Webb Family Blog

Today started off quite lazily. It was raining outside, so I didn’t take Bear out for a walk. I was messing around on the computer and watching TV while I was also cleaning the kitchen and doing laundry. Kellie was at work. As I was watching TV, I realized that Bear was sleeping in a funny position. I grabbed my camera and got a picture of him. I had been sitting on the sofa and he was on the floor. Mostly on his back.

I did several loads of laundry and cleaned the kitchen fairly well. I then got a call from Kellie, she’s doing a “double” today. I agreed to come down and pick up dinner for some of the nurses. They had ordered from the Red Lobster. I stopped and bought some more food for Bear on my way home. Shortly after coming home, I saw a delivery truck outside the house and I was checking to see if he was dropping something off. It was raining outside at the time. As I opened the door, Bear went bolting past me. He went running out into the street and up the street aways. I was only wearing socks at the time. He seemed to think it was a game to avoid me. He then ran out to the bike path. All the time, staying just far enough ahead of me that I couldn’t catch him. As we neared the park, he took off running out into a HUGE muddy open space. I couldn’t see or hear him anymore. I decided I’d have to head home. I tried to call Phil and Donna, but initially couldn’t reach them. I then decided to call the Roseville Police… just in case they came across Bear, they’d know who to return him to. I was worried sick. I came back to the house. Took off my socks and grabbed some clean socks and some boots. Since Bear’s collar has his name and our home phone number on it, I set the phone up to simultaneously ring my cellphone as it rang in the house… a feature possible with Vonage (ps… if anyone is interested in Vonage, contact me about it.) I then put on a jacket, grabbed the leash, a flashlight and headed out. I was hoping and praying I could find him. As I walked along my normal walk path, I heard a hound dog barking. I hear him occasionally when we walk by on our daily walks, but he was barking more. As I came closer, I saw Bear jogging back and forth along the fence that was holding in this hound dog. As I approached, Bear saw me. I told him to sit and reached into my jacket as if to give him a treat for sitting. I DIDN’T have any treat, but he sat anyways. I was able to grab his collar and attach the leash. He was quite muddy. As we got back to the house, I tied his leash up outside as I took off my boots. I then picked Bear up and carried him to the bathroom and closed the door. I put him in the bathtub and turned on the shower. I gave him a good bath. He seemed to tolerate it pretty well. The bathroom is kind of messy now. I was so fed up, I didn’t want to even bother cleaning it up yet.

After having a nice 4-days off with Kellie, it was back to work on Wednesday. Kellie and I both worked on Wednesday and Thursday. I was a little worried about how Bear would be behaving, being left alone. My first call on Wednesday brought us to Roseville and after we were finished, I asked my dispatcher if I could run home for a couple minutes. When I got here, Bear was fine. He was happy to see me, and I could see he hadn’t gotten into any mischief. Things went well on Thursday also. I guess he’s finally getting used to us and vice-versa. When he settles down to sleep at night, he sleeps at least as long as we do. He often rests throughout the morning, but when he has energy to burn, he lets you know it.

Over the weekend, I found out two things about my Comcast High-speed Internet. First, our speed limit has gone up and that there is a 3-month trial of the higher-tier speed for the same price as standard. In order to take care of the free upgrade, I needed to power-cycle my cable modem. This involves unplugging the power cable to the modem for a minute or two. This increased the speed from 3Mbps to 6Mbps on the download, but no change to the upload. With me, my upload is where I wanted the increase, so I’m trying the higher-tier upgrade for 3 months. This changes it from around 380Kbps to a little over 750Kbps. The higher-tier service is normally an additional $10/month.

I really don’t have much else to add, but I felt like I needed to say something, since it’s been several days since my last entry.

I started today by leaving Kellie in bed with Bear sleeping on his bed… he actually sleeps on it when not humping it. We planned to fix up the side-yard for Bear’s dog run. We want a place he can freely go, when he feels the need to be outside to answer the Mother Nature’s call and then not bring dirt inside the house. I went to Home Depot and bought a 2×4 of pressure treated wood. I then headed over to Roseville Sand and Rock. I picked up the first half-yard of rock. I arrived back around 8AM. I cut the 2×4 and screwed it in place at the base of the fence-posts; to create a rock barrier… hoping it will keep the rock only in the side-yard instead of the backyard. Phil had also loaned us a wheelbarrow, which I loaded. It wasn’t until after it was full of rocks that I realized that it had a flat tire. Doh! I then backed the pickup as close as physically possible to the side-yard gate and I loaded a BIG bucket with rocks. I then dragged it along the sidewalk to where I wanted it dumped. Kellie and Bear were up by this time. We tied Bear’s leash to one of the fence posts (we still haven’t built up the trust that he won’t run off when the gate is open) and Kellie used a rake to spread around the rock. We quickly had the truck unloaded. I went back and loaded the truck again and we finished spreading rock around. We finished around 9:30AM with unloading the second load. I temporarily bungee-corded the fence in place, so Bear would stay in the side-yard. We then came inside and showered, as we had an appointment for Bear to get a quick check-up at the vet’s office. Bear appeared to enjoy riding in the back of a pickup truck. He behaved very well. After the visit, we brought him home, as Kellie and I had more business to take care of. We left Bear in the garage, with access to the side-yard. He TRIED to come in the house through the doggy door, but we had it blocked off. He didn’t bark though. We left him some water out on the side of the house. We also left him with a blanket. We were gone a couple hours, taking care of business at the Roseville City Hall (including getting his dog license.) When we got home, I lifted the doggy door barrier and let him know we were home. He game through the door. We checked out the garage and found he hadn’t gotten into any mischief. We were very proud of him. Yesterday, we left him in a crate for an hour or so when we had to do a couple quick errands, and he didn’t like that at all. We feel better that he now has a place to hang out that he tolerates when we are unable to stay here with him.

We’ve been doing a lot this weekend. We initially tried to put the side-yard fence in with 30″ spikes that hold onto the 4×4 fence posts. Unfortunately, I had a VERY difficult time putting them into the ground. It turns out it was only 8″ to bedrock. In the process of trying to drive in the spikes, I broke Phil’s sledgehammer, so I bought him a replacement handle and bought my own sledgehammer. I could only drive the spikes in a little way, so we had to dig some deep holes into the bedrock and use Quikrete to anchor them in place. With all this work has left my right arm a bit numb with cramping in my right hand. I’ll be happy to return to work tomorrow, allowing me to relax.

Yesterday, Kellie, her mother and I went to go see Bear. We met with his owner. As anticipated, we fell for him immediately. He is very cute and fun. We decided we’d take him. We loaded him up in the back of my car and headed for home. Kellie sat in the back seat with Bear. He was quite active for most of the way. Upon arriving to our home, we decided to take him for a walk. He did very well. We heard some dogs barking, but he was oblivious. The only time he stopped and responded was when we passed by a hound dog, leashed in his front yard. Bear wanted to go meet with this hound dog, but Bear was easily redirectable. After going down the path a little further, we turned around. I decided to get him tired out a bit, so I took off running with him. Previously, he was pulling me along. He wouldn’t pull TOO hard, but there definitely wasn’t any slack in the leash. This time, while running, there wasn’t any slack in the leash. We ran right past the hound dog, who barked, but Bear ignored him. He seemed a bit more tired upon returning to the house. I walked him around the house on a leash for a while… letting him go where he wanted, but still on a leash. We had some projects needing to be worked on, so we let Bear loose in the backyard as Phil (Kellie’s dad) and I got started with putting in a small fence. Kellie went to the store for some doggy supplies.

We are wanting Bear to have a place that he can freely go out and take care of his elimination needs without anyone needing to let him out. We don’t want him to have free-reign of the backyard unsupervised, so we are setting up a fence to keep him only in the side-yard. We also put in doggy doors leading from the house into the garage and from the garage out to the side-yard. The area that is currently muddy and full of bark, we plan on putting in some rock. Something that will keep Bear’s feet cleaner for when he comes and goes.

When Kellie returned, she bought him a doggy bed. Bear really loves this doggy bed… but not in the right way. Let’s just say he has carnal knowledge of his new bed. He plays with it constantly. Its a good thing he’s been neutered.

I took Bear out for one last walk of the day around 8:30PM last night. We went completely around our housing development. Again, he did very well on his walk. Upon arrival back, he lay down, while Kellie and I watched a movie on TV. When it came time for bed, we brought him back to our bedroom. He WANTED to get up on the bed, but after being told NO a couple times, he got the idea. He actually slept on his doggy bed… after playing with it a while and wearing himself out. He was quiet all night. We’re planning on going out soon for another walk. So far, we’re really enjoying having him around.

Kellie and I haven’t been feeling well over the past few days. I got the cold first, then Kellie. I’m nearly over it, but Kellie got it later, so she’s still quite miserable.

Yesterday, I got a phone call from Angela, the South Placer coordinator for NORCAL Golden Retriever Rescue. When I first contacted her, I had mentioned that what I was originally interested in was a Golden/Lab mix, but they only deal in pure-bred Goldens. She hadn’t found anything yet for us, but yesterday, she found out about a Golden/Lab mix that needed to find a new home. This dog LOOKS like a Golden, but his mother and his siblings are labs. Apparently his mom got around with the dog next door. Anyways, I talked with his current family last night and we hope to meet with him this coming weekend. We got a picture emailed to us and he looks quite adorable.rn

Well, in my last entry, I was about to go see my doctor about a rash around my eyes that was quite painful. My doctor is very nice. He prescribed a different topical steroid, 0.05% Desonide cream. This stuff has worked great. First and foremost, it doesn’t burn. I’ve been using it since Tuesday night and the area around my eyes has cleared up. I do have other skin issues around my eyebrows and low scalp, above the ears that is irritating too. He set me up to see a dermatology fellow.

This is a shorter work week for me this week. This is my last day of the week. At the moment, I’m back at my usual location at “Kaiser South”. It is not actually at the hospital, but in a shopping center about a mile or so away from the hospital. This shopping center has several food options as well as Borders Bookstore, where I bring my laptop in to “play”. I get useful work done, like writing entries in this here blog. As I sit here, I am amused by all my technology I have with me. I set up my laptop computer. I then pulled out my iPod Nano and put on my headset to listen to some music. Since I’ve got this on, I’m concerned that I MAY not here my Nextel (company cellphone/radio), so I put it down next to my keyboard so I can see as well as hear it when it goes off. I then pulled out my pager and set it to vibrate mode. I then felt a vibration on my waist… it was actually my personal cell phone with a text message. I then started writing an email and needed to look something up on my Palm Tungsten T. I started cracking myself up with all this technology. Yes, I’m a nerd.

I’ve had a rather un-productive series of days off, but it has felt great. I had to go see the dentist yesterday, for a scheduled check. They took a ton of X-rays of my teeth and mapped out the current condition of my teeth. The dentist then made a list of things that need to be done. First, I need to get a routine cleaning. Then I need to have a root canal (that I’m REALLY not looking forward to). Then I need to have preparation made for a crown. Once the crown is done, on my broken tooth, I need to have my remaining 3 wisdom teeth removed. A few years ago, I had a wisdom tooth break, so it was removed, but I had already exhausted my dental insurance for the year, so it was all out-of-pocket expense. I just paid for the one tooth to be removed. I’m afraid this will happen again if I try to get it done this year, with the root canal and crown work. After I get my wisdom teeth pulled, then I’ll need a night guard made. Apparently, I grind my teeth.

In a little bit, I need to go see my family doctor for an issue with the skin around my eyes. I apparently have eczema around my eyes. This has gotten quite painful. Before, he has told me to apply 0.5% hydrocortisone cream to the skin around my eyes, but this makes it burn even worse. If my eyes tear, they REALY start to burn. I made the appointment this morning when it was extremely painful. I then took a shower and despite the burn, I applied the hydrocortisone cream. It is still painful and burning, but not as bad at the moment. I’m hoping we can find a treatment not quite as painful as hydrocortisone, or possibly get something with lidocaine or some other topical pain killer. The swelling is a little less now that they were before my shower and steroid application this morning.

Wow, it is already Sunday afternoon.

Yesterday, the coordinator of the South Placer County’s NORCAL Golden Rescue came to visit, with her daughter and 2 Golden retrievers. We had fun playing with the dogs and we talked about what is involved with adopting a rescued Golden retriever. Goldens are very friendly dogs, but each has its own personality. Golden Rescue takes in Goldens that are no longer wanted for one reason or another; sometimes something happened to the owner, sometimes the owner couldn’t handle the dog… there are many reasons people turn their dogs over. They take the dogs in and try to learn their personalities and place them in homes that are looking for those traits. Different breeds of dogs have different needs. Some dogs prefer to live outdoors. Some dogs prefer to live indoors. Some dogs don’t seem to care. Goldens, while being big dogs, are indoor dogs. They don’t do well living outdoors. Dogs are pack animals, meaning they need their social interaction with their pack. Goldens become part of the human pack and need to live in closer quarters to their fellow pack members. This will take a bit for me to get used to, but I look forward to having a nice, big yellow dog.

Last night, Kellie and I went to a baby shower for a friend of Kellie’s… Anna and David. They will be having their first baby in the next month or two… a boy. The shower was a co-ed shower… there were a few couples there. It started off at Mikuni Sushi in Roseville. Kellie and I ordered two kinds of vegetarian sushi and some Inari. It was pretty good. After dinner, we progressed over to a friend of Anna’s for the actual shower. They had two “party games”… one of which Kellie won. Anna then opened her gifts. After a little desert (Crème Brûlée and cheesecake), we left.

When we came home, we played on the computers until way too late into the night. I was “ripping” all of my CDs into iTunes, so we could play them on our iPods. I played a bunch of music from many different genre. It was kind of fun.

This morning, we were originally planning on going to the health club with Kellie’s parents, Phil and Donna, but we didn’t wake up in time… we didn’t set our alarms and we went to bed too late last night because of playing on the computers. We did go out to breakfast though. We originally went to International House Of Pancakes (IHOP), but there was a line a mile long. We then decided to go over the Thunder Valley Casino. The line for the buffet was also extremely long and the price for the buffet was nearly $17/person, so we went to one of the other places within the casino. We ate until we were stuffed, with left over food. It was better quality food and we didn’t have to walk around, AND it was much cheaper than $17/person. Normally their breakfast buffet is pretty cheap, but their Sunday brunch is pretty expensive.

We are now back at home and I’m feeling like going back to bed.

Today, we woke up later than planned. I got up and took a shower, but Kellie slept a little longer. I then decided to try to return a phone call about getting a dog. I talked with the South Placer coordinator of NORCAL Golden Rescue. She came over with her daughter and two of her Golden retrievers, shortly after 11AM. We talked about their behavior and personalities and about their organization. Kellie and I both enjoyed having the dogs over and looking forward to having a dog of our own.

Yesterday was my first shift of my new hours. I go to work an hour earlier and get off an hour later than last year. When I got to work, I was a bit annoyed. I don’t like it when other people mess with “MY” ambulance. I realize I SHOULDN’T be upset, as I don’t actually own the ambulance, but it’s kind of like your bedroom as a kid… you don’t own your bed… your parents do, but you feel “violated” if other people sleep in your bed. I have my way of doing things and my way of leaving it. I have a system to minimize the work I need to do when I come to work. We have a big box of drugs that are not controlled substances (ie. drugs that are not habit forming like sedatives or narcotics). I always take my laptop with me to work, so I created a spreadsheet that helps in inventorying them. Once a month, we are supposed to inventory the drugs to make sure none are expiring and that we have enough of each drug. The form that we report this on is not in a logical order when you look in the big box. I created a spreadsheet that IS in a logical order and then rearranges it to the way the report form is. I have not only inventoried each drug but I know when each drug expires. For example, I have 3 pre-filled syringes of Adenosine. One of them expires on August 1, 2006, while the other two expire November 1, 2007. The problem is, if someone else used a drug out of my drug box, I may not know about it and I don’t know WHICH drug was used. It could have been the one that expires later OR the one earlier. They may have restocked it with a drug that expires on a different date. I have then decided to put a break-away lock that I initial and date on the drug box. I then know that if the lock is on with my initials, then I know that the info on my computer is up-to-date. I will always know when drugs are used. When it comes time to turn in my inventory, I can do so very quickly. It is less of a chore. Someone over the weekend used my rig and the lock was missing, requiring that I re-inventory the entire box, verifying every expiration date. Nothing was changed, but I didn’t know that. I am going to post a note on the outside of the drug box explaining that I have a system and that unless someone has a need, leave the box alone. I’ll put a computer printout of the entire contents and have them mark what drug was used and tell them to make a correction if they restocked with a new medication. Then most importantly, I’d want them to put a new lock on with their initials and date. I hope it works.