A Drawer Full of Journals

And this is why I have never kept a successful journal. Having been more than two weeks since my last post, I actually forgot my blog password. Which I guess would make me more of a candidate for a paper journal, but my point is that I fall off the journal wagon very easily. Two busy workweeks and I'm lying on the side of the road while the blog wagon scurries ahead. So today is a blog of guilt.

I went to Nashville last week...spent some time on the beautiful Belmont University campus. I didn't get to see much of the actual city, but the whole area, including Belmont, is all about music. It reminded me of the book "Eat, Love, Pray" which my book group recently read. She talks about how every city (or location, I suppose) has a word, and if you don't live that word, you will never fit in. She and a friend came up with this while in Rome, and apparently, Rome's word is 'sex.' That's odd because when I was there, I would have sworn its word was 'church,' but that's another blog entirely. Anyway, if Nashville has a word, it is definitely 'music.' I heard a relatively new group in concert, and while I wouldn't call myself a country or bluegrass fan, somehow it worked for me. They're the SteelDrivers. I'm having trouble with the Web site: http://www.steeldrivers.net/, but they're on iTunes and they're going to be on the Conan O'Brien show in mid-July. "Drinking Dark Whiskey" and "East Kentucky Home" are my front-runner songs right now.

Raisins and Other Things My Client's Dog Shouldn't Eat

Don't you just hate it when you almost kill other people's pets? There I was, munching on an oatmeal raisin cookie at my client/friend's house, when Ben, her black standard poodle, came nuzzling up to me. It was clear that Ben has a sweet tooth. He persisted, so I broke off a small piece and dropped it to the floor. I was bound to accidentally drop some anyway. Rule #1, it's always good to ask first. (The owner, not the dog.) Lynette (Ben's owner) looked alarmed -- "Did you give him a raisin?" Me -- "No." Then, re-thinking the cookie -- "Um, maybe?" "Dogs can't have raisins!" she said. Uh-oh. The upshot is that Ben is either clever or he detests raisins because he ate the cookie and left the offending raisin. But that led us to discuss whether raisin toxicity is an urban legend or truly a danger to dogs.

And that's why I love the Internet. Here's a great site:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=2&cat=1661&articleid=1030

It has 28 different foods that dogs shouldn't eat, many of which your own dog has probably eaten. They range from the obvious -- alcoholic beverages which may cause "intoxication, coma and death" to the exotic -- persimmon seeds which may cause "bowel obstruction." Sure enough, grapes and raisins are listed, but the dog has to ingest more than an ounce per 2.2 pounds of body weight to do any damage. Some of the better no-no's include:

• Cat food (you know the cat made the copywriter list this)
• Large amounts of liver (does anyone want to eat that???)
• Moldy or spoiled food or garbage (you know the raccoons made the copywriter list that)
• String (why this is listed under food is beyond me but I suspect the cat again)

And that leads me to Rule #2. Before you get a pet, check this list for your favorite foods. Because if you like to smoke tobacco while munching on yeast dough, you may want to re-think the decision to get a Lab.

Blah Blah Blog

As I enter the world of blogging from a first-hand perspective, I am finding the first post to be daunting. Shouldn't the inaugural words for a blog be something significant, something substantial? Or should I just comment on the chicken and couscous I'm eating for lunch? Maybe I shouldn't even be posting before I've created my "profile." Who knows? I guess there are few rules in blog-land which is what makes it so popular.

Admittedly, I'm still on the fence about blogging. As a professional writer I feel that I should write more. I have no problem writing fast and furiously when I'm on a project, but I have little motivation to write in a journal. I have stopped and started so many journals I've lost count. But I always feel like I should write more often on things not related to work. I'm not sure why -- after all, should surgeons perform at-home procedures? Do circus clowns need to drive undersized vehicles to and from work? Something about being a writer brings on a pressure to always write. And to always write well. But blogs. Well, blogs are a whole different kind of animal. They're fun, they're casual. No big deal. Heck, I don't even have to write anything... I can just put in a link to my favorite YouTube video. Maybe this won't be so bad after all.

But why start a blog now? Well, maybe work will slow down in the summer, and I always find writing to be like exercise. If you get a good dose each day, it's a lot easier to keep going.