The Dog, the Cat, the Wife, My Lungs

The Dog: knows something is going on. Rachel wakes up each morning with the dog sniffing her very pregnant belly. When he gets in trouble and yelled at by me, he trots over to Rachel and hides/protects her. He's become very protective of his chair. He's been barking at the slightest noise from outside, especially drunk Koreans passing our building at three in the morning. Right now: he's asleep in his chair, on his blanket. If I were to try removing the blanket to then cover him, I would lose a hand.

The Cat: has been climbing up my ass. He also knows something is up. He's been crying for food. Crying to get into the bathroom. Crying to get out of the bathroom. Crying for water. Crying to get in my lap. Crying for no reason. Lately he's been digging his claws into my arm when I'm not paying attention to him and waking me each morning by clawing at Rachel's suitcase. Right now: he's asleep on the bed, and being somewhat smarter than the dog, is actually under the blankets.

The Wife: is on a short fuse. She's feeling very pregnant and is having trouble sleeping. Gandalf must be practicing karate or playing 9 Ball in there- either way, she can't get comfortable at night. She is sick of Korean food, sometimes, but doesn't want anything specifically American. We had pizza yesterday and that seemed to make her happy. Right now: she's downstairs at the school, teaching Charley when to use the articles "a" and "an". Let's hope he picks it up quickly lest his head is bitten off.

My Lungs: are feeling much better now. I haven't had a cigarette for 8 days. After smoking for 17 or 18 years, I thought it would be impossible to quit. I'm not out of the weeds yet: I keep a pack of NosmoQ's around to help when I get the craving and I'm going to skip the weekly poker matches for a little while, just to avoid the temptation. My boy will be here in just a few weeks and I want to be done with the habit before he arrives. Right now: Man, I would kill for a cigarette.

So, between the insane pets, the pregnant wife and the nicotine fits, it's been a tough couple of weeks. It's all okay, though. Because that's my boy:



Click that beautiful face to see the full-size picture.