Well, if you look down through these posts, which you're probably not going to do because you thought I was dead and then this one randomly showed up in your feed, but if you were to look you'll see I spent an entire post "complaining" about the up and coming Google Wave and other services like it.

Here's where I admit the truth.

Even though I complain about the lack of real social interaction I often times prefer the safety net (strange that I would choose those words, however, they fit in this instance) of the internet between me and the outside world. It provides a little bit of a protective coating, sort of like the candy coating on an m&m, without it you'd just have melty gross chocolate, but with it you have a tasty morsel of candy goodness. The internet is like a protective coating for me...I can "talk" with people and never have them see that my hair isn't perfect, my shirt has a stain on it, or that I blush incredible amounts when I get embarrassed. All of which happen frequently, but back to my point. I am a hypocrite because I want to have all these one on one real world interactions, but only if I already know and trust you, otherwise I need that safety net.

Another reason I'm a hypocrite is pure and simple. I bashed Google Wave and then went and signed up for the trial. You got me. I bashed it and all things like it, but I'm a joiner pure and simple and I don't want to miss out on the next big thing. So, that being said...who wants one of my eight invitations to Google Wave. You know you want to try it! (I did.)

From Eric, but I want everyone to know what is going on...

It is probably a good thing we didn’t head up to Chicago this week; it may also be a while until we can bring the puppies over to my father’s house–or anywhere else for that matter–to play. I say this because Winston is currently at MedVets recovering from Emergency surgery. The story is as follows:

It started Friday afternoon, as Winston suddenly began pacing back and forth and finally ended up vomiting on the couch. I was not extremely concerned until this happened another 4 times. I became more concerned when he refused to eat anything, so I took him into the vet where they took his vitals, gave him a shot of subcutaneous fluids and some anti-nausea pills.

Saturday started off about the same, refusal of eating, but seemed to progress in the fact that he would make an effort to go up our stairs to come see me. Then… he vomited upstairs in a very scary, exorcist-like manner. We took him to the vet where they, again, gave him fluids under the skin after doing an X-ray. What we discovered in the X-ray is that the roofers who fixed our condo a few weeks back had not cleaned up after themselves very well, and Winston, being a curious and voracious puppy, had managed to gobble up one of the roofing staples left behind. On the bright side however, as Dr. Underwood told us, was the fact that the staple had passed through his stomach into his lower G.I. It was also turned in a very fortuitous manner (i.e. pointy part AWAY from the rectal opening), so we were told to give it a few days to see if it would pass. Dr. Underwood also gave us some more anti-nausea medicine and a syringe with food with which to keep him fed.

Sunday seemed to be going well, as we only had 2 vomiting episodes (non-projectile this time) and he seemed to be making progress on the energy front (jumping into bed, drinking water on his own). Still wasn’t taking food without it being forced on him via syringe, but we counted our blessing and tried to focus on the positive.

Monday, things held steady. Winston still wasn’t taking food but occasionally would hop off the couch to drink some water. He also continued to climb up the stairs and hop into bed to get rest. Things took a turn for the worst around 9:15 though, when I headed downstairs to give him his hourly feeding and found him, on the bed, having a petite mal seizure (blank stare, head shaking up and down) that lasted for roughly 45 seconds to 1 min (we later learned this was brought on by hypoglycemia from lack of food). I called Rori, who was at a meeting, and she and her mother met us in Granville. We were subsequently on our way to MedVets in Worthington to finally get some answers.

Upon admittance to MedVets, Winston proceeded to have another petite mal seizure in the waiting room, which (fortunately or not, depending on how you look at it) got us very prompt attention. They did another X-ray and found, this time, that things had gotten much worse since Friday: the staple had now turned 90 degrees and was threatening to puncture intestinal walls if it was forced through; Dr. Lasher also said that his intestines, now full of an unknown substance, looked both bloated and stretched to a severely unhealthy level and that immediate surgery would be the best option, though not without a lot of inherent risks. We love our puppy, so it was no question what we needed to do; thus, we sent him into surgery and laid down in the waiting room for what was to be a very uncomfortable 4-5 hours.

When the surgeon finally came out, he told us that Winston was doing as well as could be expected, but that he was worried about a few things. First and foremost, he told us that the staple was a blessing in disguise as it wasn’t the primary problem. What he deduced was causing the problem, was a ribbon/string like “thing” (toy?) that had been swallowed and was gradually making it’s way through the intestinal tract, blocking up more and more as it went along. Rori and I are clueless as to how this happened, as there was NO obstruction on Friday’s x-ray and we watched him very closely Saturday/Sunday. *sigh* Puppies, as you probably know, get into everything.

The solution in this case, from what the surgeon told us, was to cut a small hole in the intestinal wall and pull everything out. Sadly, there was a lot of scratching and tearing from the embedded objects and the surgeon also had to take out roughly 20% of his small intestine in a procedure he was calling a gastrotomy(sp?). On the bright side again, we dodged a bullet in that they didn’t have to take any of his Ileum (which can lead to Short Bowel Syndrome and a host of other problems later down the road).

At last update (1:30EST, 6/30/09) He is doing well, MedVets has him in a device called a “bear hugger” which is designed to keep his body temperature at a stable level because he’s still a tad cold (which will happen if your intestines are out of your body for hours at a time). He is scheduled to be in the Vet’s care until about Thursday at the earliest. We have also taken precautionary measure by throwing away any ribbon/rope toys hey may have had. Eden is at Grandma and Grandpa Preston’s and we plan on bringing her home–and loving her immensely–after we go visit Winston around 4p.m. this afternoon.

Again, thanks to everyone on twitter, Facebook, and beyond who sent up prayers and positive energy. Please keep this up until Winston is home and fully recovered; we really appreciate it. If you would like more updates, please continue to read this site, or email me @ blinkswift@gmail.com . If you are fortunate to have my phone number, you may also call.text for updates, though I am notoriously horrible at getting back to people via this method.

I'm going to set up on my soap box now and you can ignore me if you want, but this is something I have noticed developing it drives me crazy.

Google Wave.

Not the program/software/communication tool/whatever the hell you want to call it, itself. More the reason we need/want it. I keep reading things like "real time communication" and "live collaboration" and while these things are fabulous for an Internet option they are things we can experience everyday of our lives. Albeit not with people on the other side of the planet, but I feel these things are making us miss those experiences that we could be having everyday.

How often do we miss what is happening in our communities or even our own homes because we are wrapped up in the news from around that world that the interweb has been streaming live into our laptops and desktops? We know more about the other side of the world than the person that sits next to us on the bus, at work, or while out at dinner. Every child knows how to turn on a computer and chat and update facebook, but can any of them write an actual letter or form a reasonable argument for real life. Possibly. However, I am finding the more I interact with people the more they tell me "it's on my blog" or "you can see it on my facebook" or "did you see my tweet about that". Every time someone says those things to me I want to scream, "I'm talking to you right now. How about you tell me right now." Instead I make a note to check out their page and read about it later and then send comments with all my questions and concerns. While, this seems like it is saving the world a lot of time (which don't get me wrong, I think it is) what is it costing us in human interaction? Are we creating a new human race that can only communicate via written word and has no idea how to communicate in a one-on-one live fashion?

I don't live or die by my blog as you can tell by the number of times I actually update this thing. I know its an important tool and provides me a way to reach people I might never have seen before, but I still prefer getting that one on one real human interaction you can only have by sitting down in the same room with that person and actually listening to them talk. I'll take the flying spittle that might ensue, or the stuttering, or awkward silence, as long as there is another human sitting in the room with me that might utter a few sentences in my direction and even listen to ramblings I spew.

All in all I prefer "real" human interaction to a computer interface, which is yet another reason I am bad at blogging.

I took a small vacation from Sunday until Thursday and as some of you may have realized I hopped a plane to St. Louis. Why? Well, mainly because airfare was cheap and I've never seen the Arch. There you have it an entire vacation built on the premise that I wanted, neigh, needed to get out of Dodge. The time off was definitely enjoyed.

Planning on a boring flight from Columbus to Chicago (Where I would then be eternally saddened by the fact that I could not visit one of my favorite cities) we arrived at the airport and began the waiting process. However, this was not to be your normal flight. I take that back it was for approximately 9/10 of the passengers, but for me it was AWESOME, even though we had a delay leaving the ground because of an engine not coming online at first. You're wondering why this flight was awesome when I was stuck on the ground longer than anticipated and had to run to catch my connector flight, well, in short, SOCCER PLAYERS! Not just any soccer players, professional soccer players. That's right the Chicago Fire were on my flight! I spent the hour waiting for my plane being incredibly excited about the fact that the entire team (minus Brian McBride) were going to be on my flight. While in the waiting area one of the news anchors was of course discussing Swine Flu. The Chicago Fire coach and assistant coach, were seated beside me and the players were spread throughout the waiting area, they were discussing there next game against a team from Mexico. Some of the team members were joking about the "impending" Swine Flu outbreak. It could have gotten really funny, but only got to "They're ordering masks for all of us to wear on Wednesday" and the ass. coach told them to "keep it in line". Stupid coaches and their sensibility. I was also glad to find out that I'm not the only person to think that airplanes are always cold. I was reaching up to close all the vents in my row of seats, yes, I am that person and noticed the Chicago Fire player in front of me doing the exact same thing and commented. He talked to me a little while and then offered me his second blanket. I kindly declined and reveled in the fact that I was talking to a professional soccer player. :-)

When we landed I parted ways with the Chicago Fire and ran to catch my already boarding plane to Saint Louis, however, the run seems unnecessary looking back and knowing we then spent an hour on the runway waiting for lightning to stop. Finally arrived in STL a little late, but unscathed. While in STL we visited the zoo, the Science Center, the City Museum and the Arch. All in all it was a cool time and I even walked away with a new pair of running shoes and two amazing pairs of pants. Also, if you are ever in STL I highly recommend Fitz's. Microbrewed rootbeer and other carbonated beverages. I enjoyed them so much that I brought home a 4 pack of Diet Rootbeer and Cream Soda. Amazing! I even got to hear the background of Fitz's depsite the lack of a bottling tour duringo our visit. One of the Rangers at the Arch grew up in STL and enlightened me while I looked out at the city. Apparently they used to be a truly awful (health code wise) restaurant (Grade C) where the fly paper was more black than yellow and your frosty mug probably showed lip prints from its previous user. However, the place was still packed with people wanting their rootbeer. Now they have cleaned things up (Grade A) and are a top rated restaurant in the area. I've got to admit my Rootbeer float was definitely worth it. I even would have endured the black fly strips, but probably not the prior user lip prints. If you're in the area look it up!

To continue my brush with professional athletes that no one else knows. We saw the practice rink for the St Louis Blues while on a random mall visit. Yes, you read correctly, mall visit. There were only two players there practicing while we walked our 4miles of mall, but it was pretty cool to watch their stick work. I've never acquired the love of hockey, but I think with time it could blossom. The skills are just so gorgeous when present. I always manage to find beauty in well executed sports. Now, if only my running could reach anything close to that level.

My flight home was just as plagued as my other flights. We were delayed because of connectors flights and being the LAST flight back to Columbus, OH. So all in all good trip other than the flights, which were sadly my worst experience with Southwest. :-(

I never manage to truly vacation and leave all thoughts of work behind. I came home with new plans and ideas for one specific area of the museum. As soon as I get approval for ordering we're going to have some very cool new additions to the Science of Art area.

We're a TWO puppy household!

I guess it's probably not big news and if you follow either Eric or I on facebook you already know this, but I thought I should post about it anyway. That and let you all know I am in fact not dead.

I do realize she is chewing on a bag...but she's still pretty darn cute!

Don't worry Winston is doing well and adjusting to having a baby sister, though he much prefers for daddy to hold her and mommy to hold him. It all works out for the best.Winston likes ice...Wooohoo cheap treats!

She has not developed a bark yet, but I for one am looking forward to it instead of her currently yelp and whine method.

Dear Overprotective Yorkie Mom,

I sort of understood when your dog was still a very small puppy that you did not want her playing with larger dogs, however, she has grown up now. Your dog is literally 3lbs lighter than mine. What do you think he is going to do to her from 50ft on his leash. Really?! Must you always scoop her up and run inside as soon as you see another dog?

I get being protective. I might be, who am I kidding? I am, but I still let my dog meet other dogs. Let's be serious here...all dogs smell each others butts, all dogs sniff the ground when there is pee, and all dogs enjoy doing these things. Your little pampered pooch is no different and if you continue to snatch her up and run away from all interactions she's going to either become afraid of every other dog around, or become mean to every other dog. In the end its your choice, but I certainly hope we stop running into you while we're outside.

Sincerely,
Overprotective, but Understanding Boston Mom

I know it's been too long, but I warned you at the beginning of this adventure that I was a terrible guide. If you're still choosing to be here great, but I still make no promises that this site will be well managed, updated or even intelligent. With those warnings in place I am going to proceed to update on life...

Christmas came and went without any huge difficulties or pitfalls. It is always great to get through family gatherings without any fighting or issues. Santa was very good to Eric and I, especially, in the kitchen. If you'd like to see the spoils of war, err, I mean the Holiday check this out. Eric is much better about updating his site than I. We did venture out into the cold on Christmas Day to spend some time with family, after being spoiled by the parentals. Christmas Dinner was at my cousin's house, but we cleared the arrival of our puppy, Winston rather than just bringing him along. It was an experience for everyone involved. Seeing as I have no little ones toddling around the house they were quite a shock to Winston and their quick movements scared him...which caused him to bark...which caused them to cry...which caused him to bark. It was a bit of a vicious cycle until they all adapted to each other. Even the puppy had a good Christmas with presents from all sides of the family and lots of snuggles to go around. He was in puppy heaven.

New Year's Eve lead to a nice little turn out at our casa for a soiree. Again I have no pictures to prove or disprove the existence or said people or party. I really must learn to take pictures, rather than being absorbed in the goings on. Another flaw that I have when it comes to blogging. Who would have guessed there were so many?

Now, we've far past the middle of the month and the only thing I have to say for myself is that I worked a lot. I even suck so much that I didn't make any public displays of affection or anything on Eric's birthday. Nothing... I might have remembered to say "Happy Birthday" on the day, but I didn't get him anything or write him a sonnet or declare my love for the world to see, or read for that matter. Despite my lack of luster, his Birthday seemed enjoyable. On the day itself my parentals took us out for dinner, afterward, he did homework and I did work work. I know you're all very jealous of our exciting existence. We also got to dine at The Elevator with his dad and stepmother. Again I will not do the event justice, but you can check it out from the man himself.

Now its back to the daily grind of work...with a few random events splashed in to keep it lively.

Examples of random events this month include:
Installation of Building America's Canals Traveling Exhibit (I discovered this was my job at 8:30 that morning when I walked in the door. Good times.)
Random TV weather man stopping by to do an interview about a Flood in 1959 and hoping we had memorabilia. Weird.
Helping setup for a wedding reception at my place of employment and then having one of the guys invite me to attend said reception. Creepy.