Alfie goes to school

Alfred has been part of our family for nearly seven months now. We've become accustomed to his personality quirks--the growling, the greediness, the puppy tantrums, the clever manipulation of our emotions. Alas, we knew we had to grow him up somehow--for the sake of everyone in the world other than us. The solution? Pet Smart Beginner Education . It's an 8-week program designed to teach dogs basic commands using positive reinforcement. Admittedly, we've let Alfie control us more than we should. Mihir and I are both prone to jump at Alfie's every request, which isn't a good idea. Sorry, Boy. It stops now! We're very fortunate to have a Pet Smart store across the street, so taking Alfie to class every Thursday night is very convenient. The trainer, Michelle, is fabulous. We heard raves about her every time we took Alfie to visit the store. I think enrolling Alfie in this class will prove to be a very wise decision. Stay tuned--Alfie should graduate in 8 weeks' time!

The Dallas Auto Show

I should be writing more - I thought I'd tell everyone about our visit to the Dallas Auto Show this weekend. Coming from a couple of years in Detroit, auto shows will always fall short, but we had a dual interest in the show, I wanted to see the cool new concept cars, and Stephanie wanted to be able to check out mini SUVs ( I know they've been around for a while now, but both of us are behind the curve when it comes to car trends, and vehemently anti SUV and minivan, so its a big deal!)... The show was small but representative of all major manufacturers. The big presence was the big 3, and big shiny Cadillacs greeted us when we entered. Somehow, not my kind of car, and I'm sure Steph agrees. We did make a quick stop at the Chrysler spot, the cars are very muscular, though the Caliber does look cute (even though the ads say it isn't). However, the real joy came when we sneaked into an S series Mercedes - legroom in the rear seat is a joy. Of course the price is stratospheric, but yet, one can dream. We liked the Honda CRV - we will totally put that one up on our must have list when we are ready. The Toyota RAV4 was pretty nice too, so so the Mitsubishi Outlander. The Murano was attractive as well, though a bit out of our range. All of these had great rear visibility, which is important for the both of us, being used to small cars. My fave in terms of coolness? the Mazda CX-7, though its a turbo engine, and my misgivings with that are just historical.

We did go to the Audi section, I love the A4 and the new A3 (someday!) and the new fangled GPS systems impress me. Power seats rock too! There now you guys know we are just out of touch. Hopefully in a few months we will report on decisions ensuing from this trip. Happy Spring Break!

Dallas Zoo

We're back, as promised. The weather here in Dallas is nearly perfect currently. The temperatures are in the high sixties or low seventies (we've had a few 80-degree days, too) and for the most part it's sunny; however, as I type this the clouds are very pregnant with rain.

We spent a wonderful day at the Dallas Zoo a couple of weekends back. It was a surprising treat. My zoo experiences are limited. I think the only other zoo I've ever visited is Lansing's tiny Potter Park. I may be wrong about this, but I think Dallas is more involved in conservation and species preservation. In any event, I had a great day. I was able to see gorillas for the first time in my life, and I won't soon forget how special those animals are. I was most encouraged by the fact that one of the four gorillas they have in Dallas was actually born in a zoo--a good sign, considering how threatened they are in the wild. Mihir and I were also quite taken with the warthog. Somehow, he reminded us of our dog, Alfie--probably in the sense that sometimes attitude triumphs over intelligence. But there's hope for Alfie. He's set to start obedience school this week. As for zoo photographs, I'm afraid there aren't many. It's frustratingly difficult to get good pictures at the zoo, as the only option is to take pictures through wire fences or glass of some sort--or from a great distance. But here's a picture of the warthog.
Visiting that zoo also made me incredibly ecologically conscious. Mihir and I have recently started recycling, but since the zoo visit I've become quite the zealot. We don't have curbside pickup at our apartment, so we have to make frequent trips to the recycling center. It saddens me to realize how much plastic we use, just as a two-person family. Recycling is only half of the battle. The mere production of these bottles requires a trememdous amount of energy. I've committed to reducing the amount of plastic I purchase. The easiest items to eliminate were bottled water and sodas. That alone is a sizable personal contribution for me. It's a start.