Last Updated on: 15th October 2013, 10:14 am
It’s Sunday again. Thank God. My knee is crying a lot less today, so that’s a good sign. It’s still not perfect, but it’s a lot better. I forgot to mention that poor Amy hurt something else yesterday. She was relieving Dynamo out in this park area, and he got excited about another dog and made her dislocate her thumb. That woman gets a medal too, she popped it back into place.
Man I swear there’s no rest for the wicked. I woke up at 3 in the morning in an absolute panic. I mean it felt like I had questions that were pressing and if I didn’t ask them the next day, I’d never get them answered. I’ve been having this problem where I don’t get all of Trixie’s poopy presents and they have to scoop up leftovers. this made me panic. Plus I got that stupid worry that I was missing spots on her when I groom. I also haven’t tried the flexi lead yet, I haven’t tried her in a crate in case I need one and I wanted to be clear on what I should do if some other bozo in a car does the thing he did on Tuesday again. I just suddenly felt this extreme dip in confidence, which set off serious alarm bells in my head because when I left with Babs, I wasn’t feeling confident. Then, after going to the bathroom, I could calm myself down enough to go back to sleep by saying these are diferent concerns and I feel pretty safe with her in the street, a lot more sure of myself than I did when I left Ottawa. I told myself to go back to sleep and ask Jessica in the morning. I got some more sleep, and swallowed my pride and asked Jessica all the questions in the morning. I looked like a blubbering fool, she probably thought I was a wacko. Hopefully not. All I could think was “Does this classify me as mentally unstable because I seem to be tearing up over trivial little questions?” But she didn’t seem too upset that I was feeling like a dork. She told me she’d rather I ask now than go home with unanswered questions. She told me she’d help me more to make sure I knew how to do speed control with the woofer. I’m getting it, but it’s by no means perfect, and I’m going to have to steady her down so I can find doors, etc. It was really weird to have such a wave of panic wash over me. I thought I wouldn’t have that since I’d already gone through the Babs stuff, but I guess her flash of panic was over totally different things. I was worried about where I was going to put her food, whether I’d be able to handle it all, all that jazz. This is more about unresolved questions. Funny how no matter how many times you do something, you probably get the same bits of worry. Or maybe that’s just a me thing.
So finally Trixie pooped and we could get a sample for the vets. It even looked not as soft. Ok then. Whatever that was.
Man Autumn can sleep through anything. She snores away while Trixie plays with her bone, while Clyde plays the organ, while I write over here.
Today I plan to do laundry, perhaps read the rest of the guide to Sylvia, Jill and Carmen and maybe play a bit on the computer and take Trixie to the paddock. Other than that, sweet dick all. I might get out the Lewis Black book and start reading it. That would force me to lay down.
My knee is weird. If I work it too much, it screams, but after long periods of inactivity, it complains too. Damned if I do, damned if I don’t. Right now the pain is a lot less. Please don’t let me hurt myself anymore.
Poor Amy. Some power does not want her to get a guide dog, but she persists on without stopping.
It sounds like Bus 1 is getting to be a pretty cool place. I guess Al, the quiet mouse, has started talking about sex, Bernard teases Frank mercilessly and Frank laughs at him, and then there’s Amy who just never stops making people laugh. We were laughing the other day because they were talking about dogfoods, and Eukanuba, and Frank called it Nuka-Euba. I looked over at Amy and said, “What has Frank got against Euba’s, he wants to nuke a euba?” Then she’s laughing and trying not to get caught. So they’re always talking about all the new words like snop and anpissitation and now nuka-euba.
Man I was hungry. I had seconds. There have been few times where I’ve had seconds, but this morning was one of them. I’m tired, I wonder if I can nap.
Ok that was creepy. As I was sleeping, I heard the ladies from dorm services come in and change our towels and garbage, and then we heard a knock and then feet walking slowly and methodically around the room. I called out to the feet, but no one answered. Then they left and Autumn never saw them. Um, how weird. Do we have a ghost?
I forgot to mention we met our first nincompoop while doing guide work. We were doing sidewalkless, which is hard, and some rude asshole yells, “Those dogs must be new, they’re not getting it, ha ha ha ha ha!” Ooo! If there’s a sure-fire way to make my blood boil, that’s it. Idiots.
I should go check on my laundry. Then I just have to run the beast in the grassy paddock, please don’t let me step in shit, and then read the other half of the freelance guide to Carmen, Sylvia and Jill. And Carmen’s trying to come up with a new line for Frank’s new dog. Listen, chicky, the song is now dead.
On a side-note, Frank is all googoo over his new dog. It’s really weird to watch.
Raaaar! Trixie is Giardia positive *again!* So now we need a stronger medication to cure it. I think this time, when the medication is done, I’ll ask if we can send a sample over to make sure that she’s clear. I want this Giardia thing cured before I come home! Let me say it again, raaaar! I’m sure it will resolve, I just wish I wasn’t like 6 days from going home still dealing with Giardia.
Now I think I’ll bug Sylvia and Carmen about the freelance guide. I feel guilty that I have it in my room. It should be back in its rightful place. I only stole it because I was reading it to them.
I don’t know what happened with Henry, he never showed up for lunch.
Ok, checking laundry, it wasn’t dry last time, let’s hope it is now.
Yea laundry’s done, and I ran her in the paddock. We ran until she started chomping on grass. Did I mention I have to give her two medications to zap the Giardia? Ug damn infections.
We ran them in the paddock, now she’s snoring. I don’t think my trip to the paddock did wonders for my knee though. I forgot about all the uneven spots in the ground. So I kept tripping and on my way back, since I was just heeling her, I slipped off the curb. I didn’t fall, just jolted everything, *again*. Hope for the best. I think if I wear the knee brace during workouts, I should be fine. Then I can relax at home.
Dinner tonight is some kind of black bean chili. Lunch was fajitas, and they were good. The dessert was pumpkin pie.
Oh, Craig headed back to Toronto. I hear it’s cold there this weekend, the poor soul. God I hope I won’t freeze my ass off when I come home next weekend. Just think about this. This time next weekend, which is 8:30 Eastern, I’ll be back home. Mom and dad will probably still be with me, helping me out with a few things, but I’ll be home, back to my own schedule, back to my own life. I will have survived, and I will have my Trixie-beast at home..and the really hard stuff begins. Keeping her training up, teaching her my home stuff, falling into a nice rhythm.
I’m not looking forward to graduation, I think it’ll be heart-wrenching. They take the dog from you, the puppy raiser holds it and hands it over to you. And then the tears will start flowing. If a little girl raised it, some of them are raised by highschool kids and their families, I’ll feel like I’m stealing candy from a baby. I know it was all explained to them, but I’ll feel like the embodyment of the evil end of puppy raising, where the slave-driver takes the dog away. I hope my beast doesn’t misbehave and need correction. I’ll feel like such a cruel person.
It’s almost time for dinner and I’m not hungry. Arg. I think after dinner I’ll read a book. I think this has been the first truly relaxing Sunday I’ve had. The first Sunday was relaxing but I was still getting onto the rhythm of things and there were more things going on. Last Sunday was just a zoo. This Sunday was very laid back which was good. I just get the distinct sense my knee isn’t any better.
Man Autumn’s good at catching catnaps. Almost as good as puppies are.
So my evening is going to be slow and easy. Read a book, water the puppy, continue reading, relieve the puppy, read until I fall asleep. Cool? Cool.
Well, I ended up playing with my adorable pile of fun. Then Autumn and I decided we had to practice the airplane seat, which is a good idea, since I’m going to have to wrestle with her when I get on the plane early in the morning on Sunday. Ug. I have to get her on first, get her to lay down, shove her little tushy under the seat in front of me, get in and squiggle her further. Then, I decided I wanted to see what she’d be like in a crate, in case I needed one. Oy. We had to put the collar up so we had more control and practically ram her in there. But I’m sure some kibble and a cong would sweeten the deal. then we put booties on her to see what size would fit best. We’re not sure. The medium ones seem too small but the large ones seem too floppy. She says take her to the store to get them. Fine with me. I’m sure she thought I was nuts. Now I’m going to bed. The last insanity awaits.