Day 1555

It's still dark when we leave for the cancer center in the morning. By the time we arrive, the sun is just starting to rise. I get Dash checked in and then take him to pee in a grassy area near the building. The people at the clinic are smart. They let the dogs stay in a doggie-day-care environment where they can play with other dogs until it is their turn for treatment. Then as soon as the anesthesia has worn off after the treatment, they feed the dogs. This is all to build up a positive association about coming to this place over and over again. The plan seems to work. So far, Dash actually seems to like coming to the cancer center. Both dogs hate going to the regular vet, where they are frequently kept isolated in cages while they wait.

I've spent enough time around doctors to realize that they always surprise you with something after your treatment has started. I'm convinced they gloss over a few details, just to make sure you won't freak out and abandon your treatment plans altogether. Today's surprise was a pair of special purple gloves in the bag with Dash's chemotherapy pills. I asked what the gloves were for and the nurse told me that I was to wear them to avoid touching the pills. I was also to keep Dot in another room while I administered the pills to Dash, just to make sure she didn't eat them by mistake. Yup. These gloves would have definitely freaked me out, if I'd known about this procedure in advance. I guess I've always known that chemotherapy drugs are basically poison, but I never thought they were so dangerous that you couldn't touch them with your bare hands. The nurse said the gloves were no big deal, but that was just like my own liver doctors telling me that the occasional heart attack patients have a while taking the Hepatitis C treatment is no big deal either.

Dash didn't seem to have any side effects from today's treatment. There was no coughing at all today. He had plenty of energy on his evening walk with Dot as well. We'll see how he does with the chemo pills. I put on the purple gloves and gave him his first pills with dinner this evening. So far, everyting seems fine.

Tomorrow, Dash gets to rest and won't go back to the cancer center until Friday. Thursday will still be busy though. The landscaping guys are coming over in the morning to clean up the back yard and plant new grass. Later in the day, I need to go to Baylor and have some more blood work done to monitor the progress of my Hepatitis C treatment. Janet's coming home tomorrow too, so I'll need to go to the airport and pick her up.

I need to find an effective way to manage all the pills that are accumulating on the kitchen counter. I take thirteen different pills every morning and another seven every night. Dash takes phenobarbital, thyroid supplements, and allopurinol, in addition to the three new chemotherapy pills. Dot takes a couple of pills to boost cognitive function and ward off dementia. If I ever get these pills mixed up, we're all in big trouble.

Pringles is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

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

Watch of the Day

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 1552

I'm usually completely oblivious to anything that's not on my "to do" list. Whenever Janet travels, I become painfully aware that there is a lot more on her list than I thought. I've been going to the store quite a bit lately because I realize we've run out of something that is not usually on my list. So, wherever you are in the sunny Caribbean, thanks for looking out for me. Life is easier when you only have to remember half the stuff that needs to be done.

The only productive thing I did today was write a letter of resignation and formally end my membership in the Wednesday morning networking group. In fairness, this is a great group of guys, and I'm sure what they do makes perfect sense for them. I'm just not a group person and probably never will be. I thought it was time I finally admitted that I was just going to these meetings for the bacon. Hey, I like breakfast a lot more than I like business. What's wrong with that?

The rain finally stopped today, but that doesn't mean that Spring has returned. It actually got colder. A lot colder! I had to get out the duck down ski jacket again for our morning walk. I wonder how many more of these extreme hot cold cycles we are going to go through before the warm weather is finally here to stay? Even the landscape guy told me yesterday that this is the weirdest Winter he has ever seen.

Tomorrow is going to be interesting. Dash needs to fast because I'm taking him to the cancer center in the morning for another CAT scan. Both dogs need to go on a walk right after they get up, so they will poop and pee. The only thing Dot and Dash think about when they wake up in the morning is food. So how do I feed Dot without Dash noticing? I guess she'll just have to wait until I get back from dropping Dash off for his CT scan. It won't be so bad Dot. I'm not eating my own breakfast until I get back anyway.

I was going to get my taxes ready this afternoon and drop them off with my accountant on my way back from the cancer center. That didn't happen. The day just got away from me. Maybe I can still get all the files ready after breakfast tomorrow and drop everything off at the accountant's office on my way to pick Dash up later in the afternoon. That sounds like a good plan, unless a paying job magically appears overnight.

I need to figure out how to change the alarm on the clock radio. Janet gets up early and it's been going off at 4:45 AM every morning. It would probably only take me five minutes to find the instructions on Google for disabling the stupid thing, but so far it's been easier to just hit the snooze button.

Ruthie is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1551

The landscaping guy came over this morning and gave me an estimate for cleaning up the back yard. The price seemed reasonable, so I told him to go ahead. The inside of our house is still messy, but as least the outside will look nice for a few months. I don't know why grass dies so quickly in our yard. We care for it well and it gets plenty of water. I think we just don't get enough direct sun. I should have planted the entire yard in Liriope. We call the stuff Monkey Grass, and it's just about the only thing that grows well in our yard.

As soon as the landscaping guys left, the rain started. It was one of those all-day rains. As the day progressed, the air continued to get colder and the skies got greyer. The dogs hate this kind of weather. They want to go outside, but they hate to get wet. They won't even go off the porch when it's actually raining. To get them to do their business, I have to constantly watch the weather radar and look for little windows where the rain stops for a few minutes. I did manage to find a couple of five minute windows so Dot and Dash could take a short walk behind the house and pee and poop, but that was about it. For the most part, it just rained and rained.

Today would have been a good day to clean the house or watch a movie, but I wasn't that ambitious. Mostly I just took naps with the dogs. I did change the sheets, pay some bills, do a couple of loads of laundry, and make a call to find out why the NTTA had charged me too much for toll-road usage. Then I ran out of energy. I could have done a lot more today.

I'm not at my best during cold rainy days. I definitely grateful that the roof doesn't leak anymore though. At least the house was warm and dry. The weather report says that the rain will continue through tomorrow, so I need to come with a way to avoid cabin fever. I'm not one one of those folks who can watch an entire season of Breaking Bad in one sitting, so I tend to go stir-crazy. Dot and Dash certainly don't help matters during long downpours. They both think that I somehow can control the rain. I'm continually letting them in and out, but they are convinced that I can make the rain stop the same way I can open refrigerator doors and fill their food bowls. They keep giving me this "make it stop" look. Dalmatians are not very patient.

You'd think that there would be tons of room in the bed when Janet is gone, but the dogs always discover ways to stretch out even further than usual to soak up the extra space. I had no room at all last night. Maybe nature will surprise me with a nice day in the morning. Maybe I'll surprise myself and cook a fancy breakfast. Who knows? Dash seems to like his new "rescue dog" harness and wants to wear it around the house. That certainly surprised me. Maybe it makes him feel secure.

Carmine is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1550

I took Janet to the airport today. She works hard and needs a periodic vacation to keep her sanity. I lost my sanity a long time ago, so trips don't really help anymore. I don't like to travel. The only kind of trips I enjoy are business trips where I can spend someone else's money. There is still a small amount of satisfaction that comes from living large on a greedy corporation's dime. Corporations don't send me places like they used to though. All they want are are my files. e-mail has changed everything.

 I couldn't have gone on a trip anyway next week. Dash gets another CAT scan on Monday, so the oncologist can calculate exactly where the radiation beam needs to go. On Tuesday he begins the first of 21 scheduled radiation treatments. Later in the week he will begin chemotherapy as well. As worried as I am about Dash's treatment, I feel much better today than I did yesterday. I finally had a chance to speak with the head oncologist at the cancer clinic and he was very reassuring. This guy was one of the founding partners of Gulf Coast Veterinary Specialists in Houston. This is one of the best animal cancer hospitals in the entire country. I asked a lot of questions and got a lot of answers from someone with over 25 years of experience treating every conceivable form of cancer. There is no substitute for knowledge and experience. The young person I talked with yesterday will learn this someday.

Dash's special harness came in the mail today. I wish I'd discovered Ruffwear harnesses earlier. The harness is comfortable, fits like a glove, and there is no way a dog could escape from it. These harnesses were designed for service and search and rescue dogs, but they are perfect for an escape artist like Dash. I may get one for Dot as well, since there is a convenient handle on the top that makes it much easier to lift the dog in an emergency. I am always scared that Dot's legs will go out on a walk and it would be difficult to get her home again. Something like this would help.

The bird that poops on my car must have started talking to other birds, because two crows pooped on my head while I was walking the dogs this evening. They certainly managed to make a mess of things. I had to wash my hair and throw my clothes in the laundry as soon as we got home. It's kind of ironic that I'm developing a reputation as a bird photographer on Google+. I have taken some beautiful pictures of birds, but that doesn't mean I like them. Basically, I think most birds are filthy, disgusting creatures and I want nothing to do with them.

We're supposed to have severe weather tomorrow, so I stocked up on groceries on the way home from the airport. If the weather is bad, I see no reason to leave the house at all. Even when the weather is good, there aren't that many reasons to leave the house. Oh, thanks for thinking of Dash you guys! It means a lot.

Humphrey is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1549

We've got a long journey ahead of us. I got a call from Dash's oncologist today and she told me that after a review with the pathology lab, she and the other doctors recommend that Dash begin radiation treatments immediately with additional chemotherapy as needed. Evidently, the carcinoma the surgeon removed proved to be an aggressively growing type and they are worried that some cancer cells might have already spread beyond the tumor site. Since this type of cancer tends to invade the bloodstream, it could go anywhere. This is why they recommended radiation plus chemotherapy. In the worst case scenario, the treatments could last up to six months. They would begin with three radiation treatments a week, chemo would be added at some point, and then very gradually the treatments would taper off.

I tried to find out if we could just discontinue the treatments if they were making Dash miserable, but I couldn't really get a straight answer. For just about every question I asked today, the answer was "it depends." Apparently treating cancer is not an exact science. I have a call into the head oncologist to see if I can find out more details about the treatments and possible side effects. I'm OK with the therapy, but I'm more concerned about Dash's quality of life than the number of years he lives. I don't want him to suffer from the cancer, but I don't want him to suffer from the treatment either.

The cancer center wants to begin radiation treatments on Monday. I asked how they determined if the treatments were successful and they gave me a very ambiguous answer. I don't think doctors really know if a cancer ever completely leaves your body. They just feel successful if you are still alive after a certain point. It was pretty clear that the people I talked to today thought that Dash's cancer would just grow back if we did nothing. When doctors say a cancer is aggressive though, you don't know if they are talking about three months or three years.

I am so tired of medical problems. I have to get my blood tested every two weeks to make sure my hemoglobin levels don't fall dangerously low during my Hepatitis C treatment. The last thing I need right now is a heart attack. I take Dot for water therapy and acupuncture every week to keep her leg muscles from atrophying. Now Dash has the toughest journey of all. We are lucky that we caught the cancer at an early stage. We are unlucky that this not one of those slowing cancers that Dash might outlive on his own. I don't think doing nothing is even an option at this point.

I called my accountant today and told him I might not have time to get my tax information organized properly. He told me to just dump everything in a big envelope and he would figure it out. I wish I could just dump my entire life in a big envelope and have someone else figure it out. Things are getting complicated. You've got to keep moving forward though. I'm still going out for breakfast tomorrow. I'm still cranking out an unbelievable amount of work. I may quit the Wednesday networking group though. I love the bacon for breakfast, but business networking just isn't my style. What was I thinking? Honestly, I was probably just thinking about the bacon.

Wyatt is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1548

I finally talked to an oncologist about Dash. I guess I was hoping for a conclusive answer, but what I heard was ambiguous at best. The oncologist said the pathology report didn't go into enough detail and that she would have to call the lab. What she did see didn't sound good. She said some of the carcinoma cells were the type that tended to get into the blood stream and the only way to effectively treat this was through chemotherapy. How long? Six months was typical, she said. How do you know if the treatment worked, I asked? Well, you don't ever know definitively, she said. Cancer cells are microscopic and they can always be hiding somewhere. I guess this is why you hear people say things like "I've been cancer free for five years." That's all they really know.

Medical issues are starting to wear me down. Doctors are far from infallible and you either trust them or you don't. I am not a trusting person, but what other choice do you have?  If you do nothing, you or your pet dies. If you do everything that is asked of you, you may die anyway. It's very frustrating. Modern medicine is very expensive. Doctors don't always agree on things. And a treatment that is in vogue with doctors today can easily become one of those "Call 1-800-BAD-DRUG" commercials tomorrow. Already, some tests and screenings I had ten years ago, are considered ineffectual or even worthless today. That's the thing about medicine. It is always evolving.

I'm not even sure that Dot's water therapy really works. I'd like to believe that it helps, but how do you know for sure? There could be a dozen reasons why she appears stronger now. She could also stumble and injure herself tomorrow, despite everything I've done. That's just the way life it. I'll continue the water therapy though. Seeing her walking in the tank gives me a positive, hopeful feeling. There is nothing dangerous about the water treadmill either. Chemotherapy is different. There are quite a few risks to chemotherapy. You just hope that the rewards on the other side are worth it.

The editor of the cookbook I'm featured in wrote today and told me that the SXSW Cookbook had just gotten a great review in The New York Times. She also told me that my own recipe was one of her personal favorites and that she's cooked it for breakfast herself. Amazing! This is one development that I never would have predicted. Although I love to eat, I certainly wouldn't consider myself much of a cook. Hey, if I can wind up in a popular cookbook, I might get that Amtrak writer's residency grant too. You never know. I never thought I'd be a spokesperson for Paypal either.

This is why I don't like medicine. I've generally led a charmed life. I bumble around aimlessly, and good things happen to me anyway. Medicine doesn't work this way. Whatever you do, you continue to age. The more you age, the more your body deteriorates. Dash is still a young dog though. In dog years, he's much younger than I am. He certainly deserves a shot at living a normal life for another seven or eight years. I just hope that chemotherapy doesn't make his life miserable.

Lance is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1547

It was that kind of a day. I went out for breakfast this morning, just because I didn't feel like making coffee or doing the dishes. I didn't go far because it was a busy day, but it was nice to have someone else take care of things for me. I have a feeling that my Friday breakfasts are eventually going to expand to other days of the week. I save money eating at home and I can keep an eye on the dogs, but I'll have to admit that I enjoy eating a lot more than I enjoy cooking.

While I was waiting for my meal, I overheard a group of people at the next table casually talking about getting robbed. Apparently they had all worked in retail at one time or another and they all seemed to agree that everyone in retail eventually gets robbed. The guy who used to work at a jewelry store clearly got robbed the most. I don't know what was sadder: that these people had all been victims of a robbery, or that they seemed to accept these robberies as an inevitable part of modern life.

I called about Dash's pathology report today and discovered that it had been sitting in the oncology clinic for four days and nobody had bothered to notify me. This place had fabulous physicians, backed up by a terrible administrative staff. They really need to do something about this. I finally ended up talking with a surgeon who went over the report with me. Yes, Dash definitely had cancer. No, he wasn't sure if the results indicated that Dash would need further radiation of chemotherapy. He told me that I needed to talk to the oncologist to get an in depth interpretation of the results. It was never clear why I wasn't talking to the oncologist in the first place. Hopefully I will be able to touch base with this guy tomorrow. I know nothing about the pathology of cancer cells, but I did hear one good thing from the surgeon I talked to today. Evidently, there were compressed thyroid tissue cells all the way around the periphery of the growth they removed. I asked the surgeon what this meant and he suspected that the cancer was still encapsulated and was pressing outward toward the edge of the thyroid, compressing the remaining thyroid tissue. Maybe this means that the cancer has not fully metastasized yet and hasn't spread beyond the thyroid gland. I wish I'd found out more today, but something is better than nothing.

Jawbone sent me a new UP fitness band today and Klout sent me some dog food as a Perk. Klout is finally learning what motivates me. Maybe this means they'll send me fewer tickets for movies I'll never attend and more things I'll actually use. It's not my favorite brand of dog food, but it's a step in the right direction. I'm glad Jawbone honored my warranty and sent me a new UP band too. I bet they've built sending a new band to customers every year into their cost structure. They probably already know that the internal batteries only last a year. This continual replacement strategy would certainly explain why these little bands are so expensive.

Today was a busy day. I did a lot of writing and a fair amount of website updates. I never got around to starting my taxes at all. There are so many things on my "to do" list that I don't think I'll ever get caught up. Things involving the dogs and their health and welfare come first. Things involving making money to pay the bills come second. Things involving my own health come third. Things involving broken things in the house come fourth. Things involving fun? Well, I haven't gotten to those yet.

Tyson is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1546

Today was frustrating. My clients were unhappy. I was unhappy. My phone and cable bills have gone up again. And the dogs don't seem to like Daylight Saving Time. I'm beginning to envy the friends of mine who have already retired. Nobody seems happy with work anymore. The young seem unhappy because they have huge student loans and old people like me are still hanging on to most of the jobs they really want. Older people are unhappy because bean counters and efficiency experts have managed to destroy most of the quirky little things that used to make work fun. I'm not a big fan of relentless efficiency. Wages haven't gone up in ages, but the cost of everything else has. I never used to see this much stress in the workplace when I was younger. Most of my first twenty years as a working person were remarkably stress free. It's a different world now, and I'm not sure how much longer I want to continue playing the game.

The warmer weather is bringing more and more people to the park who insist on walking their dogs without a leash. I hate this. Time after time, loose dogs rush up to us. I don't know whether they are going to attack Dash, knock Dot over, or just do a little friendly smelling. With one dog that is frail and old and another that is recovering from serious surgery, I can't afford to deal with this shit. Dash was attacked and almost killed by a loose dog once. I don't want that to ever happen again. There are city signs about every one hundred feet saying that it is against the law to let your dog off leash in a public park. Why do so many people have the arrogance to simply ignore all these signs?  Hey, show a little courtesy guys. You don't have to be an asshole all the time.

I finally received the last of the Schedule-K forms I've been waiting for, so I don't have any more excuses to postpone doing my taxes. I guess I'll get started tomorrow. I would have gotten started today, except that I had to get my March invoices in the mail. On the way back from the post office, I stopped by the AT&T store and changed my mobile plan. I really don't need huge amounts of data anymore. Maybe I did need these expensive data plans back when I was uploading live video from trade shows, but I don't do that anymore. About the only thing that gets sent back and forth these days are Microsoft Word files and they are very small. I don't even use Instagram as much as I used to. What is the point of having an unlimited data plan? I did manage to get a cheaper plan, but my phone and cable bills are still way too high.

My liver doctor called this morning to schedule another blood test. I asked why they needed so many blood tests and they told me that if my hemoglobin levels dropped too low during my Hepatitis C treatment, I might have a heart attack. Hmm. I didn't really need to know that. Here I was thinking that there wasn't any risk to the treatment at all. I do need to know what is happening with Dash. I'm kind of surprised that I still haven't heard about his pathology report yet. One more thing to add to my "to do" list for tomorrow.

I have to write three virtually identical articles tomorrow. My instructions are to make each of them seem different. We'll see how that goes. Several of my clients are unhappy with Yelp. I'm happy to write them a good review, but I doubt if it will accomplish much. Yelp doesn't seem to like the reviews I write. I don't think any of them have even been published. I don't have a clue how Yelp really works, but I do think it is a bit unfair. I hope I get that Amtrak grant. A long train trip would hit the spot right now.

Ely is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1545

Did you know that Amtrak has a writers residency program? They'll send selected writers on a free long distance train trip, and all the writer has to do in return is write about the experience. Hey, I'm in. I love train travel and writing about a train trip would be a piece of cake. Probably 10,000 other writers thought the same thing when they heard about this, but I filled out the application anyway. I think Amtrak is only going to pick 24 writers for the travel grants, but what do I have to lose? Like most government websites, the Amtrak site was a bit buggy. When I hit submit, my application just disappeared. I have no idea if it actually went through, since there was no acknowledgement of any kind. We'll see.

I'm back to doing my full workout at the gym. This doesn't mean my shoulder has healed completely. It's tolerable though. I figured that if I didn't get back on schedule soon, I'd lose everything I'd gained. I can already tell that I've got some work to do. My hour and a half at the gym seems a lot harder now than it did when I was going three days a week. Better something than nothing has always been my motto. As time permits, I'll try to work my way back to three visits a week.

The weather was beautiful today. I kept thinking "this time Spring is here for sure" for most of the day. I've been fooled before, however. Once or twice, we've had snow this late in the year. Hopefully, we won't get another freeze now. Trees are budding everywhere and I'm starting to see wildflowers in the park. It's definitely time to rake the leaves in the backyard, or better yet, get someone else to do it for me. I think I'll opt for the second option this year.

I thought for sure that  I would have heard the results from Dash's pathology report by now. I'll find out what is going on next week. It wouldn't be the first time a doctor had simply forgotten to tell me something important. I'll have to admit that I've been a bit reluctant to bug the vet about the results. Dash seems so much better after the surgery that I'd like to think he's out of the woods now. It would be a huge disappointment to discover that the surgeon hadn't gotten all the cancer and Dash still needs radiation or chemotherapy.

I can't say that I'm a real fan of Daylight Saving Time. Why do we need this time change at all? The time is just what is is. Pretending that it's an hour earlier doesn't really change anything. Before the time change, the sun was coming up when I woke up in the morning and I still had a chance to photograph some cool looking sunsets on my evening walks with Dot and Dash. Now, it's dark again in the morning and way too light in the evening.

In case you think nothing pleases me, I was pleased with dinner tonight. Janet cooked steaks and they were delicious. Dot and Dash seemed a bit miffed that they didn't get a big steak too, but we've learned the hard way that people food isn't good for them. I think they'll survive.

Val is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1544

I've been thinking that my Mom died sometime in March, but I couldn't remember when. I've got no long-term memory whatsoever. My mind is a sieve. I can't remember exactly when my Dad died either, and he died a lot more recently than my Mom. This is why I write things down. You may think writing 1544 consecutive blog posts is quite a feat, but I've been recording my daily thoughts a lot longer than this. I really started doing a daily blog post before the Internet was even invented. When something is nagging me, I go to a box of dusty old leather covered journals and find out what happened. Those dusty daily journals, which go back as far as the early 1980's are my memory. When I looked through the cardboard box full of journals recently, I discovered that my Mom had died 24 years ago today, on March 8, 1990.

My Mom meant a lot to me. She ended up having more of an influence on my life than she would have ever imagined. If I hadn't taken the time to write something down shortly after she died, it would all be lost in a fog by now. Maybe it's a good thing that I can't remember things. I don't wallow in the past. What does it matter if you can't even remember it?  I certainly couldn't have had a successful career in advertising if I actually remembered all the crap I've done over the years. I do have a loose sense of history, but basically, every day is a new day. If it wasn't for Facebook, I would never remember your birthday.

My mind is sharp, but it is kind of like one of those flight recorders they have on airplanes. You know what I mean. The black box continuously records the most recent thirty minutes of activity and then just records over it, erasing what was there earlier. From my perspective, doing Sudoku puzzles to keep your mind sharp is silly. I literally reinvent the wheel every single day. I think one of the reasons I've become so good at doing ads and websites is that even though I essentially solve exactly the same problem over and over again, I don't remember many of my earlier efforts. When I look at my portfolio of ads from my ad agency days, it often seems like someone else wrote them. I'll think, "Jeez, I wish I could have written something like that," and then realize that I actually did.

My first Dalmatian meant the world to me, so I wrote a book about him before he died. Ironically, today is also Spot's birthday. He would have been 27 years old today. I think that I started this blog basically to preserve the memories of Dot and Dash. They mean just as much to me, but in a different way. These 1544 days are important whether I remember them or not, so I hope that Google doesn't decide to nuke Blogger at some point in the future. I can always sort through old journals and tell you what I had for dinner in 1977, but it would be very hard to recreate the blog if it just disappeared.

I write for myself. When I re-read old stories and journal entries, some make me laugh and others make me cry. I've had quite a life. I"m not sure how important today will seem in the future, but it is part of a long tapestry. It turned cold again today. It wasn't bad when Janet and I took the dogs on their morning walk, but it got colder throughout the day. Now it feels like Winter again. I did see my first Yellow Primrose of the season this morning. This is always a sign that Spring is on the way. Within a month, the park behind our house will be a symphony of wildflowers. The time changes tonight as well. Daylight saving time is usually another sign that Spring is on the way. I used to spend hours resetting all the watches in my collection when the time changed. Now, I don't even care. Most of the watches don't work anymore anyway.

Bacardi is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1543

I love my breakfast restaurant. It was crowded this morning and the barista brought me my coffee while I was standing in line to order. As two women swooped in to grab the last available table, the waiter shooed them away, pointing at me and saying that the table was mine. I paid for my meal and sat down at the table, all without saying a single word. Everyone already knows what I want, so no words are necessary. If only the rest of my day was this way. I have a couple of clients who trust me enough to forgo the usual talk and meetings. We've worked together for a long time and they've learned that they get more for their money when they leave me largely unsupervised. I'm consistent, I'm dependable, and I abhor the whole idea of collaboration. Leave me alone and I'm a pleasantly productive guy. Bother me and I'm a grumpy troublemaker. If the restaurant people have figured this out, why is it so hard for everyone else?

I have been researching dog harnesses and have discovered that several companies make what is called a "full body" harness. These harness are often used by avalanche rescue teams and other service dogs. They also seem to be favored by people like us who have a Houdini dog who can escape from normal harnesses. I think we'll get one of these and give it a try. Walking a dog using two leashes is just a stop-gap solution at best. It's amazing how quick and easy it is to find offbeat things like this on Google. What did we do before Google? The next thing I'm going to look for is a life size rubber bird to sit on my driver's side mirror while my car is in the driveway. I'll bet that troublesome bird won't poop on my car if another bird has already claimed it. Worth a try anyway.

Maybe I'll start on my taxes this weekend. I really can't put this task off too much longer. It's either taxes or painting more water damaged window trim. I don't know which is worse at this point. At least I've got a few more weeks before I'll have to start mowing the grass again. The thought of mowing grass reminds me that I still need to call the landscaping guy and get an estimate for putting new St. Augustine turf in the back yard. All the grass he put in last year is dead. As things stand now, there is nothing to mow.

I have this long list of things I need to do when "things get back to normal." Things are never going to get back to normal though, are they?  As soon as one crisis is averted, another one seems to creep up out of nowhere to take it's place. Maybe that's just the nature of life. I know people who find this constant chaos exhilarating. Personally, I prefer calm. Here's hoping for a calm, uneventful weekend.

Connor is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1542

What a difference a day makes. Against all odds, it was actually a very nice day. I figured out how to do something I didn't think I could do for a web client. Jawbone wrote me and said they were sending me a new UP fitness band to replace my defective one. I had a visit with my hepatology team and they has some very encouraging news. For the first time in ten years my blood chemistry was completely normal. They will have to do much more extensive testing to determine if the Hepatitis-C virus is actually gone, but normal liver enzyme levels is definitely a sign that the treatment I'm receiving is working.

Although anyone who saw me walking the dogs today probably thought I was nuts, I think I have solved the problem of Dash escaping from his harness. I just use his normal collar as a backup and walk him with two leashes. The harness still carries his weight and the leash around his neck is slack most of the time, so it wouldn't irritate his incision. I tried several Rube Goldberg contraptions I made out of old harnesses, but none of them worked well. The problems was always the same. If he pulled one harness off, he pulled everything off. Two separate leashes seems like a more secure solution. It is a bit more difficult walking two dogs with three leashes, but I'm getting the hang of it. Hopefully, Dash will have healed sufficiently to start walking him normally again soon.

I think may have resolved my Medicare problems too. At least the billing lady didn't give me a dirty look when I went to the doctor today. I like days when nothing goes wrong. I don't need anything spectacular to keep me happy. An absense of problems is usually enough. Did I mention that it was warmer today as well. That usually helps.

Things are calm enough now that I may resume going out to breakfast on Fridays again. I've missed that little break in my day. It may be a while before we start going to the dog park again and I'm still too busy to go to the gym on a regular basis, but things are finally starting to move in the right direction. Even the stock market was up today. For the moment, life is good.

Anne is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1541

Today was a nightmare. Dash managed to wriggle out of his harness during our morning walk and escape. I've been afraid this might happen ever since we started using the harness. This guy is a harness Houdini. He can get out of virtually any harness on the market in a matter of seconds if he really wants to. He just moves backwards very quickly, ducks his head and the whole thing comes off over the top of his head. His shoulders are so narrow and his front legs are so close together that the harness quickly falls to his feet and he's out.

I was terrified, because Dash wasn't even wearing a collar because of his neck incision. He has a tendency to run away too. Dash immediately ran about ten feet from me and stopped. I put Dot in a sit-stay and told her to not to move while I cautiously approached Dash. With no collar and no harness, there was little to grab hold of. Dash is not a very obedient dog, but he is very empathetic. I think he knew I was frightened, and became frightened too. When I cautiously reached out and held him tightly to my body, he was shaking like a leaf. I literally begged him to stay still while I tried to get the harness back on. Getting the harness attached can be difficult even at home and it was much harder in an open field. Dash panics at just about anything and I was continually afraid that he was going to bolt and run away. Eventually, I had him secure again and we all headed immediately home.

Through the whole ordeal, the ever-obedient Dot didn't move an inch. I think Dot may have saved the day. The always insecure Dash has become very dependent on Dot and I think he didn't want to leave her behind, with or without a leash. If I was alone with him, it might have been a different story. He probably would have thought it would be great fun to run as far and fast as he could. I know one thing for sure. I'm never going to trust that harness again. This was the highly recommended "inescapable" harness too. I still haven't come up with a good "Plan-B" for tomorrow.

When I got the dogs safely back home again, I ate a bowl of oatmeal and set about dealing with the day's other problems. I got on the phone and tried to resolve a vexing Medicare issue. Then I tried to get my jury duty summons postponed until sometime this Summer. Since both of these things involved dealing with government bureaucrats, it was a very unsatisfying experience. I still don't know whether anything actually got resolved.

Dot panicked and started to swim again during our water therapy session this afternoon. I don't know what causes this, because 80% of the time, she's just fine. My theory is that occasionally, the technicians add too much water to the tank and Dot starts to float. She's got a good set of lungs. I imagine she would float quite easily. At any rate, maybe my theory is correct. When I asked if they could drain three inches of water from the tank, everything was fine again.

I did some work today, but it was all a blur. Dash totally stressed me out. The two dogs provide the only real sense of purpose I have left. I try my best to protect them, and don't know what I would do without them. Luckily, everything ended well this morning. I didn't panic. And neither did Dot or Dash.

Rory is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1540

Has anybody else completely burned out on social media? I used to post something new and original to Twitter, Facebook, Google+, and Instagram every single day. This was in addition to writing my daily blog post. After about a year of this, I realized that I had completely run out of ideas. I had nothing to say. I had already shared every story I had ever written, uploaded every picture I had ever snapped, and dug up a lot of old stuff that probably should have remained buried. Social media is insatiable. No matter how much you feed it, it always wants more.

Clients sometimes ask me what they can do to maximize their social media efforts. I feel like telling them to just forget about it. For most people it isn't worth the effort. Unless you are Ellen DeGeneres at the Oscars, your photos are never going to be re-tweeted millions of times. Your earnest efforts to promote your business on Facebook are never going to garner one tenth the attention of a single cute cat photo. No matter how exciting you think your company is, there is only so much you can say about it. After you've said your piece, you just become another spammer.

It's kind of a shame that nobody really cares all that much. I know dozens of bloggers and photographers who pour their heart and soul into elaborate online creations that might have 25 genuine fans worldwide. I have a lot of followers, but that doesn't mean they actually read anything. I bet I don't have more than 25 people who actually read everything I write. It probably wasn't that different in the analog era. Back when I played in a band, they used to say that only one in a thousand good bands ever got signed to a record deal. A similar percentage of writers and poets ever saw their books in print. Most people were just throwing notes out to sea in glass bottles.

Andy Warhol was right. Today everybody actually is a star for thirty minutes. What happens after your thirty minutes is over though? The media machine still expects to be fed. I don't think it matters whether you're a guy with two Dalmatians like me, or a giant corporation; eventually you get to a point where there's nothing more to say.

I've totally run out of coherent things to say on Twitter and Facebook. Luckily, this blog has a format that I can sustain forever. I just tell you what I did today. Tomorrow I'll do the same thing all over again. Reading this is probably an acquired taste. Maybe it's a bit like watching an Andy Warhol movie. Very little happens. Things do change over time though. You can call the changes growth, decay, or whatever you want.

Today, Dash's regular vet was very impressed with his progress. It was the first time she'd seen him since his surgery and she agreed with the other vets that we were very lucky to have detected the cancer so early. We still haven't received the pathology report, but we should know whether Dash will require further treatment by the end of the week.

Work was slow today. Ordinarily, that would have been a good thing, but Tuesdays are usually busy and I was prepared to put my nose to the grindstone. It threw my schedule off when things didn't turn out as I expected. This is when people say it's good to be spontaneous. I'm not spontaneous though. Never have been and never will be. When I'm off my schedule, I usually just drift aimlessly.

Tomorrow should be focused. Dot has her weekly physical therapy session and will get in the underwater treadmill again. There are bills to be paid, so a trip to the post office is on tap as well. I need to renew a prescription and I suspect that there will be things to write as well. The day will be just like a hundred other Wednesdays I have already told you about, but I still hope you find it interesting.

Orion is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

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