Can’t believe they didn’t close government offices

Newspapers warn outdoor workers to drink lots of fortified beverages like Gatorade.

“Eighty degrees is a temperature range we’re not accustomed to. We don’t live in Palm Springs or in California. If you’re always in that heat, your body is acclimated to the environment. … In the Pacific Northwest, your body’s going to be stressed.”

I’m enjoying a Vitamin Water, recently purchased by Coca-Cola, in “revive” — a fruit punch flavor with potassium. Reminds me of the Snapple I drank when I was in high school, but not so sweet.

I do feel bad for those suckers in the capital, where it’s supposed to be close to 90. We don’t have air conditioning in these parts.

Fortunately for me, my house is shaded with ginormous trees and stays quite cool. At least it did during the winter. The outdoor thermometer on my kitchen window was reading 91 when I left this morning, but that’s gotta be cus it’s in the direct sun. Also lucky for me: at work, I’m the only one whose office has a window.

Nurturing my OCD

I have zero design training. Yet here I am, singlehandedly putting together a 20-page annual report.

I’ve had one 1-hour InDesign class and no formal PageMaker training, although I seem to have taught myself quite nicely. We’ll have a two-day InDesign training when we switch over to that software next month, but in the meantime, I’m spending 8 straight hours sitting on my butt, slapping text in columns and adjusting photo sizes ever so slightly in PageMaker.

When I get in my car in a few minutes, I fully expect to mentally arrange text between the white lines of freeway lanes.

That’s what happened last week.

I love this song as much as I love you

So it’s no secret that I love my dog. The other day, I decided to look into this Molly Shannon movie, Year of the Dog, and wound up on the quite wonderful website which plays a quite wonderful Cat Stevens song.

All (s)he asks from me is the food to give him (her) strength
All (s)he ever needs is love and that (s)he knows (s)he’ll get

So, I love my dog as much as I love you
But you may fade, my dog will always come through.

All the pay I need comes shining through his (her) eyes
I don’t need no cold water to make me realize that…

Not really sure what the cold water line is all about, though.

After making the mistake of iTunesing the soundtrack only to discover the song isn’t on it (and it’s mostly instrumental), I iTunesed the Cat Stevens song.

I like to listen to it on repeat while working. Over and over and over. And over.

The movie looks really sad. I can’t wait to see it.

Saw Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End yesterday. Liked it mucho, but I am troubled by the ending.

Speaking of my goals

I just took a look at that “novel” I wrote in Nov. 2005. And literally have not looked at since.

I’m extremely amused at how much I stuck in there that came straight from some story I covered, but you know, the stuff I couldn’t put in the newspaper about how obnoxious a little girl was at a library storytime. For example. Or hilarious anecdotes that happened to my friends. When I wasn’t even present.

As I’ve mentioned, I have a way of “fictionalizing” (aka “reporting”) other people’s lives in my writing. I’d take it out, but I’m telling you, it’s just too good.

A former cops reporter turned novelist said in her keynote a few weeks ago that you have to change everything. If it’s a man, make it a woman…and so forth. But I’m telling you. Some of this stuff is just too precious. If I change it so that the innocent won’t recognize themselves, it would lose something, I fear.

Of course, then it would be fiction.

Are you freaking kidding me?

Soft contact lens wearers who have the AMO solution were advised to discard all partially used or unopened bottles and switch to alternative products. They should also throw out their current contact lenses and the lens storage case because they may harbor an infection-causing amoeba. – New York Times

An amoeba?? Guess what brand we’ve been using, because my eye doctor gave me samples??

Goal setting

I have to post at least twice a day in order to hit 1,000 posts by my 5th Bloggiversary. Guess I better get back to taking pictures of my dog obsessively if I’m going to have a shot.

I could hit post now, and then finish my train of thought in a new post, but that would be cheating.

Judging from the brightness streaming in through my bedroom window, it’s gorgeous again today. What to do, what to do.

Although it’s a holiday, Rob is working, as he did from 6 p.m. Saturday to 6 a.m. Sunday so he could get Friday off to go to a salmon ceremony and to Portland with me this coming weekend. Road trip with the doggie!

Meanwhile, with so many things I could do with this wonderful day, I find it hard to get out of bed and into the shower. As is the case on most days, that’s the biggest challenge.

Jezise…why are they still showing excerpts of Ann Curry’s interview with Angelina Jolie? I’ve seen this six times already.

I finished “Rise and Shine” yesterday and started “Pretties” by Scott Westerfeld. Yeah, it’s a young adult book, wanna make something of it?

Reminds me of when I lived in Prague — finishing one book and starting a new one immediately. Works best when you read nothing but books you can’t put down. Or you have a lot of free time. The fact that all my shows have had their season finales is not lost on me.

I’ve seen sunny days that I thought would never end

Bummer for anyone who planned to do something outdoors today. It’s raining. I suppose it could clear up by noon…

I had planned to walk Isis over to the produce market on our street, to check out these “early spring salad greens” they’re hawking. Guess I’ll have to drive.

Yesterday I managed to do all of my favorite things to do on a relaxing weekend. We slept in. Went to a library book sale. I walked Isis. Lay on the couch with a book. Napped on the couch with a book. Sat outside (in the sun) with Isis and Stew. Worked out to an exercise video. Watched a movie (Last King of Scotland). Ate ice cream.

I also cleaned Stew’s cage and did laundry and put away dishes. Not my favorite things, but necessary nonetheless.

My reading list has shifted slightly, although Tracks is still on my bedside table and Mountain in the Clouds is still on my desk at work.

I’m reading “Rise and Shine” by Anna Quindlen and listening to “Bee Season” by Myla Goldberg.

Dog Fancy

Last night after dog class, we went to a Thai restaurant. I parked by the window and asked for a table with a view of the dog. Throughout the meal, while listening to Rob’s day, I fixated on Isis’ little twitching ears as she looked out the windows.

She’s really good in the car. She’ll cry when we first leave her there, but once we’re out of sight, she sits quietly in the driver’s seat. Doesn’t even bark at passersby, including children or other dogs.

A couple of beefy dudes parked near me and one of them ran into Starbucks. The other one started taking pictures of Isis with his camera phone.

Guess I can’t blame him. I take pictures of other people’s dogs too.