My Dog, The Beast

So if you didn't know already, we have a dog. She is a little 30 pound Beagle named Zoey, and she is the cutest, smartest dog in the world.

She's also a monster. A bona-fide angel of the darkside when she chooses to be. So the fact that she is super cute and really smart/good at tricks is a great benefit for her, because they are most likely the only things keeping her alive. Zoey has a tendency to eat things. ALL sorts of things. A shortlist of her dietary choices includes: dog food, squirrels (at least 3 to date), her plastic water dish, her old toys (which she chews up and swallows whole once they are stuffing-less), dirt, concrete, rubber, tree limbs, tree roots, grass, shoes, tennis balls, a sheet, towels, blankets, a hat, pajama pants, her nails, and lately, a sheet of sandpaper. And remember that she doesn't just chew these things, she ingests them. We've only had 2 instances of indigestion, both involving plant roots and both involving me having to 'help' the roots out so the stupid dog wouldn't hurt herself. Below is evidence of her eating an entire squirrel from head to bushy tail. No evidence remained.

Well, yesterday, we came home and found that our 2-week old internet was no longer working. I checked all the connections and the router and the computer, and no dice. So I went outside and started poking around at things and I noticed that our ground wire was looking a little scruffy. I took a closer look and I am proud to announce that Zoey can add cable wiring to her consumption list. The repair men are coming tomorrow, and it's likely to cost more to fix this little issue than it cost to buy and install all of the necessary equipment and to purchase internet service for a full year. It may be true that you can't teach an old dog new tricks, but there is absolutely no limit on the number of new objects they will find to chew and/or completely devour. You know, forget that she's cute, I may kill her just to spare my undamaged belongings the horror of a ripped-to-shreds demise.

-Sam

Let It Begin...

The time has come, my friends. Sam and I have officially decided to start a blog. This is something I've been threatening/promising to people for the past several months, and I think now is finally the right time. Some of you may be fascinated to know that a few months ago I actually created a blog, set up the whole page, changed all the settings, fonts, layouts, etc. and then immediately deleted it without ever posting anything. The reason for this is more complicated than you may think:

1. I couldn't come up with a blog name that I felt worked. Creating a blog name is much more intimidating than I ever anticipated. I would compare it somewhat to naming a child, though given the fact that we have no children yet, I'm guessing there are quite a few parents out there who would disagree with me on that point. I'll get back with you on that in a few years when we are actually responsible for naming a human. Until then, thank you for joining in the birth of our blog baby...

2. The daily happenings of the lives of Sam & Crislyn are not QUITE as intriguing as many unsuspecting people are led to believe. It is true that we find OURSELVES to be quite entertaining people, but aside from work, dental school, and a little beagle named Zoey, there may not be anything in this blog that is of any interest to you. If that is the case, no hard feelings. Just leave some constructive criticism notifying us of how bored this blog makes you and move on.

3. We just got the internet at our house last week. You read that right--we ordered internet service at our house for the very first time on March 6, 2009. Yes--TWO THOUSAND AND NINE. I realize this gives the illusion that we are extremely antiquated, but I can assure you that we've been incredibly resourceful over the past 3 years. Did we ever go up to OC just to sit in the parking lot and use the Wi-Fi? Definitely. Do the people at Panera Bread, the Edmond Public Library, and Qdoba know us by name as the "cheap couple who won't just bite the bullet and get internet at their house"? Absolutely. Have we occasionally stolen a stray wireless signal from an unsuspecting neighbor from time-to-time? No comment.

All resourcefulness aside though, the combination of Sam not having internet access to his ever-exciting dental studies and the switch to digital TV which no longer allowed me to record my shows on VHS led us to the conclusion that life may, in fact, be a little better if we splurge and get our VERY OWN internet at the house. And so far, so good. Sam has been studying like a good little student and I have been trying to stay out of his way by watching my TV shows online. And finally starting a blog...