Short entry, possibly expanded later.

Okay, the coding is all effed up, so Sam is just going to have to hang out up here. I ramble on about him further down.

Since I'm at work, I'm going to have to keep this short (there aren't any projects for me right now, and I've read all of the training manuals at least twice, so...not much to do. I guess banks are slow mid-week, so there aren't even very many calls coming in. Not complaining.)

Lots and lots and lots of things have happened over the last couple of months. I've had these periods of extreme business, where there was so much going on that I just couldn't keep track of everything (note to self: go over your bills, goddammit), and some times where things were quiet, and I was even able to teeter on the edge of boredom. Not often, though, because the time when I wasn't working was incredibly relaxing. In a somewhat uncomfortable way, given that I was living out of several boxes and the cat was miserable, but still, relaxing. Now, with the second move mostly finished, it looks like I might even be able to get a routine going, though the puppy will probably take some getting used to.

I'm really bad at transitions, which is one of the reasons I haven't been online much (the other being...no internet. Still. And for the first few weeks, no laptop). If my world feels out of control, I've found that it's really hard for me to want to engage in the online one at all. But that's definitely getting better.

Anyway, the puppy. The Puppy. THE PUPPY.

If I weren't in a large, echoey bank, I'd totally be squeeing right now. I'm still that excited.

I mean, I've never had a puppy of my own! I know he's not technically "my own", since he's Nate's, too, but...I've never even held shares in the having-of-a-puppy. I never had much to do with my parents' horrible old lhasa apso, and I've helped take care of other dogs, but this one is mine! I'm a primary caretaker! It's so exciting!

He's not a young puppy - more like an adolescent. At almost eleven months, he's nearly full-grown, which I actually think kind of rocks, as it means that we don't have to deal with the teething stage or anything. I would have been happier if he had come to us neutered, but it's just something we'll have to do. I'd rather have him unneutered than not have him at all, is what I'm saying. His...ahem, "red rocket"...is pretty horrifying, though, and he's just getting to the stage where he's started trying to hump things. Mostly Nate, which is hilarious. Our dog might very well be bisexual. It's okay, I love him just as much.

He's a purebred White German Shepherd, and he's gorgeous. He has one floppy ear that just cracks us up, and it gives him the dopeyest expression when he's happy or confused. It also means that he's much more approachable than GSDs usually are - apparently the whites tend to not have the right temperaments for police or military work, so people don't associate them with, you know, 275 psi of terrifying jaw power. Still, though, I've noticed that on the street, people do approach pretty respectfully and ask before they pet him. I really like that, and it's good for my people skills, too, as conversation goes pretty easily when you're talking about a dog.

The adoption process was...well, it certainly wasn't anything like getting Juniper, with the application and whatnot. We found Samson on Craigslist, and since the ad was intriguing, we called up to get some info. Well, "some info" turned into "nearly half an hour of talking to the owner", which then turned into, "can we come see him tomorrow", which turned into an entire evening of chilling with the family, which turned into us driving home with a seventy-pound german shepherd sticking his head out the back window of the car. Yeah. It was that fast. But everything just checked out. He needed a home, the situation was fine (they had three kids and another dog, so a puppy was just a bit much for them. The dad teared up when we got in the car with Sam, though. It was pretty sad), they had his AKC and vet papers, he's in good health right now, and frankly, we may live in an apartment, but we have the space for a dog like this. And the time and energy, though he's going to be AMAZING for our fitness. Seriously, he'll chase softballs in a field for HOURS if you let him. I prefer the hikes, though - this morning, I took him up into the bluffs, and the hills were awesome for tiring him out. And me, but then, I don't need too much energy to work four hours at a bank. So it works out well for all of us.

Oh yeah, the bank. I haven't really talked about that at all, have I?


So I work in a bank now.

Actually, there's not much more to it than that. The building is pretty cool, though - I'm surrounded by like, a million tons of marble (white, from Italy! Green, from Greece!), and a lot of the furniture is original to the bank, which puts it at almost 100 years old. Walking into it is a little like going back in time. Orientation week (which did NOT need to be a week, but that's beside the point) was hell, and I've forgotten most of it because I had a monster cold for most of it, but I actually really like the job so far. I'll like it more once they have more for me to do, but that's reception for you - when you're needed, you're needed, and aside from that it's a pretty quiet gig. Not bad at all.

Man, I just realized how long this entry is getting. And I haven't had one phone call! Not one!

I should probably call it quits for now. I'll definitely be back for more blogging soon. Heather, your blog has been inspiring me - I check your updates every time I get the chance, and I'm starting to get the writing itch again. I LOVE all of those procrastination links that you posted, even though they make my heart hurt with the knowledge of how truthy they are, and how delinquent I am.