I swear I haven't fallen into a black hole.

My dog might hate me right now.

Here is what Tess looked like a few weeks ago:

This is what she looks like now:

The groomer buzzed her pretty close (which I asked for since she would have roasted this summer), but left her tail bushy. When she first got home, this is what I thought of:

To radically change the topic, don't let anyone tell you that there is nothing worthwhile at Goodwill, and I'm not just talking denim jumpsuits. I take a quick run through about once a week, and I've found some dishware and two sets of glasses for incredibly cheap.

My most recent purchases were a Spanish-looking cabinet and an oak commode. And no, I did not buy a toilet; another definition is a low chest of drawers so you can stop giving me that look. After some cleaning, sanding, and restaining, they are beautiful.

I have lots of furniture. My place in Champaign may look like a hoarder's home.

So I was hired at DSW about a month ago, and tendered my resignation today; I'll be finishing up the rest of this week, then I am going to enjoy the rest of my summer before I voluntarily submit myself to four years of insanity. That will allow me to do all of the things I want to this summer, such as attend weddings, visit a friend before she leaves for California, go to my grandpa's 80th birthday party, etc. These are all way higher on my priority list than cleaning up people's shoe messes for eight bucks an hour. I did get one pretty good story out the whole experience, which I will divulge later unless I forget.