So Tired...

I took the afternoon off work, and H and I drove our dogs down Blind Creek Road. We parked about halfway between the turnoff for the Sheep Viewing Cabin and the eponymous Creek, let the dogs out of the trucks, and proceeded to walk behind them as they ran and jumped and did dog-things. We pretended to be scared of them when they came tearing back toward us ("Ah! They have rabies! Ah!"), lured them to rest with bacon (jerky treats, not real bacon), and shot the breeze about dog-stuff.

I worry that I am not providing the kind of home that Aki deserves...and then I remind myself that he probably would have been eaten by a wolf some time over the last month if I hadn't taken him, so he's doing pretty well.

Anywhoo, the end result of our walk is that Aki is asleep in his crate, the cats are asleep on my feet, and I will be asleep shortly after I put the laptop down and turn out the light.

Not bad, for a Wednesday.

Where I've been...sort of

So, I've been informed by Kara that I've been fairly slack in the blogging department. She's right, of course. And Harold commented on my lack of updates, too, which gets me thinking it's time to get busy and get blogging.

I could blame work, or my inherent laziness, or the fact that if I can't think of a totally awesome topic to blog about then I don't feel like blogging, but those are all excuses. I just haven't been feeling it, you dig?

My latest excuse is the newest addition to my family...this guy.



This is Aki (or 秋, if you want to get technical), and he joined the family on November 6th.

Here's a little backstory on this guy. He is five months old, and has been running wild pretty much that whole time. The other puppies in his litter found new homes almost right away, and Harold tried to convince me when he took Aki's sister that I really needed a dog. To which I replied, "No way, I am not cut out for dog ownership."*

Aki would wander over to the town office and sit on the porch, looking in the doors and windows with a sad face. Eventually, one of his neighbours started putting food out for him, because he was losing all his puppy fat and it was starting to get cold. As the temperature dropped, my tiny shrivelled heart shrivelled up even more. "He's just a puppy!" my heart would shriek. "He needs to be looked after!"

Eventually, I couldn't stand it anymore. Michel had offered me a doghouse. Heather had offered me dishes and toys and anything I needed. Kara offered me dire warnings about how I really didn't want a dog, did I really want to be going for walks at -40, what was I going to do with him when I had to go to town? Thanks, Kara ^_^

At any rate, Aki came home with me a week ago, and we've been motoring along fairly well. I'm definitely not energetic enough for a 5-month old puppy, but I'm doing my best. We walk three or four times a day, he stays outside while I'm at work, and the cats are teaching him who's the boss around the house.**

I'm trying to teach him to be a good canine citizen. Poop is scooped. Jumping up is discouraged. Dog friends are being made (every time we walk by Copper's house, Aki pulls on the leash because he wants to go play). I'm trying to forget that I've been afraid of dogs ever since a friend's Boston Terrier bit me back in high school. And I'm dreaming of the day when I'll have the energy to take Aki to the park and actually play with him, instead of passing out at the end of the day.

It's coming, right?



* Famous last words.
** Rodney is the boss. If the dog sasses me, the dog gets a smack from Rodney.

Strung Out

Thank Zappa I am going to WH tomorrow. The cumulative effects of the past six months without a full-time boss have finally taken their toll. If I were a person who had firearms training, I would probably be a danger to all around me (joking, joking!).

Tonight's mission? Get through the Special Meeting without bursting into tears, come home and pack up the truck with emergency gear, and work on one of the two projects I have going. Also, keep out of the Hallowe'en candy.

Go, go, Team Free Will!

Desiderata (in two lines)

You are a child of the universe, no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here.

Preach it, Max Ehrmann.

Better today...but the day's still young

After the Council meeting last night, I went home and crawled into bed. I was in bed by 10:30, and I was tired. I didn't anticipate that I would have any trouble falling asleep. I recited Desiderata a few times (I pretty much have the whole thing memorized, go me!), curled up with the cats behind my knees, and waited.

And waited.

The clock was ticking so loudly that it felt like it was ticking in my chest, like every tick of the second hand shook the bed with its force. I couldn't drown it out. By the time midnight rolled around, my cats had gotten energetic (and hungry, again) and were bouncing around and yowling. The clock was still ticking. I was nearly in tears.

Out of the bedroom went the cats! Into my ears went some foam earplugs! Desiderata recited twice more! Look out, Morpheus, I'm on my way!

I don't know what time I actually got to sleep, but it wasn't early enough. I woke this morning with bags under my eyes that were the size of cat-carriers. I cried because I had to get up and take a shower. I am so totally not a morning person.

I think my body is trying to tell me something

And that something is "Stop."

First it was stomach trouble, followed by the doom-headache, and now I'm having hot flashes. I am far too young for hot flashes. Perhaps it's just the office that is hot.

Special Council meeting tonight. I hope it will not take long. I want to go home and put a hot water bottle under my head and an icepack on top of it. Surely one of those will cure me.

Feliz Navidad! Feliz Cumpleaños to me

There was a cake at coffee break time - I didn't take a picture because I was too busy being serenaded by Glenda and half of Council, but rest assured, it was lovely to behold and delicious to consume.

I was late for work today, actually. Last night's meeting ran until 10pm, which meant that I wasn't home until 10:30. There was a rumour floating around the news and internet that around 3am this morning might be a good time for seeing the Northern Lights. I was trying to stay up for that, but eventually crashed at 1:30 - I hope they weren't out at 3am, that would be disappointing.

Anywhoodle, I had a hard time sleeping, then a hard time staying awake, and I finally rolled out of bed at 8:35...five minutes after I was supposed to be at work. Whoops! I called Glenda to let her know, and then took my time showering and picking out my clothes.

It's only fair for me to be late on my birthday - I was two weeks late to my first one, why change a good thing after *thirty-mumble* years?

Now I have to decide between being a Responsible Adult who doesn't put anything more on her credit card until the current balance is paid off and being a Birthday Girl who buys herself a pair of wicked, impractical stilletos and a skirt she can't fit into until she loses a few pounds. Decisions, decisions...

Eight Months

That's how long I've been in the Yukon now.

I know, it barely seems like any time at all. I guess it helps that I've been so busy at work, pretty much from day one.

I'll try to return with a more interesting post later, but I'm running late, the photocopier is out of toner, and tonight is a Council meeting. I've got issues today.

I will need a vacation to recover from my vacation

I love having my folks here, but I am so tired I could just about pass out on top of the keyboard.

It is hard to go from hermit-who-goes-to-Matt-and-Kara's-on-Fridays to person-who-has-people-around-her-every-minute-of-the-day. Really hard.

Tomorrow, we'll be heading out to WH for the evening, then on to Skagway for a couple of days. The parentals will be flying out of WH early Friday morning, so I am going to try to get my truck serviced that day, get the chip in my windshield fixed, and I'll probably buy some books to ease my nerves.

I think they're having a good time. We went out to visit Matt and Kara and the boys at Lapie Canyon, where we had a delicious dinner and took some great photos. I think seeing me interact with friends is reassuring to my parents - I might be weird, but at least a few people appreciate me ^_^

Fin

I survived the weekend, with only one major attack. It was a doozy, and I am still paying for it, but such is life.

I took today off - I really needed some time away from people, and I want to be at my best when I meet the new guy tomorrow. I'm hoping he'll be able to direct things and I can go back to what I do best - painting my nails.

Just kidding. I don't paint my nails because they chip and look tacky about two minutes after I've painted them.

I went to Kara's for a nice cup of tea this afternoon, and then hurried home to tidy up my house for prospective buyers. They are coming back tomorrow night, which gives me a little more time to tidy again. But I probably won't. I'll just flop out.

It's just after 10, and I am going to bed. My body is more tired than I like to admit after all the running around I did. My soles feel blistered.

In the immortal words of my former housemate, Mads...

Thunderbirds...are GO!

I on the other hand, am a little less go, a little more why was it so cold in my room last night and why did I have to get out of bed once I finally got warm? My rainbow quilt was drying on the rack after I spilled a mug of tea on it, so all I had was the thin little comforter that came with my bedding set. I don't know if the temperature plummeted in the middle of the night, or if I am having reverse-hot-flashes, but around 1:00am I woke up because I was freezing. I had to grab my Original Quilt (the first one I ever made) from the living room and throw it on top of my comforter.

So this morning, I am a little cranky. I am really trying to rein it in, because I don't want to get the reputation of being that girl, the one who is always cranky and complain-y. I don't want people to think I am cracking under the extreme pressure of work (which I totally see myself doing somewhere down the road).

On the plus side, I'm wearing a skirt today!