Dave Parker

I should start with an update of the dog situation. She is working out great! She is pretty much house trained already as long as I go out there with her, which beats the heck out of cleaning up the mess. She is really smart and kinda lets me know when she needs to go out, otherwise she hangs with us in the house. She likes to chew still and that is a bit of a problem, however we are working that out also. I bought her some chew toys and she has since been doing better.

Today I rebuilt the front gate so she won’t get out (again), there were some boards missing. Then we all piled into the car and drove out to the Corn Maze in Lathrop. It’s a hallowe’en bonanza! Pumpkin Patch, Corn Maze, Haunted House, it was a blast! April and Marina rode a horse and we all rode the Corn Maze Train for a tour of the Corn fields! WooHoo!

I had planned on heading down to the Great Plate to see Slackenloader play, but I never made it. I have been fighting off a cold and was not feeling real great, not in the mood for partying anyway, sorry guys!

Here are the girls and their pumpkins!

Today was my second Friday day off with my new schedule. Lets see… I walked the dog, then went to the doctor and gave them bodily fluids for their examination and my pleasure.

She was just so darn cute and cool, that we had to take her home. Her name is Kahula, she is Siberian Husky mix and about 9 months old, We drove out to Modesto, the whole fam, to see her and I think she was a little overwhelmed by the crowd. She was really nervous about me and for a while it was looking like it would not work out because she would not come near me. After a while she started to warm up to the girls and eventually she came around behind me and we became friends. After about an hour or so (four potty trips for Marina!) we decided to take a chance on her. Everyone really liked her especially Lisa. In fact Lisa was strongly in favor of bringing her home with us! (I love that woman!) I am so glad I brought everyone too, it was easier to decide and didn’t require a second trip! The drive home was a little crazy. The traffic in Modesto was pretty bad and then it was raining hard driving on Highway 99 as we cruised along with all the big trucks. The ‘burb was pretty full becasue there was the six of us and they tossed in her dog house with the deal. She did really well though on the drive home and we were back in Tracy before we knew it. Her first night in a new place. Our first night with a new dog. Less than one week after we lost Alanis. It was weird. What made it work was Kahula. She is a very loving dog who has since become my pal. She follows me everywhere I go and stays right by my side, it feels pretty good I have to say. We took a walk last night and the again this morning at around six.

…but I just called about a dog:

Sweet & Loving 9month Siberian Husky to good home. Shots, spayed, & microchipped. Call for photo.

I’m dead. -dp

How do I follow-up to a post like the previous? I mean I find it hard to re-read it without getting upset again. In fact this whole week I have been feeling like I am in a dream and I want to wake up. Alanis was always there everywhere I turned when I am at home. Last night there was a dark bath towel near the bottom of the door in my studio to help keep the rain out (we had a huge-ass storm Tuesday) and I caught it out of the corner of my eye thinking it was Alanis wanting out and I leaned over to open the door for her and then she wasn’t there, just the towel. A towel ghost I guess. Sigh…

OK, so I know I need to move on and stuff and the best way I know how to do that is keep busy on the things that make me happy, like my family of course, but I was more referring to hobbie-passion type stuff, so here is my list for today:

- Work on Bass playing and look for a project or two
- Work on Cement Trampoline site
- Look for and record more records

Oh yea, Saturday I am going the the animal shelter in town and give them all of Alanis’s food that I have left and also a brand new bed I had bought for her recently. I want to look at the dogs too while I am there.
-dp

This is hard to write… Alanis died. She has been our family dog for the last twelve years or so. More that just a family dog really, she was a part of this family and she will be truly missed. She has not been looking well lately and not eating. Her tummy was looking big and abnormal. As it turns out she had cancer and the tumors were bleeding, filling the inside of her tummy area. She was miserable and I could not let her go on any longer.

I love you dog, thanks for watching my family, my house, and my back. You were the best dog I have ever had.

I got Alanis from an animal shelter. I saw an ad with her picture in the Tracy Press and went to see her that day and she came home with me a couple of days later. Today she died an old dog in my arms. I told her goodbye and that she was a good girl. She was looking at me when she died as I held her head in my hands. -dp

Today I woke early (relatively early) and made my way to the Friends Of Tracy Library Book Sale. I brought Veronica and April along too. They needed something to read and I always love their company. Anyway. I bought 85 records. A killer haul! Most of the records are 80’s punk bands, looks like someone’s collection that they gave up. Here are a few examples:

Black Flag
Germs
7 Seconds
Ramones
Sex Pistols (LIVE!)

Yes, quite a killer haul indeed!

Hey!

I was off today so I picked Veronica and April up from school and we hit the local mall for food and a movie. We got there around 3:30, the traffic was really bad from the Tracy High Homecoming parade. We had some pizza and looked around a bit before going in and seeing Shark Tale. It was pretty good, the girls enjoyed it and it was great spending some time with them, priceless really. Oh yea we all piled into a virtual roller-coster ride at the arcade. It was comical; I was scared.

Superman has died! CNN.com is reporting the death of Christopher Reeve.

Been a week since last post…

Here is a summary:

- Work sucked
- Getting up an hour earlier sucks
- Traffic sucks(ed) too

Every time you raise your voice
I see the greener grass
Every time you run for cover
I see this pasture
Every time we’re in a funk
I picture a different choice
Every time we’re in a rut
This distant grandeur

My tendency to want to do away feels natural
My urgency to dream of softer places feels understandable

The only way out is through
The faster we’re in the better
The only way out is through ultimately
The only way out is through
The only way we’ll feel better
The only way out is through ultimately
Alanis Morissette

I saw a link to this story on the Metafilter.com community blog, intense story, great reading…

One of my favorite photographers, Richard Avedon, has sadly passed…

” Sometimes I think all my pictures are just pictures of me. My concern is…the human predicament; only what I consider the human predicament may simply be my own.” –RA