Day 2622

I'd hate to be in the restaurant business. Customers are fickle. Reviews are seldom fair. And employee turnover is unbelievable. I ate breakfast this morning at a place I haven't visited for several months and there wasn't a single familiar face. The entire staff was new. The food had actually improved, so maybe the staff changes were a good thing. Like I say, I don't understand the restaurant business at all.

Most of the day was spent taking Dot to her appointment at the cancer center. Janet was able to take some time off work today to help me transport Dot. Having two people in the car seemed to help. Janet sat in the back with Dot and was able to calm her down when she became agitated and tried to move around. Dot arrived for her exam a lot calmer than she usually does, but her blood pressure was still a little high.

We got some more bad news today. Her cancer is progressing and there are now four tumors growing in her liver. There were only three the last time we checked. The oncologist told us that Dot's liver and kidneys are still functioning normally and that even though the cancer was growing, it was growing slowly. She is starting to feel some discomfort though, so we added Gabapentin to her growing list of meds. The oncologist also wants to go back to testing Dot once a month, since the cancer could always start growing faster at any time.

While we were at the hospital we saw a family who had to make the decision to put their dog down. It was sad to watch them say their goodbyes. The dog actually looked in better shape than Dot, but I'm sure there was more to the story than we were seeing. They always tell you that your dog will let you know when it's time to go, but sometimes they don't. It's a big responsibility when you have to make that decision for them. I dread the day when we are faced with making this decision. Hopefully, Dot will make her wishes very clear. Right now it is obvious that Dot still loves life and wants to keep on going. As the cancer continues to grow, things will inevitably become more confusing.

When we got home today Janet asked me if I knew that Dot's oncologist was deaf. "What makes you think she is deaf," I asked. "Well, she was reading your lips," Janet told me. Have I ever mentioned that I'm not very observant. I could tell you exactly what shade of brown Dot's poop was today and I would notice instantly if you moved any of the books on my bookshelf, but I'm not very good at reading faces. Chances are if I met you on the street, I wouldn't even recognize you. I can never tell when people are happy or sad either. I guess it's a good thing that I'm seldom aware when people are mad at me.

We've got a long weekend coming up. I hope this means that everybody will get a little more sleep. The oncologist wants me to watch Dot closely this weekend to make sure that the Gabapentin doesn't make Dot lethargic and lose energy. "But how can I tell," I asked? "She doesn't have any energy right now." I think all Dot's doctors are amazed that she's still alive.

Lexi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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Day 1353

I'm not a very observant person. Janet asked me this morning why I'd been washing my hair with conditioner all week. I wondered why the shampoo in the new bottle I bought last week was kind of hard to rinse off, but I never really questioned it. The bottle was the same color and shape as the last bottle of shampoo. I guess I never read the label when I threw it in the grocery cart. I wonder how long it would have been before I noticed the discrepancy myself. Sadly, I probably would have used the entire bottle without noticing that I wasn't really using shampoo on my hair at all.

I'd like to think I'm a keen observer of the world around me, but the truth be known, I'm generally oblivious to most things. Probably the main reason I take nice pictures it that I'm surrounded by beautiful things and eventually I notice them.

I'm starting to notice that some machines are a lot more popular than others at the gym. I wonder if this is because certain machines give you a better workout, or because they are just more pleasant to use. I tend not to use the popular machines because I don't like waiting for them to become free. It has occurred to me that my workouts might not be doing me any good at all. I really need to take some sort of orientation class and learn what these machines are actually designed to do. One thing that has surprised me is that I actually enjoy shooting baskets. I never enjoyed playing basketball, or even watching the game, but it is oddly rewarding to sink several baskets in a row.

When I stopped at the grocery store on the way home from the gym, I took a good look at the cars in the parking lot. Even if money were no object, I have a hard time getting excited by any of these cars. I might like the Honda Element if they made one twice as big. I might like a Ford Transit Van if you could get one with a big V-8 engine, fat sporty tires, and a luxury interior with a Sat-Nav system. Where are the newer versions of my Defender? Surely, somebody must make a short wheelbase truck with a big engine, two seats, and a large, completely flat space in back where I can put a full size dog crate. Extra points if the body is made of aluminum and the engine has a manual transmission.

This week went surprisingly fast, considering that not very much happened. Work has been unusually slow this August. If things don't pick up soon, it's going to look pretty bleak when I send out my September invoices. You can never predict the future though. In my line of work, things can go from dead quiet to totally stressful almost overnight.

Duke is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1126

I took my car to get a new catalytic converter today. The mechanics banged on the exhaust system with a wrench for a while and then told me there was nothing wrong. Although they didn't solve my problem, they did like my car. The muffler shop wasn't busy and I could have spent the rest of the day talking with the guys about Jeeps and 4-wheeling if I didn't have better things to do. I asked the mechanic what was making the rattling sound if there was nothing wrong with the catalytic converter. He told me that it could be anything and sent me on my way. In a way it was refreshing dealing with folks who were so open about not knowing what they were doing. In my experience, very few people really know what they are doing, but most of them try to fool you into thinking they know.

Today was the coldest day of the year so far. Since layering works well with me in cold weather, I tried the same thing with the dogs. First, I put on their black sweaters, which fit quite well and cover their bellies better than most dog coats. Then I added a thicker quilted coat on top. Dot and Dash get quite a bit of attention wearing this Winter garb. I think they are the only dogs in the neighborhood who wear two coats in cold weather. Most people think these coats are quite ingenious. The rest think they are ridiculous.

I had quite a bit of website and writing work due today, so I spent most of the day sitting at my desk, trying to stay warm. The heating vents don't distribute air very evenly, so when the office is comfortable, the rest of the house is unbearably hot. I'm sure this problem could be resolved by restricting the air flow to the living room and kitchen, but it's just not worth the trouble. I've never thought work was fun anyway and somehow having an uncomfortable work environment seems appropriate. When I finish my work, I can reward myself by fixing something to eat in the kitchen, or watching TV in one of the warmer rooms.

I must be one of the world's most unobservant people. Although the Internet was buzzing this morning about Jodie Foster coming out during her lifetime achievement award acceptance speech, I can't remember her saying anything about being gay. I'd never heard of Ben Affleck's Argo film either. Where did that one come from? I kept thinking that Steven Spielberg's Lincoln would win all the awards. Not that it matters anyway. I probably won't see any of these movies until they eventually wind up on the $9.95 discount DVD table at Fry's.

Kasey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

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