750 Words

750words.com is a website that my dearest Sara told me about a few weeks ago. It's a place to do a daily "brain dump" as the website's creator likes to say. Basically, you try to write 750 words (roughly three pages) a day about anything in a stream of consciousness writing style - think Virginia Woolf. You make an account, your words are private, you can share the stats that the website gives about your post or you can choose not to, and once a day you log on and pour your heart out to a blank page. The pouring your heart to a blank page bit is something that I've been doing regularly for about 10 years and I highly recommend it, then again I do have a B.A. in English so it might not be for everyone. Stop by 750 Words sometime though and check it out. Make an account, start writing, and see how far you get. It's completely free by the way. Just a warning though, you might discover more than a really cool website, you just might find yourself in your 750 words. I've managed four days so far and it is challenging some days, but always rewarding. I've linked the title to the website for convenience. Happy writing!

Coming Together

It's taken us almost three months but we finally got the furniture that Chris has had his heart set on since we decided to move. The delivery people called us on Thursday and said that they'd be here between 7:00 and 9:00 today. I approved of the delivery without a second thought about the gate at the entrance to our complex. The gate is always open when the office is, but the office doesn't open until 10:00 on Saturdays, oops. We realized our mistake at about 10:30 last night. We tried to call the warehouse when we woke up at six this morning, but of course no one answered. Also, we didn't have any money for a tip. So at 6:30 I ran to the Wachovia across the street and took out $20, but I needed change because twenty is a bit large. Thank God for Starbucks. One $2.00 scone later and I had my change, now that's impressive. I got home and left for work at 7:30. I worked from 7:45 to noon, and I called Chris at 9:00 'cause I hadn't heard anything about the furniture.

When Chris answered, I asked him if the delivery guys had come, and he said that they couldn't get in and had turned around. Luckily, he was kidding. He said that the guys never called, they just showed up at the door. Chris asked the guys how they got in, and one of them simply answered, "Man, I have the keys to the city." We figure that they've been here before. Either way, everything turned out okay. We ordered a cocktail table, an end table, and the media center. We found out a few days ago that the media center (the last one for sale in the entire world we've decided) had several scratches on the top because the store that it came from had stored another piece of furniture on top of it. Well being Adrian and Hudson's, they sent it to have the top entirely refinished before telling us that there was a problem with it. Adrian has been trying all week to confirm whether or not it would be ready by today, and he still wasn't sure when I talked to him yesterday. When I got home and walked in today, I was stunned. Everything was here, and it's all gorgeous but the media center that was the source of so many headaches and let downs was by far the most gorgeous of all. At 60 inches long and about 2 1/2 ft tall it commands attention. The only picture that I've been able to find of it on the internet does not do it justice. As for the top of it, you can't tell that anything was ever wrong with it. After they got everything in the apartment Chris noticed the most minuscule scratch in the glass on the end table. You can't notice it unless someone points it out and even then you have to squint to see it, but being Hudson's their movers insisted that they replace the glass. I don't know when it's coming, but I'm sure that it will be perfect. Lastly, when the movers got here they noticed that we didn't have a sofa, and Chris happened to mention that we'd been to Hudson's to look for one so the movers gave us a $100 gift card to Hudson's. I'm still stunned by the service and by the fact that someone delivers furniture at 7:00 on a Saturday.

The furniture looks a little weird without a sofa, and the end table has red circles on the glass around the scratch but everything is beautiful. I have to admit that this whole three month furniture fiasco has been a big pain in the ass, but to look at a media center that I seemed impossible to find is awesome. Pictures will be coming eventually once we get a sofa and everything else taken care of. Alright well I need to get Bogart out for one last break before bed time. Have a goodnight.

Bogart's vet visit

Bogart and I spent the better part of this morning at Dr. Fucci's office getting his knee looked at. When we got to the office we were seen almost immediately. Dr. Fucci came in after a few minutes, and as soon as she felt Bogart's knee she mentioned that the protruding area was located where she had put a pin in the knee to hold the ligaments in place while the knee healed after the last surgery. She took two x-rays, one of each leg, and it was very obvious that his right knee is fine, while the pin in the left knee is really backing out. What Chris and I thought was a kneecap is actually the fluid and swelling caused by the pin. Dr. Fucci said that both of Bogart's knees are in excellent condition. She called him her, "miracle dog." She did say that the pin in the left knee needs to come out, so we are scheduled for an 8:30am appointment this coming Tuesday to have it removed. Dr. Fucci said that she'll heavily sedate him instead of using anesthesia and that the incision will only be about an inch long, max, and that he won't need a cast or anything once it's done. The price will be between $125 and $195 depending on how bad things are once she's in. She said he should be back to his charming, active self in about a week. She also gave us the okay to let him play again until Tuesday. Today's visit cost $195 and included the x-rays, the exam, some blood work, and his annual shots. Bogart is in exceptional health, including the knee, and is still amazing everyone at the clinic.

After we left the vet, I took Bogart to Tia's house to run around since he hasn't had any fun in two days. He went crazy. I left him with Tia and went to work. I got to work at 2:00 and I worked until 6:00. Tia finally bought a new computer today, and I went to her house and met Chris after I got off and we set up the computer while TIa ordered pizza. It's 10:30 and we just got home. Our furniture is being delivered tomorrow morning between 7:00 and 9:00. I'm also going into the office for about 4 hours to make up the time I missed today. I don't even want to think about Sunday yet. Next Tuesday will be busy and chaotic, but Bogart will be better once it's over with, and honestly $400 for annual shots, blood work, 2 x-rays, and a really minor surgery isn't bad at all. We definitely took a chance when we adopted Bogart, but it's a chance I'd take again in a second. My life is a little insane right now with furniture technicalities, getting rid of the old apartment this weekend, and Bogart's little surgery on Tuesday, but things are better than I expected them to be and getting better all the time. We'll survive, I just wish I had a weekend. One day this mess will all be cleared up, and I'm going to go to Disney on a Saturday and then sleep all day the following Sunday...someday I will. Okay, it's seriously my bed time. Goodnight.

Bogart's knee

Last night after I got home I went out and ran a few errands. When I got back Chris was home, and he was on the speaker phone with his parents. When I walked in the door he asked me if I'd noticed Bogart's back left knee - I hadn't. I then took a closer look at it and noticed what looked like a dislocated kneecap. Bogart isn't really acting any different than usual, but he was walking a little weird(er) than usual. We called his foster mom since we didn't how urgent the situation was, and she told us to call Dr. Fucci, the vet that did his surgery, first thing today. We took up his toys to try and keep him from playing (it didn't really work), and I called Dr. Fucci from work this morning.

The lady who answered the phone immediately remembered him for his awkward gait and sweet personality. She said the vet was booked tomorrow but that if I brought him in at 9:15, then she would make sure that he gets seen. She said he could tear his ACL or do other things if the kneecap stays dislocated. I already have the morning and possibly the whole day off approved by my wonderful boss, and we'll be headed to Odessa in the morning. The lady I spoke to doesn't think he'll require surgery, and his foster mom assured us that if the dislocation is because of a mistake Dr. Fucci made, then she would fix whatever was wrong with little to no cost. I know Bogart will be okay, and my bank account will eventually recover, but it's tough having to tell him no when he wants to play and seeing him lie around the house when two days ago he was full of energy. He'll be okay in a week or two at most hopefully, but I wish that he was okay now. I'll write more when I know more. Have a good night, and go run around the backyard with your dog if you're lucky enough to have one. Bogart is a handful, but he's also mine and Chris' best friend.

Whiskey Joe's

Friday night Chris and I went to an awesome seafood bar and grill on the water off of Courtney Campbell Causeway in Tampa. The place used to be Castaway which we haven't heard a single good thing about, but then it was sold and taken over by Whiskey Joe's and everything changed. I never ate at the old Castaway as it's commonly known here. Whiskey Joe's took over sometime within the past year and the reviews have been good. So when Friday night rolled around after a ridiculously hard and tiring week, we decided to have some fun and since we've been told that we live in a beach town we figured we should spend some time on the water. We sat outdoors on the deck with the water about twenty feet below us and kids and sea gulls playing in the cool surf.

Whiskey Joe's is in Tampa on what is known as "Rocky Point Island" which is where the Bahama Breeze is for the locals, and it's about 15 minutes from our apartment and requires one left turn to get on the causeway and one right turn into the parking lot. After driving over the moonlit bay we arrived to find a live reggae band setting up, high tide, a full bar, and a menu packed full of delicious seafood. I confess I'm not a big seafood fan, but when we saw "gator bites" on the menu I had to try them. We ordered a mojito and a hurricane juice and by the time that we'd devoured the fried alligator and finished round one, our cares had gone out with the tide.

Round two consisted of an awesome margarita and a terrific rum runner. We ordered the fried seafood platter, and although I don't like a lot of fried foods and as aforementioned most seafoods, I was feeling braver with a little alcohol in my system and having just eaten something higher than me on the natural food chain, I figured that a fried oyster wouldn't hurt. It tasted like the ocean - my all time favorite thing. That was it, I was downing oysters, calamari, grouper, shrimp, and clams between shouts of "Dayo!" in response to the band's request for audience participation. We finally left around 10:30 or 11:00 already talking about our next return.

So if you happen to be in the Tampa Bay area whether a local weary after a long week in the office or a tourist here for a taste of the Sunshine State, you'll want to stop by Whiskey Joe's for a taste of the old Florida that's hard to find but still alive and kicking wherever there's water and a salty breeze. The Courtney Campbell Causeway has both and Whiskey Joe's has plenty of bar stools where you can come back and plug into that hint of island time that Florida has always seemed to retain and recharge anytime. Here's to Whiskey Joe's, salt air, and the Sunshine State. La bonne vie, the good life...

P.S. I have linked the title of this post (Whiskey Joe's) to the Whiskey Joe's website for anyone who's interested. Enjoy!