And the flies. Even when the smell of waste is only beginning to get to you, the constant swarm of flies buzzing over dried up pee spots and the poop-filled dog trash can will give your whole patio the feeling of some Ninth World slum.

I tried everything I could think of to keep from being the stinky family in my apartment complex: potty pads over half the patio (which was too expensive, and they made the dog trash doubly stinky), potty pads under a fake grass mat (which was supposed to keep me from having to change the potty pads so often, cutting their cost, but in reality it was just one big pile of stink–stinky pads, stinky mat…ugg), and even a piece of sod (which solved all of the smell problems, but unfortunately the pup loved nothing more than to tear it apart and eat it, turning her white parts green and causing her to track dirt everywhere).

So finally I built a four-foot-by-four-foot, outdoor, dog litter box. Aside from the fact that the pup has yet to poop in it, it’s working wonderfully. She took to peeing in the litter very quickly, and right there most of the smell has vanished, and the flies are gone. To get her to poop in the litter, I added in a leftover scrap of the grass mat, which will hopefully get her to understand what I want before it becomes too stinky and has to be thrown out.

Otherwise, it’s a normal day. A little cloudier and more humid than usual for the Bay Area, but even that isn’t too strange.

At least it’s baseball season now.

It’s a nice, rainy day today, though. A good day to sit quietly.

I spent the whole morning listening to random baseball games with my MLB audio subscription while watching the animated Gameday app online. I can’t tell if this is a waste of amazing technology, or the highest aspiration of amazing technology. Maybe it’s both–some kind of baseball singularity, or something.

Box Car and Old Rot Gut Bourbon sold separately.

She’s by far the cutest puppy every–part terrier, part schnauzer is what I was told–and she’s ridiculously silly.

Hooray for Jillian!

Here is the potion of the game that really said Slap Shot to me.

Which looks quite similar to this scene from Slap Shot:

Obviously, I’m not the only one who noticed this. Ryan Clowe tweeted after the game, “Would have enjoyed being a part of that one tonight! #putonthefoil.” Clowe then wrote:

To which Jim Vandermeer responded:

The reference is to the introduction of the Hansen Brothers in Slap Shot, which goes a little something like this:

Yeah, Slap Shot is kind of a weird movie. And last night was an awesome night of hockey.

As such, this was my dinner:

Crackers, salami, Safeway brand white cheddar, and ginger ale. Also, all of Star Trek: TNG is on Netflix Instant, so I pretty much have my night set. (I’d forgotten that I have a hard time reading and being productive when I’m alone.)

I’m just glad I’m married. If I had to hang out alone like this every night, I think I’d be jumping off the roof of my building out of sheer boredom and lack of conversation before long.

Well, I guess I’m off to watch more Star Trek and goof off on the internet. Then, tomorrow, it’s back to studying for the GMAT. Or maybe I’ll wait till Monday. With work most of the day tomorrow, I’d probably drive myself mad trying to cram studying in so soon after the test.