Category Archives: Pups

Side Hustle

As you know, I was recently approved to join Rover as a dog sitter. My niche is senior doggie care; after all, Remy and Marty have put me through the ringer with all their geriatric antics. Anyway, yesterday I was getting really frustrated with Rover, bc apparently, the norm is 1) for people to wait until the very last minute to inquire about dog care and 2) these people are flaky as fuck. Seriously, nearly every single inquiry I’ve received (5-6 so far) has come for like one or two days before sitting services are needed. And that’s not even before some major holiday where their usual sitter might already be booked! So these people contact me two days before care is needed; I reply practically instantly; we schedule a meet and greet, and then they just never show up?!?! I have had to follow up with people on everything. I mean, I understand that at this point, owners are just sending out mass requests to a bunch of sitters, hoping one is available and ready. Still though, don’t leave people hanging, bc for every sitter you reach out to, their calendar on Rover no longer shows them as available while your request is pending!! Super inconsiderate. SMH. People. That was yesterday. I was just having a shitty day in general.

Then today, I met with someone who has a 13 y/o Lhasa Apso. As the universe would have it, the dog’s name is Ramona, which was actually one of our nicknames for Remy. This Ramona girl is super sweet, but as a senior, she’s got some special needs! We’re talking eye creams, ear flushes, skin rashes, dietary restrictions… But her personality is confident (she immediately started exploring all over the house) and mellow. Kinda like my Bembo. During our visit, her mom was really concerned about her sneaking into Marty’s home cooked chicken (apparently, Ramona gets the runs and tummy aches anytime she consumes poultry), so I figured maybe this gig might fall through again. Nope! I just got an email, and Ramona will come over tomorrow night! Yeehaw, back in the money, baby!!!

Shitfaced

While Bubbey’s been in London this week, I’ve been on puppy patrol. I know, Marty is no longer a puppy, but I still call him that. Just roll with it. So his status has been very up and down and day-to-day. One day he’ll have great appetite and energy, the next day, he’ll be lethargic and very weak. The third day, looking better again. The fourth day, shitty again.

On Wednesday night, he was especially restless, scurrying in and out of the doggie door throughout the night. I was also continuing on some weird sleep schedule, where I wasn’t falling asleep until after 3a, and then I was waking up late, like 11a. Yes, back to that bullshit schedule again. Anyway, on Thursday morning, Martin seemed particularly urgent in heading out to the yard, so I decided to track him from the windows: first my office window then quickly over to Bubbey’s office window, which gave me a view of the back part of our yard. Marty started pacing frantically from one side of the yard to the next, searching for that perfect spot. He finally squatted to take a dump, and as I had been noting since late last month, his hind legs are getting weaker. I had started extending his walk farther in hopes of building more muscle strength, but still, balancing that squat appeared quite precarious. Thankfully, he pooped without losing his footing and without falling back into the pile. Yet, to my horror, he got up and then started to move his snout all around the pile of poop!! It was as if he were trying to move dirt (except he was in the lawn) to cover it or something. He was getting dangerously close, and then bc his balance is sketchy when he leans forward too, just as his nose touched the ground, his body started like tipping forward… like ready for a full-on face plant at any time.

WTF??? I tried desperately to get his attention. I screamed from inside, banged on the window, and finally slid it open, clapping and whistling. Remember, he’s mostly deaf. Thank god he heard the whistle, put his head up, looked around, cocked his ears, and then headed back for the doggie door.

What is this covert activity??? It reminded me of that time when I came home from work early only to find Remy in the backyard eating her shit. WTH, these old dogs are seriously going loony! To make matters worse, do you have any idea how much I cuddle with Marty’s snout? I mean I am regularly all up in his grill, kissing his nose, rubbing his snout, smushing my face against his. Holy. fuck. Who knows what kind of fecal coloform I am getting all over my face, my sensitive skin, and into my mouth. Ugh, disgusting. Can my allergy-affected nose be trusted enough to sniff out shit before it’s too late? Dubious.

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OnStar

J has many nicknames for me, but the latest one (after “volcano”) is “OnStar,” bc doing shit for my my parents is a 24/7 kinda thing. They are relying on me more and more for everything and anything, from researching vendors and contractors to tech troubleshooting to reviewing contracts to finding things to do for out of town guests. This afternoon, I called them back and I swear, every time I speak with my mother, it’s like talking to a wall. She can’t process a damn word that I say. I mean we might as well just do FaceTime and play charades, bc clearly sharing TWO languages in common doesn’t help one bit. Five minutes today just to explain “I just returned from lunch with a friend.” Seriously. You did what? Did you host a party? What did you cook? How many people came over? WTF???? Lunch. With ONE friend. Please fucking LISTEN.

Once we got beyond the basics, I learned that they have finally started clearning out some junk. Nevermind that I’ve been telling them to do this for YEARS. My dad had his realtor (the one who sold grandma’s house) tour the house, and she said you have way too much stuff in here: get rid of the clutter and definitely clear out the furniture. Now, my parents have really nice, expensive, quality furniture and furnishings. Like solid cherry and mahagony and whatever. Legit Persian rugs and shit. Sadly, what they originally paid for stuff is irrelevant. In fact, I’ve read several articles about the baby boomers downsizing and how that process takes them way longer than expected, bc they think people will want to readily buy their quality shit and their kids will want the family heirlooms. But the truth is, lifestyles are different now. People move around; people don’t even have formal dinning rooms anymore, so there’s no use for a big ass dining room set, not to mention formal china and silver and cabinets to store and display all that crap. Still, these realities take a long time to sink in for the generations who acquired them. For example, my mother-in-law is simply sick with worry about what will happen to all the Civil War era (and other) things that got passed down to her, like the wedding china/silver from her ancestors… It IS sad, bc stuff back then was of great quality and craftsmanship. But styles change, and people don’t value old things like they used to. So yes, the stuff that was once prized is basically now just junk.

In many ways, it’s an environmentalist’s nightmare, right? The insane success of the IKEA movement: Stuff made fast and cheaply, serving a fickle generation that craves changing looks, changing designs, disposable things. Even when I was a kid though, formal dinnerware never made sense to me. Beautiful, gorgeous bone china or porcelain just taken out once a year and otherwise left to gather dust? I looked up their Noritake Barrymore collection on EBay. A huge 4-person set sells for like $150 max, and then you gotta ship that shit. Mom kept asking if I wanted to fly back. Um, no. What, so I can clean your house? I mean, it wasn’t the nicest thing to say, but I dunno, sometimes it’s annoying that I get tasked with all the shit and chores and dirty work, and then what the fuck does my brother have to do? Not a damn. thing. She insisted it was to see what I might want. I mean, other than one Scandanavian lounger that J and I are storing there and a silk rug, there’s pretty much nothing else. Now sure, I have my own shit from childhood and from Reston there. I will have to clear the rest of it out eventually. But I just can’t imagine going through everything while dealing with my mother. She claims that since I never want her clothes (minor jab), she gave all kinds of clothes to the realtor’s daughters and granddaughters. Um, I have no idea what young people would want with outdated and/or old people clothes but whatever. She insists that the realtor took the items happily. Fine. Let’s see if the youngins actually take it from the realtor. Whatever. Maybe I will go over when they are overseas and just spend a week there selling shit.

Ugh, then there’s the whole realtor thing. I’m handling the sale of one of the townhouses. As I discussed with dad, the point was to try out my realtor and if he did well, have him sell the family home. Well now it seems like they are going to go with the Chinese lady who sold my grandparents’ house. Why didn’t you just say you wanted to go with her from the start? Then, the townhouse was supposed to be empty by end of May. Moved back to mid June bc the tenants asked to finish out the school year. Now, it’s end of June. I mean, stop moving the fucking target date!! Either shit is getting done, or shit is dragging out.

Meanwhile, there is still no resolution on what to do with my maternal grandparents. They are currently living with my dad’s dad so all the oldies are in one place. But my mother says when she and dad go back to Taiwan for a month in May, her parents will be moved back to my parents’ house in Kaohsiung to live with them, and then what, the oldies move back to my dad’s dad’s place after my parents come back to the US in June? That’s what I’m saying. Fucking make a decision and go! And mom makes some comment like dad is not of strong enough health to be schelpping things and movin things. Um, yeah you’re just realizing this now? You are the one who worked him to a fucking nub!! Needless to say, I’m stressed again.

And Martin is not eating today. I went to Costco and picked up a whole case of fluids. Gave him 350 ml, so he’s conked out. Even if we tweak things to help his kidneys out, his back legs are wobbly. I hate to say it, but I think we’re down to the last month. I mean, I have been wrong before, but that’s what I’m thinking today.

Long Night, New Day

I had an awful night’s rest yesterday. Marty was appearing visibly weaker (even the neighbors agreed), and his appetite was not coming back. J and I started talking about how this setback was seemingly different… In the past, it just took fluids and/or a quarter pill of mirtazipine, and his appetite would come back with a vengeance. Not. this. time. He is also starting to sleep even more soundly than before, something I remember Remy started to do towards the end. Some sign like the body is shutting down. I couldn’t sleep. I tried to distract my mind by studying my real estate book, by reading about the Bernie sham (I support Clinton), by reading about the ethics and legality of password sharing (As much as I’m into deals and saving money, I’m not comfortable with this), by thinking about all the things I need to do (should I order Marty’s fluids by the case?). Yeah, I was up late.

Eventually, I did fall asleep, but then I woke up in the middle of the night in a cold sweat. I dreamed that my grandmother had died. In my dream, the entire cascade of shit communication with my family (immediate and extended) began, rife with confusion and misunderstanding and paralysis.

This morning, we had an appointment with a contractor to talk about the heating/cooling unit for the master bedroom. I know, that project is dragging ass– mainly bc the vendors are so vague with their estimates and also, the estimates are all over the fucking place. This was my final quote though. $5500. Comparable to another quote, but $2k more than a third one. We will likely proceed soon, bc Bubbey needs his AC this summer. 

After the contractor left, Marty woke up and to my pleasant surprise, he ate his food. What a fucking relief. Is he coming around again? Too early to tell. Now to see if he’ll go to the bathroom. I haven’t seen solids for two days. I was relieved with this latest bit of good news though, and then I went back to bed.

I awoke again past noon. I haven’t slept in this late in a long, long time. I still feel tired, but I gotta get moving. Gremlin juice (Diet Coke) is in order and then back to the gym. I’ve been doing the elliptical now, bc I can listen to my real estate podcasts and well, to be honest, I’m yearning for my Shanghai days of fitness when I could do cardio for 45 min easy.

Inevitable Progression


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Since returning from Europe, Martin has not been well. The sitter took great care of him, but since being home, he has had a few bouts with anxiety and his appetite is waning considerably. We have resumed giving him fluids every few days, but it doesn’t seem to work the magic that it used to. He vomited a couple of times, had diarrhea, and is visibly weaker. The hind legs are starting to give out, and he is definitely thinner.

Meanwhile, my childhood friend N is at the end now with her dog. Also suffering from kidney disease, Ally has stopped responding to everything: she is not eating and she no longer has the strength to get up. N is a vet, so she knows much more about this terrible “progressive” disease. The word, “progressive” doesn’t even seem like the right term. Progressive suggests advancement in an upward direction, but really, our puppies are degenerating right before our eyes. When I spoke with N two days ago, I tried to be optimistic: Marty and Remy bounced back so many times; maybe Ally will too. But N knows better. And today will be Ally’s last. Once again, we must say good bye to a loyal and trusted friend. I remember all of our furry companions– how much they have enriched our lives. Their time with us is just never enough. Ever.

I don’t know how much, if at all, Martin will bounce back this time. I hope that, like Nathalie, I will know when it’s time. And I will have the strength to let him go.

That’s the thing about life. There is never a good time. I was wanting this year to be one of celebration not sadness. I’m not sure that things are panning out that way. I recently got approved to be a dog sitter on Rover. My idea was to specialize in caring for old dogs, thinking it would be a way for Martin to gain some company, as he does seem to do better in the presence of a pack. But now I don’t know if that will all happen in time, bc well, “progression.” Ugh.

Recent Epiphanies

I admit: every time I see J’s sister S, I admire so many of her qualities. She makes me wish I were mentally tougher, more extroverted, more professionally accomplished, more high powered, more fashionable and stylish. I aspire to be better, but at the same time, I realize that I still need to work within my own constraints. Like I can try to be more outgoing and I can work on dressing better, etc., but it’s highly unlikely I’ll start shopping at super deluxe Hermes or Prada or wherever. Sometimes I get frustrated when I feel like Bubs is pressuring me to move more in the direction of his sisters. It’s just too far beyond the boundaries of who I am… It would be like me expecting them to get excited about recycling/reuse/waste reduction or to consider living in a tiny home/shipping container home and aim for the 100 Items Challenge… Anyway, I’ve just been thinking a lot lately about judgement, acceptance, and shame. In the past, I’ve let other people’s success make me feel happy for them but also simultaneously feel worthless about myself. Hearing about S’s high stakes/high rewards career, hitting big corporate numbers, earning hefty bonuses, and flying on corporate jets… I very quickly feel lame: working/leaving my low-wage jobs and now studying real estate. I think of all that my parents invested in me to be successful and I swear I fight this feeling of disappointment and failure every fucking day. Still, I’m trying to stay focused on swimming in my own lane and keeping my head above water. I have become more aware now of shame and how it impedes me.

In a similar vein, I remember how before, even for simple interactions, if I was curious or wanted to know more about a product or process, I would just keep quiet, for fear of appearing dumb or coming across like I was bothering or inconveniencing others. But recently, I’ve realized there’s a way to ask about something with interest and curiosity and without coming across like an entitled ass. So now I’m trying this new thing where if I have unsettled thoughts or unanswered questions, I’m trying to verbalize my concerns rather than internalize them. Like with Martin and the new dog sitter: I hemmed and hawed about asking her for a reference with whom I could speak on the phone. The sitter already had multiple written/posted reviews, but after reading about how reviews for some services like AirBnb can’t really be trusted I really wanted to hear a client’s voice and just listen for other hesitations that wouldn’t necessarily come across in a written review. Also, she had received one scathing negative review. Normally, I wouldn’t have brought it up bc maybe it was too confrontational. But I did. The sitter was super fine and accommodating with both my requests, and honestly, I felt even better about her after seeing how she handled them. Long story short: I recently vowed not to let shame or fear of embarrassment/judgement keep me from asking questions and from learning more. The next time a contractor comes to the house to talk HVAC, no holds barred. Another shift for me now that I’m older and wiser at 40 (close enough anyway). 🙂

London + Paris

Whew, I’m finally back on the plane headed home. Thank goodness. Don’t get me wrong: Bubs and I had a great time in London and Paris. We did TONS and we really enjoyed catching up with friends and family… That said, both of us are also ready to return to our bubble. It’s funny, bc when most people vacation, esp somewhere far away, they go for AT LEAST two weeks since they’re “already traveling so far.” But for us, ten days felt a little long: we get fatigued being away from home. Next time, maybe shave off another day or two. Shrug.

Both cities were amazing, offering lots of walking (which we enjoy), breathtaking landmarks and architecture, tasty foods, and easy transportation, but dayum, we are tired, boss! For one, there’s the jetlag. Bubs had flown in from NYC (EST) and I from California (PST), and then we met in London so it was the intersection of three substantially different time zones. Then, I’m out of shape and neither of us is used to walking 15-20k steps/day, so our bodies definitely had to adjust. (On average, J clocks about 10k and I do like a lame 2k.) Second, the weather in London was cold, rainy, and windy… What can I say, the Valley has made me soft to the elements. Add to that, we did way too much eating out, so yeah, too many bodily changes going on at once. After so many days of hard living (excessive eating/drinking), our stool is coming out like rabbit pellets. Seriously.

Typically, J and I are superstar packers, but this trip was kinda a fail. I blame Bub’s business trip to NYC: he had all his fancy shirts, a blazer, a work bag, his shiny shoes, etc. Then we were also misled by his eldest sister, a shopping aficionado who urged us to take a big suitcase for “all the goods” we were going to buy. It ended up just being kinda cumbersome to lug around.

But that info is just boring details explaining why we felt so damn tired. On the positive side, we had a fun adventure. London reminded me a little bit of Canada, where the common language kinda fools your brain into thinking you know the country and culture but shit is off just enough that something feels amiss. In London, my highlights included having afternoon tea (tea biscuits and scones with clotted cream and jam) with our friends whom we met over a decade ago in Shanghai. They’re very unconventional, and the lady is quite entrepreneurial, so I enjoyed hearing her interesting business ideas. Entrepreneurial people are so refreshing bc I never have to explain why I left my shitty jobs (as with my college roommate and her “what job number is this for you now?” comment). J and I also had some incredible meals, including some fresh, new Mediterranean flavors from Chef Ottelenghi at his restaurant Nopi. Les Mis at the Queen’s Theater was a memorable night: our seats were perfect, just far enough so our necks weren’t strained and stretched but close enough that we were in the midst of the action. Surprisingly, I didn’t completely lose my shit during the performance like I normally do… I mean, I really am wed to the NYC Broadway rendition of the songs… That’s just what I grew up on, and frankly, it’s always going to be my gold standard.

After five days in London, we hopped the Eurostar train to Paris. The ride was pricey (next time, get the tickets in advance!) but comfortable, if somewhat restless. There was an Indian family next to us who brought on their entire lunch– bento boxes of curries, naan, rice, and all– and proceeded to have a freakin’ party on board. To my amazement, they talked THE WHOLE TIME, like 2.5 hrs.!?!? Who has so much to say amongst family??

Paris was a really beautiful transition. Unlike the clouds and gloom of London, the weather was warm and sunny, at least for the first two days. Thank goodness I packed three different outerwear, bc I used it all on this trip. I shed my big puffer and switched over to my thin athletic jacket topped with my F21 red pleather. I was feeling pretty badass and chic sporting my MJ jacket with my edgy side shave. Haha. Yup, side shade (aka quasi-mullet) made its European debut.

In Paris, we met up with J’s youngest sis S and our niece M. S is a project manager, so we got a shit ton of landmarks crossed off our lists in just a few hours. Traveling with other people is always a riot: M was super lax; S was aggressive about hitting the sites; then, as a group there was a lot of indecision (due to decision fatigue?) re: food/drink spots. Usually, J and I like to leave the hotel, come back mid day to rest/nap in the room, and then go out again. On the there hand, S is very much an out all day until late evening kind of traveler. Her very first day in, she got off the 10 hr flight from SFO, cabbed 30 min to the hotel, and then stayed up and out until 11pm. The next two nights, after all of us spent the entire day out, she and J hit up a nearby bar at like 11pm. I declined: I was so tired and the bar scene is even more exhausting. That night they got home after the bar CLOSED at 2am. The next night, it was the same deal except Bubs came home after the first bar closed at 2am, and S continued to hit a second bar with some new friends she made at the first bar! She got back to the hotel at 6am!?!? Hard core, I tell you. She was asking us how late we normally stay out on the weekends. Um, same as during the week, lady. Bubs goes to bed around 9 or 10; I fall asleep around midnight or 1. If we go out, we are almost always home by 11p.

So of course, after we retired to our rooms one of the nights, Bubs was all sighing and stuff. “We need to have better hobbies or new activities for when we travel. We need to be more fun.” Yada, yada, yada. I mean, I’m the first person to be inspired by how other people live their lives, but sometimes it’s so fucking frustrating being downplayed. I mean, I drink but I don’t really go to bars and drink a lot nor do I make friends with strangers in such settings, so what, now that means I’m boring and no fun? Or I’m not a huge shopper who goes overseas and brings back a bunch of loot, so now I have no interests and hobbies? I started getting a little defensive with Bubbey, bc why do I have to keep defending or justifying how I live my life? Am I supposed to keep apologizing for not being the way other people are? When does this stop, this mentality that there is something wrong with me or us and our choices? I dunno. I was annoyed. I mean, already I have self acceptance issues about my career, so please don’t pile on all this other shit. If you want to be a different person with different interests, have at it. But don’t impose that shit onto me. Like the whole bar scene. I’ve given it plenty of tries, and I just don’t like it. I’m not going to apologize for not jiving with it.

I digress. I’ve missed my Marty a lot on this trip. I’ve been really happy with the frequent updates from the sitter. I think I found a good one, so it’s a relief to have options esp since I might be headed back East or to Taiwan again soon. I’m also excited to start cooking at home again. Apparently, there IS such a thing as “too much of a good thing.” Seriously. My body needs to stop shitting rabbit poop and get back to normalcy.[FAG id=7453]

Twists and Turns

After a pretty darn good weekend, this week kicked off in the shits. We had just seen John’s sister S and her dog Jake the week before Easter for the Maryland NCAA game. And J and I had just remarked how amazing Jake looked– so much more energetic and sprightly than Martin. Then suddenly, over Easter weekend, he couldn’t get up and he stopped eating. By Monday, he was gone. Sure, he lived a charmed life: he couldn’t have gotten a better owner than S. She really stuck by him through thick and thin, and he was NOT an easy dog in his younger years. Still, there was just something so upsetting about death and death now for her. It’s been a challenging last 18 months. She lost Bodi (her first dog), then M– the love of her life, and now Jake. I don’t know the details of what happened, but it just goes to show you that life really can keep you on your toes. Just as I was thinking how invincible our dogs have been, coming back from so many illnesses and problems, there is that one last time when they just can’t pull through, and how do you ever prepare for that.

worstdayOur trip to Europe is in two weeks. I’m worried for Martin but what can be done? I also don’t believe in halting my life for fear of bad things happening, and so, I’ve found him a good sitter. I vetted her as much as I could. I’ve left my neighbor’s contact info with her, and we can only go from there.

Meanwhile, I had thought that my grandparents’ townhouse went into settlement last Monday but turns out it was this Monday. On Monday night, my parents called me to tell me 1) dad is feeling better– the dizziness is slowly getting better and he hasn’t had any issues with it while driving 2) dad has an appointment with the neurologist on Friday to review the MRI. Then, Mom got on the phone and said she didn’t know anything about the bombing in Pakistan. Because the buyers are Middle Eastern or Arab (just going off their name– we don’t know if they are Muslim or Pakistani), she’s freaking out now that their check will be invalid or fraudulent or whatever. Jesus Christ, prejudiced much? I mean, you and dad could be fucking Commies since you’re Chinese. And first off, why did you ask for a physical check instead of just getting the money wired into your account? Get with the modern banking system! Second, it’s called escrow. Third, there are a ton of parties involved in the transaction. Are all the settlement attorneys and real estate agents in on it too? Again, this is the level of cray I am dealing with.

Then, more technical issues. Dad’s wifi printer, which was JUST working two days ago, now is offline again. Back and forth. He kept his 15 y/o HP printer just in case, so he plugged in the USB to that unit. No longer printing. Finally, I’m like, just take the USB cable from the old printer and use it for the new printer. OMFG, that took forever. He couldn’t find the socket on the new printer. I’m like, it HAS to be there. Just check all the ports for a hole that is the same shape. How hard can this be? You have no idea. Fifteen minutes later, it’s connected and we are back in action. When I tell my friends, they never understand how cumbersome these troubleshooting calls are with my parents. That’s bc most people they know have a basic level of tech understanding, and words like home button, start button, icon, desktop, window, minimize, maximize, and browser actually MEAN something. My parents get confused every. damn. time. I know they aren’t retarded, but shit, old age sure is fucking making their brains slow.

Groupon Grind

Even though I’m now getting better sleep, keeping my mind healthy remains a constant challenge. My parents called this past weekend: dad is still feeling really dizzy and nauseous. He plans to call the neurosurgeon today to make an appointment and maybe get a CAT scan. Scary. I did a light Google search last night about dizzyness, and most of the results come up pointing to ear issues. Honestly though, and this is kind of unlike me bc I’m not generally superstitious, but I’ve been a little reluctant to dig too deeply, afraid of what I might find. The thing is, the ENT last week cleared him of anything serious from that perspective, but my dad says the symptoms suggest problems with the cerebellum so… I dunno. I’m just feeling anxious about so many things.

J and I are headed to Europe next month– for only ten days but I’ve got Marty, who is sleeping through the night now but his back legs are getting weaker and his appetite is fussy again. We gave him subcutaneous fluids yesterday for the first time since December. The new dog sitter was keen on watching him when I met her, but now she has yet to confirm the booking on Rover. Then I don’t know what’s going on with my dad and his health issues. Plus, I still got my three 90+ y/o grandparents in Taiwan (should I visit them sooner than later?). And then my in-laws are struggling and grumpy, stressing Bubbey out. Then it’s tax time and I never feel organized enough with my record keeping.

Job-wise, I decided to pursue the real estate route, but I dunno, I’m feeling other insecurities like what if I’m not a good sales agent or it takes me forever to ramp up or… what will people think? Like we had dinner with some friends on Saturday night, and they’re both in tech/startup and Bubbey’s in tech. After we went around the table kinda catching up on what they’re doing work-wise, I felt so sheepish talking about going into real estate. I dunno. It’s just a constant battle with my confidence, I tell ya. And then, again, I’m almost 40. Why don’t I already have my shit figured out?

I’ve been searching on Eventbrite lately for housing/remodel/green design events. As my friend K has suggested to me before, one avenue is to tie in my environmental engineering background/interests into real estate through like green building or sustainable construction. I dragged J to a home design trends event last Saturday morning at Palo Alto Library. It was kinda cool to see about the latest… who knew there are now porcelain tiles that look like hardwood floors?? Super durable. Some of the other trends def reminded me of what I’ve been seeing on Fixer Upper too. Tomorrow night, I’m going to an event at the Mountain View Library about using your laundry graywater for landscaping. I’m trying to test the waters to gauge my interest in these potential offshoots…

Ultimately though, I know that exercise is critical to keeping my mind from going crazy. I realized last night that my yoga Groupon expires one week from today, and I still have like 8 classes left to use. Yep, I slacked off big time. So this morning, I was up early and I made it to the 9:30 hatha yoga class. Fuck, I can feel how out of shape I am. Fucking lame, but I’m aiming to attend class every day this week. Can’t let those $40 go to waste, right? The factors that trigger me… I’ve also got a Groupon remaining for the local JCC. Maybe I’ll activate that after Europe. My plan is to wade around in their heated pool during the day when (hopefully) no one else is around.

 

 

Discovery Island

I’ve been in big time product discovery mode lately. My mind’s been back in overdrive and to make matters worse, Marty’s doggie dementia recently hit new heights. Every night, he was panting excessively, scratching his bed like a maniac, and just being generally neurotic, unsettled, and jumpy. J and I were both at wit’s end. “He’s going down!! We can’t take this anymore!” we screamed. Then one night, I started researching doggie dementia again, and holy crap, I came across a forum where so many people are having the same issues! They lamented about how much joy their dogs brought to their lives and yet, they were really at the end of their tethers bc the old dogs were practically unrecognizable in behavior. There was this palpable tension of being frustrated and sleep deprived, teetering on the verge of pulling the plug but then also still wanting to honor the lifelong friendship with their pets. Ah, the heartbreak! Many things, I’d come across before: Rescue Remedy, Thundershirt, melatonin, Benadryl, and then… Apawthecary Tranquility Blend AND Hyland Calms Forte. Huh? I went to Amazon and read the reviews. Bam! Ordered. The homeopathic tincture arrived last Monday and holy Jesus Mary and Joseph: Marty has been sleeping through the night for the last seven days. As for me, I’ve been taking the Calms Forte tablets and what the what? Sleep for all!!! No waking up on the 2-3 hour OB/GYN or new parents’ cycle. Fucking miracle!!! We’re all saved. I haven’t slept this well in YEARS.

Of course, my research did not stop there. Bc of the Muddy Waters incident, an acquaintance directed me to Norwex microfiber cleaning cloths, recommending that I use them for the new sectional… except that Norwex works with water and my sofa is water-free only (cleaning code S). Nonetheless, what’s this product she’s raving about? I investigated. Holy crap. $30 for a pair of microfiber cloths?? Can they really be that phenomenal? I was intrigued. Well, this necessitated drilling deeper, bc you know I’m a cheap bastard. Whatdya know? I came across the blog of a former Norwex rep (FYI Norwex is a direct sales/MLM-style company, like Mary Kay, Amway, JuicePlus, etc.). The rep said she absolutely loved their cloths, but they were too damn pricey. She found a cheaper alternative, called ecloths. So I ordered those just to see what all this fuss was about. The cloths arrived last week and holy cow. Every glass surface in my house is now spotless– even cleaner than with Windex + newspaper, which already was already freaking trail-blazing, in my opinion. And with just water!!! I was so excited, I couldn’t wait for Bubbey to get home that day to see the difference. Sadly, when he got home the sun had already gone down and he couldn’t really tell. But, the next morning, even Bubs was impressed. That shit is cray! You will have to see for yourself.

Continuing on the cleaning vein, yeah, since my new sectional was all high maintenance with the whole water-free thing, I did have to use solvent. If any of you should have the misfortune of getting your upholstery soiled by a Muddy Waters, I’d recommend K2r solvent. I mean, Marty did a real number, but after multiple applications, I’m pretty happy that order got restored. Good enough, at least.

In non-product-related news, our Phoenix trip was a blast. I had been there two years ago for a weekend with G and then before that with Bubs and our friend M for the Grand Canyon. This trip was more focused on Phoenix and Scottsdale. I gotta say: I’m not a fan of the politics there or the utter lack of Asians (Asians are less than 3% of the population!), but shit, I am a fan of cheap(er) real estate and shiit, 299 days of sunshine every year! Plus, the store/shop names are so much for creative. Like we ate at a pie shop called The Pie Hole, next door to a pizza joint called Humble Pie. Then, there was a breakfast spot called The Good Egg. And a used car lot called the Jalopy Jungle. And a mega gas station called Super Pumper. See? Creative, right? J and I found some decent grub too, well except the mediocre sushi (duh!). We hit up Bob Marley at the Tempe Improv (fantastic show!!), the Desert Botanical Garden where there’s a really beautiful integration of sculpture art + plants, and I didn’t even realize this until our last day, but Frank Lloyd Wright’s western campus for his architecture school is based in Scottsdale at Taliesin West. We did a tour, and now I’m planning to add FLW buildings to my bucket list. So cool! Turns out, he also designed a house in a Phoenix suburb for his son, and we’re gonna hit that up next time! Overall, another great quickie destination (with direct flights to SJC): truth be told, AZ might just make it onto our “places to live” list. That said, I should mention that the PHX Sky Harbor Airport is a disaster. New and beautiful but fuck, that place is run like an LAX: disorganized with lots of idle staffers doing zippo about long lines. It was an optimizer’s nightmare, and for sure, both of us nearly lost it witnessing the egregious inefficiency on our flight out. SMH. Total buzzkill to end the trip, but I guess you win some and lose some.[FAG id=7449]