"Blogging is not writing..."

"It's just graffiti with punctuation," said Dr. Ian Sussman (Elliott Gould) to Alan Krumwiede (Jude Law) in "Contagion."

Great line.

It also touches on a question that I asked a writing group (but got no answer)--why is blogging considered publishing?

Publishing has the aspect of approval by a third party--the editor or publisher. In fact, this third party approval is the basis of public relations.

If we can all just say we are awesome, what does it mean?

Beaglemania: Good News for Odin and Brahma

The beagle brothers have found a home. I'm happy for them, but there are so many loving dogs who need homes.

Spike could have easily ended up in a shelter...through no fault of his own...like shelter dogs. Open your hearts.

As for Odin and Brahma--congratulations and have happy lives.

Adjustments, Setbacks and Disappointments

It's been almost three weeks since my last post. That is a disappointment. I may not be brilliant or profound, but at least I can be consistent. I've failed at the last task. I know how it started. I had a goal to write four posts the first week of July. I wrote five, so I figured I was home-free. It was a false sense of security.

Let the excuses begin.

We've been through two heat waves since my last entry. As I've aged, I've noticed that the heat takes a higher toll on me--it really wipes me out. I lose all energy and any semblance of ambition.

I had a disappointing 4th of July. A family get-together was too rushed to be worth all the logistics of getting together. Also, I hate that people start setting off firecrackers days in advance--it freaks out Spike and makes evening walks difficult.

Almost two weeks ago, the third of four heat waves subsided; Jeff and I decided to resume our weekly hikes. We chose Collis P. Huntington State Park as listed in Doggin' Connecticut and recommended by a dog park friend. When we got a few blocks away from home, I realized that Jeff's book of maps wasn't in the car. We would have been fine but the main road to the park was closed.

We tried using the directions from Jeff's phone--they sent us around the park to what looked like a high end suburban cul-de-sac. We didn't find access to any hiking trail. We decided to return to Putnam Memorial State Park; on our way there we saw another entrance to the access road to Huntington Park.

We finally made it to Huntington at least an hour later than we planned. We picked up a trail map and headed out.

Unfortunately, the trails are color-coded but the map was not. I was staring at the map. trying to figure out where we were and not paying enough attention to where I was going. I fell, scraped both palms, my right elbow and my left knee.

I didn't cut our hike short because it took us so long to get there. But that was a mistake--my knee swelled up and I limped the rest of the way. And to top things off-- my knee is still bothering me.

Spike twisted his leg the other day--he could barely get down the front steps. Luckily, the vet prescribed an anti-inflammatory that did the trick. He's pretty much back to normal.

Finally, I've got the baseball blues. The Mets are in a losing streak and most of my positive thoughts have dissipated. I call it Mets misery.

Half-Way Day for the Mets

The Mets played the 81st game of their 162 game season; they beat the Phillies 11-1. Jon Niese went eight innings improving his record to 7-3. Besides a great offensive game, the Mets played stellar defense as well.

The Mets are now 44-37. They have been streaky. Losing streaks to the Yankees and the Cubs were depressing but they managed to turn those losses around. They are resilient if nothing else.

The Mets are for real; I believe.

Chilling at Taylor Farm

Spike and I went to Taylor Farm dog park this morning before it got too hot. We rested for a few minutes at our Friday gathering spot before completing a loop.

Apple Pancakes

I noticed a brand new can of Stonewall Kitchen pancake and waffle mix in the kitchen cabinet yesterday and decided to make pancakes with apple (our last remaining fresh fruit.)

I got out the mix, almond milk, egg, butter, apple and syrups (maple, ginger, and blueberry.) For a moment, I wondered if I really wanted pancakes or if I was procrastinating on my kitchen cleaning.

If it was procrastination, it wasn't a good idea. I was actually making the kitchen messier. Besides, it wasn't like the cleaning elves were about to make an appearance. As for Jeff, he was working on a project of his own and was going grocery shopping--I couldn't expect him to take over the kitchen cleanup. I was stuck no matter how long I procrastinated.

To paraphrase Freud, sometimes apple pancakes are just apple pancakes.

Beaglemania: Brahma and Odin Need a Home

Here are two more pictures of these sweet beagle brothers:

They are housebroken, neutered, up-to-date on all their shots, well-trained, and get along with other dogs. What's not to love? Contact seymourctk9@aol.com if you can give these brothers a together-forever home.

A Day in the (Messed Up) Life

I've been intrigued by the Routines column in the Sunday New York Times. I've often thought about writing a post like that. But I don't have a normal routine on Sunday; I often work on weekends especially during the school year.

But I feel compelled to write today: the beginning of the second half of the year. What I did and didn't do today is emblematic of my year so far.

For the first time in weeks that I had an early morning appointment; I agreed to help at a Princeton Review booth from 9 to 12 at the Kids in Crisis Triathlon. We had materials about our test prep programs and promotional items to give away at the post-race Family Festival.

As (bad) luck would have it, I woke up around 4:30 but couldn't get back to sleep. I dozed for a minute or two here and there but when I finally got up, I did not feel rested.

At the event, I watched some runners pass the finish line in a spray of cooling water. Competing in a triathlon is a major accomplishment any time but especially in 90 degree weather. The festival was fun with food, live music, deejays, face painting and many vendors. But it was so hot; it was draining just to hang around.

After about an hour and a half, I left; there wasn't much activity at our booth. I came home, wrote in my journal, and Jeff and I went to Fat Cat for lunch. After our late lunch, I planned to do a few household projects but was too tired. So I took a nap. Then it was 4 pm.

This is the recent story of my life--days get away from me despite my best intentions (yes, I know about the path to hell.) Today is the beginning of the second half of the year. Unfortunately, today is representative of my year-to-date. I haven't written about goals or long-range plans in a while. But I wonder how I will manage at the end of 2012 with a 12-in 12 post.

What to do? I just jotted down a to-do list for the week. It's relatively ambitious--a mix of chores with some action on longer range goals.

It's my start on a way to turn 2012 around. At least I've got a half year to try to set it straight.