Ode to Callie

So long my friend.

My dear dog, Callie, passed this weekend after being an Abatzoglou for 14 years.

She was a true savior for me personally, and will always be a hero to me. She was a friend when I had none, and always gave unconditional love. Given the several rough patches in my life, she somehow motivated me to move onward and enjoy life. You can learn a lot from dogs, how they find enjoyment from the little things in life, a gentle pet, the way you would talk to her in dog-speak (some strange high-pitched baby noise, that my Dad speaks better than his English). Callie was a true Abatzoglou and defined "home". She was dependable, if not embarassing from time to time, and was about as smart as you would want a dog to be.
A few random memories from Callie...
Sleeping in my bed and finding a way to steal the covers at my expense
Being the #1 terrorist on Dryden Ave
Always finding the "best" place to sit
Kisses and dog breath (not to mention trying to brush her teeth with MEAT flavored toothpaste, yummy!)
BARK=Binaca
The yellow squash incident
Jumping out a moving car, and going on the roof to chase cats
"Swimming" in the Pool with John
For the love of walks and beef
Howling at bad kareoke
The picky eater (loved Mr. Chaus, pasta, and John's cereal...despised potato products)
...please add your own so I can add to this list...

Best of all she had a great heart and will always be treasured by those who knew her. I know that I will surely miss Callie. I love you Callie.

Cold

Had a nice respite from work over the Thanksgiving holiday in Huntington Beach. Lots of family and friends gathering at our house. I kept telling people that, "don't ask me where the _____ is, I don't live here anymore". But apparently they felt I knew more about the whereabouts of ____ than the current residents. That was a hoot. Although I was a guest, it still is home to me.
As I arrived back in Reno, I was greeted with a nice lash of winter. A wee bit of snow fell on Sunday and Monday, but the real killer was the bone chilling temperatures. I quickly have found all the "winter" clothes that gathered dust and spider babies while in SoCal. We had low temperatures in the mid teens and highs struggling to get above freezing for the first half of the week, but the last couple days it was sunny, so the highs jumped to the low 40's. As I am typing this I am assessing a 40F temperature differential between where I am typing and HB, in fact it is a good 15 degrees colder in my house than outside of Callie's house.
Of course, to those residing in the Midwest I am probably a big puss; nonetheless, I am not too macho to admit that I am cold. With the cold, there are a few cool things that happen. Namely, that fountains freeze over such that their waterfall forms an ice-slide, creeks freeze over and form a nice glisten about them, and some pretty neato ice-crystals with their intricate formations await me at my car every morning.
Speaking of the cold. My gas bill in my tiny apartment has 150% that of my parents 5 bedroom monstrosity of a house. Let me say for the record that I have never turned on the heater (attested for the fact that the temperature routinely drops below 50F in my house at night), and that I take quick showers (unlike my siblings). So I am pretty confused about the situation, have called the gas company and they tell me that my apartment has used upwards of 60 therms per month prior to my arrival. Now, unless the previous tenants were meth-heads using the apartment as a chemistry lab, I am calling bullshit. Either there is a gas leak, the appliances are about efficient as our government, or I am graciously providing hot water to all my neighbors (who I have never met). Yet as I am typing this I sit in my apartment bundled away drinking copious amounts of hot beverages and looking at sales of vodka on the web (very likely a much cheaper alternative to even daring to turn the heater on, even though I don't drink). What gives?

Oh yeah, here's my link of the week courtesy of the weather underground...