Greg Van Eekhout's Blog: Writing and Snacks - Greg van Eekhout's blog, page 17

Dog, Writing, Appearing, Milkshaking

Dog

Today we had Dozer's second of four obedience training sessions. He was much less barky at the other dogs, and he's really good at responding to his name and coming when called. So impressed were we with his progress that we took him for a nice long walk on Shelter Island (where he was okay around dogs and completely off his nut around birds), and the pet store, where he not only maintained his nut in proximity to other dogs in the store, but even ignored the pet adoption stuff going on outside. Good dog.

Writing

Crossed the halfway point on my novel. Still a long way to go, but the thing's getting written. My characters have just perpetrated a tiger kidnapping, which has not all that much to do with kidnapping actual tigers.

Appearing

This week I actually did more author stuff than writer stuff. I did Skype visits with a 4th grade class at DW Lunt School & Plummer-Motz Elementary School in Falmouth, Maine; a 5th grade book club at Groveland Elementary School in Minnetonka, Minnesota; and Mrs. Huebner's 5th graders at Sioux Central Elementary in Sioux Rapids, Iowa. Mrs. Huebner's students blogged about our visit. They said I am nice and funny. That's because I opted not to show them my malicious and humorless side. Why not? Because I flipped a coin, like Harvey Dent.

This Skype visiting thing is a whole mess of fun. I thought it was going to be like rainy-day schedule when I was in elementary school, where they just projected whatever they could on a screen to distract the kids from committing mayhem. Usually it was that Disney cartoon about Johny Appleseed. We'd seen it so often that they once showed it to us backwards. So it was really kind of a documentary about deforestation. But the Skype visits weren't like that. The students were well prepared, had done research, and came ready with good questions.

I also Skyped right into the middle of Sarah Prineas's talk at the Children's Literature Conference at Northern Illinois University. Sure seemed like both she and her audience were having fun, at least they were when I showed up. Hopefully they still were after I left. I tried not to be malicious and humorless. I'll be giving a talk at the conference next year, and it was nice to get a little preview.

And I also did a signing at the Oceanside Barnes and Noble. Met some readers, scrawled my name, doodled some squid.

Milkshaking

Last night I had a healthy salad for dinner. Mostly vegetables with just a drizzle of dressing. Tonight I'm thinking a milkshake for dinner makes sense. That's what I'm thinking.

Mirrored from Greg van Eekhout. You can comment there or here.

Dog, Writing, Appearing, Milkshaking

Dog Today we had Dozer's second of four obedience training sessions. He was much less barky at the other dogs, and he's really good at responding to his name and coming when called. So impressed were we with his progress … Continue reading →

Sunday morning dog pic

It occurs to me that Dozer doesn't care if I'm a good writer or not. He doesn't even care if I'm successful, as long as we can keep him in kibble and treats.

Dogs are cool.

From Dozer

I have a dog

As of Monday we've had Dozer for a month. I've decided that he's a good dog. He's mostly settled in the apartment, hasn't chewed all the furniture to bits, and he's even taken it fairly easy on blankets.

I'm not saying he's perfect. His brain kinda goes sproing when he's left alone, such as when I step outside to toss out the garbage. Yesterday I intentionally left him for 20 minutes, hoping to get him used to being by himself. There was the usual crying and barking and scratching at the door, and he got into a kitchen closet and took hold of a bag of plastic party cups and bit them to shards. So there was a call to the vet and now we're inspecting his poop and watching him carefully to make sure there aren't any blockages or internal injuries.

So, that's not so great. But he's eating and acting normal, so that's good.

Also, he gets pretty fixated and barky around other dogs. But this morning when I took him out for his early morning crap and fell asleep on my feet, I turned around to see him nose-to-nose with a German shepherd, and all he did was quietly sniff. At least at first. Then he got barky and I took him away. Same thing happened a few hours later with a big, drooly golden retriever. These encounters are improvements over the previous instant fixating and barking.

He pulls hard on his leash during walks, but recently he's been distractable with treats, and our first obedience training class with him is this Saturday, so I think we'll see some improvement in that area as well. And we're crate training him. He's fine sleeping and eating in his crate, but it's a gradual process.

He came to us house broken.

He's hard on his toys, but it's a lot of fun to see him clamp down on his Wubba and whip it around as though it were a rat and he were trying to sever its spine. It's cute. But that Wubba is almost killed and will have to be replaced no later than this weekend.

Dozer's eight or nine months old, and most of his life has been spent in one shelter or the other, and considering the neuroses and behavioral problems he might have developed, I'd say we got off lucky.

And he's cuddly. I like having a dog curled up at my feet or next to me on the couch, or sitting with me and Lisa while we watch movies.

I work at home and Lisa works long hours and I don't go to coffee joints as often as I used to, and one day I was walking through the neighborhood and noticed I was talking to myself. That's when I decided I really needed a dog.

Growing up, we only had a dog for a few months before she died of distemper, and the only other pets I've had were a couple of hamsters and some parakeets and a few fish, none of which were much fun. And some outdoor cats, but those were never really mine. So getting a dog has been a great, big, huge deal to me. He's not the big, calm, dignified dog I imagined myself with, but he's my dog.

I have a dog.

From Dozer

The side I'm on

Dad was a member of the Communication Workers of America for the thirty-plus years he worked for GTE. So I owe his union.

When I was still in college, I worked a part-time job for a school in the Los Angeles Unified School District. I wasn't a union-eligible employee, but when the teachers went on strike, part of what they fought for and achieved was an increase in the pay of non-union employees like myself. So, I owe their union.

Those are my direct debts. My indirect debts are enormous.

Unions aren't perfect. They are, by necessity, political entities, and I can't think of a single political entity that remains unalloyed good. But I am unapologetically pro-union. On the whole, what unions have fought for are things I've benefited from. So I'm on that side.

Pavel's be-sneakered octopus

Reader/artist Pavel comes through with another great Kid vs. Squid-based illustration. This time it's the octopus with sneakers from Uncle Griswald's museum. I'd imagined it smaller, but when it comes to octopi with sneakers, bigger is definitely better, and I believe Pavel made the right choice.

If you missed them, see Pavel's squid and his crabman. Pavel, dude, you're awesome.

Mirrored from Greg van Eekhout. You can comment there or here.

Pavel's be-sneakered octopus

Reader/artist Pavel comes through with another great Kid vs. Squid-based illustration. This time it's the octopus with sneakers from Uncle Griswald's museum. I'd imagined it smaller, but when it comes to octopi with sneakers, bigger is definitely better, and I … Continue reading →

"Crabman and Thatcher" by Pavel

Some more amazing Kid vs. Squid art by awesome reader, Pavel (in case you missed it, here's his rendering of Thatcher getting MESSED UP by a giant squid). He calls this one "Crabman and Thatcher" and ZOMG! Isn't it awesome?!?? I will answer the question for you: Yes. It is awesome. Crabman is scaring the carapace out of me, quite frankly.

Thanks again, Pavel!

Mirrored from Greg van Eekhout. You can comment there or here.

"Crabman and Thatcher" by Pavel

Some more amazing Kid vs. Squid art by awesome reader, Pavel (in case you missed it, here's his rendering of Thatcher getting MESSED UP by a giant squid). He calls this one "Crabman and Thatcher" and ZOMG! Isn't it awesome?!?? … Continue reading →

Pavel's squid

A few months back I did a signing at the Barnes and Noble in Oceanside, California and met a cool dude named Pavel and his family. Pavel, it so happened, had a reputation among his family and teachers as quite … Continue reading →