Tag Archives: chance

whirling

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If you haven’t seen the first two-part episode of Stargate Universe and you are at all a sci/fi tv fan, you have roughly a day (if you’re lucky) to go watch it on Hulu. Get going!.

Now, that being said…

The week we moved into our first apartment, Nighthawk and I bought our bed, a dining room set, a recliner, and a sofa. That sofa was in pure sofa hell for quite a while, between JessieDog’s accidents, the puppies attempts to gut it, their accidents, spilled food, and any other number of messes. You’ll all be glad to know that the old sofa was sent out to pasture today, and we’ve got a brand new sofa-and-chaise sectional thingie in its place. For the first time in probably 5 years, I can invite people over and not cringe when offering them a seat.

Add to that the new TV and the new entertainment center, and this place looks like a whole new livingroom.

For those who are wondering what the dogs think of it, I’d let them tell you themselves, but they’re both out cold next to me on the sofa. I think they approve. They had quite the rough day, barking at the trash guys, then barking at the guys who picked up the old sofa, then barking at the sofa delivery guys, then barking at me….

Totally unrelated, it’s National Novel Writing Month and we’re 5 days in. I have written zero words. I could give you many excuses, such as:

  • The Phillies just played 6 games of a World Series that the morons at Fox insisted starting at 8pm. Since playoff baseball frequently runs to 4 hour games, that doesn’t leave much time for writing.
  • We’re (finally) housetraining the dogs properly – which among other adventures has meant I’ve been walking up to 3 miles a day, often in 5 minute intervals around our building. I’d kill for a yard right now. Anyway, it’s incredibly difficult to type while walking two dogs. (For those who wondered, the dogs are currently “housetrained” to use piddle pads, because you can’t expect a 10 lb dog under 2 years old to “hold it” for 9 hours while you’re at work. Piddle pads are great because they’re like diapers — you don’t have to go out in the cold, or the rain, or even really leave the sofa. They’re also horrible because they’re like diapers — they leak, they smell to high hell, and they do nothing worth a damn about poop.)
  • I was too busy over the weekend dying my hair blue, screaming my lungs out at Hershey Park with my sister, yelling at the Phillies, knitting, and generally having fun to think about it.
  • I was going to start writing Sunday morning but I discovered Scrivener and I got so wrapped up in organizing my two existing novel universes (consisting of three unfinished novels each) to start actually writing (though Scrivener is definitely going to be my tool of choice)

But the fact of the matter is that my creation energy is about tapped. I’m working on a huge project at work right now, and at least three to four hours of any (good) day consists of creating screens, justifying the elements within them, understanding how they work, and documenting them, and damn if that isn’t one of the most draining activities I’ve come across in a long time. It really does feel quite a bit like writing a novel. There’s the initial creation, the revision, the feedback, the more revision, the recognition that something that was an initial premise is horribly flawed and half of everything has to be ripped out and recreated, the desire to research, research, research, the recognition that the research alone could eat you alive, and an ever-present deadline.

Though I don’t spend quite as much time when I’m writing making Visio cry. Apparently that damned app gets grouchy once you cross the 50-page mark, regardless of how tightly you’ve grouped or limited your images.

Anyway, my current challenge is to decide which of the two novel universes I’m set in need work — I’m leaning toward Sarra, but I’m always leaning toward Sarra.

I’ve also got knitting to do, a comic to work on, and general life to keep up on. Would like to go drown some worms with Dad this weekend (that’s “fishing” for the uninitiated), play some Katamari Forever, and maybe kill some sims. Or maybe just lounge on this bigass couch with my dogs.

Whoops

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I washed 3 of the 4 dog beds today: both downstairs beds and Chance’s upstairs bed.

Then I forgot to put them in the dryer.

So Chance is sleeping on the car sofa tonight. I hauled it up the steps just for him. He’s so confused. And Kaylee is acting all put out because she doesn’t get furniture too.

Here he’s all, “Ma, where’s my bed?!?”

Doggie stand-off

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Sigh.

So here’s a snapshot from my evening:

I’m trying to train Chance and Kaylee to go outside to do their business. They’re already housetrained in the sense that if I put training pads down in one of the two designated spots they’ve been trained to look, both dogs will reliably pee or poo on the pads.

But the pads aren’t exactly cheap, we’re guaranteed to use at least two a day in the kitchen while we’re at work, and once they’re used the house starts to smell like dog piss.

As an added bonus, all, let’s just say Chance’s aim is what you’d expect from a 1 year old boy. So I end up cleaning the rugs about once a week.

So Chance is dancing around the pee pads and his butt looks like it’s going to explode. I ask him if he wants to go outside, clip the leashes on both dogs, and we head out the door.

Kaylee pees right away, and gets a treat.

Chance sniffs. And sniffs. And eats some bird seed under the feeder. Wanders around at the edges of the neighbor’s yard until I call him back. Eats a leaf. Barks at (choose one:) the neighbor, the sound of a faraway train, a truck, Kaylee. Wanders. Sniffs. Bites his leash because it’s preventing him from causing more trouble. Eats a crocus.

Now, repeat the paragraph above for at least 30 minutes.

While he was doing that, Kaylee was doing all the same things, only not in the same order. Plus, occasinally she’d wander over and bite Chance’s ear or leg, just ’cause.

We came in when Chance decided to lay down on the lawn.

As soon as we came in, he headed straight for the pee pads. So I hauled him back outside. But one of my neighbors was smoking on his porch so there’s no way Chance was goingbto concentrate on the task at hand.

So back inside, where Chance decides to lay on my lap and stare at the chicken I was trying to use as a treat for pooping. He fell asleep there.

Now, he’s tucked himself into the sofa blankets and is chewing a nylabone.

This training thing is clearly going to take some time.

A few quick notes

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First, a quick late Happy Anniversary to ideaphile plantnerd and the Brit, and a quick early Happy Birthday to my dad, who I understand pops on here like, once every blue moon. I love you all!

Second, via peri-renna, two very excellent blog posts on what to do if you think someone important to you is dealing with depression here and here.

If you’re following me on twitter, you might also want to follow @chancedog and @kayleedog. Kaylee’s the more talkative of the two.

Peppermint iced tea, while delicious, makes you cold, so I really ought to stop drinking it in the winter.

Had fun watching the Super Bowl tonight. Pitchers and catchers report in 12 days, 9 hours, and 30 minutes.

…

I’ve now been staring at this screen for 5 solid minutes, so I think maybe I should go to bed. Goodnight!

Not just wintergreen life savers

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So I’m lying in bed in a pitch dark room listening to the dogs settle, and a little flash catches my attention. After the third grey light dented the darkness, I peered over the edge of my mattress.

Chance was “fluffing” the blankets in his bed that he was building up a static charge between the fuzzy bed, the wooly-feeling dig blanket, and the terrycloth towel he’s recently decided he owns. And the more he got zapped, the harder he fluffed the bed.

I finally removed the blankets – discharging them through my fingers, I might add – and he wetted settled when I re-covered him.

But if he’s smoking in the morning, I’ll know why…

*updated to fix iphone-induced misspelling.