Have Dog, Will Travel
And I never wanted anything from you
Except everything you had and what was left after that too, oh
Happiness hit her like a bullet in the back
Struck from a great height by someone who should know better than that
The dog days are over
Murphy, to his credit, has been a great sport for the many adventures that life has thrown him in the last few months, but this is mainly because he is so easily bored. Adventures he has had - he went to work for a week with a friend of ours who was housesitting with us and interacted with some special needs folks, and I heard that he was very patient with them. He went with us to the institution that is the Montgomery Community Garage Sale and he hung out with a husky puppy and impressed a great many people. Then he went on his first big road trip since the ill-fated adoption trip.
By now I am very used to Murphy getting a lot of attention in public. It's kind of like… dating a supermodel? People stop and stare, they compliment you on the incredible beauty you have with you. In any case, I'm so used to it now I can sound a little stuck up.
Interactions of this type generally go a little something like this:
Stranger in awed tones: "Your dog is so beautiful!"
Me: "He is, thanks!" Crap, I have to stop agreeing like that. I sound like such a brag!
S: "What breed is he?"
Me: "He's a whippet! Kind of like a greyhound and a terrier crossed - but they've been their own breed for many years!" Murphy usually demonstrates the meaning of the word by jumping all over the person and whipping them with his tail.
2 of 10 Strangers follow this with: "Are you feeding him?"
Me: Not this again! "Yes. He's supposed to look like that. He's got quite the runner's metabolism."
Repeat ad infinitum. It's kind of fun to meet so many people with our wonderful Murphy. He loves the attention, and the other dogs he meets. He likes dogs more than people, I think. Well, people who don't have treats anyway.
Last weekend I spent in Edmonton with my whole little family - Paul and Murphy.
One small step for man, and the other one for me
Send myself up to the stars
You know it can't be that hard
Dissipate into the dark
Don't even try to stop me, I'm already gone
On our way there late in the evening I saw a brilliant aurora through my window and asked Paul to stop - and am I ever glad we did. It was a stunning lightshow, and I managed to capture a tiny fraction of its grace and beauty in a few photos I took. Unfortunately, I had left my good tripod in a bag that hadn't made the packing list, and so I had to make do. I also hadn't done any setting research, so the photos I got were nothing short of miraculous. I hear from the scientific community that 2013 will be an exceptional year for Auroras, and I look forward to an encore performance soon.
We found out that Delta hotels have a great pet policy, and since the wedding I was shooting was being held in one and they had a fabulous rate for the long weekend, we stayed in a luxury room with a little living area that we really enjoyed. The wedding I shot was fairly low key and really fun - some of the formals were taken at a Comic Book store! It was a couple I had been looking forward to working with for a long time, so it was a pleasurable weekend in many ways. I was done after the first hour of the dance and, leaving a drowsy Murphy in his crate to sleep, I took off with Paul to try to see Star Trek, which ended up in us actually seeing the new Iron Man movie. (Totally fitting in either case with the wedding I shot!) Iron Man 3 was a really great movie - different from the previous two but really well made and with great action and effects. My disbelief was thoroughly suspended.
I'll bury all excuses
Burn all the reasons why
I can't be everything you want
Or everything you need
Which brings me to my decision to no longer be ashamed of the time I spend in other worlds, whether watching TV or movies or reading, I find that there are some huge benefits. These activities used to produce some guilt in me, like I was wasting time, but I have since realized that most of this time, when spent deliberately, is very beneficial.
It wakes up my creativity, it helps me to share with those around me, it gives me pause on complex issues of morality, grace, romance, truth, and justice. It allows me to disagree vehemently with imaginary people stating their views and real people stating their views. It allows me to live richly inside myself and bring that richness outside myself. I no longer feel guilty about watching TV - good quality satire especially. Great wit and great truths often go hand in hand. Great mysteries parallel the many great mysteries of life. It's a huge weight off me since I've admitted this to myself. This time I spend does not go to waste, it is not unrewarding or empty, it is full of creative ideas, great cinematography and storytelling, and ideas that shape who we are. Billions have gone before me, and thoughts they have left behind are compelling.
The week since has been a slow re-institution of the daily litany of life. A few notable things have happened. I hired someone to work for me - more information will come about that in the next few weeks as I give her a trial run, but I suspect she will be the best fit for what I need - which is someone to do all the little things that take up so much of my time I feel the lack of it keenly. Things like the execution of marketing strategies, communication with clients, and pretty much everything I do short of shooting, editing, networking, and idea-churning. I believe that having a staff person will be a benefit personally and professionally and will allow me and the business to grow further. This idea has been in the works for nearly a year now, and I finally have it all in motion for the second time, after my first choice found out she had better things to do.
Speaking of which! Mere days ago I shot maternity photos for Ricki, and just a couple of days ago she had her identical twin girls a little ahead of schedule. I am so excited to meet them, and to visit her. I hear that despite their tiny forms, babes and Mom are all doing well, and I should be able to visit them tomorrow - today Mom was too tired. =)
You are all four seasons
Rolled into one
You're like the cold December snow
In the warm July sun
I have really been enjoying the company of my wonderful Paul lately. In just a few weeks, we'll be celebrating our third anniversary, and a few weeks after that we'll have been together four years. Four years, being the length of a university degree, is almost a unit of measurement for me. Alas, the word "degree" is already taken for a unit of measurement. Perhaps I can call it a "college" and make it a standard…But the fact remains that I am still utterly in love and totally devoted to this man I've found. He's the right one for me, no doubt about it. Life is not easy most of the time, but it is SO good. Paul and I have been trying to focus on having a lot of good conversations about things - life related and more abstract, the more conversation the better our relationship runs. It's like oil in the machine.
Today was an extremely productive day - and just in the nick of time. I have a great deal to do before June comes flying across my calendar. In the meantime, I will allow myself to float through a haze of ideas and thoughts and nostalgia and dreams for the future. So much going through the noggin recently…