June 25, 2011

A time warp since I last used this blog. Its time to put my thoughts viewable to the world.

Red...

The orange colored dog with yellow eyes and red noise have caused me to invest additional time, energy and money. It all started about two-months ago when I decided to take my kids to the adoption agency. They picked out this dog of many who were barking from their lunges, shaking their tails and trying to grab their new owner’s attention from their innocent eyes. I was left with this unique animal with an unknown past. My doubts about his past had me thinking if I selected the right choice. On the very first day, Precious, my other dog accepted Red as he explored his new home and turf.

As the night started to rest, Red began barking at the unknown. I responded to the windows peaking out while I had my lights out to ascertain the cause of the barking. Perhaps, he did not enjoy the cooler weather, the darkness that surrounded him, or he was just being plan outrageous. The nights past as he "yaped" all night and I realized only my dog was the only outlaw barking excessively in the neighborhood. I decided to lock him in the garage at night as an alternative to muffle his barking. Nevertheless, my neighbor on the south of me complained to the Los Angeles Animal Care and Control that I was keeping a dog unlicensed without any food or shelter.

One day when I got home, I was greeted by one of my neighbors who keep an eye on the neighbor hood 24-hours a day. Noisy was my first choice of thinking of her, however, she actually came to my property to find out what was the animal control officer was doing at my residence. Since my residence is set-up in a disadvantage for the officer, he could not make any assessments; he just left me a notice to comply with submitting proof of a valid dog license and shelter. It all made sense to me. My other neighbor approached me last week and practically demanded that I stabilize a fence on her side where the dog has access. I paid it no urgency since I realized the fence was secured.

Nevertheless, the dog continued to bark nightly even when I placed the dog in the garage. As a result, I had to invest in a $80 shock collar. The petco representative advised me that this collar is the best on the market. The decision was very easy since I had no other choice. It is the second day and I did not hear a word from the dog. No more getting out in the middle of the night to put the dog in the garage. I also made contact with my neighbor to confront her regarding her “anonymous” call to the shelter, which she admitted to calling. I bridged the communication between us and advised her that I was not going to address the problem she previously brought to my attention. I feel that Red is getting to that point to fit in with the rest of the family. The time, energy and money are well worth the trouble.

Time

Time is of the essence.

As a child, I remember becoming very impatient about my birthdays. All I wanted to do was to be thirteen so that I could say that I was a teenager like my older brother. Then it was driving time, I needed to be 16 years old so that I could take the driver’s test and drive. Next, I wanted to be 18 years old so that I could be legal and able to vote. After 18, it was 21 years old. We all know the type of fun 21 year olds have. Now as another birthday passes, I am realizing that time is truly of the essence.

Times have change but the essence of time remains the same. I lecture my children about the same issues that my father lectured me. I never thought that I would see this day coming to past. I talk to my daughters and they are much like me, all they want to do is to come to an age where they believe life will be different. My 8 year old wants to be 10 so that she can begin to receive an allowance. Time is precious and must be respected.

Vegas

Bright lights, a mixture of energetic sounds protruding above the ambient noise, amazing facades, which it all captures that moment of courage to gamble. That place, Las Vegas, is one of my favorite places I like to travel where the night never ends. Cheap reasonable t-bone stakes to unlimited soft drinks, it is like an enjoyment in itself. My family and me usually commute through this long 4-hour ride mainly on route 15. I do not really enjoy flying to this place since it is like a rough 45-minute ride. The vehicle we take usually set the mood for us. Enjoying the air conditioner to feeling the hot gushing air, stretching out the legs and enjoying my personal space usually changes my disposition at the very end of the trip.

We usually stay in the heart of Vegas, located on the strip. Circus Circus is one of our favorite places. I am not a hard-core gambler, but I like to exercise my chance of winning at times. I usually play craps, blackjack, roulette table for the most part and rarely play the machines, unless I’ve known for a fact that someone previously fatten up the machine for a major pay-out. I think the chances of winning would increases, but I have not mastered the payouts, which for some is an addiction.

On the other side, this amazing place I called enjoyment is like poison for others. I usually notice stickers and pamphlets displayed at casinos indicating some wording like gamble anonymous. Other negative attractions I noticed to keep players motivated is free alcohol and a waitress in a sparse outfit. Oh yeah, I also forgot about the second-hand smoke that is generated throughout the casinos. Nevertheless, even though
I can pick out the weakness of Vegas; there are also some strong parts of just getting away.

Red is his name.

Red, an adopted dog from the Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control. I got wind of this event as I noticed an ad in the Beverly Hills Courier of a brown Labrador resembling Diamond. I immediately knew this was some type of sign that I must attend.

On April 21, 2007, an adoption event was held at Roxbury Park located on Roxbury and Olympic. The Beverly Hills Fire Department was also there to support the event and to encourage the number of crowd. The event started on time at 11:00 a.m., so I got to the park about 10:45 a.m. to be one of the first. As soon as I got there, my youngest child, not afraid of any animals, was glad to be there and asked several questions. My oldest one also showed a lot of interest as well.

At the beginning, I was not excited of the event since I did not see any animal that caught my eye, so around 11:15 a.m., I told the girls, lets go play at the playground. The girls enjoyed the recreation area as they entertained themselves with the various play equipment . There was not that much crowd at this time, so my girls jumped from one play item to the next without waiting in line.
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Around 12:45, I rounded up the girls and told them it was time for lunch. So we went by the pet adoption event one last time before leaving the park. My oldest child immediately saw Red from the distance. Red is a Labrador mixed with an unknown history. My youngest child also went towards Red, which he looked friendly. The adoption representative only spoke of good things of the dog. She also explained that this was the last time before they took the animals back the the pound. I continued to let the girls play with the dog only to observe his behavior towards them. After a few minutes, with the persuasion of my kids telling me that’s the one, I decided to adopt Red.

The Los Angeles County Animal Care and Control had all of his paper work ready to go. From history shots, dog license, colar, and microchip, the company made sure I was financially responsible regarding the various services. I left the adoption paying a little over 80 bucks for the dog, but it was well worth it for the kids. Red is now an official family member. Welcome Red!

Diamond was her name...

This photo of Diamond was taken 2-years ago. I initially gave this dog to my mother as a companion in her life. My mom has a nice size yard with a six-foot gate surrounding the perimeter of her property. It was like a dog’s dream having her own back yard and she was fed daily with nice fresh water and dry dog food. Diamond was always into something. From digging huge holes in the yard to pulling the wood panel off the house, she knew how to occupy her time to the fullest.

One day, the young courageous lad decided to jump over a 6-foot gate. I also failed to mention that the tip of the gate was installed with metal chain link fence. Yes, she made it over the first time without hurting herself. However, as the years added to her body, so did the fat and muscle combined. Once a dog learns a task, they never will forget it. On her last jump, the fence stuck her in the stomach and eventually got infected. I had to take her to the vet and hundreds of dollars were spent for her recovery.

My mom decided that her backyard was not a suitable home for the recovered athlete. So, I decided to take her to my house knowing that I only had a five-foot gate surrounding portions of my backyard. Yes, I was worried, but I thought I had to go to my favorite place, Home Depot, to rectify the problem. Diamond never did jump over the gate and was well liked and many hours spent with the family.

On Easter Day, I took off from work, my usual day of work and took the family to church. The day went smoothly as we listen to the Word from the priest. After mass, we went out to breakfast and then we went home. I immediately headed towards the kitchen and warmed up a couple of beef meatballs in the microwave and went outside to meet my dogs. The smaller one, Precious, came rushing out from the back yard and was growling as usual. However, Diamond, I observed her little disoriented and was not walking straight. Her eyes had a blue film layer over them. I knew immediately she was approaching me with only her smell and ears senses.

I immediately open the yellow pages and looked for an emergency care for animals. Successfully, I found one in Culver City that was open and I was there with Diamond within the hour. After a long wait and the doctor examining her, he came back bringing me bad news. Initally, I thought the doctor was going to prescibe me some medication and she was going to get better. The doctor indicated Diamond had a kidney failure, which cause her vision to go out. The damage was not treatable. The outcome of my decision as a dog owner was not good. The hard decision and the safety of my children were stressful. Diamond will be missed always and always a good memory of my life and my family.

Week 5 - House Keeping

Keeping a house is not an easy task as many people may think. The day I moved in my first house was a challenge. My old house was definitely considered a fixer-upper, but in reality, it was the only thing I could afford. The day I was born, I was taught how to repair minor and eventually major repairs. From installing a new window to plumbing repairs, I saved thousands of dollars with hands-on practical skills.

My passion is shopping at Home Depot. I am not an official licensed-building contractor, however, I can amazingly create similar craftsmanship projects. Spending hours at a time, walking up and down every aisle, inhaling the freshly cut pine, cedar mixed with the aroma of paint brings my body to pleasure. From viewing the appliance section to the new lighting, I would take part in learning, even if its my weakness. As you can see, I am no amateur. For the majority part, I feel that I have more qualities and experience than some of the sale representative on the floor. Don’t get me wrong, some representatives have a strong knowledge and skills when asked a specific question, however, others would only read the name of product, if that. Tools are very expensive and I have to choose what’s important. Sometimes I would actually rent a tool before adding it to my personal collection.

Home Depot would also offer various zero percent programs to enti customers to increase sales. I would look at every aspect before purchasing products to obtain the best deal. In my opinion, I would not use their services since I think is over priced, however, I still think it is a good location to purchasing items for home improvement.