When Crazy Hairy Bitches Attack

Today the lady friend and I headed to Mission, along with our trusty dog Lucy, to pick up the other dog (Ginger) and take them both for a run and swim at Hayward Lake. Ginger, who like Lucy is a golden retriever, has for the most part of their 6 years together been the alpha dog: asserting her dominance through aggression and bullying. The last year or so, however, Ginger has slowly matured and is no longer considered “the Bad Dog”. Ginger’s been very well behaved around other dogs, and has learned not to bolt as soon as she’s off leash.

Upon picking up Ginger, with both dogs in the back of the truck, Lucy began growling. She continued even after a stern warning from both of us. It was then that all hell broke loose: Lucy locked her jaws on Ginger’s ear and head, pulling and growling with all her strength (which is a lot — these dogs are huge) and not letting go. I’d been told stories of these dogs’ violent outbursts, and how not a single thing can separate them once they’re in full attack mode. We turned the truck around and headed back to the house, with Lucy still clutched onto Ginger like an alligator in its death roll, Ginger yelping in obvious pain and Lucy’s mouth filling with blood. My lady friend had to use a broom to physically drag the snarling mess of dogs onto the driveway, landing in a plop on the pavement with not even a slight let up in violence. It took three of us to separate them, and at one point Lucy managed to wriggle free only to chomp onto Ginger again. By the time the dust and hair settled, the damage was plain: Ginger had a tooth-sized puncture in one ear and another on the top of her head, along with a cut on her leg. Lucy had a bloody nose, mouth, and a scrape on her face.

Like I said, I’d heard the stories of these two launching into this kind of aggression but until today had never witnessed it. What surprised all of us was the fact that Lucy, probably the most docile dog anyone could meet, was the sole reason this attack happened. Lucy’s a bit of a spoiled princess compared to Ginger, and we can only guess jealousy turned her into a crazy attack bitch. Thankfully neither dog has completely lost their minds and started biting the people trying to separate them during their attacks.

So, with the fight over, and wiping the mix of hair/saliva/blood from the ceiling of the truck, we took Ginger to the lake on her own and ignored Lucy for the rest of the night. We’re both disappointed in Lucy’s behaviour, and it was something just a little disturbing for me to witness.

Another Item Checked Off?

I think we found our wedding photographer. His name is Dean Sanderson and his style of work is really what we’re looking for, and he seems nice enough to take our photos for a cost well below what he would usually charge. Now all that’s left is to confirm the details and get a contract drawn up. The usual crossing the I’s and dotting the T’s.

Work has been a mix of stress and disappointment lately. I really can’t go into the details, as ranting about work on a blog is probably one of the least productive things I could do in this space. Let’s just leave it at generally unhappy.

Tomorrow I’m off to a Canucks game — the Washington Capitals are in town, a team with two exciting Russian forwards, including Calder Trophy winner Alexander Ovechkin. In many ways I hope the Capitals do a number on the home team. I’m not exactly a Canucks fan, and would rather see some great goals than see the local team win. The day after is the Lions’ final home game of the regular season, and the second-last game of the year (they’re hosting the Western Final next month). I can’t wait to see my girlfriends, the cheerleaders, again.

Thus concludes one of the most boring posts on Garrettknights.com.

Best game ever?

Last night was the second-to-last Lions game of the year (or as Erwin called it, the second-to-last meaningless game of the year). The Lions have clinched first place in the West, and really, are the best team in the CFL this year. Their opponents last night were the Hamilton Tiger Cats, a dreadfully bad team that has won all of four games on the season. The game itself was a snoozefest: a barely-exciting 23-17 win for the Lions, highlighted by only a couple of interceptions and one incredible one-handed catch. What made the game good, though, was our fun with the cheerleaders.

Our section has become known as the cartwheel section: we chant for cartwheels, the cheerleaders do a couple, we chant thank you. It’s the most pleasant and courteous heckling I’ve ever been a part of. Last night I made a large sign reading “Cartwheels”, and the ladies loved it. It was good for a laugh, anyway. One of our favourite cheerleaders (and let’s face it, she’s every guy’s favourite) gave us three cartwheels and — gasp! — a somersault. A few games back, you see, the cartwheel chant evolved into a somersault chant, and I guess she remembered. One of the other young ladies turned around and yelled out “It’s her birthday!”, which resulted in a chant of happy birthday. The birthday girl, Shannen, was appreciative.

To our surprise, the group with Shannen left the field before the game ended. I yelled thank you, and happy birthday again, which resulted in a kiss being blown my way. A few minutes later, Shannen et al returned with boxes full of Lions foam footballs. I waved and smiled at Shannen, and she kissed a football and threw it to me. Of course, I didn’t actually catch the football due to the crowd of looneys in front of me, but it certainly made my day. The lesson in all of this is that if you treat a female that you don’t know, who is dressed in vinyl hotpants, knee-high boots, and carries pom-poms, with respect, good things happen.

For your own personal reference, you can see and learn more about Shannen here.

Decision Time

The workplace has presented me with a decision to make: work on a game that, while not the most sexy or amazing, is on a platform (Nintendo DS) that really interests me, or work on a game that I’m not terribly fond of, for an intriguing new platform (Nintendo Wii) and is a de facto best seller. Naturally I can’t name the games here but it’s a bit of a pickle to be in: go with the big franchise or go for the small game on a system of which I’m a huge proponent. As this entry goes to press,I’m still not totally sure which way to go, although I am leaning toward the latter.

Speaking of games, I’ve played EA’s NHL franchise since 1994 — that’s twelve years of antisocial behaviour, most of it spent in my friend Nigel’s basement setting up leagues with friends to play through. NHL 07 recently was released for the Xbox 360, to very strong reviews. The dev team introduced a new control scheme, which is somewhat gimmicky, to make the game feel more “next-gen”. The visuals in the game are beautiful, from the player models to the front end. The downside? The AI is atrocious. The CPU controlled players do not behave realistically or with any semblance of intelligence. Their on-ice routines border on nonsensical and just add to the disappointment I have with the game. Plus, I’m really bad at it. I’m getting old — if the game requires thought to control, it’s beyond my capabilities.

Lastly, I’ve been putting off a medical test to see if I have an ulcer. I was planning on doing it tomorrow but I’m supposed to be at work for a meeting at 10am sharp, and I hate getting up/driving to work earlier than that, so the ulcer test can wait until tomorrow. In a lot of ways I’m hoping I do have an ulcer, as it would explain a lot of problems I’ve had with my digestive tract, and has an easy solution.

Vacation III

Tomorrow we’re off to Kamloops to celebrate with Ian and his new wife Allana. I’m so road-weary by now, what with all the travelling by car, plus the oddly terrible traffic on the commute to work lately. If I’m not careful those nasty hemmorhoids are going to come back and bite me in the ass. Literally. Still, I’m glad I’m not constrained by public-transit. Taking vacations and trips by city bus and Greyhound is the stinkiest way to travel.

I got an email from an old friend yesterday, who I’ll name Khery, because that’s his actual name. Khery and I used to be good buds in high school and early days of college before he left for the green pastures of Alberta. He told me about trimming body hair and other weird stuff. He is a very funny man and I hope to see him again someday. It’s a well known fact that if I’m not around people on a regular basis I tend to grow lazy and never talk them again, and that’s a habit I should break. Relatedly it’s nice to see Margaret, aka Arice, commenting on my blog. It means she actually read it, which astounds me, because this blog is boring-ass pie.

On a parting note, I’ll post some photos of the Banff wedding once I get a few from those who took them. You’ll get to see me in all my pasty-faced double-chinned glory.

Vacation II

After a three-day work week last week, I took another five days off over the long weekend to attend my cousin’s wedding in Banff. I haven’t been there since I was about 6 or 7, and Banff was lovely. It was sunny the entire time, and it was so refreshing to breathe in unpolluted air. Even the glacier-fed rivers were blue. We had a great mini-vacation there, despite the fact I was a bit sick, had booked a hotel nowhere near the downtown core, and the travelling (by car, in my brother’s and his wife’s new Mazda3 Sport) was bum-numbingly long. We stopped at the Enchanted Forest, just outside of Revelstoke, which was creepy and surreal and fun. If you ever travel past it, you must stop and stroll through the Forest — it’s worth the seven bucks.

My lady friend’s brother and his wife also had a baby while we were gone, an eight and a half pound boy named Khelben. Everyone’s gone baby-crazy, including my lady friend, which gets me just a little bit worried. I don’t like, and don’t want, children. I’m pretty sure she won’t want a baby, and if she does I’ll just send her to visit her brother and sister-in-law for a few days. That oughta cure any baby-wanting.

Although it seemed like the dream of a new car died, I think it will be revived in the new year. Once the wedding cost is a little more finalized, and if I get the “salary adjustment” I’ve been harping on about at work, I may just lease a car instead of purchasing one. But that’s at least a few months away.

Anyway, it’s back to work for me. Another one of our group is leaving in a couple of weeks, so you can bet morale is once again at an all-time low. I’m going to be pinned to a project sooner than I thought, which isn’t totally surprising, but at the same time it’s a bit disappointing. Oh well.