Friday Night Ramble: One Day Late

I wore myself out with last night's post about HPL and zombie guns, so I didn't post the usual ramble. So here goes.

Work was tough this week. I spent two days (1 1/2 routes) reading meters in Olmos Park alone, and that is one of the three worst places in S.A. to read meters. The other two, in case you're curious, is Terrell Hills and the Monte Vista Historic District. I slowly worked my way westward during the week, basically starting just a little west of highway 281 and ending on the west side of Blanco Rd. By Azathoth, it was bad. Those of us who are "full time" meter readers for our project sometimes take a sort of perverse pride in knowing that, under normal circumstances, we earn more money for the company than those who never do anything but deliver overdue bill notices. This week was not under normal circumstances by any means, and I actually earned less for the company than the slackers, and I worked my butt off. My main gripe this week is something that you just can't get people to believe, no matter what. Here it is, folks: Your meter reader is a lot better off being alone in the yard with your dog than if you are out there with him. Your dog is going to be a lot more dangerous if he thinks he has to protect you personally. Just peek out the window or something if you think you have to watch, but don't go out there in the yard and start yelling at the dog to shut up. The dog doesn't know what you're yelling about, all he knows is that you are in distress because you're screaming, and the only thing that poor dumb mutt can think of is that the stranger is causing your distress, and he's going to go ape $#@! crazy until the stranger is gone. And don't think you automatically know how your dog will react because you're around him all the time. Chances are, that meter reader deals with a couple hundred unfamiliar dogs every day, and he can tell in 5 seconds more about how you're dog will react than you ever will.

The heat was getting bad this week, but we fortunately had a late thunderstorm pass through on Thursday that cooled things off a little for Friday. That's it for the ramble tonight. I have a couple of other posts to make under separate subjects. So there.