Category Archives: pooch preparation

How I love the weekend. For someone without a paying job, this is kinda funny. I think most working folk look at people who don’t work as constantly having a weekend. Not so lol. I was really thinking about this a bit ago, as I was getting caught up on 2 days worth of blogs, and really wanting some good time to write. Since as of now, I don’t work, I’ve needed to find other things that make me feel worthwhile, and this blog has become a huge part of that. Not only is it cathartic for me, I have a wonderful record of my life. And, I get to share thoughts, ideas, fears and hopes with my blogger family, and it is just oh so fulfilling. So when I have weeks like this last one, where I’m fatigued and trying to keep up with the daily grind, yes, I in fact have a daily grind lol, I feel like I’m neglecting my blog.

Though I’ve met tons of people, and while I know my readers like to read my posts, this blog is first and foremost, for me. It’s become something I can put my energy to, a goal of sorts. I’ve shared before that weekends are really my time to catch up. I pretty much have a few uninterrupted hours of computer time on weekend mornings whille B is sleeping. During the week I have a pretty set routine of chores, workouts, phone calls, etc. Friday nights, I can’t wait to sleep because it means when I wake up, I get to have quality time with my computer haha! So I just had to explain why I’m so happy it’s Saturday.

We’re going to Gamma’s this afternoon for my Uncle’s birthday. Sunday is usually family day, but luckily it’s today. Tomorrow is Super Bowl, so it would have been ww3 if I had told B we had to go to Gamma’s ahhahaha!

So I want to detail a little more about my lesson with Dave yesterday. For the last 2 Fridays, the weather here has been pretty similar to how it will be in San Rafael. Minus the actual water, it’s been cold and humid. So I’ve been testing my school attire, which is working quite well. When I’m doing anything physical in the cold, it’s hard to dress. If I dress too warmly, I get too hot even when it’s cold. Yesterday I did have to shed the raincoat while coming back home. I suddenly start feeling myself overheat, and that is bad, very bad. Dave carried the coat until we got home where I had left my water outside my door. I collapsed and chugged and we started talking about my fatigue.

I told him I was a little worried about how fatigued I’ve been, and how much the Juno walk tired me. He said he’s not worried. He said the school will be more than accomodating. He said if the trainers have any questions, they can feel free to call him. He told me just make sure, make absolutely sure, to stop when I feel fatigued, to strip off layers when I feel hot. He gave me some good things to say to the trainers. He said he’s not worried too, because once I’ve done something once, I’ve got it. And he would tell the trainers that if they asked. So even with all the fatigue, he still gave me another A++.

Which leads me to the trainer call I couldn’t really elaborate on last night. It was wonderful to talk to them. They informed me that I’ll be chillin at the airport awhile on the 15th haha! They are collecting 8 of us that day, so I’ll have to hang out until everyone gets there, since I’m one of the first to arrive. They said they’d have lunch for me. When I told Lish that yesterday, she said it’s like The Real World lol! Which prompted an idea for the blog header while I’m at school.

Then they were explaining how they’ll find me, and they told me to have my cane out. I said, what if I walk along barking? They said, then the wrong people would pick you up. Hahaha! I started telling them about the fatigue and they said don’t worry, if you have a day where you can’t work, we’re not gonna send you home without your dog. They also said the nurses will probably hover over me haha! I told them what Dave said about me learning stuff once and they sounded impressed and I said, his words, not mine. Didn’t want to sound like I have a big head. So they definitely alleviated any worry about the fatigue issue. They said, we see that your O& M went through our training? I said yes and they were very happy. I still think that Dave is one of the major reasons I was accepted so quickly. They know I have built in support when I get home.

They asked what I like in my dogs. I said I have cats. Oh! Have you ever had dogs? My mom liked pomeranians, but I like bigger dogs. They laughed. I guess I had said something to Don about how I might see the shadow of a black dog, though I don’t remember saying that. I told them yeah, but really I just want the best dog. Obviously a somewhat chill dog that will be cool if I can’t go out for a day, and obviously good house manners, but who doesn’t want that?

They said that first Tuesday it will be Juno work, and I’ll also work with some of the dogs not quite through training yet. Sweet! They want to see how I am with different kinds of dogs, so I’ll be doing some obedience and stuff with some of the dogs still in training. Then, they confirmed that Wednesday will be Dog Day!!!! Yay!!!

There was a lot of laughing on the phone, and I felt so excited through my exaustion. We were all cracking jokes on the speaker phone, so they sound like my kind of people.

So, now I feel like all the major steps have been taken. There are still some things I want to get accomplished this week, which will take some good uninterrupted time on the computer. I want to put my lecture cds on the iPod. I need to do some more practice with the videos, and I really want to get that blog post written about how to do it, in case any other blinks run across this blog and need help.

Obviously I need to pack the smaller stuff that are already ready to go in bags. I’ll try to keep up the tidying around the house. Lish will need to come back so I can show her what we need done with the cats. I’m gonna have B make sure my name is spelled just right on the tickets because it has to match my ID perfectly. Really should have done that right when I first got it. I know it’s the same because that’s how the airline found my reservation, but for peace of mind, I want to double check.

But, I’m pretty much completely ready. I’m just going to take it easy this coming week and make sure I do the things I need to do for myself, like being able to write my posts in a non-rushed manner haha!

I’m thinking tomorrow will be an excellent blog day because it’s Super Bowl, which I’ll only half pay attention to. I used to sit and eat junk food. The game was a great excuse. But I’m not doing that this year.

The countdown is really on!!! Single digits baby!!! 9 days!!!!