How much is that doggie in the window

This is Buddy...



He's currently living in the animal shelter in Hollister, and Friday morning will be coming home to live with me. Toby spends his days alone, which bugs me, so I decided to get him a friend. Buddy's 2 1/2 years old, six months younger than Toby, and is a bit smaller than Toby. He's also a bit more aggressive, but that problem is being solved today (he's getting deballed today).

Should be interesting, bringing a new dog into the house. First, I need to make sure he understands I'm in charge and Toby's second in command (I don't want a new dog coming into Toby's house and trying to establish himself as dominant). Ideas to do this include greeting Toby first when I get home, feeding him first, giving him treats first, etc. The question is whether Toby will defend his position when challenged.

The nice thing is, Buddy's not a puppy. I don't want to go through that hell again. :)

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

The Good

My birthday! Saturday I turned 40. I spent the day with friends at the Great Mall of Milpitas playing glow-in-the-dark miniature golf, eating ice cream, roaming the mall, eating chips and excellent hot salsa, eating filet mignon (thanks, Darren!), eating excellent ice cream cake, and watching Kung Fu Hustle (which I highly recommend to anyone who enjoys Kung Fu action flicks).

I'd only been joking when I said I wanted filet mignon for dinner, suggesting we stick with burgers and dogs to keep things simple. But my wonderful friends ignored the joke and bought me a couple of small filets anyway. Very cool! I got a box of fudge covered mint Oreos (woot!) and an Alton's Angle vegetable knife. Also very cool. (For those of you unfamiliar with Alton Brown, I recommend catching Good Eats on the Food Network.)

We also enjoyed a small chocolate ice cream cake, and a larger strawberry cheesecake ice cream cake from Coldstone (thanks, Aaron!). Mmm, very tasty. Naturally I had a slice of each.

The Bad

It was not an entirely fun day, that is it started out less fun. I've been experiencing headaches the past three months when sitting in front of the computer or when in bright light. I visited the optometrist this morning. I've become farsighted recently, and have always been sensitive to bright light. My time in front of the geek box has also resulted in eye fatigue, and I left the optometrist with a prescription for glasses. They're progressive lenses, for reading, computer and general use, and are coated for glare. They should arrive in a week, and will likely take time getting used to. I've never needed glasses before, but the doc says it's common after about age 37.

I've also been told not to go outside any more, without polarized sunglasses for UV protection. I've developed tissue growths on the surfaces of both eye, which are the result of UV damage. All this time running marathons, mountain biking, etc., and I wasn't aware UV was a problem. I haven't been wearing proper eye protection, which is likely the result of the growths. The doc suggested surgery could remove them, but also said they usually grow back (sigh). So I'll also be picking up some new sunglasses in the near future.

The Ugly

Related to the glasses, I don't currently have vision insurance. At work we're only allowed to modify our plans once a year, except for certain circumstances (pregnancy and getting married). So the exam, the glasses, the polarized lenses and the frames were an out of pocket expense (ugh). I left the optometrist with an additional $668.00 on my card. I'll definitely have to add myself to the vision plan at the end of the year, but just couldn't wait. The headaches were getting unbearable.

The Good, Redux

Did I mention the birthday activities were fun? :)

Settled

I've finally decided on a new format for the site. Blogger really simplifies the process, providing as many templates as it does. Eventually I may get around to writing up a template of my own, but not today.