4 posts tagged “people”
This is a post all about how much I love my dog.
We have had Eva for six months now, give or take. Even in that small amount of time, she's changed a lot, and so have we.
The most obvious change with her is that she's bigger. We knew that while the dachshund in her would keep her stumpy, she would still be bulkier due to the shepherd; but compared side by side with other dachies, she's a bit of a giant and it's strange to see. She's doubled in weight since we got her, and is clearly big enough for her paws now.
Her personality has also been refined a little. Not changed - she was always really well behaved - but due to us being yuppie scum and taking her to doggy daycare, she's very well adjusted and great around adults, children and dogs alike. When a dog is approaching on the street, she will lay down to either let them pass or make the first move. People think we trained her to do that, ha!
Jess has trained her to do tricks, though. She has the basic repertoire - sit, lay down, shake paws, go in a circle, go under your legs - but somehow Jess has her responding to silent gestures as well as verbal commands. I put it all down to food: she also knows which way to drag me to get treats from local dog-friendly businesses. Sneaky.
Her only real issue is that playing with great danes and labradors all day has made her a little rough with smaller dogs. Toilet accidents are few and far between, we weened her off of gnawing things she shouldn't by buying her own toys, and she almost never barks. We definitely lucked out.
We've also changed. At first, every slight sniffle or irregularity with her toilet habits would make me panic (you're welcome for that money, local veterinary clinic), but you soon get used to it and work out what's causing things. We've had to stop feeding her lamb-based food, and know to keep her away from grass. Other than that, we tweaked our schedule to include her toilet and meal needs, and all is dandy.
It annoys Jess, but a pleasant side effect for me is that all of my jeans are now loose, I've effectively gone down a size and a half. I get up around 6.30am to take her out for her first toilet break of the day, bring her in so I can get ready for work, then walk her for 20-30 minutes to day care every morning. At night, when it's my turn to take her out, we usually walk a bit longer so she can get all of her sniffing out of the way. I've never been the type for exercise, so this was a covert way to get me off of my backside.
Dogs have other strange side effects. I've met more people as a result of Eva than I would have ever met of my own accord. Even if I don't know them by name, I'm on friendly terms with a lot of people around our neighbourhood and can at least name their dogs (because dog people all have ninja memories for dog names). It's amazing how many you notice when you have one of your own.
I would recommend dog ownership to anyone, and if you're considering a new pet, I strongly recommend you find a local shelter or rescue centre rather than funding puppy mills. The American Humane Society has some great advice for would-be dog owners, and can even help you find a place near you.
What do you love most about your job?
1. Problem solving. Although it's all in the field of nerdy computer things, I do like being given a problem then working out the best way to solve it. Or the best way with the time available, which are not always the same thing.
2. People. I work with several people who I love dearly and learn a lot from.
3. Learning. In the space of less than two years, I have learned a LOT and keep learning. It's great, and I attribute that to both the people I work with (especially my mentor, Eduardo, whose coding style is so easy to follow) and the fact that the company is too small for pre-defined roles to really stick on any given project. I was hired to do CSS and JavaScript, but spread out into SQL Server, ASP.Net, XML and other technologies just because I could and extra hands were needed.
As we walked to the bus stop this morning, Jess and I saw a small group of people huddled outside of the Cingular/AT&T store. On the news last night, it showed people queueing outside the Apple Store on Michigan Avenue. These scenes are happening all over the country.
I don't need to tell you which electronic device they are queueing for.
I find it all very weird. The same as I find it weird that people queue outside of stores for games consoles, albums, books and any other releases. How they queue at cinemas dressed as the characters from the film they are trying to get a ticket for.
People are so weird!
I've pre-ordered things, and I've sat on the phone trying to get tickets for Glastonbury once or twice, but I don't think I've ever been so obsessed with anything that I've braved the elements to queue somewhere - dressed in a stupid costume or not - to obtain something.
Show us a picture of where you'd like to live and tell us why you want to live there.
Submitted by Warhead.
I live in Chicago. I moved here to be with Jess, but having spent a lot of time in the city, I've discovered it has merits beyond the presence of the woman I love.
In comparison to London, pros:
- It's cleaner
- Transport is cheaper, faster and more abundant (and air conditioned!)
- The streets are less confusing to navigate
- The people are friendlier
- It's cheaper to eat out, and there are more places to do so
- The pizza and Mexican is far better
- The overall cost of living is generally a lot cheaper
Cons:
- There are lots of Americans
- Decent Indian food is not abundant, nor are decent doner kebabs
- It gets way, way colder
- American TV is retarded
- Tax is not included in the price of goods and a lot of service industry workers rely on tips to survive, so you have to do lots of mental arithmetic wherever you go
- I get blank looks when using common British phrases
