Frustrating times
I’m coming to the unwelcome realization that my normal blogging hours (in the evening) are no longer mine. When I try to get up early to blog, that time is no longer mine, either. Those are frustrating times.
My puppy, Ollie, is claiming my life. Which is fine. I knew, going in, that a puppy would be an attention whore and would crave company constantly for the first few months. I just didn’t think through how it would impact my favorite non-video game, non-hanging w/ wife, non-going out pastime.
Traditionally, I blog at night in part because my wife sometimes has to get up really early, and likes to fall asleep before I come to bed on those nights because I apparently am too fidgety and breathe too loud for her to fall asleep in my presence. So, I end up killing time on the blog.
But, now, there’s Ollie. Let me describe my day to you, in this new era.
6 am: Wake up to use the bathroom (or wake up because my wife wants me to keep the dog from bothering her while she’s getting ready for work).
6:03 am: Get done using the restroom, ponder the sniffing noises I’m hearing below the bathroom door, drink two large glasses of water, take my morning medicines, and put on my tennis shoes.
6:04 am: Walk my dog to the back yard, where I stand in my t-shirt and boxers (not caring who may see me) begging my dog to go potty.
6:12 am: After my dog has gone number 1 at least twice, and stubbornly refused to go number 2, I take her back in.
6:30 am: Realizing my dog is hyper and will not leave me in peace, I put on whatever pair of jeans she put paw prints all over yesterday (it was better when there wasn’t the raining going on) and take her for a 20 minute walk through the neighborhood.
6:50 am: Go to computer to blog. Dog follows me. I try to get her to lay on the guest bed, but she sees her reflection in the mirror and decides to bark at it or go and jump on the mirror.
6:51 am: Can’t blog. Take dog to basement (where our TV is).
Now, on this point: There is one place I know my dog will settle down. That’s on our couch, at least partially seated on my lap (or at least with her head resting on it) while I sit really, really still hoping she will stay this sweet and peaceful all day.
7:20 am: Finish playing video game or watching news or whatever I’m doing to kill time and go take a shower. With the fan on, I can’t hear the sniffing under the door.
7:30 am: One last bit of begging to go potty. Somewhere in the above timeline (it’s flexible) she’s been fed, so I know she’s got something in there, but in the mornings she can be stubborn, and I eventually have to accept my sad fate: lunchtime messes.
8 am: Squeak into the office barely on time. Commence day. Plan to blog over lunch hour, in lieu of my old life.
11:45-noon: Head home for lunch. Give dog her medicine (she’s still got the runny nose, so she gets “pilled” 3 times a day), clean up whatever gifts she’s left for me, and make her pee. Grab something out of fridge and get out quickly, so that I might have 15 minutes or so to write when I get back to work.
1 pm: Resume work, hopefully having successfully posted something.
5 pm: Assuming it’s a normal day (which today isn’t), head home. Otherwise go to whatever after-work meeting I have scheduled.
6:30 pm: Take dog for walk with The Missus.
7 pm: Dinner time, for puppy and for us.
8 pm: Consult my TV guide. If none of my shows are on, we’re probably renting a movie, or catching up on shows we’ve had to tape.
10 pm: The Missus goes to bed. I go to tuck her in, then sit with the puppy on the couch, giving my wife time to go to sleep, and pondering whether I can get a blog done.
10:05 pm: Fall asleep on couch, as trying to keep really, really still can tend to get boring.
Midnight: Go to bed, after taking dog out once more.
6 am: Rinse and repeat.
And so on.
Anyway, I have a delightful bevy of blog topics I’m planning on writing on. I’m guessing that, for the immediate future, weekday blogs will be posted during the lunch hour. At least for you working stiffs, that helps you economize your time-wasting by knowing where not to go first thing in the morning.
What blog topics do I plan on covering? Well, here’s the e-mail reminder I sent myself while brainstorming the other day:
Catch ya later.
My puppy, Ollie, is claiming my life. Which is fine. I knew, going in, that a puppy would be an attention whore and would crave company constantly for the first few months. I just didn’t think through how it would impact my favorite non-video game, non-hanging w/ wife, non-going out pastime.
Traditionally, I blog at night in part because my wife sometimes has to get up really early, and likes to fall asleep before I come to bed on those nights because I apparently am too fidgety and breathe too loud for her to fall asleep in my presence. So, I end up killing time on the blog.
But, now, there’s Ollie. Let me describe my day to you, in this new era.
6 am: Wake up to use the bathroom (or wake up because my wife wants me to keep the dog from bothering her while she’s getting ready for work).
6:03 am: Get done using the restroom, ponder the sniffing noises I’m hearing below the bathroom door, drink two large glasses of water, take my morning medicines, and put on my tennis shoes.
6:04 am: Walk my dog to the back yard, where I stand in my t-shirt and boxers (not caring who may see me) begging my dog to go potty.
6:12 am: After my dog has gone number 1 at least twice, and stubbornly refused to go number 2, I take her back in.
6:30 am: Realizing my dog is hyper and will not leave me in peace, I put on whatever pair of jeans she put paw prints all over yesterday (it was better when there wasn’t the raining going on) and take her for a 20 minute walk through the neighborhood.
6:50 am: Go to computer to blog. Dog follows me. I try to get her to lay on the guest bed, but she sees her reflection in the mirror and decides to bark at it or go and jump on the mirror.
6:51 am: Can’t blog. Take dog to basement (where our TV is).
Now, on this point: There is one place I know my dog will settle down. That’s on our couch, at least partially seated on my lap (or at least with her head resting on it) while I sit really, really still hoping she will stay this sweet and peaceful all day.
7:20 am: Finish playing video game or watching news or whatever I’m doing to kill time and go take a shower. With the fan on, I can’t hear the sniffing under the door.
7:30 am: One last bit of begging to go potty. Somewhere in the above timeline (it’s flexible) she’s been fed, so I know she’s got something in there, but in the mornings she can be stubborn, and I eventually have to accept my sad fate: lunchtime messes.
8 am: Squeak into the office barely on time. Commence day. Plan to blog over lunch hour, in lieu of my old life.
11:45-noon: Head home for lunch. Give dog her medicine (she’s still got the runny nose, so she gets “pilled” 3 times a day), clean up whatever gifts she’s left for me, and make her pee. Grab something out of fridge and get out quickly, so that I might have 15 minutes or so to write when I get back to work.
1 pm: Resume work, hopefully having successfully posted something.
5 pm: Assuming it’s a normal day (which today isn’t), head home. Otherwise go to whatever after-work meeting I have scheduled.
6:30 pm: Take dog for walk with The Missus.
7 pm: Dinner time, for puppy and for us.
8 pm: Consult my TV guide. If none of my shows are on, we’re probably renting a movie, or catching up on shows we’ve had to tape.
10 pm: The Missus goes to bed. I go to tuck her in, then sit with the puppy on the couch, giving my wife time to go to sleep, and pondering whether I can get a blog done.
10:05 pm: Fall asleep on couch, as trying to keep really, really still can tend to get boring.
Midnight: Go to bed, after taking dog out once more.
6 am: Rinse and repeat.
And so on.
Anyway, I have a delightful bevy of blog topics I’m planning on writing on. I’m guessing that, for the immediate future, weekday blogs will be posted during the lunch hour. At least for you working stiffs, that helps you economize your time-wasting by knowing where not to go first thing in the morning.
What blog topics do I plan on covering? Well, here’s the e-mail reminder I sent myself while brainstorming the other day:
- Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle
- Jury Duty
- Joe D's cold
- Puppy training
- The end of Angel
- Sushi night
- Too much beer
- Sunny weather
Catch ya later.
posted by Rusty at 12:48 PM
4 Comments:
Clearly, you are a morning person. I wish I was. I could never get up a full two hours before I had to be to work!
Hope Ollie settles into a more reasonable routine at some point.
Yes, I had to move my workout to the mornings otherwise it just doesn't get done. So now I get up at 4:30.
OUCH!
The one thing that is the same with puppies and babies - they get older and sleep more. Yeah! And as they get older they can entertain themselves. Yeah!
Welcome to parenthood. Now just throw in some diaper changing and you're good to go!
Good luck on the blogging time.
MORE PICTURES.
Denise
And So It Goes
I'm a morning person only when forced to be. While in law school, I worked at a coffee shop in town early in the mornings, before driving to Salem for class. Once you get in the swing, mornings is fine. But, until then, eek.
It's good practice, though, for whenever The Missus gets prego.
JLowe taunts:
I would sympathize with you, but I WARNED you. Suffer the consequences!!!And if anyone should know about puppy trouble, it's him. If you check out his blog, the older posts cover the madness that is his life as a pet-owner.
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