Sundae Surprises

Susan, Sundae and I completed a 14 hour adventurous road trip from Dallas to Denver yesterday. It all started with our drive two days before from Austin to Dallas to cut 4 hours off our road trip and to get needed rest the day of the big drive. Sundae, our 14 lb dog, always does fine on the drive and sleeps all the way through. However, for the first time ever she vomited in the car. Luckily we lined the backseat with an old blanket. In Dallas, we washed it and reset it for the long drive.

Just an hour into the Denver drive Sundae started to dry heave again. It wasn't as bad as the first one, and we were able to clean it up without having to stop.

Then as we reached Oklahoma City, Sundae the urge to poop without warning us. It was NOT pretty to say the least. I'll spare everyone the details. That took 15 minutes to clean up, and we had to throw away the blanket.

This morning...it was again, no Christmas surprise. Sundae crapped her cage and tried to cover it up with her bed mat as if she was trying to sweep it under a rug. Not only did the poo filled paw prints give it away, but the smell was for the ages.

3 days, 4 accidents. Let's hope this is it.

Wild, Wild Weather

After my dentist this morning, I took Sundae for a quick walk around the block before eating lunch and heading off to work. It was around 75 degrees, sunny and humid out. My neighbor was outside raking leaves, and she informed me it was going to get near freezing tonight. I had a hard time believing it but I brought my sweatshirt into work just in case. When I left work in the evening sure enough the weather started to take a turn for the worse. Windy and cold it became.

I was dreading the soccer game I had to play later in the night. Both soccer teams surprisingly showed up, but then again it was the beginning of playoffs. Unfortunately neither team was willing to play as it started to sleet and the wind chill picked up. Not to mention lightning was to be seen off in the distance. The ref made the right call and stopped the game 5 minutes into, and said the conditions were unsafe. No one disagreed.

To thaw out, I stopped by my friend's house to watch the latest Incredible Hulk on Blu-ray. On a side note, he accidentally ordered the wrong rental of the Hulk movie from a few years back. Luckily he had a Blockbuster nearby and was able to exchange it at no cost. When I left his house after the movie, the sleet sure enough because solid snow. Not enough to stick, but enough the snowflakes were big enough to be a nuisance driving home.

Did I mention this is Austin, Texas? Brrr. I don't recall this being what I signed up for when I moved away from Minnesota.

Here Come the Holidays

It's finally starting to feel like Christmas. Susan came down to Austin this weekend, and the first thing she did was bring some holiday cheer to my house. After dinner, she was motivated to start decorating. My fireplace is adorned with a garland filled with lights and pictures of family and friends, and a mini Christmas tree to the side. On Saturday, we went out to buy some stockings for Susan, myself and a mini one for Sundae. That evening before the Manny Pacquiao fight, I strung up lights outdoors and another garland at the door. Then Sunday, we picked up a wreath at a heavy packed Garden Ridge to put on the outside door.

Christmas is a coming, and I'm a ready.

A Dream Result

Less than 24 hours after The Dream Match, I still have an ear to ear smile of Manny Pacquiao's victory over Oscar De La Hoya. I've watched the fight three times since, and when Manny goes to the corner to celebrate, I can't help but tear up with joy. It was a great night for the Filipino Nation, and I can only imagine what the celebrations are like back in the Philippines.

It was well worth the Pay Per View fee. Early Merry Christmas present to myself.

Ready for The Dream Match

I just ordered my first, and probably only, Pay Per View event. Tomorrow night is The Dream Match, Oscar De La Hoya versus Manny Pacquiao. If ALL of the Philippines is going to be watching, then there is no way I can pass. I know it's a ridiculous amount to pay for a PPV event, but this may be a once in a lifetime chance at witnessing an epic duel for Filipinos. I justify purchasing it by reducing my current DirecTV package to a lesser one in order to cover the cost and future bills.

I'm lucky to have seen Pacquiao live in San Antonio. And now I'll be lucky to see him tomorrow. Good luck, Manny! The odds are against you, but you'll still have a nation at your back and one Filipino in Texas.

Hit & Run

Just got home a few hours ago and was unloading my car. When I noticed something odd in the lower driver's side corner of my rear bumper... It appears that someone backed into it and dented the corner in. No note left, no nothing. Just hit and run.

Shameful.

At least it's Thanksgiving, and I have other things to be thankful for. But this is literally a tiny dent that capped off a great week.

Cooo...huuu...hoool Whip!

Susan and I attended a potluck dinner with her friends this past Sunday. On Friday, she informed me we were in charge of bringing a green bean casserole. But she decided to get ambitious and wanted to make second casserole. When I found out, I told her, "I don't care what we bring as long as there's pumpkin pie."

Side note: the second casserole was a sweet potato casserole. It turned out to be a hit at the potluck. Susan didn't even try her own creation, but everyone complimented her inaugural dish, including my stomach.

When I drove up to Dallas on Friday, to my surprise, she had a fresh made pumpkin pie baked for me. She said it was a new recipe made with condensed milk instead of evaporated milk. I honestly couldn't tell the difference because it tasted really good.

Since we didn't have to bring a pie to the potluck, we've had a pumpkin pie in basically my possession for the past few days. I have been staying the week in Dallas and every morning my breakfast is pumpkin pie. The only reason I don't complain is because I have Cool Whip. Her friends had pumpkin pie at the potluck, but I didn't touch it because they only had whip cream. I have my principles and I stick to them. No Cool Whip, no pumpkin pie.

The funny thing is that we aren't even at Thanksgiving yet. Cool Whip!!!

Susan Said YES

A week ago I was struggling to come up with an idea of how to propose to Susan. I know I didn't want to do the traditional dinner, and pop the engagement question then and there. I ran the first thing that came to mind by one of my friends, and with his approval my plan didn't seem as foolish as I first drew it up in my head. The next night, I stopped by the nearest Hobby Lobby to pick up some paint, a brush and some foam board.

My idea was to propose to Susan by sending the message through my camera LCD display with the final shot being of the ring. Nice a simple, and it was a way for me to say what I needed to say and not screw it up.

Painting was probably the most difficult part because I haven't done so in years. My first few posterboards looked horrific but legible. I tried to be very meticulous, but it turned out the faster I went, the better it looked. When I thought the paint had dried, I goofed up and smeared two of the boards and had to redo them. Doh. Down to my last posterboard, I made sure I was perfect.

On Thursday November 20th, I asked the same friend to help me take the pictures. Ideally, I wanted to go downtown Austin for my background. But I wasn't sure that was going to show up well. And the message was more important than the background. I researched some parks by his house, but he in turn suggested that we stop by the Austin Arboretum. Not knowing what I had planned for Susan, it seemed like a great backdrop and was close to his house as well. The pictures turned out as planned and they showed up well on the camera display too. From the 100 or so pictures we took, I narrowed down the best of multiple takes of each posterboard down to 18 pictures to deliver my message.

Now that I had the WHAT and HOW taken care of. I needed to figure out the WHEN and WHERE. I wanted to take her to Dallas Arboretum, as I've never been and I thought it would give me an opportunity to use my camera without her knowing what my intentions were. It was only by coincidence that I visited two Arboretums in 3 days. However, Susan had some initial plans to run errands and go early Christmas shopping for Saturday. After she made a delicious grilled cheese and tomato soup lunch, I suggested if we could go to the Dallas Arboretum and go shopping later. She thought it was kind of an odd request only because I kept looking outside the window shades to check the weather for rain. And I knew it was going to be cold, at least cold for Texas. But she didn't question my request, and said, "Sounds like fun."

When I thought painting was the hard part, I was found that I was way wrong. Finding a quiet place where I could show her the proposal pictures proved to be more difficult. People were wandering all over the place, but the Arboretum wasn't extremely crowded because of the colder weather. So I knew I'd have my opportunity at some point.

I almost goofed at one point and spoiled my plan. When I tried to review some pictures we took of some flower, I accidentally skipped forward instead of going backwards. Susan caught a sneak peak of the proposal pictures, but not enough of a look to question it. Phew.

After an hour or so of walking and taking pictures, my nerves were building up. So naturally, I had to go No. 1. I excused myself from Susan and said I'd be right back. When I came out of the bathroom, I wondered where Susan was. She was about 100 yards away from me and signaled for me to follow her though this archway composed of high hedges.

When I caught up and walked through she was sitting near this wishing well-like fountain. The well was surrounded by more hedges and trees to give that isolated feeling. No one else was to be seen in sight. The moment couldn't have been more perfect. And that's when I handed her the camera and turned to the first picture. She did the rest as she slowly scrolled through the pictures. With a tear coming down her eye, I knew I must have done something good. And once she got to the last slide, I got down and one knee and formally proposed to her.

Susan said, "YES".

Couldn't have painted a better plan.

Microsoft, Fix It!

I use Trillian to manage my instant messengers from AOL, Yahoo and Hotmail. I would say most of my instant messages come from AOL, and the least should be Hotmail. However, I get at least one Hotmail spam instant message every 30 minutes. It's really annoying because there is no way to block it. Microsoft needs to do a better job filtering this junk before it even gets to me. Look out Yahoo, I'm starting to get a few random SPIMs now and then...don't become Hotmail lazy. Fix it.

Election Day

After walking the dog this morning, I walked by myself to the nearby middle school library, which is my designated local polling site. Nice and convenient when I don't have to drive.

At my site they ask if you wish to vote electronically. When you look around the room, there happens to be only ONE electronic station. There was one lady on it and no line behind her, but open booths everywhere else. I didn't feel like being the only one standing around to form a line. Plus, I feel more trusting bubbling in the candidate of my choice instead of pressing a screen. Call it a case of nostalgia versus paranoia that my vote won't get messed up.

This is fourth presidential election that I've voted in. Woohoo. And I'm proud that even if I don't make a difference in an electoral college and voting in a non-swing state, I can sleep a little better tonight knowing that whomever our next president elect is that I took part in an historical election. And getting the "I Voted" sticker is pretty sweet too.

At Least I Can Watch the World Series

Could this year be any worse for Seattle sports fans? The Supersonics walk out the door after 41 years due to money, politics and an NBA business model that cares nothing for its fans. The Mariners spend over $100 million in salaries and go on to lose 101 games. Say goodbye to McLaren and Riggleman. And good riddance to Bavasi for making zero impact as a GM. The Seahawks could not be off to a worse start. We have a Hall of Fame lame duck coach and more injuries in the first 8 weeks than I'm sure we had all season last year. I don't want to say the NFL year is over just yet because mathematically we are not, but emotionally, this fan is having a tough time seeing better days.

And then there was the Husky football game I watched tonight. 0-7, Tyrone Willingham. If that doesn't say FIRE ME, I don't know what does. Tyrone has to go for the sake of our program. It's already rock bottom, no harm will be done if he's fired. He's a lame duck coach who's not been labeled as such but is really lame on many levels.

Seattle sports fans can't wait to say goodbye to 2008. In the mean time, I'll pretend I'm not a diehard fan, and just watch and enjoy the World Series.

I Hate Stocks

No new story there. But the economy is just in a rut, and I don't see it getting any better for several months. It's sad to watch market each day. Hard to swallow that cash is king.

Sigh.

Sundae Surprise

Wow. It's been a really a really long time since I have written a Blog, and long overdue. Can't say I've been all that busy, just more lazy about writing about current events. And speaking of current events, here's my latest chapter...

This past Sunday, August 10th, Susan and I were set out to run some errands. We planned to head by Bed Bath & Beyond, and along the strip mall was a Petco. There were several dogs in cages outside the store doors, and one in particular caught Susan's eye.

She blurts out, "Awwww, is that a poodle?"
I reply, "I don't think so." I do a double take to make sure. "We can go make sure afterwards."

After the quick errand, we walk over to Petco to grab something for one of Susan's dogs in Plano. But of course, we need to check the dogs outside...especially this lonely brown terrier mix with the saddest eyes. We spoke to the representative from CNC Rescue, and he told us about his organization and how they rescue dogs as many dogs as they can from shelters. They care for them, and try to find adoptable homes. As I was asking several questions, Susan stood by the unnamed dog with an equally sad puppy dog face. She wanted to take her home on the spot, but I had to tell the representative we'd think about it.

Well, it didn't take that long for me to think about it. We walked over to another store to run another errand, and along the way we had deep discussion on what it would take from the both of us to own a dog. We headed back to ask the adoption agency representative a bunch of other questions about their program and questions about the dog itself. I tell him my biggest concern is Susan's allergies, as she currently owns two hypoallergenic dogs at her parents’ house. After getting another puppy dog look from Susan and the dog, I couldn’t resist.

My lifelong dream of wanting to own a dog has finally come true. We decided on calling her Sundae. And she’s been absolutely wonderful. She loves to give many kisses. She hardly bites. She knows not to jump on furniture. She has only barked once in 4 days. She only whines when I’m out of the house, but does not whine when I am not in the room without her. She loves the kitchen tile because it is the coolest surface in the house. She loves her walking adventures. She has a knack for chewing out the eyes of stuffed animals. She still needs to learn how to go up and down stairs. She has not had any accidents inside the house (*knocking on wood*).

In a lonely house it is great to have an every day companion. I cannot wait to go home after work now. Here is my Sundae who I am missing during the day…