Day 2655

I thought my plan to go to the dentist early in the morning was pretty clever, but I forgot one important thing. The drive was right in the middle of morning rush hour. Ouch. As much as I complain about cleaning up dog poop, it's still not as bad as driving in rush hour traffic. All it takes is one small fender bender wreck to back traffic up for miles. I think I'd go insane if I had to do this every morning. Luckily, I have other things to drive me insane.

Every time I go to the dentist, there is a new dental hygienist.  Sign of the times I guess. The first dentist I went to had the same dental hygienist until he retired. Now there's a new hygienist every six months. The woman who cleaned my teeth today was pleasant enough, but she talked the entire time. It's very difficult to carry on a conversation while there are dental instruments inside your mouth.

I got new x-rays today and the dentist said my teeth are in good shape. No cavities. I'm not surprised. I use a Waterpik Flosser every day and brush with one of those Sonicare electric toothbrushes. I thought I was ahead of the curve, but apparently not. They now make WiFi toothbrushes that connect with your phone. This seemed a little over the top to me, but the hygienist said that the high tech brush provides feedback to let you know if you are cleaning your teeth properly and reminds you if you forget to brush. The robots are coming. I'm sure there will be a plate soon that reminds you to eat all your vegetables.

I knew I should have taken Dot outside to pee last night before I went to bed. She was sleeping peacefully though and I hated to wake her. Big mistake. When I woke her up this morning, she peed all over the place. Three rugs got soaked before I was able to get her outside. The house would be much easier to clean if we didn't have the rugs, but they are essential to keep Dot from falling. I tried to air dry the rugs in the back yard today after I washed them. They are making a mess in the dryer because little bits of the rubber backing flake off and clog the lint trap. There is no good solution though. By the time the rugs are dry, there will be spiders building webs in them.

I went to the vegan store this afternoon to pick up something for dinner. I always look at the website first to make sure they have something I like. Typically, when I get to the store, there is a completely different selection of meals. It doesn't seem to bother these people that the website and the store are perpetually out of sync. It's frustrating to me because I'm picky about my vegetables. I like chickpeas, brown rice, lentils, and any type of bean. I don't like sweet potatoes though. I'm not wild about tofu either. I ended up getting something I didn't really like, thinking that I really should have gone up the street and ordered a bowl of Pho from the neighborhood Vietnamese restaurant.

I need to call the roofer again. They still haven't come out and patched my roof. I need to call the landscaper too, even though it will be a waste of money. I wonder if there are any bedding plants that can tolerate being stepped on again and again? Years ago, Janet and I thought about putting artificial turf in the back yard. It probably would have been a good idea.

Brooke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1862

Dot sailed through today's cancer re-check with flying colors. Her oncologist was delighted with her progress and told me that she was amazed at how much stronger Dot had become since her last visit. Since Dot's ultrasound imaging showed nothing abnormal and all her vital signs were excellent, she's good to go for an other three months. We'll probably have to continue these periodic re-checks for the rest of her life, but as long as Dot stays healthy, that's fine.

While Dot was getting her sonogram, I had my own medical issues to deal with. Today's trip to the dentist was primarily to fit the Essix retainer the dentist made for me last month. I have to wear the retainer at night after my wisdom teeth have been extracted, so the upper teeth won't continue to grow downward to fill the gap. I like this dentist because he is so careful and methodical and convinced him to coordinate my treatment with the other two dentists. I want to make sure that everyone's on the same page. It's driving me nuts to have one dentist tell me that I'll need a bone graft if I have implants, while another dentist tells me this is unnecessary. I'd like all three dentists to agree on whether a tooth can be saved too. It's a little late once the tooth has been removed.

I don't know if I'm ever going to get caught up with work. There are upcoming video production projects, photo shoots, writing assignments, and website designs that all have to be completed before the end of February. I would be a lot happier with all this work if I was making any money. Budgets  have dwindled to the point where they are laughable. If anyone had told me in 1990 that I would be doing exactly the same thing 25 years later for half as much money, I would never have believed them. That's what it's come to though. In a world where even accountants and plumbers are creating elaborate YouTube videos, what I do isn't valued as much as it used to be.

I went to an animal rescue meeting after I walked the dogs this evening. I used to go to this 6 PM meeting every month, but the rush hour traffic in front of my house gradually got worse and worse until it was almost impossible to get out of the driveway. I've pretty much given up on getting out of the driveway at 6 PM, but I thought I'd give it a try tonight just for old time's sake. Not surprisingly, the traffic was worse than ever. I still think all meetings should be at 10:30 AM or 2:30 PM, unless there is breakfast and bacon involved.

I have my last physical therapy session tomorrow. It will be a lot harder to do the exercises without the therapist insisting that I do them correctly.

April is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1648

I found out a little more about yesterday's lost Weimaraner puppy. The dog had jumped out of a car window while the car was sitting at a stop light about a mile from my house. It quickly ran away and the owner couldn't find it again after hours of searching. This was one lucky pup. For starters, the puppy got it's leash tangled up in the hedge of a neighbor's who likes dogs. Not everybody would have taken the time to search for the dog's owner. Even worse, the dog could have easily been hit by a car on several busy roads.  If there's a lesson in this, it would be to never travel with dogs when your car windows are open. I see people doing this all the time. They'll be driving down the freeway at 70 miles an hour and their dog is hanging halfway out of the front window. It's just too easy for an accident to happen.

I make sure that the doors are locked and the windows are closed before I go anywhere with Dot and Dash. If they need a breeze, I just turn up the air conditioner really high. Dash always makes me nervous because he would be just like that lost puppy if he ever got the opportunity. Dash could dig a hole under a fence or jump out of a car window in a heartbeat. He wouldn't be trying to run away. In his mind, he's just being playful when he's bad. When I see pictures of dogs playfully running on the beach, I wish there was a place nearby where I could let Dot and Dash do this sort of thing. In a big city there aren't that many choices. Even the city's dog parks aren't completely safe, since there are way too many people who see nothing wrong with bringing their extremely dog aggressive dogs to the parks.

I've never taken Dot to her acupuncture session on a Friday before.  I don't think people work a full day on Friday anymore. At 2 PM this afternoon, the freeways were filled to capacity with rush hour traffic. It seemed like the entire city was taking the afternoon off. We were a little late to our appointment because of the heavy traffic, but our vet worked us in anyway. Dot did pretty well using the underwater treadmill this afternoon, but you can tell the Summer heat is slowing her down a bit. I understand. It's slowing me down too.

I had a nice breakfast at my favorite restaurant this morning and a nice dinner at home this evening. In between was a lot of nothing. Dot had a good physical therapy session today, but I don't think we'll be doing this on a Friday again. The traffic is just too bad. Wednesdays worked well until we started going back to training class again. Now, it's one or the other for Dot. She's too tired to do both. I think we'll try Tuesday for her therapy day next week. Maybe that will work.

The neighborhood Hibiscus tree is in bloom again. These flowers always seem tropical to me, but they're just out in the park behind the house. I wouldn't be surprised to see a snake under the tree.

Alamo is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1554

Reality is starting to kick in. Radiation therapy is not like going to doggie day care. Dash came home today with a number of small florescent green marks on his body, supposedly to help guide or position the radiation robot. He seemed more tired than usual and was coughing a bit. The oncologist said this was completely normal, but it reminded me of my own hepatologist, who keeps telling me that waking up feeling like you have a bad case of the flu every morning during Hepatitis C treatment is completely normal too. Things like this are probably where that old "what doesn't kill you makes you stronger" cliche came from in the first place.

This is going to be a very long Spring. One of the common side effects of radiation treatment is diarrhea. One of the common side effects of Hepatitis C treatment are flu-like symptoms. Both therapies cause fatigue. Oh, well. I wasn't planning on running a 5K anytime soon, and Dash likes to sleep a lot anyway. I suspect we will both be OK.

The traffic is a lot lighter at 7 AM than it is at 7:30 AM. Everybody seems to go to work at exactly the same time. At 6 AM the roads are empty. 7 AM is OK, but by 7:30 the roads are getting crowded. By 8:30 AM, it's gridlock. If you still commute to work every day, you have my sympathies. I've worked out of the house for so long now, that I don't think I could do it anymore. All that being said, it was definitely worth getting up a little earlier this morning. The trip to the cancer center was a lot easier than yesterday. The trip home at 3 PM wasn't bad either. People usually don't come home this early. I try to avoid rush hour at all costs these days.

Although it wasn't a normal day for Dash, it was business as usual for me and Dot. We ate breakfast together and took a walk after I dropped Dash off at the cancer center. I wrote two articles, updated a website, paid some bills, went to the bank, picked up a prescription at the pharmacy, and mailed some letters at the post office. This is where I took today's picture. It used to be a regular No Parking sign. Over the years, shrubs grew up around the sign and covered up the word that spelled Parking. Now, the sign just says No. It pretty well sums up my feelings on most days.

Tomorrow, Dash goes back to the cancer center again. This will be the only time when his treatments are back to back like this. After tomorrow, we begin going on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Hopefully, giving Dash a rest between treatments and taking the weekends off will help. I've canceled Dot's acupuncture session tomorrow. There's only so much I can do. Next week I'll see if I can re-schedule things so she continues to get her therapy as well.

Nick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1553

Things went smoothly today. I got up early and took Dash to the cancer center for his second CAT scan. This time they wanted to see the results after surgery, so they could accurately target where they wanted the radiation beam to go. Since I left the house right after we got up, neither dog had time to realize that we were off schedule and that they hadn't been fed. It all worked out better than I thought.

I returned home to feed and walk Dot and try to get some work done before going back to the cancer center later in the day to pick Dash up again. I need to get this new routine down to a science, because I will be doing it three times a week for a long time. The main thing I learned today was that I need to leave a little earlier. Rush hour traffic in Dallas is terrible.

I actually got quite a bit done today. I finally got all my tax records in order and took them over to my accountant. I boxed up the defective UP fitness band and took it over to UPS to return it to Jawbone. I called several people on the phone in an attempt to resolve a couple of medical issues of my own, and then I updated two websites. 

By the time I got these chores finished, it was time to go pick up Dash again. The oncologist went over the CAT scan images with me and told me that Dash was an ideal candidate for the treatment he will be receiving. Even though thyroid cancers can be very aggressive, he thought we had caught the cancer early enough so that Dash should be able to live a full, normal life after treatment. There are no signs that the cancer has already spread to other parts of the body. All the radiation and chemotherapy Dash will be receiving are just to ensure that every stray carcinoma cell is destroyed. Everyone tells me that radiation and chemotherapy are easier on dogs than they are on humans. I'm not so sure about this though. I doubt that anybody ever asked a dog about how they felt. Dogs probably just don't complain as much as humans. At any rate, the fact that a very good oncologist is so positive about the Dash's outcome is good news. I've been through cancer with dogs before and often the doctors aren't encouraging at all.

Our roller coaster weather cycle has returned to Spring mode. It was clear and warm today and I'm starting to see wildflowers in bloom everywhere. In less than a month, the meadows behind our house will be a rainbow of rich colors. There are few things prettier than a Texas Spring. I've witnessed Spring arrive in a variety of different places and I'd have to say that the wildflowers here are even prettier than they are in Colorado.

I don't know if I'll ever get back to the gym again. I'm not even going to worry about it for the moment. If I can deal with Dash's cancer treatments every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, while still getting my work finished I'll be a happy camper. The added stress of all this will probably keep my weight in check anyway. Some people gain weight under stress. I tend to lose weight.

On Thursday, I take a break from the dog's medical issues to deal with my own. I get another blood test to check my hemoglobin levels. I have a feeling that the side effects of the Hepatitis C treatment people warned me about are finally starting to kick in. My nose runs continually now and I feel like I have a constant cold. There are also occasional chest pains. By the end of June, all this should be behind me though. By then, Dash  and I should both be cured.

Allie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1394

Wednesdays are tiring. I'm up before dawn to drive to my business networking breakfast and can't call the day officially finished until we return from dog training class well after sunset. In between these two activities, a lot of typing takes place, along with a two hour trip downtown for Dot's weekly acupuncture and physical therapy session.

During today's visit with Dot's physical therapy vet, we made arrangements for her to get an MRI scan of her brain sometime next week. I've had a scan of my own brain and I can see why they want the dog anesthetized for this procedure. Being stuffed inside a narrow tube and listening to what sounds like a jackhammer pounding right next to your head is probably enough to freak any dog out. Hopefully, Dot does not have a brain tumor. The other likely causes of her seizures are much easier to deal with.

The traffic was terrible today. I can't imagine driving around in Dallas traffic on a daily basis. You never know what to expect. Usually, the trip to see Dot's acupuncture vet isn't that bad, but today it was bumper-to-bumper all the way. Bad traffic is usually the first topic of conversation during the Wednesday breakfast meetings too. Most of the folks in the group seem to drive continually. I don't know how they stand it. I would go stark raving mad, if I had to deal with rush hour traffic every day.

Writing in a quiet room with a dog under your desk is so much better than getting up and fighting traffic every day, just to arrive at an office where you probably don't want to be anyway. If you can tolerate the insecurity of never knowing where your next meal is coming from, the writer's life isn't bad at all. I finished two more articles today. There's plenty to do tomorrow as well. The best thing is that I seldom have to talk to anyone.

I fell asleep last night watching an old episode of Perry Mason. When I woke up, I thought I was still watching Perry Mason, but it was actually a very similar looking black and white show called the Untouchables. I couldn't figure out why Perry Mason was defending Al Capone. Then I went back to sleep again. I hope I sleep well tonight. It's been a very long day.

Maverick is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 885

I went to a new breakfast restaurant this morning. I'd driven by the place many times but had never eaten there before. As soon as I went inside, I knew I had entered the Twilight Zone. I was the youngest person in the entire restaurant. Lots of people were reading the newspaper. No, they weren't looking USA Today on their iPads, they were looking at real paper newspapers. Nobody was using an iPhone or Android. The few people who were talking on cell phones had ancient brick-like models that I hadn't seen in years. The food was good though. Most importantly, the all important coffee refills just kept on coming.

After breakfast, I paid a visit to my safe deposit box to look for some documents that my real estate agent needed. I couldn't find the documents, but I did notice that there was nothing of real value or importance in my box. I found two old music publishing contracts with record labels that had gone out of business years ago. I found a detailed inventory of office equipment that I no longer owned. I found an expired passport. I found an old will that I should have thrown away because the beneficiaries are already dead. I don't know why I even keep this safe deposit box. Everything in it is worthless.

I had to fight rush hour traffic to go to the airport this afternoon. Ordinarily, I don't even leave the house at this time of day, but rush hour just happened to be when Janet's plane arrived from Las Vegas. I keep thinking we're in a depression, because that's all I hear on TV. When I'm out and about though, people look like they're doing pretty well. If you judged things by the volume of rush hour traffic, you'd have to call Dallas a boom town.

Neither Janet or I felt like cooking when we finally made it home again, so we took the dogs out for dinner at Cafe Lago instead. It's amazing how well behaved Dot and Dash are when we take them to a restaurant. They're been to this dog friendly restaurant enough now that they both understand how things work. If they're well behaved, they're going to get food. They just sit at our feet quietly like model canine citizens. People come over to pet them at our table on the patio and would never believe how badly behaved this pair can be at home.

Skippy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 861

Dash had his annual exam today. This exam is pretty much the same as my own annual physical, except that I don't get a rabies shot. Dash actually seems to be getting healthier as he gets older. His heart murmur has almost disappeared. His eye infection has cleared up. His coat is thick and healthy looking, which is amazing considering how bad his skin allergies were just several years ago. I was really pleased today that I got the vet to agree to trying to wean him off the phenobarbital he's been taking for almost four years now. He has never had another seizure, so I'd really like to see how he does without the barbiturates. Phenobarbital is very effective at controlling seizures, but it can have its own bad side effects if taken for a lifetime. I wish I could get my own doctor to reduce the amount of drugs I'm taking as well, but that's going to be a much tougher sell. Pharmaceuticals rule these days.

I had the best of intentions to return to the storage warehouse and continue moving things today, but I never managed to complete all my work assignments. I'm still trying to get all the animals updated on the rescue site I'm behind on. Now that Facebook and Twitter are so popular, people seem to think that the website modifications I make are just as easy as posting a status update on Facebook. Unfortunately, that's not the case. Designing nice looking rollover buttons and writing Javascript code takes me just as much time as it did ten years ago. I'll get caught up eventually though. I always do.

I signed up for an Adobe seminar a few weeks ago that sounded interesting. Unfortunately, when the time arrived for me to drive downtown to the appointed location this afternoon, I just couldn't bring myself to get in the car. This was one of those seminars disguised as a cocktail party and it began about the same time as rush hour traffic usually starts in Dallas. I guess this thing was designed for downtown ad agency people to attend on their way home from work. It wasn't for me though. Maybe I would have learned something new about Photoshop, but the knowledge wasn't worth fighting the drive time traffic. I much prefer seminars that start at 2 PM. Learning something when people are off the roads is much more enjoyable.

It got up to over 80 degrees this afternoon. It's almost time to start wearing shorts and sandals again. I don't really like the way I look in shorts, but once the temperature reaches a certain level, it's hard to care about appearances anymore. Dallas Summers are about comfort, any way you can achieve it.

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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