I Never Thought That,

Someone that was here when I grew up recently reminded me of how naive I used to be. Much as I would love to point out she didn't know me then and definitely doesn't now, I guess that there is a certain amount of truth in it and maybe still is...

A perfect example of that happened today. 

I had always assumed that people who abused animals knew what they were doing, and they knew it was wrong, but they did it anyway for unknown reasons. I thought I would never see someone do this, because why would they? Why would you abuse an animal in front of an animal lover? Or better, why would you do it at all? 

As I have mentioned before, I gave up eating meat over a decade ago and that was because I love animals. I love them all - maybe not equally, but still. And before anyone says anything spiders do not count; especially if they are in my bedroom. HOWEVER, when my dog is sick, I cook chicken for him, because it's what he needs to get better. (Bloody shih-tzus and their rubbish stomachs.) Even when he is well, I will put his dinner out which is basically meat, meat, more meat, bit of rice, some veg and blend. I don't take issue with this, because I know that dogs would pretty much always choose a meaty option over a veggie option. I love him enough to get over the whole handling meat thing, for him, even if it's not ideal for me. 

Now today I was walking the little fluff, and he has been really vocal in his disapproval of certain other dogs. Not being with him 24/7, I don't know all of the dogs that he has an issue with, so I'm being somewhat overcautious with the bigger ones that could actually do some damage to him. That being said, I make sure he is within grabbing distance so if he starts something, I can finish it. 

Today we came across a man with two big dogs. He has one lead in each hand, but the dogs looked like they were trying to pull him in half, meaning it was a little bit difficult to get Ted out of the way, but as we approached and I pulled Teddy into a short lead, he did pull the one on our side closer to him to give us space to give him a wide birth. Now, Ted wasn't always so yappy with other dogs, and this mouthing off hasn't come from a specific event so far as we can tell, so I'm trying, the best that I can, to socialise him a bit better and hopefully calm him down a little bit, so I let him approach the dogs for a sniff, until they all started barking at each other, and one of the other dogs - thankfully the one who was furthest away from us - started growling. 

Like I said, I keep Teddy in grabbing distance, so he was away from them quickly, I had the hold of the back of his harness and then he was in my arms within seconds and then I was getting us the heck back to the house. I looked back because I could hear the guy yelling at his dog, which I already thought was a bit unnecessary, but what I saw then made it worse. Not only did he hit the dog twice, he then started whipping the dog, who was cowering on the floor, with the lead of the other dog who he had, by then, let off of the lead.

After the whole thing of reporting this to the appropriate people, I still couldn't get it off my mind, because I can't help but feel that any time you have to hit your animal to regain some semblance of control over it, you have failed as a pet parent. And if you feel the need to not only use your hands, but employ some form of weapon against your animal, then you are the problem, not the animal. If that dog has previously gone to bite other animals or a person, why on Earth does he not walk him in a muzzle? Why on Earth does he walk him on a pathway which is highly frequented by dog walkers? This happened on the same day as another dog walker went off this path with a muzzled greyhound when he saw other dogs in the area. 

I know for some people that this might be a small issue, but it is just the latest in a line of crappy things and it's also one of the small things that add together to be a big issue. The way we treat animals and women and the environment and communities and property, well all of it adds up. Okay, so smacking your dog for growling and going for a smaller dog is nowhere near as bad as intensive farming or the killing of sea life which occurs in several countries around the globe, but it's the same problem attitude that women are lesser. Telling women that they belong in the kitchen as a joke and allowing girls to be married and have children in their early teens aren't the same thing, but both are products of the belief that gender has a bearing on our value, purpose and abilities (shouldn't have to say this, but IT ABSOLUTELY DOESN'T!!!!) Dropping litter does not equate to dropping bombs anywhere you fancy, but you kind of see where I am going here... 

Anyway, my point is that the little things matter, be they animal, vegetable or mineral. Catch you later. 

Let's Be Adults About This,

Not like that. Well,.

As previously mentioned, - and I will continue to mention because I'm bloody proud of it - I've just moved into a new flat, but my God are there a lot of things to sort out. 

Getting out of the old place was a hassle and half, because I had moved into there from my little studio. I had a kitchen full of utensils and machines that had to either fit into a much smaller selection of cupboards, or be relegated to the boxes in the loft. As such, there was quite a bit of stuff to come down out of the loft, the furniture to be either moved or deconstructed and the room to be cleaned. Honestly, all that didn't go so badly, however the major snag which did occur was when the van had a blow out on the M25. Thankfully my dad was in the van with the moving men or I would have been doing a Chicken Run (place head between knees and kiss your bum goodbye). 

It was a little bit crazy getting everything in, but that is where the fun really starts. Not only are there a ridiculous amount of boxes covering my living room, there's bills to sort out and it took me until Thursday to actually get any hot water as the gas was capped whilst no one was living in the property. I'm trying to sort my life out whilst spending time back in Manchester looking after my dog, Teddy (@teddytheshihtzu on Instagram).

All in all, I'm really doing the adult thing. I'm even going to be going to Ikea to pick up some new flat pack furniture and then will be constructing it myself. (Granted, my mum is going to be there to help me to carry it home...) Part of me really can't wait to go home. 

Catch you later. 

The Cold,

As I wrote yesterday, this past week I have done a fat lot of nothing much, and whilst that has been great I seem to have acquired a cold. Well, a sore throat and sinus pain, but those do seem to be the pre-warnings of a cold for me. 

Whilst that is quite frustrating, I guess that it is better for it to happen while I can sit at home and take it easy as opposed to push myself to go into the office and feel crappy whilst doing it. 

Unfortunately though, I had hoped to get through some writing or editing or something whilst I was back at home and one week in, I have not really done that. I haven't really felt like it. Granted there is the usual issue of urgh, I wish I had a laptop with everything collated so that it wasn't so much of a mess about, but still, I have access to a laptop, I have my netbook with me and a couple of notebooks, but aside from one brief scribbling session, I haven't really touched any of it. 

Oh God, I just sneezed and it truly upset my dog. I think I need a hot tody.

I'm not sure how it has come to this because I would have thought that having an abundance of time would be just what I needed, but apparently not. Too much time with absolutely no structure is possibly - well, no, definitely - not productive. 

I think I needed something like NaNoWriMo in order to keep me on target and unfortunately that wasn't going to be a thing. Also I think that I would be tempted to go for another fifteen thousand word day, which, whilst very beneficial, would be pretty painful and probably would have brought on another nasty dose of NaNoFlu, which is never enjoyable! 

Anyway, I should probably put some effort in while thinking about it. 

Catch you later.

The Calm,

This past week I have been back at my parents' place in Manchester except for one epic trek out into Derbyshire. Whilst that trek gave me a new appreciation for Pride and Prejudice I am by no means falling over myself to do it again. The rest of the time I have been at home with my pup doing a fat lot of not very much, because this is kind of my holiday. 

Although I was terrified before I came up that I was going to get bored, it has actually been nice to go walking with the dog, get chatting to the other dog owners and vegetate in front of the television with no responsibility. (Yes, it is a bit like reverting back to my teenage years, but with the addition of the canine component.)

Much as I love my dog, and I really do love the little guy, it is weird living with him, because prior to this week I never have before. Every time I sit down to eat, he wants to come in the door or go out of the door so he can pee in the garden, every time I get snacks (and I really like my snacks) he's looking at me with these big, puppy eyes as though he hasn't eaten in weeks and wants everything that I'm having. Seriously, this dog will play at being starving even when his favourite food is in his bowl! And then there is a the exercise issue. 

I am well aware that I am neither the most motivated, nor the most proficient at exercising, however when trying to run through YouTube exercise videos, he kept putting his butt in my face, when I, finally, finished an abs video, he jumped onto my aching abs making them hurt even more. And then there was the run. Deciding that he needed to be tired out slightly due to the insane amount of beans he was displaying and needing to have a run myself, I took him along with me. All seemed to be going pretty well, until he decided, with no warning to cut across the front of my path directly where my feet were, then stared at me as though I had stood there and kicked him on purpose. 

That being said, when I returned from Derbyshire yesterday, feeling pretty sick and tired and just wanting my bed, it was lovely to be able to cuddle him and give him a kiss. His, almost, unconditional love (much more reliable when plied with treats) made me feel better when all I wanted to do was crawl into my bed and sleep for a week. 

Anyway, the additional wonderful thing is that I have another week of this. Although puppy wouldn't be too happy if he knew that his parents were away for another week, he thankfully understands that I am better than nothing, which is a plus point.

Catch you later. 

Most Turbulent of Times,

For once the turbulence to which the title refers is not a violent or speedy change within my life which has prevented all writing from occurring, though it would be true to say that everything has been exceedingly fast paced for a while and shows no sign of letting up any time in the not too distant future, but the simple fact is that we are living in such turbulent times politically and socially that the world has felt like it is hurting towards a situation where my novel could become reality at an all too alarming rate. 

Though I have always paid attention to what is going on in the world, I have never had to be so aware as I do these days. My current job gives me a fuller enthusiasm to keep a finger on the pulse of current events because what is happening, whether it be within the media or in politics itself, can have a great effect. 

I have never wanted to turn this blog into a rant about my political opinion and in the last few weeks there have been several times where I truly believed that any attempt to post anything, even if it were just funny anecdotes about my sweet little dog, it would have inevitably turned into such. 

The difficulty is partly how saturated the media has become with negativity and I readily accept that this has not just been the last few weeks, however I believe that it has worsened, and this has lead to something more troubling to me. Somehow, this has made everybody an expert in politics which makes it very difficult to go back to place where you feel at home and switch off from it all whilst you spend time playing with your dog, who loves you so much that he is still staring at the bus stop where he and your mother left you a week previously, eagerly awaiting your return. My dog honestly reminds me of Stitch, though that is partly due to the amount of times I have to say "Hey, get that out of your mouth!" 

Sweet little thing that he is, he spends a lot of time trying to put everything that isn't his dog food into his mouth, though if you were to offer him treats during his little hunger strike over not wanting to eat dog food (he'd been on boiled chicken and rice for a few days after a poorly tummy) he would almost bite your hand off. 

The unfortunate thing about having him around, and believe me the pros outweigh the cons tenfold, is that if there is anything on your knee, be it netbook or newspaper, that is suddenly considered prime real estate in his eyes, so the item must be moved so that the canine hot water bottle may take up being a lap dog. 

I can't really say I am complaining though. I love that little fur ball. Here's to hoping that the world calms down some and normal life and writing can resume. Catch you later.

Imagine Dragons...Oh Baby, I Do,

With NaNo having been over for more than a week I have finally had time to stand and catch my breath for a minute, though not too long as I'm currently back in Manchester marvelling at my mother's little fur baby and his insistence at "doing a Pudsey" and walking around on his hind legs when he can balance. It's very sweet when he is grabbing your hand between two fluffy paws and babbling at you like a toddler, though he does sound remarkably avian when he does it, which is mildly disconcerting to say the least. I kind of wonder if he is having a little identity crisis and wondering just what kind of animal he is. 

Somehow, it is really strange to try and imagine my mum with a dog, probably because I was pleading for one for so long and it was never practical, so we didn't get one, but then things changed and he's here. Somehow, it feels strange not to be able to imagine my mother with a dog, because although I don't write about dragons as pets and other such wonders as large fire breathing reptiles, I do write about pets like rabbits and goats, and the wonders that the experience of having a pet can bring. I love writing about little animals and their big personalities, so it does seem somewhat unnerving that my mother having a dog was somewhat on the limits of my imaginings, but here he is. He's sat in the small walkway of space between the dinning chair I am writing this from and where I have moved his dog bed to so that he could have a sleep if he wanted to since we did go on a pretty big walk just now and even had a little bit of a run. 

The poor sweet isn't used to me though - I merely arrived last night, caused a frantic amount of excitement, wouldn't let him sit on my knee on the chair by the window and kept hold of him whilst his mother put eye drops in. And I did it again today. I, therefore, am 'orrible. 

However I am also the person who produced a cloth newspaper which rustles and squeaks and has been thrown around the living room repeatedly for him to run after and chase (though bringing it back was slightly beyond capacity at first) and produced an antler chew to be destroyed at will. I'm choosing to believe that the little pupsicle is simply having a philosophical debate in his small fluffy head at the moment as to whether I am the devil or a magical blue Santa Clause. Yes - I do believe my dog understands both of those concepts... Okay, maybe not entirely, but he'll get there.

I hope he's leaning towards Santa, but really he hasn't seen anything yet, because Christmas is not yet truly here and when it is...Oh I am sure there will be excitement.

Christmas has come slightly early for me though, with the addition to the tool shed of a small netbook which I will be able to carry around and write on! This is not the make do and mend of having an iPad keyboard and the iPad which is five years old and was never really intended to live that long I suspect. It is not the slumming it of using Alphie, my lovely AlphaSmart, which is a wonderful piece of kit, but slightly irritating by the fact that it does not inform me of the word count which I have produced without plugging it into an actual computer - nor can I edit files on it. It's also not spending £400 on a laptop just to be able to have the luxury of a computer out of doors. It's small and light enough to carry, fast enough to run, but not all bells and whistles which is good because I'm very good at getting - ooooh, what did the dog do now!! - distracted.

Well, I'm going to go try and teach the dog to play fetch, so I'll catch you later.