Oops, I did it again.

Different man. Different dog. Same corner. Three new bags of groceries. I saw them at the corner on my way home this evening, but the light was green and I couldn't stop. So I pulled into the Whole Foods parking garage, grabbed the groceries and ten bucks, and walked half a block to the corner. It was a little bit scary, because it was 7 p.m. and it was dark, and there I was, approaching a homeless man with a dog on a busy street corner downtown. He must have assumed I was just another pedestrian because when he saw me coming, he looked away and started to eye the cars that were pulling up at the light, but I just said, "Hi! I brought some food for you and your dog." He turned around and said, "Really? You didn't poison it did you?" I said, "No, of course not!" and he approached me cautiously. I showed him the bags and explained that one was full of dog food and dog treats, and the other two were for him. Then I said, "I also brought you a little bit of money," and handed him the ten bucks.

His dog started barking at me, but I am the dog whisperer. I just turned around and said, "Hi, sweetheart!" and started to pet him. I think it was some sort of bulldog mix. Very cute dog, but very dirty and scruffy. He wagged his tail and let me pet him, but kept barking at me. Oddly enough, I never even thought about the possibility that he might bite me until later, when I was safely back in my car. I set the bags down and the dog set to work sniffing them.

The man asked me what my name was, so I told him, and he said, "My name is Alexander," and shook my hand. I said, "It's nice to meet you. What's your dog's name?" and he said, "Bluto, like in Popeye." Bluto was wearing a little blue doggie jacket. I told Alexander what a beautiful dog Bluto was, and he said, "His last owner left him tied to a tree all the time. That's why he barks for attention. But he's wagging his tail. It's okay." Alexander was very soft-spoken and shy, and obviously not quite all there in the head. It was also obvious that he was unaccustomed to people approaching him and talking to him like he's an actual human being, and that made me sad.

Alexander said, "Well, I'm gonna get out of here. I don't like to embarrass myself," and he started picking up the groceries and his belongings. I told him again that it was nice to meet him, said goodbye to Bluto, told them to enjoy the food, and then I walked back to my car.

I was hoping he believed me when I said I hadn't poisoned the food. I can understand why he'd be paranoid after any time living on the street, but I'd hate to think that he and Bluto went hungry tonight because they were afraid eat the food I gave them. As I pulled out of the parking garage, I saw Bluto and Alexander, with all three bags of groceries in hand, making their way up the street.

The Man with the Dog

A few weeks ago I started to see a homeless man standing at the corner of 6th and Lamar every evening when I was driving home from work. He always left his backpack on the ground while he walked from car to car with his "Homeless and Hungry" sign, hoping to find some help from sympathetic people. Sitting on top of his backpack was always a beautiful dog, with the same coloring as my dog, Achilles, but I think this dog is a pit bull mix. The dog looked very well taken-care of, and it's obvious that the man makes sure the dog eats before he does. Every time I'd see them, I wanted to give them some money, but I was either too far back from the light for the man to notice me, or the light would be green and I'd be unable to stop without incurring the wrath of the rush-hour traffic behind me. And every time I'd feel horrible for failing to help, and I'd worry about them and wonder if they were okay. I started including them in my nightly prayers.

Just before Austin's big ice storm last week, I started to put a few things in my car for the man and his dog -- a bag of dog food, some dog treats, some pouches of wet dog food, some canned and dry goods for the man -- soup, crackers, granola bars, chili, tuna, some bottled green tea, a couple of plastic bowls and some plastic spoons and napkins, etc. All of the canned goods have pop-top lids so that they won't need a can opener.

By the time the ice storm hit, I hadn't seen them on the corner for a few days. During the ice days, I worried about them and hoped they'd found a shelter that would allow the dog inside. However, after the ice storm, that corner was empty every evening when I drove past. I was starting to worry that they hadn't made it through the severe weather.

Tonight as I stopped at that light, there they were, sitting on the sidewalk together at the corner. I was only the third or fourth car back from the light, and it had just turned red. The man looked dejected and had his head down, and didn't notice me waving at him and calling to him, but the dog did, and his head perked up as he looked from me to his owner and back again. The man got up as quickly as he could and approached my car, and I handed him ten dollars and then said, "I have some food here for you and your dog. I've been waiting to see you again! I've been worried about you both. Would you like some food?"

His face lit up like it was Christmas morning, and he said, "Oh, yes, please!" I handed him the three bags of groceries I'd put together for him, and he thanked me graciously and then took them back to his dog at the corner, sat down, and began opening the bags while asking his dog, "Look what we got here! Whatcha wanna eat?"

The light turned green and I waved goodbye. I smiled all the way home. I don't know who was happier about the whole thing -- me, or the man with the dog.

I'm just so thrilled at the thought that they now have enough food for several days, and a wee bit of cash, and that they know that someone had been thinking about them and cared enough to do a little something for them. I stopped on the way home and put some more groceries and dog food in the car for next time.

As Helen Keller said so eloquently:

“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do something that I can do.”

I've got some whining to do.

I've been whining all afternoon to anyone who will listen, and I'm not about to stop now. Today sucked!

Firm B did indeed open for business at 1 p.m., and like a good little employee, I went in. My car was encased in a half-inch thick sheet of solid ice when I left the house, so I turned on the engine, blasted the defroster, and sat in the car listening to music for ten or fifteen minutes. Then I grabbed my little scraper thingie and went to work, hoping the heat had loosened the ice enough for me to finish the job. I wasn't wearing gloves (I live in Texas, for crying out loud. I don't even own a pair of gloves!), and my hand kept slipping and scraping on the ice. By the time I was done, my knuckles were all bloody and my hand looked like I'd been karate-punching a brick wall.

I got on the road and within a few blocks, I noticed what appeared to be a large crack going all the way across the bottom of my windshield. I was hoping it was just some ice I'd missed, but no. It really *is* a large crack in the windshield. Dammit.

I entered the freeway with much trepidation, and with good reason. There were still many very icy patches, and at one point I could feel the car skidding out of control. Fortunately, I was only going about 15 miles per hour at the time, and nothing bad happened.

I parked safely in the parking garage and went inside, only to find that hardly anyone else had actually bothered to come in. One of the few people who was there asked if I'd parked in the garage and then informed me that, while you could get into the parking garage, you could not get back out again, because the exit was closed due to ice on the (very steep) ramp. My head just about exploded at this news.

I cleaned up my bloody knuckles and got to work, bitching the entire time.

Fortunately, by the time I left at about 5:45, they had reopened the parking garage exit after de-icing the ramp, so at least I was able to get home without calling a cab or tempting fate by driving the wrong way through the garage and going out the entrance.

I got home safe and sound, although still cranky. It's supposed to freeze again overnight, but then warm up into the 40s tomorrow. Thank GOD.

More icicles!

Here's how that eave looked when I woke up this morning:



Slightly different angle:



They won't last much longer, though. We are supposed to start warming up a bit today and be well above freezing by tomorrow.

My office is opening at 1 p.m. today, so I'm going to go back to bed for a few more blessed hours before I have to deal with work again. I was fortunate not to lose power during the ice storm, and for that matter, I'm fortunate to have a roof over my head in the first place. I was also fortunate not to have been in an accident or otherwise negatively affected by the weather. It was nice to have some unplanned time off work, but for the sake of those for whom the weather caused some terrible hardships, I'm glad things are getting back to normal.

Ice Day Update

As I suspected, the office is closed for the remainder of the day. I'm guessing I won't be going back to work til tomorrow afternoon or Thursday morning.

We actually got some SNOW just before noon today! Big, huge flakes falling from the sky! I've never seen such enormous snowflakes in my life, and I did spend four years in Canada as a child. Some of these snowflakes were as big as quarters. It was really cool (no pun intended). I stepped outside to snap some photos while the delicious casserole I made for lunch was in the oven.

My little Honda in the driveway:



The view down the street:



Icicles!



Not very impressive for those of you from the North, but this is something you don't see every day, or every year for that matter, in Texas. I've lived here since I was ten years old, and this is maybe the fourth or fifth time I've seen actual snow in all those years.

Ice, Ice, Baby

We're having a bit of a cold snap here in Austin. It's not cold compared to what some of my readers deal with all winter long (Saija, Wino, Rick, and Buzzy spring to mind), but it's cold for us! It's about 29 degrees here this morning, but that isn't the main issue. We are also coated in ice. I bet even you guys can't drive on a half-inch thick sheet of ice, can you? We definitely can't down here. Our cars aren't even equipped to drive in snow, let alone on ice. This happens every few years or so, and the city just shuts down.

My office closed yesterday at 2 p.m., giving me enough time to stock up at PetCo and the grocery store and get home before the ice started raining from the sky just after 5 p.m. It's been coming down all night long and isn't expected to stop any time soon. We aren't supposed to get above freezing until Wednesday afternoon.

On that note, Firm B is stooooooooooooooopid! Our handy weather hotline this morning tells me that we "anticipate" opening at noon today, and that we should check back at 11 a.m. for further information. Now, there is NO WAY we're opening at noon. The city officials and the news media are encouraging everyone to stay home until the ice clears. There were 382 traffic accidents yesterday, 81 of which required EMS assistance, and that was before the ice got really bad! Turn on the t.v. or the radio and all you hear is "Please, for the love of God, unless your life depends upon it, STAY OFF THE ROADS." So I should be able to just relax today, drink hot cocoa, watch the Food Network (as long as my electricity doesn't go out), and just generally be a bum. However, now I have to plan as if I'll actually be going to work this afternoon. Dammit.

Missing Steve

I've been missing my brother a lot lately. A LOT. Of course, not a day has gone by since he died that I haven't thought about him and missed him, but it's just been much more intense lately and I've been very weepy every time I think of him. I've decided that the people who say these things become less painful over time are full of shit. It seems like the longer he's been gone, the harder it gets. I just miss him so much.

My closet smells like old ladies.

After recently losing a beautiful sweater, which I'd worn only once, to hungry moths, I have been forced to take drastic action. That's right. Mothballs.

I didn't want to do it, but I must protect my cashmere, my angora, my alpaca, and my merino wool. Living in Texas, I get to wear my winter sweaters for only a couple of months, and they spend the rest of the year in storage. I bought mothballs for my storage crate, and a "moth bar" for my closet.

The mothball smell is sort of creeping me out. I keep expecting my grandma to jump out of my closet when I open the door. I wonder if there are any less pungent moth repellents on the market?

Motorcycle guy update

Yesterday evening as I pulled into my driveway after work, one my neighbors was walking his dog past my house and said hello. Turned out he was the guy who helped the motorcycle wreck victim back in April. I asked him how that whole thing turned out, and he said, "Not very well for him." Apparently, rather than letting Jody (my neighbor) take him straight to the hospital, he asked to be taken home. Since he'd been drinking, he decided to wait until the following morning to have his girlfriend take him to the ER. His kneecap, just as I'd thought, was broken, and his leg was also broken in two other places. He was out of work for two months, has a ten-inch scar on his leg, and has since gotten rid of his motorcycle.

I hope that, in addition to giving up his bike, he's also given up on drinking before driving.

Canary in a Coal Mine?

I had some difficulty getting to work this morning, as traffic was extremely backed up several blocks from my office building. I finally realized that Congress Avenue (Austin’s main downtown street) was blocked off for some reason. When I eventually reached the parking garage for my building, there was a sign taped up over the card reader that said: “Building closed due to police emergency.” Hoping to find out what was going on, I parked anyway and walked to the elevators. The same sign was taped up on each elevator, and they were shut down. I ran into a woman from my firm as I headed back to my car, and she told me that she’d come in early that morning before they shut the building down, but had just been chased out by the police. She said she’d heard that an unusually large number of dead birds had been found on Congress Avenue and they’d shut the street down to collect them, test the air for chemicals, etc.

I got back in the car to drive home, and became stuck in the ridiculous amount of traffic caused by everyone being forced to flee the downtown area. A ten-mile drive home took me nearly an hour and a half. In all, I believe eleven blocks of Congress Avenue, from the Capitol down to my building, as well as one block on either side of Congress, were shut down. All of the streets were barricaded, with motorcycle cops standing guard at each one. There were all sorts of emergency vehicles, flashing lights, news crews, etc. It was really surreal.

Everything was reopened shortly after noon, and I got back to the office just before two. I’m reading reports now that 63 dead birds were found, and that it’s believed they were poisoned either intentionally or accidentally, but that preliminary tests show no danger to the public. Test results on the dead birds won’t be available for several days, so it remains a mystery for the time being.

60/40

I guess this is what happens when a girl grows up with three brothers and no sisters. It also explains why I have a lot of guy friends.

Your Brain is 60% Female, 40% Male

Your brain is a healthy mix of male and female You are both sensitive and savvy Rational and reasonable, you tend to keep level headed But you also tend to wear your heart on your sleeve

What Gender Is Your Brain?

I'm a visionary!

Your Hidden Talent

You're super sensitive and easily able to understand situations. You tend to solve complex problems in a flash, without needing a lot of facts. Decision making is easy for you. You have killer intuition. The right path is always clear, and you're a bit of a visionary.

What's Your Hidden Talent?

Happy New Year!

I had a very low-key New Year's Eve and was in bed by 10 p.m. and sound asleep before midnight, although I was awakened periodically throughout the night by my neighbors' fireworks.

This afternoon I was at my parents' house for lunch and a visit with my older brother, his wife, and my niece and nephew before they had to head back to Houston. My niece Bridget, who turned two years old on Friday, is just amazing. She already speaks in complete sentences and soaks up new information like a sponge. Plus, she's adorable. Here she is sitting on my lap this afternoon:



I hope everyone else had an enjoyable New Year's celebration, and I wish you each a wonderful year ahead!