hector goes to the office!

Hector had his follow-up appointment with the new vet today (because of a foot injury sustained when he jumped the stone wall). Rather than drive back and forth from home to work, then home, then all the way back to the vet which is practically next door to work, I decided to take Hector to the office with me this morning. He spent three hours at work with me, and it was delightful.

First, on the way there, we had to take an alternate route due to construction on the regular road. My dogs know the various routes, so this threw him for a loop. He started doing his little "talking" thing when I turned up the different road.

Lo and behold, a half a mile down the road, there is a flock of wild turkeys -- about a dozen of them to be exact. Now, if I had had both dogs in the car, Hobie would have started getting all anxious and antsy about the birds. He starts making noises and sometimes will try to lunge, although that has gotten tons better since I learned to stay silent and not fixate on the distraction myself! (Thank you Cesar Millan!) Hector truly lived in the moment. Yes, he was curious, but he just looked at the birds ( I had to drive by them really slowly because they may have crossed the road), and then he lingered looking at them after we drove past, and then turned his head forward and enjoyed the rest of the ride.

At the office, everyone was falling all over themselves patting him and paying attention to him. He went straight into my office! He hadn't been there in months, but he knew the drill! He attended our daily sales administration meeting, and it was really funny because we all hate that meeting and after a few minutes he wanted to leave but the door was closed. Mike said, "I know how you feel Hector" to which I replied, "He's picking up on all of our energy. He's saying get me outta here!"

We left a little early for the vet appt, and when we drove in there was a dog in the parking lot. Not wanting the confrontation (I am a chicken!) I went for a little drive. But when I brought him back, there were two dogs in the waiting room. He was a perfect gentleman. Again, everyone was fawning over him and saying how well-behaved and handsome he was.

Another patient had a 17 year old dog. I said to him, "It's nice having an old dog around" -- at that precise moment, the vet came out into the waiting room, and he goes, "My wife says that to me all the time!" We were all cracking up!

my family

On Christmas Eve, I visited my Mom's house, and while I was plugging in her mini Christmas trees, she opened a drawer and there were 100 photos that I'd never seen before. I asked if I could borrow them and scan them (Nick later gave me 100 more to add to the pile!). I've scanned them all, and here are some choice cuts. Enjoy!

happy birthday, hobie!

I couldn't close up shop for the night without posting happy birthday wishes to my favorite K9 himself, The Hobester!

While I don't really know the specific day of Hobie's birth (like I know Hector's was September 4, 2001 -- exactly one week before "9/11")... I do know that Hobie is my Millennium Dog. He was born in January, 2000, but came into my life 4 months later, in May of 2000. The photo here is the first one I ever snapped of Hobie, and we've been partners ever since. Here is a scan of the receipt from Petco -- our first excursion by car, which we did only a few moments after our love-at-first-sight meeting! The toys in the photo are the ones I bought at Petco that day!



Since I usually travel during the week of Christmas/New Year's annually, I started choosing a day shortly after my return to the States as Hobie's "official" birthday. So, when he was a year old, I returned home from my annual trip on January 2nd or 3rd, and decided a few days later that his birthday should always be celebrated on January 6th.

Here we are 7 years later. It seems hard to believe that my little Hobie is 7 years old. 49 in dog years, which means he is now older than me.

Years spent with our pets are precious -- and filled some of life's greatest pleasures, challenges and lessons.

I love Hobie more than words can describe. He is the coolest dog on the planet.

Happy Birthday, Hobes!!

Love,
K2 ("Mommy")

zonkaraz

Hundreds of graying hippies descended upon WPI's Alden Hall last night, New Year's Eve, 2006, to witness the reunion concert of Worcester's own Zonkaraz, a band of locally-famous rock musicians whose jam sessions have been compared to the Dead, and who really brought the house down, closing 2006 in style.

New Year's Eve 2006 marked the 25th anniversary of Worcester's "First Night" celebrations.

Gil was mentioned in the Telegram & Gazette as having recorded Zonkaraz over the years, and had been in contact with Joanne (Barnard) List by email recently, in anticipation of her return from sunny Florida to perform to the standing-room-only crowd. I think Gil was really happy he went. Gil got to talk to Joanne, Ricky Porter, Paul Vuona, John Webster and Walter Crockett. I got introduced to everybody (I had met Walter and Joanne before, but not the others, although I'd always gone to see their various post-Zonkaraz bands in Worcester).

The only difference between today and 1970 were CELL PHONES. Everyone had them and were snapping photos left & right. Of COURSE I started it! Being one of the younger ones in the crowd (lol). Cell phone photos aren't great, and I took this home and enhanced it, but too much white light on the faces. In any case, here it is, to capture a moment in time:




Before the show, we stopped at the Boynton for a bite to eat, and the place was packed. We looked over at the bar, and there were two empty seats, and who is sitting right there but our next door neighbors Tom and Alana!! We shoulda car-pooled! Then, we arrive at the show, and who is standing right next to us but Liz (the woman who designed k2k9.com!) and her hubby Donald. Turns out Lizzie had designed the First Night 25th-Anniversary buttons that gained all of us entry into the various venues around town.

The concert itself was magic. The band was tight, and the guys played like they'd still been jamming together all these years. The entire crowd was on its feet, dancing. I looked around from time to time, and remember seeing these very people at the local bars, doing the same thing, only then they had brown hair, or in some cases, HAIR. They all looked familiar. It was the same group of people, reunited in an attempt to recapture the good ol' days.

And recapture them, we did.

Joanne blew everyone away. Having never seen Joanne perform in person, despite the fact that I have heard her recordings thousands of times, I was mesmerized and delighted. Joanne has soul. A consummate performer. Not to mention she can really belt out a tune. Despite now being a grandmother, Joanne has still "got it". She's ageless, and her voice is as strong and confident as ever. Visiting with her backstage, Joanne remarked as she ran off to prepare for Zonkaraz's second set, "This is young woman's work!" I was surprised to hear her say that, she had made it look so easy.