THAT Guy (and Why I'm Him...or Her, Rather)

I love my dog. Like, crazy, ridiculous love. I used to worry that I wouldn't be able to give a child all of the love that he or should would deserve, but my maternal instincts kicked in to high gear when we got Mushu. Now? I'm looking forward to starting a family.

That's a few years off, though, so right now my fiance and I are devoting our time to our pug. And, well, we're THOSE people. The scary dog people. The ones that talk about their dogs like they're babies. The ones that take cutesy dog pictures and post them on the internet and attend doggie events. And, uh, write blog entries about how much they love their dog. Yeah. I take it even farther and actually follow some other pugs on Twitter. Although, I don't tweet for my dog. So, that's progress right? (And, if you want to follow me on Twitter, click HERE!)

What is the point in revealing my insanity, you may be wondering? Well, I recently wrote an article for the Pug Rescue of San Diego County (they rescued our darling Mushu!). Since I am a writer and this is a writing blog, I thought I'd share. I know other dog crazy people will understand. And if you're not a dog crazy person...well, thanks for your patience.

Certain parts of the holiday season are particularly difficult. Dealing with any family drama, ridiculous amounts of eating and drinking, sleeping everywhere but your own bed, all of that jazz. However, the most difficult part of my holiday season was leaving my sweet Mushu in Los Angeles while I was away in Chicago. Oh, he had a wonderful time at his “doggie resort.” He played and romped and was completely exhausted when he came back home. The separation was definitely harder on us than it was on him.

So, it’s no wonder that we showered Mushu with lots of hugs, kisses and presents upon our reunion. He was given several Christmas gifts by his grandparents and took a particular shine to a stuffed cow that makes mooing sounds when you squeeze it. At first, we were concerned that the noise would scare him but the cow (now named “Oliver”) has become his baby. He grooms it and cuddles with it and gnaws at it lovingly. It’s both hilarious and touching to watch him jump all over with Oliver.

Another treat that Mushu particularly loves is deer antlers. We were able to obtain some from a family friend that hunts and did lots to research to find out how to properly prepare them. The ones that we have are approximately six inches long and Mushu thinks they’re pretty much the best thing since sliced bread. He completely ignores his Nyla-bones in favor of the antlers. He will chew on them for hours. The smooth finish on the antlers is now covered with pug teeth marks. The best thing? The antlers are so hard that he hasn’t been able to break them yet. Oh, he’s tried. But so far they’ve outlasted his best efforts.

It’s rather funny that we spend so much money investing in the best food and treats for our furry babies and the things that bring them the most joy are the simple things in life. It reminds me of playing with my Barbie dolls as a child and thinking that there was nothing better than my shoebox car. Hey, it worked! They fit perfectly and my imagination did the rest. Perhaps Mushu feels the same way about Oliver and his antlers. He does not need the fanciest toys or things that light up or move on their own. He’s more than content with what he has. I think that one of my resolutions for 2012 is to take a lesson from my darling pug. Sometimes the only things you really need in the world are a soft toy to lay on and something fun to eat. It’s the little things

Your Collegiate Vocabulary Lesson

I've been out of college for a few years. I'm not going to say how many. However, I am glad that no one has ever referred to me as a "slam piece." What's a "Slam Piece," you ask? Well, I have your answer...

The Bro Culture: AKA Things I Learned From My Younger Brother

New Year, New Goals, New Resolutions

Happy 2012, dear readers! It may be our last year on earth, if the Mayans are correct, so let's live it up!

Do you make New Year's Resolutions? I do, but I have to admit that I've had a hard time keeping them in the past. So, now, I do a little cheat when making my resolutions. I make resolutions that I actually think I'm going to be able to keep. Does that count? I don't know, but I always feel good when I can actually accomplish something. So, I set reasonable goals. ;-)

This year I've set three resolutions:

*To become more familiar with sci fi (reading and watching)
* To do yoga twice a week

* To learn a new word every day

So far the sci fi and the vocabulary have been smooth sailing. I purchased some sci fi at Half Price Books and I've been watching The X Files. No problems there. New words? Also not an issue. There's an app for that. I can see the yoga tripping me up, but I need to do it. New Year's Resolutions are supposed to be about self improvement, right? They aren't supposed to be totally easy.

2012. Let's do this. Namaste.

I'm Just Going to Say It: Vampires Shouldn't Sparkle

What? They shouldn't! Vampires are evil creatures of the undead. Sparkly creatures need not apply.

Clearly, I'm not a huge fan of the Twilight series. Beyond the sparkly vampires, though, I have real issues with the heroine: Bella Swan. These books are beloved by millions of young girls, right? And, yet, the heroine is so WEAK. Seriously. She's willing to give up her humanity for a boy that she meets in high school and who treats her like dirt. The whole message is: "Your life is worthless if a man doesn't love you!" No thanks. I think our young women deserve better role models. Here are some suggestions:

Top Ten Fictional Female Role Models That Are Better Than Twilight's Bella Swan

Pencil Skirts, Day Drinking and Mad Men

Oh, how I do mourn for the past (obvs. I mean, just check out my previous blog entry)! I didn't grow up in the 60s, but I think I would have loved it. Yes, things were harder for women. Yes, it was a turbulent time. However, it was a time of great social change. People just seemed to CARE more, you know?

This article isn't about social change or caring. However, it is about good manners. And if we're all nice to each other, maybe we can change the world that way.

New Fall 2011 Trend: Chivalry

Choose Your Own (Life) Adventure

Recently, I've begun writing a screenplay. I KNOW! It's incredibly Hollywood of me. I've never thought of myself as a screenwriter and, frankly, I may totally suck at it. I'm going to give it a go though. I have a story in me that needs to be told. I've been going through some "life stuff" lately. It's too painful to write about in its purest truth, so I need to create a fictional metaphor to deal with it. Hence, the screenplay.

I sat down today and tried to write. I managed to write a mini-treatment so I was sure I knew where the story was going. Beyond that? I sat and thought, not only about the story, but about all the roads not taken.

We all have things that we didn't do in life. Maybe you didn't ask the cute boy to the prom in high school. Maybe you really wish you'd majored in interpretive dance like you secretly dreamed of doing. Whatever it is, we all have our regrets.

I began to wonder if maybe there are just too many options. I know, the world's my oyster and all that. Sometimes I just wish that I had a manual: if you do this, this will happen. Take this road and these doors will open...

What if I'd joined the Peace Corps like I'd wanted to? How would my life be different?

What if we'd never left Chicago?

What if I'd studied abroad?

What if I'd gotten my master's degree?

And so on and so forth.

When I was in grade school I really enjoyed the Choose-Your-Own-Adventure books. (Did I just date myself? Are those overwhelmingly 90s?) I always cheated. Don't like outcome of the story? Quick, go back and take the other path! Choose a different ending!

I guess the point of this rambling post is that sometimes, just sometimes, I wish I could turn back time and choose a different ending. Or at least, see what might have been.

I now return you to your regularly scheduled lives. Hope you're happy with your adventure.

Our New Little Addition

The Boyfriend and I have been together for a good long tme. I'm not going to reveal how long, lest I reveal our true ages, but suffice to say that we've been together through the return of bell bottoms and skinny jeans. We've lived together in LA for nearly four years and we decided the time had come. We were going to make that commitment. We were going to expand our family.

We were going to adopt a dog.

We'd been thinking about it for a really long time. Almost four years, in fact. I've always wanted a pug and The Boyfriend was totally down with that notion. We're both hippies at heart so we decided on a rescue as opposed to going to a breeder or a pet store.

(Side Note: Seriously, please don't go to a pet store. I'm not one of those crazy PETA people, what with my love of a good steak and a leather bag, but puppy mills are major no nos. No animal lover wants this to be the reality for their four legged friend.)

We did our research. Oh, boy, did we research. The Boyfriend is obsessive about information. It's a good quality, but exhausting, too. We have a 29 gallon aquarium and he painstakingly researched every type of tropical fish that went into it. What they liked to eat, what fish they'd get along with, even their personality traits. He is nothing if not thorough.

Our research lead us to Pug Rescue of San Diego County. Yes, I know that we live in Los Angeles. Yes, I know that San Diego is two hours away. And, yes, I know that there are pug rescue societies in LA. However, PRSDC had Mushu an adorable 3 year old pug who had been relinquished by his family because they recently got a more dominant dog.

I fell in love with Mushu right away. The Boyfriend fell in love with Mushu. We immediately contacted the society and they put us in touch with Mushu's awesome foster mom. After speaking to her, we knew that he was the perfect pug for us. And that, gentle reader, is how I would up getting up at 5am on a Saturday, driving to San Diego for a pancake breakfast, and returning with a pug.

I have to say, I'm a tad terrified right now. I imagine people with newborns feel the same way. You're so thrilled with your new baby. He or she is everything you've ever dreamed of. But now there's this living thing. And it depends on you. This, my friends, is going to be an adventure. I'll keep you posted.