Gimme wild, wild life

Posted on | 10 months, 2 weeks ago, mid-afternoon | 4 Comments

I really have been writing, you guys – I just haven’t been posting the word counts here. That having been said, the word counts wouldn’t exactly blow your mind or anything; I’ve been busy, and the next two weeks are about to get even busier – with two rounds of out-of-town guests crashing for a few days at a time. And oh yes, we’re thinking about adopting a dog. But I’ll get back to that.

Let’s see. It’s been a few days since my last update. Where to begin?

Oh – how about this: On Saturday, it was announced that I’ll be next year’s author guest of honor at InConjunction, in Indianapolis. And yes, I know I’ve been talking a lot of talk about how I’m going to travel a lot less, going forward, but I would like to point out that THIS YEAR I have only broken my Travel Rules* A LITTLE BIT and mostly it was due to buying a house and moving. So far, next year is shaping up largely within guidelines, too. Except for May. Possibly. But those two events are ALMOST a month apart. And one is still tentative. So we’ll see.

In other writing-type news, approximately one billion people sent me the Japanese cover of Boneshaker. It’s equal parts awesome, confusing, and hilarious. I have no idea what Briar is wearing/doing/thinking in that image, but the art is great and hey, it definitely caught my attention.

Later, another billion people (with some degree of overlap, I guess, probably) sent me this relevant article in the Times-Free Press. Several kind readers asked me if I knew I was quoted in it, and I mean, sure I knew. I spent 45 minutes on the phone with the reporter. I would’ve been a little insulted if I hadn’t been quoted.

[Of course, now that I've been so cavalier about it, one of these days someone will make up a bunch of ridiculous shit, attribute it to me, disseminate it on the internet ... and no one will tell me.]

Hm. What else has happened in the last few days?

Ah, yes – I went and got my hair did, as the kids are saying these days; just a color touch-up at the Hair Lounge on West Main. Great little shop – and I was very happy with the color job this trip. (On my first visit I was less impressed; the cut was very good, but the stylist – who is no longer with them – used a feeble semi-permanent color that didn’t cover my roots, and vanished after a couple of weeks. This time, I was sent to someone who better knew what she was doing.) I’m gradually steering away from the dark ashy brown shade of the blue/green cover-job … to something a little lighter and brighter, now that most of the old stuff has grown out. My present shade is a rich coppery brown, and I’m really digging it.

I know, I know. Now you can all sleep at night, knowing that my ‘do has been refreshed by a qualified professional.

Anyway.

The other night, we saw on the news that the animal shelter from whence we adopted Spain the Cat (lo these many years ago) was in some trouble; their power had gone out in a storm, and it’d been off for days. We’ve had 3-digit temperatures here for the last couple of weeks, and although the shelter had a generator to run some fans, the place was low on things like “clean bedding” due to their inability to do laundry. So the husband and I thought we’d drive out there to see if we could lend a hand.

Naturally, the power had come back on right before we arrived – and the situation was more or less under control. Not that I’m complaining, mind you; I’m glad their power came back on, but I didn’t get to be a LAUNDRY SUPER-STAR HERO for all the cats and dogs, so oh well. Instead, we took their “essential stuff we need” list and went shopping because hey, this is the shelter that accepted our cat as a stray, then took her back again twice before she came home with us.

(I don’t know what the hell was wrong with whoever those other adopters were, but we have been richly rewarded for their dumbassery, because this is one amazing cat. Their loss, I say.)

Then – just as we were leaving – we spied a row of “quarantined dogs” who’d recently arrived, looking sad like only shelter dogs can. Each one was in an individual pen in the shade, with a plastic kiddie pool full of water, food bowls, some toys, and plenty of comfy bedding. So we went over to scratch some ears and rub some tummies, and there … well, there, we kind of fell in love with a dog.

We are not yet sure if it’s a good idea to bring this dog home with us.

There are many factors to consider, despite the fact that the husband and I have been talking about getting a dog pretty much ever since we decided to buy this house – but we aren’t sure we’re ready, that’s all. For that matter, we’re not sure if Spain the Cat is ready.** But we’re negotiating the possibility of a foster-style visit or two, and if the dog is still available for adoption in another couple of weeks … we’ll need to have a very serious conversation about bringing him into the household on a permanent basis.

I say “a couple of weeks” for a couple of reasons. One, it gives us more time to evaluate our readiness. And two, see above re: the aforementioned sets of out-of-town guests who are crashing with us over the next couple of weeks. I wouldn’t want to introduce a young dog to a household that’s not experiencing its usual routine.

So… I don’t know. But I’ll let you know how it shakes out.

As a semi-related aside, did you know that some people get drunk to do this? I had absolutely no idea.

I suppose this brings us up to yesterday afternoon/evening, which we spent with two fabulous friends who we hadn’t seen in entirely too long: Mike and Janet Lee, who stopped by on their way from Atlanta to Nashville. I’m so glad they swung by to hang out! We did supper and drinks and a whole lot of sitting around on the couch, laughing our assess off.

Seriously – I love those guys, though they weren’t much help in the “weighing the pros and cons of getting a dog” department, because they were all, “YAY, DOGS! We now shall regale you with stories of our awesome dog, and soon you will be ONE OF US!”

After they were gone, I sat up too late and then woke up before dawn, utterly unable to sleep. So now I’m wiped out – to such an extent that I frankly cannot believe I have stayed awake long enough to compose this entire post. But, well, here it is.

And now I’m going to log off, because a little flash thunderstorm is making the power flicker. Have a good one, you guys. Spay and neuter your pets. Don’t buy when you can adopt.


* Travel rule #1: No more than one out-of-state trip per month. Travel rule #1, sub-section B: No more work events two weekends in a row, whether in-state or not. I am too old for this shit.
** She loathes other cats, but generally gets along quite well with dogs. Still, getting along with visiting dogs and getting along with a “new little brother” (who outweighs her by thirty pounds) might be a different thing entirely.

Category: misc

Comments

4 Responses to “Gimme wild, wild life”

  1. Cyndy Otty
    July 9th, 2012 @ 3:29 pm

    Dogs are awesome, as I’ve said before and no doubt will say again, but I am unbelievably biased especially since working with dogs. Anyway, I think you’re taking the right steps regarding your possible-maybe-new dog. You can’t really know how he’ll react to Spain either without them meeting.

    Glad that the shelter managed through the power outage. Those kinds of things always freak me out in the more severe temps. :-(

  2. Lorien
    July 9th, 2012 @ 4:42 pm

    If one of those May events is Phoenix Comicon you have to come! You know your Arizona fans all agree.

  3. kari
    July 10th, 2012 @ 12:13 am

    The dog is a nice touch … name him/her Oscar.

    You really need a child to pull the dogs tail and have you write toddler friendly zombie stories without resorting to that old Clive Barker collection. … k … not so anyone friendly …

  4. Adrienne Martini
    July 10th, 2012 @ 12:49 pm

    Spain the Cat will never be ready for a dog — but she will adapt. Ours have, even though there have been rocky moments and at least one retaliatory pee.

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