I saved a 13" beagle bitch from getting run over today.

She was wandering along the sidewalk, in downtown Lockport on the sidewalk of N Transit in front of Walgreens. Almost as soon as i notice her, she plops herself onto the road in front of an oncoming pickup truck. I dropped my bag and ran into the street, waving my arms, hoping the truck would stop. It squealed to a stop, and the driver began cursing at me. I picked up the dog and showed him. He looked shocked, then started to give me a huge lecture about putting my dog on a leash. I told him it wasn't my dog, she was just wandering... but he was already driving away.

I carried her to the grassy area in front of the store and looked for a collar or tags. Nothing. She had big dangly nipples, so i assume she had puppies recently. She was sweet and licked my face. She wasn't interested in the Cool Ranch Doritos that were my lunch, but she did drink the majority of the bottle of water i had in my purse/backpack.

I took the string from my yoga pants out as a make shift collar and leash, but she was having none of it. Seems she thought it was a game.. she dodged it and licked my face when i got close enough. Then, all of a sudden, she decided she had enough of me, and ran away, across W Genessee (thank godness no cars were coming!) and into some bushes.

I hope she made it home ok. And i hope her humans won't let her escape again... she doesn't have a lot of road smarts.

Now, why i was wandering the streets of downtown Lockport by myself is another story.

(e:Uncutsaniflush) was asked, at the very last minute, to help with an inventory of the Hallmark cards at the Walgreens. His boss told him it would only take 2 hours, and promised if i let him go do the inventory, a couple of boxes of Boca Burgers would head my way. I told him to make them Morningstar Frams Grillers and he had a deal.

So, i went with, thinking i could kill 2 hours in Lockport then (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i would continue on with the plans we had for the afternoon.

The 2 hours turned into nearly 5.... so, at 6pm, we thought it wouldn't be wise to head into Niagara Falls. We both have to work in the morning.

Instead, we had dinner and went to Walmart... i don't really *need* the new clothes for work, but now i don't have to make do.

As i have mentioned before, (e:LeeTee,25699) i make my mom a specialized calendar every year for xmas.

I used to do it all by hand -- measuring every calendar grid, writing in every number.

Then, i did it partially by hand, doing the calendar grid with a word processor, copying them out and then drawing in every day.

Then, i began to do it all with CorelDraw. I did that for many many years. I am so familiar with the program. Plus, i just alter the previous year. Which means i did all the hard stuff a long time ago, and the rest is just creative fun. We've had a dual boot thingmaggie (linux and windows) so i can have my CorelDraw to do my the boss mom calendar.

Well, for so many years, i say i need to start early so i can redo it from scratch on something open source, since we don't really use Windows anymore (except for the dual boot so i can use CorelDraw).

So, tonight, i have been trying. And trying and trying and trying. Shit, i am frustrated. None of the 3 programs we have right now has everything i need. Is it so hard to have something that will make a table or grid that is more than a word processor?

Open Office Draw seems to have a lot of things i could use... but... once i started, it doesn't. Or maybe i'm just to focused on the way i know things to be able to find them. I'm stupid, in other words.

I could not get a table from it, unless i draw every line and/or box by hand. And it doesn't have PMS colours or any way to ensure i am always selecting the same colour for different objects (i think it would be wise to always have, say, the exact same colour of blue on every number in the same calendar month). I can't seem to edit objects to a path.

• sigh* I think starting in September might have been too late...

For those of you with dogs and wheels that don't know yet, the dog park in Lasalle Park rocks. Kirsten and i went there last night with her 3 pug brood (yep, not just Ava and Nolan, she kept one of their puppies and named him Taj).

It was so cool to watch the dogs zipping around the place. And extra cool to watch Ava try to keep up with an Italian Greyhound. Sure, he was smaller than the standard Greyhound, but... well... he's a Greyhound.

Although i went with her and her dogs, i felt like a bit of a dog stalker... a wannabe dog person.

No, (e:Uncutsaniflush), it's not a hint... ok... maybe it is, just a little.

To the person that stole the horn on my bike, i give you a big raspberry. It was locked up at the Co-op this morning and you separated the bulb from the tube of the horn and left the metal bit that connects it to the handles. You must really need a horn. But i still raspberry you.

So..... pppppppppppffffffffffffffffffffffttttttttttttttttt

Thanks to some leg work today, i have a job interview Monday afternoon.

Unlike the application process with Petsmart, (e:LeeTee,40592) i didn't have to answer if i agree, strong agree, disagree or strongly disagree (aka lie) about personality questions such as "people are annoying".

As i mentioned in my previous post, (e:LeeTee,40815) my parent's old dog, Ralphie, now has kidney disease. The vet said he should be kept at the animal hospital for a week, but both of my parent's thought it would be too stressful for the spoiled pooch. Personally, i think it was too much for the puppy parents, since they don't treat him like a dog.

So, they brought him home, to have subcutaneous fluid i.v. every twelve hours. My mom continued with her regularly scheduled annual Labour Day weekend trip to Michigan and left my dad with the bulk of the work. Well, with my offer to come help, since i have done this before... with a cat, but i know the drill.

Friday, (e:Uncutsaniflush) and i went to Hamilton's West Mountain to hang out with my dad and help him with the i.v. My dad was a basket case at first. Then, while Ralphie was on my dad's lap, we quickly and quietly, almost stealthily (hell, the dog IS old) poked the needle in while my dad was holding/petting him. It went smooth as silk. My dad looked 10 years younger after that; he was so worried and stressed.

Saturday morning, however, Ralph was wise and wouldn't let us jab him with that needle. Which, of course, shook our confidence that we could accomplish what we needed to... i guess all my talk of having calm assertive energy went out the window.

(e:Uncutsaniflush) had to leave, since he had to work at 4pm, and with the way bridge traffic has been, he left by about 10am, so he could rest up, eat and shower before heading into work.

My dad and i went on with the day... trying to think of another method of injecting the fluids into Ralphie without giving my dad a heart attack. We talked a lot. My dad is the emotional one and my mom is the logical one. My dad got the chance to talk out his feelings more than he can with my mom. I thought it was good for him. And very much a bonding experience for my dad and i. The whole day was, really.

We went to visit his mom, my Nana, in the nursing home. Sadly, she is not doing very well. But i have a feeling a lot of what she is feeling is emotional. She has no emotional or mental health support there, which i find disappointing. We even went to the cemetery to visit his dad, my Papa, his sister, my Aunt Val and his brother, my Uncle Tony, something my dad rarely, if ever, does.

While visiting Nana, my dad thought that some tough love was needed. Forget the soft shoe approach, we needed to be more assertive with Ralphie. Somehow, all the talking and releasing of emotions, my dad was able to find his bravery. He found the courage to do what he thought he couldn't do.

That evening, he took Ralphie by the scruff of the neck and held him down, gentle but forcefully, so he was still enough and not turning around to bite me while i poked him in the fleshy part of the shoulder to get the fluids underneath his skin. We had success. Success and a method made easier Sunday morning.

This afternoon, my dad drove me home and stayed for a short visit before heading back out on the road home.

I am proud of my dad. He let go of his selfishness once his emotions were all out and found the courage to do something that scared him so much. I know some of you may think that Ralph is just a dog. And there is part of me that shares the sentiment. He is a dog... and my parents spoil him too much and don't treat him enough like a dog. But my dad loves Ralphie... and never wanted to do something he thought would hurt him physically. Knowing it was best for both of them to do what is right and not what is easy, he stepped up to the plate and got the dead done.

Even though the reason for visit was unpleasant, i am glad i got the time to bond with my dad... in ways i never have before.

Sorry i missed the party. I meant to come. I appreciate the personal invite i got from (e:Paul) and (e:Terry) when i saw you guys at the Elmwood Art Fest. Looks like everyone had a good time. Happy belated birthdays, (e:Terry) and (e:Mike)!

Oh, and a shoutout to (e:Jill) who we (myself, my dad, Ralphie and (e:Uncutsaniflush)) saw walking down Elmwood by Bidwell.

(e:Uncutsaniflush) and i, thanks to the generosity of my parents, are going on a cruise in February. It will be a birthday and xmas gift from them to both of us.

My cousin, Rob, and his bride to be, Karin, decided to forgo the usual rubbery chicken and bad d.j. to get married on a cruise ship, before it leaves on a cruise in the Caribbean. Most of the family is in Canada and are all flying out of Toronto to Miami, but we so do not want to cross the border just to have to go through customs again just to be on the same flight as my parents. Besides, i hate flying and it and to be fraught with hassles these days, particularly in the colder weather.

Today, (e:Uncutsaniflush) had what i think is a brilliant idea. The train! It would take longer than flying. We would travel from Buffalo to New York (8.5 hours) and from New York to Miami (27 hours).

We thought, with such a long trip, that it would be good to get a room... or, as we found out we could get, a Roomette. Small, but at least it would be private. And what better, someone named Leette making reservations for a roomette! tee hee hee.

So, has anyone here ever taken a long train ride and might have any insight, good, bad or indifferent?

And now, the bad news.

My mom emailed us late this afternoon. Their dog, Ralphie, has gone into kidney failure. Poor spoiled puppie... old puppie, but to me, all dogs are puppies. He has to be kept at the vet with an i.v. drip for a while... not sure how long. I think my dad is falling apart over this. I hope he does well, and they can take him home soon. Poor thing has always had anything and everything he has ever wanted, so he is probably stressed out right now... he's never been alone for more than an hour or 2. I hope, too, that my dad can handle having to give him a needle every day... or Subcutaneous Fluid Administration like i did with my friend Mark's cat, Emo.

Taking a shower made this sting like crazy.



(see previous post for explanation)

Today, i went for my second driving lesson. I figured i would need a few lessons -- maybe 3 or 4 -- and a lot of practice. I think i am an ok driver, considering i have been behind the wheel for about 4 hours, total, in my 38 years.

The appointment was 10am. My instructor came to get me and i drove from Bird, right onto Dewitt, right onto Forest and down past Grant, Elmwood and Lincoln Parkway and right onto Windsor. There, i did a pretty decent 3 point turn and an ok parallel park. We decided to do a second parallel without him telling me where to turn the wheel and when. I was a tiny bit too far from the car beside us, but he said we could manage it. I went up onto the curb, darn it. But i think i will get the hang of it.

I must say, i do like the way our little Prius handles better than the driving school car. But i digress....

We decided to drive some more. He said he noticed my right turns are better. Yay (e:Uncutsaniflush) for his help during practices with that!

We made a left onto Forest and then a right onto Elmwood. The instructor and i both noticed the wheel noise was louder. So, up at Amherst, we pulled into the Sunoco. Yep, i flattened the rear right tire. I apologized, and he said it wasn't my fault. No ones, he said, his maybe... it happens. Even the service guy laughed and said it was unfortunate that it had to happen to me on my second lesson! *sigh*

Instructor had to cancel his next appointment, because the guy at the service center said it would take a little while. I didn't see the need to stand around and wait, it was obvious the lesson was over.

Funny thing, though. I did something this morning i rarely do. I didn't have my purse -- that big backpack of a purse i always have with me. I didn't have anything with me! Just my keys to the house, my learner's permit, sunglasses and his fee, which i had already given to him.

He gave me bus fare, so i hopped on a 20 Elmwood bus down to Bird. I got off the bus and since the bus didn't pull over to the curb, i had to hop out of the way of a car that quickly pulled up beside the bus to park. While doing that, i twisted my ankle in a pothole and went, face first into the road. Thank goodness the car was mostly stopped, or he would have run me over. But, i did get a nasty scrape on my knee. It's still a bit black from the asphalt, despite the cleaning i tried to give it. And it burns.

Oh, and i still had about a mile to walk. And, no, i was NOT wearing comfortable walking shoes. So, every bend of my knee felt like skin was ripping and the blood was dripping down my leg. I was an attractive sight.

So, at about Baynes, two guys sitting on their porch start trying to chat me up. Asking me if i am single. WTF? I so rarely get hit on, i can count the times... like, twice. So? What's the deal? Do they think i am one of the many hookers in the area and since i have a scrape on my knee, i will be willing to give a blow job anywhere?!?

So, tomorrow, i have another lesson. One i don't have to pay for since i didn't get the entire lesson today.

Oh... and before i forget. Happy Birthday (e:Terry)!

Oh... and since i started typing this i have been on hold and disconnected from Time Warner 3 times! They say we didn't pay our bill... but we didn't GET a bill to pay!

What a day!!