Sometimes I think I live in the ocean

Don't get me wrong, I love the water and I would love to live in the water, but these past few days have been so rainy. Today it's been raining full force since 5 AM.  One thing I've noticed about Florida, which differs from New York or Boston, is that people get real stupid here in the rain.  I think one place canceled classes. If this were Boston, I would have no excuse to not come to class rain or shine.

Thank goodness that I've had off for two days, but work is horrible when it rains. Everyone feels the need to call and ask if the parks are open. I can only say that it rains EVERYDAY during the summer and to shut down operations just because of water would be insane. Never mind logic though. There's vacationer's logic and then there's reality.

I feel bad for Charger. She's been getting yelled at all day because she's being so rowdy.  She has not had a chance to run around outside for two days. Hopefully this weather will clear up tonight and we will be able to run her around all day.

My favorite news stories from this week

There's a lot of stuff going on this week in the world.  I'm going to keep my favorite news stories positive.

1. World's guiltiest dog she's so cute! I like the pretty girl smile too. One day, I hope I have a good dog.
2. Tsunami dolphin rescue.  Again another cute animal. I love baby dolphins (shocker!!!)
3. Universal Orlando for sale? I would buy it, but I can't even pay for my car this month.
4. Windermere Mayor: Town manager's husband pushed me.  Talk about dog and pony show.  It's so hard to get to work when the one road out of town is blocked by news cameras and people focusing on nothing.

My dog is a bully

Today was by far the worst day I've had with Charger.  I try to walk her every day, like a good pet owner, but she went crazy. Instead it took 40 minutes to get up and back to my house. She was biting me aggressively to the point when I returned home, both of my calves were bloody. My neighbors probably think I was abusing my dog, but I was trying to defend myself.  A bunch of people came out and saw me pinning my dog on the ground to get her to stop biting me. Which only enraged her more. 20 minutes to torture back to the house.

I was so frustrated and disheartened I told my parents I didn't want her anymore and that she should get turned into a fur coat. At which point, my parents blamed me and told me it was my fault for letting her bite me. At that point, I cried a large amount of tears, punched a wall, screamed at them to go to hell then went to the gym to blow off some steam.  This was all before 11 AM by the way. Hell, must have froze over, because I'd rather be at work being screamed at about things I have no control over then be home.

Honestly, I'm afraid of my dog now.  No one believes that she physically hurts me. I show them my scars and my parents blame me. So with this losing situation, I have no idea what to do. Our dog trainer is coming tomorrow. I want to take a video camera out on my walk to show them what it is like walking with her attacking me.

The above is the best video I've found so far explaining how to get her to stop biting. Each day is a new opportunity....to learn something.

An obvious danger

"I cannot imagine any condition which would cause a ship to founder. I cannot conceive of any vital disaster happening to this vessel. Modern shipbuilding has gone beyond that."-  John C. Smith, captain of the Titanic.

I feel like many Americans have the same attitude towards the potential nuclear fallout in Japan. As much as we'd like to believe that the problems exist a world away, the problem is...we're all on one world. What happens here effects what happens there, and vice versa.

I bet the people who built nuclear fallout shelters in the 60s are laughing now.  Shouldn't we be sending every professional possible to help think of a solution?

I'm starting to believe that the world really will end in 2012.

Fix what you can

I'm really mad at Libya because gas prices are a little insane. You can have all the civil unrest you'd like, but please don't mess up the gas prices. There never seems to be enough money.  While I am very thankful I can live comfortably, I'm still not in a place where I would feel comfortable.

Today, I went to the mall. I never go to the mall because I cannot afford anything there. One day. One day, I will have a job where half my paycheck will not go towards one shirt. As you can imagine, the mall was not a pleasure trip. My computer charger had its last charge last night. My computer is six years old this year. Knock on wood, will last for another six years. This was an unexpected expense to say the least. I spent $82.00 on a Mac cable which is basically obsolete. Apparently, these machines are suppose to last two years max. This makes sense as I've gone through two chargers since getting this computer. And of course, today was the day when I needed to use the computer to write my speech for class.

Looking at a new computer is very much out of the question. Mine works fine...when it has power. Lately I've found myself, with a lot of old stuff. I've decided to repair things old school style.
Yesterday, I sewed a hole in my socks. Today, I sewed Charger's monkey. I don't see why, people would just throw something out because it has a hole. It is time consuming, yes. But think about the hours of torture you worked in order to buy a new item.

My other savings tip is for things like shampoo, creams, etc. The bottle is not empty! I've been using the same bottle of shampoo for a very long time. The pump stopped pumping a while ago. Normally people would just throw out the bottle. I was so mad at the cream I purchased, which stopped pumping almost a week. I'm still using the cream though. I just open the pump and use the cream directly. Again, this is a little more time-consuming, but it definitely saves money.

Also, bring your lunch to work!!! It saves so much money per day.

Monkey says: "Fix what you can! Save the difference!"

Commenting on Current Event: Lady Gaga eyes legal action over breast milk ice cream

Check out this article picked up by AFP titled "Lady Gaga eyes legal action over breast milk ice cream".  At first, I could not believe this was a news story, but of course if it's on the Yahoo! homepage, I'm going to read it.

To summarize: Lady Gaga's people sent a cease and desist letter to this ice cream company selling breast milk ice cream called "Baby Gaga." 


As if breast milk ice cream is not weird enough, Lady Gaga seems to think she's associated with the product. This case is playing out in London, but I've been learning about business law for the whole year and am going to analyze this case as if it were abiding by U.S laws. 


Lady Gaga must prove that this company named the ice cream with the intent to sell based off the name. Both the words "baby" and "gaga" are generic terms, so I do not believe she has a case. Now the name bears a strong resemblance to the celebrity's name, but it is not called "Lady Gaga's breast milk ice cream." Does this mean every time that a lady goes gaga for something, Lady Gaga can seek royalties?  If both parties were smart, they should partner together to find a reasonable solution. I would not back down and change the name of the ice cream.

If these were hickeys it would make more sense

These were once my beautiful ballet-toned legs, they're mostly just bruised, but I want to document some evidence in case I need to sue my dog. Just kidding. The brown spots are not a skin disease but bruises from where Charger has bit my legs. I have a really bad one on the right leg where it bends. Ouch! I've tried everything including spraying myself with sour stuff to get her to stop. When she gets in her biting/play moods, there's really no stopping. She also chomped on my hand today. Biting puppy with no signs of it ceasing is this week's fail.

On a win note, mom has only had one breakdown so far. And Charger also knows "down" completely.  Oh the joys of puppy hood.

According to Valencia, I'm on "Spring Break" this week? I only am taking three days off from work, (to watch the puppy), so it's hardly a vacation. The days are slipping by and I have little time left to write a ton of stuff.

Puppy Week 2 Update

Today Charger went to puppy school and of course she was a perfect little angel. I think the class was mostly for us humans and telling us that everything is normal. We also learned how to deal with her puppy issues like crying, biting, peeing. Very knowledgeable people. In case you're in Florida, we use http://www.floridak9services.com/. Charger even got to meet some other dogs and only freaked out for two minutes.

After class, we went to the vet for our two month check up. Charger scared a puppy and got yelled at by an angry mom (not my mom for once). She also got microchipped and her ears cleaned. The silly dog didn't even notice the giant needle because she was eating tons of treats.

We made our way back and stopped a Chik-fil-A for some lunch while Charger ate and played in the parking lot. We went to Petsmart and talked to another trainer there, who basically contradicted a lot of what the first trainer says, but I'm more likely to believe the first trainer. We got her a longer leash and some clean up stuff. I got some anti-biting spray, which I will probably use on my clothes as well.

Wow! Looks like Charger has her own photo blog. Check it out http://chargergsd.tumblr.com/.

Drinking the fruit punch

I think I'm going to share some wisdom. Every so often I get the impending feeling of doom and think that I need to put my thoughts in writing in case the inevitable. So here are a few thoughts I try to live by. It helps me get through the day and especially motivates me towards the future.

1. "Each day is a new opportunity to help someone." My buddies from work say this like we're a cult. I created this mantra after a breaking point where I no longer believe in justice or humanity. I say it every time I get frustrated.

2. "You can have all the most beautiful plants in the world, but I'm not a millionaire." Sadly, we do not remember who said this, but I have taken this nugget of wisdom and use it to explain a lot. It's true, you really can have all the beautiful things, plants, etc., in the world - and still not be a millionaire. I interpret this as, Happiness is what you make it.

3. "Treat each client like they're your father." My paralegal studies professor said this on our second class and it makes a lot of sense. You can substitute "client" with "person"and not only does it remind us all to treat each other with respect, but to treat the information we learn about people with confidentiality.

4. "Out, out, brief candle! Life's but a walking shadow, a poor player that struts and frets his hour upon the stage and then is heard no more: it is a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury, signifying nothing." - Macbeth (Act V, Scene V). I memorized this passage in 11th grade. It basically means that you can yell and complain all you like, but in the end no one cares. Everyone has their own issues, but also has their own lives - so however wronged you may be. Essentially no one cares.

5. "[So] you can settle for a less-than-ordinary life; but you feel like you were meant for something better. Something special." - Star Trek (2009). Capt. Pike says this to Kirk after he gets his ass kicked in a bar. Everyone has their destiny. Don't settle - ever.

6. "Whatever happen already happened. So minimize your losses." This is another quote from my paralegal studies teacher. We were talking about defending murderers, but it also makes sense for real life. There's no sense dwelling on the past, so know when to pick your battles, and choose the next best option. 

I hope you enjoyed a jaunt through my mind. If you have any other nuggets of wisdom, I'm easily swayed to adding them into my life.

Top 10 Odd Human Behaviors from a Dog's Perspective

 Today, I tried to put into perspective what it must be like to be a dog. This top 10 is from a dog's perspective on out odd human behavior.

10. Humans stare at screens all day when they can play outside.
9. Humans are overly sensitive when it comes to play fighting, biting, and sniffing butts.
8. Humans like to be dragged on a leash down the road.
7. Humans are careless and messy. They throw balls over and over and I have to go get them.
6. Humans don't lick back.
5. They wear chew toys on their feet.
4. Humans talk on chew toys to other humans, when they can just bark.
3. Sometimes humans don't finish all their food!
2. Humans like to take baths and clip their own nails on purpose?!!?
1. Humans collect poop in a bag?!