from the beloved series "Achilles and Gabriela"
THE DAWGS ARE TURNING ME INTO AN ACADEMIC

Have I mentioned I'm part of a panel at the 2007 AWP? Here's my panel info:

"Found in Translation: Poetry that Stems from Multilingual Homes"
Friday, March 2, 2007
12:00-1:15PM

I skipped AWP last year, despite having been accepted for 2 (actually 3) panels. And I skipped it the year before that, too, though I also had been skedded for a panel. Keep this secret, okay; I secretly LOATHE said AWP.

But anyway, the risk of me canceling AWP in 2007 has decreased significantly in the past couple of weeks.

In the past couple of weeks, I've had to deal with Gabriela, one of moi German shepherds, coming down with -- of all the *)(*&)^% things -- vaginitis. You heard that right. And because the dawg don't speak English, she didn't tell me she had vaginitis so that it led to her having bladder stones. And so we had to put her on special diets, give her 13 pills a day...yadda. An x-ray is due in a few weeks to see if we'd have blasted those stones to bits.

And moi other dog Achilles? Well, I had to bring him to the vet today to have skin samples taken off one leg and sent over to some lab who'll do a biopsy. For the next 2 weeks, though, the dawg has to wear an Elizabethan Collar to prevent him from chewing at his stitches.

Because of moi dawgs, I'm actually planning to go to AWP. I need a break from this soccer-mom horse patootie regarding these furry critters.

Meanwhile, here is Gabriela monitored by the Pussipos Artemis and Missy Scarlet. Obviously, she's oblivious to the havoc she wreaks on the Chatelaine's life.