here are those camping photos.

overall, it was a fun time. the campground was pretty basic with running water but no flush toilets. not much to do other than a couple trails. we decided that it’s a good spot for a quick weekend retreat, but not really good for any long term type camping.

it was daisy’s first time camping and she had fun, but didn’t really understand why she wasn’t at home sleeping on the couch. she didn’t like the air mattress, but eventually realized there wasn’t anywhere else for her to go. then she took up most of the king size mattress/sleeping bag. i woke up sandwiched between her butt and lady friend’s back. i spent the next half hour squirming around because i had to wizz.

but i think the best part was the sodding wanker in the group next to us. the guy had a thick british accent, belched constantly, and was very loud and obnoxious. many times i envisioned myself going and putting a tiny slice in his tire valve stems so that his tires would be completely flat in the morning. better yet, i need to start carrying around a valve core remover.

i was going to post about camping, but then i couldn’t find the camera or the connector cable. then i thought about posting on individual topics. instead i think it will be more fun to just go all over the place.

the whole house smells like foot powder or even baby powder. definitely a powder, but it’s actually a flea treatment we put on miss daisy’s back since we think she has been getting eaten alive by fleas. where did this infestation come from? probably brutus. that’s what we get for trying to save a stray dog.

i will eventually post some camping pictures when the camera is found. to summarize, it was fun and relaxing. unfortunately, our neighbor was a british guy who was loud, obnoxious and fairly flatulent. next time, i bring bb gun.

we were supposed to sign for our house today, now it’s tomorrow. i don’t care, just give us the damn keys!

wow, the emmy’s were really bad. except for the whole ricky gervais/steve carell bit. that was actually funny. the remaining pieces i watched were almost as bad as watching the love guru.

$25 portable hammocks from harbor freight are the shizznit.

volcano tacos from taco bell seem like a great idea, but could be a whole lot better. i think the same could be said about most of what taco bell offers.

our neighbor has invited us over for a sunday birthday cookout. not sure if we’re going to go, but not like we can really hide unless we can move everything into our new house before sunday.

we found him on monday night. him and his glorious nutsack. he was wandering the streets and we were wandering daisy. he looked mean, but he was nice. daisy liked him immediately (as is usually the case). he followed us home and we had the idea that we would keep him safe for the night until we could bring him to the animal shelter the next morning. had he not been so ugly, we might have thought about keeping him. we’re pretty sure he’s an american bulldog, possibly purebred.

it was decided that his temporary name would be “brutus” since he looked like a gladiator. we toyed with calling him “brutus maximus,” but that was too much. he needed food, so we fed him. he didn’t want to stay outside, so against better judgment, we brought him in. he drooled on everything and spent a lot of time face-humping daisy. for some reason, our little daisy doesn’t like being humped from the back, only the front. she’s a lady.

i watched “revenge of the sith” and fell asleep on the couch keeping the dogs company. brutus woke up a couple times and barked at the air conditioning. 7 am finally rolled around and we took him to the animal shelter. they located a chip in his neck and so there is a good chance he will be returned to his owners (assuming they were looking for him).

i went to the big university today as part of my transfer strategies class. it’s really big. i’ve been there before, but never by myself. i just pretended that lady friend was with me and it didn’t seem so bad.

the main presentation was rather boring and didn’t even include any new information. this class should be called redundancy strategies. but anyway, i got to meet the people from the college i’ll be attending (social and behavioral sciences). and i even took a self-guided tour of the main social sciences building.

i decided to major in philosophy for two reasons. 1: i always think too much. i over think and then i think some more. it’s a gift, it’s a curse, but i haven’t found a way to stop it. 2: i’m not certain about anything. i’m not even certain about my major, which makes me certain that philosophy is the right choice. you may be asking yourself: how does that work? i will tell you. when i took intro to philosophy, i thought i’d just be learning about some old geezers from greece. boy, was i wrong. it was a comprehensive course that covered everything from socrates to the state of the housing market. how is this possible? because philosophy doesn’t just cover western or eastern philosophy, it covers everything. it’s boundless. it’s about thinking and about understanding and keeping an open mind. so when i say i’m indecisive and uncertain, philosophy says, “that’s cool, just go where your mind takes you.” and that’s precisely what i aim to do.

while we are by no means done with the horrific process known as “home buying,” we have completed all the major hurdles and are on track to be getting the keys to our new home around the end of september.

i have already begun researching satellite dish packages. since i came out of retirement 5 years ago, i have been yearning for the return to affordable, digital television. it’s not so much that i want to watch a lot of crappy television, it’s just that i want my damn satellite dish.

some of my fondest lazy memories were of sitting in the basement of the condo, watching satellite tv, eating sour patch kids and rice krispies treats. i was the embodiment of sloth and it was glorious. i’m surprised i didn’t gain 500 pounds (curse this metabolism).

but this time will be different. this time i want to have it so that i force myself to do other things. think of it as dangling a carrot in front of a donkey. the donkey knows he wants it, but he can’t have it, so he keeps going after it until he has arrived at his destination. i’m trying to arrive at my final destination.

i got a bottle of champagne for valentine’s day and we didn’t drink it. we decided we would save it for our house. we now know that we will be owning that house, but we still haven’t drunk the champagne. so now, we will drink it when we get the keys and we can actually go into our beautiful new home. some things are worth waiting for. and i hope those things don’t taste like ass after such a long time of waiting.