Doggie Cocaine from Fannie May

Mojo, the Australian Shepherd that lives with Debbie and I, ate a box of chocolates. 33 pieces of chocolate. He found them in my work bag. Ben had given them to me the day before. It was one of the surplus of gifts from the various printers Columbia works with. I threw them in my bag and at home left the bag in the home office. The next day, after a run to the grocery store, I found the box, plastic wrap neatly peeled off, with 33 empty chocolate paper cups scattered under the dining room table.

We took Mojo to the emergency vet clinic. Mojo loves going to the vet. He likes the attention from all the doctors and assistants. At the vet, there is always the potential for some petting from friendly strangers, the chance to meet other dogs, and the doggy treat earned through easy charm.

The vet gave him a morphine-derivative which induces vomiting, and some charcoal to absorb the chocolate before digestion. The chocolates were a Fannie May Michigan Avenue mix, both dark and milk chocolates, filled with nuts, caramel, etc. A box filled with only solid dark chocolate would have been really bad, as the dark chocolate contains most of the toxic stuff. Dogs can get “chocolate intoxication”, which sounds fantastic, but for dogs it can increase their heart rate, give them a seizure and cause death. Sounds like cocaine for dogs.

So Mojo finally came out of the back room of the clinic, looking a bit hunchback from a subcutaneous fluid injection in his shoulder, but with a twinkle in his eye. The vet said he was so good with all the stuff they gave him, which is always the case according to Debbie.

Random Facts and Memories

Ate a whole bottle of Flintstone’s chewable vitamins when I was 5.

I bit my brother on the shoulder because he said he won the motorcycle race (a toy motorcycle track with plastic motorcycles on a magnetized track) while I was out with Mom on an errand. Again, I was 5.

Stuck my hand in an electric socket only once. Once again, 5.

When playing Starsky and Hutch, I was always Starsky, and my friend Nick was always Hutch.

Pretended to be Starsky in Mom’s stationwagon and fell out of the moving vehicle into the parking lot of our local mall. I did a perfect dog roll out of the car. My Member’s Only Jacket protected me from abrasions.

On the way to a friend’s house I crossed a frozen creek and the ice broke.

I had my fly open at my best friend’s Dad’s funeral. The issue of “open flies” plagues me to this day.

Designed to the local mall’s logo at age 17.

In high school I wanted to see if it would be possible not to say a word for one week. It’s possible.

Hairlessness / Wirelessness

Today I feel my hair is too long. It’s at the length and weight where the glue I add to it to give it some shape and movement is failing. No longer do I have the wild locks of youth. Instead, I have the weird quaff of Donald Trump. I also wonder if I am losing my hair. I have always lost a lot of hair in the shower, even when I was a kid. Is this a Filipino thing? (Filipinos, please respond.) My hair doesn’t really seem that much thinner, but perhaps I’m one of those guys in denial, without any notion that my black pez is looking a bit scant. I’ll be doing the comb-over in a couple years. Or maybe I’ll bust out the permanent magic marker like my Grandma’s second husband, Mr. Nicholas. God bless him, he took that black Sharpe and colored his scalp with the utmost diligence. I liked to watch him do this the year he came to live with us. I think I was about 13.

I’m actually at the Amtrak station waiting for the delayed train. The Milwaukee train station was just remodeled and modernized. Gotta love the fact that more and more places are wireless. To what end? I guess to be able to communicate all the the time. Is this really a good thing? I’m not really sure. Right now, this endeavor to blog seems like a big time-kill. Then again, it’s amusing, and I’m always looking for a good time-kill.

On the Train

I’m on the train writing this from my iPhone. I must look like a jerk to some. Then again, they’ll be doing what I’m doing soon enough.

Today was a work day. I think almost everyone at the office was a little hung over from the holiday party the night before. I got a lot done, revising two banner concepts and creating three facebook application concepts. It’s been nice working this current freelance gig, responsible for doing the just concepts and designs and not having to manage people, deal with upper management, meet with the client, etc. It’s much less stressful.

So I think the most remarkable thing about the day is how nice people were. Debbie got me a new down-filled winter jacket from Patagonia. It is the business. Well, I wore it today, and on the train to Chicago realized that I had left my 10-pass ticket in my other coat. The train attendant came and I explained my predicament. He gave me a break on the cost of the ticket I had to buy. Then going home, I had to do the same thing. This train attendant said “Merry Christmas”. He recognized me from the last couple weeks I think. I love it when altruistic human behavior comes my way. It’s uplifting and off-putting. If only I can pay it forward. We shall see. Oh yeah, I never saw that movie. Joel Haley Osmont or whatever his name is, he gives me the willies.

Ducati Baby

I gotta hop on the train soon, so I’ll be brief. Today I got the info for relocating to Philadelphia. I also talked to a real estate agent in Philly. She was a nice woman with a very thick Latin accent. In our discussion, I found out that her husband used to ride Ducati bikes and that she rode on the back of her husband’s Monster to get to the hospital so that she could give birth to her second child. I think Ducati should give her something for this.

Internet Prevents Explosion

Today I almost blew up the house.

Last night I spent 3.5 hours shoveling the driveway. No blower. It would not start. It was 10:30pm when I began, and it was not pleasant. My achin’ back!

So maybe you have seen pipes that stick out of your house blowing hot gas in the winter? Those are pretty important. I did not know this, being new to this particular home and the responsibilities that come with home living.

Debbie called me around noon from her work to let me know she had smelled gas in the house and that the house was cold, and that someone was going in take a look at our furnace in the afternoon. Fortunately, I did not go to Chicago this morning per my routine (missed the train). I was at Alterra Coffee to work and apologize to my Chicago team for my absence. So after hearing the report, I hurried back home. On the way there, I saw an image in my head from a local news report about a gas leak in Wauwatosa — wood, glass and drywall strewn on the ground in a radial pattern. I did not need that.

I pulled up to the drive. The house was still there. Smelled the gas when I got in. The dogs seemed chipper, so the leak may not have been that bad, but I still took precaution to ventilate the house and avoid making any fires. In the frigid office/sun room. I did some quick research online by googling “smell gas house”. The Google results revealed the answer to the issue right away. Plugged furnace vent pipes. I had accidently buried them with snow in my haste to clear the drive. I should say that I did have a hunch that the problem had something to do with the shoveling from last night. The furnace choked and stopped burning. Not sure if the furnace was supposed to turn itself off, but my guess is that it didn’t. I went outside, dug around the snow to find the pipes, and cleared them with my shovel. Then I let the house air out some more. After that, I turned the heater back on. It worked. Admittedly, I’m not too knowledgeable when it comes to home maintenance, so I was proud of myself for having figured out the issue. Of course, I could not have done it without the internet. Thanks, internet! What would I do without you?

Another Flippin’ Day

Today I fell off the train. Well, that’s an exaggeration. I slipped on the icy stairs de-training and landed on my elbow’s funny bone, and it still smarts a bit. I should know better than to wear my Pro-Keds in winter.

Got in early because we have a presentation today, but it seems things are under control, so no work for me yet.

I faxed my acceptance letter yesterday. Need to think about when to go to Philly to find a place to live. Yesterday I got in touch with my long lost friend, Carlos. He lives in Philly, so I am excited to see how he’s doing. It’s been 7 years. I wonder how much the other will think they’ve changed. I know little bits and pieces about him from his blog and photos that he’s posted. I take comfort in the fact that he sounds the same in his words. I have not done much in the way of talking about myself on the internet, so he probably doesn’t know what I’ve been up to. I used to think, no one really cares about me, so why blog? Lately, I’ve come to the conclusion that blogging is really not for others, but one’s self. I’m thinking about this blog as a way to record my thoughts. A diary that happens to be public. I wonder if Somerset Maugham would have blogged.

Just finished Christmas Holiday by Somerset Maugham on the train home yesterday. I really enjoyed it. It’s in the vein of Of Human Bondage and Razor’s Edge. I think the main theme of the book is that the world is complex, and that it is ours to see, to experience, and to try to understand. People have a tendency to cling to their familiar surroundings and culture, as well cling to other people’s opinions about the world, because doing so brings comfort, which is what we all desire most strongly in life. What Maugham is saying is that through being open to seeing and understanding the larger world, one can get a deeper understanding of their place in the world and one’s self. I have to agree, and I think the traveling I’ve done outside of the US has done this for me. Traveling is most memorable when it is just a little bit uncomfortable.

How I Loath to Blog

I will try this blogging thing. It should not be difficult.

Today I’m freelancing for a big agency in Chicago. I’m on the 42nd floor. The building’s elevators shafts are right next to my room. There is constant activity in the shafts, as the elevators travel up and down, accelerating and decelerating, making a randomly orchestrated set of whirring, humming sounds, sometimes ending with a rumble as the elevators come to a stop . The elevators share power, so once in a while you’ll be in an elevator and it will have to stop so the system can service another elevator — I had never seen that before. I have to plug in to my iPod in my office to drown out the sound of the elevators, but at times the sound is actually kind of soothing, like a meditative chant.

It’s a big day today. I am going to accept a job offer. The job is in Philadelphia with a large retail company. I will be art directing their e-commerce website.

I’ve never lived outside of Wisconsin. I am nervous, anxious and excited about the whole thing.