Our dog at her dog sitter's house
When one is away from home, under duress and worried about a loved one, it is very comforting to know that their children and pets are safe and being well taken care of. The fact that my daughter was with me and is very close to her cousin and not home alone was an immeasurable relief. The cats and bird are pretty independent. That left the dog.
Well, not to worry. My eldest sister, her husband and my eldest brother are three wonderful retired folks living in a big house. They are all pet lovers. They had a black dog for years who was very much a part of their family. When they dog sit Sable they say it is just like have Rex back in the house. It is a great load off my mind to have her so very well taken care of. Sable even gets company while there. My niece and her husband bring her dog treats from the pet store that rival anything I give her. A doggy pretzel and cupcake! (Both made especially for dogs, not people food). I hear that Sable gobbled them up and even rolled over for one. (Not such an easy feat for her barrel-shaped body).
Next week-end when we go to WV, my eldest sister and her husband are going along. My brother says that he is more than happy to watch our dog, Sable. My sister has told me that the two meander around the yard watching chipmunks and nudging toads near the pond. However, I think that Sable does more than watch sometimes. She has much more land to explore at their house. A wooded section and a pond. New sights, smells and sounds. A regular smorgasbord of sensory experiences.
This morning, I am slowly recovering from a migraine. I drove home last evening and picked Sable up. The closer I got to our house, the worse the headache got. I managed to get an Imitrex in me on the road, but by the time I arrived the headache was in full swing. It was expected. Two days in a strange bed, very little sleep, sitting in a hospital all day, driving hours on end, driving Columbus traffic, driving a strange car. It just adds up to one super migraine. Once the pressure is off and my body/brain saw home on the horizon it began to react to all of the stress.
Of course I am partial to my nephew because I love him, but he is quite extraordinary with his knowledge of gadgets and he is (and many non-family members will attest to this also) a computer genius. His car has a GPS, of course. A radar detector and satellite radio. He has also installed a DVD player that flips out of his CD player with a small 7" screen. They make this device so that it does not play when the car is running, but he has re-wired it so that it does. I really hope that he does this only for the passenger to watch movies, really I do!
I used "Jill" (the GPS) for the first time. In Columbus traffic on a Friday night while driving a strange car. Imagine if you will a SNL skit. If you are familiar with this device, you probably can relate better to what I am about to say. I really must mention that when you first purchase this device, you practice at home with streets that you know first. This will help you with some of the terminology that is being used, also. In fact, I would imagine that the manual recommends this. If it does not, it should.
Back to the skit. Imagine if you will, travelling 70 mph through four lanes of mad Columbus traffic. According to Allstate, Columbus is the worst city to drive in Ohio. This device on my dash board is telling me "Endpoint five miles." What the hell? My nephew's house is miles away, yet! I am nowhere near the end point of my trip! And, just what in the hell is Main Saint East? When did the word street become Saint? I think Jill was trying to insinuate something, here.
Jill is colorful if she is anything. Her display shows yellow lines and fuchsia lines and bright red lines. I guess I am the blue square on the fuchsia line. Jill is also nice enough to factor in the time it will take to reach our destination. Mine went from an arrival time of 8:45 p.m. to nowhere in the next 25 years.
She stayed silent when I needed her the most, just in an attempt to get back at me. I know it. She is a sensitive bit... contraption, that Jill. No begging, pleading or cajoling was going to get her to talk to me. I even offered her chocolate! No dice.
Now, this didn't happen to me, but I think it would be great in the skit. What would Jill say if I had driven the wrong way on a one-way street? "Please do a 180... turn around... you are going the wrong way....that does not compute....do you need me to call an ambulance?" Yeah, I can imagine what she would say.
In the skit, I can imagine Jill trying to calmly say turn left or right or this or that and recalculating, but after time she becomes more and more agitated and curses under her breath and goes into mini rampages. Stuff like that. I can even imagine the entire GPS just blowing up. I wondered if any of them have blown up from the chaos that some drivers put them through. And, just what does it way when you drive over a bank and into a ditch? Does it say recalculating? That would be a bit sarcastic, don't you think? Or what if you have an accident? The sound of metal and glass smashing and in the eerie silence afterwards...."sigh..recalculating.." How rude! What a great SNL skit.
Note: This may be a great money-making scheme. Sell T-shirts that read "Recalculating" on the front of them. They are guaranteed to be a big seller.
This morning, I am slowly recovering from a migraine. I drove home last evening and picked Sable up. The closer I got to our house, the worse the headache got. I managed to get an Imitrex in me on the road, but by the time I arrived the headache was in full swing. It was expected. Two days in a strange bed, very little sleep, sitting in a hospital all day, driving hours on end, driving Columbus traffic, driving a strange car. It just adds up to one super migraine. Once the pressure is off and my body/brain saw home on the horizon it began to react to all of the stress.
Of course I am partial to my nephew because I love him, but he is quite extraordinary with his knowledge of gadgets and he is (and many non-family members will attest to this also) a computer genius. His car has a GPS, of course. A radar detector and satellite radio. He has also installed a DVD player that flips out of his CD player with a small 7" screen. They make this device so that it does not play when the car is running, but he has re-wired it so that it does. I really hope that he does this only for the passenger to watch movies, really I do!
I used "Jill" (the GPS) for the first time. In Columbus traffic on a Friday night while driving a strange car. Imagine if you will a SNL skit. If you are familiar with this device, you probably can relate better to what I am about to say. I really must mention that when you first purchase this device, you practice at home with streets that you know first. This will help you with some of the terminology that is being used, also. In fact, I would imagine that the manual recommends this. If it does not, it should.
Back to the skit. Imagine if you will, travelling 70 mph through four lanes of mad Columbus traffic. According to Allstate, Columbus is the worst city to drive in Ohio. This device on my dash board is telling me "Endpoint five miles." What the hell? My nephew's house is miles away, yet! I am nowhere near the end point of my trip! And, just what in the hell is Main Saint East? When did the word street become Saint? I think Jill was trying to insinuate something, here.
Jill is colorful if she is anything. Her display shows yellow lines and fuchsia lines and bright red lines. I guess I am the blue square on the fuchsia line. Jill is also nice enough to factor in the time it will take to reach our destination. Mine went from an arrival time of 8:45 p.m. to nowhere in the next 25 years.
Poor Jill. She had a time with me. I swear the girl sighs before she says "recalculating." And, she did say that quite a bit. I even heard "please stay on the intended route!" Though I can't be certain about that one. And, Jill may be able to read tiny little street names forty miles ahead of the fact, but my 47 year old eyes can only read them when I am five feet in front of them in the dark! "Turn left onto Hillsborough Street... turn left onto Hillsborough Street... turn left onto... SIGH.... "recalculating".
I admit it. I yelled back at Jill. "A little late on that one, eh Jill? When were you going to tell me about that off ramp? Sorry, Jill! There are 78 cars behind me and I can't just slip over into the left split for 270 North! Thanks a lot Jill!" Of course in the SNL skit, my language would be a bit more colorful.
She stayed silent when I needed her the most, just in an attempt to get back at me. I know it. She is a sensitive bit... contraption, that Jill. No begging, pleading or cajoling was going to get her to talk to me. I even offered her chocolate! No dice.
Now, this didn't happen to me, but I think it would be great in the skit. What would Jill say if I had driven the wrong way on a one-way street? "Please do a 180... turn around... you are going the wrong way....that does not compute....do you need me to call an ambulance?" Yeah, I can imagine what she would say.
In the skit, I can imagine Jill trying to calmly say turn left or right or this or that and recalculating, but after time she becomes more and more agitated and curses under her breath and goes into mini rampages. Stuff like that. I can even imagine the entire GPS just blowing up. I wondered if any of them have blown up from the chaos that some drivers put them through. And, just what does it way when you drive over a bank and into a ditch? Does it say recalculating? That would be a bit sarcastic, don't you think? Or what if you have an accident? The sound of metal and glass smashing and in the eerie silence afterwards...."sigh..recalculating.." How rude! What a great SNL skit.
Anyway, I made it to my nephew's house eventually. I did want to turn the GPS off a couple of times and just use my common sense. I suppose over time we may all lose that as we begin to rely more and more on this type of gadget. Oh, and Endpoint was not actually endpoint. It was a pause between the words In point.... five miles. As in "in half of a mile turn here" In .5 miles. Me sighing this time as I got out of the car. I do believe I saw Jill smoking a cigarette as I went into the house. Either that or the gadget's electronic circuitry was fried and that was the smoke I was seeing. And, I swear there were two less Advils in the bottle that I left in the car.
Note: This may be a great money-making scheme. Sell T-shirts that read "Recalculating" on the front of them. They are guaranteed to be a big seller.
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