And then there are days that make owning dogs completely worthwhile. As I sat here in the bedroom tonight amid a swirl of robust dog flatulence, Nora walked in from the kitchen where she had been eating, jumped up on the bed, and promptly puked up the recently consumed dog food onto the sheets near my feet. She hesitated briefly to hack and sputter, licked her chops, looked up at me, then proceeded to re-consume the disgusting goo. Then she hopped off the bed leaving a film of saliva and dog food flecks behind. Moments later she returned to whimper and claw at my face so that I would be alerted that it was time to stumble down to the freezing cold basement so that she could be let outside to pee and bark at things. Man’s best friend.

Ah, right at the freezing mark, but with enough sunlight to warm the pavement just enough to get the thawing process moving. I spent the afternoon shoveling snow from our neglected front sidewalk in a T-shirt, jeans and sandals and still had a sweat going. Funny how you acclimate. Just trying to get the walkway prepped in anticipation of the upcoming forty-degree weather this weekend. Shorts weather!

On a completely unrelated note, I’ve been following the high school wrestling finals in this state via the online brackets and I just noticed there’s a kid named “Arsenio Hall” wrestling. That’s some gusty nomenclature.

March 6. Twelve degrees and overcast. The hate is growing strong and its purity is unquestionable. My contempt for this city, it’s weather, and its people is reaching epic proportions and it won’t be long before the levee breaks.

This will not be a levee breaking in the sense that the unwitting peasants in the village below are crushed beneath the cavalcade of rushing death-water. But rather, the peasants notice how unfortunate was their choice of living environments and decide to head for higher ground as the old dam creaks and groans. Hopefully.

On my customized Google start page I have a number of weather forecasts for different cities around the US as well as a few live beach cam from places I’ve visited or hope to visit. Those little sunshines and rolling waves taunt me daily. It’s a bit masochistic I know, but it’s important for me to remember what’s out there. Yes, I see you San Luis Obispo, CA, with your perfect weather.

It’s time for some proactivity. No more gloom.

Still cold. Still snowy. But at least we’ve seen partly sunny the past two days. Mary and I took the dogs out for a skittering run around Jaycee Park last night. Nice to see the sun out for a few hours, though the 24 mph wind leveled that out nicely.

I like my music a little off-kilter, with nice rhythmic undertones, and maybe some synths. And always fresh (until the next fresh thing). Usually I like a good hook or two, but whatever. The Battles will soon rock my socks.