Texas

Way back in June I took a short trip to Fort Worth/Dallas Texas for another conference, where I presented another chapter of my dissertation. I didn't take many pictures on the trip as I wasn't really there for sight-seeing. The first two are from our motel (my dad and Rusty came with me). I thought the towel elephant was a nice touch considering it wasn't a very nice place and the chair in the lobby cracked me up.

I only took one picture as I was walking around campus and snapped the other two as I was driving away (which explains the quality of the pictures).

The last three pictures are of Rusty in his new bag, I have had the bag forever but have been reluctant to start using it as Rusty seemed quite comfortable in his old bag, but a Delta rep in the Las Vegas airport told me I really needed to change bags as Rusty had made a hole in the side of his old one- just big enough to stick his nose through.

Albuquerque

I recently (ok, it was waaay back in February) I took a trip to Albuquerque, New Mexico for a conference, where I presented a chapter of my dissertation. It was a quick trip so I really did not get to see much of the town- but what I did see was beautiful.

Here are some pictures of Old Town-





















And here is cute Rusty waiting with me for the airport (or Sunport as they call it in Albuquerque) shuttle to come back for us after our flight home was cancelled. The ground was freezing and the shuttle left us waiting there for over an hour so I tried to get him to sit on my suitcase...

Random Photos

I often take pictures envisioning blog posts and sometimes I forget to follow through- I was going through my camera and found some of those pictures so I thought I'd share them now.

I took this first picture in Yorktown- every once in a while I drive there to sit and read on the riverwalk when I need a change of pace. On this particular day it was cold and foggy out- I think this is a really cool picture of the bridge disappearing into the fog.



I took this next group of photos at the airport in Detroit- way back in September. My grandmother passed away and I had to travel home on very short notice and I ended up having some very long lay-overs in Detroit which actually worked out well since they have a hotel attached to the airport with a separate entrance (and security line) so I was able to take Rusty outside through the hotel which was much more pleasant than taking him out through the main airport lobby- anyway, this first picture was taken in the hotel- which seemed very fancy, I doubt I could afford to stay there...



These two pictures didn't really turn out very well- but if you've been through the Detroit airport you'll know what I was trying to capture- they have a light show (I guess that's what you'd call it) along the tunnel in between terminals. Rusty was not a fan but I thought it was kind of cool. One of my friends said she went to the tunnel heavily medicated because she hates to fly and when she went through the tunnel she thought she was in hell- so not everyone is a fan...





While Rusty and I were sitting by the gate we were suddenly surrounded by birds- first there was only one, then two, eventually there were at least 6. Rusty wanted to check them out but he showed a lot of restraint.



This last picture is of Rusty (I know I've shared a lot of pictures of Rusty lately- but here's one more). I've been trying to get a a picture of him with his ears out forever- he's so cute when he stretches his ears but he always puts them back down before I can snap a picture- well I finally caught it- how cute is Rusty?

back to the grind

Rusty and I took a quick trip west for Easter and to attend my sister's wedding in Vegas. It was kind of a strange trip and I was nervous about taking a break this close to my exam- but I think it may have been a good thing to break me out of my comps rut. I've had three meetings since I got back and all three professors said they think I am ready! Which is great news- only one more professor to go! Hopefully he'll respond to one of my emails and actually set up a meeting. It's kinda strange- even though all of my meetings have gone well and I am on track for comps (I finished reading- so it's all review all the time from here on out) I'm feeling a little depressed- I guess I'm just ready for this whole process to be over!

Traveling with a dog

Last weekend I went to the WHA Conference which just happened to be in my home state so I got to visit with family and friends while I was there. It was a lovely visit- but way too short especially considering how long it takes to get there and come back. After much debate and weighting of options I decided to take my dog with me. It was freaking expensive and stressful. Airlines like to gouge pet owners. 

Leading up to the trip I tried to prepare Rusty by shoving (I know it's not nice to shove but he gave me little choice) him into his carrier. He hated (hates) his carrier. When we first tried it he completely freaked out and panicked. Over the course of several weeks I finally got him into the carrier (still by force- gentle force) without causing him to panic. He would lay in there quietly, if not happily, and only occasionally tried to escape. (I rewarded him with treats- so it wasn't all bad).

Next we went to the vet to get sedatives for the trip. (Vets also like to gouge pet owners- although less so than airlines and to be fair his new vet is very nice- if expensive). My advisor suggested that I test out the sedatives before the trip because he might have a strange reaction to them. So a week before the trip I gave him a pill- it worked and didn't seem to freak him out.

After all our preparation I wasn't too worried about the trip but my anxiety grew as we drove to the airport. Rusty was used to the carrier but he still hated it and hated it even more when being carried because he gets jostled around. We arrived at the airport 2 hours early and got in the LONG line to the check-in desk. Once in line I began overhearing other people talking about my flight being delayed- by an hour- which meant making my connection would be less likely- but not impossible. By the time I got to the front of the line (an HOUR later) the flight was being delayed by 2 hours- meaning that I would completely miss the connection. Mind you, this whole time Rusty is freaking out in his carrier, he was shaking and jumping around trying to escape. I tried to calm him down and he bit me through the mesh, he had his nails stuck through the sides, and was trying to open the zippers by working his nose into the corners. It was a very stressful hour. We ended up taking a different flight through a different city and got home 4 hours later than planned. Which meant a very late night right before a very early morning- I had to be downtown (about 45 minutes away) at 8 the next morning. Rusty didn't care- he was just happy to be out of his bag. That first hour in line was by far the most stressful (for me at least- Rusty also hated going through security).

The trip back was much better- I think both of us had gotten used to it and I was careful to only move the carrier when necessary so that Rusty didn't get jostled too much and he tried to get comfortable and sleep the whole way which was nice. By the way, the sedatives worked when I tested them out but did not work on the trip- I'm not sure why- maybe it was his stress level. 

The two days spent at home were very nice- it was great seeing everyone but I am looking forward to a longer visit. And I've decided to get Rusty a new carrier (since he hates this one so much and has already made a hole in it) so I went online and ordered one with wheels-hopefully he will like that more.