It turns out that getting a dog is a lot more complicated than getting a cat. When I decided I wanted a cat two years ago, I had one pretty quickly. I went to the shelter and met a few and found one that I really liked. I picked him up the next day, once I'd bought some things like a litter box and food. I'd been thinking about it for a while at that point, but I essentially went from deciding to get a cat to owning a cat in less than 48 hours.
This is not how dog adoption works. Kevin and I had been talking about a dog for a while. At first I really wasn't on board with this idea. I got a cat because they're fairly independent. But a dog requires a lot more care. At that point, Kevin was spending more time on the road than at home and I wasn't eager to be saddled with the responsibility of an animal I wasn't sure I wanted.
But then we bought a house and he got a new job that keeps him closer to home and the idea of a dog started to get more exciting. So we started to really look into it.
Kevin had already decided that he wanted a German Shepherd, so we started looking online and found a rescue that specializes in German Shepherds. They were having an adoption day at a nearby PetCo, so we decided to go and meet some dogs.
Once there, we discovered that they really weren't willing to talk to us until we had filled out an application. An application that wanted more information than some apartments I've rented, including three references.
After we turned the form in, the waiting game began. They called our references who all confirmed that we weren't going to kill the dog. And then they forgot that they had called one of our references, which led to a weird back and forth between Kevin and the lady who was "organizing" all of this. We ended up having to provide an additional reference to placate her.
Next came the in-home interview in which someone came to make sure we lived in a dog friendly area and had some sense of what we were getting into. She was not impressed with our rather small back yard and we had to assure her that the massive park on the other side of the fence was dog friendly. We talked about morning and evening walks and signing up for a dog training class and the possibility of hiring a dog walker to come by every day since both of us work full time. We'll see how much of this actually comes to pass.
Having finally jumped through all of the hoops, we have now been approved to adopt a dog. The next step is attending one of their adoption days or possibly contacting the foster homes directly to meet some dogs we're interested in. Once we find one, the foster family will have to sign off on us as well. I'm not sure how long this part of the process will take. But we're one step closer to actually adopting a dog.
Saturday, March 31, 2012
Wednesday, March 28, 2012
Fire
On Monday evening I saw mention of a fire in Conifer, my home town. These things happen quite a bit, although this one was early. Fire season doesn't usually start until June, maybe late May. I called my mom to make sure she was okay and more or less put it out of my mind.
I woke up the next morning to a Facebook feed full of updates about the fire.
3000 acres. 0% containment. 5 structures lost. 1 fatality.
And thus began a near obsessive checking of the news. It was named the Lower North Fork Fire, frightening because I know a few guys who volunteer for the North Fork fire Department. I know even more people who were evacuated.
The news clip I watched of the evacuees featured an interview with my former history teacher, standing next to his wife who taught me geometry. The evacuation site, as always, was the high school and I tried to remember whether it was Spring Break or not. If it wasn't Spring Break, I knew that there would be some jerk out there rejoicing about the school cancellation. There was always some jerk grateful for the fire days.
I continued to check the news, but there weren't many changes. Some of this was good. Still only 3000 acres. Still only one fatality. But there was still no containment.
And then the number of structures increased from 5 to 10 to 20. There was still no containment, but a second body was found inside a burnt out house.
I'm not proud to admit that my first thought was "idiot". There's always someone who ignores the evacuation. They refuse to believe that their house will burn down. They think they can save their property with a hose and will. I've seen at least one example of success, but more often than not this strategy results in the loss of life as well as property.
It wasn't long before it was revealed that the two bodies were actually those of an elderly couple. Probably a couple who tried to escape and couldn't get out in time. My shame magnifies the tragedy.
The updates that come the next day aren't heartening. Close to 4000 acres burned. At least 27 structures destroyed. Still no containment.
The fire, it turns out, was started by a controlled burn that wasn't fully extinguished. These controlled burns are important to prevent fires. But someone let it smolder. And this year the weather hasn't been cooperating: hot and dry with lots of wind.
March is usually the snowiest month in Colorado. The high country gets feet of snow and the foothills get their fair share as well. This year there has been none. It's been 70 and sunny. Gorgeous, by all accounts. Except, of course, that this lack of moisture does nothing but increase the fire danger.
I've begun to suspect that this is why I love snow so much. The more snow, the less likely it is that my house will burn down. Snow means that I may be inconvenienced for a day or two, but that I won't lose everything I own. Even though I no longer live somewhere with high fire danger, I can't quite shake this mindset. A winter without snow is fundamentally wrong.
I still know what I would grab in case of evacuation. More than that, I know what I would grab if I had ten minutes to get out. Thirty minutes. An hour or two. I've prioritized my possessions and even arranged them so that it's easy to grab what I'd want to take. I know I'd still miss something crucial
I remember one summer when I just kept everything in a box so I could grab it without thinking.
The firefighters seem to be gaining ground. Containment is up to 15% and there haven't been any more fatalities. This is all good news and, barring extreme weather, the fire should be under control before too long.
It's still only March. Fire season isn't supposed to start this early, but it has. It's going to be a very long summer for the residents of Jefferson County. I just hope everyone stays safe.
I woke up the next morning to a Facebook feed full of updates about the fire.
3000 acres. 0% containment. 5 structures lost. 1 fatality.
And thus began a near obsessive checking of the news. It was named the Lower North Fork Fire, frightening because I know a few guys who volunteer for the North Fork fire Department. I know even more people who were evacuated.
The news clip I watched of the evacuees featured an interview with my former history teacher, standing next to his wife who taught me geometry. The evacuation site, as always, was the high school and I tried to remember whether it was Spring Break or not. If it wasn't Spring Break, I knew that there would be some jerk out there rejoicing about the school cancellation. There was always some jerk grateful for the fire days.
I continued to check the news, but there weren't many changes. Some of this was good. Still only 3000 acres. Still only one fatality. But there was still no containment.
And then the number of structures increased from 5 to 10 to 20. There was still no containment, but a second body was found inside a burnt out house.
I'm not proud to admit that my first thought was "idiot". There's always someone who ignores the evacuation. They refuse to believe that their house will burn down. They think they can save their property with a hose and will. I've seen at least one example of success, but more often than not this strategy results in the loss of life as well as property.
It wasn't long before it was revealed that the two bodies were actually those of an elderly couple. Probably a couple who tried to escape and couldn't get out in time. My shame magnifies the tragedy.
The updates that come the next day aren't heartening. Close to 4000 acres burned. At least 27 structures destroyed. Still no containment.
The fire, it turns out, was started by a controlled burn that wasn't fully extinguished. These controlled burns are important to prevent fires. But someone let it smolder. And this year the weather hasn't been cooperating: hot and dry with lots of wind.
March is usually the snowiest month in Colorado. The high country gets feet of snow and the foothills get their fair share as well. This year there has been none. It's been 70 and sunny. Gorgeous, by all accounts. Except, of course, that this lack of moisture does nothing but increase the fire danger.
I've begun to suspect that this is why I love snow so much. The more snow, the less likely it is that my house will burn down. Snow means that I may be inconvenienced for a day or two, but that I won't lose everything I own. Even though I no longer live somewhere with high fire danger, I can't quite shake this mindset. A winter without snow is fundamentally wrong.
I still know what I would grab in case of evacuation. More than that, I know what I would grab if I had ten minutes to get out. Thirty minutes. An hour or two. I've prioritized my possessions and even arranged them so that it's easy to grab what I'd want to take. I know I'd still miss something crucial
I remember one summer when I just kept everything in a box so I could grab it without thinking.
The firefighters seem to be gaining ground. Containment is up to 15% and there haven't been any more fatalities. This is all good news and, barring extreme weather, the fire should be under control before too long.
It's still only March. Fire season isn't supposed to start this early, but it has. It's going to be a very long summer for the residents of Jefferson County. I just hope everyone stays safe.
Sunday, March 25, 2012
Movie Review: The Hunger Games
We went to see The Hunger Games last night, and given that I talked about my concerns last week, I thought I'd write a post about the movie.
For the most part I really, really liked it. It was exciting and engrossing. It did a good job of maintaining the horror of The Hunger Games without turning into an action flick where you're simply rooting for Katniss to kill everyone. The poverty of District 12 contrasted nicely with the wealth of the Capital.
I really liked all the extra scenes we got between President Snow and Seneca Crane. They helped explain the politics around the Hunger Games, the way they use a thin shred of hope to help with the oppression of the outlying districts. I also liked seeing that Katniss' mourning of Rue sparked a riot in District 11 which is what caused the gamemakers to change the rules in an effort to bring focus back. It was neat to see how this all tied together.
My favorite extra detail was that the gamemakers set the fire on Katniss because she was getting too close to the edge of the arena. This ties in nicely to Haymitch's victory in his games, and also works well as something Katniss herself couldn't have known in the books.
Really, I liked all of the scenes that we got in the movie that weren't in the book. I think the movie benefited a lot from not keeping us inside Katniss' head and part of me wishes we could have gotten more of this. I wanted to see more of the other tributes. I wanted more scenes with Effie and Cinna. I wanted more of what Prim and Gale were going through back home. But I also thought the movie was almost too long as it was and I'm not sure how they could have fit all of that extra information in.
I think the movie was as good as I could have hoped for. I just hope that the DVD comes with loads of extra features. I want more background information on this world. I want all the behind the scenes stuff that Katniss couldn't know about. And I want more scenes with the secondary characters.
For the most part I really, really liked it. It was exciting and engrossing. It did a good job of maintaining the horror of The Hunger Games without turning into an action flick where you're simply rooting for Katniss to kill everyone. The poverty of District 12 contrasted nicely with the wealth of the Capital.
I really liked all the extra scenes we got between President Snow and Seneca Crane. They helped explain the politics around the Hunger Games, the way they use a thin shred of hope to help with the oppression of the outlying districts. I also liked seeing that Katniss' mourning of Rue sparked a riot in District 11 which is what caused the gamemakers to change the rules in an effort to bring focus back. It was neat to see how this all tied together.
My favorite extra detail was that the gamemakers set the fire on Katniss because she was getting too close to the edge of the arena. This ties in nicely to Haymitch's victory in his games, and also works well as something Katniss herself couldn't have known in the books.
Really, I liked all of the scenes that we got in the movie that weren't in the book. I think the movie benefited a lot from not keeping us inside Katniss' head and part of me wishes we could have gotten more of this. I wanted to see more of the other tributes. I wanted more scenes with Effie and Cinna. I wanted more of what Prim and Gale were going through back home. But I also thought the movie was almost too long as it was and I'm not sure how they could have fit all of that extra information in.
I think the movie was as good as I could have hoped for. I just hope that the DVD comes with loads of extra features. I want more background information on this world. I want all the behind the scenes stuff that Katniss couldn't know about. And I want more scenes with the secondary characters.
Thursday, March 22, 2012
The Problem With Running
The problem with running is that it's nowhere near as fun as riding my bike.
The weather got warmer. Daylight Saving's Time added an hour of light to the end of my days. I stopped going to the gym and started riding my bike instead.
All thoughts of attempting to run a 5K have fled from my mind. They may come back eventually. It won't be too long before the weather warms up enough that I won't want to be outside anymore. At that point it will be back to the gym and probably back to running. But for now I'm enjoying getting out and exploring the neighborhood.
I've been having a lot of fun getting lost on the windy streets. I never quite know where I'm going to end up, although I'm sure that I'll know my way around soon enough. I like all the hills in Virginia. It takes a lot of work to get up them, but zooming back down is the closest to flying I'll probably ever come.
Since riding my bike is so fun, I've actually been getting out every day. I'm exercising more, but I still have more free time since I'm not spending twenty minutes getting to the gym and another twenty getting home. I can also run small errands on my bike, since Safeway and various other shops are only less than two miles away.
All of this has made me deeply nostalgic for Boulder. When I lived there I did almost everything on my bike. I got to work, went to the bank, went shopping. I could do this for most of the year, too, since summer never got too hot. It may have started snowing early in the year and continued well in to Spring, but there were still plenty of nice days when I could get out for a ride.
In Virginia I know I'll be lucky if I can still ride my bike in June. Especially with the way the weather has been shaping up this year. It's barely Spring and it already feels like what I expect from Summer. I'll just have to make the most of the weeks I do have.
The weather got warmer. Daylight Saving's Time added an hour of light to the end of my days. I stopped going to the gym and started riding my bike instead.
All thoughts of attempting to run a 5K have fled from my mind. They may come back eventually. It won't be too long before the weather warms up enough that I won't want to be outside anymore. At that point it will be back to the gym and probably back to running. But for now I'm enjoying getting out and exploring the neighborhood.
I've been having a lot of fun getting lost on the windy streets. I never quite know where I'm going to end up, although I'm sure that I'll know my way around soon enough. I like all the hills in Virginia. It takes a lot of work to get up them, but zooming back down is the closest to flying I'll probably ever come.
Since riding my bike is so fun, I've actually been getting out every day. I'm exercising more, but I still have more free time since I'm not spending twenty minutes getting to the gym and another twenty getting home. I can also run small errands on my bike, since Safeway and various other shops are only less than two miles away.
All of this has made me deeply nostalgic for Boulder. When I lived there I did almost everything on my bike. I got to work, went to the bank, went shopping. I could do this for most of the year, too, since summer never got too hot. It may have started snowing early in the year and continued well in to Spring, but there were still plenty of nice days when I could get out for a ride.
In Virginia I know I'll be lucky if I can still ride my bike in June. Especially with the way the weather has been shaping up this year. It's barely Spring and it already feels like what I expect from Summer. I'll just have to make the most of the weeks I do have.
Monday, March 12, 2012
Winter Is Coming
I've been on a bit of an epic fantasy kick lately. And I've begun to notice that nearly all of these books start in late Fall and reach their conclusion in early Spring. This probably has more than a little to do with the symbolism of these seasons. The ending of the year helps make the coming danger that much scarier. All of the really dire stuff happens in the dead of winter. Then Spring comes and with it, new hope.
George RR Martin draw this out in his series. Seasons can last for years in his world, which helps keep us on the bring of winter for five whole books. But many other authors are guilty of using this device to create maximum emotional impact in their stories. Here are the books I've read recently (or not so recently) that follow this pattern (so far, at least)
George RR Martin draw this out in his series. Seasons can last for years in his world, which helps keep us on the bring of winter for five whole books. But many other authors are guilty of using this device to create maximum emotional impact in their stories. Here are the books I've read recently (or not so recently) that follow this pattern (so far, at least)
- American Gods by Neil Gaiman
- Lord of the Rings by JRR Tolkien
- The Hobbit by JRR Tolkien
- Wizard's First Rule by Terry Goodkind
- Goodkind manages to do this two books in a row by manipulating certain facts. In the first book, the bad guy must be stopped by the first day of winter. In the second book (The Stone of Tears), the bad stuff is all going to happen on the Winter Solstice of the same year. Somehow there is a month or two between these two dates, which are traditionally the same day.
- The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
- The framing story does this, not the flashbacks to Kvothe's life
Thursday, March 8, 2012
Things
It's been so long since I've written anything. There hasn't been too much interesting going on, and I just haven't been in much mood to write.
I've gotten pretty good at going to the gym consistently and running. I managed to run two miles the other day and completed a whole 5K in slightly under 45 minutes. My main goal is to actually be able to run a 5K. But tonight I had a hard time even running a mile. This turned out to be because they updated the software on the treadmills. I ended up running uphill without realizing it. Once I finished and discovered that the treadmill was inclined more than I'd intended I was actually fairly proud of myself for completing a mile.
They're altering the bus routes and changing the roads near my house which has caused a bunch of headaches. A three-way stop turned into a 4-way stop causing me to nearly be t-boned a few times. People don't even look in one direction because they don't expect a car from there. And they got rid of a right turn lane. Now I get honked at when I don't turn right at the stop light by my house. So few people go straight through that light that no one expects me to, and they feel a burning need to alert me to the fact that I can go when I actually can't.
See how boring my life is? These are the things weighing on my mind right now.
I finished Cat's Cradle a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't come up with anything to say about it beyond "it's absurd and delightful". So that's what I'm leaving you with. I liked it. I'm definitely going to add some more Kurt Vonnegut to my library.
I swear I won't be this boring forever. I have lots of thoughts about The Name of the Wind, which I'm nearly done with. I'm tossing around an idea for a post about the prophecies in A Song of Ice and Fire, but I need to do more research for that one. Which is to say I need to look up the wording of the various prophecies, and that's incredibly difficult to do on a kindle. I kind of want to buy physical copies of those books.
The boyfriend and I are in the process of adopting a dog. Which is to stay we've submitted an application, but haven't done more than that. So expect more news on the front at some point, too.
I just haven't been the most exciting person lately. Perhaps that will change with the weather?
I've gotten pretty good at going to the gym consistently and running. I managed to run two miles the other day and completed a whole 5K in slightly under 45 minutes. My main goal is to actually be able to run a 5K. But tonight I had a hard time even running a mile. This turned out to be because they updated the software on the treadmills. I ended up running uphill without realizing it. Once I finished and discovered that the treadmill was inclined more than I'd intended I was actually fairly proud of myself for completing a mile.
They're altering the bus routes and changing the roads near my house which has caused a bunch of headaches. A three-way stop turned into a 4-way stop causing me to nearly be t-boned a few times. People don't even look in one direction because they don't expect a car from there. And they got rid of a right turn lane. Now I get honked at when I don't turn right at the stop light by my house. So few people go straight through that light that no one expects me to, and they feel a burning need to alert me to the fact that I can go when I actually can't.
See how boring my life is? These are the things weighing on my mind right now.
I finished Cat's Cradle a couple of weeks ago, but I haven't come up with anything to say about it beyond "it's absurd and delightful". So that's what I'm leaving you with. I liked it. I'm definitely going to add some more Kurt Vonnegut to my library.
I swear I won't be this boring forever. I have lots of thoughts about The Name of the Wind, which I'm nearly done with. I'm tossing around an idea for a post about the prophecies in A Song of Ice and Fire, but I need to do more research for that one. Which is to say I need to look up the wording of the various prophecies, and that's incredibly difficult to do on a kindle. I kind of want to buy physical copies of those books.
The boyfriend and I are in the process of adopting a dog. Which is to stay we've submitted an application, but haven't done more than that. So expect more news on the front at some point, too.
I just haven't been the most exciting person lately. Perhaps that will change with the weather?
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