Hi, my name is Susie, and I am a 21-5-800 Bindu Wiles Challenge Dropout

I gave it a good try, but I confess, I just don't have an extra two hours average a day to spend on this project. I will still try to get to yoga class occasionally, and may write on my blog from time to time, but I cannot commit anything further than that. I think the challenge is better geared to those who work from home, or work part-time or on some other type of flexible schedule. I wish the best of luck to everyone else still involved in the project -- go get 'em!

Bindu Wiles Challenge, Day 4 (11 June 2010)

I won't post much here today, as I spent the day working on writing two different papers at work.

On the Jolene story, after much deliberation (thanks to my friend, Jenn, for her sage advice), we decided that now wasn't the right time for us to take on a special needs dog. She is such a sweet dog, and it about broke my heart to call the HSSV to tell them, but I think, in the long run, that it's the best, both for Jolene and for us.

Shari and Aaron attended Harbor High's graduation ceremony today to see a friend get her diploma, and we have two parties to attend tomorrow (one UCSC grad party, and a birthday party). This year's end-of-school season has been quite busy for us.

On another note, our kitchen sink is plugged up... again (sigh).

Bindu Wiles Challenge, Day 3 (10 June 2010)

I began writing this in response to a letter from a good friend of mine, who owns a Bichon, a pet shop, and does grooming. She asked how the visit with Jolene went, and if Jolene came home with us. As I was writing back to her, my letter became longer and longer, and I decided it would be my 800 words for the day.

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We met with Jolene, her foster mom, and the 'special needs' rep from the Humane Shelter yesterday. Jolene was almost the same size as Izzie, but I'm not sure if she is full Bichon -- not that it matters. She has a lot of apricot, which some Bichons do, but her apricot hair was coarser, and instead of being a soft curl, was frizzy and sticking out. I'm thinking there's a bit of cinnamon-colored poodle in there somewhere. She was definitely timid, and her response was to back into her foster mom and growl. It took her a bit to warm up to us, but after about an hour of us all sitting together on the grass, she would roll over for tummy rubs from Shari and me, and even gave both of us a kiss. She's not too sure about Aaron though, nor is she too sure about Izzie. We did the proper brief social-dog introductions a few times while they were still on leashes, and once Jolene seemed a bit more comfortable, we let them both off (we were the only ones inside a fenced play area). At that point, Izzie of course just wanted to play, and she ran up to Jolene and got in the head-down-butt-up 'downward dog' position. Jolene just backed up into her foster mom and wouldn't play. We just let Izzie run around and come back every now and then to check out Jolene and vice-versa. At the end of the hour, Jolene was starting to come out of her shell, and at least would let Izzie sniff her. She would even try to sniff Iz when Iz wasn't looking. A couple of times she would trot beside Izzie for about ten feet before coming back to the group. Jolene has been with her foster mom for about 2 weeks and has definitely bonded with her, so I think she would easily bond with a new family. She certainly needs work socializing with both other dogs and people. She needs to know that all people aren't bad -- and most come with treats! I was a bit concerned with how little interest she had in Izzie. The main reason we want to get another dog is as a companion for Iz. If I had to make my decision solely on the behavior we observed yesterday, I would have to let her go to another family. She was just really disinterested in being with Iz. She did, however, have many good qualities that she could teach Izzie -- walks nicely on a leash, doesn't get all up in your face, doesn't want to chew and lick your hands and stuff. We made an appointment for another meeting on Sunday morning, and we'll see if she 1) remembers us; 2) doesn't shy away from us; 3) remembers Izzie; and 4) takes more interest in Izzie.

The other big concern of mine is the timing. She's going to take a lot of work, and we're getting ready to go on a 10-day road trip vacation at the end of June to Seattle and Canada and back. Izzie can't come with us, and I'm already having issues getting someone to take care of her. As it stands, I have a combination of people either staying here with her at the house, or taking her to their house. It's not ideal whatsoever. I really don't want to board her, even though there are a couple of places around here that are supposed to be really good. Izzie probably would be great in a boarding situation -- be around other dogs and socialize, have scheduled playtimes throughout the day -- so I probably shouldn't worry. I would need to get her Bortadella shot first though.

So I'm already worried about Iz, and I'm not sure how fair it would be to ask the babysitting team I have lined up to take care of another dog, especially one that currently has special needs. I’m just worried and not sure what to do – either with Izzie when we go on our trip, or with bringing a new dog into our family and then leaving again for 10 days. I’m making myself anxious and sick over the entire situation.

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That’s where the letter to my friend ended. On the yoga front, I went to the yoga studio where the teacher that used to come to our work and lead us is now located. She now teaches at a nearby studio during the Tuesday and Thursday lunch hours. I went yesterday for the first time in two and a half months. Unfortunately she wasn’t there! But I stayed anyway, and the woman who was teaching us (there were two other women that attended the class) kicked my butt. It was like I was completely starting over again. Bet I’ll be hurting tomorrow.

Bindu Wiles Challenge, Day 2 (9 June 2010)

In keeping with the tenets of 21.5.800, I did a yoga session at home after work this afternoon. It’s rare that I have the house to myself in order to do so. Shari and Aaron had gone to hunt down a part for his bike, and then they went to go get haircuts at Fantastic Sams and pick up dinner at Panda Express (yes, I do have my indulgences).

Have you ever tried to do yoga with a highly social and energetic dog in the house with you? It doesn’t work very well. Every time I would try to strike a pose, Izzie would come drop a toy at my feet and look up at me expectantly. She did enjoy mimicking me while doing the downward dog pose, as she’s always been good at that one herself. And let me tell you, Bichon butt, in the downward dog pose, is the cutest thing. I think I’m just jealous that she does it better than I can. The most difficult thing to do with Izzie around was the savasana. I would lay in the corpse pose, with my palms facing up, fingers curled, and try to clear my mind, get into the zen moment, and just breathe. Next thing I know, she comes up and positions herself above my upward turned hand, and wants to have her tummy scratched! You’re ruining my moment here, girlfriend. If I didn’t comply, she would nudge my hand a bit with her nose. If that didn’t work, she would then start pawing and scratching at my hand and arm. I never did get that nap; I mean savasana.

The experience did refresh me enough to go about getting my self-imposed household chores done for the day. Today was my day to dust and vacuum/sweep the kitchen and family room/office area, and water the houseplants and patio plants. Ever since I’ve been making sure to use only distilled water for my orchids, they seem to be doing better. Well, at least they haven’t died. I also was refreshed enough to clear a bunch of paperwork things from my desk – post some accounting things, write a couple of checks, and do some filing. I really like a nice clean desk. It makes me feel like I’ve accomplished everything. Now all that’s left, after my writing, is to load up the dishwasher with all the miscellaneous glassware (I swear they multiply throughout the day – we only have three people living here!), set up the coffeepot to automatically brew in the morning, and get my clothes laid out for work tomorrow.

I’ve abandoned the iMac on my desk and am currently writing on my MacBook Pro in bed. Shari and Aaron took over the office/family room and are watching missed episodes of Hells Kitchen with Chef Ramsey on her computer, which is turned up much too loud, and it’s ruining my zen. Let me just tell you how much I hate that show. Have you ever seen it? This guy Ramsey must think he’s the be-all-end-all of the cooking world. Granted, some of his newbie chef ‘contestants’ are idiots, but it seems like the entire premise of the show is to see how much he can yell, scream, curse, and belittle the contestants. Sorry, I just don’t think that’s very entertaining. It’s just loud and obnoxious, and I don’t need that noise in my life. Thank goodness for the remote control. Or in this case, a laptop and a bedroom where I can retire in peace. Maybe with a glass of wine. Hmm… be right back.

The little counter at the bottom of my Microsoft Word say I’m only about three-fourths of the way to tonight’s writing goal. Last night and tonight’s writings are just random stream-of-thought blog entries. Some nights I will be working on a different writing project (hopefully to be announced soon), and sometimes my writing at work will count towards my daily word count. On those days I’ll just post a brief mention on my blog of what I worked on for the day. At work I’m writing a chapter for a book on the use of remote sensing in coral reef management. My assigned chapter deals with the use of aerial photography, and I’m using examples from all of the benthic habitat mapping projects I’ve done, in addition to the history and applications of aerial photography. I’m also working on an internal U.S. Geological Survey publication, called a Fact Sheet, about our multi-disciplinary Ridge-to-Reef project. So sometimes my work on those will count – yes? I’m not quite sure where Bindu came up with the fact that 800 words equals about five or six pages. Even double-spaced, my 800 words only come up to four pages. I’m just going to trust the little counter at the bottom of my document window, which at the moment, reads 824!

Bindu Wiles Challenge

21.5.800

So I read about this challenge through one of my dear Facebook friends and decided that I would try it out. Click on the badge to the right to read more about it. Basically it goes like this: for 21 days, you do 5 days of yoga/wk, and write 800 words/day. I wanted something to push me back into doing yoga (even if it might only be at home with the Wii), and putting words to paper always gets the juices flowing. I didn't know if I could write 800 words per day, but it turned out to be easier than I thought. I wrote a stream of thought about getting another dog. This morning I thought I would use my blog as a place to store my writings. Here's my writing from yesterday, I'll post today's writing later on.

Bindu Wiles Challenge, Day 1 (8 June 2010)

We are thinking about getting another dog.

I know, you’re thinking, “Are you nuts?”

But lately it has become more and more evident that Izzie needs a friend. She is so much more the social Bichon Frise than my previous one, Mitzi. Mitzi was truly a one-person dog that bonded with me the moment I picked her up from the breeder. Maybe it was the fact that she threw up in my lap on the ride home in the car that cemented our friendship forever. Izzie, on the other hand, is much more inquisitive, impish, and on the go at all times.

We have finally begun taking Izzie to meet and play with other dogs on It’s Beach, near the Santa Cruz Lighthouse, on Saturday mornings. She was a little tentative at first (I blame it on a bad experience during puppy class, when she was run over and stepped on by an overly zealous large breed puppy), but after a few weeks has finally sought out other dog-friends and happily plays along with them.

She’s had a few play dates with her ‘cousins’ on one side of the family – a Beagle named Lily, and a teacup Chihuahua named Yoda. She’s had quite a number of play dates with Yoda, as we’ve had him for overnight stays a couple of times. And while she loves playing with Yoda, he’s a little older, grumpier, and tends to get out of breath. Also, Izzie must think he’s just a live chew toy because she enjoys pulling him around by his little toothpick-sized leg. Izzie has had an opportunity to play with Lily twice, and even though Lily is larger, she’s a bundle of energy herself, and the two of them enjoy chasing each other around the house.

We go to visit my best friend, Beth, frequently, and always bring Izzie with us. She loves to hang out with her ‘cousins’ on that side of the family. There’s Zoey and Jake, a Shih Tzu and a Lhasa Apso/Shih Tzu mix, respectively. The back door is always open, and the dogs get to run outside whenever they want, but Izzie typically doesn’t get the other dogs to play with her too much. Jake is younger, but he’s a scaredy-cat, and tends to run to his mommy when Izzie gets too rambunctious. Zoey would love to play more, but she’s older and a bit overweight, so tends to tire out quickly. Zoey would rather nap, and we can always count on a snore-fest from her (and I’ve never seen a dog that’s been able to snore when awake – I swear!). They also have a cat named PheeBee, who will sometimes playfully bat at Izzie and give her a run for her money. This past weekend, Izzie met the newest member of the family, a kitten named Sidney. I think Izzie finally met her match activity-wise. She and Sydney LOVED playing with each other. Izzie would chase Sydney, and then Sydney would chase Izzie. It was so much fun to watch. By the end of the weekend, Izzie was exhausted. She fell asleep on my lap on the drive home Sunday night, didn’t stay up long after we got home, slept all night, didn’t want to wake up Monday morning, and was still a bit tired Monday evening.

So back to Izzie needing a friend. We feel that she really needs someone to play during the day when we’re all at work and school. Izzie always looks so bored in her pen. We’ve tossed around many different options, from reputable breeders and backyard breeders, to rescue organizations and animal shelters. Prior to getting Izzie, I had inquired with a Bichon Frise rescue organization and was turned down (much to my surprise), and the experience has really turned me off from them. As much as I wanted to help a dog in need, the bad experience really pushed me completely the other direction. I ended up paying premium price for Izzie because she has champion blood (not that it really makes a difference because I bought her as a pet, not as a show dog). But still, from time to time, I browse the dogs that are up for adoption at the Santa Cruz animal shelters, looking for Bichons or other small compatible dogs. Last week, I was looking on Petfinder.com and came across a Bichon that was fostered through the Humane Society of Silicon Valley (HSSV). The ad for the dog said it was about the same age and weight as Izzie – a perfect companion. On our way home from Beth’s on Sunday, we stopped at the HSSV to talk with the adoption counselors about ‘Jolene’. Thank goodness Jolene is a name that was given to her by HSSV and she’s not attached to it, because that darn Dolly Parton song has now been running through my head ever since. I’m thinking she would make a good ‘Pearl’. Shari doesn't like the name and thinks she should get to pick this time.

Pearl (as I'm calling her) was rescued from a backyard breeder, and has only known life in a cage. She has some social issues, which is why she is in foster care right now. Her foster mom is working with her to be less scared around people, and her foster doggy-brother is working with her to show her the kinds of doggie behaviors that are acceptable and those that are not. We have an appointment on Thursday to go meet Pearl and see how she and Izzie do together. The counselor says it may take a few meetings to see how things go. I will write again on another Bindu day with our take after our first meeting.

Heroes among us

I'm sorry to report that my uncle passed away. John was my dad's older, and only, brother. He was 77; my dad would have turned 73 this Friday, September 26. John's obituary from the High Point Enterprise reads:

HIGH POINT - John Kenneth Cochran, Lt. Colonel, Retired, age 77, of High Point died September 22, 2008, in High Point Regional Hospital.

Mr. Cochran was born July 23, 1931, in St. Louis, Missouri to Frank M. and Jesse Hughes Cochran. As a United States Marine, he served his country for 20 years including three tours of duty during the Vietnam War. Mr. Cochran received many citations for his service including the Distinguished Flying Cross and Bronze Star medal. He also received a Purple Heart after being shot down by enemy fire over North Vietnam in 1972. He retired with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. Mr. Cochran later had a long career with U. S. Furniture Industries.

Surviving are his wife, Patricia, of the home; two daughters: Kathleen Clayton and her husband Norris of Winston-Salem, and Marie Cochran of Durham; and a son, Kenneth Cochran and wife Paige of Jamestown. Mr. Cochran has four grandchildren of whom he was especially proud, Matthew and Patricia Clayton and Olivia and Margo Cochran.

A Memorial Service to celebrate Mr. Cochran's life will be held Friday at 12 Noon in Christ United Methodist Church in High Point with the Reverend Carol Carkin officiating. Visitation will be on Thursday from 6:00 until 8:00 p.m. at the home of his son, Kenneth Cochran.

In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorials be directed to a cause close to his heart: the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, 1401-B Old Mill Circle, Winston-Salem, NC 27103.

Please share your condolences at www.mem.com. Sechrest Funeral Service in High Point is assisting the family of Mr. Cochran.

My Uncle John was proud to have served in the U.S. armed forces. He has always been my idea of a true hero.

I'm headed to North Carolina in a couple of hours to join in his memorial.

Wow... has it been one year?

I looked at my blog site today and can't believe it's been nearly one year since I posted anything. My only excuse is that it's been one heck of a year -- and not a very good one.

A bright spot was that Shari, Aaron, and I went to Houston for Christmas 2007. Neither of them had been to Texas, let alone Houston, before, nor had they met my family. We did some touring -- Houston Museum of Natural Science and the Lucy exhibit, Galveston, NASA, and the Nutcracker at the Houston Ballet -- and enjoyed a nice Christmas day at my sister's. Little did any of us know that it would be the last time we would all be together like that, as my dad took ill shortly after and passed away in April. Everything since then has been crazy.

As primary organizer and executor of our parents' estate, it's almost like I've taken on a second full-time job. I've traveled back and forth between Santa Cruz and Houston a number of times since then, met with lawyers, accountants, real estate agents, estate sale agents, and on and on... (meanwhile, I had two different scientific conferences to prepare presentations for and attend)

My last trip to Houston fell right in between hurricanes Gustav and Ike. Luckily neither my sister's home, nor our parents', sustained any damage from Hurricane Ike -- of course there were branches all over the yards and the power went out. As of today, my sister and her family are lucky enough to have their electricity again, but I understand that our parents' neighborhood on the north side (the suburb of Spring) is still without. We had hoped to have the estate sale next weekend, and have the house on the market directly afterwards, but all that's been pushed back indefinitely.

I've had two very dear friends die recently -- both unexpected. My uncle (my dad's only brother) had an abdominal aortic aneurysm last week. He survived the surgery, which I understand has a 40% mortality rate. However, his recovery is not going well, and he is in critical condition.

Yes... it's been one heck of a year.