Welcome back to the frying pan

Having last week off was very nice. I got all accustomed to sleeping for as long as I felt like--which probably translated to a few too many, "oops, I slept past 11am," occurrences--had a metric ton of good, home-cooked eats, and generally kept things low-key and relaxed. I went at least a couple of days without responding to a single e-mail. I forget sometimes how good that can feel.

Getting up in the morning for work hasn't hurt this much in a long, LONG time.

I got maybe 6 1/2 hours of good sleep, I currently have a monster headache, and I have to appear at least somewhat awake for a meeting in about half an hour. It's a non-Job meeting, so I actually have to drive most of the conversation... which does require a certain level of alertness.

I think this week, maybe part of next week, will be my last big push of workfrenzy for the year. After this, I am scaling it back. A LOT.

Diggity Dog

One of the roommates had a couple of friends over when I got back from Eugene last night, and they had a little dog with them. Technically, people aren't supposed to have pets in the house, but when I saw that wee doggie face, all I could do was pet the little guy. He (she?) was a mellow sweetheart of a dog. If I hadn't been so tired from driving, I should've asked what breed he was. He reminded me a bit of Gizmo in the face, but it didn't quite look like a daschund...

I miss having a dog around. Not just any dog, either, but the kind with personality and energy. Some dogs seem to indiscriminately like everybody, but some have a way about them, that almost makes you think that they chose you for a reason. Like there's bond that goes beyond just being "that guy who puts food in my bowl every morning," or, "this person who is currently patting my head."

Maybe one of my goals for the coming months should be to lighten my workload enough that I'd have time and energy to get my own little dog, and actually do right by it and be the awesome pet owner he/she deserves. It'd certainly be a healthier way for me to live, with or without the dog.

Of course, I still have to talk Boy and Andy out of their perennial dislike of having pets in the house, so, as always, there are more challenges waiting in the wings. ;)