"Keep a Journal: How else are you going to get a good look at who you were?"

Sunday, April 27, 2003

Man, am I a doofus;

We did a day trip to the Seattle Temple yesterday, had a righteous spiritual buzz and got some work done for some of Laurie's kinfolk. Went to sleep with the same spiritual high still resonating thru my soul. I guess I was on Autopilot, because before bed that night I made my lunch and set out my riding gear for the morning - and set the alarm.

So (as usual) I got up at 5am, looked out the window, saw a gorgeous clear sky and decided to get ready to ride. Minor interruption by a diarrhea attack: after 4 visits to the bathroom to get rid of everything I've eaten over the last 24 hours, I was still determined to ride to work. Kept getting the feeling whilst I was on the pot; "put your watch on!", to which I replied (to myself), "I will, just as soon as I'm finished here..." - which took a while; unfortunately. I hurriedly finished dressing and got out the door a little late, but ready to go...

...I had reached the bottom of the hill on 112th before the light went on.

I noticed the traffic was a little light for 5:40am on a Monday - and then it hit: IT'S NOT MONDAY, YOU IDJIT!!!. I finally looked at my watch and, of course, the little weekday indicator showed that, in fact, it was SUNDAY...

So; I very sheepishly rode back up the hill, and curled up on the couch.

Laurie either didn't hear me go or just decided not to ask me about it. The dog was REALLY annoying; she woke up when I did and immediately started whining to be let outside. I'm not a complete idiot; so I muzzled her before letting her out into the yard. The Mutt is persistent: she's learned a muffled bark-howl that she can push out at a fair volume even thru the muzzle...I tromped out (6:00am by now) and chained her in the kitchen - by the muzzle. Laurie thinks it was unnecessary, but it's the only way to get that *&^%$#@! dog to SHUT UP. I am NOT fielding a call from the SPCA about my "nuisance dog", nor am I putting up with her whining when I'm trying to grab another hour's sleep.

I guess I'm just not a "dog person"...

Beagles are a caution: they have all the vices of a large dog, and none of the virtues of a small dog.
Large Dog:
They're LOUD - a particular sound known as "bugling" - common to all hound breeds
They DIG - everywhere! and have been known to chew stuff no other self respecting animal would get near: rocks, aluminum cans, glass...I have to be especially carefull about keeping debris out of the back yard, this is difficult with a High School in close proximity.
They get DIRTY - see previous sentence on digging.

Small dog:
Food - unlike most smaller breeds, beagles are binge eaters, about the only way we know the dog has eaten something that has made her sick is when she doesn't wolf down her food in under 30 seconds.
Shedding - Beagles shed more hair than most goats - especially now, during the spring thaw. I know she doesn't do it on purpose, but I only have the one suit for Church and I'm trying to keep it looking nice for a while longer. All the gagging on hairballs is kind of gross, too.
Staying put - most small dogs are content to keep to a small, well defined territory - not Beagles! She'll range far and wide, looking for new opportunities to crap in places she hasn't previously crapped in - and she is NOT housebroken yet; I don't care what Laurie says.

She IS, however, smart AND persistent. She's chewed thru a Stainless Steel Cable Lead (twice!) and ripped the arial lead off its anchor at least three times. One of her escapes almost got her snatched by an unscrupulous louse about six blocks from home. She's gone over, and especially UNDER the backyard fence more times than I can count - I got tired of filling in all the holes and boarding up all the gaps - the arial lead setup was a response to her efforts as a canine Escape Artist.

But my wife, who IS a Dog Person, loves the little Mutt - so she stays.

Maybe I'm just whingeing and whining here...

Truly, my life at the moment is going better than it has for YEARS. I am on top of my personal goals for the first time ever. I am doing well at work. I am supporting my wife and kids in their activities...

Which brings up Laurie: the stay-at-home mom who hasn't been home all that much lately!

Most women would be satisfied with ONE activity that gets them out of the house regularily: my wife has THREE. I was a little concerned about her stress level for a while there...

In addition to Coaching Square Dancing for a Local Teen Club, my wife is also: a Brownie (Girl Guides) Leader, and the Event Organiser for the Pacific Northwest Teen Square Dance Festival Association - Festival 2003! This last has about done her in...I remember L arriving home a few weeks back in a complete state of exhaustion after spending 16 HOURS figuring out the event schedules. She had done and re-done those same schedules FOUR TIMES over the previous three days and each time had declared "finally finished!" - I thought she was losing it...
I don't mean to complain, but the housework is NOT getting done with L out of the house 6 days a week; in fact, the shopping for this week was a serious cramp in her activities - I had to get creative with breakfasts to feed the kids - and our kids don't like NUTHIN'!!!

BUT - I support my wife...

Festival 2003 will be happening end of this week, and as I had some vacation time to spare; I am taking from Tuesday onward as vacation so that I can babysit the kids, and hopefully get the house in order, while L discharges her duties as Lord High Everything Else at the Festival.

This will give me ample opportunities for witty and pithy musings to be published here...you really DO have to suffer to write.