(no subject)

We got a puppy yesterday! Chris and I sat down together and read up about different dog breeds for quite a while. We discussed the merits and drawbacks of the different breeds, and decided which ones we liked the best. We went to the pet market and ended up getting one that was none of the breeds we had decided on, lol! To be honest, we have no idea what breed this dog is, some sort of Chinese breed. That's one of the difficulties in shopping for dogs here, because unless the dog is clearly recognizable (like a dalmatian or basset hound) as a puppy, then we don't know what they are. In other words, Chris doesn't know all the names (and why should he?) of the various dog breeds. Zack really wanted a "bear dog", which we think was a type of Chow, but Chris and I were against that. I wanted a reddish hound type dog, but none of those puppies were interested in interacting with us at all.

We took a break from looking at dogs, and went to McDonalds for ice cream and talked some more about which one we should get. When we went back, we saw a pile of puppies that we had overlooked the first time around. They were all white, with black and brown markings. The puppy we fell in love with is completely brown. We've named her Josie. She just sat apart from the rest of the liter, gazing at us curiously. She's so sweet. Now, I say "She", but the truth is we can't quite tell yet. But, that's the beauty of a name like "Josie". If she turns out to be a boy, we'll just call her/him Joey instead. The man who sold her to us said she won't get much bigger than she is now, so I think she might be a lapdog. Perfect for apartment living, right? I had pictured us getting a much bigger breed, but I feel really good about this pup.

She did whine and howl all night long. She's scared to be away from her litter. She likes the boys so much, and is very gentle with them. We have a cage for her to stay in at night and while we're gone during the day. I need to do some serious reading up on puppy care and training.

Yay for puppies!

(no subject)

I'd like you to try an experiment. Go to your closet and get the longest coat you have. If you don't have a knee length coat, you can do this with a bathrobe. Now, get your purse (or your wife's purse, whatever). You can pretend on the next step that you've pulled your pants down around your ankles. I want you to squat, while holding your coat up and your purse. Pretend you are squatting over an in-ground toilet. There is no where to put your purse, except the floor which is covered in splash back. You don't want your coat to dip into the toilet, either.

Not very easy, is it? This was my welcome-back-to Chinese bathrooms :) And as if that wasn't enough to occupy my attention, Petey was standing right outside the stall being harassed. I'm sure she was well intentioned and harmless, but she was really bothering him. She followed us into the bathroom, and grabbed onto Petey's arm. I think she was trying to tell us that the boys shouldn't go into the women's bathroom. It was deserted, except for us, the old lady and the bathroom attendant. I didn't think it really mattered. Well, as I'm doing my amazing balancing act (and, btw, suddenly realizing why no one uses tampons in China. Squatting and tampons, just don't work well together.) I hear Petey. He's saying "hey!" and making some "your bothering me!" noises. The lady laughs and mimics his noises. I hear him running back and forth and it sounds like he's playing keep away. Meanwhile, the lady is still laughing. By the time I managed to get out of my stall, the bathroom attendant had chased the old lady away.

And where was Zack during all this? He stayed in his stall and hid until he saw that the coast was clear. Zack's such a smarty. I told Petey to do the same next time.