Day 3158

Buying things is easy. Selling things is much harder. This may not be true for everyone, but it certainly has been my experience. Selling almost always involves negotiation and compromise. Deals are made and broken. People change their minds. I can't say that I enjoy this process. I've never been a haggler. I pay the asking price or I walk away. Maybe this is why the storage warehouse is so full of stuff that is way past its expiration date. I buy things but I never sell.

I don't want a bunch of strangers fighting over my stuff in an episode of Storage Wars, so I guess selling is almost inevitable. Today I agreed on a lower price for some of my model trains. I reviewed a rather disappointing proposal from an auction house. What ate up most of my time was moving vintage synthesizers around. I picked up a restored synthesizer from the audio shop. I took this instrument to the vintage guitar store to consign and retrieved two more broken synthesizers and a vintage drum machine to take back to the keyboard technician. These repairs are expensive, so I'm not sure I'll make much money when the equipment finally sells. I don't have much of a choice though. I either fix the stuff or throw in in a dumpster.

This whole process of unwinding is much more difficult than I imagined. It's making me question the whole concept of ownership. I'm beginning to think that none of us really owns anything. We just rent it for a period of time. Everything passes through our hands eventually. Thirty years ago, the model train guy told me "Someday, I'll have all these trains back in my store." I didn't believe him at the time, but he was right.

While I was at the guitar store, the owner and I talked about the difficulty of calculating the future value of anything. He told me how he had spent an entire Summer's earnings while he was in college on one of the very first flat screen televisions. Then he pointed to a huge TV on the wall at the store. "I got this thing for less than $200," he told me. I could relate. I spent a small fortune once on an early model Osborne 1 computer that looked like a Singer sewing machine and had a screen smaller than my phone.

Dash let us sleep all night last night. It was wonderful. He didn't leave the bed or do anything weird at all. Around 7 AM, Dash woke up, went to the back door and peed and pooped outside, just like a normal dog. He ate well today too. When you've got a dog as old and sick as Dash, you really learn to appreciate the good days.

I wasn't very hungry this morning. A single small waffle filled me up. Janet doesn't think I'm eating enough, but I'm gaining weight. Go figure. I think I never realized how much exercise I was getting when Dot and Dash were young and healthy. Those two dogs could walk forever.

I'm hoping for another restful night. Sleeping well can make all the difference. Maybe sleep deprivation has already affected my memory. I saw something on Facebook today in memory of the lead guitar player in one of my old bands. "Did you know Woody had died," I asked Janet? "Yes", she said. "You told me two years ago."  So it begins.

Toby is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2899

I need to stop going out for breakfast on Friday. I'm just not hungry anymore. I'll order something I usually like and then find myself unable to finish it. Dash seems to be having the same problem. He only ate half his breakfast this morning. Both of us are strongly motivated by food, so I don't know what's going on. For the past several months I've been going to a different restaurant every Friday in hopes that something would click. By the time my order arrives, I'm usually wishing I'd just stayed in bed. Maybe that's the answer. Perhaps Dash and I should just sleep in on Friday.

I tested the cameras and the wireless flash triggers this morning and everything works. Actually, I think the only thing that doesn't work is me. I try to remind myself that we only have two events this year. This should be a piece of cake. We used to do many more events during the holidays but we're all getting older. Two is plenty. Janet thinks I'm not friendly enough during these events, but I'll try to keep it together tomorrow. Nobody likes a grumpy photographer or a grumpy Santa.

I finally made it up on the roof today and patched a few more questionable areas. I also found another area where water had gotten under the elastomer, so I peeled the coating off so the damp section could dry. I was planning to re-coat this section tomorrow, but completely forgot that I'll be downtown taking pet pictures. My memory is shot. How could I immediately forget the photo shoot when I'd just spent the previous two hours checking my cameras and lights?  I think everything will be fine. There is no rain in the forecast. I guess I'll just look on the bright side. If I let the damp area dry for two days instead of one, my patch should last longer.

When I was walking Dash this afternoon, one of our neighbors told me that she's seen three adult coyotes walking down her street yesterday evening. Someone else told me recently that they'd seem a half eaten rabbit two weeks ago. I hate to see the coyotes moving back into the park. They were a real problem four or five years ago. I think they disappeared after they ate everything in the area. Now they're back. I wouldn't want to be a bunny this Winter.

I've got to get up early tomorrow if I want to walk Dash, eat breakfast, and take a shower before driving downtown for the photo shoot. I'd go to bed early tonight, but I missed that chance several hours ago. It seems impossible to get eight hours of sleep anymore. At least I'm getting six these days. When Dot was sick, I was barely getting four. Hey, a good night's sleep can work wonders. I'm going to bed as soon as I post this. I know I'm grumpy, but I'm looking forward to seeing a bunch of great people I haven't seen since last year. We're a good team. I still think we do the best Santa pictures in town.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2489

I wasn't expecting rain this morning, but that's what we got. Dash refused to go outside and pee. Dot, on the other hand, seemed oblivious to the rain and drug me outside in the rain as she slowly wandered around the yard looking for the perfect place to pee. By the time I changed my wet clothes and dried Dot off, it became obvious that the dogs weren't going to get a morning walk. I wasn't going to get to go out to breakfast either, because I kept hearing thunder off in the distance. Dot and Dash are fine in a gentle rain, but thunder and lightning throw them into a panic. I found a package of frozen toaster waffles in the freezer and resigned myself to spending the rest of the day with my two storm phobic dogs.

When I went out to retrieve my trash can after breakfast, I discovered that the truck didn't pick up my trash for the third week in a row. I'm trying to figure out why this keeps happening and the only thing I can think of is that there's a new driver on our route. I remember I used to see the robotic arm stop at the top of it's arc and shake the cans before lowering them to the ground again. This was to make sure that everything gets dumped into the truck. The mechanical arm swings the cans in an arc very quickly to position them upside down on top of the truck. As the arm is moving, I have a feeling that centrifugal force keeps the trash bags pressed against the bottom of the can. If the arm doesn't stop long enough at the top of its arc and allow gravity to empty the cans, then that might explain why my trash bags are still inside the can even after the truck has picked up my can. This driver is in a hurry and isn't stopping to shake the cans.

Since I'll never be able to explain my perfectly reasonably theory to the driver, I went on the City of Dallas website and requested as new garbage can. Maybe a new can will help. My neighbors all have newer trash cans than me and they don't seem to be having the same problems I'm having. I have my doubts that the city will even respond to my request. I've requested services on the city website before and never got a response. Who knows. Maybe the online forms don't even work.

Dash can be incredibly stubborn. He kept refusing to go outside and pee until the rain eventually stopped. He didn't get his walk in the park until almost noon, but that was apparently what he wanted. Poor Dot didn't get a walk at all. After the dogs had been taken care of, I loaded the trash bags in the car and went looking for a dumpster. I'm getting sick of this. After decades of reliable trash service, I don't understand why this is happening now.

I didn't sleep well last night. I remember having very lucid dreams that had people I know in them. I remember my dreams about fifteen or twenty seconds after I wake up and then they're gone. It's too bad that the dreams are so fleeting, because I'm sure they're more interesting than my day-to-day life. My fitness tracker tells me that I get lots of REM sleep but very little deep sleep. If REM sleep and dreaming help to consolidate memories, maybe I don't have to worry about Alzheimer's after all.

I wonder if that hurricane on the East Coast had everything to do with all the rain we got today. Probably not. I'm glad we don't have to worry about hurricanes here in Dallas. Tornadoes are bad enough.

Hershey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 2025

Today is Dot's day. It takes quite a while to take her downtown for her weekly physical therapy and acupuncture sessions, but I enjoy having a break from my routine. The vets and nurses have become my friends and it's nice to occasionally talk to somebody face-to-face, instead of just answering texts and e-mails. It's easy to feel isolated when you live the way I do, so it's reassuring to discover that other people have a lot of the same problems and concerns that I do.

Dot did great on the treadmill today. Since she seemed a bit tired last Thursday, we let her rest this morning and skip her early morning exercise walk. Dash has been good at walking slow with Dot in the morning, but you can tell he wants to go further and faster. Today, he got his wish. I took him on a long walk while Dot was resting at home. Dash reacquainted himself with pungent shoreline smells while I watched a full moon sink lower and lower toward the horizon. There was a nice breeze and we both knew that we wouldn't have to worry about the July heat until later in the day. After several miles, Dash was ready to go home again and I was ready for a hearty breakfast. I love my banana and strawberry smoothies, but today I was ready for some solid food. I heated up a leftover Polish sausage and fixed some waffles. All-in-all, It was a very pleasant way to start the day.

I'm still not getting enough sleep. It's taking me longer and longer to finish the blog each evening. Sometimes I feel like taking a nap between paragraphs. It shouldn't take this long to write about nothing, but I'm particular in my choice of words. At the same time I'm going to bed later, I'm also getting up earlier. Walking the dogs before sunrise has proven to be the best way to keep Dot moving. Even though I'm not a morning person, I've grown fond of these slow pre-dawn walks. The air is crisp and cool and the neighborhood is quiet. At this time of day, it's easy to forget it's already July.

Tomorrow is a holiday for many. Janet gets the day off, but I imagine that my day will be exactly the same as it always is on Friday. Well, it will be a little different. Janet may join me at my breakfast restaurant tomorrow. After breakfast, we're planning to go photograph several new Dalmatians that have arrived at the rescue group's kennel in Lewisville. I'd better remember to charge the camera batteries tonight. I've still got a slide show to complete for a client and several more websites to update, but I've done enough for one day. The garbage has been taken to the curb for tomorrow's pick up. The dogs are already settled in their beds for the night. All that's left to do is brush my teeth, take my evening meds, and watch another episode of Perry Mason as I drift off for my well deserved five hours of sleep.

Bud is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1856

I think we're setting some kind of Texas record for unrelenting grey days. It's been colder before, and I can remember a January or two with more snow. This is the gloomiest January I can remember though. The combination of dark, grey skies and cold, damp temperatures just saps your energy. All I really want to do these days is crawl under a very warm blanket.

The naps will have to wait however. Not only is my plate full of writing assignments, I think I may have acquired a new client as well. New clients are a rarity these days, since I'm no longer looking for them. This doesn't stop things from falling in my lap occasionally. If this new deal works out, it will involve more writing about luxury goods. I actually enjoy writing about luxury goods, mostly because it is infinitely superior to writing about Walmart or Dollar General.

I've decided I need a little point-and-shoot camera. I've virtually stopped using my big professional cameras for personal photos, because they are just too much trouble to lug around. It's almost embarrassing how often I use my phone instead of a "real" camera these days. The camera on my iPhone is about as good as professional digital cameras were fifteen years ago, but on the plus side, it's always in my pocket. The frustrating thing about the iPhone camera is that there is no optical zoom, and it is almost impossible to focus on certain subjects. I still don't understand why the wizards at Apple aren't able to come up with a phone camera that offers manual focus and exposure control. Maybe nobody else wants these things. At any rate, I think if I had a small cigarette case sized camera with a 30x zoom in my pocket, I could capture a lot more interesting images.

Just when I was about to tell my physical therapist that I had too many exercises to remember, she gave me three new ones. Each of these stretching exercises serves to remind me just how weak my right shoulder has become. It all happened so gradually that I wasn't really aware that I was losing both mobility and muscle tone. The shoulder doesn't hurt when I'm not trying to lift things, so inch-by-inch I just quit using it and began relying on my left arm instead. I never should have done this, but hind-site is always 20-20. I think the main reason I'm putting myself through all the discomfort of rehabilitation is that I never want to become one of those people who walks into a supermarket under their own power and then insists on using one of the store's electric scooters to drive around and shop sitting down just because it is easier. That's not me. I'll continue to walk five miles a day with the dogs and climb up on the roof to get the water off until I drop.

Hopefully my creaky body won't give out tomorrow, because I've got lots to do. Dot has her physical therapy day tomorrow and I continue to think that she's making more progress than I am. Dot probably still has energy because she sleeps sixteen hours a day. As someone who rarely gets more than six hours of sleep, sixteen hours sounds pretty good. I'd probably have insomnia though.

Kasey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1701

I may become a morning person yet. The hour before sunrise when I've been walking Dash lately is easily the nicest part of the day. The air is still crisp and cool and there is usually a nice breeze. At this time of day it's hard to believe that just a few hours later the temperature will quickly rise by twenty degrees and we will all retreat indoors to spend the rest of the day hoping the air conditioner doesn't break.

Dot's incontinence hasn't significantly improved, but everything else has. She is taking longer walks and seems eager to return to her old routines. She's back on her regular diet and has already gained a pound. This is all good. When we went to our water therapy session today, Dot was able to stay on the underwater treadmill for two minutes longer than our previous visit. I'm a patient person and I'm happy with her slow incremental progress. I sure wish we had a better solution for her incontinence. It's uncomfortable for her and equally tiring for us. Dots vets say they are comfortable with using estrogen supplements like Incurin to alleviate incontinence, but Janet and I are still nervous about using hormones. Once we go down this road, Dot may be on the drugs for the rest of her life. We'll give her some more time to see if she can resolve this problem herself.

As soon as Dot and I returned from her physical therapy session, I turned around and took Dash to a different vet. It was time to get his anal glands expressed again. It's always something with these two. Dot and Dash have both made great progress against some very long odds. I'd be the first to admit though that, for the moment, we have two very high maintenance dogs.

I finished and launched the last of my new website projects today. These projects have kept me very busy during the summer, but I'm in the process of wrapping everything up and don't see anything new on the horizon. Things might be a little slow for the rest of the month. As my client base continues to age and retire, I don't really know where the new clients will come from. Maybe this is it. I've done my best to stay current and remain relevant, but I don't really think I'm a big hit with the millennials. Many of them have a grandfather younger than me.

This day has gone quickly. It's about time to get the bed waterproofed for the night again. Who knows what tomorrow will bring my way. I've got some animal rescue websites to update and that's about it. What would be really nice is a night of uninterrupted sleep.

Ellis is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1489

According to my Jawbone UP band, I got a full eight hours sleep last night for the first time in months. It's nice to sleep in late and even nicer to have nothing to do once you finally do get up. The only things on the agenda today were a leisurely breakfast, a trip to the dog park, and a visit to the gym. There was a time when I would have been restless without a big personal project to sink my teeth in on weekends. The office is still filled with the tools I used to create these projects, along with remnants of the projects themselves. The desire just isn't there anymore, however. Sleeping in late seems much more fulfilling at this point. It's only a matter of time before this creeping sense of ennui invades my work world as well. I still do my best to accommodate everyone, but secretly I wish they would all just go away.

I amuse myself these days by taking pictures of impossibly long shadows, just before the sun goes down. This is as close to a selfie as you'll ever get from me. I think pictures like these pretty much say it all. I've done a lot over the years and some say I've managed to cast a long shadow. Nevertheless, it's hard to deny that the sun is setting on just about everything. In a very young profession, I've become one of those dinosaurs who talks back to the television and is convinced that the current generation of children are a sign of the apocalypse.

There's no need to be morose when you've got Dalmatians though. Dot and Dash never fail to make me smile. They are my constant companions and always keep me pointed in the right direction. Almost half of my clients are veterinarians, largely as a result my desire to provide these dogs with the best possible care. I know far more veterinarians than I do human doctors and that's as it should be. My own health leaves a lot to be desired, but I'm positive that it would be a lot worse if I didn't walk Dot and Dash five miles each and every day. I walk them because I know Dalmatians need lots of exercise, not because I need the exercise myself. Hey, I still get the benefit of all this activity though. That's the beauty of dogs.

It was certainly pleasant to take the dogs to the dog park today. The sun was shining, the weather was warm, and all the other dogs were all friendly. Dot was strong and steady today, with few signs of the tremor in her rear leg that has become a telling sign of tiredness and advancing age. When we returned home, the house was filled with the aroma of a roast that Janet had started in the slow cooker early this morning. It was a nice day. If nothing happens tomorrow, Monday might be a nice day as well.

Suzie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1461 - Blogiversary

The sun returned today. The bright blue sky and warmer temperatures were a welcome relief from last week's icy weather. I was so happy to see the sun that I got an enormous amount accomplished today. The big pile of equipment from our Santa Paws photo shoots has been put back in its proper place. The car has been washed. I even cleaned all the leaves and ice off the roof. Yes, there was still ice up there after an entire week of gradually warmer temperatures. That was quite an ice storm we had! I finally got up my nerve to talk to my neighbor about the tree of theirs that was still resting on my roof. They were actually quite nice and said they'd already contacted a tree service to remove it.

Fortunately, there was more to the day than an endless progression of weekend chores. Janet and I also went to photograph a very old German Shepard, so the owners could have a nice portrait to remember the dog by when it went to The Rainbow Bridge. The old dog was weak and couldn't walk anymore, since her rear legs had become paralyzed from the canine equivalent of ALS. She definitely hadn't given up yet, however. There was a dignity in the dog's eyes that I often see in older dogs. I hope my photos captured this dog's spirit. Sometimes I think that dogs cope with their short time on Earth much better than we humans do with our much longer block of time. We could learn a lot from the dignity of dogs.

It was hard getting out of bed this morning. I've been tired all week and even though it is getting warmer, I still don't think my body has completely recovered from last week's ice storm. I spent quite a bit of time on my knees photographing the old German Shepard and I felt like joining her on her comfy fleece dog bed. My legs weren't working all that well either at that point. After a long day filled with indoor and outdoor chores, I'm looking forward to a good night's sleep.

I'm hoping that today's mild weather continues through next week. Even though I got a lot accomplished today, there's still a long list of chores on my to-do list. There are still Christmas gifts to buy, bills to pay, and an illusive UPS package to locate. Oh, I almost forgot. Today I begin my fifth full year as a blogger. It's my Blogiversary again. Can you believe it? Five years without missing a single day. I don't think I've been this consistent with anything before. It's been a lot of work, but it's been good for me to collect my thoughts like this at the end of each day. I see a rhythm and poetry to life that I never noticed before. Although I'm still a grumpy old man, I think this forced reflection has made me a better person in many subtle ways. Who knows how long this personal journey will continue, but as long as it does, I hope that each of you will continue to join me for a few minutes at the end of each day. I'll see you again tomorrow.

Jasper is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1405

Dot seems to grow older by the day. She still likes to go to the dog park, but she's never active anymore. She mostly just moves slowly from tree to tree smelling things. She seemed exceptionally tired today and we didn't stay at the park very long. When we returned home, she slept for most of the afternoon. The girl still has her moments though. She bounced back after dinner to bark at the neighbor dog and was still eager to go on her evening walk.

I know exactly how Dot feels. On most days I feel exceptionally tired as well, but so far, I still seem to bounce back when the occasion calls for it. At least I don't have to go to work on Sunday, like Janet did today. I pulled weeds in the garden beds while the dogs were resting in the back yard, but that was about it. I try not to even think about websites and writing on Sunday.

I did think about going to the gym again this afternoon. It turns out that Sunday afternoon is the perfect time for me. For the second week in a row, the facility was practically empty and every machine was open. The basketball court was empty as well, so I didn't need to worry about taking up some young hot shot's valuable court time. Janet likes to take group classes at her gym, but I prefer to have the place to myself. I never did anything important on Sunday afternoons anyway, so this new activity is working out pretty well. I still don't know why I'm the only person who likes to work out on Sunday afternoon, but I'm not going to spend much time questioning things. I'll just enjoy this pleasant situation while it lasts.

The Wednesday business group I joined recently seems to think LinkedIn is important. I never cared much for LinkedIn myself, but I've started building up a connection list just to go along with the flow. I'm not going to get very far with this group by telling them that LinkedIn is worthless. Truthfully, the more time I spend with social media, the more useless all of it seems. Facebook is where I look at pictures of Dalmatians and see which of my high school friends died over the weekend. Twitter is where I relentlessly spam people with my writing and stories. Instagram is where I take pictures of my food. Google+ is where I find out what new technology I'm going to be wanting next. I'm not sure what I'll use LinkedIn for. I can't imagine the place actually bringing me any business.

I hope I get some sleep tonight. I'm a light sleeper anyway, and lately every time Dot or Dash coughs, I wake up thinking they might be having a seizure. Last night I woke up five times. The dogs were fine. I've got to get beyond this, since there isn't much I can actually do during a seizure anyway. We'll see what happens tonight. I'm tired enough that I ought to sleep like a log.

Emily is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1391

It was a beautiful day to do things that I didn't really want to do. Although the skies were clear and blue this morning, the dog park apparently still hadn't dried out from yesterday's rain and was closed for maintenance. Dot and Dash were disappointed and so was I. Without an outing to the far away dog park to divert me, I had no real excuse to avoid mowing the grass, cleaning the roof, and cleaning up the clutter in my office.

Every time I mow the grass in October, I keep hoping I'm done for the year. I've mowed as late as December, unfortunately. You never know what Mother Nature has in store for you here in Texas. When I was up on the roof today, I noticed that the section under the Elm tree was relatively clean. There was some staining under the two Oak trees, but the the real damage was being caused by the Pecan tree. It wasn't even my tree either. It was the neighbor's Pecan tree that was causing all the problems. One of my fantasies has always been to have no neighbors whatsoever. This will probably never happen though. I like having a vet that's only a mile away and restaurants I can walk to. Actually, the only thing I don't like about urban living is all the people.

It is getting harder and harder to walk Dot and Dash together. Dash is a bundle of energy, while Dot is growing increasing frail. If I walk slow enough for Dot, Dash grows impatient and if I walk fast enough for Dash, then Dot can't keep up. Today, I gave Dash a brisk, long walk near the shoreline he loves to smell and then returned to the house to give Dot a much shorter, slow walk behind the house. I wish I had time to do this during the week, but often it's hard to find time to walk the dogs at all on weekdays. I guess we'll just do the best we can.

I'm increasingly tempted to click on the "go paperless" option that banks, merchants, and health care providers continue to send me. I've actually needed paper back up for record-keeping in the past, but I feel I'm being overwhelmed by paper these days. I get so much junk mail that I hate to even open it and end up throwing most of the mail into a big box and save it for days like today when I reluctantly sort through the mess. Most of this mail is totally unnecessary, but at least with printed information, you don't need to remember a dozen different passwords. Passwords and computer crashes are the main reason that paper isn't dead yet.

I finally got a good night's sleep last night. Both dogs slept soundly and nobody threw up. Sleep is good! Hopefully, tonight will bring more of the same. Dot did have a bit of a limp when the got out of bed this morning, but I think it was just her arthritis. She frequently wakes up with some stiffness in her legs these days. So do I, actually. None of us are getting any younger.

Cassie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1264

It's good to be home again. Well, it's good to see Janet and the dogs again anyway. Catching up with all the household chores? Not so good. I got caught in another rainstorm while I was out getting groceries and taking things to the dry cleaner. I don't think it's ever going to quit raining. Oh, well. At least we don't live in Oklahoma. Things are pretty wet here, but nobody's house has blown away. I never expected such a wet Spring. I definitely couldn't have picked a worse time to put on a new roof.

I recharged all the camera and laptop batteries and put the equipment away. All the Couture files have been loaded to the main computer, where they will receive some Photoshop enhancement next week. The dirty clothes are in the washing machine and there are clean sheets on the bed. I think we're back to normal.

My Facebook account is working again. It always gets suspended for suspicious activity when I travel because I can never remember the answers to those challenge questions they ask you when you try to log-in from a different location. When I get home there is always a message saying something like "Your account has been temporarily suspended because someone tried to gain access from an unfamiliar location." Yeah, I know. That suspicious someone was me.

Hopefully, the skies will clear tomorrow, so we can take Dot and Dash to the dog park. I think they've got cabin fever from all the rain we've been having. The recorded message says that the park is still open for business, but that just might be because nobody got around to updating the message. I think I'll go to bed early this evening. I fell asleep at the computer a few minutes ago. I closed my eyes for a few minutes, and all the sudden, it was an hour later. My body may be trying to tell me something.

Rain or shine, tomorrow will be a busy day. There is grass that needs to be mowed, websites that need to be updated, and dogs that need to be walked.

Charlie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1262

I haven't left the hotel since I arrived in Las Vegas. Luckily, it's a very nice hotel. I'm staying at the Wynn to cover Couture 2013 which has more or less taken over the hotel for the week. If you're not in the jewelry business, you've probably never heard of Couture. If you are in the jewelry business, you're probably here. Like most trade shows I've worked, this one made me wish I'd worn more comfortable shoes. After a day on my feet taking pictures, my feet are killing me. My feet have it easy compared to some people I saw today. I noticed scores of women at the show wearing towering Christian Loubouton platforms with six inch heels. Ouch is all I've got to say. A jewelry show is all about appearances. There are lots of pretty people and lots of pretty things. I doubt that many people attending this show have ever been inside a Walmart. I walked right by Ivanka Trump this afternoon. It's was a pretty high end crowd. Needless to say, I couldn't afford anything I saw today. It's still fun to look though.

Las Vegas is a weird place.  Looking out the window of my room, I can see a pirate ship battle at Treasure Island, a volcano exploding at The Mirage, and a fireworks show worthy of a big city Fourth of July celebration. Far below me, I can hear the music of Neon Trees, playing an outdoor concert for the Couture attendees. My credentials would have gotten me into the concert, but I'm too tired. When my shift was over for the day, I proceeded directly to the Wynn buffet, ate entirely too much for dinner, and retired to my room.

The day isn't over yet though. I still have to back up the hundreds of image and video files I took today.  I'm sure all event photographers have nightmares about losing an entire day's worth of work, due to a corrupted disk, a faulty camera, or even simple stupidity. The first thing I do after a day of photography is back everything up. It doesn't really matter if I'm taking Santa photos of Dalmatians, or product photos of a $100,000 watch. Sometimes you've only got one chance.

I hope I get more sleep tonight than I did last night. With all the flight delays due to bad weather, I didn't arrive in Las Vegas until almost midnight. At home, I always think I'd sleep better if the dogs weren't constantly crowding me out of bed. Without the dogs, it's another story entirely. Now, it seems hard to sleep without a Dalmatian on either side of me.

Chance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1150

I spent most of my day answering questions. There were e-mail questions. There were telephone questions. And then there were lots of questions around a conference table at a meeting during the afternoon. I don't really like answering questions. The questions themselves aren't so bad. It's the fact that nobody listens to my answers that gets old. Everyone acts like they're listening, but two or three days later I usually notice that the final outcome has nothing to do with anything I may have said. Usually, when people ask you questions, they just want you to agree with them.

If I was smart, I would agree with everything my client's say. It's easier that way. I usually feel compelled to tell my side of the story though, which seldom accomplishes anything. Maybe I just want to be able to say "I told you so," when things begin to go wrong later.

My little tracker wristlet said I only slept 4 hours and 34 minutes last night. I woke up three times and lay awake in bed a total of 2 hours and 18 minutes. That's not good. Only 1 hour and 58 minutes of my total sleep was the deep sleep that restores you for the next day. As depressing as all this sounds, I wasn't really surprised. I know the dogs keep me awake a lot. They're light sleepers and so am I. Janet, on the other hand, can sleep through anything. It's not all bad news though. Even though I'm only getting 57% of the sleep I need, I am apparently getting over 125% of the exercise I need.

When faced with a choice of doing a bunch of mindless website revisions or getting my February invoices out, I opted to do my monthly billing today and get the invoices in the mail. I should have plenty of time to get all the website stuff done tomorrow, since a long morning meeting I'd been dreading got postponed until next Friday. There's plenty to do tomorrow, but I think my most important decision will be what to have for breakfast. This will be my first restaurant Friday since I've adopted my new healthy diet. Pancakes aren't on the list. Neither are waffles. Biscuits and gravy are out. Bacon is definitely a no-no. I guess I could have an omelet, but I couldn't stuff it full of bacon, ham, chorizo, and cream cheese like I usually do. There's always oatmeal, but where's the fun in that? I've been eating oatmeal all week.

Stortz is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1117

There was a new Dalmatian to photograph today. We haven't had many Dalmatians available for adoption recently, so it was fun to go meet Vegas, the new girl. With her friendly, happy temperament, she should find a home quickly.

I didn't sleep very well last night. Dash woke everyone up around 4 AM, wanting to go outside to eat grass and throw up again. When he doesn't throw up, I think the antihistamines are working.  When he does throw up, I think they are doing nothing. Who knows. Dash has certainly been to the vet enough times about his condition, but nobody has arrived at any conclusion. Apart from this odd behavior, he seems perfectly healthy. At any rate, as soon as Dash threw up, he went right back to sleep, while I stayed wide awake. 

I tried, with little success, to get some old USB webcams to work with my newer computers this afternoon. It's frustrating trying to get old peripherals to work with new computers.The equipment is usually perfectly good. It's just been abandoned. Very few manufacturers continue writing new drivers for their old printers, scanners, and webcams. It's much more profitable for them to simply sell you a brand new piece of equipment. The only reason I keep this old stuff is that I still have the old computers as well. As long as you pair old stuff together, everything works fine. It's only when you try to pair the old with the new that the problems start.

I'm still kind of fascinated by the new HD channels I've discovered on our TV. HD images look great. Of course, old shows like The Twilight Zone and Seinfeld look exactly the same on HD. If they weren't shot in high definition in the first place, they're not going to look any sharper twenty years later. Sports and live rock concerts look fabulous though. I suppose that a lot of movies look fabulous in high definition too, but I seldom have time to watch movies anyway.

Maybe I'll go to bed early and make up for the sleep I lost last night. One can only hope that Dash will decide to sleep soundly tonight. The weather is warming up a bit, so maybe tomorrow will be nice. A good night's sleep, a late breakfast, and an early trip to the dog park sounds like a plan to me.

Lucy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1082

Three down two to go. Today's Santa Paws event was a marathon. We had more appointments per hour than we'd ever done before. I photographed big dogs, little dogs, puppies, seniors, well behaved dogs, stubborn dogs, shy dogs, and some dogs that didn't look like dogs at all. All these dogs probably thought they looked ridiculous dolled up with a bright red bow. Their owners seemed to like the pictures though. Some of them were returning for the fourth year in a row.

Today went well. Even though we photographed dozens of dogs, none of them knocked over the set or peed on the backdrop. With only two more events to go, I'm optimistic that we can make it through the holiday season without a major mishap. The real test will come tomorrow, when Dot and Dash get their pictures taken.

It's hard to believe that it's December already. The temperature was in the mid-80's this afternoon. If it wasn't for the Christmas tree lots on every corner, you could have sworn it was Summer. I was too tired to take advantage of the warm weather and get some yard work done. I'm sure the yard will wait.

More printer problems today.  One of Janet's printers has a clogged line and the black ink won't print. If someone would just invent a printer that never ever clogged, I think they should get the Nobel Prize. We don't use our printers all that much and inevitably the tiny lines that carry ink from the cartridges to the print head get clogged. You would think that Epson could make these lines something that the user could replace, since they get clogged so often. Nope! I've asked Epson how to solve these clogging problems many times and the only answer I get is that I ought to use the printer more often.

I hope Dot and Dash don't wake me up in the middle of the night like they usually do. We've got another one of these photo events tomorrow and it would be nice not to fall asleep with my finger on the shutter button. I need to remember to recharge all the batteries tonight, including my own.

Jada is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 882

I decided that I would sleep better if I just slept on top of the bed like another dog. This way, Dot and Dash couldn't bunch up on either side of me and pin me under the covers like they usually do. Surprisingly, the plan worked quite well last night and I had a lot more room than normal. As an added benefit, I didn't need to make the bed the next morning. I'm sure normalcy will return as soon as Janet gets back, but for now, if you can't beat 'em, join 'em. If I get cold? Well, there are dog blankets all over the house. I'll just grab a dog blanket.

There isn't as much to photograph on our daily walks anymore. The Spring wildflowers have all bloomed. The prairie grass is tall and the trees are green, so the animals have better places to hide. Even the light isn't as pretty, since the days are getting longer. The sun is usually up long before I am. I guess I could still walk the dogs at sunset, but they don't have the patience to wait this long. They don't care about photography anyway. I still take my camera though. I can always take pictures of dogs.

I paid a bunch of bills today. Inside every bill was a notice encouraging me to switch to an online payment plan. Everyone seems to want you to pay your bills online these days. I guess the companies make more money if they don't have to send out bills in the mail, but I still prefer paper. It's a lot easier to remember to pay your bills if there is a big stack of them sitting in front of you on your desk. The companies don't want you to have to remember either. They'd rather have you sign up for an automatic payment plan that just sucks money out of your account at predetermined intervals. I don't like this either. I'd rather decide when to pay my bills myself. Preferably when I have money in the bank.

I finished my new website today and make an appointment to present it to my client later in the week. I hope they like it and want to retain me to be their webmaster. Maintaining websites I built years ago has become the bread and butter of my business. Sometimes people don't want me to maintain their site though. They think they can do a better job of things themselves. Often these people call me back a few years later and want me to take over things again. Keeping the website current has turned out to be more trouble than they thought. I got one of those calls today. I looked at the site I had built three years ago and it was a mess. No wonder they wanted me to take it back again.

Facebook is going public soon. I wonder if this would be a good stock to buy? Facebook isn't like Apple or BMW. There is nothing elegant about it. To me, the company is more like Wall Mart. It's a bit irritating, but it is hard to ignore since everyone is already there. Maybe I should pass on Facebook stock. Especially since I'd secretly like to see Zuckerberg fail. Do we really need 28 year old billionaires anyway?

Sadie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 875

My photo shoot went well today. Admittedly, I wasn't conjuring up the ghost of Richard Avedon or Helmut Newton. I was just shooting architectural interiors inside an industrial building. The pictures were necessary though to complete a job that I'm currently working on. Photography isn't always exciting. I still shoot a lot of things professionally, but the most interesting photos I take are the ones I capture with my iPhone while I'm walking the dogs.

It must have rained a lot last night. I heard rain pattering on the roof when Dot woke me up about 2 AM with one of the panic attacks she gets when she thinks a storm is on the way. The rain didn't sound bad though, so I went back to sleep. When I went up on the roof to check on things this morning, I was greeted by a sea of water. I'm surprised there weren't ducks swimming around on the roof. Since clearing the water off the flat roof always takes priority over other things, I didn't get started writing until almost noon.

I'm not sleeping well lately. The dogs wake me up several times a night. When the dogs are asleep, allergy related sinus problems wake me up. When I awake, I inevitably have a dry throat from breathing through my mouth and go out to the kitchen to get a drink of water. By then, I'm wide awake. When I finally get back to sleep again, I have bad dreams. I long for the days when I could sleep solidly for seven hours while having pleasant flying dreams. I never dream that I can fly anymore.

If I could get a good night's sleep, maybe I'd have more energy to finish moving everything to my new storage warehouse. I really need to get my butt in gear and finish this job, because my contract on the old storage space runs out soon. The warehouse folks have probably already rented my space to someone else who will want to move in the day my contract expires. I watch that show Storage Wars Texas occasionally, but I definitely don't want my own unit to be featured on the show. Maybe tomorrow, I'll go move some more stuff.

Daisy is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day