This is Phalaenopsis my new office mate. She sits on my desk looking pretty and purple reminding me that the weather outside (where I can't go because I have to work *pout*) is beautiful and sun-shiny.

Phalaenopsis and I met at the grocery store and she asked politely if she could be my new office mate. She'd heard that I was feeling lonely in my office despite my bulletin board of happiness (which you can see by the door in the next picture).

I warned her that I was a bad office mate. I often forget to offer my office mate water and food. Sometimes I relegate my office mate to a too small area of the office. But Phalaenopsis said not to worry. Just the sheer prettiness that she adds to the drap office decour will be enough to remind me to appreciate and care for her. And so, I brought her home with me to meet Kevin (who warned me that Phalaenopsis was already living in cramped quarters and ought to have a bigger home), but Phalaenopsis assured me that she'd be fine for a few weeks. She likes her place of prominence on my desk. While she doesn't like being so close to the printer (noisy and vibratey), she recognizes that it is better than the other side of the desk from which she might be knocked to the ground. And much much better than the windowsill that always smells like smoke because of the students who stand outside smoking.

Normally at 6:30am on Monday morning, I am tired because it's early on Monday morning, but this morning I'm extra tired because we got to sleep about two hours later than normal.

Last night we headed to bed a little later than would normally like, but still within range of getting enough sleep. But just as we were getting into bed there was this sudden barking and yelping coming from outside. At first it sounded like a dog and another animal fighting, and we thought that it would stop in a minute or two. But then it continued and continued. So we looked outside and there was a dog tied to our fence, and it was barking and agitated, and very unhappy. So we watched out the window for a few minutes wondering if someone was coming back for the dog and trying to figure out what to do.

After about 10 minutes, it was clear that no one was around and it was nearly midnight. Kevin called the non-emergency police line and reported the dog as abandoned. The police said they'd send a squad car over to investigate. Not knowing if the police would want to talk to us and with the dog still barking, Kevin went outside to wait for them and I kept watching the dog from the window.

At this point, Kevin noticed that a car parked near the dog appeared to have a person inside. From where I'm watching, I thought I saw movement in the car, but it was very difficult to tell, but it appeared that the dog isn't just barking in any direction, but it was barking toward the car.

About 10 - 15 minutes after calling the police, a squad car pulled up and as it was pulling up behind the mysterious car, the guy started his car and slowly drove off. Kevin watched the car drive up and turn down a dead end street and then back up erratically and then zoom down our street. As the police officers approached the dog, it got very quiet and stopped barking. The dog seemed a bit scared, but also happy that it was receiving some attention.

Kevin talked with the cops for a few minutes and they concluded that the guy in the car likely was the dog's owner and had decided to abandon it. The one police officer told Kevin that he was a dog lover and couldn't believe that people would abandon their animals like this. The poor dog had a lamp cord tied around its neck (instead of a leash) and was tied to the fence with the same cord.

And so we were up late worrying about the poor dog, who was very quiet and sweet with the police. We were (and are) annoyed and angry that someone else's dog problem (ie. they didn't want it anymore for whatever reason) had to become our problem because the jerk tied him to our fence hoping that someone would contact the police or take some other action. The guy could have taken the dog to a shelter (which is where it ended up anyway) and could have at least filled in the shelter about the dog's history, health, temperament, etc. The dog probably stood a better chance of getting adopted from the shelter if they had information on it. I worry this poor dog will now spend the rest of its life at the shelter because someone cared so little about it.

**This semester is just getting more and more crazy and busy. Thus the absence of blogging.**

I often try to avoid posting in the Big 6 on Ravelry. Often it is a quagmire of stupidity, meanness, and fluff. But this morning someone asked a legitimate question that I knew a good answer for and so I replied, even though it also violated my "if you do post on the Big 6 remember this clause" (i.e. only post if you are among the first 5).

Now, no one disputed my answer and no one said anything bad (other than 6 disagrees, which on Ravelry, you ignore), but other than the few disagrees, agrees, and interestings, it appears by reading the posts after mine that no one read my post. Others are offering their own asinine theories that are flat out wrong. And I just want to reply to them... didn't you read #20? Stop being so stupid!

Ok, I may be a little edgy and judgmental at the moment. School stuff that I can't talk about is trying me batty!

5 more days of teaching. 5 more days of lectures. There are still many more days of grading and exams and the like, but all of that is much easier when the in the classroom/lecture prep time is out of the equation.

On top of being exhausted from school, Kevin and I both have colds, which means by the time we finish eating dinner, we're both ready for bed. I've found that a magic combination of allergy medication and nasal spray works wonders for clearing the sinuses for sleeping. But because the allergy meds are 24 hours, I can't take anything else until that time expires, which means in the late afternoon/evening my nasal passages feel like exploding. And I only use the nasal spray once a day before bed because I'm terrified of the rebound effect that overuse can cause the swelling to come back twice as bad.

But if I can make it through today, I'll only have 4 more days of teaching left. And if I make it through today, I can sleep in tomorrow. And if I make it through today, I get to go on a fun, little yarn excursions on Saturday!

I mentioned back in February having smoothies for breakfast and also picking up Jillian Michael's 30 Day Shred. Since January 20th to today, I've progressed through levels 1, 2, and 3.

In my first attempt at level 1, I quit after the first circuit and had to lay on the floor for 15 minutes until I could move again and not be *this close* to puking on the carpet. Since then, I followed Jillian on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays with just a few exceptions here and there (Tuesday and Thursdays are for cardio; weekends are for sleep). After 10 times on level 1, I felt confident to try level 2 on February 15th. If I recall correctly, I had a repeat of my first attempt at level 1; only made it about one-third through before needing to quit. But I persisted and by the end of March I was ready for level 3. On March 22nd, I moved on to level 3 and completed it on my first attempt! And now that I can complete level 3 feeling strong and not about to die. The last two weeks I've done level 3 on Mondays and Fridays, and both levels 1 and 2 on Wednesdays! Yay!!!

While over the last 3 months, I've only lost about 3 lbs (and that's being generous; I could probably lose more if I'd give up eating yummy foods and I don't want to do that because I'm exercising not to get skinny, but to be healthy), I feel strong and fitter. My pants are looser; I have biceps that have some definition. I can do push-ups... real push-ups, not on your knees push-ups!

I'm not shredded, and when Jillian says in level 3... "about now you should be seeing that 6 pack," I laugh because that's a loooooooonnnnngggggg way off. But for a $10 pick up, I'm very happy with the results. Now I've just got to figure out how to stick with the daily exercising once the semester ends.