life with a pup

this morning, I packed up my laptop and headed to Starbucks. and I sat and I wrote until my battery drained down to the danger zone. and it. was. wonderful.

go ahead and make your Bourdain-esque "citizen of laptopistan" or judgemental "typical blogger/writer wanna-be" remark. sometimes, a girl has got to get out. and a place with hot coffee and plenty of tables and no one who speaks English or will bother you is just the thing.

this morning, Husband told me he would take the dog and let me have a little free time to myself. you see... this pup we are fostering is quite adorable. and playful. and fluffy. but she's got issues. [who doesn't, right?] probably because she was dumped in the park and abandoned by her old owners, she kindof freaks out when she sees anyone leave. and especially when you try to leave her alone.

so, aside from times when our friends can puppy-sit... I've been stuck at home. not entirely terrible. I've read three books this week, finished editing photos from Hong Kong, hung up my origrami prints, watched a lot of West Wing curled up on the couch with the pup, and organized my closet. but still, a girl has got to get out. quick walks around the building in pouring rain don't count. [thank you, husband. and thank you, friends who puppy-sit!]

thursday night, we went to a new place in our neighborhood called wonderpho with a group of friends and it was wonder-pho. pho is a vietnamese dish which is a giant bowl of broth with rice noodles [yes! gluten-free!] and veggies and your choice of meats. and with all the rainy chilly weather we've had lately, a big bowl of warm soupy noodley comfort is just what you want. it was so good that we actually went back there tonight. we had a nice chat with the owner and his friends, who were hanging out playing drinking games while we ate. they offered us shots... why not? I really love finding places here that make you feel welcome, and I think it we will quickly become regulars there.

so. back to the pup. we had risked leaving her alone, and made it out the door without an episode. we came home after a nice dinner to find our upstairs neighbor peering down the stairwell. she had heard a ruckus and asked us if we had seen a dog wandering around outside. nope, just the dog in our apartment. apparently the pup had heard some people walking up the stairs and started barking and howling. and then our neighbor dog started barking and howling back. and the two of them went at it for... quite some time apparently.

our friends on the fourth floor came down to try and get in to our place and calm her down, but our door was locked. our friend on the first floor sent us a message saying "hey I hope she didn't chew up all your stuff" we were lucky that she wasn't destructive, but it means we won't be leaving her alone again anytime soon.

now if you'll excuse us, President Bartlet is busy running for a second term...