Jerkface Magoo

A few days ago there was man passing through the dog park with his highly energetic poodle. He was new to the area and was on the lookout for places to bring his dog to play. He greeted us dog park regulars and took a look around to see what the park had to offer them. As he left, he called his dog to go.

"Smarty! Let's go!"

We all stopped and turned to him. I asked, "Did you just call your dog Smarty?"

He laughed, "Yes, his name is Smarty Pants."

This got me to thinking about the names we chose for our pets, kids, cars...etc. Looking back on the names you have chosen for your child/pet, would you change them now that you have gotten to know them? I doubt this man could have known for certain that his dog was going to be intelligent (although poodles are incredibly smart dogs) and he must have hoped and prayed that his dog wouldn't grow up to be dumber than a doornail.

In the series of books that I am currently reading, there are certain communities of people that do not name their children until they reach their second birthday. This is due to the fact that children have increased risk of dying young due to war, famine, disease and all those dreadful happenings that readily occurred before modern medicine and sanitation intervened. So these people would wait until the child turned 2 before giving it an official name. What if that were still the tradition today? Do you think that parents would be naming their children the names that they had expected to initially? I hear stories all of the time about parents who have a name all picked out for their unborn baby, and then the baby is born and the parents decide that the child does not at all look like the name they wanted for it. They meet the kid and suddenly the name does not fit and it's back to the drawing board.

Perhaps the pressure of finding that perfect name would suddenly disappear when you have 2 years to figure it out. I feel that by getting to know the kid and learning the blossoming personality would definitely help with determining a name that really works. Cause c'mon, we all know someone who does not (at all) suit his/her name. There are some people whose names I cannot, for the life of me, remember because the name just does not suit the person!

I feel that with a dog, a dog needs to be named immediately because it needs to learn its name and it needs to know when it's being acknowledged so that it can be trained. Not naming a dog until it is 2 is basically the same as not naming a kid until it is 14. That's a bit too long. A think a kid could grow up normally without having a name until 2, but not a dog. However, it would be pretty cool if we could get to know our dogs before we name them.

After adopting Axel, I liked his name and I felt as though it suited his quite well. But honestly, if I could have waited to get to know him and name him afterwards, there is no doubt in my mind that his name would be Jerkface Magoo. Anyone who knows him would understand why this is the perfect name for my dog.

1) He's a jerk - sometimes. But when he's a jerk, he's SUCH a jerkface.
2) He's a complete dork with a semi-droopy eye, and therefore a Magoo.

But I love him anyway.

Rain Drops on Roses... Whiskers on Kittens....

It's that time again!!! Time for a quick version of my Favourite Things!!!! Every so often I need to boast and divulge some of the things in my current every day life that make me happy.

1) The parents coming to town. My folks came to the city on Thursday night and stayed with me for 4 days. I was really nervous to have them in my teeny tiny apartment with me and the dog (especially since I was in the process of selling my couch), but it turned out to be pretty good! We made it work. I always love having any family in town. I don't get to see them not nearly enough so having them around makes my heart happy. Just hanging out with them, watching a movie and sharing some beer was a nice way to spend my Saturday night.

2) Beer. Specifically Dark Matter made by the amazing Hoyne Brewing Company. This has been my current favourite beer for about a year now and just thinking about it makes me salivate. I was never a dark beer drinker until I discovered this luscious beverage. Whenever I thought about dark beer, my brain instantly went to Guinness which I find to be too strong. But Dark Matter is so smooth and tasty and not hoppy or overwhelming in any way, and I might marry it if it got down on one knee. No, it wouldn't even have to get down on one knee. It could just casually remark the idea of a wedding and I'd hop on board and commit my entire life without a second thought.

3) My new couch!!!!! I bought a second hand couch when I moved into my apartment but it just never fit me right. I always got a sore back whenever I would lay on it for any length of time, so I decided on a whim to just get rid of it. With the help of the sale of my previous couch (sold it for more than I paid for it!) and an early Christmas present from the folks, I got myself a brand-spankin' new couch. And frankly, I'm madly in love with this sexy piece of furniture,

It's the first time I ever owned a brand new piece of major furniture (apart from my bed but that's not as exciting because this is much prettier). I'm a little afraid to sit on it in case I wreck it somehow, and every time the dog even glances in it's direction I give him the stink eye and threaten him with his life if he ever attempts to lay on it.

4) My 2014 Halloween costume. My costume this year was created very last minute because I didn't know what I wanted to be. In a moment of impulse and desperation, I decided to be a Stick Man for Halloween. I have no idea how or why I came to that decision but when the idea came into my head, I decided that there was no turning back. The plan was to dress in 100% black and black out my face with makeup. Then I would run white hockey tape down my legs, torso and arms to resemble a Stick Man's body. The head was made out of cardboard, covered with white Duck Tape and fastened to my face via a headband. The outcome far surpassed my expectations and looked especially awesome when we were way out in the country at a haunted house. The costume practically glowed in the dark and all people could really see of me was this white Stick Man walking around. Unfortunately this is the only picture I have of it but you get the idea.

5) Movies that make me smile. Is there really much better then sitting down for 2 hours and watching something that just makes you smile the entire time? My 2 top smile movies at the moment are The Secret Life of Walker Mitty and The Grand Budapest Hotel. They may not be the most popular movies ever created but I just couldn't help but smile the entire time watching them. Muchly recommended by myself if you're looking for some silly movies to watch.

Sombrio 2014

Today I went to Sombrio Beach for the first time!

What. A. Beaut.

This is a major local spot for the local surfers to catch some awesome waves and for us non-surfers to just simply enjoy. There is the wonderful beach to explore, plus hiking trails to wander along and campsites for those who want to really spend some time amongst the beauty. There aren't many days left in the year such as the one we experienced today, so it was a no-brainer when the topic of heading out there for the day came up. The beach is about a 90 minute drive from downtown Victoria, which is really no big deal considering the view you get.