You Don't Wanna Know

I came down with some nasty bug on Monday the details of which nobody wants to know, believe me, so I'll spare you all. I did manage a quick agility practice Monday night with Lola and she did just awesome. We had a few stoppages at the top of the A-frame to sightsee but otherwise she had near perfect contacts and was listening to me perfectly on a tricky jumpers course. She didn't run off ONCE to check out the rabbits along the agility field's fence line which has been an ongoing problem. I think I was most pleased with that because it shows she was really focused on me and the agility stuff and thus not stressed out and looking for something else to do. The focus on motivation over the past couple of weeks finally seems to be paying off. Cody had an equally successful training session last Friday. Both dogs seem really keen and ready to go. If I can just get my health up, the trial this weekend has a good chance of going well, at least as far as their stress levels go.

That's a big if though. I've missed 2 days of work and though I'm back today, things seem a bit iffy. When my coworker saw me today she had a concerned look on her face and said, 'Geez, you look thin & sickly'. Not exactly the pep talk I needed to hear. I don't want to drive down to Colorado Springs (an hour and 45 minutes) and get stranded down there with 2 dogs and a ton of crap because I'm too dizzy & nauseous to drive home.

I really wanted to post some vacation pics., I've got some nice ones and I took some more over the weekend of the aspens changing color in the high country. Unfortunately I probably won't get to that until after the trial. For now, every moment not at work is going to be spent passed out on the couch so I can fight off this bug before Sat.

Obviously all tri training is on hold until I'm better. I cancelled my last apointment with my orthopedist because I'm feeling pretty good and I don't think there's much else she can do for me at this point. I think I'm going to have to find time to start back with the yoga and at least pick up the lunges, squats and core work the PT had me doing. It's SO boring though, I'd rather go play outside.

Won't You Come On Down To My Rescue?

I almost had Jonny talked into a third dog the other day. We stopped in at the shelter so I could sign up for the Doggie Dash and of course we had to go look at the dogs. The Boulder Humane Society has a very high adoption rate, they haven't euthanized an 'adoptable' dog in 9 years (though they do euthanize animals they deem 'unadoptable') so I don't have a problem anymore with going to the shelter and not coming home with somebody. The shelter was full of animals and people, probably because they had just gotten in a shipment of Hurricane Katrina victims. The dogs were out for people to meet but they could not be adopted out for another month so that their owners could get a chance to be reunited (though how someone relocated to Texas is supposed to find their dog in Boulder on top of everything else they have to deal with is beyond me). You could put a hold on a dog though and there was a lovely 3 month old rat terrier/chihauhau mix that we both really liked. I really want a small dog to add to the crew but Jonny thinks one more dog will be too much. He really really liked her though and if I'd pushed him I probably could have gotten him to agree. But on the way home he started getting panicky, claiming I would come home from work one day to find him curled up in a corner in the fetal position because all the dogs had ganged up on him. He was so freaked out and felt so bad about leaving the little one at the shelter that I thought it unfair to push the point.

On the plus side it seems that lots of people have been snatching up the shelter's 'regular' dogs which means the shelter has more room to take in Katrina evacuees and less dogs in the rescue system in general. One more disturbing facet of the whole Katrina fiasco was how well organized the animal rescue community was compared to the Feds. They were some of the first responders in New Orleans and had whole rescue shelters with crates, vets, supplies etc. set up in safe places well in advance of the storm. These groups receive no govt. funding and work soley on donations and volunteerism. Sad that our own government can't muster the same kind of compassion for it's own people.

Anyway, on a lighter note, I've started back with some semblance of a 'training' schedule for both triathlon and agility. My stupid stunt with the 5k notwithstanding, I'm up to running a mile comfortably and 1 1/2 miles not so comfortably. I spent the last week hiking in the mountains (Crested Butte, Ouray and Telluride) with hikes varying from 2-4 hours so I had a pretty strenuous week. Finishing it off with a 5k was not my brightest move ever but I really wanted to go out and support the shelter and feel like I had some kind of return to normalcy since Lola and I have done this race several years in a row now. I told myself I'd walk the last mile or so but I just couldn't bring myself to do it. We finished in 31:48 which has got to be a personal worst even for duathlon 5k's but I finished and I don't think I did any serious harm except for some weirdness with my right knee which was already brought on by the hiking.

I've got an agility trial in a week and a half so I'm back to training with both dogs. Last night I noticed I was running much better and was actually able to keep up a bit so I'm hopeful this trial will go much better than the others. Both dogs still seem to be having some stress issues, esp. at the start line so we're focusing on motivation more than handling or obstacle performance but I am throwing a little bit in here and there so we don't loose that in the process. I think much of the problem has to do with my poor timing and weird running so hopefully as I get better physically the dogs' emotional conditions will improve. Either that or I need to find a doggie sports shrink.

Cause for Paws Doggie Dash 5k

I knew I was doing something special today when Chicken Boy gave me only part of my breakfast. Usually that means I'm going for a ride in the car to play with the jumps and tunnels in some big park somewhere or maybe up high in the mountains to chase tree rats. But early this morning Chicken Boy took Cody somewhere and left me with Tennis Ball Girl who was just lying around on her ass. I wasn't happy about this and started to mope. After a while I got really fed up and told Tennis Ball Girl to get a move on. Well, that lit a fire under her ass and suddenly she was running from room to room, throwing clothes around and looking for things in a very disorganzied manner. If only she'd calmed down and remembered to use her nose to find whatever she was looking for she would have been fine. Honestly, it's a good thing she doesn't have an important job like herding sheep or sniffing out bombs because she'd be a total disaster. Anyway, she continued in her chaos, running around with the foaming stick hanging out of her mouth, rubbing creamy stuff on her arms and gathering up piles of useless crap into a plastic bag. Finally she put on her special shoes which meant we were going for a run, though I couldn't understand why it was such a big fuss this morning.

We got in the car which probably meant we were going to chase tree rats in the mountains but pretty soon we were going the wrong way. I got out of the car and there were lots of other dogs but no jumps or tunnels so I was a little confused but finally I remembered where we were-the crazy race place. The last two times when the days started getting shorter and cooler we came to this place and ran a big race with lots of other dogs and humans. The other times we had a lot of waiting around before the race and I had plenty of time for the porta potties but this time we ran out of the car with Tennis Ball Girl in a near panic and started the race right away. It's o.k. for her, she has indoor plumbing. I just hoped I wouldn't have a code brown.

I'm pretty competitive and fast but Tennis Ball Girl doesn't quite understand the concept of a race. She lags behind me, taking her sweet time and letting all the slower, couch potato dogs get way in front of me. I pull as hard as I can but this boat just won't go any faster. Last time we weren't too far behind but today we're going even slower and we're way at the back. No PR for me today, that's for sure. We run up and down a bunch of streets that all look the same with big ugly buildings and not enough grass or tree rats. Finally we get to stop and I have a nice roll around on my back in the nice cool grass. Tennis Ball Girl has looked better and it's a slooooooow walk back to the car. I don't mind though since it gives me a chance for some more roll arounds and I can relive the race with the other dogs who just finished.

After some water at the car we go to the place where I first met Tennis Ball Girl but we don't go inside. There's lots of other tired dogs and humans there but I feel like I've only had a warm up and I'm pretty excited. There are rows of tables with humans behind them who will give you lots of treats if you look real cute and bat your eyes the right way. By now I really know how to work the crowd. Tennis Ball Girl goes into conniptions because some of the humans give me lots and lots of big cookies and I gobble them all down before she can do anything about it. Mmmm mmm, I love the post race grub. There are huge trays full of pancakes but Tennis Ball Girl takes only two. I swear, opposable thumbs are wasted on the wrong species. She gives me just one measly piece, how stingy can you get. But it's wonderful, full of greasy butter and sweet sticky syrup. I never get stuff like this at home.

One of the tables has a huge stack of tennis balls-lovely, fuzzy, bouncy tennis balls. The sight of them makes me crazy and I jump on the table spitting drool everywhere while trying to get at them. To be honest, I think I might have a problem. I thought I could stop anytime but after that display I'm starting to wonder. Tennis Ball Girl turns red, takes only ONE (a nice pink one though), and apologizes for me.

Next it's on to the massage tables for a bit of pampering but hey, I deserve it. I'm not too sure I trust this woman but Tennis Ball Girl assures me she's reputable and specializes in doggie sports massage so I relax and let her do her thing. Tennis Ball Girl tries to talk her into a massage but she shoos her away and calls the next dog over. She's so embarrassing, I can't take her anywhere.

After chatting with some of my neighbor friends and working the crowd for a few more treats I decide I've had enough and it's time to go. Tennis Ball Girl looks like she'll sleep well tonight and probably won't need a second walk. On the way to the car I spot one of those blonde airhead dogs lying in a doggie pool. How undignified and unhygenic! Somehow the humans think this is cute and he's getting lots of attention. I can't believe those stupid humans are so easily amused.

Once I got home I told Cody all about the great time he missed but he just ignored me and tried to suck up to Tennis Ball Girl. He's so whipped. I wasn't really all that tired but I thought a post race nap would be good for recovery.

Department of Homeland Security My Ass!!!

Where the fuck is FEMA?!!! Where the fuck is the president?!!! I've always felt the Dept. of Homeland Security was a sick sad joke who's sole purpose was to waste taxpayer's money while denying us our civil rights but doesn't anyone even want to try to prove me wrong? With all the money we spend on politicians is it too much too ask to have some competent, compassionate, intelligent leadership in this country? Why do we have the technology, money and resources to send useless shit into space, create high tech weapons and blow the crap out of third world countries but somehow we can't do something as simple as get food and water to dying, suffering people in our own country? Am I the only one, aside from all the stranded, suffering, dying people, who thinks this is Fucked Up with a capital F U??!!

Sorry, but after watching the horror of recent events unfold on t.v. last night I just can't stomach going on about my self-indulgent, pointless hobbies at the moment. Back to my regularly scheduled drivel next week.

Armageddon
Let the light in
Before we say goodbye
Give us something to believe in

Armageddon
We're not begging
For too much I don't think
Just one last salute before we sink
-Alkaline Trio

Fat Tire Tri-Beerware for the Gimp & Rookies

Had a blast at the tri, couldn't have asked for a more perfect day or race. The race took place in scenic Lory State Park, a beatiful area nestled in the foothills above Fort Collins. The swim was 750 yards (a bit short from the 825 yards last year since the water level was lower and we started further down the beach) in quiet Eltuck Bay off the larger Horsetooth Reservior. The bike was 12 miles on some tight, twisty singletrack and the run was 3 miles including a brutal 500 yard climb in 1/2 mile up a steep trail then a twisty descent down the other side of the hill with steep swithbacks every 4-6 steps or so in some places. I did the full Monty last year but for obvious reasons I only did the swim portion this year and left the hard work to my relay teammates, Jeanne and Leslie.

Last year the swim had a mass start with all 300 people in the water at once. Looking down on the narrow bay I couldn't believe we all fit in there and I felt like maybe my panic attack was justified. This year there were 4 waves and I was in the last wave which was perfect for me since it meant I wouldn't have to worry about fast people coming up behind me. For some bizarre reason everybody lined up spread out across the width of the bay rather than in a tighter pack nearer the buoys. I wasn't going to complain though since it meant I got a spot right next to the line of buoys with only 2-3 people in front of me. The water was beautiful, 70 degrees or so and I was plenty toasty in my full wetsuit. I warmed up a bit before the start and felt pretty good about things. The course was an out and back and my plan was to start off slow to avoid panicking, get into a rhythm on the way out then pick it up on the way back. This worked out great, I passed some people right at the start, found someone to draft off and relaxed into a nice pace without any major freak outs. After a few minutes I decided to pick it up and I had to weave a bit to pass people but it wasn't too crowded. I swam a fairly straight line right next to the buoys and the turnaround came up way quicker then I thought it would. On the way back I picked it up as much as I could, passing people from the previous wave and then the wave before that. By the time I was near the shore I could see about 15-20 people from the very first wave! For those of you that struggle with the swim as I did when I first started out you can imagine what a cool feeling that was. I went tearing up the beach while everyone else was struggling with their wetsuits or just catching their breath and passed even more people but that's the advantage of being in a relay. Still, I usually run into transition, I'm not sure why so many people were walking. Leslie ran the final stretch up the beach with me, urging me on and I passed the chip off to Jeanne, our cyclist. Final swim time was 16:46 and that included a run up the beach to the timing mat (time for the swim only was around 16:35 by my watch I think). This was good for 8/16 of all the relay people, including the men, and around 103/269 for the people doing the full tri. Not amazing but not terrible either, all things considered, and right about where felt I would be in a best case scenario (ie no panicking or getting kicked/blocked in).



This was the first time Jeanne had ever done a tri and I could tell she was a bit nervous about all the logistics of it. In fact, Jeanne had done a few mountain bike races some years ago but that was it for race experience so she wasn't sure at all what to expect and begged us not to be mad if she was slow. I told her we were all here for fun and not to worry about it. I passed the chip off to her in the transition area and yelled after her to 'have fun'. In her excitement she started riding her bike in the transition area, a big no no, but she caught herself right away and dismounted before exiting onto the course. Several other people were making the same mistake. Well, long story short, Jeanne was a madwoman on the bike. I missed taking her picture on the first loop because she was so much farther up in the crowd than I expected her to be. By the time she finished she'd worked her way up to around 20th woman overall, and that was with me starting in the last swim wave! She was totally amped up after her ride, excitedly telling me and her husband all the details of her allegiances and rivalries out on the trail and how she finally started getting aggressive about asking people to let her pass on the single track. Her final time was 1:06:09, good enough for 3/16 for the relay people (including men) and 15/119 for the women doing the full tri.

Our runner Leslie is a coworker of mine who decided to start getting in shape and training for triathlons last fall after she volunteered in her kyak for the swim portion of a tri and decided it looked like fun. She started with spin and weight training classes last fall with a bit of swimming thrown in. This spring she started up with running but was focusing most of her time on the bike. She did her first tri just a couple of weeks ago and had a great race. The run is only 3 miles but extremely challenging because of the steep trail portion and Leslie doesn't really do much trail running, certainly not on trails like that. I warned her ahead of time but she was still game. I didn't tell her about the 2 rattlesnakes and bear that a race employee saw while pre-running the course last year until after the race was over. I had convinced her to bring along Ernie, her Jack Russell Terrier because Ernie is always good for comic relief and the day is always so much better when there's a dog hanging around. Ernie is a bit of a momma's boy and he cried his head off the entire time Leslie was on the course. I found that if I rubbed a certain spot on his chest he would go quiet but as soon as I stopped he was crying again. I kept having to explain to people that he was missing his mommy who was on the race course so they wouldn't think I was torturing him. Leslie looked strong coming into the finish and as soon as she crossed the line little Ernie leapt into her arms and started licking her face much to the delight of the crowd. Leslie's time was 35:27, good for 11/16 of the relay people and excellent for someone who only started running a few months ago and doesn't really run all that often.

In the end we got 3rd place out of 16 relay teams and that included the men's only and co-ed teams! Not too bad for the gimp and rookies, never mind our ages (39, 41 and 45). Hardware was a bottle of Fat Tire beer with our placement on it but they only gave us one which I thought was pretty tacky. Jeanne let Leslie and I have it to display at work so I decided to make up an award for Jeanne and got a 3-d picture frame from Target. I'm going to make a little montage of all her photos and put the race/placement in there too.

I've never done a relay before and it was pretty fun though I was wishing I could have done the whole thing. I was still pretty tired when I got home, probably from being in the sun all day and I did do a lot of walking around. I fell asleep on the couch at 7:30 pm, a new PR for me.

Busy

I've been too busy/tired to write in my blog and I guess that's a good thing. Last weekend's NADAC agility trial went much better than the USDAA trial the weekend before. The dogs still had some stress issues but overall were way more relaxed and had some nice runs. Lola finished up her Open Gamblers title which is something I've been working on since last summer so I was really pleased with that. I considered this a nice birthday present from Lola. Cody picked up his first Elite Gamblers Q in impressive fashion and almost got a second Q the following day on a really tough gamble but I was so shocked he made it through the hard part that I forgot to get in place properly to bring him back to me over the last jump and he ran past it without taking it. Even so, I was really pleased with what he'd done. I guess all the distance work we did while I was out of commission is paying off. Cody also managed a beautiful Elite Jumpers run on Sunday earining him a Q AND a first place. This is really something for a 7 year old dog, NADAC's Elite Jumpers times are notoriously brutal to make for the big dogs so to make time by 4 seconds AND win the class is a big deal. Lola's Jumpers run on the same course was almost as impressive but again I didn't manage her well after being shocked that she made it through the hard part and she had an off course on an easy part. Still, she was blazing fast and would have easily beat Cody's time.

Lola had a blazing Tunnelers run, earning a Q and third place. Lola is really fast because of her long legs and stride but her height is a disadvantage on a course made up only of tunnels since she has to duck to get into each tunnel. She lost out to two Aussies who didn't have to duck so far. I don't care too much about placements and I was thrilled she even placed at all since the class was huge. Cody came close to a Q on the same course but I screwed him up on an easy part at the second to last tunnel. It would have been his Open Tunnelers title too so I was mad at myself but part of it was due to not being able to run properly. I had quite a few problems this weekend with that because NADAC courses are very spread out and don't have many turns or technical challenges to them. You really have to haul ass and that kind of sprinting is really hard on me right now. Front crosses are also a problem so I had to make some creative handling adjustments to avoid them and they didn't always work out. It was interesting to experiment though. I managed 6 runs on Saturday and 10 runs on Sunday plus all the walking around, warming up and cooling down dogs, running back and forth between the tent and 2 rings, hauling crap, etc. My quads were screaming Monday morning but no more so than any other NADAC trial and the car crash muscles weren't doing too badly.

No more trials until October 1st. I want to spend some time working on motivation. I'm sure with the cooler weather things will improve but I don't want the dogs being so stressed out. I want them pulling my arm off to get in the ring.

I started running a couple of weeks ago. The doctor told me to start off with a mile and I laughed at her. I was having a hard time just running across the street. So she told me to split the walking and running for a mile until I could run a mile straight then add a second mile of run/walk, etc. It was hard going at the start, I couldn't go much more than 1/8-1/4 mile without walking but yesterday I managed over 3/4 mile without walking and I felt fine doing it. I also went to master's last night and managed 1800 yards, 40 minutes including some tough intervals. I'm at around 57 secs average pace per 50 yards which is way off the 50 secs I should be at but at least I can kind of keep up in the workouts. I even led the lane last night though I could tell the guy behind me was giving me a head start.

Believe it or not I have a race this weekend. I'm doing the swim leg of an off road tri relay in Fort Collins. It's only a 1/2 mile or so but I haven't done any open water swimming in weeks, I've swum in my full wetsuit only once this summer and this race was the site of one of my worst swim freak outs ever. I was going to swim at the Rez yesterday but found out they're only open on weekends now so I have no chance at an open water swim before Saturday. Should be interesting. Main goal, no drowning or panicking.

###@%&&@#!!!

I think I'm finally starting to understand golf. Not the game itself, but the frustration people feel while playing it and the incomprehensible desire to continue to expose themselves to that frustration weekend after weekend. For those that haven't guessed, I had an agility trial this weekend, my first trial since April and I hadn't done all that much training outside of my yard in the weeks beforehand so both the dogs and I were a little out of practice. The trial was sanctioned by USDAA (United States Dog Agility Association) and both dogs are in the middle level of competition, called 'Advanced'. USDAA offers lots of different classes including regular standard agility courses with all the equipment and various 'games' which have different rules and use different pieces of equipment (eg, 'Jumpers' uses only jumps and tunnels). I entered only 2 classes each day since I wasn't sure how I would do with the running. I choses classes that were close to each other, early in the day so I could leave after a few hours but the trial ended up having a much larger entry than anticipated so they expanded to 2 rings and changed the running order and of course my events on both days ended up being split up by 5-6 hours which made for a lot of sitting around. Keep in mind that each event lasts less than a minute which just adds to the insanity. What sort of idiot sits around for 6 hours for the chance to run around a ring with a dog for 40 seconds? I suppose the same sort of idiot that gets up at 5:15 on a Saturday morning and drives an hour to run around in a park with her dogs when said dogs would be far happier chasing tennis balls in the park 10 minutes away from home. And I always thought golf sounded stupid.

Saturday started off cold, windy and rainy which was great for the dogs but crappy for the humans. I brought fleecy mittens and a headband as well as all my warm waterproof gear. The grass was wet but not soaked or muddy so I decided both dogs and I would be o.k. I had a regular old standard run in the morning and both dogs were a bit stressed. Cody popped out of the weave poles too soon and leapt of the A-frame without touching the contact zone at the bottom which are 2 things he does when he's stressed out. He also got pissed off at getting wet in the chute and stopped to shake himself dry after coming out. Lola missed the weave poles altogether and I had to send her back through them. She also bailed on the A-frame and the dog walk and ran for the off course A-frame at a later part of the course, stopping on top to admire the view and giving the judge a spectators a good chuckle but I was not amused as she's done this before. When she's stressed out she heads for the A-frame as soon as it comes into view. I figured this was not too surprising since it's been so long since both dogs have trialed and they both seemed distracted at practice this week. To be fair, their runs looked pretty good through the technical parts and I managed to get 3 front crosses in per run. This was hard on me physically though since it requires a quick, sharp turn and I was gimping pretty good after Lola's run. I decided to try to ease up on the front crosses for the rest of the weekend.

Five hours later I was recovered and we ran in the Grand Prix which is a qualifying class for nationals. Cody needed just one more qualifying leg and he could go, though I had no plans too, it's just fun to think you could. I could tell he wasn't too happy at the start line and 3 obstacles in he went off course then went off course again 2 obstacles later and we were whistled off the course. Lola managed to complete the whole course without getting whistled off but was sure there were some Border Collie eating trolls at the bottom of the A-frame and leapt off to avoid them again (and she had an off course). I wasn't exactly thrilled with the day's events but they could have been worse and I hoped Sunday would go a little better. At least I managed the physical challenges well enough.

Sunday we started off with Gamblers which tests the dog's ability to work at a distance from the handler. You also get to pick your own course, trying to earn as many points as possible then you send the dog over the 'gamble' which is a series of obstacles set at a distance behind a line that you can't cross. I picked a nice straightforward course for both dogs, aiming for fast and flowing rather than lots of points. One thing we have been working on a lot is distance, especially on the teeter since I have one in my yard. I'd also been working on sending the dogs ahead to a jump while I stand still and it was a huge stroke of luck that the gamble involved a teeter and sending ahead to a jump. Both dogs did beautifully except for Lola bailing her dog walk contact AGAIN and they each got the gamble easily. Cody ended up with second place, Lola got third and both got qualifying scores which means they count towards their titles. This finished up Cody's advanced Gamblers title so next trial we have to enter masters which is the highest level. The thought is a bit intimidating but I'm thrilled he finally made it into masters, even if it's only one event. Lola still needs one more Q to move up.

We then waited around for 6-6 1/2 hours for our standard run and I think we were all pretty fried by that point. The course was fun and challenging but Cody was fed up and popped out of the weave poles again. Usually I don't make him go back because it just stresses him out and shuts him down for the rest of the run but for some inexplicable reason I decided to have him redo them and it just frazzled him further. By the time we were 3/4 of the way around the course we'd had so many off courses and faults that the judge whistled us off. This hasn't happened to me since Cody's second trial many years ago. I figured it had to go better with Lola but it didn't really. We made it a few jumps further than Cody but still got whistled off and I had decided to leave the course anyway just before the judge blew her whistle. At some point Lola decided she'd had enough and took off for the A-frame again, stopping for another view at the top and causing the judge and loads of people to laugh once more. I was pretty aggravated to say the least. I don't often get upset when my dogs mess up (and it's usually my fault anyway), especially Cody because I had to work very hard just to get him to stay in the ring at competitions and I didn't let the dogs know but it was beyond frustrating to wait around for so long and have them be so stressed that they couldn't even get through the course. I don't mind little mistakes here and there but I hate it when the dogs don't seem to be having fun. And the best part is, I get to do it all over again next weekend. Somebody quick find me a nice thick brick wall I can bash my head against.

'Oh mercy me
God bless catastrophe'
-Alkaline Trio

Home Again

Took my yearly trip home to the Chicago 'burbs for my cousin's wedding and managed to both survive and have a good time. My family considers arguing loudly about nothing to be great sport and though they don't mean any harm it gets to be a bit stressful for me and my husband since neither of us is used to loud, constant bickering, especially at 6:30 am. But I do love my family and after a while it all just turns into so much background noise.

I was hoping to get 3 swims in at various locations around the city but that never happened. I started out early on Thurs. morning at the Wilmette beach and it was absolutely freezing. I'd decided not to bother hauling my wetsuit and I'd neglected to ask the water temp. before handing over my $6.50 to get on the beach so I was stuck trying to gut it out in the cold water. I lasted about 15 minutes then felt myself shaking while I was swimming and decided to call it quits. Even though it was really hot & humid I couldn't get warm again until I got home and had a nice long hot shower. So I did a lot of walking on the Evanston/Northwestern lakefront paths instead. I couldn't believe all the people out running midday in the horrible heat and humidity and I was trying to remember how I ever did it when I was younger. I have to give credit to people who train through that for a fall marathon, you really have to be determined. Or crazy.

Jonny and I took some walks after dark looking for fireflies but we barely saw any. I suspect all the mosquito spraying and lawn pesticides have done them in. It's a shame because it's one thing I really miss in the summer, for some reason we don't have them in Boulder.

I tried looking for Eric but had no luck. He was last spotted in areas near where a friend I always visit lives and my friend knew exactly where all the places were so he offered to drive around while I looked out the window. He even knew of some halfway house type places where he might be that I would never have found on my own but Eric was nowhere to be found. A very selfish part of me was relieved since I wasn't so sure I really wanted to see him in the state he's probably in but a bigger part of me was seriously disappointed. My friend said he'd look out for Eric if I send him a picture and if he happens to see him at least say hi to him for me and let him know I'm thinking of him. Yeah, big deal, I know that's hardly going to begin to turn his life around but it's all I can do for now.

My friend took us for a tour of Millennium Park and I'll be honest, I didn't care for it. The outdoor theater looks like an enormous butthole and I don't get the big steel 'bean' at all. But it was nice to see so many people downtown on a Saturday night. I remember when downtown used to turn into a ghost town over the weekend.

I got a lot of good family gossip at the wedding which is wasted on me since I live out of town but I enjoyed it nonetheless. I sat next to my most interesting relative, a younger cousin who, among other things, had to be rescued from a Russian prison by Hillary Clinton when he was in college. Unfortunately, a wedding where you're sitting at a table with your dad is not the place you can exactly share your most interesting stories.

Meeting up with the Chicago Tapir crew on Suday night after the wedding was fun and a nice break from the madness of my family. Even Jonny, who isn't terribly fond of socializing with complete strangers, said he had a great time.

The best part about coming home from vacation is picking the dogs up from the kennel. Both of them went crazy when they saw us and poor Lola couldn't stop barking. She had to tell us off for ditching her. When she got home she ran laps around the house and collapsed onto the floor, rolling on her back with her long legs in the air, so happy to be home. We took both dogs for their regular walk around Wonderland Lake so they could check their peemail and were greeted with a sign warning us that part of the Foothills Trail that branches off from Wonderland was closed due to an outbreak of Bubonic Plague in the prairie dog town that borders the trail. Yep, it's great to be home.