Harvey Palaboy

If I had to pick the most extroverted and lakwatsero dog in the pack, it would be Harvey. Hands down.

Every open car door is a signal for him to hop in. He always assumes he's part of the trip. The only car he won't go into is my dad's car. My dad instills this natural fear in our dogs.

As soon as he gets in, prepare be to annoyed. The driver has to be patient and the windows locked. Harvey is not a pain to travel with. He likes to observe, but he likes to pick the best spot which is at front. Backseat never sits well with him unless he's super tired or Nanay's with us. 

I promised him Tagaytay as soon as I'm done with work this year. And I need a patient driver. 

Bruce and the Backseat

I got Bruce on Sept. 8 and he turned 3 months on Sept. 11. 

He is big for his age, but considering that he's still a puppy, there was a time that he was still puny at the backseat. 

He's turning 6 months in a few days, and he's already filling up space.

I wonder. How will we travel next year?

Bruce getting his dog food at 3 months (September 10 2012)

Enjoying his first marathon as an observer (Sept. 28, 2012)

Chivas, Harvey and Bruce on their way to a major Marathon in MOA (October)

Bruce on our way home from school, first day. November 10, 2012

Nov 10, 2012

Bruce on our way to his 3rd class, 3rd week of November.

Itchy Bruce

My poor baby.

Bruce is suffering from a nasty itch with small bumps in his chest and belly. If he scratches too hard, the bumps pop and he'll get a small scar. It's like having small pox for dogs. It gets frustrating to see him scratch and we've been observing for a week on how these small bumps tend to multiply.

My sister said this also happened to her friend's dog. It was caused by an allergic reaction to a particular dog food, which main ingredient was chicken. But Bruce's food is top notch and Harvey and Chivas eat it too from time to time, but nothing happened to them.

Poor Bruce. According to petmed.com, these itchy bumps are caused by 2 things: Allergies and Parasites.

Bruce doesn't have a parasite as far as we can tell. He gets to take a bath three times a week using dog-formula shampoo. He also has less hair so we could immediately see if there was even a small flea. I think I will be getting him a Dr. Kaufman soap from now on. That's what Harvey and Chivas use anyways.

So I'm betting that this is caused by allergies. Allergies to what? I have no idea. He may be allergic to dog food or his blanket or some plants. Thinking about it, he sleeps in cold dirt sometimes, in my mom's now-destructed garden.

Colorless bumps are slowly multiplying in his elbow, chest, neck and tummy area. He scratches heavily from time to time. I don't want this to get worse. I don't want him to feel uncomfortable either. I am an allergy magnet myself so I could definitely relate.

He'll go to the vet today. I hope it's not that serious and he'll be okay soon.

I can't wait to figure what caused this.

Bruce's first scared vet visit. 3.5 months

First Vet Trip: 4 months, 1st week of October

He likes gardens and dirt. He was 3 months at the time. His first weekend. 

5 am and up

When I was a kid and if I had a field trip the following day, my built in body clock would work immaculately. I'd wake up so early to watch cartoons and get ready. My parents would often try to kid me around that I'm too excited cause they knew I needed another human person to wake me up on the ordinary days. But knowing me, I just deny everything and say that I am watching out re-runs of Dungeons and Dragons in Star world. This also happens when I'm also leaving for Cebu. I don't need an alarm, my body does all the work.

For some reason, I'm experiencing it now...on an ordinary day. I was having an interesting dream, which I couldn't remember then I woke up at 5:15. Sleep had already deserted me. So here I am, blogging and curious about the unknown cause of this excitement. Is it about my vacation and my remaining last few days at work. Am I that in need and desperate for a time-off??!

___

Early to rise means more time for Harvey, Chivas, Bruce and Buddy!

Pure

Honestly, I never really liked high school as a whole. I only liked profound, select memories, but not the entire thing. In high school, I was dreaming about how college seemed like my only escape a paradise from the hormones of hell.

I was kind of messed up in high school, so much untapped passion that came out so weird that I didn't know how to handle it. I easily get disappointed, upset and I was a nuclear bomb of angst. I delved into anime and became obsessed with it, locking myself in a room playing Japanese songs I don't understand. I never liked drawing and was never really good at it, but thanks to Anime, I bought sketchpads, very expensive pencils and drew like there's no tomorrow. I knew I don't like going out, I relished my alone time so much. At school, I got kicked out of a dance class and confronted a classmate while peeling potatoes in a cooking class. There was this one camping session that I didn't change clothes for 24 hours and I honestly think I can sue the school for this. I was not organized and was all over the place with lots of acne. I didn't know what to do when I grew up.

But I don't have poor self esteem or anything like that. In fact, I loved myself so much to the point of not really caring what other people would say or think of me. I'm kinda selfish with my needs, and still am. I'm the type who didn't excel and didn't fail either. I'm just somewhere trying to observe and wish high school would end.

Thinking about my high school past makes me cringe As much as possible, I don't want to go back to that messed up state. I was like a wood adrift in the middle of a very vast turbulent sea. For a person who never really enjoyed high school, Perks of Being a Wallflower was a treat. It's as if I know these characters so well.

The book is an easy read, it's as if reading private entries of a high schooler's diary. The story makes you remember how simple and complicated it is to grow up.

I recommended this to my brother. I already put it in his shelf. In fact, he's in a better state in high school than I ever was. Actually both him and my sister love high school. I just don't get it sometimes.

____

So, I'm choosing on what to read next. And it's always a challenge. Sometimes I'd stare at my unruly shelf for an hour without coming up with a decision. I'm not choosing an epic-worthy book for the fear of not finishing it on time. I intend to finish it next Monday just in time to start my book for my beach escape.

And I'm recently leaning towards a book I bought in National Book Store's sale.

Pure by Julianna Baggot.

It's a national best seller about some post apocalyptic system. I smell similarities with that of Hunger Games, The Maze Runner and Divergent. I saw this displayed in Podium's Bestsellers store two months ago in their new releases section. I was a bit interested. And there I was, at the right time and place, lucky enough to find a copy worth 75 bucks from the NBS sale.

What gives? A slight dirt at the bottom of the page and when I say slight...it is slight. If this turns out to be crap, at least I only bought it for 75 bucks and equally fed my curiosity. But if this turns out to be great, I got myself an amazing bargain.

Family Dog 1 is in the bag!

This is probably the closest thing I'll ever get to becoming a teary-eyed "mother" in a sort of graduation.

Bruce officially ended his Family Dog 1 in Better Dog Canine Behavior center. And just as I had hoped, he became a better dog indeed. He learned so many basic commands that we thought he couldn't learn at all. He gets stuff so fast, he absorbs it like a sponge and performs every trick flawlessly. We learned so much about him and about dogs in general. We also learned so much about ourselves and how we deal with expectations and frustrations with our canine friends.

Bruce learned the basics like sit, down, leave it, meet and greet, by the mat, walk and different kinds of stays. He even had this sort of culminating activity with the president of a dog agility organization and the CEO of Better Dog Canine Behavior center, Jojo Isorena. Karla and I were the ones extremely nervous on the meet and greet exercise that I think both of us didn't breath anticipating Bruce will give in to pressure. But he was able to deliver the exercises flawlessly and received praises from dog elite experts and trainers. He also received praises from Better Dog staff members. He was such a star and it was a shame that we doubted him for a second.

Also, as additional words of advise from the president, he mentioned that Bruce already has the foundation of performing basic commands. He already knows the concept of obedience, but it never stops there. The learning in fact never stops and we should continuously find that opportunity to challenge and nurture him, to make exercises more complex until he grows up to be this elite and formidable guard dog we can definitely control. Right now, though he knows the basics, he is still a puppy. And just like any puppy, he still explores and does stuff he wants to do. According to the trainers, we should instill in Bruce the mature mentality of depending his actions and life at our commands. He should never decide to do things on his own. I must admit that he has not reached that level yet, but eventually he will. He is still a work in progress.

And with that, I decided to enroll him in Grade 2. With so much potential and promise, we don't want to waste his good behavior and cooperation in training. We will enroll him in the 2nd Family Dog Module, which is a more complex module with lots of distractions. After that, we might probably enroll him in the K9 training module and then enlist him and me probably in the CLASS training module and hopefully get our Bachelor of Arts, Masters and PHD! I know, it's insane! I've never imagined that there were lots of training classes and modules to develop our dogs! Bruce impressed us so much that all our efforts are worth it. He will start his 2nd module training in January next year!

Enrolling him in this class was one of the greatest decisions I've ever made. Bruce learned so much and he has developed a better personality. As owners, we also learned to be more patient, trusting and positive.

Congratulations, Bruce!!! You are such a perfect student. You definitely are a better dog now.

Tired Bruce on our way home. Family Dog Module 1 in the bag!

National Book Store Christmas Sale

I don't do fake sick leaves except for let's say...maybe... A National Book Store christmas sale that ran from Monday till Thursday at Market Market's activity center. And the best part is, I don't really feel guilty. But even if I was really sick, I'd still go. That's the point.

The sale features extensive genres of books, old and new copies sold for as low as 10 bucks. Sweet. I love book sales! What's good about books is its endearing value. Even if it's an old copy as long as it's still readable, you'd still get the same level of entertainment. Book sales also give us readers the opportunity to try new authors and titles without the fear of breaking the budget.

Frankly, budget is non-existent to me when it comes to books. But I do get too impulsive and irrational sometimes that it's best to put a ceiling even for things that I'm obsessed about. And for this trip, I was ambitious. I imposed a 1K budget. The last splurge I had was when Powerbooks had a sale. I budgeted for 2,000 but I ended up spending 3,500 that was supposed to be a portion of Bruce's Family Dog 1 tuition. The challenge may be out of my league, but it is a challenge that I plan to conquer. If all else fails, it won't be the end of the world, and I could always try it again. With that, I kept in mind the nearest ATM.

After an hour of looking around, I went to the counter, felt really good and unloaded my finds.

 I purchased 11 good condition books. And by good condition, some are still covered in plastic and some have that fresh print smell that I love.

I'd like to think I've become so much used to book sales that I immediately spot what I need and discard what I don't. I don't have an eye in fashion, but I do have a quick eye in book sales. It's just the way it is.

Some books have been written by authors that I admire, some works of them I have already read like Kim Edwards, Isabel Allende, Jude Deveraux and Tracy Chevalier. As for Philip Roth works, I'm kind of intimidated, but these 2 titles were like calling me, challenging me to finally face my fears.

One was a non-fiction, a classic by Mary Morris that I've heard over time and Pure by Julianna Baggott, that was displayed in the new releases a a month or so ago.


If I went around for another hour, I probably would've picked more but when I found myself lining up in the cashier, I felt satisfied. These are the books intended for me and anything more is just going to be a space filler. I didn't look back.

I paid for 650 Bucks for books written by famous and amazing authors of our time and every single one of them is in good condition. It was a cool bargain and it was luck.

With my change, I had lunch and dessert.

I love it when this happens. It was like the day was on my side.