against me! and laura are such good things in this universe.

my first foster dog, chuck, is an absolute angel, and i don't say that lightly as somebody who is very realistic about a dog's personality. (my own two dogs are certified jerks, lol.) chuck gets along great with every dog he's met, loves kids, and the folks at the vet clinic said he just stood there while they did his exam, like nothing was even happening. i can attest to that, as i had to give him eye drops this evening. i've only had him about a week, and i doubt i'm going to have him much longer, because he's the dog everybody wants when they think of a great, chill pet.

an e-bike on the road/path will give more exercise than an acoustic bike gathering dust in the garage/basement. ;)

was supposed to watch a couple of my favorite (dog) clients last friday, but their owner missed his flight, so i just went and took them out for a walk. still got paid the full day rate. 😎

went to go watch a sheepdog trial on saturday morning, which was really cool! talked to several people there, including the lady who owns the farm. saw a couple of people smacking their dogs, though (including the owner), so i don't think i'll be doing any herding lessons there.

saturday evening we had our annual beer party (everybody brings a 6-pack of something to drink, and we throw them all together in a big bucket of ice). the dogs did really well up until about midnight when they started getting cranky, so i turned in early and let my partner watch the party-goers for the rest of the evening.

sunday was whiffle ball with friends followed by challengers, and oh my gosh, what a movie. absolutely loved the whole thing.

“what gets you out of bed in the morning?”

something tells me they never want the real answer (my bowels). 💩

i’ll never understand why cat owners think it’s totally fine to let their cats run all around the neighborhood unchecked. my sister does this with her cat, claiming the cat is street smart about cars??? infuriating to say the least.

all about the beeple! 🤠

(kinda) got answers about my knee. it's not a bone problem, and it's not an artery problem, so i've been taking larger doses of ibuprofen and got a better knee brace for cycling. so far, so good!

little dog got her first agility ribbons! border collie is probably getting her trick title soon, and we have our first lesson with a new agility trainer wednesday morning.

went bike camping over the weekend, which was nice. just a short ~13 mile ride there and a single night. i felt strong, knee held up well, and we had excellent weather and a fun group. RAGBRAI is only a couple of months away, which means i gotta get serious about riding my bike longer distances. the good news is i think i've only missed three days of biking so far this month (yay, bike month)!

it was my birthday weekend!

• had a slumber/pajama/movie party
• my partner got me new boots to replace my old ones
• saw petey at a sold-out show; he was great!
• found an excellent deal on a used salsa journeyer bike, and the seller even swapped out the stem for me and gave me a birthday discount ($1 for each year)
• a friend gave me an awesome new hat
• had the most amazing ramen i've ever tasted

and i kept up with my word count for nanowrimo! 🙌

i had my two-month follow up about my brain pills (atomoxetine). they’re working, i think! most of the bad side effects are gone. my provider okayed me for a 90-day supply, and then we’ll check in again. yay for medications that work, and i’m glad i stuck it out for the first few rough weeks.

chuck (foster dog) was supposed to have his stitches out last wednesday, but they weren’t quite ready, so we go back again this wednesday. on thursday he’s coming to the office with me in the morning, then going to his potential adopter’s home for a visit. fingers crossed it goes well! he deserves a good, loving home.

cone of shame tax:

i'm on my last day of house sitting two big goofy german shepherds (+ a turtle). it's been nice to veg out and chill with some mellow dogs and not have anything else to worry about. looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tonight though. i'll be back here for a quick overnight on saturday-sunday, then going into winterfest weekend full ham.

little dog is heartworm free, so she got to run her first two practice fast CATs on saturday afternoon. the weather was perfect, and she was only a jerk for a little while when i tried to catch her the first time. photo below of the car ride home.

i slipped and fell onto my elbow last night running after the dogs, so i took the day off to rest and ice it. feeling a lot better now and the swelling has gone down.

house sitting two big goofy german shepherds. they’re way more chill than my last clients.

chuck (foster dog) got his stitches out last wendesday. he came to the office with me on thursday morning, ate lunch with my coworkers and me outside, and then we headed out to meet a family. he was so tired by the end of the day. and the best news: he is going to his new home on wednesday evening! they already have a ramp from their last dog, a large fenced-in yard, and they want to play ball and go on walks with him. i couldn't dream of a better match. 🥰

i have been (lazily) looking for a new place to do yoga, and i took a class friday evening that was great! very chill, not hot yoga, and adaptable/calm. so many places around here are GET RIPPED, HOT YOGA, WORK YOUR BOOTY OFF, which is not at all what i want in a yoga class. i want to relax, do a lil' strength and balance work, then spend 5-10 minutes laying quietly. i bought a 2-week intro membership, and i'll probably end up with their 4 classes/month plan, since i can't imagine i'll go more often than that.

my old roomie/friend and one of my other friends had their wedding reception party after eloping across the country a little while back. my ex was there, and it was really validating to know i made the right choice. i don't think i would have been happy with him where he is in life now. but also: his new girlfriend is super cool! i want to be friends with her, haha.

i have got a zillion social events available to me this weekend. hoping i can make most of them!

echo (border collie) passed her community canine test last thursday. 🎓 pics in a separate post when we get our certificate later this week. also got to meet one of the other foster dogs (buck, pictured below) in our program, and he is a beautiful dog. very driven and toy-motivated. gonna make a nice sport dog for someone.

rode to the other town over on greenways on saturday (~50 miles) with a couple of folks, then met up with some friends for dinner/drinks. took the train back home; it was all pretty chill.

finally hung a bunch of the artwork in the house over the weekend. feeling much more homey now.

heading to the beach this weekend, which i'm looking forward to. it'll be echo's first time there! 🏖️

had a solstice bonfire on friday with friends which was really nice. hanging out with my partner’s family for the weekend, then heading to the country to decompress before new years. i always do a bike ride new year’s day, so i’m looking forward to that!

howdy! 🐝 🤠

hello from another person in tech! i've always gravitated toward companies that do work for nonprofits. i've been at my current job for almost six years, and the only reason they've been able to keep me is that (most of) the clients aren't soul-sucking. we do a lot of work for nonprofits who have causes i believe in, and that helps out a bunch. it's also a small, family run business (two guys who met in college about 15-20 years ago and grew the business from there). i've worked at less nonprofit-focused places, and i always felt drained.

i would find out which companies are doing your kind of work for the nonprofits you care about and go from there.

oh right yes that. here’s me with chuck right before i drove him to his new home.

hell yes to this. i’m in my mid 30s. i’m bisexual. only the people who need to know, know. why would my parents care? i’m (afab) dating a cis man. people who i feel especially close to know that i’m not straight. i’m “out” insomuch as i’ll say a girl is cute if i happen to see one.

did my traditional new year’s day bike ride. had about 12-15 people show up! rode ~15 miles at an easy pace and feeling great.

• repairing three bikes. one is a total rebuild. the other two only have minor issues.
• crocheting two baby blankets for twins. they were already born, but they’ll still appreciate the blankets i’m sure!
• getting my foster dog a clean bill of health. she’s got a wrist injury that’s being looked at next week by an orthopedic specialist.

foster dog tax

assuming "PC" doesn't count... i'll be a basic bitch and say nintendo switch. it's the one i've played the most games on.

nobody should work on friday afternoon. (i say while working on a friday afternoon.)

good. i found a ton of these nasty little things in my backyard when i moved into my current house. the house was (no surprise) previously occupied by a bunch of undergrads.

little dog is getting a second heartworm test. her first one came back positive today, which is odd because she’s been on preventatives the past three years. fingers crossed it’s just a fluke and we won’t have to do the four month treatment which involves exercise restriction.

pupdate: the other two tests came back negative, so she’s heartworm free! the vet was baffled and going to see how that first test came back positive twice.

i don't think being a small forum is necessarily a bad thing. smaller places are easier to moderate, and they tend to be more chill. i've run another forum for about 10 years, and it's still going strong with only a few hundred active users at any given time. we very rarely have issues with people upsetting the flow. we've always managed to recover when that does happen.

picked up the new foster dog, coco on saturday. she’s acclimating pretty well, considering she went from a free roaming outdoor only dog on 17 acres to a downtown indoor dog on 1/3 of an acre. my old man australian shepherd is having a harder time accepting her, but we’re getting there with short 5-10 minute intros where he’s on leash so i can redirect when he gets too in her face. the little chihuahua mix has always been good with other dogs, so no surprise that they’re interacting really well.

coco goes to the vet later today, and fingers crossed there’s no major issues.

update: she’s in perfect health! no parasites, healthy weight, good teeth and eyes.

pretty great! had my first agility lesson of the new year with the pups, and they rocked it. got a crate for the incoming foster dog (her name is coco, pics next week). got together with some bike/camp folks and planned our next campout and longer day ride. got to see the fellowship of the ring (extended edition) at the theater. played a first session of a tabletop game called wickedness.

i need to stop being so busy, but at least it’s good busy. 😮‍💨

is meetup.com an option?

from what i understand, vaping is much easier to get into due to the taste/smell. so neither is good for anyone, but cigarettes are seen as gross and the companies that make vaping products have tricked teens into thinking that they’re safe.

“well excuuuuuse me, princess!”

My best friends just bought a house

ah, comparison is the thief of joy! i've seen people buy houses even though they have massive student debt. i've also seen people buy houses they couldn't really afford. or, if you're like my partner, their parents paid for their school and gave them $10k to help with the down payment on their first house. life's a racket!

other folks have already offered suggestions on how to tackle your debt, but i'd also like to throw in that ynab (paid) changed how i think about money. splitwise (free) has also been an invaluable tool for living together with somebody and sharing costs equitably.

i was an election official for the primary this year. it's a long, grueling day of standing around not doing a whole lot. my back/shoulders felt it pretty hard, and i was really happy to have a restorative yoga class thursday night to reset.

little dog earned enough points to get her first title! we had several friends show up to support her, so i got some amateur video as well. her recall has gotten so good, and that makes me very happy.

walked the newest addition (echo the border collie) around at the event to see how she would do, and she was interested but chill, which was great. she starts basic obedience class this week.

on sunday afternoon, we had some friends over, played a round of citadels, ate cheese, and imbibed in beers.

i really need to ride my bike more. july is going to be here before i know it, and i need to be able to ride 40-90 miles/day for a whole week. 😳

the foster dog fail got the go-ahead from the vet to do agility, so coco echo is here to stay! i took her to a 30-minute agility lesson on friday, and she learned jump, tire, tunnel, dog walk, and A-frame. yesterday, she started working on the teeter and is so enthusiastic about learning new things.

one of my goals this year was to not get another dog, but sometimes the right dog comes along and... yeah. i think my partner will be happy to have a break from fostering, since that's always a bit of a gamble. three is the maximum i can care for, so it'll be awhile before i foster again. i still need to get the paperwork together (and write the check), but once that's done she'll officially be part of the family. <3

probably going to go watch a herding trial this weekend, so that’ll be fun!

i spent last weekend pet sitting which was okay. i roughhoused with the dog a bit too much and she accidentally bit my hand instead of the toy. no broken skin but it’s pretty bruised in a weird spot, so that’s annoying.

echo (border collie) did her first full set of six straight weaves! i’ve been training her with the channel method, and it’s awesome to watch her work through what i want. such a smart cookie.

howdy! 🤠

i’ve had the chance to see their work, and they’re bringing good into the world. i care less about where the money is going and more about the net positive for the folks who otherwise wouldn’t have it without the “greedy backers.”

yeah… it’s really hard to watch. the most i do is a very upbeat “oops!” or “nope!” with my dogs when we’re training. i do occasionally get frustrated with my barky aussie, but i try to keep it positive as much as possible.

i'm still bummed i didn't even get flurries this year in north carolina. :(