Deep breath before the plunge

This weekend, Darling Wife and I head down to Hollywood to see Wicked. DW has wanted to see the musical since it openned on Broadway. I'm not a big fan of musicals, but after years of anticipation, I confess to a certain level of excitement at the prospect of finally seeing it. In addition, we haven't been down to SoCal yet, and you know how I love travel. We've booked a decent hotel near the theatre and most of the main Hollywood attractions; I've mapped our route; and we've squirrelled away some funds. Now... we wait.

Next week is also the week I start classes. That means that I will take back up my grad student mantle and add a new nuance to it, "librarian." It's not very exciting, but it's mine... or will be. I'm dreading the workload but looking forward to getting back on a career path. I'm also eager to get past the initial stages of learning how to attend classes online. I dislike new situations where I am out of my depth, and even though I've completed all of the mandatory technology training for the program, there is still a how-is-this-going-to-work factor that only experience will quell. So even while I don't want the semester to start on so many levels, I am ready to grit my teeth and determinedly mutter, "Let's do this already." But it has to wait for next week.

And then there's the puppy situation. We talked to our breeder last week and learned that her "bitch" still hasn't "come into season." She's over five months overdue, which is not unheard of but not common either. Even if she was suddenly ready tomorrow, and the breeder brought in the "stud," the puppies wouldn't be born until the first of April. That means we wouldn't be able to bring Fido home until mid-to-late June. This is getting d**n annoying. I know the breeder can't do anything about it, and we were never in a great rush, but... COME... ON!

The breeder gave us the name of another breeder who has puppies available now. Our breeder is ruthless in her desire for the best possible health of her dogs. Many breeders care primarily about making sure pups conform to the breed standard to the extent that they are sometimes careless about ensuring health first and foremost, but our breeder is outspoken against such practices. That's why we like her. Since she's willing to recommend this other breeder, we feel pretty comfortable with them... but not entirely comfortable. We've been to our breeder's house, seen her dogs and her kennel, and gotten to know her for months. The other breeders are in Michigan. That's right, Michigan. We won't be able to see the pups parents, and they are going to have to ship him to us. I just don't know about that. But... but...

And if we decide to purchase junior from this new breeder, he won't be ready until February. Again, we must wait.

Times like this make me nervous. We wait and we wait, and we do nothing. And I can't help but feel that with so many things in the offing... something is bound to go... well... off.