a99kitten's Musings

I blog about a WHOLE LOT of stuff :)

So according to both recent articles that I’ve read, and real-life experience, vanity sizing is alive and well.   This annoys me for several reasons…

How the heck can I buy anything online if the size doesn’t really correspond to anything in real life?  And those size or measurements charts you (the e-tailers) offer are a load of crap.  And even if I am 1 size in one of your pair of pants/skirts/sweaters/dresses, I might not be in another style.  Who the hell does this and why?? Not good business!!

Look – if I’m a size 2 or 0 or 18 based on actual real-life measurements that I can take and that will apply across all brands, or at least all items within 1 brand for cryin’ out loud, fine.  But no…that would be too easy.

And premium denim (you know who you are Rock & Republic, True Religion and Seven) don’t even get me started on your washes and material contents. I can wear 4 different sizes – IN THE SAME BRAND?!?!

Today’s 0 is not a 0 from several years ago.  The designers and brands have fattened them up pretty well. I guess this is because you want someone to feel good about themselves and buy from you when they can magically fit into your size 6 but everyone else’s size 8 (or 10)?? Think I’m off? Marilyn Monroe was a size 10 or 12 back in her day. According to her measurements, she would be a size 4 today. That’s insane.

Oh, and, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Kim Kardashian publicly swearing they are a size 2. No dears – you are not.  Not to say you don’t look good whatever size you actually are – but it’s not a size 2. And *maybe* you can fit into a size 25 or 26 jeans – IF they have a heck of a lot of stretch in them. And really – BIG IF here.  No way rigid 100% cotton. Again – I don’t care what size you actually are but just say what it is (or don’t talk about it all..but don’t lie.) Big damn deal – you are both gorgeous girls.

I’m sick of not being able to know if I’m a 0 or 2 or an XS or S in J Crew, Banana Republic, whatever.  And forget designer clothes. I tried on some dresses in Vegas and the size SOOO varied by designer. Not a single dress that I tried on had the same number on it’s size tag. Yet when you looked at the dresses – they were all the same. ANNOYING! Girls do NOT like this! At least no girl I know – and I know some gooood shoppers (myself excluded of course!)

But I think I am most irritated by the fact that I work out all the time (every single day), I watch what I eat for the part and make sure I do not get to a size that I am unhappy with. So do not just F with the sizes to make people who don’t work as hard feel better about themselves. Make them realize, yes I am a size 4, 8, 10, whatever. If they are OK with that and like how they look – great! If not – then they need to deal with it with diet and exercise. But stop EFFING with the size of the clothes for their vanity (and my insanity!)  Please keep it uniform. I do not think it is too much to ask that a single brand has the same sizing WITHIN it’s own brand?!?!?! (J Crew I am talking directly to you…)

This weekend I saw cyclists fly through stop signs and red lights almost causing accidents twice.  Had they caused the accident, they would have lost the flight between their puny little bikes and the cars/SUVs that would have taken them out.  And in doing this, the drivers of the cars probably would have been cited for something or other and then felt bad for the unintended squishing of the bikers. But really? I saw both of these situations and the bikers would have been 100% responsible for their own accidents and potential maiming.

The first was at a 4-way stop light. The light turned red. All cars were stopped in both directions that were red. The crossing traffic started to go and then the bikers blew through in their bike lane and a lady had to slam on her brakes to avoid them.  What if someone was behind her? They might have then rear-ended her? Or what if she hit her head in the brake-slamming? Oh but who cares because the bikers have the right of way no matter what (NOT!)

Second instance was a 3-way stop sign. Everyone stops. Car that is *supposed* to now go is about to turn left. BUT, here comes 2 bikers who blew through their stop in their quest to not lose momentum going down hill.  A**holes. The car has to make a sudden stop mid-turn. WHY? Take the jerks out. That’ll teach ‘ em.

No – I don’t actually believe that (the taking them out part or the that will actually teach them anything part is your guess.)

Living in the SF Bay Area I hear all about how riding bikes is so much better for the environment, better for traffic and smog, blah blah and the bikes have the same rights as auto drivers on the roads blah blah.  Well, if you want the same “rights” – act like it. You get the same rules too then jerks.  I cannot count the times I have seen bikes sail through stop signs, red lights, cross out of their lanes into traffic just so they can ride next to their biking buddy.  Umm..no!

I live on the coast. Only way to or from there are a couple of 2-lane highways with teeny-tiny “bikes lanes” at best. I have seen auto drivers drive half way into your “bike lane” (it’s the emergency lane as their is no indication of it being a bike lane)  going around the turns of Highway 92. Frankly, I consider the bikers on Highway 92 a safety-hazard. Have you seen the drivers on that road ? And the amount of large trucks that use it daily? You MUST be crazy if you are doing that for any type of “fun”.

Driving home on 92 tonight I saw a biker riding ON the line separating the “bike” lane and the real traffic. The car 2 cars in front of me had swerved about 5 times so far (I’m going with retarded or drunk) and I didn’t really want to have to stop and give my witness account of your splatting. I needed to get get home – I was hungry.

And the bikers who use Highway 1/Devil’s Slide – you guys have a death wish. And you are also a huge safety menace there.

Look, you are not a car. You cannot keep up with cars. And you will likely die if hit by one. Stick to areas/routes where you can safely ride without being a hazard to yourself OR OTHERS.

And even on those routes you are a hazard and can’t follow simple rules. I hike a lot. One of my favorite trail systems has BIG signs….signs with words, pictures and arrows for even the biggest dolt to understand.  Bikers yield to hikers and horses, hikers yield to horses, and horses get to go.   This is common etiquette on all trails but there it is in black, white and color to remind you…but…

On one of my long hikes, I was hiking on a trail where 2 downhills poured out into an “intersection” and then various trails continued on from there. 2 people on horses were a little lost and asked me to help them with their trail map. We were over to the side of the one trail, and basically stopped in the middle of the converging trail ends at the intersection – so off to the side of the trail and not on either of the trails.

This woman biker comes blazing down and yells at everyone to look out, which startled the horses (and all of us) and one of the horses almost threw their rider.  She yells “you can’t stand there” and “yield to oncoming bike traffic”. So I yelled back “NO – YOU have to yield to everything standing here – read your trail map and signs.” She said there were more bikers coming and that we needed to watch out on the downhill. I said “no – they need to watch out.” Again reminding her of the giant yield signs and the order of yield on these trails (thinking to myself ‘or I’ll accidentally push one of you over…’) She just gave me a dirty look and continued on. One of the horse riders looked at me and said in their oh so proper English accent “well, she’s a bit of a testy bitch isn’t she?”  I laughed out loud because yes – she was.

I know not all bike riders are like this. I know plenty of people who ride and have never seen any of them pull this type of crap (on the few rides I have done with them anyway.) But there are enough of them out there to really sully the reputation.

And don’t even get me started on the jack-asses who participate in the “everyone ride their bike days”  in SF (not sure if only for Spare the Air days or if for others too.) Unbelievable what news stories you see about them and their crappy antics (hitting cars on purpose, kicking cars, etc.) If they tried that with me I’d get out of my car and whack the mf-er with my maglite flashlight kept in my car for just such an emergency…But it’s SF so what do you expect…(it’s a pretty city but FULL of whack jobs.)

Anyway…if you ride a road bike and are sharing the road with automobiles – use the same lessons you apply when driving your car (on 2nd thought, use the same lessons you learned when getting your license because most drivers around here are idiots so I am assuming one of those idiots is you.) And if you are on a mountain bike and sharing the trails with hikers and horses – key word there is you need to SHARE the trails and follow the yield rules.

Oh, and by the way, yes you DO have to stop for pedestrians in crosswalks just like cars jerk. Next time, I am shoving a stick through your spokes…

This is a very interesting read. As an opponent of this current administration, and fan of the free market, Capitalist, hard-work ethic system that made this country as great as it is, I cringe every time I read more and more in the news about how it is being systematically destroyed. I too worry about the points brought up in this article. About where this country is being taken.

This article has been floating around the internet since November 2008. It was incorrectly attributed to several different writers who have all said it was not theirs. Whoever wrote it should have given you something to think about.

“I am a student of history. Professionally, I have written 15 books in six languages, and have studied history all my life. I think there is something monumentally large afoot, and I do not believe it is just a banking crisis, or a mortgage crisis, or a credit crisis. Yes, these exist but they are merely single facets on a very large gemstone that is only now coming into a sharper focus. Something of historic proportions is happening. I can sense it because I know how it feels, smells, what it looks like, and how people react to it. Yes, a perfect storm may be brewing, but there is something happening within our country that has been evolving for about 10 – 15 years. The pace has dramatically quickened in the past two. We have spent two or more decades intentionally de-industrializing our economy. Why?

We have intentionally dumbed down our schools, ignored our history, and no longer teach our founding documents, why we are exceptional, and why we are worth preserving. Students by and large cannot write, think critically, read, or articulate. Parents are not revolting, teachers are not picketing, and school boards continue to back mediocrity. Why?

We have now established the precedent of protesting every close election (now violently in California over a proposition that is so controversial that it wants marriage to remain between one man and one woman. Did you ever think such a thing possible just a decade ago?

We have corrupted our sacred political process by allowing unelected judges to write laws that radically change our way of life, and then mainstream Marxist groups like ACORN and others to turn our voting system into a banana republic. To what purpose?

Now our mortgage industry is collapsing, housing prices are in free fall, major industries are failing, our banking system is on the verge of collapse, and Social Security is nearly bankrupt, as is Medicare and our entire government. Our education system is worse than a joke (I teach college and know precisely what I am talking about.) The list is staggering in its length, breadth, and depth. It is potentially 1929 x 10. And we are at war with an enemy we cannot name for fear of offending people of the same religion who cannot wait to slit the throats of your children if they have the opportunity to do so.

And now we have elected a man no one knows anything about, who has never run so much as a Dairy Queen, let alone a town as big as Wasilla, Alaska. All of his associations and alliances are with real radicals in their chosen fields of employment, and everything we learn about him, drip by drip, is unsettling if not downright scary (Surely you have heard him speak about his idea to create and fund a mandatory civilian defense force stronger than our military for use inside our borders? No? Oh, of course. The media would never play that for you over and over and then demand he answer it. (Sarah Palin’s pregnant daughter and $150,000 wardrobe is more important.)

I have never been so afraid for my country and for my children as I am now. This man campaigned on bringing people together, something he has never ever done in his professional life. In my assessment, Obama will divide us along philosophical lines, push us apart, and then try to realign the pieces into a new and different power structure.

Change is indeed coming. And when it comes, you will never see the same nation again. I thought I would never be able to experience what the ordinary, moral German felt in the mid-1930s. In those times, the savior was a former smooth-talking rabble-rouser from the streets, about whom the average German knew next to nothing.. What they did know was that he was associated with groups that shouted, shoved, and pushed around people with whom they disagreed; he edged his way onto the political stage through great oratory and promises.. Economic times were tough, people were losing jobs, and he was a great speaker. And he smiled and waved a lot. People, even newspapers, were afraid to speak out for fear that his “brown shirts” would bully them into submission.

Then he was duly elected to office, with a full-throttled economic crisis at hand [the Great Depression]. Slowly but surely he seized the controls of government power, department by department, person by person, bureaucracy by bureaucracy. The kids joined a Youth Movement in his name, where they were taught what to think. How did he get the people on his side? He did it promising jobs to the jobless, money to the moneyless, and goodies for the military-industrial complex. He did it by indoctrinating the children, advocating gun control, health care for all, better wages, better jobs, and promising to re-instill pride once again in the country, across Europe , and across the world.

He did it with a compliant media – Did you know that? And he did this all in the name of justice and … change. And the people surely got what they voted for. (Look it up if you think I am exaggerating.)

Read your history books. Many people objected in 1933 and were shouted down, called names, laughed at, and made fun of. When Winston Churchill pointed out the obvious in the late 1930s while seated in the House of Lords in England (he was not yet Prime Minister), he was booed into his seat and called a crazy troublemaker. He was right, though.

Don’t forget that Germany was the most educated, cultured country in Europe . It was full of music, art, museums, hospitals, laboratories, and universities. And in less than six years – a shorter time span than just two terms of the U.S. presidency – it was rounding up its own citizens, killing others, abrogating its laws, turning children against parents, and neighbors against neighbors. All with the best of intentions, of course. The road to Hell is paved with them.

Most of you know by now that the Senate version (at least) of the “stimulus” bill includes provisions for extensive rationing of health care for senior citizens. The author of this part of the bill, former senator and tax evader, Tom Daschle was credited today by Bloomberg with the following statement.

Bloomberg: “Daschle says health-care reform “will not be pain free.” Seniors should be more accepting of the conditions that come with age instead of treating them.”

If this does not sufficiently raise your ire, just remember that Senators and Congressmen have their own healthcare plan that is first dollar or very low co-pay which they are guaranteed the remainder of their lives and are not subject to this new law if it passes.

Please use the power of the internet to get this message out. Talk it up at the grassroots level. We have an election coming up in one year and nine months. We have the ability to address, reverse the dangerous direction the Obama administration and its allies have begun, and in the interim, we can make our voices heard! Lets do it!”

Obama and his appointed Czars and cronies scare me. They should scare you.

I took the boys in to get groomed today. They were scheduled to go in last week but then Angelus got hurt so I re-scheduled for today. So I let them get extra sandy and wet at the beach yesterday and today :)

I took them to a new place for us. Normally, a friend of ours has been doing it (she does it for a living up in SF) but she can only do it on Sundays and it’s just been super-tough to schedule a Sunday afternoon for the both of us.

The place I found is close to work so I can drop them off in the morning and just run over and grab them when done. Seemed simple! They also sell my impossibly hard to find dog food, Eagle Pack. So double bonus!

I Yelped the place so that I could see what has been said about their grooming (they also offer doggie daycare.) Or, if they hadn’t been reviewed yet, I could be the first one (dork!!) hehehe…but they did have reviews. And the reviews about the services were fine, but there seemed to be a couple issues with communication about pricing, timing, etc. So when I called to ask what they charged, I asked specifically what they did for that charge. Also how long it would take. The girl I spoke to said the charge was $68.00 and that would be for a bath, blow out, brush out, nails clipped, ears cleaned, teeth checked and a “hygiene clean” if needed (the huskies would not have appreciated that!! She said it would take about 6 hours. She asked me when they were bathed/groomed last and I told her. She asked if they were up-to-date on their shots and told me that I needed to bring in their vaccination certificate. It all seemed very organized.

Now, I have paid $45-$50 per dog in the past. But that didn’t include ears or teeth plus this place was very convenient so I thought the premium was acceptable.

When I dropped them off today, I went over the check-in with the girl at the front desk and explained Storm hates being brushed so make sure they weren’t too rough or impatient with him. I asked what time I could pick them up and she said would call me but expect about 6 hours. And then I left (and boy was I sad…it was like it must be for new parents leaving their kids at daycare!)

So 6 hours later at 3:30 I called as I had not heard from them. They told me to come around 4:00-4:15pm. I showed up at 4:15 and got some dog food and went to the counter to pay. The groomer’s assistant was the one helping us at the counter. The groomer walked by with another dog and asked if we were sure they were huskies and not malamutes. I said yes, they are pure huskies. She seemed shocked and said they were so big and fluffy. She was eastern European or something with an accent that made her tone seem very clipped so not sure if that was a joke?

Then the assistant told me my total and it was almost double what I was quoted! WHAT? The groomer then interjected how she had to spend a lot of hours on them as they had very thick and matted fur and I said yes, I know that, which is why they were here. She then said well maybe if I brushed them regularly, it might not be as bad. Or if they got groomed more regularly. I told her they get groomed twice a year and huskies don’t typically ever get more than that. And that I DO brush them (Angelus more than Storm) but obviously a good bath is what gets the fur up and able to come out better.

I added it was hardly fair to to just charge me an extra $60 per dog without asking me first and that this was not how to run a business. She said well, she had to miss another appointment to spend so much time on them. I said I specifically asked the cost, what is covered and how long and was quoted $68 for a full wash, blow out and brush out in the 6 hours – which was basically how long they were there. And if they knew it was going to cost more than that, they needed to call & ask and not just assume someone can afford a double charge like that. She said well, just see them and see how nice they look. I said I had no doubt they will look nice but they looked great when they got groomed for $50 too. She said well maybe I should take them there next time. Then she added that she should have taken her other appointment instead.

To say I was shocked at how this woman was treating a customer is an understatement. Clearly this woman was not an owner and she didn’t care if I ever came back.

At this point I turned around to pay and the the assistant looked mortified. She was on the phone trying to get a hold of the manager. She did and got the extra “de-shedding” charges waived. She then kept apologizing for the groomer’s rudeness. She was obviously embarrassed. She was being very helpful and polite. I paid the original quoted fees (plus for the dogfood) and I gave her a cash tip and told her it was for her. No tip left for the groomer.

Later this evening, the manager called me. She said she had heard everything that happened today when I picked up my dogs and how the groomer had been to me. She said she wanted to apologize for everything and let me know that she was leaving a gift certificate for me to use there anytime I wanted. I told her that was very nice but unnecessary as the grooming assistant had taken the charge off and apologized. She insisted I use it and said that she really wanted to make sure I was happy with the service and to let me know that she had sat her staff down and went over this situation as it had come up before and it was not acceptable. I told her I was happy with the dogs and appreciated the call. I hung up thinking that was really a good way to handle a customer.

So folks, note to business owners and managers – customer service is key. I walked out of there this afternoon thinking I would likely not go back if I had to deal with that groomer again but now I would consider it. And the buddies do look and feel great :) The grooming assistant said Storm did howl & talk quite a bit (I did warn them) but she said quite normal and even on the “quiet-ish” side compared to other huskies! And Angelus was a perfect gentleman the entire time…what a buddy :)

Angelus all clean!

Angelus all clean!

Stormy all clean!

Stormy all clean!

Watch this short video!

Nikita the Lioness

Beautiful lioness who was confiscated from a scumbag drug dealer who had her de-clawed and kept her in the basement (I’m sure in his grand attempt to be oh so cool and own a lion – hopefully he is someone’s playtoy in prison right now.)

She now lives happily at Big Cat Rescue: http://www.bigcatrescue.org/ Watching her makes me think of Angelus :) Chicken is her favorite food (just like Angelus!) and when she is guarding her food she looks like Angelus does when Storm comes sniffing around to see what he can steal (which he knows he cannot but the is a persistent bugger.)

I’m a HUGE animal lover. Only charities I ever donate to are animal rescue and care and I donate pretty much every month. Although I like to stick to smaller ones like this one as I believe my money is truly going to help the animals and not pay the giant salaries and admin expenses of large charities (my cynical side never quits!) And I do tend to get all weepy when reading all about the abuse animals suffer at the hands of jackass people who I would like to take out into the woods and shoot.  In my opinion, if you can abuse an animal, you are simply 1 step away from doing it to a person so why should it be considered less of an offense?

Anyway – it’s a cute little video to put a smile on your face! I LOVE big cats – they are amazingly majestic.  Enjoy :)

This morning I was driving to work. Several cars ahead of me was the garbage truck.  In the span of 1-2 minutes, they lost several beer cans, a soda bottle, the box container for Bud Light, some plastic wrap/packing stuff and other bits of garbage. I watched them fall out and bounce across/around the 2-lane road we were driving on.

Now, this annoyed me on several levels…First, what the hell? You are the garbage collectors. Your job is to pick it up. Not drop it all over the street to blow around and possibly end up in the ocean since we were right by the beach entrance.   I’ve seen the guys when they empty the trash on my street or neighboring streets as I walk the dogs. They take NO care to pick up anything they drop.  I’ve walked around my street and picked up garbage, lying in the street, on sidewalks or on the grass median, that fell out as they were dumping it (or apparently as they drive away.) How hard is your damn job?? Get the garbage you pick up from trashcans and get it into your truck????  I appreciate the service, but you get paid a pretty decent wage to perform this function so do it right (our neighbor works for the local trash collection company – he does pretty darn well.)  But why bother right?? You probably wanted to finish your shift and be done for the day. GRRRR.

Second reason it annoyed the heck out of me, it was almost all recyclables falling out and now littering the street (we have different trucks for trash, recycling and yard-waste recycling.)  Cans, plastic bottles and box/paper. So apparently the trash guys picked up garbage that some lazy jerk filled with easily-recyclable items.  The coastside trash company gives you FREE recycling bins to use. And they will deliver them to you when you move in and start your trash service. Again – how hard is this really?  Why the heck are you so frackin’ lazy that you can’t be bothered to use the free recycle bins, which is then picked up by the company weekly (free – cost for trash collections includes recycling so you pay the same fee even if you never use the recycling service.)  All you have to do is use them and put them out on trash day.

I am not a NorCal coastside-living, tree-hugging, crazy environmentalist. But seriously, how hard is it for people to recycle correctly.  And then for the garbage company to not litter the street with people’s trash?? I love my planet. I really love my country and I sure as hell love where I live and don’t want it to be a craphole due to stupid lazy people and negligence. Have you ever been to Mexico? They don’t do plastics recycling. So after all the soda and juice companies switched from glass to plastic bottles they now just end up in the garbage. Or as we saw a lot of – in piles by the side of the road. Just gorgeous…

So really – use the dang recycle bins and quite being lazy or even worse, just jerks. And to the people whose actual job description (and paycheck) says “trash collector” or “garbage man” – collect the trash the correct way, and keep it in your truck on the way to dumping it. Thanks.

I had to take my huskies to the vet today. They needed more Heartguard and they were due for their every 3-year heartworm test. So before the vet would sell me more, I had to bring them in for their test. But they said go ahead and save the office visit fee and bring them during them the Tuesday evening shot clinic. Nice…save $45ish times 2 dogs. Sold!

So I left work at 6:45ish for the 7:00pm – 8:00pm shot clinic. Pulled into parking lot and saw a line of 10 dogs/customers in line. Funny thing I first noticed…all the guys had the little dogs and the women had the bigger dogs. I smiled.

My error – when I got dressed this morning I was not thinking of the vet visit.  I dressed for work in jeans, cashmere sweater and 4.5″ heels. At 5:00pm when I took the buds out for their potty break before dinner, I realized the error of my ways…as I almost slid down the hillside by my office.

So I got in line to check the buds in at the vet. Once checked in, you wait in line to be called in, pay for your services and then be seen. I was waiting in line when the pit bull family pulled up. Stereotypical. Whatever. Yet annoying at the same time.  But I never blame the dogs. Also..to the girl in this family…you don’t know what ‘hydrid’ or ‘altered’ means?  You look to be about 25-28 yrs old – buy a dictionary.

But Angelus was attacked by a pitbull as a puppy and he simply does not forget.  Anyone that says dogs have little to no memory is an idiot. Angelus knows when a pitbull is anywhere around and remembers that he doesn’t trust them. When he was a puppy he was attacked at the dogpark by a male pitbull – the only reason he was ok is tht he is SO dang fluffy, the dog couldn’t lock onto his neck before he got pulled off by me and the pitbull owner. That was one of the scariest few minutes of my life as I felt SO helpless as I was just physically unable to drag the dog off. Now I (theoretically) know what to do.

Angelus also had to defend his little brother Storm when he was a puppy. We were at a SuperBowl party and people could bring their dogs. One of the dogs there was a pitbull/Rhodesian Ridgeback mix.  Storm was a tiny puppy. He walked past the food tables and the other dog freaked and attacked Storm. Angelus responded by jumping on the dog. Ended up putting a hole in his (puppy attacking dog) head and he was bleeding. I didn’t like to see that but he (other dog) attacked my puppy. And his big brother defended him. End of story.

Another more recent incident was where a a guy had his pitbull off-leash on the street by our house and he came running at me/us. Angelus jumped in front of me, and bit the butt/tail of the dog as he came running at us. Made the dog turn tail and run away. Angelus defended us. Nothing more to say about that.

So anyway, this couple walked up with their obviously very strong dog pulling them. She was in a harness and the woman was walking her. It was quite obvious in the first minute that she was not in control. At all.  Once I realized it was a girl, I knew Angelus would be fine. He is ok with female pit bulls.  My biggest issue was the glaring fact that the woman had no physical control over her dog. At all. I don’t get why people can’t learn this. It’s actually not that hard. And when you have a dog that is stronger than you, you need to pay even more attention to this. Annoys me to no end as people will end up blaming the dog when it’s a doggie parent issue. Same thing with unruly children.

But then I really noticed that all the people there with big dogs (by now, 1 guy with a giant lab came) had no physical control over their dogs. And their dogs were pulling, barking, growling, etc. Basically = being doggies.  But the thing is, this isn’t the dog park. And there were people with tiny dogs there that were obviously a little stressed. Plus I didn’t want my dogs to topple me over in my ill-thought-out shoes…

BUT, my dogs were just sitting there. Or laying down. They were being very well-mannered which I appreciated a lot at this point since between my shoes and the craziness of the other dogs, was totally expecting something to happen that involved me getting knocked down :)  I have nothing to say but awesome compliments about my dogs’ behavior. But the pitbull (sweet but crazeee), pitbull puppy (x3), Golden Retriever and Lab, (oh yeah that tiny poodle was a spaz!) well…they were all very sweet but…:)

But the staff were, as always, extremely friendly, efficient and quick once with them. I found them when I lived in San Bruno years and years ago, and my cat was sick on a Sunday and needed a vet when mine was closed. Found them, brought Jack in and I have been a client ever since.  They offer a shot clinic every Tuesday between 7pm-8pm. This is very helpful and cost efficient for puppies!! And for all dogs really. Plus the doctors there are not the “give them meds and send them on thier way” type of doctors. I appreciate this.The buds’ main doctor is Dr. Cucaro and they love her. Angelus doesn’t like just anyone…and he really likes her :)

If you live anywhere nearby, I highly reccomend the Linda Mar Veterinary Hospital:

http://www.lindamarvet.com/

Tonight I found out that huskies (and german shepherds) have flat/small veins so it is harder to draw blood. But they were both very brave :)

Oh, and since we didn’t get out of there until 8:30pm, and the buddies were so good about their blood drawings and the other doggy craziness, I took them to McDonald’s to get them their favorite after-vet treat…a 6 piece Chicken McNuggets that they (grugdingly) share.  :)

Between driving back to the SF Bay Area from Tahoe yesterday morning and driving on (2-lane) Highway 92 from the coastside daily it made me remember a reason I hate the Bay Area…the unlimited amount of *idgit drivers. So here is a checklist I think they should include with all DMV tests & renewals:

1. Are you medicated in any fashion? Stay off the freeways and for godsakes stay OUT of the fast lane.

2. Are you so old you have zero reflexes left? Stay off the freeways and for godsakes stay OUT of the fast lane.

3. Did you come from a country where there are no driving laws beyond ‘look straight ahead and pray’? Stay off the freeways and for godsakes stay OUT of the fast lane.

4. Is your day so packed that the only time you have to talk on the phone, yell at your kids in the backseat, do your makeup, shave your beard, brush your hair, eat your breakfast/lunch/dinner/4th meal, or daydream is when you are driving? Stay off the freeways and for godsakes stay OUT of the fast lane.

5. Are you so unable to confront anything or anyone that when forced to merge with other traffic you simply don’t look – you just stare forward, drive and hope everyone else is paying attention so no accidents occur? Stay off the freeways!

5. Are you the proud smug owner of a Prius who feels that since you contribute so much to society by saving the planet one car trip at a time, you can drive as slow as you want and don’t care about the cars in back of you? Stay the F out of the fast lane. Your little carpool sticker means nothing once carpool lane time is over. And if you are stopping the flow of traffic by going 55mph on a 65mph freeway in the fast lane – you are only giving more people reason to run you off the road. And breaking the law..move to the right.

I think this list should be sent with everyone’s registration and license renewals…

*idgit =

http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=idgit

Going to Las Vegas today with my husband. We are going for the long weekend to see the Taylor Swift concert. Sounds fun right? (I’m sure it will be ctuslly…once we get there.)

The unfun part is getting there.

Last night I asked my husband what time we needed to be ready to walk out the door. He said 11:15am. Now, whenever we go out of town, in addition to packing for the trip, I need to leave instructions for our house/pet sitter (these are very detailed), do all the dishes, clean the kitchen, take the garbage out, make the bed, set up the guest room & general pickup. I HATE to come home to a messy house.

My husband – he packs his stuff.

Today, after doing all my stuff, as well as taking the dogs on a 1.5 hour walk, was ready as instructed at 11:15 (few minutes early actually.)

We left around 11:35am. With husband saying in car how there was a chance we will miss our flight. What??

Get to our office where we left my car to take a cab to SFO (this was an attempt to save time as long term parking shuttle is chancey.)

In the cab on the way to SFO he got a call from Southwest that our plane was just delayed 2 hours. Guess we won’t miss the plane…

We get there, we wait in line, we finally get all bags checked and we are set….to wait 2.5 hours. Husband says he is calling his brother to come pick us up so we can all go have lunch. What??

His brother is probably 15-20 minutes away (easily.) I feel this is silly. This is a big airport. Let’s just find a restaurant, sit down & have lunch. Not interested in waiting for pick-ups, driving around, parking, etc. etc. I rush around all the time in life – can’t we just sit down? So I ask “Why the heck can’t we just sit down??”

He goes on to explain his mode of travel…which is much his mode in other things. Why be early? It’s a waste of time when I have other things to do.

I can agree with this theory for a lot of occasions. I have a hard time sitting around & doing nothing but sometimes I just want to not rush around and stress. You can enjoy every minute even if chilling for some of them. But not sure he can at all.

This is one way we are very different. And traveling REALLY spotlights it. I’m just amazed I haven’t punched him yet :)

Ok, rant over! Time to go to our gate soon. I will post more about LV I am sure!!