trades handyman who would do all three jobs poorly. I've already mentioned that the dogs don't like workmen in the house either. All these problems will eventually get solved. It just won't be very satisfying.

Tomorrow, Dash resumes his regular bi-weekly antigen shots. I know he'd like to resume the rest of his regular schedule as well. All in good time. He should be pleased that he's doing as well as he is. I only wish my dislocated shoulder would heal as quickly as he seems to be recovering from his thyroid surgery. I'm going to remain hopeful that something interesting will happen tomorrow.

Maggie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1381

I spent most of the day wishing I could take a long nap. It wasn't excessive activity that was so tiring, it was quite the opposite. There are times when boredom can be exhausting. It certainly wasn't that there was nothing to do. I had plenty to do. Unfortunately, my to-do list was exactly the same as it is everyday.

I got caught up on all my writing assignments. I made some cosmetic website changes for clients. I did a load of laundry. The dogs got walked. I had my bowl of steel cut oats and fresh fruit and did the dishes. I tried to stretch these things out, but there was still plenty of time left over.

Instead of using my left-over time to do something new and adventurous, I went to the gym. Going to the gym usually consists of twenty minutes on the hand bicycle, twenty minutes working through the line of resistance machines, ten minutes on one of the rowing machines, and a few minutes on the court shooting baskets. I always do the same things over and over. I haven't talked to anyone at the gym yet. Maybe I will someday, but there's no hurry. According to my doctors, I should continue a regular exercise regime for the rest of my life.

I should have finished painting the Sheetrock repairs in the living room today, but I cleaned up dog poop in the back yard instead. This gives you a good idea of how much I like painting. Sadly, there are probably a lot of repairs like this that will continue to languish on the back burner until it's time to sell the house. I tell myself that I could finish all these repairs at any time, but this is a lot like the alcoholic who tells himself that he could quit drinking at any time. Truth be known, I have simply lost interest in the house.

At least I haven't lost interest in breakfast. I'm already looking forward to my regular Friday breakfast outing tomorrow morning. I still don't know if tomorrow will be a busy day, but if I have time left over tomorrow, I need to start getting my camera gear ready for this weekend's Dalmatian Rescue Golf Tournament. It's hard to believe we have been doing these tournaments for twelve years now. Of course, there's very little that I haven't been doing for at least twelve years now.

Suki is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1221

I've been mesmerized by the coverage of events in Watertown today. The world has certainly changed. Even terrorists have Facebook pages these days. In this age of social media, it would probably be more conspicuous if you didn't have a Facebook page. Having a social media presence is just another way to blend in. Privacy is gone too. It was simply astounding how quickly accurate, detailed pictures of the two bombers were obtained. In a world where there are CCTV cameras every hundred yards and millions of people walking around with cell phone cameras, don't expect to keep your secrets very long.

I don't think this loss of privacy is necessarily a bad thing, but I wonder where it will lead. Technology is a Pandora's box that has been already opened. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if sometime within the next 50 years there will be a machine that can read your memories. When a suspect is apprehended, they will simply hook them up to the machine, look at their memories, and see if they did the deed. When the memory machine is perfected, a 2.0 version will probably appear that will just kill you on the spot if you are guilty. I'm not sure if this is a bad thing either. It will certainly put an end to a succession of sensational Jodi Arias and O.J. Simpson trials, along with their entourage of money grubbing trial lawyers.

I lead a simple life. I wish other people would too. This morning I had my blood work done again. I still have a celebratory breakfast after these routine blood tests, but it's not bacon and humongous piles of pancakes anymore. I had a plate of fresh fruit and Eggs Benedict with grilled tomatoes and black bean cakes. I'm starting to enjoy my new healthy diet, but I have to remind myself not to be judgmental about all the fat, out of shape people at the other tables. If you want to lose weight, just cut out wheat and sugar. It works wonders.

Work was a bit slow today, but it allowed me to catch up on other things. I balanced my checkbook, went to the grocery store, and even found time to do a little exercise. I'm certainly not going overboard with the new workouts. I'm just trying to do something every day, so it eventually clicks into place and becomes part of the routine.

I worry about Dot. She seems to sleep longer and walk slower with each passing day. I know aging is inevitable, with Dot and with me as well. I wish it wasn't so though. Dot and Dash have woven their way so tightly into the routine I call my life that I don't know what I'd do without them.

Marley is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1219

Some days are so vanilla that I have trouble remembering what I actually did at the end of the day. I certainly was busy today, but nothing stands out as significant. There was a little bit of everything. I went to the bank, went to the post office, picked up a prescription for Dash at the vet and another for myself at the pharmacy. I did a load of laundry, made a quart of fresh juice from half a dozen oranges and a whole pineapple, and still found time to update a couple of websites.

I thought we were going to get out of going to dog training class tonight, since we've been on the verge of a thunderstorm all day. The rains haven't arrived yet, however. According the the weather channel, that will come later tonight, right after I've settled into a sound sleep. I can almost guarantee that Dot will wake me up with another storm phobia panic attack. It doesn't even matter if there's thunder and lightning anymore. Even the smell of rain makes her freak out.

I saw a Spring wildflower that I'd never photographed before right in the middle of a big patch of poison ivy this morning. I was tempted to wade in and get the shot, but sanity prevailed and I left the flower alone. I can always come back later with a telephoto lens. A little further down the trail were some Pink Evening Primrose flowers that had just come into bloom. I photographed these instead.

I'm kind of irritated that the Defender is still running rough. After two major repairs during the past 60 days, it should be running like a well oiled sewing machine. Of course, maybe it actually is running like a sewing machine. The old Singer is running kind of rough too. I've called the dealership twice, but they haven't returned my calls. This usually means they have no idea what the problems is and just want me to go away. The problem could be anywhere. One of the motor mounts could be broken. There might be a bad spark plug wire. The carburetor might be dirty. Chances are it's something else entirely. I seldom guess these things correctly.

I've lost fifteen pound since I changed my diet. That's quite a bit for me, since I was never overweight in the first place. Now it's time to get serious about an exercise program before I waste away. A fellow blogger recommended that I start doing planks to build up my core. I like the idea of planks. Basically all you do is hold your body in a straight rigid position while resting on your elbows and toes. You hold your spine horizontal for as long as you can. So far, several minutes seems like a long time to me. Since this exercise involves no movement at all, and is basically doing nothing, I like it.

Bella is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1214

Maybe I need to be more flexible. Before I even looked at the menu this morning, my waiter poured me a cup of coffee and said, "I'm sorry sir, we don't have your usual breakfast this morning." They were out of black beans. I guess I do order the same thing every time, but I didn't think anyone noticed. I do have different things for breakfast from time-to-time, but usually when I'm in the mood for something different I just go to a different restaurant. Once I find something I like, I stick with it. I've managed to find half a dozen restaurants that are worth a return visit and each of them has one thing I like. I seldom deviate from this self-enforced rigidity.

Maybe my memory isn't as good as it used to be either. I took the dead lawn mower battery to the battery store and asked for a free replacement, since the rechargeable 24-volt battery had been in the mower for less than a year. The service technician showed me a sticker on the battery that said the batteries had been replaced in the Spring of 2010 instead of the Summer of 2012. You could have fooled me. It still seemed like less than a year. As far as I'm concerned, a three year life span isn't much to brag about either. I've had the same battery in my Defender for over ten years and it still works great.

After I got the breakfast and batteries out of the way, I settled down to work. There were websites to tweak, words to write, and more than a few phone calls to answer. I've been surprised at how busy I've been this Spring. None of the assignments are very glamorous, but they keep me busy. As I was writing, I ran the cleaning routine on the large format printer. I should have done this last week, since it took me about twenty sheets of paper and half my remaining ink to get the lines unclogged again. Once I got the printer working properly again, I turned it off. I didn't have anything to print.

After the completed Microsoft Word files were attached to an e-mail and sent off on their way, I finished the rest of the Friday chores. I retrieved the garbage can from the street, I watered the back yard, I ran a load of laundry, got some supplements at the health food store, and wrapped things up by going to the grocery store to pick up something for dinner. Remembering that I need to be more flexible, I got Chinese food for dinner instead of the usual Friday fare.

Nellie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1101

The world is supposed to end tomorrow. Of course, we all know that Friday will be just another uneventful day, but I couldn't help thinking that things would be easier if the world actually did end tomorrow. I wouldn't have to worry about my health deteriorating anymore. I wouldn't have to pay the big stack of December bills sitting on my desk. I wouldn't have to do any last minute Christmas shopping. I could even start drinking again during the final hours. I can't imagine that a few good martinis would even matter as the world wound to a close.

I'm quite certain that the world will still be here when I wake up tomorrow morning. There will be articles to write, dogs to walk, and maybe even a new breakfast restaurant to explore. I'll probably do some laundry. I'll go to the grocery store in the afternoon, because I always go to the grocery store on Friday. When Janet comes home from work, I'll tell her that it's been a long week and that I'm glad it's Friday.

Although it certainly wasn't the end of the world, we did have a bad storm last night. The rain didn't last long, but we had severe winds for most of the night. When the dogs and I took our morning walk, the park was littered with fallen trees. It's hard to think of trees as fragile, but I guess they are. Every time we have a wind storm, we lose a few trees. Since we had 60 MPH in-line winds at some points during the night, I thought we might lose the roof of our greenhouse. I saw a few roof panels flapping around in the wind just before I went to bed last night, but we got lucky and everything was still intact the next morning.

It just occurred to me that maybe my backup hard drive failed because I kept it running 24/7. I think I'll just turn the new backup drive on once a week to make backup copies. It should last forever then. If I could just turn myself on once a week, I might last forever too.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1078

It's pretty clear who calls the shots in this house. I was just a little off schedule with walks and feeding times today and the dogs wouldn't let me hear the end of it. There is a time for everything, and when I'm late they both start barking and nudging me with their snouts to get me back on schedule. It's futile to resist, so I usually just go along with the program. If I'm late, you'd think the earth was coming to an end. On the other hand, if I'm early it just establishes a new benchmark and I'm expected to be early all the time

I don't know why Dot and Dash were so eager to go out today. It was cold outside. Another cold front must have swept through last night, because it was 70 degrees on Sunday. This morning, it was in the mid 30's. Too cold for me!

Every Winter I have reservations about our plan to move North when we retire. I don't like the cold. Even though I went to high school in Alaska and spent a few winters in Idaho and Washington, I never really got used to snow. After thirty years in Texas, I've totally forgotten how to deal with it. Nevertheless, Dallas is no place to grow old. When the time comes, I'll easily trade this city's problems for someplace cold and very quiet.

The only thing I'd miss about leaving Dallas are the city's great veterinarians. There isn't a better place in the entire country if you have a sick dog. The Veterinary Referral Center of North Texas is the Mayo Clinic for dogs. It's amazing what the doctors and surgeons at that place can do. They've saved the lives of several of our dogs and many of our friends dogs. It would be hard to go back to a little rural vet clinic after getting used to the idea that dogs can actually get better care than humans.

The cold weather seemed to cool everything else down as well. Business was slow today. I ended up having time to watch the Joss Whedon "Serenity" DVD after I took Dash to the vet for his antigen shot. It was a good movie, but the dogs didn't like it at all. It was what got me off schedule.

Spots is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 624

We ended the month exactly the same way we started. The dogs got an extended walk through the park. I got a nice breakfast. Then, the clients got their work done. In all these years, I've never missed a deadline. I don't think some clients would actually mind if I missed a deadline, but I don't like to let these jobs linger. They're all like a hot potato that I want to toss back to the sender as soon as I can.

I got done with enough time left over today to go up on the roof with a caulking gun and look for cracks to patch. Even though it's hot and dry now, the rainy season isn't that far away. I'd really like to have the roof sealed again before the Fall rains begin. I don't know how water gets through this roof. I looked and I looked today, but couldn't find any weak spots. I squirted the Henry 209 compound on anything that looked suspicious, but I'm not sure it will do any good. If history is any guide, there will be a drip in the living room again soon after the first heavy downpour.

The dogs were pretty good in class tonight. The weather was a few degrees cooler this evening and it was just enough of a difference to catch their attention. Dash did pretty well with all the exercises for a change, but I don't know what it's going to take for him to win a ribbon again. He used to win ribbons almost every week, but he hasn't finished in the top four for over six months now. Maybe he's adopted the same attitude I now have about advertising awards. I have boxes full of these things in the storage warehouse, but I don't even bother to enter the competitions anymore. What's the point.

It will be September tomorrow. Time for the dog's heartworm pills again. Maybe I'll have French Toast for breakfast instead of my usual biscuits and gravy. That ought to make the day exciting.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day