Over the sum­mer, I’ve fall­en into the habit of wak­ing up (at a rather lux­u­ri­ous time). The first thing I do, whether I’m employed or job­less, whether I’m at school or on break, is go to my com­put­er, turn some music on, and check my e‑mail. As a result of my late ris­ings I’ve got­ten into the habit of brush Dolly in the morn­ings. Ever since the weath­er began to warm up she’s been shed­ding fur at a faster rate than she grows it. She wakes up with me in the morn­ings and jumps in front of my mon­i­tor. I’ll get a quick nuz­zle and sor­ry stare if I’m try­ing to read an impor­tant e‑mail. She’s unable to sit still as I brush her, and ends up pac­ing on my desk between stretch­es. I’m afraid that I’ll have to dis­con­tin­ue our morn­ing rit­u­al when I find a job, since I usu­al­ly wake up with just enough time to get to school or work, and the shed­ding sea­son brush­ing process usu­al­ly ends up tak­ing upwards of ten min­utes. Perhaps extend­ed unem­ploy­ment isn’t so bad after all.