more blather

Got Lulu and I all signed up for a six-week dog training class on Saturdays just up the road from Point Isabel, so hoping to meet some more nice dog people and make sure I'm doing all the right things for the pup.

People just warm to Lulu right away. Her vibe is so solid and mellow. She has a ton of young dog energy but it's not chaotic or spazzy. At doggie day care, they continue to give her stellar reports.

Susan is coming to stay with me this weekend, very excited for her to meet Lulu. Nice three-day weekend too. We chatted about going to a beach of some kind, and now I'm remembering that I should think up some beach that doesn't involve a lot of windy roads. Susan doesn't do so well with the windy roads and my driving.

Last night on a little walk near my flat, Lulu and I met Annette and her black lab mix dog, Angus along with another neighbor whose name I didn't get. She had a black dog also and said, "Welcome to the Point Richmond black dog club!" Annette turns out to live just around the corner from me. I was surprised at how reserved I was about chatting with them - there was a time I'd be telling a new person my whole life story and trying hard to get them to like me right away. Now, I seem to measure my energy and willingness to take on any new people. I'm the one who first says, ok, then, we have to go, nice to have met you. Is this a healthy thing or should I be more open? Do I have bad habits of protecting my space from when I was really depressed and not able to deal? Or is this just better maturity?

I have the feeling I need to just put this one in the God box and let the answers come as they will. In the meantime, it feels nice to have such friendly neighbors and yet also a little sad that I may be moving. If I could just wave my magic wand over housing prices in this area, that would fix it all.

Austin looks great, but moving house is a royal pain. I just got unpacked! I do really like my job though, and feel pretty sure that the only way to do it well is to be at HQ in Tejas. But again, no need to make any decisions today.

Through the dog training sign-up, I found a nifty new dog web site: Dog Star Daily. Check it out.