New Dog in the House

This is Jasper (with Gem in the background). We adopted him on Saturday from the Longmont Humane Society. He's a 7-yr-old husky mix, though he looks like a malamute to us. We're going to get a doggie DNA test just to make sure. He an Gem are getting along well so far, except that Gem has some resource guarding issues, so no chew treats outside their crates. We'll keep on working on this. Also, I think Jasper has some separation anxiety, but we hope that will diminish as he gets used to being here. We gave Jasper a bath yesterday (that was fun! he was a good dog!) and were surprised and pleased to see that he indeed was black and white with a beautiful fluffy tail rather than tan and brown with a matted tail. More pictures soon...

Gem Update

Things with Gem are going smashingly. He has become quite the sweet, mature, but still puppyish, dog. He's about 15 months old now and has probably reached his final size, though he may fill out a bit (hopefully not too much). He's a lot smaller than my last golden retriever, Buddy, who was very tall and barrel-chested. I used to joke that Buddy had a whiskey barrel for a rib-cage; keeping that analogy, Gemmie has a half-keg. :)

Gem has kept up with his training and gets along with every dog (and human) that he meets. He has yet to met a cat... We do have lots of squirrels and birds here; so far, he has shown little interest. However, our neighborhood is facing an infestation of bunnies (first I saw one, then I saw two...), and we'll see how he deals with that.

I've been spending a lot of time working on my other blog — KeaNeato! — but have plans for this blog as well. This is going to be more personal, with some longer posts.

Who Me?

On my new blog, KeaNeato!, I've asked people to answer a few questions for what I call my "Neato People Profiles." I had just posted the second profile when it came to me — why not me? I don't think it would be appropriate on the KeaNeato! site, but it will work nicely here.

I ask a set of six questions, so I'll follow that format below. What I have learned so far from this exercise is that it's not as easy as one might think. Just the first question alone... my god, some of us spend our lives trying to figure out the answer to that one.

1. Who are you?
I was born Kristen Elaine Asmus (named after astronaut Scott Carpenter's daughter) in Denver, Colorado, in 1962. We moved a lot when I was a kid, mostly around Northern California, and I especially liked Eureka and Sebastopol. My favorite place to be was outdoors, playing in the creek with my two brothers, riding my bike, and picnicking at the beach. My parents were married, remarried, and then married to different people in such a fashion that I spent a lot of time bouncing around from sub-family to sub-family. I twice lived with my grandmother and aunt in Boulder, Colorado, who, along with my excellent teachers (count 11 schools in all) became the most positive influences in my life. I finished high school in Boulder and earned a two-year scholarship to the University of Colorado. In 1984, I graduated with a B.A. in English and psychology (magna cum laude), having worked odd jobs to support the remainder of my four-year commitment at the University. In 1992, I earned a master's degree in journalism and mass communication, also from CU-Boulder. Today, I am the managing editor of communications for a large scientific society.

2. What/whom do you think is neato? You can name more than one thing/person.
Golden retrievers, huskies, otters, kea, cats, dragonflies, Bear Giles, Alaska, Colorado, Vancouver, the caterpillar roll at Hapa, Matt Damon, music, exercise, creeks, oceans, cottonwood trees, mountains, rocks, my Aunties, Lillie Henrietta Ibser Asmus, and everything I list on my other blog, KeaNeato!.

3. Name three quick facts or fantasies about yourself/your company that you didn’t include in your answer to my first question.
My favorite band is Linkin Park. I can fly using only my body and imagination. Being an editor is an exact right fit for me.

4. Please ask a question you would like to see answered by the global community. This can be existential or pragmatic, realistic or silly.
Which is our most precious resource: water, soil, or biodiversity?

5. Please tell me something about your profession that you think someone younger than you, or who is just starting out, would like to know.
Forget you know stuff. Listen. Take good notes. Try for excellence in everything you do, and always, always, act with integrity.

6. Is there anything else you'd like to add?
When people say that no experience is so horrible that you cannot draw something good from it, they don't know what they're talking about.