Been a busy week.  Work has picked up a little, which has been good.  Over the weekend I met up with Carpool Buddy and we watched both "Transformers" movies.  They're so much fun.  A wee bit melodramatic, God is a robot, and lots of stuff blowed up real good.

I woke up feeling kind of strange this morning because I dreamed about work all night.  And it wasn't normal work, it was surreal, sick animal, giving-a-cat-a-bath work.  I woke up kind of disturbed.  It might be because one of my favorite patients in the world had to be hospitalized last night and I was worrying about him.  I would have stayed late to see him and his owner but I had to meet up with some relatives, so I had to wait for one of my coworkers to call me with an update later last night.  I'm going to call the specialty center soon to check in on him.  What sucks is I saw him three days ago and he was doing great. 

I went out to dinner with my aunt, uncle, and a handful of cousins last night, and today the Padre's side of the family is getting together at my other aunt's house.  It's always fun.  It's funny, because even though today is my day off anyway, just knowing that it's a holiday makes it seem more special.  

Have a good Thanksgiving!!

How is it possible that Thanksgiving is next week?  Seriously.  I'm very proud of my neighbors, though.  I've seen a decent smattering of Thanksgiving decorations up around the area, but very few Christmas lights.  Good job, y'all!  Way to keep Thanksgiving from falling through the cracks. 

Nothing much to report - am already stackin' up activities for the weekend, so we'll see what pans out.

Yesterday before I left work, I called a client to check in on her dog.  He's an absolute sweetie and one of my favorites, and I've gotten to know the owner pretty well since, unfortunately, the little dude has had a lot of health problems.  So we talked about his issues for about fifteen minutes, but then were on the phone another fifteen minutes just talking.  The owner is probably in her 70s, and I just love her.  She is a fascinating woman, and one of the nicest people I've met.  Yesterday she was telling me about her time in college with the last wave of WWII veterans that entered the education system.

I tell ya, that's why I got into this gig.  I love the challenge of medicine and I love working with dogs and cats, but it's the people that I'm really there for.  Sure, I could do without some of them, but the main reason I picked general practice over a specialty is because I get the chance to develop these relationships and friendships.  It's just awesome.

I would like to take this moment to say...

BOOYAH, COLTS!!!!!

I never should have doubted you.  I was watching the game, but about halfway through the third quarter I had to change the channel.  But oh, me of little faith.  I will never doubt you again.  Take THAT, Patsies!

Why, I do believe we're 9 - 0!  And congrats to Drew Brees and the Saints, too.  Way to keep the Purdue vibe alive.

Had a pretty good weekend!  I kept thinking Saturday was Sunday, because I'm so used to only getting one day for my weekend, so it was a nice surprise Saturday night to realize, hey, I get tomorrow off, too!  And because of shuffling weekends around, I get next Saturday off, too.  So yay!

I appreciate the way that "Smallville" has managed to keep Clark Kent's other persona a secret from Lois.  Up until the end of this week's episode, we'd managed to escape those obnoxious glasses (ugh), but nobody has ever seen Clark's face when he's in hero mode because he moves too fast for anyone to be able to see him.  And any time Lois has been close enough to ID him, she's been unconscious or something.  And the one time she's actually seen him, it was a silhouette through smoke.

Which is a huge relief to me, because I get so aggravated about "classic" Lois that spends so much time with Superman and yet can't recognize him when he whips out the eyewear.

And, okay, the other thing I appreciate about "Smallville" is Tom Welling.  Hee. 

Wasn't too bad at work yesterday for Friday the 13th.  You never know what kind of juju will be floating around.  It's the same kind of juju that will get you utterly slammed when someone says, "Gee, today's been pretty slow, huh?" Because of someone says that, then a whole proverbial truckload of sickies will be dumped in the door.

Ahhh, day off!  And this weekend will be my first Saturday off in a month, so I am READY. 

DD, I usually try to include any kids in my discussion of pets, and I try to ask them a little about themselves, too.  It's usually really fun to talk to them.  One of my co-workers had a harrowing child experience where the offspring in question was crawling on the floor, playing with the lights, and grabbing his leg under the table during the exam, and the parent wasn't doing anything about it.  I think this kid was about ten years old.  But I've been lucky with the kids that come to see me, so I usually enjoy them.

I keep hearing these ads for the movie "Pirate Radio" and I kind of want to see it, but I can't figure out what they could have put in it to give it an R rating.  I mean...it's about radio.  It looks funny, and hey, anything with the word "pirate" in the name has to be worthwhile...but it makes me wonder if they'll pull a Mike Meyers and make it so unnecessarily crude that it drowns out the story. Only way to know is to go see it, I guess.

Hey, check this story out: Deaf veterinarians pave their own way 

I have my homepage set as the AVMA website and this was the featured story today.  Pretty cool stuff!  Although it makes me wonder how they manage with fat animals, because it's not uncommon for me to get a patient that I can barely hear their hearts with my stethoscope because they're so - er - well padded. Plus, I noticed that the dog in the picture is a Corgi, so...bonus!

Thanks to all our veterans who have served or are currently serving in our armed forces.  You have my utmost respect and gratitude, and I hope you never doubt how valued and valuable you are.

One of my coworkers loaned me his DVDs of "Freaks and Geeks" because he thought I'd like it.  It's pretty good!  I'd heard of the show but never watched in while it was on.  Leaves me with kind of strange feelings, though...it's funny and sad at the same time.  I'm really enjoying it, though.

Something fun happened at work yesterday.  This woman came in with her dog, along with a little girl about 3 - 4 years old.  The girl had brought her stuffed rabbit with her, and really wanted to tell me everything about her bunny - her name, how old she was, and her favorite color.  When I lifted the dog off the table, the little girl walked up, plopped the rabbit on the table, and said, "Time for bunny!"   I finished up with the dog, but then I had time to do a physical exam on the bunny.  So I listened to it's heart, looked in it's ears, told her the bunny was in excellent health, and sent her on her way.

Colts are 8 - 0, people!  Hollaaaah!   Wasn't a spectacular win yesterday, though.  I was driving back to Chi-town so I could only find the game on the radio for part of the way, so I called Mom when I got home.  The guys won, but they won by 3 when Houston missed a field goal in the last few seconds of the game - otherwise it would have gone into OT.  Not a good way to win.  But it was a win!  Yay!  Haven't played the Patriots, Vikings, Saints, or Giants yet, though.  Keep the streak alive, boys!

Well, the verdict on the tires is that they need to be replaced.   So I've got an appointment set up for Thursday to get my car new shoes. 

Tumminy had a nice time with his grandpupsters this weekend, though.  He got SO excited when we pulled up outside my parents' house, and he was deliriously happy to see the Padre.  He was pooped last night, though.  I took him for a walk yesterday afternoon, and during the last leg he just stopped walking.  So we took a shortcut home, ate dinner, and then he passed out around 6:30.  Poor little guy just can't nap in the car.

And now...apparently, it's Monday.

Goin' home this weekend - wasn't really planned, but when I went to get my tires rotated the person checking them out told me I needed new tires.  I need to get my oil changed anyway, so I'm just going to go home, change my oil there, and have the Padre look at my tires to see what he thinks.

So I didn't rotate my tires because the person (honestly, I'm not sure if they were a man or a woman) told me it wouldn't do me any good (okay, well, fine, I won't waste your time)  but I stopped by the grocery, went to the bank, went to Target, and did laundry.

Yesterday was a milestone for Tumminy.  I didn't shut him in his crate while I took a shower.  Maybe this doesn't seem like a big deal, but you'd be surprised at how destructive he can be in the space of 10 minutes.  But he was just chillin' and I don't take that long, so...I just hopped in the shower and left him where he was.  Success!  Nothing got destroyed!   I'm so proud of the little guy.

So I've been watching "Three Rivers" on Sundays...it's not a fantastic show, but I watch because of Alex O'Loughlin from "Moonlight".  It's a doctor-y type show about a team of organ transplant sugeons, so you know at least one person is going to buy the farm within the first half hour.  It's gotten better as the weeks go by, though...but what's shocked me is that it has actually moved me to tears on more than one occasion.  I'll sometimes cry a little when reading books, but movies and TV rarely get me to tear up.

Changing the subject a bit, I would just like to put it out there that the Colts are 7 - 0.  That is all.

But since the Colts/49ers game wasn't televised in Chicago this week,  I had plenty of time to take the Tumster for nice long walkies.  We speedwalked for about three miles on Sunday afternoon since it was so nice out.  And boy, did that give me a relaxing evening!  Tumnus ate dinner and had a couple bursts of energy, but other than that, he was completely unconscious.  Plus, he'll actually cuddle when he's tired.  He passed out around 7:00 and I had to wake him up and drag him out of dreamland so he could stagger outside for his last potty break around 10:00.

He's so darn cute when he's sleepy.

Tumnus always rides shotgun when I drive.  Usually he lays down within petting range and relaxes along the way.  Now, since I've moved to Chicagoland, I will readily admit that I am a more aggressive driver.  I drive safely, but apparently Tumnus thinks that I sometimes brake too hard.  When that happens he'll sit up and back up in the seat to brace himself, even though I've never even come close to tumbling him off the seat.

Little critic.

Got LOTS to do today.  Already went running and cleaned the bathroom - now I've got to clean the rest of my apartment, go to a staff meeting, hit Target, hit the grocery, hit the bank, hit Hippie Mart, bake brownies, and assemble any other foody things I might need - got three friends coming for the weekend, so yays!  And I get to leave work early on Saturday.  And Tumnus is getting a bath tomorrow, but he doesn't know it yet.  Oh, and I have a staff meeting today at work, and a meeting tonight for the youth group leaders.

But before I do any of this, I feel like I need to make a list so I can feel productive when I cross stuff off.  Because making a list isn't procrastinating at all.

Here I go!!

Like Kurusawa I make mad films / 'Kay I don't make films / But if I did they'd have a samurai