Tuesday, January 31, 2006
State Of The Union Address
As I sit here watching the President's speech, I'm reminded of my last post...
MONKEYS!!!
It's confession time again. This one is about chimps. I love chimps on t.v. My current favorite is the Jackson Hewitt ad. If you haven't seen it, Tarzan is sitting at a desk with a chimp on his lap. When the accountant asks Tarzan who did his taxes the chimp raises his hand. Classic use of an ape.
Then there's the Career Builder.com website. A virtual cornicopia of chimp ads. My favorite is Titanic.
I think this all dates back to Lancelot Link: Secret Chimp. A favorite of my youth.
Sunday, January 29, 2006
The Long Trip Home
Well, Lisa just left on the 14 hour trip back to Littleton Colorado with the girls. It has been a rough weekend for all concerned. Lisa arrived Friday morning after driving all night (no Cyndi Lauper or Celine jokes please). We had a nice pleasant afternoon. My boss (who helped Lisa and I get together in the first place) gave me the afternoon off and we just relaxed in the room. If I had an inkling of the weekend to come I would have enjoyed every minute more.
It started out okay, we had to get up early to get a few supplies, collars, leashes and a blanket for the cage Lisa had brought. We had to pick them up at about 6 in the morning. The pups were terrified when we picked them up and put them in the cage. It took us about fifteen minutes of sweet talking to calm them enough to even be able to pick them up. Once I started down the dirt road they started shaking uncontrollably.
Lisa insisted on riding in the back with them and she's not one you can argue with where a dog's well being is concerned. It was freezing until we got down off the hill, then it was only cold. We had to get the dogs to the Vilonia Animal Clinic between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. They were booked up but made an extra effort to get the pups in for the rabies vaccine. Like most people that deal with animals, they love them and we're really good with the scared dogs. On the way back from the vet's it started raining. It would continue raining for the rest of the day.
Lisa wanted to go to Hot Springs for site seeing. Her original trip was planned before the dogs so we wanted to at least do something together. We have a National Parks pass and Hot Springs National Park is right downtown. It's all the old bath houses. It's very cool, I'll right more about that later. Anyway, it's about an hour and a half from Conway. I was a little nervous about dragging the puppies that far, it was already a rough day for them. Lisa pointed out that they might as well get use to the road on a little break-in journey. They had a long trip ahead of them. They handled it like troopers, I had a tarp over the cage and they stayed surprisingly dry and relatively comfy in the back of the truck. There was a minor incident and one of them "made" in the cage. It was our fault though because they were barking and we thought it was just because they didn't like it cooped up. We got the mess cleaned up and everything was fine from then on. Once we had done the tourist thing we walked them around a park. Lisa and I were constantly amazed at their good nature and adaptability. They were getting used to being on a leash quickly.
The main source of frustration was being in a hotel and fleas. We couldn't bring them in the room but they would bark when left in the cage. Drunk guys in the hotel next door didn't help. Lisa and I got them a few toys at PetsMart and drove them around with us. They like riding. After returning to the hotel after dinner I had to take them for another ride at 9:30. That put them out and I parked in a quieter part of the parking lot. We kept our fingers crossed and the window open and it was all quiet until this morning.
All in all it wasn't so bad, the weather and hotel were the biggest obstacles. They are sweet dogs with two distinct personalities. The good news is Lisa's mom is going to take one and her aunt is keeping the other. They will be well loved.
It started out okay, we had to get up early to get a few supplies, collars, leashes and a blanket for the cage Lisa had brought. We had to pick them up at about 6 in the morning. The pups were terrified when we picked them up and put them in the cage. It took us about fifteen minutes of sweet talking to calm them enough to even be able to pick them up. Once I started down the dirt road they started shaking uncontrollably.
Lisa insisted on riding in the back with them and she's not one you can argue with where a dog's well being is concerned. It was freezing until we got down off the hill, then it was only cold. We had to get the dogs to the Vilonia Animal Clinic between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. They were booked up but made an extra effort to get the pups in for the rabies vaccine. Like most people that deal with animals, they love them and we're really good with the scared dogs. On the way back from the vet's it started raining. It would continue raining for the rest of the day.
Lisa wanted to go to Hot Springs for site seeing. Her original trip was planned before the dogs so we wanted to at least do something together. We have a National Parks pass and Hot Springs National Park is right downtown. It's all the old bath houses. It's very cool, I'll right more about that later. Anyway, it's about an hour and a half from Conway. I was a little nervous about dragging the puppies that far, it was already a rough day for them. Lisa pointed out that they might as well get use to the road on a little break-in journey. They had a long trip ahead of them. They handled it like troopers, I had a tarp over the cage and they stayed surprisingly dry and relatively comfy in the back of the truck. There was a minor incident and one of them "made" in the cage. It was our fault though because they were barking and we thought it was just because they didn't like it cooped up. We got the mess cleaned up and everything was fine from then on. Once we had done the tourist thing we walked them around a park. Lisa and I were constantly amazed at their good nature and adaptability. They were getting used to being on a leash quickly.
The main source of frustration was being in a hotel and fleas. We couldn't bring them in the room but they would bark when left in the cage. Drunk guys in the hotel next door didn't help. Lisa and I got them a few toys at PetsMart and drove them around with us. They like riding. After returning to the hotel after dinner I had to take them for another ride at 9:30. That put them out and I parked in a quieter part of the parking lot. We kept our fingers crossed and the window open and it was all quiet until this morning.
All in all it wasn't so bad, the weather and hotel were the biggest obstacles. They are sweet dogs with two distinct personalities. The good news is Lisa's mom is going to take one and her aunt is keeping the other. They will be well loved.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Sisters
Here is the source of my stress and anxiety for the last week and a half. Today was a big day. The geophysicist bought them puppy chow and flea collars today. They were pretty happy. They were full of energy and spent a good part of the morning chasing one another and wrestling. The mid-day consisted of naps and by the end of the day they were chewing on one anothers ears and back at the chasing.
Things are looking better and worse. The Humane Society finally returned my calls. They don't have a building here. It's foster families for the dogs and some families have eight dogs! They are going to work on finding a volunteer but in the meantime I think Lisa and I are going to take them to a clinic for a free spay and shots and any medical attention they need. Hopefully there will be a foster family willing to take them in but Lisa is prepared to take them to Denver to a better no-kill shelter.
Things are looking better and worse. The Humane Society finally returned my calls. They don't have a building here. It's foster families for the dogs and some families have eight dogs! They are going to work on finding a volunteer but in the meantime I think Lisa and I are going to take them to a clinic for a free spay and shots and any medical attention they need. Hopefully there will be a foster family willing to take them in but Lisa is prepared to take them to Denver to a better no-kill shelter.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
The Canine Underground Railroad
Well, the dog plot thickens. After trying for two days to get the Faulkner County Humane Society to even RETURN my calls, I finally found out there's no room at the inn. Animal control can't turn them away but they would have to euthanize two other dogs to make room for these pups. I don't want that. Conway Arkansas is not a good place to be a dog. So I've brought the fullest extent of my vast resources to bear on the problem. My network discovered a shelter, the only catch being I have to live in Little Rock. My network (i.e. brother) is devious so it came up with a fake address just in case. The whole thing is turning into a surreal Hogan's Heroesque episode. If two dogs' little lives weren't hanging in the balance I would be enjoying the subterfuge. To up the suspense factor we've got some crazy-ass redneck threatening to kill the dogs if they get into his chickens. I've convinced him that I'll take care of the pup's this weekend so I think he'll hold off. I can't bring them back to the hotel, no dogs allowed of course.
As ugly as all of this sounds, I'm feeling pretty good about this. If I can't get them into the shelter in Little Rock they'll be making a trip to Denver with Lisa. She's coming down to visit this weekend. Denver is a big dog town so there should be plenty of good shelters. We will not let anything bad happen to them even if we end up with two goddamned black lab pups! They are awful sweet.
As ugly as all of this sounds, I'm feeling pretty good about this. If I can't get them into the shelter in Little Rock they'll be making a trip to Denver with Lisa. She's coming down to visit this weekend. Denver is a big dog town so there should be plenty of good shelters. We will not let anything bad happen to them even if we end up with two goddamned black lab pups! They are awful sweet.
Sunday, January 22, 2006
A Kinder Gentler Me
I've started about four different entries over the last week and none have stuck. I'm getting into one of my annoyed at everything moods but really haven't felt the desire to inflict my sour grapes on anyone. I hit the little "Next Blog" button and came across this annoying ninny. I would love to meet someone like that in person. They must be a real pill at parties. I wonder how people can be that negative and worked up all the time? I guess that's why I haven't been into my old political rants. It takes a lot out of you when you get worked up. I can't imagine doing it every day, she must have very high blood pressure.
I had a little thing on the death penalty going. I'm oddly inconsistent on several issues and this is one. I started out with an argument against it but by the end I had myself convinced that it wasn't so bad. The libertarian in me is in constant struggle with the conservative. The conservative in me long ago cut off the liberal's heat, thus forcing him out into the cold.
The kinder gentler me has a cause to fight for. There are two abandoned black lab puppies out in the woods where we are working. I'm taking lessons from my brother, the samaritan of the four legged world. The dog in the picture is Kirby, the newest member of the Glass household. The dogs offficially have the majority vote in the house (of course they always did). So now I have the soft touch. Lisa and I have been talking about adopting one of the pups but we're pretty busy this year and might not be able to give her our full attention. We'll see though, Lisa is a bigger softy than I am. It's kind of nice to think that these two little dogs have people worried for them as far away as Denver Colorado and Columbus Ohio.
So there you have the week in review. It was a good week, it's always better when I don't get worked up.
I had a little thing on the death penalty going. I'm oddly inconsistent on several issues and this is one. I started out with an argument against it but by the end I had myself convinced that it wasn't so bad. The libertarian in me is in constant struggle with the conservative. The conservative in me long ago cut off the liberal's heat, thus forcing him out into the cold.
The kinder gentler me has a cause to fight for. There are two abandoned black lab puppies out in the woods where we are working. I'm taking lessons from my brother, the samaritan of the four legged world. The dog in the picture is Kirby, the newest member of the Glass household. The dogs offficially have the majority vote in the house (of course they always did). So now I have the soft touch. Lisa and I have been talking about adopting one of the pups but we're pretty busy this year and might not be able to give her our full attention. We'll see though, Lisa is a bigger softy than I am. It's kind of nice to think that these two little dogs have people worried for them as far away as Denver Colorado and Columbus Ohio.
So there you have the week in review. It was a good week, it's always better when I don't get worked up.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Hotel Living
I have a sick, sad confession to make. I was sliding my Hormel Salisbury Steak (with sliced potatoes & gravy) dinner into the microwave when a random thought struck. I had just taken my shower after getting home from work. I was still wrapped in a towel and thanks to the intimate (some would say cramped) living quarters of my hotel room I had to take about eight steps from the bathroom to the mini-fridge to the microwave to get dinner ready. I was hit with the realization that I love hotel living. For some odd, almost sad reason, I look forward to crappy microwave meals, laying on a lumpy mattress watching a t.v. with no contrast control and way too much contrast. I love Lisa more than I love breathing or my motorcycle but I love being in a motel room by myself too. I'm not sure what this says about me. I don't know if this is the cause or effect of the job. All I know is I would feel uncomfortable living in a house too much bigger than 1800 square feet. My house is a duplex and my place is about the size of a two bedroom apartment. It's perfect.
There's a gratifying feeling of being protected from the outside by a hotel. I know for security reasons the hotel with access from inside is safer but I'm partial to the motel because I like to sit with the door open on a cool sunny day or during a spring shower. You're in your room but outside is right there. It's all very exhilarating
It will sound lazy perhaps but I love the fact that someone will come in and make your bed and bring you fresh towels every day. It's like being royalty. To be honest I can't think of any drawbacks except that sometimes a hotel won't have AV jacks for me to plug the X Box into the t.v. Or they won't have high speed internet. That doesn't happen too often though, hell even truck stops have wireless internet these days. There's just no excuse for not having it. Lisa actually likes staying in hotels too, maybe that's one of the reasons we are compatible. She gets bored after awhile though. I can't really blame her. She is normal after all.
There's a gratifying feeling of being protected from the outside by a hotel. I know for security reasons the hotel with access from inside is safer but I'm partial to the motel because I like to sit with the door open on a cool sunny day or during a spring shower. You're in your room but outside is right there. It's all very exhilarating
It will sound lazy perhaps but I love the fact that someone will come in and make your bed and bring you fresh towels every day. It's like being royalty. To be honest I can't think of any drawbacks except that sometimes a hotel won't have AV jacks for me to plug the X Box into the t.v. Or they won't have high speed internet. That doesn't happen too often though, hell even truck stops have wireless internet these days. There's just no excuse for not having it. Lisa actually likes staying in hotels too, maybe that's one of the reasons we are compatible. She gets bored after awhile though. I can't really blame her. She is normal after all.
Sunday, January 15, 2006
Conway Arkansas
I went for a ride yesterday. It was sixty degrees and sunny. A rare nice day in Arkansas so far. I still didn't ride too far though. It is, like most places this time of year, brown and drab even on a sunny day. I usually need a destination or reason to ride this time of year. I'm hoping to go to Hot Springs next weekend to check it out. When I found out I was going to Arkansas I brought Hot Springs by Stephen Hunter with me. I've been a fan of Stephen Hunter for a while now. One of my favorite books is Dirty White Boys. It takes place in and around Lawton Oklahoma where I've spent a lot of time working at Ft Sill. Hot Springs takes place in the forties and a lot of the old gambling halls mentioned in the book are historical landmarks now. It should be fun to match fiction against fact.
If there is one thing about my job I feel blessed about it's the travelling. It's more than just what a vacation might offer. A lot of times you get to really know a place like you can't staying in an RV for a week. Several of the guys I work with feel we should work six or seven days a week and as much over-time as we can get. Their belief is if they have to be on the road they would rather be earning money. That line of thought has always bugged the hell out of me. It seems to be the prevailing opinion though. Of my friends that don't feel that way most of those have a motorcycle. I don't think it's a coincidence. I don't like to be one of those guys that claims his pastime/profession or what have you is the best and only worthy pursuit. But I have a t-shirt that says "You never see a motorcycle parked outside a psychiatrist's office" and I'd have to say that's about the wisest t-shirt I've ever owned. I'm very rarely bored when I have a map and the bike with me.
If there is one thing about my job I feel blessed about it's the travelling. It's more than just what a vacation might offer. A lot of times you get to really know a place like you can't staying in an RV for a week. Several of the guys I work with feel we should work six or seven days a week and as much over-time as we can get. Their belief is if they have to be on the road they would rather be earning money. That line of thought has always bugged the hell out of me. It seems to be the prevailing opinion though. Of my friends that don't feel that way most of those have a motorcycle. I don't think it's a coincidence. I don't like to be one of those guys that claims his pastime/profession or what have you is the best and only worthy pursuit. But I have a t-shirt that says "You never see a motorcycle parked outside a psychiatrist's office" and I'd have to say that's about the wisest t-shirt I've ever owned. I'm very rarely bored when I have a map and the bike with me.
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