Jamie Wakefield

The Dog of Thunder warns you to stay away from his teddy monkey! . It is fifty degrees and sunny today in Madrid. Madrid has received about one inch of snow that melted the second it hit the ground this year resulting in zero accumulation. In the abstract, Wendy and I miss snow. It will be nice to come back to Vermont and have a real Vermont winter next year. In reality, we miss snow but I know I’ll be plenty sick of it soon enough if snowfall next year is anything like this year. In Vermont, people have literally had to shovel snow every day for weeks on end this year in a record breaking snowfall winter. The second eye surgery went well, adjusting the left eye and putting the new lens in the right eye without complications. It is now two weeks and a day later and I am experiencing everything I was told I would experience. Peripheral vision is a little weird, still sensitive to sunlight, lights in the dark have a halo around them, but the eyes are improving every day by minor amounts...

I was going to put some Natalie Imbruglia lyrics here, but they just didn’t fit how I’m feeling. I’m not out of faith, I’m not naked, cold and shamed, lying on the floor (that was Saturday night), nor has my inspiration run dry. Wait, actually, yes, I guess my inspiration has run a little dry… At this point last year I would bound out of bed and have a billion things to work on. I was putting the finishing touches on a book, approaching agents, working on another book, updating my blog and thinking about getting back into Magic. Well, two hundred rejections later, book finished and self published, then another book self published, then twenty-odd mediocre columns later – I’m a little beaten down. Two hundred rejections is a lot. I had some agencies ask for a partial, a few less asked for a full to read but none of the agents I approached wanted to rep me. My return to Magic and Magic writing has been less than stellar. So, now what do I work on? Let’s take them one at a time. I’m very ...

Avatar rocks and the little dog is going to fat camp. Maybe you haven’t seen it but when Avatar was released, many people compared it to Pocahontas. White guy goes native and falls in love with an Indian (Native American.) Wendy gave me the three disc extended version on Blu-Ray for Christmas and we just watched it this morning. What a great start to the day. I thought after seeing it for the second time (in the theatre) that I had absorbed it all. I really didn’t need to see it again, but thought it one of my favorite movies. James Cameron is The Man. In my next life, I’m not coming back as a writer, but a writer/director. Wait… How about I follow my own advice and just do that now? Humans live a long damn time and it’s not too late. Anywhoo… what a work of art. Just amazing. I loved it more on the third viewing than I did on the first. Those that compare it to Pocahontas, did you miss the part where the protagonist is paralyzed and finds new experiences in a new body? That the GOD of...

The whole “Let me show you how much responsibility a baby is” plan is totally back-firing. Our dachshund Thor came back into our lives in June. I struggled to find a home for this wonderful dog for two months and then gave up. He is, and always has been, bonded to me for his twelve years of existence. In the two months he was with Wendy and I, he burrowed and snuggled his way into our hearts. Giving him up to someone else would have been like removing a limb. Every now and then, Wendy and I talk about if we want a baby and how that will change our life. “Ha ha!” I thought. “We will bring the little dog of thunder to Spain and you will see how much of an impact such a responsibility can carry. He will change our lives. No longer will be free to do whatever we want when we want.” Monday morning I woke up in Seville petting a lump in the blanket dreaming it was Thor. Seville was great, except, we both missed the little dog who was staying at Lena and Stefan’s for the weekend. They fed him...

This should give you a better idea of how big the Dog of Thunder (Thor) is. He is is sitting with our friend Lena at their Oktoberfest party. He's not fat, just big boned. Honest.

The Dog of Thunder continues to act like he’s lived here all his life. Our apartment is now covered in fur. Wendy got a contract. I continue to edit my next book. This week we plan on going to Magic stores and finding out what tournaments they have so I can play some physical Magic. The scale has finally relinquished its iron grip on my post-American weight and is slowly sinking back to normal levels. A few days ago we walked up to this café next to the Temple de Debod (thank you whoever anonymously corrected me on the name, I am assuming Kinga?) with the Dog of Thunder in tow. (So many names for this dog: Beast, Hound, Stinker, Stinker Pinker, Dog of Thunder, Little Doggie Wetfoot, Perrito Salchicha, etc.) Making the adjustment back to Spanish food is always a revelation. So clean, so simple, so fresh. We had raw salmon on a thin, three inch piece of toast with a drizzling teaspoon of sauce on top. Our second dish was another piece of toast with pieces of tuna, roasted red pepper and ...

I’d like to say we have a lazy day, but we don’t. The morning is filled with things we need to do but the late afternoon is lazy. Our second day home, Wendy says- “Let’s take him to the dog park.” “The one across the street?” “No, the one by the Temple de Diebold where that little café is.” “I don’t know if he can walk that far.” “If he can’t we’ll stop and rest and get him some water and come home.” I am dubious, and as usual, wrong. I come from a cautious family and I can’t help it. The safe route always seems smart to me. 99% of the time, I am wrong, so I have learned to just go along with what Wendy suggests and it usually works out just fine. Thor still hates the stairs but I hold his harness and guide him down, letting him know I’m there to support him. He hugs the wall, as far away from the hole that leads to the bottom floor as possible. He stops at every door as if to ask “In here?” No. Keep going. On the street he is not frightened of the cars, or the people, or the noise, or...

I drop Wendy, the little dog, four huge bags of luggage and two carry-ons off at our terminal, then do my best to find the rental return for our car. Even with the GPS, I still get lost once. Meanwhile, Wendy and the little dog are in full sunlight on the hottest day of the year, waiting outside for my return. The return lot is packed and I am frantic to get back to my wife and child. Finally someone attends to me and then I hop on the bus back to our terminal, which is, of course, the last stop. We load everything onto luggage carts and attempt to check in. They board the dog without blinking. There is, honestly, a hilarious story that goes along with this, but if I put it on the web, the terrorists win. That’s not even a joke. See me in person for the story. Eleven hours later we arrive in Madrid and a half an hour after we get our luggage, Thor is delivered to us. So now it is onward to customs… Oh God... We have everything we need, right? Yes. Thor is in a green dog crate, the kind...

My sister has had care of Thor for the past four years but he has been having “disagreements” with her new pit bull, as in, Thor thought they were playing while the pit bull thought they were fighting to the death, so he was given back to me. While Thor is a great dog, we no longer have any dog accessories, and, also, not insignificantly, live in a completely different country. Wendy and I approached two different dachshund rescue sites but they suck and couldn’t find a home for him in three months. By the time we are ready to leave, we have decided to keep him, because, well, he’s the best dog ever. Plus, I thought he would be a good trial baby. How would having this dog affect our lifestyle? Multiply that times ten and you have a baby, so, let’s see how that goes. Thor needs all kinds of official paperwork to let him travel from the U.S. to the European Union, but I have that all under control. The week before the wedding, I race him down to the vet for the all important rabies sho...