How much is that doggy in the window? The one with the waggly tail.
I have lots to talk about. Try not to get lost in the epic ramblings of a not-posting-enough-in-smaller-doses Ashley.
In order of increasing importance:
* My SIFF movie of choice to see this year was Burke & Hare, which has Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) and Andy Serkis (LotR's Gollum) as grave robbers in 1830's England.
* I have a couch/sleeper sofa for sale! Here is the Craigslist ad, I'm asking $50 OBO, and that includes the chocolate-brown strechy-suede slipcover, that's been modified for the sleeper bed part (not visible when it's in couch-mode). Needs to go by next weekend, 17 June! If no one takes it, I'll call Salvation Army or something.
* I have officially started the search for my first house! Some opportunities in West Seattle have arisen, and with my car being paid off last month (YESSSSS!) and 2 loans finishing payments this summer (about $800 total), all that remains is my last student loan. So I'm in a good position, with good credit/credit scores, to buy. As a first time buyer, I get a bunch of help, and additionally, Clay is holding my hand through all of this process (he's a realtor). It's a tremendously exciting, yet slightly overwhelming experience, but I'm so jazzed to find my OWN place, and stop paying rent, and getting to paint and fix up, and it will all just be so awesome. I've got my pre-approval letter (not just pre-qual, I've been through the underwriter and everything, I could have a house within a matter of weeks!), and I've got a budget. With the housing market where it's at right now, I'm looking at a 140,000 to 180,000 price range. At the upper end is something like this charming house with the picket fence and everything. At the lower end, and the house that really kick-started this process, is this little one, which is a block away from me, and in decent condition. It's bigger than the first house, by about 300sq ft! Lots of potential, a few cosmetic things. It was also originally priced at 153,000 (it's bank-owned) and has dropped to 139,900 in the last week.
I have an appointment with my realtor to see 4 houses this evening, and some more with my parents on Saturday when they are in town (delivering the new couch).
* And of course, the BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL (so far - this has actually happened, while a house is still TBD), is that I got me a dog! It's been something I've talked about, wanted, daydreamed, etc. for a long, long time - basically ever since I graduated from college. I luuuuuuurve dogs, and one of my favorite things about family gatherings is that I get some doggy lovin's. Schnauzers, boxers, mastiffs, etc. It has always made coming home to an empty place a little bit lonelier every time. But, I always felt like the financial obligation of owning a pet would hamstring me (I've had some months that were beyond tight), and I didn't want to be one of those jackhole owners who get a pet and then can't afford to take proper care of it. Plus, I was always so busy, and landlord restrictions, and yadda yadda yadda.
But then, some things changed recently.
The first one being financial - my car is officially paid off as of May 20. YAY! 5 years of car payments, and I felt much freer (this ties into the whole house-hunting thing, too!). Almost $300/month going towards my car is now available.
The second one being that my therapist thought that having a pet would be a good idea for me. She didn't make an official doctor's note (it would count under Americans with Disabilities if I have a doctor's note for a companion animal, and I could not be denied housing becuase of it), but because I have relationship issues, having someone to come home to, that needs me (I need to be needed), and will give unconditional love was highly recommended. I figured, oh, I'd wait until I got a house, then I could avoid the landlord issue.
The third thing is that I'm considerably less busy right now. I'm taking some time for ME, and a little hiatus from dance classes, dating, running all over town damn near every night, etc. So I have the time to devote to an animal in the evening, and I only work 3 miles from home, so I can go home on my lunch breaks.
Last Sunday, I stopped by a plant sale/adoption event in West Seattle. It went until 4pm, and I figured I would just drop off some stuff I had for donation (containers for plants), and skedaddle. I didn't expect that there would still be any pets left for adoption, but there was - just one. A small, very friendly, black Pomeranian with handsome white markings and an adorable little dance. He was a stray, available through King Country Animal Services, and was recently neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. My landlord, Brad, had already said "no pets," although he himself has a cat (which I think he is allergic to, oddly enough). But I picked this little feller up, and he just snuggled right up to my neck.
It was pretty much all over at that point. I lost my heart to a tiny fuzzball.
Seriously, could you resist this?
I started making some calls. To my parents, who were a bit dubious (but then saw a picture of him and realized "no" wasn't ever an option), Gretchen, to get her works-with-dogs-every-day perspective, and finally, Brad. Just to see. Worst he could say was "no," right? And if I had a plan for minimizing household damage, and the dog seemed quiet and was housebroken... maybe. Maaaaaybe this could happen.
So Brad and I talked that night, and the shelter was holding him for me. Brad asked me to sleep on it, and consider the life-style change that this would mean. I did think about it, quite seriously - although it was hard to "sleep on it" when I was too excited to actually SLEEP. :P But I've been wanting this kind of lifestyle for quite some time now. Someone to come home to and play with and care for, someone who needs me, "another heartbeat in the house" as I heard someone put it recently. If I was to move in with someone, and/or have a child, it would be a similar change in lifestyle, and I want that, and I knew that I was making a conscious choice. I haven't had good luck finding another person who wants to share their life with me, and perhaps a dog is a better route to learning how to love unconditionally and accept it in return. Clay said once (or several times in different ways) that I am not really prepared to factor in someone else into my life, whether that's making space for them (I seem to expand to fill my living spaces), or in adjusting for their time to get ready when making plans. Having to stop and slow down, know that I need to go home and take care of the dog would be good for me to remember that my life doesn't/won't always revolve around just me.
So, Brad was convinced, and things happened VERY quickly. Gretchen came down after work while I picked up the pooch, and if I'd been just a few minutes later, I wouldn't have gotten him! When I arrived at the shelter, there was a mom and daughter holding him, waiting to see if I was going to show up and claim him, otherwise they were going to take him. I felt bad, as I totally understood how attractive that little guy was. But I was ready to bring him home, and some paperwork, a phone call to Brad (they call your landlord when your application says you rent, which is cool. Brad was delighted that they did so), and I was a new dog-momma! I kept the name the shelter gave him, which was Teddy Bear (although one girl tried to name him Hamlet, but I find Hamlet to be a whiney little emo-kid, and so I preferred Teddy Bear), although Gretchen is going to call him Hammy. O_o
Got home and met up with Gretchen, who gave him a thorough going-over (since I was all starry-eyed) and checked the medical records that came with him from his time at the shelter. By the end of the night, she was charmed (and not just because I plyed her with wine).
She went with me to Petco, and we got all the doggy necessities - toys, treats, food, bowls, beds, leash, harness, all that jazz. I took her home, and by the end of the night, both Teddy Bear and I were zonked. It was a big day for both of us!
We've been getting along fabulously ever since. Teddy is a very sweet, affectionate boy, who doesn't bark (except for other dogs, more on that later), and a non-yappy Pomeranian is sort of the Holy Grail of Lapdogs! He's housebroken, doesn't chew on anything except his toys and his food, and loves going for walks. Which is good, because he gets 4 of them a day (morning, midday, evening, and night). He's very smart and that becomes annoying when he's playing stupid, because I KNOW he is too smart, hah. I don't know his story, since he was a stray, but I think he must have had a family at one point. He is too well-trained and too good around people not to have been raised in one.
But that family must not have had another dog. That is really Teddy's only fault - he's fairly dog agressive, which surprised me. When I saw him at the plant sale, he was corralled with another little Pom (a yippy bouncy one) for company, and he was totally fine with it. But when we are on our walks or at the park, he snarls, lunges, snaps, and I'm afraid he's going to hurt someone else or their dog. He finally did "make a friend" at Westcrest yesterday, but by "friend" I mean he ate her out and then tried to hump her. My dog is the frat-boy douche of dogs! OMG SO EMBARASSING. So I'm looking into some dog training, probably with Puppy Perfectors, which was recommended by my vet (Dr. McKim with Greentree Animal Hospital). He'll meet Maggie & Millie (my parent's miniature schnauzers) when they come over this weekend, so that will be interesting. And noisy. And if he still thinks like an un-neutered male, he's probably going to be all "OOOOH, TWINS!"
So, now that you all have the background on my new little fluffernut, fuzzykins, squirrely monkey, Prince Charming, good boy, bad dog, Sir Licks-a-Lot, here are some pix!
With his spearmint rope toy
With his tiny tennis ball
Studly Dog is Studly.
Embarassed to be photographed with Momma?
On my bed with his Heffalump
And you can be sure, there are many more to come :D
FINALLY, A FUNNY.
I have been laughing at this all. damn. day. It is SO what work feels like, especially in customer service, or any job where you deal with idiots all day! Like people who book calls with not enough information in them, and then I get lambasted for not knowing this invisible, magic information. Set up to fail, I tell ya.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!
In order of increasing importance:
* My SIFF movie of choice to see this year was Burke & Hare, which has Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz) and Andy Serkis (LotR's Gollum) as grave robbers in 1830's England.
* I have a couch/sleeper sofa for sale! Here is the Craigslist ad, I'm asking $50 OBO, and that includes the chocolate-brown strechy-suede slipcover, that's been modified for the sleeper bed part (not visible when it's in couch-mode). Needs to go by next weekend, 17 June! If no one takes it, I'll call Salvation Army or something.
* I have officially started the search for my first house! Some opportunities in West Seattle have arisen, and with my car being paid off last month (YESSSSS!) and 2 loans finishing payments this summer (about $800 total), all that remains is my last student loan. So I'm in a good position, with good credit/credit scores, to buy. As a first time buyer, I get a bunch of help, and additionally, Clay is holding my hand through all of this process (he's a realtor). It's a tremendously exciting, yet slightly overwhelming experience, but I'm so jazzed to find my OWN place, and stop paying rent, and getting to paint and fix up, and it will all just be so awesome. I've got my pre-approval letter (not just pre-qual, I've been through the underwriter and everything, I could have a house within a matter of weeks!), and I've got a budget. With the housing market where it's at right now, I'm looking at a 140,000 to 180,000 price range. At the upper end is something like this charming house with the picket fence and everything. At the lower end, and the house that really kick-started this process, is this little one, which is a block away from me, and in decent condition. It's bigger than the first house, by about 300sq ft! Lots of potential, a few cosmetic things. It was also originally priced at 153,000 (it's bank-owned) and has dropped to 139,900 in the last week.
I have an appointment with my realtor to see 4 houses this evening, and some more with my parents on Saturday when they are in town (delivering the new couch).
* And of course, the BIGGEST NEWS OF ALL (so far - this has actually happened, while a house is still TBD), is that I got me a dog! It's been something I've talked about, wanted, daydreamed, etc. for a long, long time - basically ever since I graduated from college. I luuuuuuurve dogs, and one of my favorite things about family gatherings is that I get some doggy lovin's. Schnauzers, boxers, mastiffs, etc. It has always made coming home to an empty place a little bit lonelier every time. But, I always felt like the financial obligation of owning a pet would hamstring me (I've had some months that were beyond tight), and I didn't want to be one of those jackhole owners who get a pet and then can't afford to take proper care of it. Plus, I was always so busy, and landlord restrictions, and yadda yadda yadda.
But then, some things changed recently.
The first one being financial - my car is officially paid off as of May 20. YAY! 5 years of car payments, and I felt much freer (this ties into the whole house-hunting thing, too!). Almost $300/month going towards my car is now available.
The second one being that my therapist thought that having a pet would be a good idea for me. She didn't make an official doctor's note (it would count under Americans with Disabilities if I have a doctor's note for a companion animal, and I could not be denied housing becuase of it), but because I have relationship issues, having someone to come home to, that needs me (I need to be needed), and will give unconditional love was highly recommended. I figured, oh, I'd wait until I got a house, then I could avoid the landlord issue.
The third thing is that I'm considerably less busy right now. I'm taking some time for ME, and a little hiatus from dance classes, dating, running all over town damn near every night, etc. So I have the time to devote to an animal in the evening, and I only work 3 miles from home, so I can go home on my lunch breaks.
Last Sunday, I stopped by a plant sale/adoption event in West Seattle. It went until 4pm, and I figured I would just drop off some stuff I had for donation (containers for plants), and skedaddle. I didn't expect that there would still be any pets left for adoption, but there was - just one. A small, very friendly, black Pomeranian with handsome white markings and an adorable little dance. He was a stray, available through King Country Animal Services, and was recently neutered, microchipped and vaccinated. My landlord, Brad, had already said "no pets," although he himself has a cat (which I think he is allergic to, oddly enough). But I picked this little feller up, and he just snuggled right up to my neck.
It was pretty much all over at that point. I lost my heart to a tiny fuzzball.
Seriously, could you resist this?
I started making some calls. To my parents, who were a bit dubious (but then saw a picture of him and realized "no" wasn't ever an option), Gretchen, to get her works-with-dogs-every-day perspective, and finally, Brad. Just to see. Worst he could say was "no," right? And if I had a plan for minimizing household damage, and the dog seemed quiet and was housebroken... maybe. Maaaaaybe this could happen.
So Brad and I talked that night, and the shelter was holding him for me. Brad asked me to sleep on it, and consider the life-style change that this would mean. I did think about it, quite seriously - although it was hard to "sleep on it" when I was too excited to actually SLEEP. :P But I've been wanting this kind of lifestyle for quite some time now. Someone to come home to and play with and care for, someone who needs me, "another heartbeat in the house" as I heard someone put it recently. If I was to move in with someone, and/or have a child, it would be a similar change in lifestyle, and I want that, and I knew that I was making a conscious choice. I haven't had good luck finding another person who wants to share their life with me, and perhaps a dog is a better route to learning how to love unconditionally and accept it in return. Clay said once (or several times in different ways) that I am not really prepared to factor in someone else into my life, whether that's making space for them (I seem to expand to fill my living spaces), or in adjusting for their time to get ready when making plans. Having to stop and slow down, know that I need to go home and take care of the dog would be good for me to remember that my life doesn't/won't always revolve around just me.
So, Brad was convinced, and things happened VERY quickly. Gretchen came down after work while I picked up the pooch, and if I'd been just a few minutes later, I wouldn't have gotten him! When I arrived at the shelter, there was a mom and daughter holding him, waiting to see if I was going to show up and claim him, otherwise they were going to take him. I felt bad, as I totally understood how attractive that little guy was. But I was ready to bring him home, and some paperwork, a phone call to Brad (they call your landlord when your application says you rent, which is cool. Brad was delighted that they did so), and I was a new dog-momma! I kept the name the shelter gave him, which was Teddy Bear (although one girl tried to name him Hamlet, but I find Hamlet to be a whiney little emo-kid, and so I preferred Teddy Bear), although Gretchen is going to call him Hammy. O_o
Got home and met up with Gretchen, who gave him a thorough going-over (since I was all starry-eyed) and checked the medical records that came with him from his time at the shelter. By the end of the night, she was charmed (and not just because I plyed her with wine).
She went with me to Petco, and we got all the doggy necessities - toys, treats, food, bowls, beds, leash, harness, all that jazz. I took her home, and by the end of the night, both Teddy Bear and I were zonked. It was a big day for both of us!
We've been getting along fabulously ever since. Teddy is a very sweet, affectionate boy, who doesn't bark (except for other dogs, more on that later), and a non-yappy Pomeranian is sort of the Holy Grail of Lapdogs! He's housebroken, doesn't chew on anything except his toys and his food, and loves going for walks. Which is good, because he gets 4 of them a day (morning, midday, evening, and night). He's very smart and that becomes annoying when he's playing stupid, because I KNOW he is too smart, hah. I don't know his story, since he was a stray, but I think he must have had a family at one point. He is too well-trained and too good around people not to have been raised in one.
But that family must not have had another dog. That is really Teddy's only fault - he's fairly dog agressive, which surprised me. When I saw him at the plant sale, he was corralled with another little Pom (a yippy bouncy one) for company, and he was totally fine with it. But when we are on our walks or at the park, he snarls, lunges, snaps, and I'm afraid he's going to hurt someone else or their dog. He finally did "make a friend" at Westcrest yesterday, but by "friend" I mean he ate her out and then tried to hump her. My dog is the frat-boy douche of dogs! OMG SO EMBARASSING. So I'm looking into some dog training, probably with Puppy Perfectors, which was recommended by my vet (Dr. McKim with Greentree Animal Hospital). He'll meet Maggie & Millie (my parent's miniature schnauzers) when they come over this weekend, so that will be interesting. And noisy. And if he still thinks like an un-neutered male, he's probably going to be all "OOOOH, TWINS!"
So, now that you all have the background on my new little fluffernut, fuzzykins, squirrely monkey, Prince Charming, good boy, bad dog, Sir Licks-a-Lot, here are some pix!
With his spearmint rope toy
With his tiny tennis ball
Studly Dog is Studly.
Embarassed to be photographed with Momma?
On my bed with his Heffalump
And you can be sure, there are many more to come :D
FINALLY, A FUNNY.
I have been laughing at this all. damn. day. It is SO what work feels like, especially in customer service, or any job where you deal with idiots all day! Like people who book calls with not enough information in them, and then I get lambasted for not knowing this invisible, magic information. Set up to fail, I tell ya.
see more Lolcats and funny pictures, and check out our Socially Awkward Penguin lolz!