Training, day five

Wow, I can't believe I've been here a week today. Time really does fly.
Yesterday was a day off, so no real training activity happened. I spent the day catching up with friends, bonding with Jim, going swimming and doing laundry. It was nice an relaxing and helped get me into gear for the busy week ahead.
Today, we did another route in downtown San Rafael this morning and had individual meetings with our instructors in the afternoon to talk about our progress. Jim did great on our route to a coffee shop; I had to correct hi for running a couple of curbs and we had to watch to make sure that we didn't veer into the street, but it was a great succcess over all and I was very proud of him! When we got to our destination, Jim lay under a table while I took out my iPad and tried to follow Steve Job's keynote at Apple's World Wide Developers conference in San Francisco. I did that and was asked by the curious citizens of San Rafael how my iPad worked for me and how I used it. The two people who asked seemed to really enjoy my explination and so we had a nice conversation about dogs, Apple products, and did some speculation about what was happening just 20 minutes away over the Golden Gate Bridge at the keynote. We couldn't get wireless to work on the iPad, so I couldn't use it to check. We used my iPhone instead, but really I think the speculation was just as much fun as actually finding out. We also discussed GDB and dogs which was cool. It was neat to hear the local citizens talk about how they liked having our school in the community. Through out this, my dog was completely sacked out at my feet; my instructor and I had to wake him up when she came back after about 40 minutes or so because she was helping a classmate go to radio shack to fix hear dead phone. When I came here, I expected that we'd do more routes and things together asa class, but both times, I've been the only GDB person in the two coffee shops I've visited which has surprised me a bit. Perhaps no one in my class likes hanging out over a cup of coffee as much as I do? I'm not sure, but I will say that the coffee in both places I've tried has been excellent! It's really neat to see local coffee establishments other than Starbucks doing well.
When we got back from our route, it was time for lunch and our meetings. My instructor told me in my meeting that she thought Jim and I were doing great as a team and that things are going smoothly. We talked about working in the city, how well I was bonding with Jim, and the progress he and I are making as a team in our partnership. She said again how well matched we are and that she loves watching us walk together. So all of those things made me feel really good! We also briefly talked about Yahzee and how she has made me a better guide dog handler, because I have a good grasp on dealing with things like dog distractions and positioning.
After my meeting I basically did some computer stuff, studdied up on what happened at the huge Apple conference today, had dinner, hung out with classmates for a bit, and got some good bonding time with my dog on my patio. I think he's pretty exhausted now! I went to pet him and he just curled up on his rug and went to sleep. He is such a good boy, and I am looking forward to doing more work with him tomorrow! I am not sure what tomorrow holds in terms of routes, but what ever it brings, it's bedtime for both of us!
6:30 comes early!