Day 1532

False start day. We got up extra early this morning, so we could negotiate feeding one dog while the other was fasting. Usually, this involves taking the fasting dog on a walk right after we get up, while the second dog stays home and eats breakfast. I walked Dash while Janet fed Dot, and then we were off to see the oncologist. Janet and I were both impressed with the doctor, who was very knowledgeable and explained Dash's thyroid issues in a way that was easy to understand. He was almost certain that Dash will require surgery, but wanted a CAT Scan to confirm his diagnosis and provide an accurate map for the surgeon.

I left Dash at the clinic to get the scan done and went home to eat breakfast and get some work done. Shortly after I got home, I got a call from the clinic saying that I needed to come back and pick up Dash again. They told me that both of the CAT Scan technicians were out sick today and there was nobody to run the machine. WTF? How could they not already know this when I was up at the clinic just an hour earlier? This is a cancer clinic and diagnosing things using a CAT Scanner is a big part of what they do. The machine is essential. At any rate, the doctor was very embarrassed by the situation and promised to get it sorted out, so I could re-schedule quickly.

It simply astounds me how often people fail to have any sort of a back-up plan these days. Individuals, companies, and even our entire country just seem to lurch through life on a wing and a prayer, hoping that everything will be OK. Here is this multimillion dollar machine that the clinic depends on and everything comes to a grinding halt when a technician's kid gets sick? This shouldn't happen. Worst of all, nobody at the cancer clinic appeared to even know that the technician had called in sick until after I had left Dash and returned home. At least they didn't pre-intubate him with drugs before they discovered their error. I always try to have a back up plan. When I go on a photo shoot, I always take three camera bodies and an extra strobe power pack, just in case something breaks. I have my own 4-G hotspot with me at all times, so I am never dead in the water during a power outage. When I was younger, there was a time when I had three cars, just to make sure that a dead battery or breakdown would never put me out of commission. OK, I shouldn't be sanctimonious here. I also liked cars a lot.

The rest of the day was just a normal Monday. I finished two articles and already have two more on deck for tomorrow. There was a long, involved website update which required a lot of Photoshop work. Facebook is destroying what remains of my website business. The pictures I get these days are horrible. Since it's so easy to upload your baby and cat pictures on Facebook, people just think that this is what I do as well. They don't seem to understand that I have to crop, re-size, and color correct every single picture they send me in Photoshop. I can't even batch process, since I usually get thirty different bad cell phone photos, all in their own unique format. Progress is weird. All it means for me is that my own job gets harder.

Tomorrow, we'll start over. We'll get up early again and feed one dog while the fasting dog is out taking a quick walk. I'll get mired in rush hour traffic again as I take Dash to the clinic for his early morning appointment. They've promised me that the all important CAT Scan technician will actually be there this time. Hopefully, everything will go smoothly.

Nora is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1494

I returned to a restaurant I hadn't visited in about three months and was surprised to discover that the entire staff had changed. All the waiters were new. Even the chef was new. The new staff was almost painfully friendly, continually smiling and making sure that they told you their name. When my order arrived, my suspicions were confirmed. This place had hired a restaurant consultant. I ordered the same thing I always order at this place. The portions were slightly smaller, but everything was exceptionally pretty on the plate. The restaurant consultant had probably given the new staff a seminar about interacting with customers and plating food.

I found all the changes a bit sad, since there was nothing wrong with the restaurant in the first place. I actually preferred the slightly grumpy original waiters to the forced cheeriness of this new batch. I'm sure the restaurant was profitable, since it was almost always full, but I'll bet the owners weren't satisfied and wanted to make even more money. I don't know why people are always compelled to change things. My motto has always been "if it's not broke, don't fix it."

My haircut later in the day was equally interesting. It's easy to get the pulse of the nation if you listen to what people are talking about in a barber shop or hair salon. The woman getting her hair done next to me was telling her stylist that she wanted to take her vacation in Marfa or Area 51, so she could look for aliens. My own stylist was telling me how she likes to take her cats on car rides, so they can watch birds through the sun roof. Lately, I've noticed that hair salons try to shame you into leaving a tip. When you hand them your credit card, they look you in the eye and ask if you'd like some cash back for a tip. Like $75 for a simple haircut isn't enough? Jeez! Today, all the people in line ahead of me were leaving lavish tips, so I guess the shaming worked. I left a tip as well.

I've got to do something about my work load. One of my clients has already doubled the number of pictures they want to change out on their website every week, and another wants to double the amount of writing assignments they give me each month. So far, I'm keeping up but the house is sure getting dirty. I really don't have time for anything other than working and walking the dogs these days. Sadly, nobody seems to think that writing the blog every day is important but me.

Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day

Day 1485

I wish I had the nerve to tell people that I didn't work when it rains. Better yet, I'd love to be able to say that I don't do anything when it rains. Yes, it rained all day today. The dogs got wet and needed to be cleaned up several times. Everything got muddy. And of course, the Dallas traffic was terrible. As you might expect, I can't get away with refusing to work on a rainy day, because it rains far too often.

I went about my day as if everything was normal.  I ate breakfast with the business networking group. I drove downtown with Dot for her water therapy session. I did a lot of laundry. And I updated a few websites. Through it all, the rain never stopped.

I'm not certain, but I'm getting this feeling that the business networking group is on the opposite side of the political fence than me. We don't talk about politics and the group is supposedly apolitical, but you can kind of tell which way the wind is blowing. This new insight is disappointing to me. I don't want to know anything about your politics. Political rants from people I know in real life has just about ruined Facebook for me. Go ahead and vote for whoever you want. I just don't want to hear about it.

One of my clients wants to start sending me more work. This a mixed blessing at best. More work means more money, but it also means more time spent working. I think I already spend far too much time working. In the best of possible worlds, I will learn to become faster and more efficient and still have a little time for myself at the end of the day. On the other hand, I could just as easily go stark raving mad.

Maybe the rain will stop tomorrow. I still need to get the tree off my roof that fell during last month's ice storm. The neighbor who owns the tree seems to have been out of town ever since the tree fell. She told me that she had already contacted a tree service to remove the tree, but three weeks later they have never arrived. I suspect that they won't come out unless she is home to pay them. If things go as they usually do, I will eventually get frustrated and hire my own tree people to remove the tree. Then the neighbor will never repay me. That's just the way neighbors are these days.

Jordan is today's Dalmatian of the Day

Watch of the Day