Sticker Shock

First and foremost I would like to thank Mary, Joseph and sweet baby Jesus for allowing my clogged right ear to finally pop. This sucker has been making things sound like I've been living under water for the past week and I had no idea what was going to make it pop. It was ironic that the day after I got back from the doctor was the morning that it became clogged for a week straight. You know that feeling you get when you're about to land in a plane and you need your ears to pop. Yeah, that's what ol righty was doing. To make matters worse, it wasn't even what I went into the doctor for. I know I mentioned it a few times, but for about 3 weeks, I had this terrible hacking cough that was almost debilitating. I thought it was just allergies, until I went to Vegas and besides leaving some money there, I could have swore I left one of my lungs. I was starting to get worried that it might have progressed into pneumonia or bronchitis, so I wanted to make sure I wasn't contaminating every one around me. After going to the wrong place and then making it to the doctor an hour late, only to have to wait an hour more I was told that my asthma has come back. Now, I haven't had asthma since I was about 12 years old. And even then it wasn't as bad as what I had been feeling, and even worse what I had been sounding like lately. So with four prescriptions in hand I headed home. I'm still in a little bit of disbelief at the outcome of what was wrong with me, but after a week of meds, I'm starting to notice some progress. I'm not scaring the patrons of the gym with my hack and I'm not waking Scout up in the middle of the night because I can't stop violently shaking the bed from my coughing. I am still coughing, but now it doesn't sound like I have whooping cough. So, again I thank the powers that be that allowed my ear to finally pop and give me the satisfaction of blowing my nose like a normal human being, without the fear that I might actually blow an ear drum out.

But now on to more important things. Moving back to the NoVa area has definitely been a move for the best. I feel that I'm much happier with my surroundings and it has given me the opportunity to figure out what I want to do when I grow up. That's the good news. The unfortunate circumstances one is faced with is the price tag on luxury items in which one purchased with ease when said person had one, a job and two, a lower cost of living area. Let me get right to the point on what I'm referring too. My mentality with having a dog has always been, there are people that do such things as bath and groom my animal. Why would I do myself, what I could pay someone else to do? Here is the answer to that question. When living in North Carolina we had a GREAT groomer that for $20 would bath, clip nails, clean ears, and extract anal glands of my dog. They would also give her a cute little bandanna for her trip home. For an additional $5 they would clean her teeth. So, for $25 a month, I would have an extremely clean dog without having to get myself wet, scratched, bit, or pooped on. A fee I would gladly pay anyone. Now imagine my surprise when I move to this area and start calling around to local groomers. I started at PetSmart because they are everywhere and couldn't possibly be that much more money then where I just came from. $42 and an additional $11 if I want to have her teeth cleaned. Another place was $80 because I said she was part husky. Today, I called a place that told me the lab part of her would be $50 but the husky would be $82, but that I would have to bring her in to get a further assessment. On top of these fees I have asked the groomers if they use deshedding products, because let me tell you how much this house needs it. The answer, no. So, all you're doing is shampooing my dog, conditioning my dog and blow drying my dog. I can get my hair washed, conditioned and cut, by a stylist for $65 and I can drive myself there. These people have to be out of their minds for charging this much money. And to make matters worse, I know they are busy because they are still open. There is a small part of me that is contemplating bringing my dog with me to the wedding in Charlotte just to get her groomed at a reasonable rate. For the record, those of you coming to my doggie day care in the near future, our rates will be $20 and if you wear a TCU shirt, or your pet has a TCU collar, I'll throw in a teeth cleaning for free. This has completely blown my mind to the point that I have no more words to describe my sticker shock in washing my dog. I will be taking applications here locally for anyone that wants the job. I will pay you $20 cash and I'll make you dinner :o)