My dog... Skids

So today I was cleaning up some stuff in the backyard, seems pretty normal. The only difference is the fact that I brought my dog outside with me.

Now to truely understand this blog you have to realize that I really don't like dogs. I don't. I'm a cat type-a-guy. Not like the creepy cat guys that live alone in an apartment and watch the girl change accross the street, but the kind of cat guy with more a sentimental attachment. So you ask yourself, why the hell does he have a dog? Well I'll tell you. My girlfriend is an avide animal lover. Currently we have a dog and two cats. Not including the other three dogs (two of which are puppies) and another cat in the house were I live. My girlfriend saved this dog from its abusive owners and now we have decided to keep it. A decision that I wasn't to keen on. She is growing up to be a beautiful dog, and I am starting to become quite attached to her. Except when she poohs in the house. Then I don't like her very much. So I am slowly trying to like dogs in a house where I don't have much of a choice otherwise. Let me tell you it has been a hard experience, but nonetheless I feel I have been doing ok. So back to my dog story..

As I was cleaning up a tarped off area of a "tenant", lets say, that moved out, my dog was just kind of walking up and down the hill on her long leash sniffing only god knows what and overall seeming to have a great time just being outside. As I was carrying two bins over to the fire pit to empty them I glance over to see if she is eating something she shouldn't be (anyone with puppies know that you have to do that from time to time). As I look over she stops what she is doing and looks over at me and did that dog crouch where they want to play, I don't know if you know what I'm talking about but thats ok. So I slap my knees and run towards her. As soon as I did so I could see her eyes immediatly brighten and we proceeded to play for the next fifteen to twenty minutes. I was having a ball. So I sat down while the dog was getting a well deserved drink and as I was sitting there Skids did something that never happened to me before. After she had finished drinking up the very last drop in her bowl she nudged her nose under my arm and squeezed herself through so I had my arm around her. She proceeded to sit down and stay there with her head nuzzled against my side. I don't know how long we sat there for, just enjoying the day with the sun on our faces and the cool spring breeze lightly brushing our skin. After awhile of soaking up the moment, I look down at my dog skids and she looked up at me. We locked eyes and just kind of stared for a moment. Then without any warning to me she licked my face. Now if there is one thing I don't like about dogs the most, it's slobber. But the weird thing is it didn't matter that time, I just laughed and began to scratch her all over, she jumped up on me and was trying to return the favor with her wet tongue, but I didn't let her (I really don't like slobber). So I stood up scratched her ears a little bit and untied her from the tree. Normally I would immediatly put on her leash and go straight inside, but I had a very different feeling today. I just said, "Come on Skids" and she followed. Perfectly by my side, as we went up the stairs, she reached the first landing first, then she sat down and patiently waited for me until I had gotten up there. The same with the top of the stairs. As I reached the top I noticed she was looking outside as though she was reminising on what had just happened, that or she saw a chipmunk or the like. Either way as went inside and I filled up her water dish she sat beside me not moving until I put it down for her to drink.

So now here I sit, telling you all about this. Why does it have so much importance? Because I now feel that me and Skids have made a connection. We are finally "intune" with one another and respect each other, and can truely be companions now. We have finally seperated that barrier of your a dog and I'm a human. We are friends and she understands that I am the alpha in the relationship, I can only hope that my girlfriend has had this same connection, which I think she has. I say I'm not a dog person, and as a taurus I'm not to adept to change, but hey, maybe this is one thing I can give a little leeway.

Problems inward

So I have been thinking a lot the past couple weeks and I'm about 500 feet away from coming up to a sign that reads "the crossroads of you life" and there being to roads splitting apart. (I knew I should have turned left at Mcdonalds) Basically I am having some personal issues with my band (Seventh Sorrow) right now. We have been together for about a year and a half and have gained a reasonable amount of respect around where we live and we have moved up the ladder to being the biggest band where we live. Which rocks. We have posters, cd's, t-shirts and the like and we have been selling a lot of everything. The problem I am having is more that when I sit back and look into the box that the band is in, I see a lot of issues, some of which can be resolved and some that unfortunatly cant be.

For one, I have noticed my lead singers "vision" of the band has been slowly changing over the course of the past three months. It seems that the things that were important, like writing personal powerful songs, don't amount to anything anymore. Unless it is a radio hit it seems that he doesn't want anything to do with it. This isn't an assumption here either, he has told me this in the past. I understand that we need "radio hits", thats fine, what I don't understand is why cant we just play music and the radio hits will just come to and we'll make them. Besides that, he seems to be more interested in getting signed and making a ton of money. Thats the only reason he is doing what he is doing, to make a ton of money. It coinsides with the whole radio hit thing too. That bothers me a lot for the fact that when we started the band we did it because we want people to hear what we can create. Thats the best part when people tell you you have created something outstanding. Thats what I want, but as far as he is concerned I feel it has become a lost cause.

Now my bass player, hmmm where do we start... For one he is an alcoholic, which needs to be adressed. Not only for the band, but for himself as well. But the number one thing that is making me second guess the band is that fact that he has a kid on the way. Don't get me wrong, go ahead, have the kid. The only thing I worry about is the fact that his "track record" isn't the best with the whole having a kid thing. He already is behind in his child support, he has gone through 5 jobs in 6 months and cant drive (part of the bad track record). That and I feel really bad for his girlfriend for having to go through it too. The poor girl.. But anyway, mind you this guy is 28 years old and is now expecting to support a kid on burgerking salary? Yeah, thats what I thought. He doesn't own his own equipment he is borrowing all of it, which is a constant worry of mine. It's kind of hard to buy equipment when all your money goes to booze.

I don't mean to sit here and complain though, basically what it comes down to is do I quit the band, something I love to do to persue a career or a better job, or school? I would like to start a new band down in Chicago where I used to live, but living there again is looking further and further away from ever happening. I have mixed emotions about the whole thing. It's hard to talk to people about it because they don't see all the arguments and what-not. Also in a sense the are ignorant to what really goes on in an actual band "enviroment", which I don't blame them for. I have talked to my girlfriend about it a few times and when I mention it she normally just shakes her head and walks away. She is convinsed we are going to make it. Which not to sound like an ass but I honestly think we could. But what is the point if you hate each other.

So that is about the small and skinny of it, only a surface scrapping... If you have any suggestions please tell me them it would be much appreciated.

Till next time.

Well hello everyone!

This is my first blog on this site and, I might add, it will be short because the computer I am using will be occupied by a hormonal 15 year old. So, with that, I am going. I will make the blogs longer on my next posts, I promise.

Dan