Banned from the PetCo

Rosie, our humapup (she thinks she's a human), is.....neurotic.  She has issues.  But, we love her.  Amongst her issues is the fact that she has some strange spinal/nerve problem that can make her get very testy when her paws are touched and can make her go crazy when the vibration of the grooming shears is on her paws. City dogs tend to be more well groomed than Vashon dogs.  But, even by my island standards, she really needed to be groomed.  So, I drugged her up with pain pills and muscle relaxers and took her in to PetCo.  I told them about her condition and they just wanted confirmation of her rabies shot - smart move.

As I was browsing through the store not 5 minutes after I dropped her off, my name was called on the intercom and I was asked to come back to the grooming area.  I took a deep breath and cringed as I headed back.  The groomer - a dark skinned woman - was covered in white power from head to foot.  It was quite a sight!  She had used  the high powered dryer on Rosie and was blasted by a cloud of white dust.  My jaw dropped when she asked what the powder was.  She finally told me to close my jaw and answer her question.  I realized she probably thought my dog's kinky fur was the hiding spot for a significant amount of cocaine.  I recovered enough to finally tell her it must be the dust and carpet residue from our apartment.  The other employees thought it was all pretty funny and kept calling the groomer "Casper".  

About 4 hours later, the groomer called and asked me to pick up Rosie right away.  Apparently, she was freaking out.  They had to double muzzle her and she nearly broke a pair of grooming shears with her flipping around and trying to get away from the groomer.  When we picked her up, they had done the best they could, but she ended up looking like a bobble head dog with a fluffy face and fully shaved body.  I was fully expecting them to tell me she was banned and not to bother coming back.  Instead they said "next time you call for an appointment, just ask for Casper and we'll know who it is" - and no doubt be conveniently booked up for the foreseeable future!

A Wrong Turn

It was an eventful day yesterday.  While working out at the gym, Sophie seriously injured her ankle.  After several hours of ice and elevation, it was still very swollen, bruised and I thought perhaps fractured.  I decided to take her in for an x-ray.  I have way more experiences with hospitals than I'd like to admit, so I know it's important to find a good one.  I looked up a few and decided to take her to the National Children's Hospital.  As we approached, it was a beautiful building but the parking was confusing.  Little did I know that the area's trauma hospital was right next door.  I made a wrong turn and ended up in the wrong ER.  I decided to stay there, as Sophie couldn't walk very well and it was a trek back to the car and to the Children's Hospital next door and all we needed was a quick x-ray.  This launched quite a Saturday night adventure.  Upon request, I left Xavier at home, watching a movie, thinking I'd be back before it was over.  After nearly 2 hours and the only progress being that Sophie was sitting in a bed in the corridor of the ER, I was feeling nervous about Xavier being home.  So, I left Sophie and went home to get Xavier.  By the time I got back, there were police guarding the doors to the ER and I was not allowed into the area because of a "code".  As Xavier and I sat in the waiting room, with police guarding doors, someone being brought in with handcuffs, all I could imagine was that Sophie was sitting in the middle of the ER being traumatized.  We were finally allowed back, Sophie had her X-ray and while we waited for the results, the ER drama continued, with someone dying, police keeping a close eye on what was happening and family members coming in to view the deceased.  All we needed was an X-ray.  After 5 hours, we were sent home with crutches and strong ibuprofen and another adventure to add to our very long list of things the 3 of us have seen.

Next time, I will be sure to turn into the correct parking lot.

Off Leash

I've long believed that kids and dogs need to be "off leash"  as much as possible.  Xavier, in particular,  is part wild animal part boy and needs to be in nature and running free.  He's been feeling a bit cooped up in DC and was lamenting the noise and traffic yesterday.  I also noticed that Rosie was getting beyond her usual neurotic puppy self and also seemed to be needing some time outside that did not include sidewalks and leashes.

So, we headed to a fabulous park at Dumbarton Oaks where people ignore the leash laws and dogs run free.  This is Georgetown, so even the well-dressed children were getting a but dirty.  The moment I let Rosie off leash, she bolted in a frenetic run all over the immediate area.  Xavier took off after her and the two of them ran until they dropped, panting.  We trekked of the path through the woods and found our way down a steep ravine to the river where Rosie promptly jumped in, enjoyed the water and got wet and dirty, reminiscent of the days at the beach on Vashon.  By the time we were back to the car, we all had dirt on our clothes, fresh air in our lungs and a new outlook on life in the city.  We decided we have to do this every week, as we all need some time to be off the "leashes" of school, work and general "control" living in a city generally requires.  

Driving in DC and the DMV

I had been warned that driving in DC can be tough.  My preferred method of transportation is the metro, which I use most days to get to work.  But, since there is not a school bus service for the kids' schools, I have groceries to buy and because the metro doesn't go everywhere, I do need to drive more often than I'd like.  Realizing that my 30 day deadline to get a DC driver's license was nearly up and being told by many people to be sure to bring the right paperwork, I diligently looked up the requirements for a DC driver's license online.  I gathered all my papers and headed to the DC DMV certain that I was going to sail right through this little process.  After waiting in line for some time, the woman at the desk quickly examined my pile of papers and, with a smug look and quick flick of the wrist, handed them back to me, proclaiming I was missing a document.  I left, drove back home, got the other document, drove back to the DMV, re-parked and went in.  This time, I had the correct documents and was passed along to wait for the next station.  Once my number was called, I gave the woman my information.  She very slowly processed through my paperwork and declared that there was some error with my Washington State license and inquired as to whether I had paid all my fines in Washington.  I've had 1 ticket in 15 years, so I felt certain I was paid up.  After much more lamenting over this error on the computer, processing, waiting and being handed a license with my name spelled incorrectly, I finally had my new DC license -  with correct information - in hand.  With a feeling of satisfaction at completing that hurdle, my spirits were quickly dashed when I went out to find that I had inadvertently parked in a loading zone, had a $50 ticket and was minutes from being towed.  Perhaps that was the error with my license?

I drove away, fuming about all the confusing traffic signs, the gridlock caused by secret service and police vehicles everywhere, the high cost of parking for EVERYTHING and the insane round-abouts that have inner- and outer-circles and upwards of 10-12 streets forking off of them. Not to mention the 20+ traffic signals that dot the roundabouts at angles which leave me wondering who, exactly, they are supposed to be directing.  No, L'Enfant did not plan this city for cars.  In fact, I'm starting to believe he had a few bottles of wine before he put pen to paper to map it out.  I am pretty sure before we move back to Vashon, I'll have a good-sized stack of parking tickets and moving violations.  I yearn for diplomatic immunity. 

One Step at a Time.....

We're quickly heading into our first week without my mom here to help out.  I'm sure we'll do fine, but it's another step into our lives here.  I'm trying to tap into some of the spoils of city living - like Thai food delivery and primary care docs with weekend and evening hours - to make it all manageable.  Still, I do have my moments of overwhelm - like when I spent most of my day today shopping, cleaning and getting ready for the week and went to bake a little treat for ME - gluten free cookies -  only to find that Sophie had used the last of the butter baking regular cookies for her and Xavier. Thankfully, we live in the city, so I could send her out to walk the couple blocks to the corner store and get more butter.   Looks like we'll be ok after all......

Things I'm Getting Used To

Moving is always a big adjustment.  But, moving from a small, rural-ish island in the Puget Sound to Washington, DC is a really big adjustment.  Both places are quite unique and for very different reasons.  Here are the things that still catch me a bit off guard:

1) Sirens - lots of them, all the time
2) Taking 20 minutes to drive 3 miles
3) Spending more time driving in circles to find a place to park than actually getting to a destination
4) Walking through a metal detector at my kid's school
5) Showing my ID all the time
6) Having to constantly show proof of DC residency (apparently this gets faked a lot for purposes of parking passes and enrolling kids in schools)
7) Feeling lonely in the midst of so many people (work, kids and getting settled have trumped social outings)
8) Walking up and down 4 flights of stairs to do everything from taking the dog out to schlepping groceries
9) The incredible blend of cultures, world flags, languages, foods and history packed into this small District
10) Stores open all night
11)  Paying an enormous sum for a 2 bedroom apartment
12) Subway outages - everything from escalators to the trains themselves
13) Having to use my navigation system to get to and from just about everywhere
14) Trying to figure out how to navigate round-abouts that have inner and outer circles and at least 12 streets extending from them - even the nav system doesn't help here
15) Seeing the sun almost every day!