NA na NA na NA Na

(That was my weak attempt at teasing :-/ )

So, Dori and I, and another coworker, enjoyed a lovely lunch at Pompei today. (Yes, I AM trying to rub it in!!) I couldn't convince them to leave immediately after signing in, but over lunch I was able to corrupt them enough to not go back until it was time to swipe out. Good thing my "work" day was so relaxing, because the rest of the afternoon was a bit nuts. I had to rush home because I somehow managed to schedule an appointment for my son at his pediatrician at the same time as I was supposed to be bringing my dog, Buster, to his vet.

Some of you may have read my crazed rant after our last visit to the pediatrician. Well, I wanted to make sure that wasn't going to happen again, so I called the doctor's office as soon as I got home from work at 3:00. I explained that I had to get the dog to the vet, and asked if perhaps they had someone cancel an earlier appointment so I could come in early. The receptionist proceeds to tell me that I can come in early if I'd like, because they're not running behind today. OK, great. "Let's go!" I yell to my son.

Well, luckily, my son is smarter than I am (which is another post all by itself for when I have some time!) and he said we should still take Buster to the vet first, so that he wouldn't have to sit in the car waiting while we were at the doctor's office. Thank God I listened to him. We went straight to the vet, dropped off the puppy, then went to the doctor's, where we arrived at 4:00. The waiting room, however, was almost as full as it was the last time. I had a bad feeling about things. We weren't called into a room until 5:05. Now, I realize that our appointment was for 4:30, so that's only 30 minutes later than our appointment time. But, we still waited a total of over an hour, despite being told we could come in early. I guess I'm being petty, but that's an hour of my life I'm never getting back! Plus, I would have been really upset if the dog had to sit in the car for over an hour! On a positive note, though, my son finished all his homework, and had a 30 minute phone conversation with his best friend while we waited. I'm sure time flew by for him. I, on the other hand, once again sat on an unbelievably uncomfortable hard, wooden, kitchen chair, and stewed.

Now, on the upside, we actually got some good news from the doctor. All my son's blood work results were good. His bad cholesterol is low, his good cholesterol is high, blood sugar is fine, all is well! Yay!

I suppose some of you (specifically Laura and KBL) are wondering what's wrong with Buster. Without going on and on with the whole story, he's been suffering with chronic ear infections for years, and now one of his ear canals is calcified, so he's having surgery tomorrow to cut all that calcification out and repair the ear canal. He's also having his annual "tune-up." Dental cleaning, ear cleaning, nail trim, shots, the works. My vet, God bless him, decided to do it all in one day to save me from having to pay for anesthesia twice. I love my vet, and he and his staff are just wonderful. I have a standing bi-weekly (sometimes weekly!) appointment for this darn dog, so I see them quite often. They go out of their way to do nice things for me, like putting extra medication in the bottles, or not charging me for ointments and such. I don't have the time to explain what I've had to go through with this dog over the past few years, but let me just say, I've spent my son's entire college tuition on this mutt, so he'd better get a scholarship or something! (Let me just point out to my two aforementioned dog-loving friends that as much as I bitch and moan about Buster, and my claims of NOT being a dog person, he is well taken care of. He may not sleep with me, and he isn't spoiled like your furbabies with baskets of toys and homemade goodies, but in my own way, he's given all the love he needs. OK, maybe not ALL the love he needs, but certainly more than I let on.)

A few pictures for the girls....

He looks so regal in this picture

Napping on the back steps

"Why must I be so darn cute?"

Wow, for a day that I wasn't even at school, this is one long post! Sorry. For those of you that care, I'll update Buster's condition tomorrow :)

Animals are such agreeable friends - they ask no questions, they pass no criticisms." ---George Elliot