The Start of the Middle of Summer

It's already almost the fourth of July. Summer is whizzing by.

In a change of pace, I've been in the pool almost every day! With the dogs, of course. It's been so darn hot. All outside activity (except for the pool) has been reserved for very early mornings and very late evenings....except for today. I woke up and it was 65 degrees. Glorious. Miss Fina and I took a long walk this morning and came back actually refreshed, not drenched and exhausted. It was a welcome, wonderful thing.

I'll now update the rest of my life for anyone who wants to know.....

Richard: After waiting patiently for about 50 years, Richard was given a promotion at TMI. He's got a new title, a bit more money, and the promise of less travel and more management duties. That's the upside of the promotion. The downside? He still is doing his old duties, until they find someone to replace him. TMI is converting to a brand new database, which Richard is in charge of. Problem is, the old databases that they use now won't migrate to the new one. All the information is going to have to be put in by hand. (We're trying to work out a deal where I can be the input person.) Put this all together, and you have a man who's traveling every week, sometimes four days out of five, and coming home and working in the office the days he's not on the road. This is, as we have started calling it, the means to the end. I try not to be resentful of the time he has to spend on work, but I'm not always successful. I know it's not something he wants to do.....he resents it as much as I do, probably more. I wish I could help him with it, but unfortunately it's a one person job. We both are so looking forward to having more time together.
Maggie: Maggie's life is full; of work and of Roger. She's got "bride" on the brain, and she's so excited about the future. Roger continues to be a really nice guy, and everybody really likes him. They had to do a very difficult thing yesterday...they surrendered Moose to a Chesapeake rescue. It broke their hearts; knowing it was the right thing to do for Moose doesn't make it any easier. But having a Chessie, actually having any dog, right now for them is close to impossible. They are so busy, and don't have the time. Moose made friends immediately at the rescue, and already has a girlfriend. The sadness will get less and less over time; but at this point there aren't any words that will make them feel better. It's hard for a mom to see her child upset and not being able to do anything about it. It was a very grownup decision they had to make, and they made the right one. There will be many dogs for them in the future, I'm sure; now is just not the time.

Max: Max is trying hard to have a summer, but Wal-Mart keeps interrupting. He was hired there a little more than a month ago, and they are keeping him busy. He's working a lot of hours, but when the paycheck comes, he's not minding it too much. We had an interview with UTI; a successful one at that. Max will be going to school in Houston, TX; the program runs for one year straight, with very few vacations breaks (actually the holiday schedule is more like a business than a school). Max is very excited about this; it's going to be expensive and difficult, but he's up for the challenge. I think it's going to be good for him to be on his own (sort of); he'll have to have an apartment and at least one (or two) roommates. I think it's going to be a wake up call for him to have to do everything for himself. I think that I'm not going to know what to do with myself when he goes!

Mookie and Fina: The rabble rousers are having a good old time, and I'm (as usual) encouraging it. Mookie got a haircut by mom, and it looks like a two-year-old did it. But he doesn't seem to mind. Miss Fina is growing by leaps and bounds. Almost 50 pounds, and full of piss and vinegar. The cats are all....well, they're cats. NO MORE CATS. NO MATTER WHAT.

That's it for today...I'm going to go and get something done. Maggie took the DS with her last night, so I have no Super Mario or Sudoku to tempt me away from my duties.

But, there is always Tumble Bees on the computer.......