Category Archives: Pups

East San Jose After Dark

As you know, I made a conscious effort recently to step up my game by calling potential buyers. From the get go, I employed a multi-pronged call/email approach with the two gents who attended my homebuying class.

They are childhood friends, so they attended my class together. That said, they are on different timelines. One is still trying to see how much he can afford based on co-borrowing with family. The other is clear on location but not sure about how much he wants to spend. He has an approval amount, but he wants to be conservative. What this means is, possibly condo/townhouse, maybe SFH.

So I started sending him MLS queries based on our conversation, and I asked for his feedback. I also ran stats to give him (an engineer) some data on avg and median prices, $/sf, expected sold/list ratios, etc. He expressed interest in seeing two townhomes in East SJ, but bc of his work schedule, he couldn’t meet at the property until 8pm. Meanwhile, the thing about properties in San Jose is that they are typically owner-occupied, which requires additional planning/logistics on the front end in order to preview.

Mind you, I have done a few open houses in SJ, but SJ is a huge area, and East SJ is like where my skatepark was… I was a little nervous about driving around in the dark scouting out these places. Plus, I have never had good luck with parking… even in the residential neighborhoods. Anyway, we met out there, we looked at places, and it was fine. He and I get along pretty well, and I was thrilled when he commented that he has met a lot of agents and I’ve been really speedy, thorough, and responsive. He liked too that I gave him additional data. And he can tell that I go that extra mile. Yay, FINALLY, someone is noticing all the extra work I put in. It was a great boost to get some validation. And we talked about KW about my commission… he didn’t know much about how all that is structured, but he seemed focused on his priorities, which is a refreshing change. It’s not about trying to save a few grand by going with a discount broker. It’s about working with someone who is trustworthy, knowledgeable, and thorough so that ultimately, you get the house that you want in this crazy market. Goddamn, what a relief to meet someone so logical, someone who really gets it. He def impresses me. So now I am trying to hone down his search… his timeline is by the end of the year, so I am hopeful.

I will say, it was TOUGH finding parking in these communities after everyone was home from work. And some spots were DARK. Next time I need to pack a flashlight bc the phone light just isn’t strong enough. What can I say, I’m not in Kansas anymore when I’m in SJ. But I like this client. He is young but he has his shit together. He is a planner who is clearly developing a strategy to be smart with his money. It’s really cool to see, and even though his price point is a lot lower than the other potential clients, I think it would be very rewarding to help him through this process.

What else. I’ve been busy too with Rover. I was bragging to J the other day that I was more than doubling my Rover income from last year. Then Bubs said, well, you didn’t do a full year last year. Oh. Touche. Way to burst my bubble. Still, even if I calculate for the same months both years, I’m slightly ahead. I like hosting doggies. Except when they get sick poopies and shit all over my carpet. Yes, that happened today. Diarrhea is no. fucking. joke. Ugh. It was disgusting. I tried to imagine that people with kids have to deal with similar grossness way more often, so I should just get over it. Well, Laundress to the rescue! I cannot believe it, but it got that shit out. Literally. And I just want to add: I’m glad I saved all my old socks/underwear as cleaning rags. I went through a ton of them cleaning up today’s mess.

Other than that, the big news is that Bubs returns tonight from MD. Yup, he’s been a true road warrior for the month of October. My friend asked if I was feeling lonely. Honestly, I will never admit to any codependency, but I will say it has been hard doing my open house and homebuying class set ups solo. It’s a lot of shit to lug around and set out. But I have been trying to work a ton… I’m finding that evening calls work best, and that’s much easier to do when you come home from the office to an empty house. Still, I’m glad he’s coming home. Taiwan is right around the corner… Ugh.

Can’t Be Bothered

I was lamenting to my friend M the other day that being in startup mode makes me hyper sensitive to inconvenience. Like I’m so much in the zone, that I just don’t want to be bothered with anything. Examples? A trip to Europe with Bubbey. Or maintaining my side shave. Or going away for the weekend. Or eating lunch. Or continuing that skateboarding class. Or cooking at home. Or getting a dog, even. I just want to focus on building my biz.

And something about that feels so weird. I mean, not so much the vacation or hairstyle or that stuff: I’ve always been reluctant to take time off and leave work… but definitely something seems amiss with the dog thing. I mean, I love dogs so damn much. They have been such a huge part of my life, and to think that I don’t want to experience that relationship and that joy simply bc I don’t want to be distracted feels really narrow-minded. It bugs me too that already we have talked about getting a dog first around my bday in June and then that got postponed to August and now we’re talking about pushing it off again…

I really want to understand why this was happening. Sure, I’m very serious about my business. But seeing as I have been Rovering since Marty died, obviously, I can handle dog care AND the biz concurrently. Then, I was thinking about this mild fear that the new dog won’t live up to my expectations. I mean, after all, I am my parents’ daughter, so the comparison game is all up in my blood. Is that fair to the new doggie that s/he be compared to Remy and Martin, my angels on Earth? And then of course, there are the logistics. I mean, caring for an animal is a big commitment for another 10-15 years and with the overseas relatives and elderfolks and what have you, it can get complicated. Nothing we haven’t juggled before, but like I said, I’m super sensitive about my lifestyle right now.

M said maybe this all just means I need to give myself more time. I’ll do it when I’m ready. But I’m really bothered by my aversion to inconvenience. It’s such a shitty attitude! Some things are worth the bother! For example, I’ve always complained about going home for Christmas and/or blowing my PTO visiting family in Taiwan… It’s always SO much trouble, traveling during the holidays and shuttling around from place to place. But in retrospect, what I’ve realized this year is that if I had given in to my feelings of annoyance and dread, I would have missed some very important final moments with people we love. I did those things prompted by obligation and by compromise but ultimately, it was the right decision. And I feel like getting a dog might be a similar vein.

The point is, as much as I value independence and freedom to do whatever the fuck I want, I’m also a firm believer that there is value in the struggle. Discomfort = growth. Plus, you know the Chinese LOVE the concept of “eating bitter.” The more sacrifice, the sweeter the reward. Ha!

Long story short, I started looking at the puppy porn again this evening. I got Remy when she was six months and Marty we got when he was like 2 y/o. I always thought the next dog would still be an adult. But then I started perusing Copper’s Dream. OMFG. I mean, look at these faces. Already I have like three or four PUPPIES on my short list. Look how beautiful Rhea is!! Great Dane/Pointer. She’s gonna be biggins. Or maybe we’ll do the foster-to-adopt route with Zoey 2. Shit man, it’s like midnight and now I have a major case of puppy fever!!!

Practically speaking, we do have a lot of travel coming up: Wilmington this month, then Seattle/Vancouver and Austin in September, then Taiwan (maybe Seoul enroute) in November… I’m running out of time with my Companion Pass and I want to hit up Portland again, maybe Idaho, Chicago, and Wisconsin… Eek. And work: I gotta get more deals!! Argh. We’ll just have to juggle and make it all fit somehow. Sometimes, the juice is worth the squeeze.

Get Beaver

So I’ve been dogsitting a supremely well-behaved standard poodle named Stormy. I know, I’m usually not a fan of poodles bc of their ridic haircuts, but I mean, I can’t blame her for her parents’ actions. She’s smart and playful and just youthful. It’s been a long time since I’ve had a young-in in the house. She really does draw us out to play and run around. I imagine that’s what child-rearing also does… it really forces you to get out and do things. You just have to find a way to wear them down and use up all that energy. It’s like a constant game of energy management.

So Stormy’s favorite past time appears to be playing with toys. Her parents gave her two toys and then I have this beaver stuffed animal that Martin used to like. Stormy LOVES the beaver. So everyday since June, I’ve been running around the backyard chasing after the dog telling her to “bring me beaver” or “go get beaver” or “where’s beaver.” Now, you know me: I tend to be very sheltered, naive, and gullible, but shit, even I feel a little embarrassed and concerned about being overheard by the neighbors. It sounds potentially sketchy/dirty, right? Or am I confusing it with something else? I dunno. I could be getting all worked up over nothing. Don’t ask me to Google anything. I’m not about to adulterate my brand new laptop with inappropriate images.

Anyway, I haven’t played chase in a hushed voice or anything. I mean, I’m taking the innocent route. Plus, Stormy just loves it.

Yesterday, for the holiday, I went to my friends’ C & C’s house. These people. My god. Their home in SJ is like an entertainment facility. The lot is double our size and they have this massive deck plus arbor and lots of outdoor seating. I mean, I came up on the house and there were signs pointing me to the backyard entrance. Bit surprising considering that C is the ultimate organizer. There were three different drink stations… you can tell these folks host a LOT of parties. They are very active in their church too, so like 50 people over is like a regular occurrence. And he’s an amazing cook. I had so much good food: pulled pork sandwiches, homemade cole slaw, homemade custard dessert, fruit-filled jellos… it was a nice party. Since I was solo and didn’t really know anyone else, C was sweet enough to hang with me a bit. He was also so kind with telling everyone I’m a realtor. I was feeling a little shy about it. I mean, I dunno: this wasn’t one of those parties where people were saying what they do…

I met a friend of his who is a volunteer puppy parent to the Wounded Warrior Project. She hosts puppies who are in training to become service doggies to vets. I met her current doggie Copper. Those dogs go through like a $20k training program, so if any of them come up with health issues of any kind, they get kicked out since the investment is so high and it’s unlikely the vets will be able to pay for expensive medical costs. Anyway, Copper was the sweetest thing. Bubs has been mentioning getting some kind of a retriever again… I can see the appeal: those goldies are just always smiling. Needless to say, I’m back in puppy fever mode, and I’ll be looking at puppy porn very soon.[FAG id=7513]

Sadie Spunkmeyer

Being a sassy woman, it’s hard for me to resist fellow spunky personalities. Earlier this month, we hosted Sadie, a pudgy little King Charles Cavalier Spaniel. Going by our somewhat lengthy meet-and-greet, I was bracing myself for yet another spoiled doggie. While she was over, she was super panty and excitable, esp for a 10-y/o. She constantly vied for the attention of her owner too, jumping up and practically begging to be coddled. I know, total eye roll. But shit man, I wanted the business. Like I said before, I love having multiple things going on at once. That shit just makes me happy, and given that my real estate biz is taking longer than I had anticipated, success in Rover just gives me a little boost. And of course, I still miss canine companionship. Long story short, I agreed to the assignment. And well shit, Sadie is the most people-obsessed doggie I have ever had. That said, there is a cuteness to coming home to something so soft and cuddly and I mean, she just demands a greeting as soon as you step in the door.

She was only with us for a week, but my goodness, she got Bubs wrapped around her tiny paws very quickly, and he would not shut up about how she was the BEST client yet. I mean, yes, those are some fightin’ words, bc you know how I feel about my sweet Ramona. But I do have to admit: this dog had ZERO meds/health instructions and she was really great being home alone. I mean, she wasn’t thrilled about it, but she never destroyed anything or demonstrated spite. Not that Ramona ever did either. But Ramona did also smell. In her defense Sadie also snored up a storm. Shit, I had like another week of uber-shitty sleep. Apparently, she’s had surgery to correct the snoring, but it’s come back again.

I have to say, she did always give us a hero’s welcome when we came home. It was awfully nice to have a sweet, smiling, happy being that was just thrilled to be with you. There’s something about that positive spirit. Somehow I didn’t cry when she had to go home… maybe I’ve finally gotten enough practice understanding the arrangement. But I def miss having a little cuddle bunny at home. I’ve been scouring adoption sites again. Maybe in August, it will be time to have a furry beast warm our hearts and home again.

On the more businessy side of things, I am on track to more than double my Rover income from last year. J keeps poo pooing it when I tell him. I mean, I get it: doubling from like $1 to $2 is not really anything worth noting. Still, doing Rover just makes me happy, so eat it.

I’m slated for a 16-day chunk later this month with Stormy, a poodle whom we trialed last month. It’ll be fun.[FAG id=7511]

Ramona Returns

The other day, Bubbey commented that I’m good at things that drain me. Ain’t that the truth! I mean,  project management for my parents, travel planning, relationship management, doggie care…

Sweet little Ramona went home on Friday afternoon. She was booked to stay with us for 18 days while her family traveled through Japan. In the end, the time together was still too short.

Sure, she has all kinds of problems: skin rashes, eye issues, ear infections, snoring problems, food sensitivities, trembling issues… but she is so damn cute!! Bubbey is right: indeed, I’m damn good at taking care of doggies. There’s just something so rewarding to me to be responsible for them, from tracking the meds, to monitoring the poop/pee, to grooming/feeding etc… Honestly, I feel like we did it for so long for Remy and Martin, and it always gave me such a strong sense of purpose. And there was so much good that came out of all my time and effort.

For example, Ramona was on new ear drop meds and when I took her to the vet, the doctor said her ears looked better than they’d been in many months. Sure, it was probably the new meds but heck, part of that was also the proper and consistent administration of the meds, you know? Man, I gotta say: that pup is one. tough. cookie. For reals. Those Lhasa Apso breeds have lots of health issues. Like the ear canal is L-shaped and super prone to infection. The vet cleaned and flushed her ears and then as part of the preventative maintenance, she and the techs plucked out all the hairs inside her ears. Basically, the doc put on a pair of rubber gloves and just started ripping out the fur inside Ramona’s ears. OMFG, it was like waxing but without the wax and without any numbing agent. Then, a tech supplemented by using scissor-grip tweezers to rip out hairs deeper in the canal, and she accidentally grabbed a nubby of Ramona’s inner ear! Poor baby flipped the fuck out. I was like, “Uh, you accidentally grabbed her ear!” Jesus people, be careful! It was a weird experience the whole thing… it reminded me of how much both people and animals hate going to the hospital. I mean, ultimately, all of the procedures and treatments are done for their own good and well-being, but fuck, there is a ton of pain involved! And Ramona was so incredibly tolerant given what was being done.

As much as I loved having Ramona, I didn’t get the best sleep. She would wake up in the middle of the night… I think she had a bit of that nighttime restlessness that I saw in Marty. In addition, between Bubbey and Kidney Bean, I had snorberts on BOTH sides of the bed. In all honesty, by the time her family came to get her, I was pretty damn exhausted. But that didn’t stop me from crying up a storm. 🙁

Her family was so kind and sweet. When they showed up at the door, they had a big bag chock full of gifts for us: all brought back from their time in Japan. From paper crafts to candies to tea and incense… it was just too much! I’m glad that they appreciated how I took the time during all the chaos to interview/hire/coordinate a substitute sitter. I was very moved by their gratitude. That said, the thing is, once you go through the experience of scrambling last minute seeking care for your senior, high-maintenance dog, you never forget the stress of it. And these transitions are also so difficult for the old doggies, you know? Anyway, I’m relieved that all the pieces fell into place, and now I have another in-home sitter to add to my arsenal. Always gathering my contacts, you know.

After Ramona went home, I was really sad, bc once again, the Houseboat felt empty. She’s also almost 14 y/o. Who knows when, if ever, I’ll see her again. But I suppose the most important thing to remember is that she’s in a wonderful, loving home. No matter what, she’s got a great family.[FAG id=7504]

I’m so Fancy!

Man, I need to start waking up earlier. Now that I gotta dress up for work and shit, my get ready time has ballooned from ten minutes to like an hour. Holy fuck.

On Tuesday, I had my appointment with the fancy pants loan officer, the one who invited me to the country club. Shiiit, I must have changed three times, bc I was trying to style my recent Schoola items and then they felt a little too quirkly or not formal/professional enough… then I had to wear hose bc my fucking legs are still riddled in flea bites. Jesus fucking Christ. I know, that shit is never ending.

I thought our daily vacuuming and borax treatment resolved the issue, but I dunno. Our daycare client has fleas even though he’s on the flea meds, and honestly, I think bugs are coming in just whenever we go outside and come back home. I dunno.

I got that silk sleep sack (after I had to deal with those scratchy sheets at my parents’ house), and that was working pretty well (supposedly, the fabric is so tight-knit that fleas can’t penetrate. And for a few nights, I was wearing my silk long johns, but a few days later, I got new bites and holy fuck, a flea had gotten into the sleep sack. Argh!! Sleeping with the goddamn enemy! I know, I’m sure you’re feeling itchy now and getting kinda grossed out. Let me just say: Bubbey still has not gotten a single fucking bite!!! Goddamn white privilege, man. Haha! And I don’t believe any visitors have gotten bites (Please inform me if otherwise). So really, it’s just a problem for me bc of my annoyingly weak constitution and apparent allergies to bug bites. Sigh.

I will say, that sleep sack is amazing with how much warmth it adds. Silk is no games, man. Light and thin as fuck but wow, it packs a punch. That shit is going to save my ass next week in Montana.

But back to playing dress up. It’s nice to look polished and such. I’ll just need to speed up my morning routine so we can get that prep time down to something reasonable. My skin was having a shit storm earlier this month, but I’m finally getting back on a consistent routine with taking my BCP and my complexion is getting better. Whew.

Incidentally, my meeting with fancypants went really well. He totally got it! The whole symbiotic realtor-loan officer relationship? I didn’t even have to explain. He just said, yeah lady, you’re gonna have to give me way more business cards than that! I help you, and you help me! He was cool. After that meeting, I was feeling encouraged and energized, so I drove down the main strip and hit up three more credit unions and three more banks. The rest of the day was hit or miss, but at least I ended up with two agents who are definitely keen on working together. Yay!

Making Time for Fun

Now that my hustling has kicked into high gear, my calendars are starting to look a bit unruly. I have so many appointments, trainings, and events in there that I now use timeblocks to show my open lunch and dinner slots. I know, this sounds like a humblebrag. It’s not, but you know how I am about my Google calendars. I’m subscribed to two feeds for the office, so there’s a ton of shit that auto populates. Thankfully, I don’t go to everything single office activity… I go to A LOT, but not all.

For  MLK I took some time out to chill. I spent most of the day with my bud M in her neck of the woods. We grabbed lunch (she found a delicious Mexican taqueria via a walk-by– I know, I can’t even recall the last time I did that! I’m all OCD with using Yelp!). Afterwards, we hit up a Chinese foot spa… a decent spot with good ambiance and only $25!! We’ll need to patronize both businesses again.

I enjoy learning things from my friends. Even though I’m constantly researching shit for myself (J calls me the Tea Researcher– the name of a tea shop from back in the day in Shanghai) and now I also do it for my job (vetting contractors and vendors and such), I like discovering new spots from other people. I mean, sometimes people have different standards or criteria (esp with restaurants), but these two places were solid. MK also turned me on to voice-activated Phillips Hue lights, which I thought were interesting in their technological advancement…

On learning about them, I made the mistake of mentioning to Bubbey and shit, Bubs isn’t about to get behind on the home automation trend… So now we have the Hue lights, controlled by our Alexa. Sheesh. How extraneous can we be!?!?! Ah well, live it up while we can, I suppose.

Bubbey is doing well. He’s really getting into that leatherworking intensive course he’s taking in SF. He came home last week with a leather wallet he made, all hand-stitched. I was impressed. Since he started the class though, Amazon has been to the house nearly every. damn. day, dropping off leatherworking tools, materials, and supplies. The Houseboat is running out of space!

In other news, we are still meeting with contractors for the bathroom remodel, bc the job kinda takes us down the rabbit hole. The bathroom work will involve plumbing work, potentially all new gas lines for the house, and then possibly a new roof (gas lines puncture through the roof). Yup, 2017 might just be the year of the Houseboat Money Pit. And with all this torrential rain we’ve been getting, we’re lucky the drought is over but shit, I need to be reminded (really soon) of the reasons why we’re paying a premium to live here! In other words, bring on the sunshine!!

What else. My animal shelter drive is going well. It’s been great too for reconnecting with my old Rover clients. Last weekend, I made two house calls to pick up gifted goods. I reunited with Bubble Boy (Sparky) as well as Cody. In both cases, it was really nice to catch up with their mommies too. That’s the cool thing about Rover: I’ve met some really nice people. Speaking of which, my current daycare client is a legit regular. I think his parents are seriously seeking 20 days/month for daycare. If I continue with this doggie and also resume daycare with my former (whippet) client, that’s a decent small stream of “passive” income! Yup, I’ve been attending a lot of networking events lately, and shit, I want a better handle over my finances. That’s what the experts say: too often women just obsess about saving, but they don’t really think about growing their money and about passive income streams… that’s how you really build a cushion and generate wealth. More goals. More to dos!

CT Scan

So mom got a CAT scan done last week, and the scan def showed differences compared with the scan she had done about 18 months ago. The physician says one area looks like a possible contusion (bruise/injury) and the other area seems like grayish matter. Not exactly sure what the term was since I’m relying what he explained to my father. My father tends to get into all kinds of details, but I’m not the greatest listener, esp when I’m sick. The bottom line is, she’s scheduled now for an MRI and they’re hoping the higher resolution imagery coupled with contrast dyes to see brain circulation will give us more information.

I’m feeling pretty frustrated and vulnerable these days. I know how important it is to maintain a positive attitude… I mean, after all those damn courses I’ve taken, I of anyone, know how critical mental toughness is. And yet, I’m just not there today.

For one thing, I’m still fighting this cold. Our friend A during our trip to Pasadena spoke about constitutions– how some people are just more prone to sickness than others no matter how well they take care of themselves. Ugh. And I’m not exactly the greatest to my body and my health.

Yesterday, our neighbors had us over for dinner. It was really sweet of them: we hadn’t seen them since the day before we said goodbye to Marty. I was annoyed that they hadn’t said anything to me after knowing that we had put him down (in fact, when they were over visiting him one last time, the mom kept offering to care for him the one day she would be home over holiday break… after we had already told her our decision). I dunno. People say we all handle death and grief and loss differently.

I was also super disappointed by people who learned of Martin’s death and said absolutely nothing. Like my former boss from the university. She dropped me an email like “thinking of you and hoping all is good.” I replied within hours that we put Martin down and then no response. I mean, are you emailing me and then not reading the reply? Did you feel bad and want to take more time to craft a sensitive response and then just forgot? Honestly, I am appalled by this kind of bullshit and yet, it’s not the first time I have encountered this. And that was like weeks ago. Still not a damn word. Whatever. SMH. People really do irk my nerves.

In other news, I put two more trips on the books for 2017. We’re headed to Cabo for John’s bday in early March. Then, we’re meeting my college friend and his gal in Nashville in May. Meanwhile, I am gearing up for N’s 40th bday bash in Big Sky, MT, where I just saw the temps were -10F last week. I know. I am ordering some serious heavy duty thermals. Granted, I have been in colder temps in my life (Harbin, China at -25F or so for the Ice Festival). But again, that was over ten years ago when I was younger and stronger and probably still of weak constitution but at least more resilient than today. 🙁

Old Favs

This week we received Martin’s ashes back. Even though I am crying less frequently now several weeks after his passing, I still have those random moments when the tears flood my face at the drop of a hat. Sigh. Grieving sucks. I’m still not sleeping well. Oftentimes, when I wake in the middle of the night, I swear I hear moving about the house. Mind you, his doggie bed was long moved out into the garage for storage, and the doggie door is all boarded up but I suppose those old habits really are hard to erase.

I received many sweet and thoughtful notes from friends and acquaintances who learned about his passing. One friend is gifting us a commissioned painting of Martin (with Remy if we want). I looked at the artist’s work. Her paintings are lovely. A few times, we’ve sat down to scroll through pictures to give to the artist, but the process of selecting is full of mixed emotions. I know that we gave them good lives, full of adventure and love, but reflecting on so many of our life’s journeys that we shared with them makes me miss that life even more. Sometimes I think about couples who lose a child– so many times, you hear that the marriages don’t survive the loss. It’s weird to think that J and I have never truly lived alone– with just us. From the time that we officially started cohabitation, Remy was already there warming our shared home.

I suppose, if there’s any good news in my pain, my donation drive is going well. About fifteen people have gifted items in Martin’s memory, with more to come. I was really happy too to hear this week from two of my favorite Rover clients. In the next several weeks, I will reunite with both Cody (the corgi) and Ramona (Kidney Bean). In fact, Ramona will stay with us for 18 days in February… a super long stint (and at holiday rates!!). She’s a stinky pup, but I love her nonetheless. I’m thrilled that I will see them both again soon.

In other dog-related news: my Rover biz is heating up in the new year! I met a very nice couple from the UK (London) who have a very young but well-behaved shiba-corgi mix. I actually think he’s more of a chihuahua mix. They have him with me in daycare. It’s funny, bc he really doesn’t need to be in daycare, but they have no qualms having him with us so he gets midday breaks and isn’t holed up in the apartment. I’m happy to oblige. Later this month, the German lady K with the long-haired whippet is also wanting to resume daycare with us. Interestingly, our friend A (who invited us to Pasadena for the Rose Bowl) just started a new job and K is her boss! Small world, right?

So I’ll have a new Rover client for MLK holiday, Cody for a night, and then Ramona next month! Yay for puppies!

Lord of the Fleas

I’m feeling better today from that damn cold. All of yesterday, I did an aggressive combo therapy, alternating between Chinese throat syrup and hot water + honey + lemon. Today is a new (not really) issue: fleas.

You see, I got eaten alive around the time that Marty passed away. That was before Christmas. Then, we figured that being away for Christmas and for New Year, with the temps dropping and the bugs having no warm bodies on which to feed, the fleas would just die off. We got back from MD and Pasadena and my legs are still itching like hell. Maybe I was still suffering from the remnant bites, bc I’d read that sometimes the bites take 2-3 weeks to heal…

Well then yesterday, I saw some live fleas on the new Rover client, a cutie shiba-corgi mix. I checked with the owner, and she said the dog’s been on prescription flea meds (which usually works amazing) since they got him. So is it our house then? I don’t know!

Before, our vet said the flea situation was bad the last few years bc of the drought. Well, our area is almost OUT of the drought now with all the rain we’ve been getting so I don’t know what the deal is now. John was giving me crap about having these dogs in the house, but what do you want me to do? I miss Marty terribly and while these doggies aren’t an adequate substitute, they do offer me some small ounce of joy.

Fortunately, the infestation isn’t major. I mean, J has yet to be bitten. It’s just that me with my sensitive skin… I’m resuming vacuuming daily as well as the additional spraying of lemongrass essential oils. John went to OSH to buy Borax, but the clerk said that shit has been flying off the shelves. All out.

I feel so behind with work and learning… Last Thursday before we headed off for Pasadena, I went to a local credit union to do my realtor intro to a loan officer. Got all dressed up and took my cone of popcorn… the guy was out and is by appointment only. Ugh. Then I tried to schedule something with a different bank, but yesterday I was sick and now she’s out until Friday. I feel like I need to just get it going so I can demonstrate to myself that it’s not that hard. Haha. Mind games to trudge forward.