One Month Down, A Few More to Go

January didn't creep by this once, like every year before. January came, stabbed us in the back and left before our bodies hit the floor.

How dramatic, right? But January has been backdrop to significant changes [in my life, which is what this blog is about anyways, so any glimmer of self-importance is totally justified].

I am a fast believer of the theory that talking about things too much puts a jinx on it. So it should be just enough to say that last Friday was a catalytic day. I gave up the opportunity to have what most people struggle to get on a daily basis, just in order to give myself the chance of completion, of emotional and intellectual fulfillment. Given the immediate choice (incredibly enough, both options were standing face to face in the same instant), I froze, and may Eze forgive me for calling on him to help me feel reassured on my decision, but I did need someone to tell me it was okay to show myself some love too.

I will put it out in the open, as soon as I get the desirable feedback, the one thing that could go wrong (and hopefully won't).

Other than that one thing that redefines 2008 for me, I'm also getting ready for my birthday. March 8th, 2008 I will be turning 30 years old, and I'm happy about it. What could otherwise be a trauma has turned into a celebration of what I didn't become, a personal statement of independence (of sorts, Eze yesterday rained on my parade a little, thank you >-( ... )

I'm just looking forward to turning to a-round-little-number-of-age again. It will be a Saturday, and I still have no clue how to celebrate it. Suggestions are welcome.

Since the start of the month, work rhythm has almost halted to a complete stop. From working through New Year's Day straight into the following weekend, days like to day are starting to crop up again, in which I have barely any duties for me. Ahhhh, the beauty of tranquil days, it makes up for the frenzy of others.


Our 4-months-old pup, Caprica, hasn't halted to a full stop, though. She's kept growing, although not as fast as before. We enrolled her in an obedience class, which is fine and dandy, but the past 2 lessons have been canceled due to rain. We keep trying to follow up, but she's only focused when she wants to be, which is barely ever. She's energetic and incredibly sweet, but also a total rascal. I've lost my good share of underwear and shoes to her already. I trust that time will do its work, and she will eventually turn into a tranquil and affectionate dog as age goes by.

This was supposed to be different

I had this entry written out in my mind some 15 minutes ago, but now it's gone. I was in the passenger's seat of Eze's car fifteen minutes ago. I think I need a small electronic tablet, something to record my thoughts as they happen. If I let it go, I m ight never get it back again. Fickle fickle fickle inspiration.

It was all about how Eze and i see and do things differently in life. He's usually the keen observer, while I remember things more like a collage, or "like a trailer of glimpses and brief moments, spliced with images burned onto the wooden cortex of my mind." (see? that bit I did remeber! yay!) There was much more to say though,but it all seems moot point now. Another article/essay that never came to be. Bad too, because it's been a long while since I've written regularly.

It's the job, really. I like working for the company I work for, but the irregular hours and the stres over the learning process leave me with very little energy to sit down to write in the evenings. If you add the spent energy necessary to keep a clean house with a new puppy (with full run of the house during the daytime), you'll understand why I've been mostly absent from my writing hobby. Not so with my beading hobby, but that is only due to yesterday evening, which I spent at a friend's house. There was a beading demo from a representative for a company that sells Swarovski jewelry. I didn't buy anything (the kits were a bit on the pricey side for my standards) but I put together a couple of pieces, which inspired me to make a piece of my own today.


Caprica did something this morning that totally blew my mind, I've never seen a dog doing anything like it. She started pawing the water out of her bowl onto the floor, and after she had made a small pool of water at the kitchen's entrance, she started running around the dining table and back to the puddle... and as she got to the wet area she'd let herself slide. She apprently likes the waterworks more than she's let on before :D Totally nuts!

Just like a newborn

Being mom to a new puppy that still doesn't know how to go potty on the papers and who hasn't learned bite inhibition is somewhat stressful. More so when she also wakes me up every single day at 6 AM, regardless of whether it's Monday or Sunday. I'm guessing it must be a bit like being mom to a newborn, with the biggest difference being that my plight will be over in two-years' time, whereas a kid's mom will have to deal with her human pup for a minimum of 18 years.

Nonetheless, I'm happy with Caprica. She's a handful, and I'm expecting that, as she grows, this set of problems will give way to new ones.

Her mange is finally clearing up, but the vet found she's also got a case of skin fungus. I now have to apply a spray lotion that apparently feels as foul as it smells, 'cuz she squirms like crazy every time I treat her (twice daily). But I trust she will be fine, she's growing pretty fast (or maybe I'm imagining it, but she definitely looks healthier than the day I picked her up).

She loves playing with empty toilet paper rolls, she mistakes the potty pad for a plaything (or a sleeping area), she loves jumping and running circles around us whenever she's pumped for play, and she's already got a taste for sleeping in bed with us (otherwise she'll jump and whine until she gets a lift).

However, strangely enough, not a single bark yet, not really, not since ... weeks ago! I mean, this is the most silent dog I've ever known. Not quiet, just silent. Heh heh! She's gonna be a cutie!!! ^_^

Until you came into my life (finally!)

I got a call last Friday night, 2 puppies found near a school, abandoned, motherless, hungry, and impossibly tiny. My friend knew I was looking to adopt soon, so she thought I might be interested, and I was, but more than that, I was skeptical. Abandoned street puppies tend to have more than a few diseases, without mentioning skin and stomach parasites. More trouble than I thought I was willing to bargain for.

So I set out for Caguas on a Saturday afternoon to see what the puppy was like (the little boy was taken right away, only the female was left). I was expecting the worst, and I had my mind almost totally set on limiting myself to help take the puppy somewhere where she'd be well taken care of.

I wish I could say that I fell in love as soon as I set my eyes on her, but that was not the case. The creature was too small, too young, she still smelled strongly of mother milk and that was not a good sign. I was convinced this puppy was going to need bottle feedings every few hours and a lot of attention: things I cannot give because I have a full time job. The skin on her tail was heavily scabbed, and her fur was dull and dirty. All in all, she wasn't in so much a bad state as I expected, but she was far from top shape.

I set out for Humacao right away: I had heard of this place called El Faro de los Animales, a no-kill care center for abandoned animals. I had never gone there before, so all I knew was that it was in Humacao, and the approximate area it could be found.

To sum it up: I spent 2 hours driving, and I never found the place, much less a single local soul that new what I was talking about. I stopped at a few gas stations and supermarkets on the way, no one knew anything. I'm not very surprised.

Thing is, during those two hours, the puppy was such a great sport! She slept all the time I spent driving, and it was only whenever I stopped that she opened her eyes and lifted her head (as if saying "Are we there yet?"). The one time in which, as I started to step out of the car to go into yet another gas station, she energetically expressed her impatience with a series of barks and whines (all the while keeping to her small box and looking at me like "Heyyy! What's with the delay?! I'm hungry!") ... well, that's when my heart got hooked. After that, I didn't look for the place so hard anymore and started devising a plan to be able to care for her (at least for a little while).

So I took her to my mom's for a pit stop, left her there so I could go buy a few bare necessities for her care (including tick & flea shampoo, a small comb, puppy formula, etc), but we left her with a tiny plate with some mashed moist dog food. When I gt back, I was suprised to see she had eaten it all up. No bottle feedings for this lady!

Meet Caprica. She's still in her baby phase, just learning how to move and walk. Stubbornly silent, except for the occasional bout of barks sparked by things we haven't figured out yet (she has only barked once at home, I guess she got excited over the soundtrack to Battlestar Galactica too!). Misses the paper half of the time, but I'm confident she will get better at it, she's still just a baby, no bladder control yet. Her first visit to the vet revealed she's got intestinal parasites (normal in most puppies) and sarcoptic mange (not so normal, contagious even to humans, and potentially fatal if not treated). She spends most of the days in our tiny bathroom, but we let her out while we're in the house. We will eventually move her to the kitchen and laundry, as soon as I am sure she won't fit under the fridge or behind the washing machine.

She loves playing as most puppies do, and it is sometimes intimidating to know that I am somewhat expected to substitute a bouncy, energetic peer as her playmate. But Eze has been a gigantic help, and it's not so overwhelming with him around. He's fallen into the daddy role so well and so fast, it is scary (in a charming way, of course!). And I found myself for the first time foregoing my own meals and necessities in favor of helping out a tiny helpless creature. Unexpected from myself... and I feel changed. I guess that's a pale version of what mothers go through when they give birth.

I'll stick to dogs, though. Caprica will be more than a handful in a few weeks. ^_^ I'm looking forward to that!
(... I finally got the puppy from my heart! I'm SO happy!)