(no subject)

On the puppy.

No; the other puppy.

Andrea and I went out to visit him on Wednesday of last week. He was indescribably cute. He was black, and pouncy and nibbly and loved people. He had his own little stuffed monkey that he liked to play fetch with. When we met him, he was rolling around in his caretaker's garden and chewing on the stalks of her onion plants (yes, he smelled strongly of onions). I could tell just by his interaction with the people around him that he was a very smart dog, and one who was eager to please his people; he'd be very trainable. Since he was half Border Collie, that's not too surprising. When I tired him out playing fetch and he flopped on the ground and I petted his tummy, he made those earnest little grunts of puppy happiness that never cease to completely capture my heart every time I hear them.

We decided not to take him.

Andrea and I had a while to talk about it after that meeting. We'd decided at the time that we were going to bring Kuma over on Monday to meet him and that, if the two of them got along, we'd go for it. His caretaker said we'd passed her screening process with flying colors and that she'd be wiling to wait 'till we got back from our trip for him to come live with us. As Andrea and I talked more though, we did a lot of thinking. Thinking, and looking at the Akita and German Shepherd Dog rescue sites on line. After a lot of thought and discussion, the two of us came to the conclusion that, while Shadow was a wonderful, adorable puppy, we really want a dog who's just going to be bigger.

I have a visceral reaction of joy being around and playing with a big dog. What I really want is a canine companion who's at least eighty to ninety pounds, and possibly more. I want a moose; a horse; a yak. That's my kind of dog.

I was going to let Shadow's caretaker know of our decision on Monday when we got back. I felt really bad about telling her that we didn't want to take Shadow. How could anybody not want a beautiful little puppy like that? but Andrea and I both knew, having talked to said caretaker for an hour or so that Wednesday, that she wouldn't let just anybody take the puppy; she was going to make sure that he went to a deserving and loving home. We also knew that, being the captivating little bundle of fur that he was, Shadow would have no trouble finding a home.

And he didn't. We got a call on Friday evening from his caretaker. Shadow had been given a home by a couple looking for a companion dog for their Jack Russel Terrier. I sent her back a thank you email at work today, expressing my appreciation for her investing her time and energy into taking care of the little black puppy. The world needs more people like her.

For our part, Andrea and I are seriously thinking about getting another dog in the near future. We might attend a few of the meet and greets that the local rescue groups do and see where things go from there.

(no subject)

I will recap the rest of the weekend shortly. But I've got a bit of a headache today and feel kind of unwell in general. This concerns me for the following reason.

I had the worst headache I can remember ever having on Sunday. Well, that's not quite true. Years ago, in my teens, I had a sudden and completely unexpected pain in one distinct area of my head that felt like I was being icepicked in the skull. One moment I was fine; the next, I was on my knees from the pain. That ones was probably as bad, though much more localized.

Sunday's headache was different. It built up all day. It wasn't too bad at first, but but by the time we left fair, it was. I was almost not up to driving, but because of the people vs. vehicle situation, I had to. I think pushing the pain off enough to drive made it worse. When we got to uberhill's house, it was bad enough that I was getting nauseous and wasn't quite sure if I was up to going out for dinner. Not too long after that, it had escalated to a severity where all I could do was sob into wooisme's arms about how unbearably loud the bathroom fan and people's conversations were. I felt a hint of synesthesia, almost like sounds were visual events that shot red bolts of lightning across my corneas, or physical impacts against my head. I don't get migraines, so I can't say for sure that I had one, but from what I've read, it sounds like it to me.

I took two of the Ibuprofen tablets that Uberhill, kind soul that he is, bought for me at a gas station outside of fair, and then collapsed in a heap on his sofa bed after putting in a pair of the ear plugs that I keep in my camera bag and moaning something at Andrea that she managed to translate into a request to turn the lights off.

I was feeling a lot better an hour or so later when the group got back from dinner. In fact, on the way home, I felt much better than I usually do, which makes me wonder if I have some base level of pain or discomfort that I'm not usually aware of that the extra Ibuprofen (I rarely take pain medication, and then exclusively only one capsule) took away. I was concerned that that headache had been so intense and so unusual, but I figured that it was a combination of a lot of things that lead up to it and I wouldn't worry about it so much.

All of Monday I was fine, but today I'm feeling a ghost of that same headache hovering about my brain. Not quite pain; just an unlocalized pressure and a twinge of an upset stomach that I can tell is related though I can't quite tell how. I think I'll take another Ibuprofen when I get home and see if that helps. I'm also going to keep a close eye on how I'm feeling over the next couple of days. Uberhill told me that I really ought to see a doctor about my wrist. I think I'll make an appointment for that, and maybe ask about my head too.

More memories of much more enjoyable weekend events will be coming soon.