The Adventures of Jim...

A new member of the family

Over the last couple of weeks, Angie and I had talked about getting a second dog.  The purpose we would want to do so was multi-faceted.  First, 12-lb Eddie (keep that in mind for ...12 lbs) needs a companion.  He is at home alone much of the time.  Every day, while Angie and I are at work, he is by himself.  Any time that we go out (for something to which we can't bring him), he's on his own.

We'd decided on going with a puppy.  Then, almost as if on cue, the Second Chance SPCA came to our office on Friday with a couple of adorable puppies.  One was a German Shepherd, and the other was a mix (we think lab, sharpei, maybe a little bit of pit bull).  We made the decision to visit their site on Saturday, since Angie's parents would be with us.  They are big-time dog people (currently have 3), and are very knowledgable.

I've always wanted a dog of the retriever type...one that would actually play fetch.  Eddie...not so much.  When I throw a ball, he just sorta looks at me as if to say "yeah......what?"  When we take him to the dog park, I so many other dogs, both large and small, fetch with gusto.  Eddie...not at all.  Bummer...

To make a very long story short, the Shepherd was adopted by another family, and the mixed puppies (and her brothers & sisters of that litter), wouldn't be ready for adoption for a week or two, until after they've been spayed or neutered.  So we decided to go to another SCPA.  We looked at a couple of Labrador Retrievers.  One was a female puppy, and the other was a 3+ year old male.

Then we saw this guy: 

The timing was remarkable.  He actually arrived at the SPCA while we were there.  He'd been previously adopted, but had to be returned because his owners were moving.  I took him out into a yard to see how he responded.  Right off the bat, he fetched, obeyed the "sit" command...and won me over.  So now, 12-lb Eddie's companion will be....101-lb Jake.

Jake is approximately 6 years old, which is older than what we'd planned.  But...that means that we won't have to go through all of the puppy issues.  And his readiness to play...<sigh>.

And the dude is STRONG!!!  Man, he can pull like nobody's business.  And run...yeah, dude is incredibly fast.  He'll be a good running buddy for me at some point.  Before that, he's got  to lose some weight.  He's probably about 10 lbs or so overweight, mostly because he hasn't been getting enough exercise.  But that will change; I'll be taking him to the dog park often, and going for long walks, and eventually runs.

The thing with Eddie and Jake is the weirdest thing...even though the size differences are enormous (Jake is approximately 90 lbs heavier than Eddie), they already seem to get along well.  Hopefully, that will remain the same.

So...Angie and I now have two dogs.  One little snuggler, and one huge new playmate.

A good trip to FL...

Most people probably don't have to go far to find something Disney.  From the various classic movies that are in our video collections, to the clothing our children wear, to the stuffed animals, etc.  In many ways, they have become ubiquitous in our society.

One of the early parts of the Disney empire was, and is, their theme parks.  Many people never get the opportunity to visit DisneyLand or DisneyWorld (and their accompaniment parks) because of their location and cost.

In 2004, I had the opportunity to take my youngest son and daughter to DisneyLand in Anaheim, CA.  My oldest son opted not to go, probably because he deemed himself "too grown" at the time.  It was a really good time.  It certainly wasn't cheap, but...to steal from the MasterCard commercials...the memories from it were: priceless.

I wasn't sure when I would have the opportunity to do that again.  My boys are now both in college, and I only have my daughter part of the time.  Both of those things made it less likely, or at least less convenient.

Thanks to the generosity and hospitality of some in-laws, we were able to do that in February.  At our wedding, Angie's aunt who lives in the Orlando area, took Veronica aside and told here that she needed to tell me to bring her there to visit, and of course...to visit DisneyWorld.  Had it not been for their generosity, we definitely would not have been able to make the trip.  They provided us accomodations and ground transportation.  Additionally, Angie's uncle works for Disney, so got us passes.

Basically, the only expenses we had to cover was our food and airfare.  To be completely honest, the latter was not covered out of pocket.  Angie's was covered by the company we both work for, since she had to be in Orlando the following week on business, and frequent flyer miles covered Veronica and I.  Though our out of pocket were minimal, the memories were just like the 2004 trip west: priceless.

We had a great couple of days in the parks.  Overall, the lines weren't too long.  That's a good *very* thing, because my patience for the "long stand" is not all that long.  Some of the waits were deceptively advertised.  The Rock'N Rollercoaster (which I highly, HIGHLY recommmend) showed a wait time of 70, but it actually only took about 20 minutes.  Not all were such positive surprises.  When we came was another one that advertised 70 minutes we thought "cool, it may also be only 20 minutes".  Two hours later, we finally got on the ride.  Yeah...

Among the things that worked out well was Veronica's photo/autograph hunt.  If you've never been to one of Disney's parks, it basically works this way:  at various places and times, people in costume/character come out and stand for 15 to 30 minutes to take pictures with the kids and sign autographs.  The one that Veronica really really wanted to get was Snow White's.  She really likes Snow White, but her mom REALLY does.  So, we decided to make it a priority.

As good luck would have it, we were in Germany...are at least that area of Epcot, and Veronica overheard someone say something about Snow White being just a little ways down from where we were.  We headed that direction, and came upon the area where S.W. had just emerged for the photo/autograph session.  We jumped into the line, which went very quickly.  Given my aforementioned dislike for the "long stand" and the fact that S.W. held no particular thrill for me (I know...go figure), that was a good-good.  The fact that we were able to get that for Veronica and her mom was a great-great.

We stayed until late each night, seeing the lights and fireworks show.  That meant that we had to battle the going-home crowds, but it wasn't so bad.  I certainly won't complain.  We were able to create some priceless memories.  I'm extremely thankful to Angie's aunt and uncle for their part in making that happen.  It was a great trip to FL...