October 31, 2003
Boo Day
Amidst the falling leaves there are still flowers blooming nearby on this Halloween and last day of the month. The gusty winds at noontime are very warm, probably the last time we will see these temperatures for this year.
Changes are overdue.
A couple of years ago we totally forgot to buy candy and when the doorbell rang in the late afternoon we realized how bad the situation was and turned off all the lights and sat watching TV in the dark. Bad gay neighbors.
Not this year! We have bags and bags of treats ready and waiting. And, there is a large roasted almond and dark chocolate bar hidden in the pantry that is just for us... no matter how many times the doorbell rings tonight.
October 30, 2003
Four Meals A Day
Clearly we have passed the limit on credible use of puppy shots... the temptation is just too great, especially when you are a professional house-breaking trainer and bed and breakfast kennel keeper.
What to eat is a problem humans deal with every day of course. But since we decide for the most part what our pets consume it becomes a matter of health, and eventually, longevity. We have friends with an exuberant and healthy chocolate lab that eats raw food that they prepare and freeze in portions at home. The 'raw diet' for canines is controversial though.
Earlier this week our vet listed off a long litany of the foods that we shouldn't expose Luigi to, including pork, turkey, bones, wheat... it went on and on. She came close to recommending he live in a sealed bubble... almost.
As for me, I can't get enough fish lately. It seems to change my mood for the better. Why the hell am I living in Toronto then? Eating or buying fish here is a calculated risk every time. Maybe that's the reason it's sprinkled with malt vinegar.
October 29, 2003
Tabled
Who knew this relatively boring coffee table could double as a kennel?
Luigi enjoys quiet time there... and when we eat at the table he will linger underneath the plates at times, hoping to catch whatever may fall through I suppose.
After 10 days with us now he is happy as a clam... and so are we to have him. Clammy are we; a family again. It was about time...
October 28, 2003
Pine Away
The doorbell rang this morning... somewhat unexpectedly.
A quick glance down the driveway indicated what was happening. It was tree removal day!
The pine tree was planted long ago... and eventually grew to scratch and claw at the neighbors, dropping sharp needles into the soft green grass of summertime. Sap dripped slowly, seemingly from every single limb. Nests of blackbirds would hover in the upper branches in the spring, with baby birds tragically dropping into the pool on a regular basis. Who needs such trauma when you are desperately trying to create relaxing hollywoodesque poolside experience?
Two guys. One large truck, towing an extremely efficient chipper. Six hours later there is a lot more blue sky in the back yard over the stump. I wonder where are the squirrels sleeping now.
October 27, 2003
Atomic Toy
A rainy and dreary weekend... followed by a trip to the vet this Monday morning. Diagnosis; healthy puppy. And, we might suggest you look at health insurance for Luigi.
Despite this good news my mood is down and grim, as if my worst enemy is camping out next door. But this too will pass. Time to roll that atomic toy down the hallway again. It jingles as it spins...
October 26, 2003
Aeron Salvation
Sitting in front of a computer all day isn't exactly the kind of work that keeps the body in good shape. You need all the help you can get... ergonomically speaking.
I learned that the hard way when I got into nightly chatting online early in the 90s, after spending all day at my corporate job sitting in front of a couple of computers. A couple of months later I remember visiting my parents on the weekend and not being able to lift a mug of tea without pain. At night, in bed my wrists tingled as if they were still hunched over the keyboard.
A good chair is very important. At the time I didn't know that, but I do now. It took changing some habits, new mousepads, wrist rests and better seating... and a couple of months later all was better.
We both have Aeron chairs at home in our offices. Mine was thanks due to employment at Nortel Networks, Mark bought one after using mine for a bit. And despite their somewhat foreboding and sterile design, the chairs do have puppy appeal.
October 25, 2003
October 24, 2003
October 23, 2003
Crouching Luigi Hidden Tortellonifish
Ok... how many annoyingly cute puppy pictures can I take?
At least this is better than bitching about things I can't change.
October 22, 2003
Ears Up
At one point yesterday I was standing in the supermarket at the deli counter and I am sure I looked like an insane turkey craving zombie. They should have called the cops.
We had been watching the puppy like hawks trying to kick in the house breaking process, picking him up when he was caught in the act and taking him outside immediately for conditioning. And the sliding glass door to the patio was open in varying degrees all afternoon, as it was fairly warm and we wanted him to get used to going outside when nature called.
Cut to about six pm... and the slight case of sleep deprivation over the past 48 hours had grown to cause a serious sense of disorientation.
I hadn't eaten much all day... or for the past few days at all, so the glass of white wine on an empty stomach was heading straight for my head. I am looking down at Luigi, who starts to squat... and then, quick pick up... low... moving toward the doorway quickly... fast... and then, thwack. Crack. I had walked through the screen door.
This morning the puppy still was a little nervous when the possibility of going out on the patio with me reoccurred. And his ears are now fully up like two little radar dishes. But the left side of my face still feels as if I had moved a Volkswagen ten feet with a sieve tied to my nose.
When this was recounted to my mother on the phone this morning, she called me a 'big galoot'. Diss!
I am just glad there isn't any freaking video.
October 20, 2003
Bright Skies Ahead
There is probably no surer cure for melancholy than the injection of a lovable puppy into your life. Material possessions reveal themselves as empty and cold in comparision... yet again.
Luigi has made himself right at home. No whining. No crying. No half eaten $300 loafers yet either. He slept through the night with just one little step outside for a pee. What a joy...
Life is looking up from many perspectives.
October 19, 2003
Luigi Arrives
Lately the overwhelming selfishness of people has swollen my level of disgust with the human race.
The sickening and maniacal laugh of one who finds glee in firing someone needlessly, the cold and mordant guilt bestowed on a son for neglecting an agenda his mother can only hint at, the sad resignation of a husband towards his bitter and self-tortured wife of many years, the clever plan to artificially staff your department with friends of a freelancer only for client visitations... these and more have left my human empathy batteries almost completely dead.
Nobody really seems to care much anymore. It is all about me and what you can do to help... my cause. Did community finally die? Aren't we supposed to be more in touch these days? It doesn't seem that way to me.
Luckily the world still provides other satisfactions, as made evident today. We picked him up after a long drive into the country. He stood in a small room with a younger brother and sister from another litter, staying back against the wall, waiting for us to admire the two younger puppies. He was somewhat timid... but we were told that with attention his real personality would shine through.
Well, it only took about an hour for that to happen. He was home and he knew it. There is more goodness flowing through this life... thanks to a 13 week old puppy.
And for those keeping track---
The score now is;
Humans -4
Dogs +3
October 18, 2003
Movietime
Every year or so I actually go to a movie. And there seems less and less reason to...
Today I entered the deafening multiplex near us right after noon to see 'Intolerable Cruelty'. Two wings spread out from the central entrance, with each corridor lined with sullen teens propped up behind nachos counters and in front of arcade machines. Soon I was longing for the big art houses in NYC and wondering if they even still exist.
The theatre had only a smattering of people in the audience for the screening; not that surprising for the time of day. Yes there were a few laughs... and yes, there was some chemistry apparent between the two stars, but Tracy and Hepburn they are not. When I got home I put a Criterion Collection DVD of an ancient Hitchcock film on... to reset my expectations of film, yet again.
See you next year at the movies. Maybe.
October 17, 2003
Tied
As part of fall cleaning I sorted through the clothes this week, extracting the empty and undesirable wire hangers, and then re-organizing the clothes and shoes.
This is a shot of the gold tie hanger. Notice how the oranges are closely shot. There are now fully five completely filled hangers with just ties in themes; golds, greens, blues... and then black fields... and pastels. Oh my god, just shoot me now.
October 16, 2003
October 15, 2003
Summer's Real End
They came in the early afternoon... three guys in two vans. Quickly the pool was drained by a third... and then the cover was set in place, held down by these water-filled segments with red openings.
Such does the season truly change for me.
October 14, 2003
Tuesday's Picture
There are words to go with this... but I don't have them at hand.
October 13, 2003
Thanks and Giving
The vines on the fence go Vegas one more time. Can I please just get over the orange thing?
Another in a series of beautiful late fall days today... and also the celebration of Canadian Thanksgiving, as opposed to the third Tuesday of November that is the American holiday. Now I have two days to worry about family holiday guilt and only one name to share between them...
In either case, Happy freaking Thanksgiving!
October 10, 2003
Reborn Fish, Hold the Chips
Awaking in a very early morning dream-state, and then having trudged to the kitchen for a can of seltzer so cold it felt like an anesthetic going down the throat, I slipped back into bed and pulled the covers tightly around me at 3:45 this morning.
Typically, at this point, my annoying habit of recalling the past day's events would begin―unfolding like a long ribbon in my mind's eye. More often then not lately, this would grow to include whatever hob-goblins of the subconscious dared to peak out from their hiding places. Sometimes these are irrational, most often not. But at this time of day... when dreaming is mixed in with the conscious mind, the playground of anxieties and fears gets played out with only some of the stage fully lit.
However, last night the pattern didn't play out again as expected. A few minutes after getting back into bed, and listening to the icy can of seltzer spit and hiss as it started to warm up, I was suddenly overcome by a sense of well-being, of endless love and comfort.
Did all this just mean I had forgotten to take a pee?
No, it was real. And it was powerful.
And what was my first reaction to this profound wave of bliss? I immediately attributed it to the fish we had for dinner. Insert small laugh here. The logic now so questionably employed is that fish is 'brain food', and thus the neurons firing so symphonically at this early hour were just enjoying a newfound set of proper nutrients. It also felt suspiciously like being born again, whatever that means.
My mother chimed in a few moments ago on a squawking cell phone connection, when a simple hint at a genuflection opens seemingly surefire and immediate opportunities for her to show me the light.
Spirituality has always seemed to me cheapened by our endless quest to explain and quantify. Anecdotal evidence includes previous girlfriends that gave green rocks for growing your heart chakra power. Absurd. Television evangelists judging and weeping as they diddle away their own morals. Sad. The long and dysfunctional history of pedophilia in the Catholic Church. Horrifying.
This subject has always been one of challenge for me, and I suspect for most of us. Embarrassing moments began during my first and last day at Sunday School, which included me questioning the validity of Buddhism as opposed to Christianity to a confused teacher. My grandmother was told later that it might be better if I attended the service with her from then on...
If it works for you, that is just fine. Don't sell it to me. I have my own internal language of salvation that is recently translated anew.
Leave me to my fish, no chips, just cole slaw thanks. So far, mine appears to be a low-carb bliss.
October 9, 2003
Indian Summer
Now this shot is either a very funny coincidence or tragically foreboding―not both. This cul-de-sac is off our street...
October 8, 2003
Gulls
As if put there to remind me of growing up on the Atlantic shore, I stumbled across a large flock of gulls sunning themselves in the afternoon. They were languid, seemingly playing their own game of soccer. And it was even on the correct field.
October 4, 2003
Fence Sitting
With no hound to patrol our backyard patio, the local cats are surveying the property for new digs... this one on the fence is concerned with my sudden interest this day.
October 1, 2003
Rufus Purple
So these purple flowers are blooming on the morning walk. We are on a quiet street walking briskly and trying not to argue. Two minutes ago I was complaining about the lack of photogenic subjects... but then,
"Wait. I need to shoot these." And then hope that he appreciates the fetish to photograph.
There are sublime images in every glance, we just need to be able to see them.
They are Rufus purple... the new album is also sublime.
'My phone's on vibrate for you." And it really is!