Jeep

As I was leaving the restaurant at lunch, I looked across the street and saw this Jeep. It was parked in a bar parking lot. This got me wondering, why? The following are some reasons it could be.

1. Someone left the bar with someone, and the person who wanted to leave with them was pissed (and just finished shopping at Office Depot).
   
2. Someone was getting married in the bar and the best man didn't know where to get empty cans.


3. The Atlanta Police don't know how to subtly mark a car for surveillance.


4. Who needs to boot a car when you have post-its.


5. It is the new Maco budget paint job.


6. Nothing was wrong. The car is owned by Carrot Top.


7. The owner is a criminal genius. The cops will be looking for a dark blue Jeep, not a pink, yellow, lime green, light blue and purple jeep. And, it has the added benefit of windows that they can't see into.

Good Boss

When I left my old position as a Technical Instructor, my biggest apprehension was leaving my boss. After years of having a bad boss, Scott was a welcome change. Scott was a good boss. Scott wanted you to do well, because when you did well, he did well. He even encouraged us to put in for promotions, which is why I have my current position.

Going from a good boss to a unknown boss can be unnerving. For the last few months Seyed (my new boss) and I have been feeling each other out. He has been a good boss so far, but recently he has gone beyond good boss. With all of Buddy's vet appointments he has let me take vacation days, and today he let me swap my off day so I wouldn't have to burn up all my vacation.

Working for a good boss makes life a little easier. I just wish Seyed liked working a 4 day work week like Scott did.

I just finished reading a book called Ten Points. It is the memoir of Bill Strickland, an editor of Bicycling magazine. It recounts a race season that he tries to score 10 points in. He uses the racing to exorcise the demons of his past.

It is a good story with parts that are disturbing and others that are inspiring. Although it is sold with the cycling books in the sports section of the book store, it really isn't a cycling story. It just often takes place while he's cycling. It is more of a inspirational story.

If you are wondering how I'm able to read and not mow my yard. The answer is easy. You can read with a Golden using you as a pillow, but you can't drive a mower.

What a Mess

My lawn is high. If my dogs lay down, I might loose them. The brakes on my car squeal when I stop. The high pitch metal on metal sound makes the hair on the back of your neck stand up. I have a mountain of laundry. I’m thinking of hiring a Sherpa. I am fatter than normal. I am no longer a Clydesdale, I’m the draft wagon. I haven’t exercised in a month. My bike and running shoes are gathering dust (I couldn’t go for a ride or a run if I wanted to. All my cycling and running shorts are in the mountain of laundry, and I would probably cause an avalanche if I tied to dig it out to wash.).

You may ask why my life is in such disarray. Because it sounds worse than what could be explained by my normal laziness. You would be right. As you know Buddy (my Golden Retriever) is sick (he’s dying). This has left me a little depressed. Add depression to laziness and you get a person who sleeps a lot. The other thing is when I get home; all I want to do is hang out with Buddy.

Friday I have to take Buddy to the Vet. In order to change his cast they have to knock him out. With the time I have between dropping Buddy off and picking him up, I might be able to mow the yard or fix the brakes on my car.

Who am I kidding? I will probably curl up in a little ball on the couch and wait to pick Buddy back up.

Buddy in a Shirt and Cast

The Biopsy came back on Buddy. He has Chondrosarcoma. For anyone that doesn’t know what that is, it’s a malignant tumor of the bone and cartilage. It isn’t a fast moving tumor, and it doesn’t usually spread to other parts of the body, but because of its location and extent, there is not much we can do. I am still waiting to talk to the surgeon.

They had to knock Buddy out to change his cast. He had a couple of sore spots from the rubbing, so they put on a shirt under the cast. They must have re routed the tape a bit, because he is walking better. This may not be a good thing because he snagged his new shirt on the screened door and fell down as he pushed the door open in order to get away from me (he didn’t want to go in the crate).

I have to take him in to the vet again Friday; they want to redress his sores.

Buddy

On June 20th, I returned from Pittsburgh, PA to find my dog, Buddy, having trouble walking. I took him to the vet and had x-rays done. The x-rays showed a discoloration on his spine (indicating cancer). My vet referred me to a specialist.

On the 26th I met with the specialist. Buddy's prognosis isn't good, but nothing was concrete till they do a biopsy. So Buddy had biopsy surgery (I gave the vet permission to remove any of the growth, if it's in the best interest of Buddy). The vet removed what he called a cancerous growth (we don't have the results of the biopsy yet). Unfortunately, he could not remove it all without destabilizing the spine. This means that if it's cancer, he still has it.

After surgery, Buddy couldn't walk for a couple of day. When I visited him on Saturday morning, he still couldn't walk or stand (not even with help). I left him with the vet over the weekend, but they didn't think he would be much better Monday. I started contemplating putting him to sleep.

On Monday he was a different dog. With the help of a sling he could get around. After visiting him and taking him outside, I left him at the vet so I could prepare the house for his homecoming (moving furniture, putting down area rugs, setting up his crate, etc...).

On July 1st Buddy came home. He has been getting stronger and stronger each day. Today he even walked a little bit on his own. Next week he returns to the vet to get his stitches out and his neck brace replaced. Total rehab will last 4 to 6 weeks, and their is no guarantee that he will be better than he is now or how long he has to live. The most I can do is make his life as easy as I can make it.