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"In this tempestuous, havoc-ridden world of ours, all real communication comes from the heart."

- Etty Hillesum

August 04, 2006

Safer car? Give me a bubble.

My nerves are on high alert right now.

About two hours ago I came within inches of being in a car accident. Thank god for antilock brakes and reflexes.

I had my dog in the car with me at the time � we were on our way back from the vet. I was going about 50mph when some idiot two cars ahead of me decided to make an illegal left turn. So the car in front of me jammed on the brakes and I had to, too.

Thankfully, traffic was clear and the idiot made his turn, which allowed the car in front of me to move up. Otherwise, I would have connected with his bumper for sure � and it wouldn�t have been a little love tap.

That�s the second time in about three weeks that I�ve come within literal inches of hitting someone. The first time the other person was going WAY too fast (although it technically would have been my fault because I was making a left into their path from around a blind corner). The second time was today.

Ugh. My nerves are shot today.

I drive a really safe car. It�s an SUV, which is the only thing about it I hate � because of the gas mileage. I almost got a hybrid but at the last minute something made me buy the luxury SUV. So I love it except for the fact that I am conscious of my gas usage. It�s got all of the safety bells and whistles � every airbag you could want, antilock brakes, traction control, roll stabilizer, yada yada yada.

Honestly, after two near-misses in such a short amount of time, I wish there was something even safer. Because I�d buy it in a heartbeat. Even (okay don�t quote me) if the safest car happened to be something as god-awful as a Hummer.

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My dog didn�t do very well at the vet. He used to be great at the vet � and then he had to take a vet visit without me (he needed stitches while he was boarding at a kennel and I was out of town). Since then he�s been really reluctant to go to the vet � and who can blame him?

The past four visits have been:

1. stitches with strangers
2. two shots
3. a microchip (that�s a biiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiig needle, people)
4. a shot

And today was for a shot. (We�re doing the new leptospirosis vaccination because there is a lot of that around here. Apparently we live in a �hot spot� for the disease and we play in water a lot, which makes it more likely that we�ll come in contact with it.) Today was his last booster shot, so no more shots until October.

I took two baggies of yummy, smelly, wonderful dog treats with me so that I could entice him to enjoy his time at the vet more. He wasn�t buying it. He sulked, he kept his ears back, and he tried to bolt for the door. PLUS he kept trying to hide behind me � and although I�m getting a nice little pregnant belly, a 33-pound dog isn�t going to hide behind me and be very successful at it.

The vet even got down on the floor with him and tried to feed him some morsels � which he grudgingly accepted, but wasn�t very moved by.

So he got his shot. Then we stayed in the waiting room for an extra five minutes, just doing treats and pats � trying to associate part of the visit with GOOD THINGS!

Poor guy was so excited to leave the vet, he was ready to pee his proverbial pants.

Fortunately his behavior, although sad and pathetic, was controlled. And I think that�s due, in large part, to all of the training we�ve been doing over the past several weeks. That�s right � Retarded Dog School is working! Yay!

So today was a good day to work with him � he did well. I�m bummed he had to have a shot, but he was okay.

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Blue and I are going to a comedy club tonight. The comedian Frank Caliendo is in town, and we�re going to go see him. If you don�t know him, you should � he is absolutely hysterical. He does impersonations and he is fantastic. I�ve heard him do a skit where he�s doing George W. talking to Bill Clinton and he switches back and forth from voice to voice with perfect timing. Amazing. I�m looking forward to having some laughs tonight!


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Last Few Entries

Back? - November 10, 2007
Just a break. - June 19, 2007
Caddy day in the pool. - June 05, 2007
Sleep! And sleep, and sleep! - June 01, 2007
Happy days are here again ... - May 30, 2007

� More about Etty Hillesum, the woman in the photo.�