practically running a dog hotel at this point
A Maltese puppy named Anyi is sleeping in my lap as I write this. Her owner tells me she's from Korea, which checks out. She is the epitome of the lapdogs I see in so many Korean households: tiny, white, and friendly to humans.
Anyi got spayed recently, so she has this big plastic cone on to prevent her from licking the wound. The cone smells strongly of her canned steak-flavored Cesar breakfast which makes her lick the cone incessantly. She also bangs the cone against just about everything when she walks around, like the ground, walls, and our legs. She whimpers and squeals when she's not being held, and as a result has spent almost the entire morning asleep on my legs. I'm all too happy to lavish her with the affection she craves, though it comes at the expense of my productivity.
If you can't tell already, I adore her. Watching her side rise and fall as she naps brings me a deep sense of serenity, even when she kicks out in her dreams or jerks awake. I actually fell asleep this morning with her warm weight on my lap.
I don't know what caused this sudden influx of dogsitting requests recently (something like 5 in the past 2 weeks alone). I'm guessing having a few good reviews under my belt means I'm finally getting picked up by the algorithm. I raised my rates a little bit in response. I enjoy getting to meet all these different dogs, but it can be tiring work and I want to make sure I'm getting paid enough to make doing this sustainable.
Many of my friends who I've sent pictures of these dogs to have expressed desires to adopt their own. Ironically, dogsitting has had the opposite effect on me. I'm having a great time, but taking care of another living being around the clock is so much work. At this point I doubt I will ever get a pet. Why would I when I can hang out with other people's dogs for short periods of time and get paid to do it?
One of my friends told me recently that 1. there's a Stardew Valley concert tour (!!!) and that 2. a big update is coming that will add significantly to gameplay. Sadly, the tour is completely sold out across the United States, and I have not even opened the game since my ex and I broke up a year ago. I love the game dearly — it's one of only two games I've spent more than 100 hours on, I think — but it was our game that we shared together, and the memories are still too painful for me to revisit right now. Maybe one day when I've healed more I'll get to hear the soundtrack live in person and play the new update.