another weekend, another fast CAT event! jean did her two runs perfectly (no trying to bite the releaser), which solidifies my thought that the people the weekend before were handling her too roughly. she got to wear her fancy new collar with the handle, which may have helped, too. echo actually ran a couple of times (1/2 distance the first time), but she didn't really know what was going on, haha. i figure i'll do a few more practice runs with her before i start entering her "for real."

echo also starts her first rally obedience class tonight! i'm really excited, even though its from 8-9pm (so laaaate).

i'm just about done with the border collie rescue website (pro-bono work), and i'll be sure to share that once it's live. lots of cute dog pictures there. :)

I've been intensively studying A1 French in my current camp east of Antwerp, as I'll be entering Wallonia next week and then France soon after that. I wonder what French people sound like when they have a stuffed nose.

I am actually really stressed out about the US election. There’s not much I can do, but the likelihood of harm to family and friends is really high if one person wins.

We live abroad and have family visiting. We are exhausted. I'm not saying it is bad it is just... Too much sometimes.

Our 5 year old cat is experiencing kidney failure, and we have no idea why. We can't think of a way he could have gotten access to any of the things on the list of substances that would cause that, and he's so young. They have him on fluids right now, but we're not sure if he's going to make it. His numbers were really bad.

I got a flu shot last week and have been feeling sick since the day after the shot. It feels strange, all the annoyances of being sick without feeling like I'm oozing contagiousness out of every pore.

I'm more annoyed I am unwell enough to go on some hikes. The leaves from all the trees are falling real quick now and I wanted to enjoy the last bits of fall colours. I also want to gather some forest leaves to use as leaf little in my terrariums at home. Leaves far from pesticides. The things I try to do for my little gecko.

Speaking of her, it's been just over a week now since she's begun eating again and she's hungry. I have her outside play area fenced off in my room but I have no idea if she comes out at night during this time of year or just chills in her hiding cave. During the spring and summer time she just wants to explore my whole room and hide under the couch but right now it seems she turned into a hungry little gremlin that just comes out for food. I've also noticed with her that she seems more comfortable with me year after year. Even if just a little bit. She still hates hands though so it's still a struggle attempting to handle her. At least she has a cute little face.

I finally got some stuff done around the house, raked all the leaves, lots of cleaning, changing out my RO filters, need to do the house ones today, as they seem to be done messing with the water lines. Should probably drain the water heater too, I guess..

Got some oyster and shiitake mushroom grows going, experimentally. Probably won’t work, we’ll see.

Some folks from my last job were in town on Wednesday, so they invited me out to dinner. I say "last job," but I'm now a contractor/consultant for them; no longer a FTE. So I guess they're still my coworkers. It was nice to see them in person. My boss was there, so of course he asked how my new job was going. From my previous post, I'm not sure I'm enjoying it. But I couldn't tell him that.

But I started with, "It's interesting..." And his eyes widened and he got a gleam in his eyes, lol. He thinks that anyone who leaves the company is crazy. And there's some truth to that as I've worked for the company twice. The first time I left...I don't want to say it was a mistake, but it wasn't everything I hoped for. I eventually came back a year and half later. Which he loves rubbing in my face and anyone who contemplates leaving. So I fudged it a bit. And he deflated, lol.

Either way, I'm glad I got to see them, and just spend a fun evening catching up over drinks and dinner. Gordon Ramsey's Hell's Kitchen is excellent.

This weekend, just watching F1 and League of Legends Worlds. Let's go Red Bull and T1!

I had a bit of a sad weekend, so now i'm trying to get over that and get some stuff done, just finished scheduling some things for the week and i'll probably gonna have to go run some errands after breakfast, hope everyone has a nice week :> btw, now i'm craving a burrito smh 😓