Revelations

Has it ever happened to you that you came to an interesting cognition while doing something monotonous and repetitive? Last year I became aware of this when I was going swimming a few times a week regularly. At first I was very 'spectical' ;) because I expected to feel like a hamster in a wheel and that I would get bored pretty quickly. But I realized it wasn't like that at all. I mean, I'm still a bigger fan of the more diverse kind of action, however, I see I can enjoy in a more monotonous kind of recreation too as you can meditate all you want in the process. Well, what I did last year while swimming I'm doing this year while running – last year the weather didn't allow me to run, so I found a water alternative, but this year I decided that nothing would stop me in re-establishing the programme 'Happy feet' and so the Black Death and I have been running around our neighbourhood for a while now. Thus last time I came to two different revelations. Firstly, I realized that Sambo is probably the first and only dog in the world that managed to get the title of European champion first and then (after six months, mind you!) also the title of European junior champion, all in the same year, and to top it all, at an age that already qualifies him as a veteran. If that's not cool… But how can that be, you probably wonder? I advise you to take a look at my older posts; there I already bragged about Sambo winning the European champion title on last year's Eurodogshow in Zagreb. A bit under half a year later, in November, we went on a Belgian roadtrip; there we went to the Kortrijk dogshow that is also a 'Eurodogshow' (don't ask me why and how, but their show is also a 'European' one) and there my geriatric Waffle, thanks to the unskilful ring steward, managed to (unintentionally) infiltrate himself in the selection for the junior winner and even won! Now, tell me if you know of any other dog that managed to do that! I think there isn't one ;).
And so we came to the second revelation – the progress of technology. Once uppon a time, we used to write letters to each other, then we started e-mailing and nowadays I can already wave to my friends and relatives all around the world via the webcam live. But it's not only us, the common mortal people that advance together with time and progress. It happens with the Church too. I tell no lie, the Church doesn't recrute their little sheep on the street or by oral tradition anymore but started using cellular phones or better said short text messages in order to do that. No kidding, the other day I was sitting in the living room, relaxing while watching something very intellectual, when suddenly my phone rings (actually honks) and the SMS said something like 'I urgently need animators for the winter holidays, please get back to me, R. Marjan.' While trying to figure out who the hell could R. Marjan be and what kind of animators he need for what kind of winter holiday, the phone starts ringing (actually laughing) in my hand and the conversation that followed went something like this:
U: Hello?
M: Hi, it's Reverend Marjan!
(the following thoughts went through my head at that moment – who's kidding me, who is Reverend Marjan and most of all, what does he want from me???)
U: Hi?
M: I've sent you a message, but I decided to call you anyway. Listen, I urgently need animators for our winter holidays of the Christian youth and I wonder if you have any time and could help me out? U: Darn, this weekend I have to finish a translation I'm working on and next week I have an exam, so I won't be able to help you, sorry. M: What a pitty… Well, thanks anyway, maybe some other time, right? Bye, have a nice day! U: You too, thank you!
Now let me explain a bit the background and utmost bizarrity of this anecdote: music has always been a big part of my life. In third grade of primary school I started singing in the children's choir, continued in the youth choir and later on in the women's choir. After 8 years of singing in 3 different choirs with the same choirmaster (which is still in my nicest memories) I quit because of certain circumstances. After a bit under two years of pause I started missing singing really bad and let myself be talked intoa test visit of the youth church choir by my friend and neighbour. Being an ardent Catholic (don't take me seriously, I'm a complete atheist) I told myself that it doesn't hurt to try. So I went and to my greatest surprise I liked it, so I stayed for two years. And yes, that's when I met Reverend Marjan :). It's been two years now since I'm no longer part of the flock, but he obviously still has my number and every now and then he sends me a message – and to be honest, he always makes me smile :). In the meantime my poor significant other and my significantly hairy other feel the consequences of my musical deprivation; even though I sing quite well (as it should be after 11 years of singing in choirs) that's not even nearly as fun as singing 'my way', which means that I sing (at the top of my voice, what else) with a nice, authentic Ukrainian accent, providin the songs are in English, of course. Luckily Sambo isn't showing any mental/emotional trauma yet, but Gregor, on the other hand, is already showing signs of despair and I won't be too surprised if he enters me into a choir – maybe some Hare Krishna since I have the Catholics already covered…
And to finish… no, don't worry, enough philosophizing for today. I managed to edit and shorten the clip of our ATV adventure , you're welcome to have a look.

Cool runnings!

First let me wish all of you who read our adventures and misadventures a happy new one! The Waffle and I spent the last days of 2007 in Bovec in the company of Gregor and his family, where we had a marvellous time. We planned each day carefully: we arrived there on Wednesday evening, when we mostly chatted and relaxed, on Thursday I was sick, on Friday we went skiing, on Saturday we went on a hike and on Sunday we went on an adrenalin ride with the ATV (All Terrain Vehicle). On Thursday I really wasn't feeling good, so the others borrowed the Black Death alternately while I was rehabilitating in bed, so he had activities during the whole day – wasn't that bad for him, all in all. On Friday they also borrowed him while we went skiing for the first time this year and on Saturday his turn finally came big time as we went on a hike near Bovec for about two hours and a half. Sunday was the most adrenalin-filled of all days because we finally got to test the combination ATV + the Black Death. Gregor and I set up a wooden board on the carrier on the left, put Sambo on and.. and off we went. The beginning wasn't that promissing, Sambo tried to jump off the second Gregor started the engine, but I managed to hold him by the harness. Then he moved around so much that he managed to move himself from my left side to a nice cosy spot between Gregor and I – thank God, cause this new position was incomparably more corresponding to him than the one we originally meant for him, but he thought was much too exposed. That would be all fine if he decided to sit calmly all the way to the field where we wanted to let him loose. But he of course didn't - on the crossways he got up to check where we are heading to (as he does in the car) and banged me in the chin-protector of the helmet with his back and nearly broke my neck. So, the two minutes we had left to get to the field I danced the limbo with Sambo in my lap, bent backwards like 12-year-old chinese acrobats, but I survived that too. We finally got to the field where Sambo stepped on firm ground… and detached from it immediately, in other words, we made a big round of about 3-4 km and if I exaggerate a bit (but really only a bit) I can say that we barely managed to keep up with the flying nigger. After a brief warm-up the Death got into sixth gear and ran 45-50km/h for quite a while, so we really had to step on it… I won't even begin to describe the faces of passing-by grannies, ladies with leashed doggies and joggers . Anyhow, after a few minutes I said that it was enough for the first time and suggested that the two of them went a round to cool down by themselves; Sambo obviously didn't agree with my idea, it all went too slowly for him so he started herding Gregor and the ATV. I can say that our first attempt was a total success, we only have to polish the tactics of Sambo's transport as I won't be able to perform such a limbo dance every time…

The new-year/holiday fever has calmed down meanwhile and life is getting back on its usual track. I passed over from December's bright ideas about running ventures at -6 degress to even more brilliant plans about running on January's frozen paths… Without any falls, for now, but I have the feeling that my days are numbered… But until then – cool runnings!

My guys





A brief stop on the path



Making new friends...



Mission accomplished!



The Adrenalin team...





Tired doggy after a straining sports day...

Photosession

Last week I finally got the pics from a photosession we did at the beginning of November. My friend's boyfriend volunteered to be the photographer and I didn't exactly resist with a chain saw… The day was beautiful, but unfortunately the model wasn't – Sambo had his late-summer coat, which means that on most of the pics he looks like a moth-eaten brown hyena, but that's ok. I'm very grateful to Rok for the pics and I'm already planning a new session soon (now that the nigger is finally back to black, as it should be).






The prettiest look in Europe...



A bit of agility




A bit of IPO







Work over!



And my personal favourite

Nothing shockingly new in Groenenland. On Saturday we went to the Christmas agility trial where Sambo's neurosis went loose after a long abstinence crisis. Well, he definitely showed that he is in shape, that agility can always be fun and that it is even better to yodel in halls as it echos more . I wouldn't exactly brag with the results, but to my solace only 3 out of about 30 handler-dog teams managed to complete both runs without a disqualification. Anywho, we had lots of fun, chatted with agility friends after a long time and had a nice day, so we're all looking forward to the next winter trials.

Moreover we started clicking regularly again and have a few tricks in process right now, hopefully they will be soon perfected. And on Saturday I saw my webmaster and he promised he would update the site soon, so now I'm preparing the new material so we can revive the site again.

And to finish, two pics of the preparations for my birthday gathering:

My two little helpers



And Olaf with a dog on his back (my friend's 2 year-old daughter saw Olaf jump on Sambo's back before and obviously after a few minutes thought that it's payback time, so when I turned around I saw Olaf with an accessory – he didn't mind much…)

Haaaappy biiirthdaaaaay toooo meeee...

So it has come upon me too. Fully and inevitable. Yep, no kidding, every year I'm a year older than the previous one. Fascinating, don't you think? Well, generally I don't have any problems with different standards, be it racial, beauty, age or something else, but still the other day, in a moment of weakness, I thought a bit and said to my special someone, half kidding, half being serious, that when I was a little girl I always dreamed that at this age I would be a pretty, long-legged successful blonde with a bunch of animals around her. Being such a nice guy he said that I got everything perfectly right, and added quietly that I just miscalculated a bit with my legs…

Anywho, I had a very nice day. For a nice beginning the nigger and I went for a walk, then I did a little weight-lifting, after which I went to say hello to Zaja (there was so much rain during the weekend that it wasn't possible to go riding in the woods). And in the evening, a new achievement – my first pizza. And certainly not the last. I left the dough to rise and in the meantime the Black Death and I went to test my B-day present – running pants and a running 'damen flisjacke', so both of us deserved dinner after half an hour of sweating. Sambo had to be satisfied with doggy kibble while I got to try my pizza. It turned out to be great, I'm really proud of myself. It seems that this year's birthday theme is ACTION because while the pizza was cooling I received another portion of presents – a ski cap, a ticket for Krvavec (the nearest ski slope to Ljubljana) and a sport anorak jacket for rainy doggy walks and running adventures. Holy cow, this year I'm gonna get so fit that the 25 maybe won't even catch me! :)

Okay, now off to new adventures, I'm going to our clicking session with Sambo. Over and out.

Today was an interesting day. Like most Tuesdays, Sambo and I went for a riding tour, had a great workout there, and after that I finally managed to get myself to the vet with our malign bird. No, there's nothing wrong with him, thank God, but he had to have his talons shortened. This bold venture is not to be set about at home, because there I have only two options: either I choose to shorten mine and his tortures and do it quickly, which means that after 5 min he has his nails done and I have all my fingers in a state as if I had put them in a meat-grinding machine, or I take my time and do it in 10 min and he chews on only ¾ of my fingers. My folks at home are completely useless – my mom doesn't dare to touch him even with a stick, my father doesn't give a damn about his talons, while Gregor actually makes an effort, but we still don't always manage to do an optimal job. So I decided to pay a visit to my dear vet after a long time.

The start wasn't very promising. The bird didn't feel like going out of the cage, so he mauled my left hand for a start, but then he saw I was serious and accepted my reaching hand. Once we got to the car it was a whole different story. He is a roadtrip maniac at least as big as Sambo and he started singing and whistling even before we left our yard. So we came to the clinic and entered the waiting room where we had to wait about 15 min. To my great surprise Čompo was completely relaxed, he combed his feathers and even whistled at Marko the technician when he passed by (he was probably reading my mind). Finally it was our turn, we entered and when I saw the vet's inquisitive look I told him that I brought our harpy for a pedicure. This time the procedure was much more successful than the first (and only) time, when I didn't know exactly how to hold Čompo so he half disentangled out of my grip halway through the procedure and stroke towards the vet, who barely dodged the bite. At that moment Čompo started to laugh at him and the vet, who probably though he was already being delirious, asked me if my bird is actually laughing at him by any chance. I could only shrug my shoulders and told him he was correct. Anywho, as already said this time everything went on swimmingly, the first foot was done in a minute, after which we gave him a short break because he struggled against my grip so hard that he almost twisted his head for 360 degrees. After a minute we managed to do the other nailjob as effectively as the first one and the mission was completed with success. To my great astonishment the bird (who was tousled as if I had put him in the spin-drier) let himself be petted and touched after all this trauma, first by the vet and then by the assistant. On principle he doesn't have any big difficulties in piercing someone, so I was really suprised by his model behaviour. Now I know that I definitely won't torture myself anymore with his pedicure, but will take him to the vet as soon as his claws reach the limit (well, and the fact that my vet makes Bon Jovi look like the president of a chess club doesn't hurt…).

Secondly, Sambo and I started clicking after a long time. The weather was more or less rainy and morbid the last few days, so appart from the doggie-walks it isn't all that nice to be outside. So we started with tricks and clicks again and Sambo is thrilled. I have a few new skills in mind and we already started training them, while the other nigger watchfully observes us. Soon his time will come too…

Fable about the Goat and the Ass

Once upon a time there was a little Grasshopper. She was small and vivacious, she had short, but strong legs and once a month she devastated everything near and far in search for food, as it befits such creatures. But let's not focus now on that as it has no part in our story. Her best friend was the Wolf. On a cold winter morning the two of them went for a walk, like they did every morning. The day was beautiful. The trees put on a thin white mantle that melted during the day and the morning haze rose from the ground like a transparent veil through which the friendly morning sun was already shining. The Grasshopper and the Wolf walked acrossed the field and decided to go to the Hill nearby after a while. They arrived to the top puffing and happy and soon they a herd of deer greeted them. A bit further some ibex and chamois noded them hello and at the end the Grasshopper and the Wolf saw the Linx too, but he didn't say anything as he was just having breakfast and was obviously well educated, because he didn't even greet in return with his mouth full but just flicked his ear in their direction.

The Wolf ran around, all excited, while the Grasshopper was enjoying the fresh air and was looking forward to the well deserved breakfast (the Grasshopper is a grasshopper after all). The two friends were fairly close to their home already when they saw the Goat from afar. The Goat had the Pig with her, as usually. The Pig actually wasn't all that bad, but the problem is that the Goat takes care of him. That means that the Pig romps and jumps around like goats do and is never clean while at it. Furthermore, goats have the nasty habit of butting into others. Yes, the Pig took that habit too. But the Grasshopper, being an eternal optimist, hoped that that time things would be different. Unfortunately she reckoned wrong. They were walking towards each other and the Goat and the Grasshopper greeted. At that time the Pig came running, jumped on the Wolf and almost cut him in half. The Wolf rebuked the Pig and drove him away, which made the Pig turn to the Grasshopper. He was three metres before her when he leaped from the ground and flew directly towards her. The Grasshopper stretched out her front feet, hoping that would stop him, but she failed. The Pig twisted her finger, almost knocked her down and treaded her down completely. Finally the Grasshopper managed to get him off; instantly, the Pig went around her behind her back and jumped on her again. Everybody knows that Pigs are bigger and heavier than Grasshoppers and these two were no different. The Grasshopper barely managed to stay on her feet. At last, she lost her nerves, she took the Pig by the neck and told him she had it with him and she wanted to be left alone. The Pig jumped on his feet and propelled onto the Wolf, who was tired of being treaded on too and gave him a good ticking off. But the Pig is a pig and if he is under the govern of a Goat it can't be good. The Grasshopper decided she had enough of being treated that bad. She greeted the Goat politely, though a bit ill-humouredly and the Goat greeted in return, but didn't apologize. She's a goat, what can you do. The Grasshopper and the Wolf continued their journey home, alleviated that they shook off the rude, unpleasant company, and were happily humming to themselves after a minute.

But the happiness didn't last long. It was only a few minutes later that the Grasshopper saw the Ass with the Bull from a distance. She wasn't exactly looking forward to this encounter either because they had met once or twice before. The Bull is, as most bulls, big, strong and likes to swagger and show off. And the Ass is, what else, an ass. The last time they met the Bull pounced on the Wolf and, bristled all over, stopped only a few metres before him. The Ass ran after him and tried to catch him, but he couldn't and started yelling to the Grasshopper and the Wolf that they should go away. To tell truth neither the Grasshopper nor the Wolf felt the Bull was that bad, his biggest problem was that his master was a real Ass. Anyways, this time the Ass saw the Wolf and the Grasshopper in time and tied the Bull. But we all know how it goes – where the Bull heads, the Ass follows. The Bull went left and right and the Ass followed him whenever he went, he only jerked him every now and then so his pride didn't suffer too much. The Grasshopper told the Wolf to stay near her and only greet politely to avoid any conversation, as unpleasant as the one with the Goat and the Pig. So the friends were walking side by side on the path and politely greeted the Ass, who had retreated to the margin of the path with the Bull. It seems that the Ass was taught his manners at the same place the Goat had because he didn't even return the greeting. Instead he hee-hawed to the Grasshopper if she could educate the Bull as well as she did the Wolf. The Grasshopper jokignly responded that she would if she was well repayed. The Ass was enraptured with the answer and asked her how could they agree upon the matter. The Grasshopper stopped for a second, looking at the Bull and she actually felt sorry for him because his only company is an ass. Thereupon she answered that she was only joking, but the Ass started convincing her to take the offer. The Grasshopper had enough of it and told the Ass: ''You see, you can give me the Bull and I can make an effort and educate him as well as I did the Wolf, but what good could that do to him, as he will then again be lead by an ass.'' The Ass hee-hawed in laughter and tapped the Bull, who was looking at the Wolf and the Grasshopper more and more sadly and yearningly, on the head. The Grasshopper knew it was best to say goodbye, s she greeted them, beckoned the Wolf and they headed off.

Back at home they saw they were both dirty from the Pig and the Grasshopper's finger was hurting more and more by the minute. The Wolf licked her swollen hand in sympathy and then the Grasshopper made them both breakfast. Theiy were soon again in a good mood, but still they couldn't help themselves but to remember the regardlessness and bad manners of others. But what could they do, that's the way things go and the Grasshopper and the Wolf both hope that a lot of time will pass before their next meeting.

As you all know every fable has its moral. And what is the moral of this present fable? I don't know. Maybe that the encounter with a dirty Pig and and a Bull that is full of … himself is unpleasant only if they are guided by an irresponsible Goat and a real Ass.

The end