tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-22203620742200846402024-03-21T12:31:05.879-06:00Haven 106Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.comBlogger314125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-81246392209197912782016-12-20T19:20:00.001-07:002016-12-21T15:08:23.579-07:0012/14/2016 4:30pm MTZBridgette passed away due to an Hemangiosarcoma of the heart. We were both at work and she was in a nice and heated Dogtown HQ relaxing in a shor-line cage. I received a call on the radio that she was whining and had soiled the cage (they could smell it). I dropped what I was doing and made my way to DHQ. When I rounded the corner I could see her laying on her side in distress. I Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-59244139964915792472016-11-26T16:09:00.004-07:002016-11-26T16:09:37.108-07:00passing timeWinter is almost here but I'm raring and ready for it. A lot has happened since my last post so I'll do my best to catch everyone up on what's what.
Things at work were kind of rough because of reviews. I didn't do as well as I did the year before, but it wasn't a surprise. I was well aware of how difficult things have been lately, but they've improved drastically since. I'm currently working onStevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-86569348094107674612016-09-24T19:58:00.001-06:002016-09-24T19:58:32.720-06:00the blowout
A few weeks ago I had returned home from work, turned on the AC, grabbed the trash, stepped outside, and closed the door. Ok, I slammed it but I swear I didn't do it that hard. No matter, it was enough to cause one of my windows to shatter outward. The combo of the AC being turned on and my slamming the door created enough positive pressure to shatter the window. RV windows are made from Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-64721893817968309822016-08-28T18:17:00.003-06:002016-08-28T18:17:22.200-06:00exhaustedI've been working and playing hard a lot these last two months. Too tired to talk in detail but I'll give you a mild account of them.
My project dog Lego went to his forever home last week. I miss him dearly, and had hopes to give him a home myself but it didn't work out that way. Eight months of my life was devoted towards helping him overcome his fears and learn the tools to make the right Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-51563518697217497522016-07-04T09:27:00.001-06:002016-07-04T09:32:54.053-06:00the visitorsSo after two years of living here my father finally decides to pay me a visit, and it had nothing to do with me. Go dad! We've not had the best relationship and I prefer our interactions keep to a bare minimum. About a month ago he had called and left me a voice mail. It's the usual call to ask how I'm doing despite his really not caring what my answer is. This time was different though and he Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-29805515858852035032016-06-28T17:51:00.002-06:002016-06-28T17:51:51.232-06:00two yearsFirst off. My two year anniversary of employment at Best Friends was last week Thursday. I know! When I arrived I had no idea how things would play out for me. I arrived half expecting to bomb out during the interview only to return to everything I tried to leave behind. Instead I was given a shot by way of the two week working interview, and ultimately getting hired. This journey has been Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-72325490529452871862016-06-19T09:48:00.000-06:002016-06-19T09:48:04.205-06:00the shuttle rideLast month when family was visiting I was showing them the sites at one of the nearby national parks. Zion to be exact. For anyone who hasn't visited yet, they have an excellent shuttle service. There are roughly 9-10 stops from beginning to end and the wait is (at worst) approximately 15 minutes between them. I know this because I live less than 20 minutes away and have a national parks pass. SoStevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-43357721031829988652016-05-30T13:02:00.002-06:002016-05-30T13:02:33.223-06:00tick of the clockMy vacation couldn't come soon enough as I was really starting to burn out from work. I had nine days of doing virtually anything I wanted, and it was mostly nothing. I did that with the exception of the three days that my aunt and uncle were in town. We spent two days sightseeing the national parks and one day where we toured the sanctuary I work at. They really enjoyed the sights but really Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-74496253501648931012016-04-25T14:36:00.001-06:002016-04-25T14:36:50.831-06:00i'm aliveMy exam turned up only that my blood pressure was slightly high. At my request we took a lipid panel and also checked for diabetes since my father has type 2. The panel came back with my cholesterol and triglyceride levels as being high. I'd thought that they would be starting me on statins but instead prescribed something called Lovaza. This is basically a fish oil pill available only via Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-57623929375754461632016-03-31T19:41:00.001-06:002016-03-31T19:41:29.146-06:00time time time. . . see what's become of me.
I've had so many things enter and slip away which I've been meaning to write about, but never seem to find the time to do so before it slips away into the ether again. Most has been life happening while making other plans, but part of it is my (fault) re-immersion into the world of Eve Online. The recent upgrades/changes/rebalancing has made it too good to resistStevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-24029211009600392132016-02-28T15:37:00.001-07:002016-02-28T15:37:46.618-07:00walkLate in 2014 I started using the Google Fit App to track how much walking I was doing. After a few months I had enough data to get a decent baseline. From that I learned that I walk three to eight miles a (working) day. My average total walk time is roughly three hours where I also average 14,000 steps. So just for fun I decided to track the year of 2015. In that year I walked a total of 1040 Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-17020365959150070132016-02-18T21:10:00.005-07:002016-02-18T21:10:45.255-07:00california screamin'
"You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."
Obi-Wan Kenobi
The drive in wasn't too bad. I mean up until we crossed the state border. I drove through the Mojave Preserve instead of camping there for the night as planned. Turns out the northern route into the campgrounds I was headed for was closed off. This wasn't posted anywhere on or Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-38730936142687889922016-02-15T08:39:00.003-07:002016-02-15T08:39:40.403-07:00can't find my way homeIn a few days I'm headed to CA for my nephew's sixth birthday. This is going to be the first time I've gone any further than Vegas in almost two years. I'm thrilled about getting to see the little guy, select members of family, friends, all the food I can't get here, but it's balanced out by how much I hate large cities (especially one as large as Southern California). Bridgette, as always, will Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-72532390289210364062016-01-27T18:42:00.001-07:002016-01-27T18:42:30.587-07:00it's not a tumorB's results came back earlier than expected and both the original tumor and the lipoma are benign. The explanation for the lipoma is that it suffered from something called crush syndrome and is currently infarcting. I'd forgotten that about 3-4 weeks ago B got under foot, tripped me, and I landed partially on her. This was despite my best efforts to not do so, but I'm living in a travel trailer Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-57116699354370205352016-01-25T09:50:00.000-07:002016-01-25T09:50:26.529-07:00this ain't over yetBridgette's surgery was last week. She came home very ouchy and neither of us got much sleep the first few nights. The tumor was removed successfully and sent off to the lab. The day before her biopsy I had discovered that one of her lipomas had begun to harden which is never a good thing. The Dr aspirated it and found a more than just fatty cells, but biopsied part of it to send to the lab as Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-23155504157177942222015-12-30T20:26:00.000-07:002016-01-04T19:22:11.077-07:00 so this is christmasThings did not work out with Moses. We were into the third'ish week of my foster to adopt when things took a turn for the bad and things went downhill in the span of three days. The short version is that Moses did something inside my trailer that freaked him out when I wasn't more than ten paces away from it. He was so unnerved by being in there that he took to destroying things. I caught him in Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-46287314457367184122015-11-30T09:38:00.002-07:002015-11-30T09:38:54.227-07:00R.I.P. PipsAbout three days ago Moses got to her before I'd had a chance to train him. He played with her like she was a toy and the worst happened to her. Moses isn't to blame and I'm not giving up on him because of this. It was my fault as I'd forgotten to place her cage into the bathroom before stepping away. I returned from the store and found her little body on the floor in a soggy heap. I'm feeling Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-79326993012382413082015-11-27T18:40:00.000-07:002015-11-30T09:09:24.189-07:00recoiledI think I've recovered rather nicely since my last post. You ready? Here we go.
Here's where I'm at with the German Shepherd. His name was Uber by the way. After a mostly ok intro with Bridgette and two plus weeks of parallel walks, he was completely OK with her. He never fully relaxed in that time. Something I never knew before was that GSD's don't do well in shelters. This is because they'reStevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-78677844455263743782015-11-02T10:40:00.000-07:002015-11-02T10:40:06.175-07:00bouncedToo hard this time I think. I'm in an odd place at the moment with the reason why being that I'm feeling both loved and battered by the universe. This past week has been filled with some highs and lows. It started with a trip to Page, AZ where on the way a semi kicked up a rock which struck and left a nice crack in my windshield. Luckily I have a low deductible, but I'm still out $100 to replace Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-46447485633325973432015-10-05T13:15:00.001-06:002015-10-05T13:15:57.338-06:00so where were we?One quick correction. In my last post I had said my remaining parent. By that I didn't mean to insinuate that one was deceased. Both parents are alive and well. I only meant the one I was maintaining a relationship with. The relationship with both is estranged for now.
This past Summer was full of visits from friends and family. A childhood friend and his oldest son made a trip up this way. ItStevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-48912646511475378662015-10-04T20:14:00.001-06:002015-10-05T19:52:29.639-06:00still at itI've not yet come up with the new name for the next blog, but I've decided I'm going to stay with blogger. I, instead, will keep posting until a new name hits me and transition over to the new blog when that happens. There have been many changes in my life, both personal and professional over the last few months. I hate keeping everyone whose stayed with me this long in the dark so I'll be Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-16556476628910205602015-08-24T19:33:00.002-06:002015-08-24T19:33:53.419-06:00the reports of my death are greatly exaggeratedThis is not the final post. I'm still here, and still plugging away. My time has been dominated by work and personal engagements. What little free time I have is spent decompressing via my various pastimes. I am still researching wordpress versus blogger, but I'm nowhere near making a decision. Well, that I have yet to come up with a name for the new blog still. I have enlisted some help from a Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-74908581867046601872015-08-02T13:13:00.000-06:002015-10-05T19:57:48.655-06:00almost terminusIt's been a while. I've had a lot happen since my last post. I'll start off with the girl is no more. What started off nicely turned into a drawn out version of the last twenty minutes of the movie Braveheart. I finally realized that she only brought out the worst in me as well as her having no redeeming qualities. Nothing good would come of this had I tried to maintain anything with her. I did Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-29341262868747420042015-06-07T15:58:00.001-06:002015-06-07T15:58:05.030-06:00it's reciprocalSo I've obviously had more than a few days to cool off and decompress since "the incident". Composure regained and dignity has been salvaged. Well, what little of it I have left. There was a brief pause that lasted a few weeks. For now, we're becoming better acquainted with each other. I'm grateful for that regardless of where it goes.
Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2220362074220084640.post-77462277432137170192015-05-31T08:47:00.002-06:002015-06-01T12:34:38.910-06:00a breakAs much as anyone loves doing anything in life, you have to take a break. I hadn't. At least not since January. I was so involved in learning how to deal with some of the kids in my area that I'd forgotten to make some time for myself. I tried at any rate. I was supposed to have last Tuesday off, but instead it was yesterday. Tuesday was also my birthday which almost quietly passed unnoticed. I Stevenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01456821621154171941noreply@blogger.com2