Spot

Meet my freshwater roommate while I am in Salt Lake City. This is Spot, courtesy of the Hotel Monaco.



The hotel is quite nice in an otherwise dull town, and Spot has certainly kept me company. Well, not really. He just swims in circles and looks out the window. My room is a tall room complete with a 9 foot king size bed, high counter top in the bathroom and a tall shower head. Not too bad if you have to travel. Not that I would ever willingly come back to Salt Lake, but at least it's nice to know that there is a good hotel in town.

On the Road Again

I head out to Utah this Thursday to support the NBA Western Conference Finals. Depending on how the series plays out I will be in Salt Lake City until Tuesday and then either home or in San Antonio for game 5. If the series continues after that we go back to Utah and then back to San Antonio if game 7 is needed. Needless to say it's a bit hard to know how to pack or plan especially with a family at home.

I am having withdrawls of being away from them already. Fortunately the Hotel Monaco is so pet friendly that you can adopt a goldfish for your stay if you did not bring your own pet. How cool is that? Ok, how unique is that? Ok, I like fish so it might be fun to have a little buddy in the room. I can teach him cribbage, make him coffee and watch movies in bed with him. This sure takes the edge off of missing Debby and the kids. And if my per diem runs out or room service is closed.......

Take That You Old Fart!

New 40 year old Brad did not agree with my last post that I can clean up well. That being said, I present additional evidence to the contrary:



Yes, I will give you that this is many years, fewer pounds and more hair ago, but damn that guy in the middle looks good.

Gala Night

Once or twice a year I cleanup really well. Debby on the other hand always looks fabulous. I could live the rest of my life in faded jeans, t-shirts and tennis shoes.

By the way, Debby is not getting taller, she is standing one step up from me by our hot tub.

Do Not Adjust Your Monitor....

...you are not seeing double. BlackJack now has a younger brother. Meet Cricket.



Cricket is the wide-body on the left. He is 7 years old and weighs 21 pounds! He is a fatty and I have taken to calling him Porky. By comparison BJ is 12 years old and weighs only 10 pounds.

Cricket comes to us as a "free to loving home" adoption off of Craigslist. Apparently the owners had taken him in in January for a relocating friend. The adopters have a large rottweiler/shepard mix that wanted to eat Cricket and so they felt it best to rehome him before he became a main course.

I have wanted a second dog for years and have been scanning the pets section of CL for a few weeks trying to find the right fit. I did not want to spend hundreds of dollars and Debby was against a second dog altogether, especially a puppy. Last week I came across the listing for Cricket and showed it to Deb. She had schipperkes as a child and said she always loved having two. I e-mailed the owners with her approval and they brought the Big C over on Saturday to see if we and BJ were a good fit. BJ was basically indifferent about a second schipperke (and another male at that!) which was good since we have tried other dogs over the years with no luck. So far everything is working out and we are working on shedding some of the big guy's girth. He is a sweet dog but either stupid or just still adjusting as all he does is sit by the front door. All day long. The boys don't hang out together but don't mind each other. On walks together they get along fine. It's a curious dynamic that I think will get better as both of them realize that Cricket is staying put with us.