Food Guy Guest Spot

Yellow Dog and I are switching things up a bit at the moment. YD decided to turn the keyboard over to his Food Guy for a couple of days since he couldn't make the trip out west with me. He said he trusted me to write an entry or two since he was staying home in GA this week. I dropped him off at Jen's on Wednesday morning to hang out with Zozo and Sug while I headed out to Tahoe for a writing conference. I have to admit that I think it was much harder on me than it was on him. I love that yellow buddy and leaving him for a week, well let's just say I felt like I was leaving my right arm at home. But, I know he's having a big time hanging with his ATL crew. Jen sent me this picture of him this morning. Looks like somebody has been having a good time with his buddies

I caught a flight out of ATL Wednesday morning. I've flown lots of times. I've even flown on quite a few planes made by the lowest bidder and flown by guys who were flying cargo planes instead of jets for a reason. That reason being that they didn't do as well in flight school as some other people. And, the flight from ATL to Phoenix was terrifying! One of the worst landings ever. That includes a crash landing in a Ch46 in the Cali desert a some years ago. Ughh. I was not looking forward to taking off again for the second leg of the trip. But, you gotta do what you gotta do. We made it to Tahoe Wednesday afternoon and it was worth it. This place is beautiful!

The views here are so different from back home.

I had to work for a while when I got in last night, but still managed to get up early enough to go for a great run on the Tahoe Rim Trail this morning before the first writing session.

It was a sweet run! The altitude change was a little more than I thought it would be, so I was sucking wind like you wouldn't believe for most of the run.

Hopefully it'll be a little easier tomorrow morning. If nothing else I'll feel like a champion the first few days back in Athens.

After the evening session, a bunch of folks and I headed down the trail for a hike. Oddly enough we managed to find our way to town to enjoy a beer by the river before we headed back up the trail. All in all, not a bad day of "work" using the term loosely.

Summer School

It's been a quiet couple of weeks for me because the Food Guy's been teaching bunch of classes in summer school. Last week he was gone all day everyday teaching a class. He's also teaching a class on-line, so he'd come home every night and have to sit in front of the computer grading. He did take me for a decent walk after dinner every night (and a walk in the am, and he came home at lunch), but that's really about it. I'm SO neglected. It's been a couple of weeks since we had a good adventure, so I don't have any good pics to post right now. I know, that's pretty lame, but the Food Guy promised me that we'll go on a cool trip soon.

In other news, the Food Guy defended his prospectus last week. Remember, the thing he was writing while we were at the workshop in the mountains? Well, he finally finished it and had the big meeting with his dissertation committee. They approved his study, and now he's just waiting for the University's Human Subjects Review Board to read it and make sure he's not going to use a cattle prod in his study or anything. It's all pretty silly if you ask me. Why on earth do you have to go through all that just to interview some people? But, I'm not gonna complain because that means the Food Guy has to take some time off while he waits for approval. I'm all for anything that gets him to work a little less for a few days. I think we're going to go home to NC for a couple of days. You know what that means? You guessed it! Lots of extra dog bones from the Food Guy's dad. Plus, I'll get to run around in the yard. We might even go to the mountains for a day or two to go for a hike. Sweeeet!!!

I also get to go stay in the ATL with Jen, Zozo, and Sug soon. Food Guy is going to Tahoe for a conference, and I don't fly on airplanes. So, I'm staying here. It'll be so much fun hanging with my peeps for a few days!

Well, Food Guy just woke up from his nap, so I gotta go. I'm gonna get him to take me for a walk before he goes out to ride that silly bike of his. He's always riding that thing. He did take me for a good run this morning before it got too hot, so I guess I shouldn't complain.

Talk to y'all later. Oh, if you see any doggies out there, give them dog bones! And water, you can't ever drink enough water!

The Epistemological Ruminations of an Arts-Based Yellow Canine

OR: A Yellow Dog Goes to College:

What's up everybody? The Food Guy and I just got back from a really fun week in the mountains. Food Guy had to go to a writing workshop for a week, and he worked it out so that I could go too. One of the Food Guy's professors was running this workshop at Amicalola Falls in North Georgia. I think it just made good sense for me to be able to go. I spend so much time hanging out while Food Guy is reading all of his books and writing his papers that I think they really need to give me a PhD too when the Food Guy graduates. Now, maybe they will since I've been to college. What do y'all think? 

Amicalola is a really cool place. I think everyone should go there if they get the chance. There's a lot of really cool places to see there, and so much good stuff to smell.  Check out this really cool spot along the creek:

Now, y'all know that I'm a smart dog and all that, but I learned lots of new words this week. Greg, one of our friends who stayed with us in the cabin, is a pretty smart guy. He knows all kinds of big words. So, he helped me learn some new ones. We spent lots of time sitting around the cabin and I got some good tutoring.

 Greg told me that I was an Arts-based, Multi-genre dog who didn't just have thoughts. He said I had "epistemological ruminations." He suggested the title for this post, and I thought it was a pretty good one. I was thinking Yellow Dog Goes to College was pretty good, but Greg's title sounds much, much better. I mean, I do have some pretty deep thoughts. Most dogs do, really. We have lots and lots of time to sit around and think about stuff. And, lots of dogs are smart. My friend Sug is so smart. She can read anything you put in front of her. And my friend Zozo. I think she's the smartest. She's figured out how to sleep like 20 hours a day!

Anyway, it was a really fun week. The Food Guy got lots of writing done, and I helped him whenever I could. Mostly, I just sat next to him on the floor or sat on the couch next to people while they worked. It was a pretty sweet set up:  

We didn't just work though. We went for lots and lots of runs on the trails. Food Guy and I ran for a couple of hours everyday. Well, we took one day off because Food Guy just HAD to make sure he got enough work done. He can be such a geek that way. "Gotta get my work done, gotta get my work done," he says. Luckily, I told him he could call going for a run on the trail "work" if he was smart. See, all he has to do is think about what he's supposed to be writing while he's out running, and bingo: you're working! You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure that one out. But overall, the schedule seemed pretty good to me. The people spent a lot of time drinking coffee and talking about the stuff they were writing. Then, they went to "class" every night where they helped each other with their writing projects. I mostly slept while all that was going on. I mean, a dog can only do so much thinking. I had to make sure I got plenty of sleep, so Food Guy and I could go exploring on the trails everyday. The trails at Amicalola Falls are pretty sweet. Check out some of the views we found along the way:

The trails were really good for running. Food Guy's ankle seems to have finally healed. It had been giving him some trouble for a while, so we weren't getting to run very much before we went. He was riding his bike more than running, which sucks for me because that means I have to stay home. I like watching Sportscenter and all that, but I like being out on the trail much, much more. So, I was pretty glad he was feeling better 'cause I would have hated to spend a whole week at this trail running paradise without getting some serious miles in. Even an arts-based, multi-genre yellow canine has to get his miles in. You know, you can't work ALL the time. Sometimes I just had to look at the Food Guy and say, "C'mon let's GO!"

We didn't just run and work though.  We spent some good time hanging out around the cabin. Greg brought his guitar and played us some songs everyday. Man, that guy can play the guitar. He even took the time to teach the Food Guy a few chords. 

I'm not sure how that's gonna work out. He might even get mad at me for telling y'all about the guitar thing. You know Reeve is gonna start calling him a dirty hippie if he starts playing guitar. But I think it wouldn't be too bad if the Food Guy learned to play a little music. We even had a campfire or two. We stayed up pretty late the last night hanging out and listening to Greg play guitar around the campfire. The Good Doctor (Christine) managed to secure the appropriate liquid refreshments we needed when she made a run to town on Thursday, so we celebrated finishing our work with a roaring campfire Friday night. 

Well, we're back in Athens now. We went home for the weekend and had a good time hanging out at the Lake. I got to play with Bosco, the Food Guy's brother's dog. We had big time running around in the yard by the lake. The Food Guy's dad snuck me lots of extra dog bones. I have him convinced that Food Guy never feeds me. Sshh, don't tell him that I get plenty to eat. I'm not really looking forward to next week. Food Guy will be teaching all day and then grading for the online classes at night. Not to mention he has to finish up getting his dissertation prospectus ready and all that kinds of jazz.  Ughh, I'm gonna really have to get on him about getting out of bed early, so we can go run on our trails behind our house. Not that I like getting up early. I don't. But, I'll make up for it sleeping all day while he's working. Zozo and Sug taught me that trick. Like I said, those are some smart doggies. 

Looks Like We Get To Stay

Well, it looks like the Food Guy and I get to stay in Athens for another year. The Food Guy defended his Comprehensive Exams this morning, and he said things went great. I wasn't really worried about it. That guy has spent so much time reading and writing lately that I don't see how he could have done anything but pass, but I guess you never know. Anyway, I'm pretty psyched that he's done with all that. Now, hopefully we'll have more time to play outside.

Yesterday was a bit on the crazy side though. Right after Food Guy emailed off a bunch of grades and notes to one of the professors he works for, his computer crashed. And I mean crashed. The thing was totally fried! Wouldn't do anything. He took it to the Apple Store (I didn't get to go, but I didn't mind since I needed to catch up on SportsCenter- I'd missed the morning show). Anyway, he had to send the thing back to Apple so they can try to fix it. Good thing Food Guy is OCD about backing his files up. Our buddy Eric lent him a computer, so he was able to get all his notes ready for the defense today. All's well that ends well.

I'm looking forward to this weekend. Hopefully Food Guy will take me for a good run and a hike. Our next big adventure is coming up in a couple of weeks. We're heading to Amicalola Falls so the Food Guy can do a writing workshop. He's going to write his prospectus for his dissertation. I get to go too! It's gonna be awesome. A week in a cabin in the woods. I'll get to sleep on the porch while the Food Guy writes. Plus, we'll get to go for a long run every morning on the Approach Trail to the AT. Should be great!

A little break before the defense

Well, what's up y'all?! I know it's been a while since I got my paws on the keyboard, but the Food Guy has been writing his comprehensive exams day and night for the last 3 months. So computer time has been hard to come by for this Yellow Dog. Well, Ok, maybe not day and night. We have had some good adventures here and there. We've gone to the mountains a few times and took a few trips to Charlotte to check on the Food Guy's dad. 

Food Guy turned his exams in last week, so he decided it was time for a little vacation. He decided to meet some friends and go to West Virginia to paddle for a few days. I didn't get to go though, which I wasn't too happy about. But the campground didn't allow dogs. It's OK though- A friend of the Food Guy who is about to head off for Marine Officer Candidate School stayed with me here in Athens. He did a good job of being alternate Food Guy. He took me for lots of walks! 

Anyway, the Food Guy finally finished all of the grading he should have done this weekend, so now I can get to the computer while he finishes cleaning all of his gear from the trip. While he's doing that, I'll fill ya in on the latest. 

Mostly, it's been pretty quiet. Food Guy defends his exams on Wednesday, so he's pretty focused on that right now. He did have a great trip to WVa though. He told me all about it. I wish  I could have gone it is pretty up there. See: 

He drove over to NC Thursday morning and jumped in the truck with Brian. Then they drove all day Thursday and got to the Cheat River at about 9 oclock. Friday morning they went up to PA and paddled part of the Yough. (I can't spell the rest of that word- it's a long one and I'm a smart dog but even I have my limits.) Then they headed back to WVa to chill at the camp. I heard it rained a lot up there. They didn't even get to paddle the Cheat.  But they did get to paddle the Big Sandy. Looks like fun, huh? Food Guy hasn't been kayaking much lately, so I'm glad they decided to paddle something easy. Wouldn't want him to get all busted up. I need somebody to take me on long hikes and runs on the trail! It looks like there were some great surf waves on that river. 

After they finished paddling, Food Guy and his friends went back to camp and ate some food. Man, think of all the food I could have gotten people to give me if I could have gone! I gotta make sure I get to go next time!

Next they went over to the Cheat River Festival. It sounds like it was a lot of fun. Food Guy said there was some great music at the festival on Saturday night. It was of the bluegrass variety, which is my favorite. I know, Reeve would say Food Guy and I are dirty hippies, but whatever! Anyway, check out this pic of the buildaround Food Guy saw at the river:

This is some high quality Appalachian workmanship. It's a singlewide, a camper, and a building. Crazy, huh?! I thought I'd seen some good stuff in NC, but this tops it all!

Well, that's about it for now. I'll be sure to let y'all know how the Food Guy does at his Comps Defense on Wednesday. He'd better pass. We can't afford for him to get booted out of school. Plus, he spent way too much time working on those papers to fail. I mean, we could have been out having some serious fun during all those hours he was working!

Spring Break Starts on the AT

The Food Guy's spring break started on Friday, so when he got home from the library we packed up the rolling doghouse and headed for WNC to go for a run on the AT. Y'all know I like going for a run in the mountains, so I was pretty psyched. We got our friend Ben to drop us off in Reeve's truck at the Wesser Creek trail on saturday morning after spending some time hanging out and visiting folks around NOC. Ben's the man for dropping us off and having Reeve's truck back at NOC for us when we finished our run. 'Cause I was tired and ready for some food.

Wait 'till you see where we went, and you'll know why I was so tired I couldn't even jump in the truck at the end of the day. After a long, long uphill on the Wesser Creek trail, we hit the AT and from there it wasn't too long before we got to Wesser Bald. It was a steep climb, but there were lots of creeks to drink from and even a few spots of snow to eat. Food Guy and Reeve were working hard to keep running in a few spots and they had to settle for a fast hike for some long sections. I didn't mind that since it gave me more time to run around smelling stuff. I think I might have used a little too much energy- by the time we got the Wesser Bald, I was pretty tired. 

The run back down to NOC was pretty fun. It was fast and had lots of twists and turns and I was entertained by how many times Food Guy and Reeve rolled their ankles on roots and rocks. You know- it's all fun and games 'til somebody gets hurt, then it's hilarious. 

Once we got down to the Center, I was pretty tired. Food Guy gave me some dog bones and I drank from the river for a little while. It's still too early in the year for Reeve to turn the water on at the Silvermine house, so, I just slept in the back of the truck while the people went up to base camp and took showers. All in all, I'd say it was a great first day of Spring Break. Food Guy didn't bring his computer, so he didn't do any work at all. I took a long nap while Food Guy and Reeve went into town to eat Mexican food with the crew from NOC. 

Day 2 was pretty sweet too. I was pretty tired in the morning and Reeve and Food Guy let me sleep in while they went and had breakfast with Ken and Juliet. Then, Food Guy and I headed for Amicalola Falls to hike part of the approach trail to the AT. Check this place out:

There were lots of people there, so I had to stay on a leash for a while. Once we got away from all the people, I got off the leash and got to run all around. We hiked around for about 4 or 5 hours- I don't know much about clocks and time, but it was long enough for me to be tired. I was pretty glad we were hiking around a river because I was a thirsty yellow dog. Food Guy carried water and a bowl for me, but I like to drink out of the creek whenever I get a chance. 

We hike along the creek and hung out on a bridge overlooking the river for a while. We saw some really cool stuff. Check out this old truck. 

 I found a ball on the trail, and I got the Food Guy to throw it for me for a while- note to self: chasing a ball while hiking is a bad idea the day after a long run. I was so worn out when we got back to the car that Food Guy had to pick me and put me in the back seat. I slept the whole way home and I wasn't exactly feeling like bugging the Food Guy to take me for a walk this morning. I'll wait 'till tonight to make sure everything is as it should be on our trails behind the house. 

Food Guys parents came were passing through Athens this morning, so he went and ate breakfast with them while I slept in again. You know something? I'm pretty good at sleeping. I had a good teacher. My buddy Zozo told me I should sleep at least 18 hours a day. Sometimes, I don't get that much sleeping in, so I'm making up for it today.  I think he probably needs a day off too. I'm thinking we'll both take the day off today and then head back out for a run tomorrow. 

Snow in Athens!

What a crazy day yesterday! Food Guy and I got up in the morning and drove to Gwinett to help some friends pack a moving truck. It was raining like crazy- again, and they were calling for snow. Snow in Georgia? Really?! Food Guy said he didn't think it would happen, so we were planning to go for an afternoon hike on the AT. Well, the snow came like crazy, so we just went back to Athens. Glad we did, 'cause we never would have made it back if we didn't come home when we did.

It started snowing around 12 and it was still snowing went we went to bed last night. I've never seen that much snow before. In fact, I've never actually seen snow fall from the sky. It was so cool. I ran around catching it in my mouth. Good thing I have a fur coat and I don't get ice cream headaches! Food Guy says he hasn't seen that much snow since he left the mountains and moved to Athens. 

I think he was glad we didn't have to go anywhere. Instead we just went outside and played in the snow. It was so much fun. Lots of people from the neighborhood were out. Everyone was throwing snowballs, which was great for me 'cause I like to catch snowballs. I think I ate 50 snowballs yesterday. 

I got to play with lots of people and even another dog.

Most of our friends here in Athens lost power, but we didn't ever lose power for very long. One of our friends gave us some candles in case the power did go out, but we only needed them for a few minutes. We got lucky. We even had internet! Crazy huh?

 

Food Guy and I got up this morning and walked around to look at all the trees that fell down last night. It was kind of icy out, which I didn't like too much. I like the soft snow. I heard my buddy Zozo took a spill on the ice this morning while she was out walking with Jen and Sug. Poor Zozo. I'll have to be careful out there. Anyway, the fallen trees are pretty crazy. Our trails are totally blocked by fallen trees, and the road going back to the trails is blocked by a bunch of trees. We even had a huge tree break right outside our back door. Check it out:

Well, they called off school today, so there aren't any classes or anything. But, Food Guy still has to write. They didn't call off comprehensive exams, so I'd better let him have the computer back. I'm sure we'll go back and play some more before the snow melts. Y'all have a good one.