Thursday, June 30, 2011

For the Sake of My Sanity

Ben and I both deal with depression at times, his is more troublesome right now than mine. I'm more suffering anxiety than depression for the moment it seems. I've begun writing poetry again, it makes me feel like maybe things are turning for the better. I know things won't always be stressful, they won't always be peachy-keen. But at least they won't always be stressful. Ben and I are going out tomorrow, since he doesn't have class. Seeing a movie I do believe.

Last night was a late one. I really do have to figure out this sleep schedule thinga-ma-bobber-ish... yeah. Since I'd been making all sorts of crazy new toys for the babies, their cage needed cleaning. So I put them in their little travel box (a shoe box with air holes, a place for a water bottle if needed as well as bedding and fabric to burrow and sleep in). Well, there is a larger hole in the side that I didn't make and I'm fairly certain Persephone is willing to take advantage of it. She started to squeeze her little head out so I then had to gently nudge her back in and block that hole. Anyone who knows anything about rats knows that if their head fits, they fit. Not only this but Persephone is young and small and most definitely would have fit.

Man they are goofy. After I cleaned their cage and put some bedding and fabric in the bottom it was time for some ratty cleaning as well. That's right, bath time! Oh dear Lord this was a trip. I usually just bathe them in the bathroom sink in some warm water and this time was no different. What was different was the addition of some soap and get them extra clean. last time Algernon had a bath it was she and Demeter and I could manage them both because it was mainly managing Algernon (Demeter wasn't very active, that was the night she died).

Obviously this time was different. So much so that Ben had to take care of Algernon and I had to take care of Persephone. They were going nuts. So we finally get them all rinsed and get some nice ratty-sized towels and start drying them. Poor Persephone is shivering in my palms and just has this look of, "Momma! Why would you do this to me?"

Meanwhile, Ben is drying Algernon and when he gets to her belly he has her flipped over and starts giving her little scritches (which are just the byproduct of having to dry her with a towel) and she narrows her eyes at him but is smiling and bruxing. The only thing we can really translate this to is, "That feels good but I'm still mad!"

We finally finish drying them and I put the ratty blanket on top of their cage and let Persephone in so she can get warm. Ben puts Algernon on his shoulder and she licks him as if to say, "I forgive you, Daddy."

They are goofy! I've had dogs and cats but none of their personalities quite compare to a rat. It's hilarious. I love it.

On that note, g'mornin, g'night and g'day

Afterthought: Impossibility is improbability plus doubt

Wednesday, June 29, 2011

Persephone, Momma's little Manic Maniac

I actually woke up in the am and was able to wheel the rats out today. Yay! It's 74 outside but not inside and so now I'm huddled up in a chair with blankies and a Persepone Ratness who has found it to be her mission to explore the blankies, my shirt and on occasion steal my munchins. Now, normally, I wouldn't be blogging about her simply stealing my munchins (dry pasta, by the way, since I haven't mentioned what they are before) except for the fact not only is she stealing them, but she's stealing them out of my mouth. I will be in the middle of some lengths of angel hair pasta and all the sudden there's a cute rat face next to my mouth stealing some noodles right from between my lips! Then she takes them back into the cage (to build a stash no doubt).
*sigh* No wonder I'm a blubbering mess!

It isn't as though Persephone hasn't been manic and hyper, but today she just seems super hyper. It's like watching her while someone is holding onto a little ratness remote pressing the fast forward button just for kicks.

All the while Algernon is just snoozing in a rolley-polley-rat-ball-of-cuteness on the top shelf, none the wiser to this little ones' antics of Mummy treat stealing.

Tuesday, June 28, 2011

Oh my word!

They are going nuts! I think it's probably because I woke up so late (12:30 pm, yikes!) and they are used to being out in the living room by then. Since Ben has classes in the morning, he obviously can't just move them to the living room, open the cage doors and hope for the best. That wouldn't be anywhere near wise. So now, it's around seven pm and they seem to be switching between running like mad to sleeping, to fighting, to grooming and all other manner of rattiness that my mind can't keep track of. It's insane!

Combine this with my emotional roller coaster and the absolute ridiculousness that is my sleeping schedule and I am just flustered and.. and... and I don't know but whatever it is, it's confusing. Ben said he'll come home early with munchins for me.

He's so sweet, every morning before he leaves he gives the ratties a pumpkin seed each. Well, yesterday he gave them their seeds, as usual they both take them fervently and greedily. Well he wanders off to the bathroom to put on deodorant and cologne and when he comes back out, Algernon is in the wheel at the side of the cage, just looking at him. Then she gasps and runs back over to the other edge of the cage and begins to eat her seed. The gasp was, "oh no! I forgot to eat that yumminess you gave me!" Persephone woke up and then ate hers.

They're still going crazy. I cut up an old milk carton today, just put a hole in the front for a door and put bedding in its bottom. I also took the cap off to inspire them to look up, I guess. They cannot seem to share a nesting box, which, is not at all unusual. What is unusual is the fact that it's Persephone who seems to want to claim them all! This little pipsqueak of a fuzzball just will not let Algernon have any space that for herself. *sigh*

I'm trying to figure out if music has any affect on their mood, this is a somewhat limited venture as my ipod isn't very full and our local radio stations are hit and miss.

Does anyone else have this problem? No matter which radio station you turn to, you eventually have to change it. Whether it's because they seem to play more commercials than songs or all the songs they do play are just crappy? Ben and I have it narrowed down to 104.7 and 107.7 fm locally for us. We used to listen to 103.9 fm but they just don't seem to be playing anything worthwhile.

Pause: Algernon is climbing around the laptop trying to see what's up. So naturally she begins climbing upward. Well, this just resulted in her slow and not-so-dignified slide down the screen while looking at me as if to say, "Momma!!! Help! Ahh!"

Continue: So when I turn on the radio it's for a limited amount of time and it almost seems like it isn't even worth it to try. *sigh* I need to put more music on my ipod.

This really isn't helped by the fact that music seems to almost be in the same slump Hollywood is working itself into.

Pause:(.a5w55555545555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555555
------------------------------------------....................................................................... ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,5q5q)
Algernon just typed this so you could all understand her opinion on things. That and I am altering their denim sock-nest so she and Persephone want answers.

Continue: I am so beyond help at this point :) So, with that said, g'mornin, g'night and g'day

Afterthought: Isn't a night owl just a regular owl?

Monday, June 27, 2011

Well, here it is.. blog #1

My boyfriend and I have lived together for about three months now, since March 20th. We met at a gaming convention at UD. We've had a few friends in common for years but had never actually met ourselves. We met two years ago at the same annual con, but then we actually got to talking this year. It was incredible. I got out of an abusive relationship and household and have never felt healthier. He's perfect for me, and even if no one else sees it or wants to see it, he will always be my perfect Soldier. When I had officially moved in he told me to close my eyes as he slipped a necklace around my neck.

It's a copper chain with blue beads with a butterfly pendant at the bottom and it is absolutely beautiful. He bought it when he was stationed in Iraq for 11 months with the intention of giving it to someone he could love and see himself with for life. He bought it roughly 6 years ago and has had a few girlfriends before me, including one he'd actually known since first grade.

Why he chose me I still don't really understand, but at the same time I'm sure he doesn't understand why I chose him either. I like things that way because for me in this situation I can appreciate what I have more since I don't feel entitled to it. I'm sure with him it's that way too. We both have more happiness than we know what to do with at times and believe me, that absolute bliss isn't constant. But even if one of us is unhappy, we manage to help each other and still love each other. I am proud to be with him.

About a month ago we decided to get two rats, both does. I knew about owning rats, having done so in the past, so I was a kind of Ratty Guide at first. We went to Jack's Aquarium and Pets to pick up our girlies.

On a quick side note: NEVER buy from Jack's Aquarium and Pets. Not a single store we've been in has had adequate living conditions for any of their animals, let alone their rodents. The have twice as many animals in one habitat as they responsibly should. The trip we made to actually pick up our girls gave us an unsavory sight in the adjacent cage of rats. A male rat had been killed, gutted and was being eaten by his cagemates. Their food bowl was completely empty.

They also have males and females intermixed, which means that you could be taking home a pregnant doe.

I have also come across an open-top display of dogs, which should not be there for the sheer fact that someone may have kennel cough on their clothing from their animal(s) and be unaware, and in this display their were about 8 boxer puppies shuffling over one another. The display was probably 4x4x3 ft and had these 8 puppies that I'd say were at least 2 and half months old.

Jack's does not take proper care of their animals.

Now, to continue on, I did not intend to write this and bash on Jack's. We bought our two does, Ben naming his girlie Algernon and myself naming my little one Demeter (yeah, we're nerds :P)

We bought them a large, roomy cage big enough for at least four rats (it was the one we liked best and hey, if we decide later on to get a couple more babies we won't have to buy a larger cage). They were both smalls at the time. We were both so excited have our two little cuties but not shortly after we bought them we noticed some things about Demeter, namely with her appearance. When we bought her she looked like she may have been bitten. She had a scab and was developing a cyst. She was acting normally and was active but was having other issues, more mentally oriented. She was having a hard time learning, having to be dragged to the water bottle by Algernon, who quickly became her teacher (anyone who understands the absolute hilarity in Algernon's role as teacher is just as nerdy as we are). Well once the first cyst cleared we were happy and hopeful. A couple weeks after that one cleared up though, she seemed to be developing a second on the opposite side. Ben saw it first.

The very next night we decided to give the girls a bath for the first time shortly after having cleaned their cage. While drying them off I noticed that the lump had moved to the other side and that she was so skinny we could feel her bones. She died later that night. We cried most of that night, wishing that she didn't have to die, but we were also grateful to have been able to get her out of Jack's and have given her a comfortable life.

We decided that the very next morning we would buy a new girl, but from a different place. A pet store called "Superpetz" that is in the same plaza as a game store we like. We'd visited the store once before and a few different things impressed me.

One: they don't sell dogs at the location we visited. This impresses me because this means they do not support puppy mills and in fact they have a guarantee that any animal in the store is from a licensed/reputable breeder.

Two: in the very front of the store, right in the main lobby where you walk in they had cats from our local Humane Society that all had tags telling name, gender (as well as if they were spayed/neutered), age and how the humane society got them.

Three: All animals in the habitats were healthy, no nursing moms were in a display, but were taken into the back area to be watched by employees and reduce the risk of another rat committing infanticide (the killing of a baby).

They didn't have their animals separated by gender, which is about the only thing I can say didn't impress me. But it didn't make me want to leave immediately either because you'll have that in any pet store. The fact is: they took better care of their animals and were friendlier than any other pet store I've been in.

Once we had our little girl selected, they made sure to ask us if we had another rat at home, meaning that they were knowledgeable enough to know that you should never buy a rat to live alone. They also gave us a two week guarantee that if she died all we would have to do is bring her and the slip in and we could either get a refund or a new baby (from my understanding).

I decided to name her Persephone, it seemed only fitting being that in Greek mythology Demeter's daughter was Persephone, the unwilling goddess of the Underworld.

We brought Persephone home and introduced her to Algernon in a neutral location with neither of their scent in the bedding. They got along even better than I could have hoped, with the older Algernon taking on mommy roles and Persephone learning incredibly quickly.

It's been a little over a week and they are getting along so incredibly well you'd almost think they're litter mates. I've been making augments for the cage. I've replaced one level of three with a fabric hammock and it's ramp with a combination of cardboard support and fabric covering. I have even taken Ben's old laundry basket and have converted it to Ratty Craft Supply Bin. It works better this way.

Anyway, before I end up writing a novella for an introduction, I'm just gonna go ahead and say g'night, g'mornin or g'day and hope you keep reading.

Afterthought: If you tell a woman she has balls, you better be well prepared for her to say "F*ck balls! I have wit!"