I guess I need to walk the dogs separately.

As long as I've had multiple dogs, I've taken them for their morning walk together.  This saves me time on work mornings and the dogs don't generally like being separated. 

However, it appears that practice is going to have to stop. 

This morning, I was getting really angry with Angel for lagging behind.  I don’t get it.  She used to be the lead and Peanut used to lag behind.  Now Angel walks slowly behind me with her head down, while Bogie and I try to maintain a reasonable pace.  I end up feeling like I’m dragging her to the vet. 

 As a former leader, does Angel resent being displaced by Bogie? Except she won't take the lead even when the opportunity presents itself.  

Frustrated, I took Angel home and dropped her off.  Then Bogie and I went for a faster, longer walk.  At first, he seemed confused by Angel's absence, but adjusted quickly.  We were both a little winded when we returned to the house. 

I dropped Bogie off and I took Angel again, alone.  This was for three reasons.  I felt guilty for scolding her. I wanted to see how Bogie would behave in the house alone for a few minutes.  And I wanted to see if Angel would behave differently by herself.  

She did. I don’t know if it was my attitude or hers, but we had a pleasant walk around the block.  

I think that the two dogs are not compatible walkers. Angel is a scent hound and likes to linger over interesting scents.  This is, by its nature, a slow meander.  Bogie is a sight hound and likes to hurry to see new sights.  So his is a faster pace. 

I guess from now on I will have to take them separately.  Bogie and I will benefit from the faster pace.  Angel will get her meandering time. 

And I will have to get up earlier in the morning to keep on schedule.  

Sigh. 

My personality matches my dog's breed

I recently read an interesting article on how the owner's personality matches the breed of dog they choose as a companion.  

Bogie is the first dog I've owned where I've chosen both the breed and the individual.  The other dogs in my life, though completely loved, were mine by chance or by a consensus with significant others.  

I was pleased to see that Great Dane owners are considered high in agreeableness and openness. 

 Agreeableness is a trait that makes people easy to get along with. Agreeable people sympathize with others, care about their feelings and try to make other people feel at ease. People with open personalities are intelligent, open to new experiences and appreciative of art.  (from the Live Science link).

People do seem to share their feelings with me.  I am an artist, so thus appreciative of art.  And I consider myself pretty easy to get along with.

But that would not have been true in the past.  Easy going has been a goal and a journey.  In my youth I more easily irritated by the nuisances of life and quicker to anger. 

I've learned over the years that it is a waste of energy and effort to react strongly to every minor annoyance.  And if you react dramatically to small issues, it dulls the impact when there truly is a crisis.

The old "boy who cried wolf" syndrome. 

So I am happy that my breed choice reflects the work I've done to become a more agreeable person.


Read more: http://www.prevention.com/health/healthy-living/dog-breeds-match-owners-personalities#ixzz2IEzyZjUo

Or http://www.livescience.com/19787-dog-owner-breeds-personality.html

Typing cannot be illegible

I was irritated yesterday by a radio contest commercial. 

According to the instructions, entrants were to go to a web site and enter their information.  "Incomplete and illegible" entries would be discarded. 

Definition for Illegible - Not clear enough to be read: "his handwriting is totally illegible".  Also, "impossible or almost impossible to read because of being very untidy or not clear"

Back in the "olden" days, when contest entries had to be filled out by hand and mailed, the illegibility disclaimer made sense.  People's handwriting could be undecipherable, pens could blob or smear, and the tiny spaces provided could result in truncated information. 

But the directions explicitly told the entrants to go to the web site.  It's pretty hard to make typewriting illegible.  

And if it was, that would be the web site designer's fault.  It's not like I can enter my information in WingDings.  Even this page won't accept WingDings.

Most likely, the disclaimer was recycled from a long ago vetted legal document.  And I'm sure it's still legally valid.  Legal doesn't make it correct.  

Last time I checked this was the 21st century.  Disclaimers about illegibility should join admonishments to be respectful of those who share your party line.  (A telephone line shared by multiple households, for those who are too young to know.)

Let's make our "fine print" disclaimers accurate, as well as legally valid.

Scoontemplations in WingDings.
Now that's illegible.

It is okay to do nothing. Right?

I took it as a sign when I saw this Peanuts in the paper. 

I need to let go of the notion that I *must* be doing something useful or “important” all the time.

New affirmations:

It is okay to watch TV and play with the dogs even if the dishes aren't done. . 

It is okay to play Angry Birds even if the floor needs to be mopped.  

It is okay to sit on the patio and watch the birds even if I haven't done a new blog post.

I don't have to write a novel.  

I don't have to create stained glass art. 

It is okay to just be. 

Too many decisions.

I seem to have reached the tipping point in my own expectations.  I have become unfocused, unable to make decisions.

I recently read a study that said we are only capable of making a small numbers of decisions in one day.  When that number is exceeded, we become less and less able to make decisions, especially wise decisions.

The fault, I think - voice overs.

After many years considering it, I spent the better part of last year learning how to do voice overs, building a studio, creating demos. I enjoyed learning how to do the voice overs.  I was pleased when I finally got my studio working.  Now I am at the point where I can audition for projects and try to get gigs.

And there's the rub.

I signed up for a membership to a talent site.  The site uses an algorithm to determine which projects to send you.  Submit too many auditions and you won't get offers.  Submit too few auditions and you won't get offers.

So every offer that comes in has to be evaluated on whether I want to submit an audition.  Decisions.

Do I do auditions at all today, tomorrow, this week?  Decisions.

Should I search other sites for gigs, and which ones?  Decisions.

Any time I spend on preparing auditions is time I could be spending with the dogs, with a good book, working on stained glass, writing.  What do I give up to audition?  Decisions.

I think I liked the idea of voice overs more than I did the reality.

I think that I have taken on one project too many.

Decisions.

Being taunted by a cat

I have a two-story house.  The front upstairs bedroom overlooks the street.  I have my sewing machine in there, but since I only sew a couple times a year, 99% of the time the room belongs to the dogs.

There is a loveseat facing the window where the dogs lay and look out over their kingdom.  Or they stand at the window and watch for intruders.  I previously posted a photo:  Bogie on guard duty  The streaks are the inevitable dog nose smudges.

If I am home when intruders are spied (usually other dogs), there is a brief spate of barking, then they will rush to me so I can see how efficiently they have done their job.  Once I assure them that they are good dogs and have done a good job, all is well and quiet resumes.

Usually.

Today there was frantic whining.  I went to see what was the problem but saw no one on the street.  However, no amount of reassurance would calm the whining.

Suddenly, cacophonous barking fills the bedroom.  A cat is walking in the yard across the street.  Angel tones it down to a whine, but Bogie is baying these loud, deep bass barks.

The cat disappears behind a bush and the barking becomes whining again.  No amount of persuasion can move either dog from the window.  

The cat moves and the barking resumes.  The cat hides and the whining takes over.

Each time the cat moves out into the open, it looks at the window at the dogs.  Yes, the barking is loud enough to attract attention, but the cat does not flee.

Instead, it lingers, staring at the window.  It  appears to be enjoying the reaction it is getting.

I think it is deliberately taunting the dogs.

Very weird, vivid dream

Very weird, very vivid dream last night.

I was leading a group of 2 or 3 other women of varying ages as we were trying to hide from a threat.  The threat was a woman, humanoid, but not human - Smollet.  Yeah, I don’t know where the name came from either.  With two T's, it's a Scottish writer of adventure novels, but I had never heard of him. 

We were hiding in a building or subdivision under construction, going from room to room or building to building looking for a secure place to hide.

The Smollet had teeth like a piranha.  She was slim, had long brown hair in a ponytail, wore jeans and a button down shirt and had a bluish aura.  Other than the teeth and blue aura, she was kind of me.

While fleeing, alone this time, I ran into a workman in coveralls, carrying insulation over his shoulder, who was only nominally curious, looking at me with no real expression.

I hurried on, watching him over my shoulder, and met up with the group again.  We were still looking for a safe place to hide.

Alone again, I ran into the man laying insulation on a flooring area that must have been a roof for another area.  I looked at him and he looked at me and opened his mouth.

He was a Smollet too!  Only his aura was red and I realized he wasn't looking at me.  He was looking over my shoulder.  At the woman Smollet, sneaking up behind me.

He went to confront her.  They were circling each other like prize fighters while I fled in the opposite direction.  And woke up.

The dream dictionaries say that dreams about hiding mean I'm not facing up to a situation or dealing with an issue. 

Possibly.  The company I work for is being shopped around.  Whether a new owner would be better or worse remains to be seen. Maybe it bothers me more than I consciously realize?

Or maybe I just watch too much Doctor Who?