My dog Patches is seriously my best friend. I raised her to be exactly that. I found her on the side of road at the beach. I could tell she was a pure breed English bulldog, so I watched her sit in the mud, and just cry, for a whole hour. The beach was packed with people, and no one seemed to be paying attention to her. I told myself, I’ll go for a swim, if she is still there when I get back, I will take her home with me and dress her in dog Halloween costumes. After about an hour of swimming, I came up to find her sleeping in the mud, where she had been when I left. I picked her up, brought her home, and turned her into my best friend. She goes everywhere with me. The beach, the store, My friend’s house’s. I even take her to some parties I go to. She’s super friendly, and almost everyone accepts her into their homes. She’s so well behaved that it makes it possible for her to go everywhere. The only thing I did, was allow her to come with me everywhere, and love her completely and she has been my best friend since the day I brought her home.

I have always found it difficult to find activities to do with my female friends. You see , I hate shopping. I find it tedious. When people ask where I like to shop, I always tell them that it’s not so much a matter of where I like to go, but rather which places I hate the least. At which point I mention a few shops that I know often have a few things that I like, none of which is a supermarket (which I hate more than regular shops). When I must shop, I choose a shop where there isn’t much of a line, and where I can get what I want with as little fuss and hassle as humanly possible. That way, the ordeal is over as quickly as possible.

Today will end sadly, because my housemates are leaving (permanently) for Spain tomorrow in the early morning, so I will finish the day off by saying, “Adios,” and wishing them good luck in their life without me. They have been the best housemates a person could ask for. I still remember the argument we had recently about mopping the floors – they felt guilty that I was doing it, and tried to insist that I stop and let them do the mopping instead! Before they leave, I must go out and buy a few things – a goodbye present for them; a card to wish them well; and a box of tissues for myself to wipe away the tears when they leave.

Though my wife and I avoided moving to our corner of suburbia from the rolling foothills of California, we are so happy we decided to move to civilization! Perhaps the coolest thing about Roseville is that there are so many things for kids to do. From hundreds of swim lessons and three large libraries to numerous summer camps and pretty much any sports league one could imagine, Roseville truly is a great place to raise children. This past year, one of my kids sang in a musical, one learned ancient tracking techniques from local Native American tribes, and a third had the chance to express herself in tiny tot gymnastics. We feel lucky to be able to provide our children the opportunities that living in Roseville has provided for us.

It’s something about the way they run up to you, so happy to see you and waging their tails like nothing else in the world matters. I love my dog, his name is Nugget, and I’d do almost anything for him. I buy him things all the time, treats, toys… you name it. When I was younger I even considered buying him on of those dog sweaters, more so because I thought it would be funny than fashionable, but their still cool I guess. I just love my dog, he’s great! I am considering even getting a few more, because lets be honest… you can’t have too many dogs!