Christmas Past

Well, Christmas is over and it's back to the grind. I hope everyone had a happy and safe holiday!

Today I decided to post a picture of Sofie chewing on her new Santa toy. She kept running up to me this morning while I was getting ready and making a little whining sound, obviously wanting me to engage in a game of tug. I tried to appease her as much as I could until I had to leave for work. I'd never heard her whine so much for a game. This reminded me of the funny ways in which Sofie exhibits human like behavior. Maybe we evolved from dogs? Jen? Just kiddingggg.

Have a great day!

Happy Friday!

December 23, 2011 - 6:24am - Central Park East

This morning was very dark and dreary at the park as you can see from my photo. It was also quite uneventful as I ran into very few people and Sofie was mild in her antics. Consequently, I decided to post some cute old pictures of me with my star dogs.

Have a great day!

Good Morning!

Thursday, December 22nd, 2011  - 6:30am - Central Park East

Jen is off to Oregon and I'm taking over the Blog for the next few days. Sofie and I were sad to see her go this morning at 3:30am, but we have many fun things planned.

This morning Sofie scared the hell out of me! Immediately after entering The Park, she was trolling through the brush searching for birdies and emerged with a mouse looking creature in her mouth. I tried to get her to drop this foreign object, but it became increasingly clear that she was trying to and could not get it out of her mouth. Tilting her head and running back and forth like a crazed maniac, I thought she had caught a mouse and the mouse had latched onto her tongue (These are the strange things I think about). I finally caught up with her and found that she had a small mouse shaped pine cone stuck on her tooth and was awkwardly trying to lick around at it. It's safe to say I felt like an idiot. This is one silly dog!

Have a great day!

Wednesday, December 21st, 2011
In front of the Ralph Lauren Store (Madison & 71st), 8:45am

Hello hello!  Sorry I'm a bit late today.  I both woke up a little late (7:45am) and took an extra long walk (several loops around the great lawn as opposed to just 1) because I don't have to go in to work today and it's my last day to walk with my little Sofie before I go to OR.  As you can see, Sofie got a stick today and carried it home with her.  It's always hard to take it from her when we get back to the place, but if I let her bring it in to the apartment she just tries to tear it up into a million pieces and it makes a big mess. 

Aside from that I had an absolutely amazing birthday yesterday.  The day was fairly normal - a bit disappointing perhaps because all I did all day was work on my Biochem proposal.  Not the most exciting birthday, so when I got home, Brian cooked me this delicious dinner of cavatelli & broccoli with lots of garlic and parmesan.  It was really, really good.  Then we went and got a cab but I had no idea where we were going.  We ended up at the Blue Note in the West Village, which if you don't know it, is probably one of the most famous jazz clubs in the world. 
http://www.bluenote.net/newyork/index.shtml

And we get in, and it's PACKED with people eating dinner and drinking.  And I still don't know what we're seeing so when the host tells us he can't seat us together that we have to go join OTHER people's dinner tables, I was kind of like...well maybe we should just go get dessert.  It was awkward to join other people's tables - trust me.  So then Brian was like...no no, we can't leave.  Then he told them it was my birthday and they found us 2 seats together with 4 other people at the table. 

Then Chris Botti came on. 

.....I'm waiting for the wow factor.  Nobody shot down my wow factor more than my mother, who when I told about this night said..."Who's that?  Is he a basketball player?" 

"Yes Mother, I went to a famous jazz club to see a basketball player.  One that you have seen on TV several times in fact."  (She has no memory of this of course). 

Anyway - I can't describe it to you - you would have had to be there but it was the most incredible music I've ever heard.  It was one of the most amazing things I've ever heard. 

That's all for now.  I leave tomorrow at 6:30am to go to OR.  I think Brian may be guest blogging for me, but I'm not sure.  We shall see. 

Either way, have a wonderful day! 

Here's your X-mas cheer for the day:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7A03tpV-70k&feature=related

Tuesday December 20th, 2011
Central Park East - 7:35am

Aside from being the first day of Hanukkah, it is also a great day b/c it is my 25th birthday!  The first 25 years have been pretty awesome so I'm hoping the same for the next 25.  It's weird to think that after another 25 years I'll be 50.  It seemed like these 25 went by pretty fast!  Sofie and I were lucky enough to have Brian along on the walk with us this morning.  :) Apparently there is something special planned for tonight such that I must devote my entire evening to going wherever this is and seeing whatever it me be!  Very exciting. 

Also exciting is that in 2 days I'll be in OR with my family! 

Have a wonderful day! 

Here's your daily dose of holiday spirit:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GPG3zSgm_Qo&feature=related

Last day of being 24

 Working on STAY.  Pretty good, eh?

Monday, December 19th, 2011
Central Park East - 8:00am

Good morning, good morning!  I almost forgot to post today b/c I am all wrapped up in working on this biochemistry test.  I have to write a proposal based on a paper about an innate immune sensor of viral RNA called RIG-I (Retinoic acid inducible gene-I).   When RIG-I senses that your cells are infected with a virus, it signals to your nucleus to stop allowing protein translation, which is the way that all your proteins get made.  Now why would your cell want to halt protein translation when you're infected with a virus?

........are you thinking? 


........b/c the cell will sacrifice itself for the organism by not allowing the virus to hijak YOUR cell's protein translation machinery to make proteins for itself that it will then use to go and infect more of your cells. 

The name doesn't really have anything to do with what it actually does but some side-effect of how it was found.  Typical science.  Let's think rationally but give nothing a rational name.  AND let's NEVER change names....EVER.  In any event, I'm eating an egg sandwich - I like to make myself good breakfasts when I'm working a lot. 

There's your science lesson for the morning.  Have a wonderful day!

Here's your holiday special: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yXQViqx6GMY

Lovin' me some Mariah Carey!!

HAPPY FRIDAY!!

Friday, December 16th, 2011
Central Park - The Great Lawn - 7:35am

Good morning!  We were fortunate enough to have another beautiful day in the park.  Yesterday it was a bit gray so the sky wasn't quite as pretty.  This morning was another story, though.  As I said before, this is why I get up early! 

This morning was extra great because Brian got up and came along on our walk.  He got to meet all the dogs that Sofie greets & plays with every morning. 

Here's your day 3 X-mas spirit clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Pu-bVrndgY

Have a wonderful day!

Thursday, December 15th, 2011
Central Park East - 7:05am

Have a wonderful day!! 

Here's your Day 2 Christmas clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nzXKWKaxt3c&feature=related

Wednesday, December 14th, 2011
 Central Park East, 7:15am

I always have this conundrum when my alarm goes off in the morning.  The problem is, I have time to get to work before 9 (not that that matters to anyone but me - Gregoire doesn't care) if I start my walk at 7 or 7:15 instead of 6:30.   That is, I don't have to be up at 6:20 - it's excessively early if my goal is just getting to work around 8:45 or so.   Every morning at 6:20, my alarm goes off and I think "Oh God no.  It can't possibly be 6:20 already.  It's so dark.  There must be some mistake.  I feel so tired - must. go. back. to sleep."  Then I reach for my phone to turn the alarm off - it's 6:20 - time to get up.  Then I face the evil me trying to keep me from getting up.  "You're so tired - you've been working so hard!  Just go back to sleep!" Some mornings I do - but most mornings I don't.

You might not think this is a big deal since I get to work on time either way.  But whether I get up at 6:20 versus 7:10 changes my entire day.  The thing that gets me out of bed is that I like to be in the 6:20 club.  I like to go outside when it is still dark out.  I like seeing the construction guys wandering around with their coffee, joking around with each other.  I like to see the moon still out.  I like it being quieter and well....different from the daytime.  It feels special to be out while it's still dark.  Most of all, I like that when I get to Central Park and turn around to face the rest of the East Side, the sun is rising.  The fact that I'm going to miss the sunrise if I don't drag my lazy bones out of bed is the main reason I get up at 6:20 instead of 7:10.  If you get up at 7:10, it's just the 7:10 club that's out.  The 7:10 club isn't the same.

I think it reminds me of when I was a kid.  My Dad always did special stuff with Sarah and I early in the morning.  He would come into our rooms when it was still dark and whisper that we had to get up because we had things to go do.  Sometimes we would just go early for pancakes at Elmer's or Fat City out in Oregon.  Also sometimes we would go fishing at Lake Codoris.  Those mornings we would get up really early and then go to McDonald's and get a hash brown on the way there.  We'd see the sunrise on the drive and then get there in time to go catch some sunnies.  We also used to get up really early to go to basketball tournaments.  When I got up early with Mom it was to go to the barn early in the morning when we had Roger.  Or just in the past year or so Mom and I were out in Bend turning off the alarms early to pull long underwear on, get our instant coffee and go skiing all day.  It's funny, when I wake up early I whisper to Sofie just like my Mom & Dad did to Sarah and I,  "Are you ready to go have adventures in the Park? I know it's going to be so fun today!  Maybe it will snow!" (I know I'm crazy - my dog sits in as a surrogate child since I'm a graduate student and will be old by the time I can have children).

Either way, the point is that if you think about it, you only get up really early in the morning because you have so many fun things to do with the day that they won't all fit unless you expand your day with a few extra hours tacked at the beginning.  I think that's why getting up early feels special - it brings you back to all those mornings you got a rush of adrenaline when the 5am alarm went off and you knew you got to go do something really fun.


Now I'm going to post something every day to get you in the holiday spirit!  Here's day 1!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9jyCfRHumHU

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, DAD!!

Tuesday, December 13th, 2011
Central Park East - 7:35am

^We both like playing in the leaves :)  Beautiful clear, sunny, cold day in the Park this morning. 

Happy Birthday to my Dad - I only know the general vicinity of how old he is. 

I'm going to the Nutcracker tonight (NYC ballet company) and I'm really excited because it isn't Christmas without the Nutcracker.  This morning I told Brian to get ready for Sugarplum fairies tonight so I'm sure he's psyched, too. 

Have a wonderful day! 

Monday, December 12th, 2011
Central Park East - 6:50am

There was a full moon out when I got to the Park this morning.  I have a more interesting story than that that I wish I took a picture to document, but unfortunately was too excited to think of it at the time.  The morning started with my new coffee maker.  For the past several years I've used a french press to make my coffee.  Not for any particular reason, perhaps it tastes a little better that way.  In any event, I just bought a new coffee maker so that it can automatically make my coffee at 6:20am so it's ready for me to walk out the door with on my walk with Sofie.  Sofie heard the coffeemaker start brewing and thought it was an intruder.  When we let her out of her crate, she bolted into the other room and started barking at Mr. Coffee.  It was a charming display of  her pint-sized guard-dog skills - "Look there it is! The intruder!"  She'll have to get used to it. 

The exciting story is that this morning at the end of the walk, I came upon an old guy with an Irish Setter who was going nuts to get loose and go chase something (not the old guy - the Setter).  The old guy was all worked up about something and asked me if I had a cell phone (I didn't).  I asked him what was the matter and he pointed that there was a big, beautiful red-tailed hawk down in the middle of the field about 30 meters from us.  It did look kind of weird and like something was wrong.  So, the old guy tells me this whole story about how the hawk is a celebrity and has been in the NY times before and lives above Mary Tyler Moore's 5th Avenue penthouse picture window.  He pointed it out to me and I could indeed see a massive hawk's nest above the stone architecture of the window.  So, we went and found some guys who work for the Central Park Conservancy and told them that the celebrity hawk had hurt itself and was down in the field.  At this point when we got back, there were a few dogs that were trying to get close to the hawk, but he kept puffing his wings up and sort of charging them - he wasn't havin it.  So this hawk must be an important guy because the Central Park Conservancy guys came running over to see what was the matter.  When they got close to him, the hawk charged at them, too.  Well as it turned out, the hawk had a big squirrel that he had caught and just wanted to eat in peace.  When perturbed enough, he gathered up his prey and went flapping away back up to Mary Tyler Moore's apartment window.  I'm still mad I didn't take a picture, because we were so close it would have been really neat.  So, you'll have to make due with this boring moon picture and just imagine a big hawk with a bloody, ripped up squirrel fending off yellow labradors.  Only in New York would you meet not just any hawk, but the famous hawk that lives above Mary Tyler Moore's penthouse apartment. 

Have a wonderful day, everyone! 

Happy Friday!

Friday, December 9th, 2011
Central Park East - 8:00am

Have a wonderful day!! 

Thursday, December 8th, 2011
Central Park - The Great Lawn - 7:15am

Leaves have officially dropped!  Just to remind you of what it looked like about 3 weeks ago....

Quite the change! 

Have a wonderful day!

Wednesday, December 7th, 2011 (Actually Tuesday night)
My kitchen, 8:45pm

There were truly no good pictures to take this morning.  It was rainy and very dark.  It wasn't so much the rain that made it tough, but the light!  It was just so dang dark!  Either way, I decided to post these pictures of this chicken I made last night because there is a rumor going around that Brian is the only one that cooks :)  This here is PROOF that I too can roast a chicken and not only not poison myself, but make a pretty tasty meal! 

Have a wonderful day! 

Tuesday, December 6th, 2011
Central Park East - 7:45am

Good morning, good morning!  Today my favorite door man told me when I passed, "Enjoy the day no matter rain or shine, honey!"  He's always so chipper and friendly - it's nice to see him every day on my walk home from the Park.  It was raining today, but again, creepily warm.  It's 57 degrees out right now.  I enjoy rainy days at the Park because there is usually no one there and its nice and quiet.  No Nicholas and Pineapple today, either.  Some mornings I read the bench dedications.  You have to be careful about when you do that, though, because if you hit too many sad ones in a row, you can get yourself all worked up and nobody wants that.  I have to be in particularly good spirits to read the bench dedications, and I usually am on rainy days (since as I've said before, I like walking in the rain).  I saw the usual collection of 50th wedding anniversary dedications (2nd most common), 100th birthdays, proposals, first dates, in memory of dogs & people (the latter being most common)....but then I came across this one!  I thought, I've just got to take a picture of that one - though I'd prefer it said brotherhood & sisterhood (I suppose that doesn't sound as nice).

In other news, Rock of Ages last night was FANTASTIC!!  An absolutely amazing show!  The performers were really talented singers and the live rock band was so good that for part of the beginning I thought they weren't really playing - the guitar riffs sounded too hard for them to actually do.  It was also awesome to do something different than the usual on a Monday night.  Now that I live in the City, there's no reason to only do fun stuff on the weekends.  After the show, we walked around Rockefeller Center and saw the big tree and everyone ice-skating before going and getting some cannolis and cheesecake.  It was an excellent night.

Everyone have an equally excellent day

Happy Monday

Saturday, December 3rd, 2011
73rd & 2nd streets - 5:00pm

 

Monday, December 5th, 2011
Top, Central Park East - 7:30am
Bottom, The COUCH!  - 8:00am

Hello & Happy Monday!  I thought I'd share a pretty picture that Brian took when we were walking back from The Met on Saturday evening.   NYC is so christmasy already!  That same night we walked Sofie down 5th Ave past the Strand sidewalk book shop and to the Plaza Hotel.  Then we turned left and went past the Cube Apple store and FAO Schwartz.  You should have seen the swarms of people.  There were people in a line around the block to go in to FAO Schwartz.  (Those people are nuts).  Tonight we go see Rock of Ages on Broadway.  It's so fun to have stuff to look forward to doing during the week but I'm feeling just a little annoyed that I still need to finish my Biochem test by Friday.  (I wish I didn't have to bother with it and could just enjoy myself)!

Have a wonderful day - I'm off to get ready for lab meeting this morning :)

Friday, December 2nd, 2011
Central Park East - 8:00am

Dad says that obelisk is actually from Egypt.  I'm back from my hiatus of picture-taking and walking Sofie in the morning.  I had a weird two days in terms of my experiment schedule, so I didn't get to do my normal routine.  Yesterday I slept until 10:15am so I could recover from the 24 hour work day I did on Wednesday.  This afternoon I have lots to finish and then it's time to work on Biochem test #3.  Next Friday I'll get Biochem test #4 and then I'll finally be done with that class.  Monday I go to see Rock of Ages on Broadway and then at the end of next week I think there's a dessert party w/ the first years.  Good few weeks lined up!

Have a wonderful day, everyone!

No pics today

Pardon my not posting any pictures today!  Today I am left only with a nice view of the sunrise out of the lab windows rather than a walk in the Park.  Brian took Sofie for her walk because I came into work at 5:30am :(  I have to do an experiment where there are really weird hours.  Like, I went home yesterday from 3:30-6pm to go running and eat "dinner" (2 slices rye bread, 2 spoonfuls crunchy peanut butter, peas), but then came back and worked from 6-10:30pm.  Then this morning from 5:30-8:30am, then meeting at 9am, then class from 10:30-noon, then time to immunize my mice at 2pm.  Then tonight I have to come back to lab from midnight to 2:30am.  It's a weird few days. I'm currently waiting about 6 more minutes until I have to go back over to the bench and finish my experiment.  Then once I'm done I'm going to McDonald's until my meeting.  I don't care if it's bad for me I want a freaking sausage, egg, and cheese on a biscuit with some coffee (& maybe a hash brown).

The sunrise is very pretty across the city this morning and I wish that I could take a picture for you, but I don't have a fancy phone that does those sorts of things and I didn't bring my camera.

Have a great great great day - esp. to mom & dad on vacation.  I am seriously wishing that I was in your shoes right now.

Last bastions of the nice weather

Tuesday, November 29th, 2011
Central Park East - 7:25am

This is just a creepy reminder that it's not yet cold enough for the daisies to be dead.  It's 2 days from being December.  Why is it 60 degrees and balmy? 

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Happy Monday!

Monday, November 28th, 2011
Central Park East - 6:55am

This morning I was fortunate enough to get to the park early enough to see the sunrise.  It was beautiful!  The sky was just ethereal.  I hope you all have as wonderful a day as mine started.  This morning at 9am I give my presentation to the lab on what I've been doing for the last 10 weeks :)  Luckily I actually have interesting data to show them - unfortunately I'm not sure what it all means so I'm bracing myself to get a lot of "and what do you think that means?" questions that I'm not so sure I'll have an answer for them.

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2011
Central Park East - 7:05am

This pretty much describes the morning here.  "Twas a dark & stormy night..." 

Have a wonderful day! 

Tuesday, November 22nd, 2011
Central Park East - 7:00am

Today was wet and dark but, like I mentioned before, I like those kinds of days.  The park is quieter because there are always less people there.  I've also always thought there was something about being in the rain or snow or sleet that makes you feel a little more alive.  Sofie knows what I'm talking about.  I think the other people in the park do, too because the ones who are there on the crappy days always seem the most invigorated.

Day 1 without classes was just fantastic.  I cannot wait for the day when classes are finally over and I can just focus on research.  Have a wonderful day!!

Good morning Monday

 

Monday, November 21st, 2011

Central Park East - 7:20am

Good morning!  I know I promised I'd change up my route through the Park, but getting me to change routines is a very slow process.  I have to time how long my new route will take me, make sure the road isn't too close, see if I enjoy the scenery as much, make sure there aren't any mean dogs on the route each morning.  These things have to be carefully planned!  I've been spending a lot of time focusing on the leaves of autumn, so today I thought I'd take a bunch of pictures of the tree trunks because they are also very different depending on the tree.  Also, today we had our usual run-in with Nicholas and Pineapple.... >:-/  I almost kicked him today - he is so annoying!  But then Sofie met her other friend, Logan - the flat-coated retriever.  He is very handsome and fast and looks like a lean golden retriever, but he is all black with a white strip on his chest.  He and Sofie like to chase one another some mornings when it's chilly and they're feeling frisky.  Yesterday the potluck went very well.  It started at 6:30pm and we didn't end up leaving until maybe 10pm or so.  Played a lot of charades and ate tons of good food.  The first-years know how to have a good time!  This week is going to be so great because I have NO CLASS ALL WEEK!!  I am so excited to not have class - you have no idea.  

Anyway, have a wonderful day!!

Sunday, November 20th, 2011
72nd and Madison Aves. 

I found an excellent stick at the Park today!

Happy Friday!

Friday, November 18th, 2011

Mohonk Mountain House - New Paltz, NY

Hello - my camera was out of battery when I got to the park today so I thought I'd share a few pictures of really pretty leaves that I took when I was on my Immunology retreat at Mohonk.  I had never seen any leaves like this in my life so I had to take a bunch of photos.  This morning was COLD but beautiful in the park.  Sofie was very frisky because of the weather and ran around as fast as she could with all the other dogs.  Besides that, I gave myself a very bad case of hat hair from wearing my hat to the park after showering.  It looks awful now - so bad that I think my outfit is too nice for my hair.  Besides that, I am going to go to Bagelworks now and get a Friday morning reward for finishing my biochem test last night.  I can't wait for this weekend because tomorrow is the Turkey bowl in Central Park and on Sunday, the first year grad students are having a Thanksgiving potluck (I'm making a pumpkin pie).  

Have a great day!

Thursday, November 17th, 2011
Central Park East - 7:15am

Good morning!  It's starting to get very chilly in the mornings and beginning to look pretty barren!  The leaves have almost all dropped off the branches over night in Central Park.  It's a little sad that autumn is almost over because it is most definitely my favorite time of year.  Winter means that I'll be visiting Oregon and seeing my family and getting a break from classes, so it's good for different reasons.  I have a very busy day today - so much so that I was feeling all stressed out the minute I woke up today.  I went to the park and felt better after I mapped out (literally down to the minute), when I would be working to get everything done.  I think the main thing that is getting to me is that my biochemistry test is due tomorrow by 5pm and I still have a few questions to finish.  It isn't in my nature to finish things the day before they are due.  Usually by this point whatever it is that is due is printed out, stapled together and in a folder by this point.  Feeling like I'll have more work to do late into tonight is just making this day feel endless!  I'll have to just stick to my agenda and then really focus on not thinking about the rest of the day.  At least tomorrow is Friday!  (aka 9am meeting with Gregoire about the week's data that I havn't even thought about processing yet)....groan. 

I should stop complaining now since my silly ails are the ails of the white and well-educated (aka "white whine"). 

Have a wonderful day, everyone! 

Wednesday, November 16th, 2011
Central Park East, 7:35am

Have a wonderful day!  Aren't the colors so vibrant?? 

Tuesday, November 15th, 2011
Central Park East - 7:05am

No Pineapple or Nicholas today so it was a grand morning!  In other news I am 3 days from being done with my 2nd biochem test....yay!!!  After this one only 2 more tests to go until Christmas.  I have to say, I don't really understand what the point of tests and grades are in graduate school.  Didn't signing up for 5 years of making minimum wage, working 70 hour weeks, and banging our heads against a wall all for the love of science prove that we actually like doing this????  In addition, nobody cares what our grades are, anyway, so why have them?  And TESTS?  Really?  

Nicholas & Pineapple

Monday, November 14th, 2011

Central Park East, 7:55am

Good morning, good morning.  So, remember how I said I had a story for you last Friday?  It was so cold out my fingers were frozen and I could barely type.  Well today it was much warmer so I'll tell you about Nicholas and Pineapple.  Nicholas......and Pineapple....really?  Nicholas and Pineapple are two non-neutered, caramel-colored, toy poodles - perfectly groomed of course - it IS the Upper East Side after all.  Every morning this man - probably straight and in his 40's-50's - brings Nicolas and Pineapple for their morning walk and enters the park using the same entrance Sofie and I do.  First of all,  he brings them in a dog stroller.  I think this has less to do with the fact that he is one of those crazy people that wants to imagine their dog is a baby, and more to do with the fact that Nicolas and Pineapple are unmanageable on a leash so he has difficulties walking them down the sidewalk.  So, every morning when I see the stroller pull up, Sofie and I walk faster and try to get as far away as possible before these sex-crazed hounds are released to run free in search of ladies.  

Pineapple has about half the voracious sexual appetite of poor Nicholas, so he doesn't usually try and follow us.  But NICHOLAS is another story.  He immediately bolts from the stroller and heads straight for Sofie.  Nicholas' owner starts screaming and yelling for him to come back, but Nicholas pays no attention.  For the next 10 or so minutes, I walk with Sofie as she is harangued by this little terror trying to mount her.  She does this pattern of snaps to Nicholas' face followed by quick (and vain), dashes away.  When we get out of sight of Nicholas' owner, I proceed to give little smacks to Nicholas because he is annoying and disrupts my walk.  Smacking Nicholas never gets him to go away - he is too in love.  Anyway, we eventually get to a point where I feel sorry for Sofie because she has had to defend herself all along the first part of her walk - so I pick her up and stand there to wait for this man to come and fetch Nicholas.  

Eventually he comes running up all out of breath and - this is the most embarrassing part - when he arrives Nicholas has his 2 front paws up on my leg and is staring at Sofie and loudly whimpering.  Nicholas is begging my dog to take pity on him and allow him to screw her.  Nicholas get some game - that is so demeaning!  So, the owner gives me a perturbed look - every morning - like it's my fault his dog is a sex freak - and then chastises Nicholas about how he must go back in the stroller because he's been a bad, bad dog this morning.  

This happens on frequent occasion lately, so this morning I tried to change up my plans and enter through a different entrance that puts me about a field away from Nicholas.  Would you believe that it didn't matter one bit?  Nicholas darted across the field at top speed the minute he was let out of his stroller this morning to come and find us.  I mentioned to the owner one morning that perhaps Nicholas would be less frustrated and behave if he were to be neutered.  The owner exclaimed that he could not possibly ever do such a terrible thing to his little dog........give me a break.  

I should just start doing what my Dad - aka the Chuck Norris of dogs - used to do when he used to walk Mundi, our golden retriever in the college fields.  What is it, you ask, that my Dad used to carry around with him on dog walks?  The answer is a large aluminum bat used for my sister and my softball games (that Ralph Oyler is GANSTER!).   I have to think, though, that in NYC if someone saw you walking through Central Park at 6:30am with an aluminum bat, that they'd probably think you had just killed someone and call the NYPD. 

There's your morning story - have a wonderful day!