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UPDATE: The vet bill was $280. Ouch. It did, however, cover 2 visits, anasthesia, 4 x-rays, an extensive ear cleaning, medication, and a once-over for his general health. We paid $160 up front and they are going to bill us for the rest to ease our pain.

George goes to the vet when we’re in Montana because its about 1/3 as expensive as Oregonian vets. Even so, I think this one’s gonna be a bit pricey. *sigh*

After the first visit on Wednesday, he’s got a second appointment tomorrow morning where they’re going to sedate him and clean out his ears of all the hair and earwax that has built up. His ear canals twist and fill full of hair and its almost impossible to clean them out, especially with him wriggling and fighting tooth and nail. He fought so much that they put a muzzle on him and it took 3 of us to hold him down. Poor doggie!

While George is sedated they’re going to take x-rays of his back and hind legs to determine where his wobbly back legs problem is stemming from. The vet thinks its possibly a pinched nerve in his back because he’s in no pain, the problem seems somewhat intermittent, and his hind legs and hips function normally. From there we’ll determine what our options are to help tighten up that sloppy rear axle of his.

Doesn’t this sound expensive?! But if I can improve George’s life on a daily basis, I’m willing to shell out a few bucks.

It’s that time again; we’re headed to the land of dialup internet service. We’ll be gone until the beginning of the year, so expect very limited contact from me until we return to civilization.

Merry Christmas! Happy Holidays! See you next year!

Sometimes you don’t realize what a difference you make in someone’s life. Sometimes you hope you do, but never know. Today I know. And it feels great. And I’ve been smiling ever since.

Thanks, Carlos. You made my day.

Tonight is the End Of Semester party. Eric and Sean finished their fall semester and we bought a big bottle of Captain Morgan’s Private St0ck to celebrate. Its working well. And Guitar Heroes…we are rockin’ fools.

But we’re about to watch Superbad, so later!

On my way to work this morning (almost 7am), I nearly lost control of my 4-runner on a patch of black ice. Thus far the roads had been dry and clear even though a fairly heavy fog blanketed the area, so I was somewhere between 55 and 65mph when I started fishtailing pretty heavily.

My good poor-condition driving instincts kicked in and I just let off the pedals and fought to control the car without over-correcting into the guardrails and cornfields on either side. Thank heavens no other cars were near me because I used both lanes swerving wildly.

When I finally got it under control again my heart was racing, I was panting heavily, and my hands were shaking like fall leaves in a gale. I just kept driving the last 8 minutes to work. My hands were still shaking badly when I walked in the door. But I was wide awake; all the coffee in the world doesn’t hold a candle to fishtailing at speed through the fog on an otherwise dark, sleepy morning.

Today I’d like to thank my mom and the state of Oregon for my holiday cash.

Every year I beg my mom for a bit of financial aid to get home for the holidays. She’s probably getting really sick of it by now, and I vow someday to be able to afford traveling and gifts without her help. Anyhoo, she always sends way more than I expect, and this year’s no different. So thanks a bunch, Mom! Your Christmas gifts just got a +3.

Unbeknownst to me, some statute in the state of Oregon’s constitution makes the government refund some of your taxes if the gross income exceeds the expected income by a certain amount. Wheee! So every taxpayer in the state just got a refund check in the mail. Wheee! Very auspicious timing, don’t you think? Right before Christmas so we can blow it all for the good of the economy.

PS – The state of Oregon makes much more than my mom…so it seems curious to me that I got more from her. Hmmm, I bet it’s just that she loves me more.

Dear Secret Blogger Santa,

Thanks for the website invitation – I love to read and share my books with others because the best books are the ones whose spines are well worn and whose pages have earmark creases – you know they’ve spread the most love!

For all other booklovers: Bookins.com

Thanks and Merry Christmas!

Titan

Today at work was hilarious.

Incident #1: Shocking Roulette:  My acolyte, Brant, brought in a shocking roulette game a few days ago. We discovered the number 2 shocker wasn’t working properly, so Brant decided to play two-player and put one finger in each hole (1 and 2). By doing that, he completed the circuit, so 2 AA batteries gave him one hell of shock. He jumped back, yelling “OW!” and said he could feel the electricity pulsing through his arms and chest. He was weak for a good 3 minutes afterward. heheheheh. God, it was so funny I had tears in my eyes.

Incident #2: Free as a Bird: Later this same day, I play-kicked Carlos (one of my coworkers) in the hip/butt. As a response, he said he was going to give me a wedgie one of these days. So I said, “Maybe I’ll stop wearing underwear.” Enter Robert (another coworker), looking at me with a strange look on his face. Robert had missed the conversation leading up to the underwear bit. Carlos and I just bust out laughing hysterically – I think I was beet red for about 5 minutes.

I just (well, 7 hours ago…I’m still full) ate the most wond’rous holiday feast. It was just fabulous. Turkey, ham, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, baked red potatoes, potato rolls, Reed’s mac ‘n cheese, salad, pumpkin pie, apple pie, chocolate mocha smoothie from hazelnut milk. Mmmmm, mmmm.

We’ve started a tradition; every year Jen’s work gives her a ham for the holidays. What do two people do with an 8lb. ham? Invite their friends! Since the holidays are upon us and most of our time will be spent with family (much of it out of town), a group of us potluck before the Christmas rush to celebrate our friendship and good times. Our gifts are the food we bring and the company we share.

This year was no different. 14 of us and 3 dogs* joined in Jen and Craig’s two bedroom apt. We sat on the floor most of the time even though we had enough folding chairs for everyone. We didn’t have a table. The plates didn’t match. We all shared the same smoothie shot glasses. The dogs almost managed to snatch a plate of food and grab something off the serving table. We drank wine out of regular drinking glasses. We didn’t do anything but eat and be merry, swapping stories and life updates as we cooked and stuffed our faces. And it was a perfect way to kick off the holidays.

* Eric, myself, TJ, Lee, Jen, Craig, Reed, Ellen, Justin, Toby, Allison, Sid, Suz, Quentin, and dogs George, Vader, and Dexter.