The folks up north will see me no more, when I get to that Swanee shore

I came to work today with the haunted feeling that I was going to be let go. I won't bore you with the reasons why I felt this way, only to say they weren't without merit.

Well, I emerged from the day unscathed and can breathe a little easier. It's hardly ever a good time to lose one's job, but if today had gone as I feared it would, I would have been in quite the unenviable position. To wit: My car needs some immediate repairs, the cost of which I have no idea about, because the mechanic I took it to on Monday, after having it in his lot the entire day, informed me that he thought it was my suspension that needed fixing. However, he had no clue how much it would cost until he made further inquiries (?), which he wouldn't be able to get around to until some time today. Needless to say, I got my car out of there post haste and will be taking my business elsewhere. Anyway, you see what I'm getting at: if I lost my job today, I'd be without a job and left with a car that needs immediate repairs, which, for all I know, will cost a ton.

As is evident, I don't have a firm sense of job security. What I need to do is keep my eyes open for a new job while plotting my future. I'm not cut out for the precarious life, as sexy dangerous as it is.
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Man, I'm loving The Blade Itself! What a great read! It's been a while since I've had trouble putting a book down. I'm almost half way through it and I don't think I'll be able to wait until March when the next volume comes out. I'll have to order a copy from the UK, where it's been published for some time. I'd been plodding through Erikson's Midnight Tides, which is pretty good, but Abercrombie's writing scratches me where I itch, so he gets priority.
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Had a dream about Mandy, the dog of my youth, last night. I frequently have the same dream about her, and last night's was no different. In it, I found her laying down in a corner at my parents house and felt a surge of guilt over forgetting she was still alive. She looked old and as I rubbed her belly she angled her head up at me and the look of pain in her eyes filled me sadness. Also in her gaze was a plea to let her die. I kept petting her and wondered if she'd been fed in a while. She was so quiet and frail laying there; it would be too easy to forget her, I worried. Petting her, I felt like weeping. How could I forget about her? How could I leave her to such a lonely fate? How come I've made this post an all-out bummer?

I'm not sure why I have these dreams . I'm not even sure they're necessarily about her. In actuality, I never abandoned her, not even close. In fact, I held her in my arms at the end. And it's not as if I've forgotten about her, either. I think of her often, and fondly. So why these painful dreams? Wouldn't it be more likely, considering my time with her, that I'd have dreams about her in her prime, running and playing? Like I said, though, these dreams might not have so much to do with her and may speak to something else entirely. Whatever the meaning is, I'd prefer not having these Pet Semetary type dreams about my ol' girl.
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I'm looking forward to watching more episodes of I'm Alan Partridge tonight. Knowing Me, Knowing You, the last series with him in it was damn funny, but the bar has been raised for this one. Ah, I love good comedy, as indicated by all the yucks I've shared with you throughout this post.

Cheers!