Puppy Peeing Problem (alliteration go!)

As my last post displayed, John and I have adopted a new puppy. His names is Miles.

Miles is around 4 months old, we adopted him from the county shelter, and have no information on his life before the shelter. He often lays down when people come near, and seems to be afraid a lot of the time (but never angry, he does not respond by growling or showing any violent tendencies). This would be an ok trait to have (one we could work on over a longer amount of time) if it weren't for the fact he often urinates when he is afraid or sorry.

I have read a lot online about "Submissive Urination" in dogs. Most of the advice was along the lines of ignoring him when we get home, not punishing him when he pees from fear, and not treating it like a housebreaking issue.

The last one is hard for us... because he often actually lays down in the pee and the only way to get him out of the way to clean it up is to put him outside. It also means he becomes pretty smelly rather quickly.

Has anyone else had this issue with a puppy? Did they grow out of it? Help!

Miles Davis The Puppy

Oddly enough, I'm listening to Miles Davis' "So What" while posting this blog :D

Check out our new baby :) He's only 4 months old and already nearly 30 lbs (maybe more!)

Weekend of Puppies

This weekend John and I adopted a new puppy.  We've named him Miles Davis.  He is a lab/pit mix, and about as sweet as candy.  He's only 3.5 months old, and we're not sure what his life was like before he came to the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter. It's the first male dog I've ever had, and the first dog I've had a chance to crate train.  We're super excited :-)

I feel like my patience and experience at work has actually helped me with dog training.  Not to say that Programmers are like dogs!  However, there is a certain level of patience needed when working in QA, and a lot of repeating the same tests.  Having worked in a system that sometimes creates errors that are erratic, I've had to become patient with the repetitive tasks - somewhat like when training Miles.  He often gives me different results despite my actions not changing... but slowly, as we tweak his behavior (as a programmer tweaks a program), he becomes more predictable.

In other news I started seeing a therapist.  Without going into too much detail, I think it's going really well.  She suggested I read the book Change Your Brain, Change Your Life.  It's been really helpful in understanding why peoples brains work the way they do.  I wish all parents and family members of people with mental problems could read it.  It could sincerely help in understanding and compassion for people with everything from children with ADD to spouses with severe depression.  It's really made me reconsider my view on medication and therapy exercises.

Aside from those two items, everything is fairly normal.  I'm visiting family for the weekend both to hang out with my dad for Father's Day, and to get him to change my brakes, because I'm not sure how much longer my squeaky ones will last...

Later gators!

Feeling stupid

Lately I've had an overwhelming feeling of stupidity. Everything I say and do feels like it's bashed by some holier than thou grammar nazi or trivia guru or stuck up IT asshole (yeah, I'm a stuck up IT asshole sometimes, but I do it with style and grace… ok style.. ok.. shut up).


Anyways, so seriously, in every aspect of my life I feel like a complete retard. I forget how to speak, how to think, how to do anything. So, I got to thinking why do I care if other people think I'm mentally incompetent? I mean, outside of my superiors at work and my significant other, does it really matter? Probably not.  However, my self esteem has always been based on what others think of me in that department.  I have never felt adequate in any other way (looks, personality, aspirations), so I guess intelligence is the only thing I've ever felt I had going for me.


It's really quite annoying.  I have no idea what I could be doing to kill off my brain cells (I say as I take another sip of my martini).  I'm sure many people would tell me I either need God or prescription medications to make these thoughts of inadequacy go away, but I don't think that's the case.  The God I believe in would encourage figuring it out myself, and I have always felt like prescription meds kill my creativity and intelligence, not improve upon it.


So, I think there really is only one answer.


I have to do something I have managed to avoid for nearly 10 years.


I have to… gulp… go to college.

Update on Life, The Universe, and Me.

Ok, I know I've never made a super personal post here before, but I see all of my friends doing it so, hey, why not. I've decided to ween myself off Facebook, so I will most likely post here more often in the future anyways.

Lets do things in a list!

- I'm thinking of going back to school and learning about Astro or Quantum Physics. I just can't get the universe and parallel universes out of my head.
- My birthday is coming up. My awesome boyfriend is taking us on a trip to a mystery location! I have a few clues about it: Ketchup, I can wear comfy shoes for walking - but not hiking, technically north of us, and in the Southeastern US.
- Eddie (my dog) came to live with us for a week. It ended up being ok, but she was so lonely we decided to send her back to my parents to continue to live with my dads dog AKA her best friend.
- I have found the wedding ring I want should I ever actually get married: http://www.etsy.com/listing/46554622/meteorite-inlay-fantastic-pattern-custom


Ok that last one was found in the midst of writing this entry cause I got away from it for a while... END.

Trip to Washington DC

Hadn't had a chance to get on here lately, but here's a slide show of my DC vacation a couple weeks ago!

Horribly disturbing fashions - Part 1: Tops!

Is it just me or have womens "fashions" become terrifying? I'm not talking about the weird things you see on the runway or walking around the streets of Manhattan. The clothes I'm referring to are regular, ordinary clothes from stores like Target, Kohls, and even Wal-Mart.
Today we will focus on hideous tops.

First let's look at the first blouse from targets Blouses & Shirts section.

What the hell? Are we pirates now? Frills. As you will see, frilliness is the ongoing theme in current fashion. I don't like it, I don't get it, and I sure as hell wont wear it.

Next:

This came from the same page as the above photo. Plaid AND frilly also seems to be a recurring theme among todays designs for women. Also, the unique ability to make even the thinnest woman look pregnant. I have no issue with pregnant women, but lets face it... if you're not, you don't wanna look like you are. NOT HOT.

From the first page of Kohls' website:

This looks like something you'd issue to cult members. I will give it to Kohls... there is a major lack of frills AND plaid.

Then there was this:

I don't think I even have to say anything on this one.

As you can see all of these are shit. Women: We need to make a statement by refusing to wear this shit. Don't buy it just because it's there. Don't lose 75 lbs just to make some horrible clothing look ALMOST attractive. Fight back. Buy from thrift stores, buy online, ignore these stores until they start stocking something presentable.

Next week: Bottoms.