I don’t know if it was a seasonal thing. Maybe something about the cooling temperatures that softened my resolve. Maybe the glut of puppies after paw-paws and babymamas got it on in the summer heat. Whatever the reason, I adopted Porter and Rosie almost a year apart from each other.

Happy adopt-a-versary, little Rosie. You’re not the youngest gal in the house any more, but you’re still the princess.

Please don’t let the giant eat me.

Four years ago I adopted this little dude:

and he has given me joy every day since. Well, except for that time he jumped on the bed and pissed on it while staring at me. He was mad. We had a “talk.”

Sometimes I get grumbly when I am out messing around on the bike or want to go take a trip. It’s hard having three “kids” at home, especially since I have to crate Pearl and feel guilty about leaving her caged up for long periods of time.

But none of that matters when I am having a bad day and Porter jumps on the couch and sits next to me. He sits right next to me, like another person, sighs, and leans on me.

I love you, buddy.

I wrote a post about Sergeant’s SentryPro XFC topical flea and tick product almost a year and a half ago. The treatment threw Porter and Rosie into an allergic reaction that consisted of trembling, panting, scratching, and “air licking.” I made the post because I was upset. I was upset at Sergeant’s for putting the product out. I followed the directions and BOTH of my dogs has an adverse reaction. I was also upset at myself for not using my usual Frontline (which I’ve never had a problem with before or since the SentryPro incident).

So, I made the post in May of 2007. I had no idea that thousands of people would read the post, hundreds would comment, dozens would email me personally, and the post would be the number one Google search result for “SentryPro XFC.” I got mentioned on The Consumerist. Some of my readers started a class action lawsuit.

It took all of that an sixteen months, but Sergeant’s finally responded.

People who have posted a comment in the past are automatically emailed when someone makes a new comment, so hundreds of people got an email tonight with Sergeant’s reply. A few people have already started to reply …. I have a feeling this isn’t over by a long shot.

My best four-legged friend turned four on Monday. Actually, I have no idea when he turns four exactly, just sometime around now. Here are some important snapshots from Porter’s life. Warning! Lots of pictures :)
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Today is officially Rosie’s birthday. She’s my only dog that I know when her birthday is; I think the best you can usually hope for with rescues is a birth week. For example, I only know that Porter was born about the first week of September, and that Pearl is sometime the last week of April.

I can’t believe Rosie is three! I remember when I adopted her, she was about the size of a potato. I held her in the palm of my hand.

Love you, little girl!

Hard to believe that it was a year ago today that Lady Jaye and I brought Pearl home. A lot has happened since then, but Pearl has gotten along fantastically with Porter and Rosie. There were some rough spots: puppy squirts, eating two DVDs whole, and refusing to jump in the bed even though she’s twice as big as my other dogs who can jump up there just fine. However, I am really pleased with how she’s settled into the rest of the pack after a year. Pearl is super sweet and is always happy to see me. After “cookie,” her favorite phrase is probably “give kisses,” which she does enthusiastically. Petting her really helps me to relax from a rough commute.

Happy adoption anniversary, Pearl!

Pearl, right, with her “big” sister Rosie.

Every good horror film (and most bad ones) gets a sequel. Less than a year after the first installment, my dogs are somehow killing birds in the yard again.
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The new job is going really well. I had my first wireframe review with my boss yesterday. I came armed with Visio wireframes and a sheet detailing what I changed and why. I comped three different approaches and gave her a quick run-down on the pros and cons of each. I probably talked a little bit faster than normal, and at the end told her everything was negotiable and asked her if she had any questions. After my experience at my last contract I expected an earful, with borderline accusations about whether or not I was qualified to even do my job.

“Questions? No. Looks great!” she said. “Pass this on to the other project members. Good job.”

Holy shit … maybe it wasn’t me at the last job after all. Crazy ex-boss-lady. ><

The commute is becoming manageable. I have taken some very good advice from Starbuck and take two different routes. The morning route is up the toll road, and the afternoon route is via a longer, but toll-free route. They wind up taking the same amount of time (30 - 45 minutes, depending on accidents). The biggest strength of the afternoon route is that I avoid toll plazas and other slowdowns that make riding a motorcycle less fun.

Speaking of bikes, Raptor has been great. I rode him in two days this week. Cylon looked sad and neglected, so I brought him along today instead. There is such a difference in performance and demeanor between the two bikes I wonder how anyone who hasn’t owned more than one motorcycle can ever say that one type is “better” than the other. What an amazing thing, this motorcycling.

Dogs have been adjusting well — probably too well as I almost want them to be as devastated by the hours apart as I have been. Luckily Starbuck has been taking care of them, as my niece has ducked her responsibilities for watching them during the day. She’s moving out in the next week or so, and I’m glad for many reasons.

The corporate culture over here is a huge shift for me. I wear a dress shirt and dress pants every day, and about half of the people here don’t smile or say hello. It’s as sterile as can be; I’m going to sneak some pics of the “motivational” posters in the stairwells. It feels so Orwellian. Unfortunately (I guess?), the people here are really excited that I’m on board and want me to help them. They have done the best they can, and are either out of their element or too busy to do much more. I almost wish the entire job sucked so that I would be totally happy about leaving when my contract is up, but I feel like professionally this could be a very rewarding experience.

Break time’s almost up. I have discovered that there is an unsecured wireless access point for contractors that doesn’t have the restrictions of the corporate network. I try to stay on for my lunch break and then reconnect to the real network after.

Thanks for reading, I’ve missed writing.

Last of my ongoing photographic and gibber-acular tribute to my home office, now that I’m moving back into a cube farm.
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I’m up in NYC on business for the day, so no real updates. Here’s a nice shot of Porter and Pearl cuddling up on the couch: