DISCLAIMER: I AM NOT OBSESSED WITH MY DOG.

Saturday, September 30, 2006


Early Saturday afternoon on the balcony.

      >> 12:25 PM
 

Friday, September 29, 2006


Giles, as captured by my brother-in-law's camera.

      >> 9:07 PM
 

Joy. At a restaurant waiting to be seated. Skipped over TWICE already. Grrr. Never fails.

      >> 6:00 PM
 

Ha. Students doing paper workshop. Classroom is too hot. Ugh. TGIF.

      >> 2:31 PM
 



When it's time for Giles's checkups, his vet sends him postcard reminders with cute illustrations or photos of cats and dogs. When my dentist office wants to remind me to come in for some oral torture, they send me a postcard showing tooth decay and gum disease.

      >> 10:43 AM
 

Thursday, September 28, 2006

.

      >> 2:53 PM
 


      >> 2:48 PM
 

[What.] Disparaging RPGs, cupcakes, and dogs?????

      >> 10:37 AM
 

Wednesday, September 27, 2006

Joy. Just announced is that the [Republican National Convention 2008] will be held here in St. Paul. This town will be overrun with Repubs. Ugh.

      >> 6:10 PM
 

[Mummy dogs!]

      >> 3:15 PM
 

Time to walk the dog! One of these days, I'll get back to an early schedule, walking Giles by 8 am.

      >> 8:29 AM
 




I received a package in a white envelope the other day. Inside was this manila envelope marked "DEAD LETTER!" (The Americanist in me immediately thought of Bartleby.) And with the package was this letter from the USPS. What gets me the most, more than the chiding remark "YOU DID NOT PUT A LAST NAME OR APT # ON RETURN ADDRESS," is the fact that they were sleuthy enough to examine the handwriting on the package for clues about the sender and then figure out my new address but couldn't even deliver the emergency room visit bill that was near-fully addressed to me, lacking only the apartment number (resulting in a bad mark on my credit history for not paying my share of that bill on time). It is kind of amusing that the postal worker thought s/he recognized my handwriting, though. Unfortunately, any side-by-side comparison of the dead letter handwriting with mine would lead anyone to conclude I did not address that envelope. I have never had as many problems with getting mail delivered to me as I did at that last apartment.

I'm not wearing any grey or yellow today. I feel so weird!

      >> 8:00 AM
 

Tuesday, September 26, 2006

Arrr. Latest phone bill is $40 more than expected. When will I ever be under budget for anything? Will I ever be able to pay off my credit card debt from this summer?

      >> 11:56 PM
 

Monday, September 25, 2006



[Dog day cares have no place in zoning code.]

[Macy's adds dog-product boutique to its cosmetics department.]

This morning I had a toadstool cupcake (chocolate cake with bright red frosting spotted with white dots) from Cupcake. And this afternoon I had a Chocolate Chaos Cupcake from [Trotter's Cafe].

      >> 10:03 PM
 


      >> 5:43 PM
 

Sunday, September 24, 2006


      >> 10:39 AM
 

Thursday, September 21, 2006


This was a few days ago when it was very very cold. I took the picture right after Rob took off the gloves he was wearing. He wouldn't put them back on for a photo.

      >> 5:23 PM
 

A dog named [Garlic]!

      >> 1:22 PM
 

Tuesday, September 19, 2006

Ack. Just went to pick up a book on hold for me at the library and one of my students was the circulation desk attendant.

      >> 5:56 PM
 

Once upon a time, I needed a snack. I went to the vending machine and got some dark chocolate M&Ms. They came in a purple bag. Dark chocolate M&Ms are delicious. The end.

      >> 4:13 PM
 

Sunday, September 17, 2006

Been sneezy all day. :( Waiting for Vienna Teng to take the stage.

      >> 9:16 PM
 

Saturday, September 16, 2006


We're working hard.

      >> 8:35 PM
 

Bubble tea will be reward for doing work tonight....

      >> 8:07 PM
 

It's about 3,300 steps from home to school. I'm here to do an hour's worth of work. Yes, on a Saturday night. Because I have no life. I brought doggy with me at least. He's curled up under my desk.

Earlier this afternoon, I played librarian for a couple hours. I was at the [Quatrefoil Library] to help get some books processed. Rob and I worked on putting plastic book jackets on the hardcover books. We kicked ass.

Before that, I ventured out to the 'burbs to find some giant stores like Linens 'N Things. I thought I would never escape the crazy roads and drivers (so. many. suvs.). I left a frantic voicemail message on Rob's phone saying I was trapped.

Ok. Now work.

      >> 7:51 PM
 


There are so many awesome signs around. I keep meaning to take more pictures....

      >> 5:26 PM
 


      >> 2:35 PM
 

[$85.49: The exact value of a broken heart.] Awww.

      >> 12:02 PM
 

Things that have terrified Giles, aka Mr. Scaredy-Pants, aka Jumpysaurus, in the last twenty-four hours:Seriously, he's afraid of all these inanimate, harmless objects. And yet, he's still trying to take on any big dog we see, from labs to huskies.

      >> 9:14 AM
 

Thursday, September 14, 2006


      >> 5:21 PM
 

[Paws prove handy to science of dog training]:

The study builds on recent research at Australia's University of New England that found a dog without a preference to use a left or right front paw, a trait known as laterality, is more likely to be upset by fireworks and thunderstorms.

Giles seems to be ambidextrous, at least to some extent. And he certainly is jumpy around loud noises. The article doesn't really indicate which dogs -- left-pawed, right-pawed, or non-preferenced-pawed -- might be more trainable....

      >> 2:18 PM
 

Oh noes! [Christie Brinkley files for divorce.]

      >> 2:16 PM
 

[Keillor plans bookstore in St. Paul.] Hooray! I still have to find the cool bookstores in town. I haven't done that yet since I am in total non-book-buying mode after lugging way too many boxes of books from North Carolina.

      >> 2:01 PM
 


Morning coffee and reading at Dunn Bros.

The poor dog is terrified of everything again. :( He barks at every noise he hears outside while we're home. (He's a bit more confident and protectory at home.) Outside on our walks, he jumps at noises and barks at garbage cans. He's also tense around people walking by with garbage bags and bicycles. I hope he settles down soon.

      >> 10:56 AM
 

Wednesday, September 13, 2006

Oh noes! [Whitney Houston files for divorce.]

      >> 5:09 PM
 


      >> 12:42 PM
 

Eek. A doberman just charged a group of little kids waiting for the school bus on the corner.

      >> 8:49 AM
 

Tuesday, September 12, 2006

The Good: Giles knows his way home.

The Bad: Giles almost got run over on the busy road while he was zig-zagging his way home at top speed with a cigarette disposal unit dragging behind him.

The Ugly: Giles was so traumatized he peeed and pooped on himself. :(

The Story: I took Giles out with me earlier this afternoon to drop off mail, to get some bubble tea, and to pick up J-Timb's new album. Our walk was mostly uneventful, and while I was getting bubble tea, Giles got some loving from a passerby outside. On our way home, we stopped at the record shop three blocks from our house. I tied Giles to one of those cigarette disposal things, the kind that is a long tube connected to a wide base. I tested the thing to make sure the base was heavy enough to prevent Giles from pulling it along. I went inside the store, picked up the cd from the shelf, and went straight to the register. As I was paying, I saw Giles hopping up and down. Some guy was standing next to him getting him all riled up. I thought that was annoying but not dangerous. Then, as I was actually exiting the store, I watched as the tube part of the cigarette disposal thing toppled over. Giles dashed into the parking lot, dragging the tube along as it clanked against the pavement. The more he ran, the more noise the tube made. Poor puppy was so terrified. He kept running, even as I called for him. He zig zagged across the parking lot and up the street, at one point darting onto the busy road. I was so scared he was going to get hit by a car, but luckily with the big tube thing trailing behind him, he was very visible, and cars were slowing down and shouting out to Giles. I chased Giles all the way up the street and around the corner to our house. I finally reached him as he hid under the bench outside our door, still tugging away at his leash that was now caught under the bench with the cigarette disposal thing bumping against the bench legs. :( I'm such a bad dog owner. After letting Giles into the apartment with Rob, I took the cigarette disposal thing back to the store. And then I went home and tried to soothe the poor dog who still had his tail down. He was kinda stinky. After a brief walk (he was startled by every passing noise), I gave him a bath with the tears-free, kids-targeted, blueberry-scented shampoo Rob and I have been using. Giles is now a blueberry hound. He's currently curled up under my desk at my feet. I think he's finally feeling better now.

The Lesson Learned: Don't tie Giles to movable objects.

Now I am off to vote in the primary elections. I don't think the primaries matter much in my district this time around. There are pretty much solid candidates who are clearly in the lead for their respective races. It's funny that one of the gubernatorial candidates is named Ole Savior, though. LOL.

      >> 5:11 PM
 

WE HAVE HIGH-SPEED INTERNET AT HOME. GOOD-BYE, ANY SEMBLANCE OF PRODUCTIVITY!

      >> 9:42 AM
 

Monday, September 11, 2006

I turned on the news for about five minutes this morning, and I realized I just can't watch it today. Walking on to campus a couple hours later, I came across rows of empty folding chairs set up in front of a stage. Taped to one of the seats was a piece of paper reading, "9/11 Memorial Service. 12 noon."

      >> 10:37 AM
 

Sunday, September 10, 2006

Holy crap! Giles and I were just bum rushed by a little squirrel!

      >> 7:37 PM
 


Giles tries out the new sofa slipcover.

      >> 1:16 PM
 

Saturday, September 09, 2006

OMG IT'S LIKE, WINTER HERE.

I was cold yesterday leaving a party with some faculty peeps. I put on the hood of my sweatshirt. And my colleagues mocked me, saying this was but a summer breeze. And then they said they hired me because at my interview I had mentioned I had a closet full of winter coats I never got to wear in North Carolina. Strange how I could be offered a job talking about my dog, cupcakes, and winter coats.

      >> 10:32 AM
 

Friday, September 08, 2006

All Minnesotan lesbians have names starting with "L" -- for example, Linda or Lisa.

      >> 5:30 PM
 

Thursday, September 07, 2006

I think I might have overloaded my syllabus this semester. The problem is that the course I'm teaching is a strange hybrid of a composition and an intro literature course. I've taught both kinds of courses, but never in the same class. I'm not quite sure how to balance the two, and I fear I might have overestimated the amount of time I have in each week to get through all the readings and still have time for writing workshops and discussions about writing.

      >> 9:32 AM
 



It's been a crazy past few days. But Froggy made it home on Monday! Yay! Giles was very excited and clearly had missed him a lot. Froggy has been unpacking and decorating the apartment the past couple of days. I'd left everything in a very sad, half-unpacked way. I have trouble finishing things, see.

      >> 9:09 AM
 

Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Me work hard first day of class. At office from 7:30 to 5:30.

      >> 5:56 PM
 

Monday, September 04, 2006

What: [Franklin Roosevelt action figure.]

      >> 12:15 PM
 

Happy Labor Day! Pictures for your non-laboring pleasure:

















      >> 11:18 AM
 

Sunday, September 03, 2006

[Pope's top exorcist says Harry Potter is 'king of darkness.']

      >> 3:38 PM
 

Saturday, September 02, 2006

I didn't cap off last night's dinner with beer, but instead I had some pinot noir, two types of cheese, and almonds. I met up with a professor in my department for drinks, and since he expressed interest in meeting Giles, I decided he should just come over to my place. And then I thought we might as well just stay in and have some wine I bought earlier in the evening. The professor was very much impressed by Giles's energy upon his arrival. Giles is a zoom-bot when people come over. He races all over the apartment, leaping over furniture, jumping up and down, and generally being spazzy. He did eventually settle down and curl up on the sofa.

      >> 5:19 PM
 

Also, I just ordered a [Giles mousepad] for my office. I asked Rob if he wanted a Giles mousepad for his computer. He declined and said that some people aren't as obsessed with their dogs. I wonder what he means....

      >> 5:13 PM
 

Giles's dog license (a license for him to live/exist in the city) came in the mail today. I think I shall have it framed and displayed on my office wall along with his diplomas from puppy kindergarten and basic obedience. (His dog license has this note, "Post this Certificate where it is Visible to the Public.")

      >> 4:37 PM
 

Oh, and he also got treats from the vet's office we checked out on the way. It's staffed entirely by women vets, they said.

      >> 12:31 PM
 

On our long walk today, Giles got fed treats by little kids and the mailman. This city spoils him rotten.

      >> 12:30 PM
 


Giles and I are at this [Amore Coffee] place.


Giles says, "Meh."

We're exploring a different part of town today, finally. We've been walking between our house and campus. We headed sort of in the opposite direction along Grand Ave, the main road of shops (or "shoppes," as seems to be preferred spelling here) in town outside of downtown. It's a bit of a longer walk, but after passing a Starbucks and a Caribou Coffee (and a bakery with bubble tea and a gelaterie), we managed to find a local, wi-fi-enabled coffee shop.

Giles asks if we can move to [Portland, Oregon]. Or perhaps San Diego, California.

      >> 11:05 AM
 

Friday, September 01, 2006

[Judge Gives Dog Protection Order]


I wanted to get this shirt at the Guess outlet store, but they didn't have it in my size.

I had a raspberry sorbet and two cookies (one chocolate chip, one cinnamon-sugar) for dinner. I think I might cap off this very nutritious meal with some beer.

Shopping loot for the day: a grey and yellow backpack, two button-down shirts (one blue with squigglies and one white with textured embroidery), a pair of grey dress pants, a pair of dark grey pants (less dressy), a pair of pinstriped grey pants (less dressy), a pair of green corduroy pants, a bed skirt, and new flip flops. Now I should have some pants to wear with the bajillion shirts I have. Who knows if these new pants work with any of my shirts, though. That's always my issue. Meh.

      >> 7:30 PM
 

Clothes are expensive! Just spent about $200, and I've only bought casual stuff. No real change in style for teaching.

      >> 4:41 PM
 

omg the dog park here is awesome. trails and stuff in the wood!

      >> 11:15 AM