Rat owners please help me =(

http://community.livejournal.com/ratties/7317277.html

I feel like I should know all this stuff, the obvious solution, but I am so so so stressed about this and I think I don't know how to... think.

Goddammit, I am so sick and tired of my neighbors. The walls have always let through some sound--microwaves, phones, Rock Band, but in small ways. Never bothered me until a few weeks ago, when I was jolted awake by screaming. Shrieking, really. Rhythmic shrieking. Once I got over the initial "is someone killing a woman?" thing, I was aghast. I didn't know people could have sex so loud outside of movies. And they argue. So. Much. I guess tv is right, passion is passion, because even though they obviously hate each other (seriously: so much arguing, daily arguing, generally twice a day at least, which I can often hear clearly), they have so much sex. And the woman is porn loud. Even when she's just talking, she's loud. Her voice pierces, but mostly, she's just one of those people who obviously lacks a volume control. The people who sound like they're on cell phones all the time.

What's weird is they didn't just move in. They've been here a while. They used to argue sometimes, but now it and the sex are a daily thing. I considered that maybe she just started having an affair, but given the hours they have sex at, I somehow doubt it.

It's past 1 AM now and I've been driven out of my room. I'm in the other room with the door shut and I can hear them! Well, HER. I just want to sleep, for the love of god. I was sick today (which I somewhat suspect is due to me having no good sleep last night, only a few hours of waking up abruptly to them laughing and fighting and talking--from 2-5 AM). I'm not saying my life is entirely soundless, no, but at least I don't shriek and bang against the damn wall, or argue so loudly that anyone can make out the details. And as funny as it is to hear "I'm calling the cops! GOD! You're so CHILDISH!" I would really rather skip it!

I'm going to check on the bedroom--I had to put on music to block out the sex sound even out here--and if they're still at it, I guess I'll spend the rest of the time looking up how to soundproof my fucking wall.

Ha. Ha. Isn't that a FUN PUN.

edit--yeah, they weren't done. So I googled, and holy hell, we cannot afford that. I haven't even gone out to buy a new computer chair when mine is killing my back because we just spent money upgrading my computer and maybe that was stupid but they weren't having loud sex then!

Corvus is still living alone. I'm worried about him. He's so obviously grieving. Sometimes I think he's looking for Arcturus. But he seldom leaves his hammock. I actually had to trick him into leaving the hammock on the lower level so I could trap him on the upper level, where the water bottle is. He didn't eat or drink for days, except when I held baby food up to his hammock to entice him. He's taking water now, and he doesn't seem dehydrated at all. He is too skinny, but he's such an old man; he's been getting skinnier for months. But he's bony! He does eat his food, but not that much of it. I've been giving him baby food, but just having baby food isn't enough--I want him to have more food than just that.

I haven't tried intros at all--maybe I should, just to get him to be more active. But he's so scared so often! His eyes get so big if we "kidnap" him away from his safe area. And yet he really wants to be with us; he'll leap onto me sometimes... but then leap back into his cage because it's so scary to be out. Poor old boy. And since he eats so rarely, I want him to have food available at all times, and if I put all four rats together... he won't have food. They basically eat it all straight away; they never save any for later. I can't have them eating his food when he already eats so rarely. He needs food present in his cage at all times, just in case he gets hungry.

So maybe I should try intros, despite his obvious fear of different things, because maybe it'll shock him into... new habits... I don't know, though. I'm too worried. I try to talk to him often and pet him and feed him treats (he'll *always* take yogies!) but I think he's lonely. But he's scared and so delicate and doesn't eat enough! Maybe the blue boys would surprise me and act tender and sweet toward him, but... I doubt it, based on what I've seen with them before. (I adore them and think they're 100% perfect, but they haven't been very positive about the idea of my other rats!)

Poor Corvus. I'm not sure what to do.

It was an awful day for all of us. We took Arcturus to be put to sleep. I can't handle into details right now, because I'm already on the verge of crying again, but basically everything went wrong all within the space of hours and we had to find someplace that would do euthanasia on a rat the right way. The right way is anesthesia, then intraperitoneal injection, so the injection doesn't hurt. His usual vet just does an injection, and apparently it costs $110-130 more to get anesthesia. This is a ridiculous price so we had to abruptly try to find an alternate vet, preferably one that already uses that method without having to be prompted. I mean good god, the whole point is to be kind, and on a rat, that injection is like a rapier to the stomach. We finally found an emergency vet, and they don't normally see rats there, but euthanasia is a pretty simple process. They didn't give him a high enough dose at first, though, so it took too long. I wish I had a time sense. I honestly couldn't tell you if it was five minutes or thirty-five, but we asked for a second dose and that was it. Arcturus did eat three yogies after the first injection, which makes me feel both good and horrible. He never turned down food. He even woke up to finish off the third when we thought he was already asleep. He was so strong, but there was just too much wrong, so fast, and even though I knew it was coming and I hope he's better off, I still can't sleep right. I miss him and I'm so worried about Corvus. His brother has always been with him. And I don't know what to do if the others die sometime, because we live in an apartment and it turns out the regular vet charges $20 just for disposal, god. The e-vet didn't charge for that. They were really nice and it was very clean and the woman who took Arcturus from me was very sweet. I told her "I know he's gross but he's been so good" and she said "oh, no, he's a good boy," and cradled him and petted his fur. I feel awful and I have to plan ahead better and maybe get a new vet but it's a bit too much to handle right now.

I woke up today, rested, and realized that I practically sleepwalked through yesterday. Also, I lost time--I ate dinner pretty early and then four hours passed without me realizing it. Maybe I dozed off. Or got kidnapped by aliens. Hmm, I don't feel probed....

I didn't get much sleep on Friday or Saturday; we got up really early to go to breakfast in Redondo, then stayed up late to catch a 12:45 IMAX of Star Trek, then slept on a friend's couch. So I didn't sleep enough this weekend. Fun being a zombie, though.

( Thoughts on Star Trek, not really spoilers, but I'm cutting to be polite )

( And Wolverine, with a rant about how they ruined a character, so, spoilers )

The Office is on and I love this show but I can't take it anymore, man, I'm being smothered in awkward!

--

One of the chicks in Charmed* said something the other day that's been bugging me. She had been pregnant for about a week, and she said that you never really know how much your mother loves you until you become a mother yourself.

That is just a load of tripe. My mom is awesome. I know how much my parents love me because of things like a) them telling me, and b) them showing me. So what the hell, Piper. Stop saying things about my mom. ;P


* Everyone is allowed one amazingly crappy show to watch.

--

I've been reading to Derek in the car sometimes, on longer journeys. Hee. We've gone through several books. I'm reading one of Diane Duane's wizard books now (number 3) because it's a cute modern fantasy series. We also went through C. S. Friedman's Coldfire trilogy, and Peeps, and... I'm pretty sure I'm forgetting something.

I think that I enjoy reading aloud so much because my parents used to read to me before bedtime. Well, it's probably why I enjoy reading, period. One of the main reasons, anyway. I associate reading with love, or something. My mom was fantastic at reading to me. When I got older and we moved into Real Books (ones with more than twenty pages), I used to leap in at the pauses between sentences and ask, "What does this word mean?" I usually knew the definitions just fine. But I loved hearing her explain the words to me. I'd even scan ahead a little to look for a word long enough that it'd be believable for me not to know what it meant.

I haven't read Where the Red Fern Grows in years, but I need to buy it. My mom was the person who read it to me and I think if I read it now, I might be able to hear her voice in my head.

First, the important part of my post:

( Rat photos! )

Also going on in my life: I'm growing my hair out. I love short hair. But it's been so long since I had long hair, I want to know how that goes. So far, it gets in my eyes a lot and bugs me. I'm trying to figure out things like "how a ponytail works" and "what to do with those little metal clippy things." I wonder if the internet has something like "a guide to hairstyles for idiots and the criminally klutzy."

And as a closing non sequitur question, does anyone else play Guitar Hero World Tour? I cannot get my band symbol away from my character. When I play vocals, it floats around next to my mic stand and looks idiotic. Halp.

Tip wank from Postsecret comments on LJ.

Geez. Why is it that tipping always turns into an amazing bitchfest? No wonder it's not allowed in customers_suck anymore.

Is tipping required by law? No? Then it's a BONUS. BONUS BONUS BONUS. Of course people who get paid a measly two bucks an hour need more to live. But demanding that the customer have the knowledge and honor to make up for it is just crap. I hate the system, but I pay 15-20% because I'm not a dick. And I guess because I've read a lot of tip wank. ;P

- Tips are a bonus. They are not a legal requirement, only a moral one.
- If you want a service fee, charge a service fee.
- If someone gives you singularly terrible service, leaving a 0% tip is fine. If you give money to someone for acting like an asshole toward you, then a) you're supporting them acting like an asshole, and b) you're a coward.

Also, since I mentioned customers_suck... isn't it amazing the subculture that's developed there? Of course it's guided by an ever-growing list of rules and restrictions, but it drives me crazy. You said the customer had red hair! You're racist against gingers! You said the customer was female! I don't need to know that for the purposes of the story!

But really, to me, the weirdest thing (and the most interesting) is the structure that everyone subconsciously accepts. So many of the posts start with "recap!" because "recap" is a cool word, I guess. I especially love "recap for those of you who don't remember." I read the community every day (maybe I should stop) so no, I don't remember one nondescript person out of 25,000. But thanks for that little slight. That will help me enjoy your story more.

The next step is to continue with "I work for Witty Nickname for Corporation Everyone (in America) Knows But If I Say it all Clever then No One Will Fire Me."

Then they announce that they're going to enter script format. Because if you don't announce it, everyone will get confused! There are all these words and acronyms and then colons and then more words, but I DON'T KNOW WHAT ANY OF IT MEANS!

And of course, every script format starts off with the cast of characters, and every time, there's a line that explains who "Me" is. "Me: Hallo thar" or "Me: Gracious hostess of the gods" or "Me: I am clever and I list who I am!" Y'know, if you think your audience is so dumb that first they don't know what script format is unless you tell them, and further that they don't know what M and E mean when you put them side by side, then maybe you shouldn't post at all, because I'm not sure somebody that stupid can figure out how to browse the internet or work a mouse or find the on button on their computer.

I'm also amazed at how often the same stories come up. A clerk complains that someone found an item with no price tag and says, "hurrrr that means it's free." A clerk complains that they tested a $100 bill and the customer says, "but of course it's good I made it this morning!" They post to c_s because they're so upset at having heard the same thing a thousand times already.

I think that sound was irony whizzing by.

We saw a man today who looked very depressed.

"It looks like his girlfriend just dumped him."

"His terminally ill girlfriend."

"'I'd rather die alone than spend one more minute with you!'"

My rats like food. This is, I know, a shock. But feeding time is always the same, and it's freaking cute. They recognize their food bucket when I pick it up, and start going nuts.

Corvus and Arcturus run back and forth in the cage. Sometimes Corvus will cling to the door, and it's always the door that I need to open to access their food dish, which is kind of awkward because it always takes him a little while to figure out that whole "door is opening and I'm dangling from it" thing. Arcturus always lingers for a nanosecond after the full food dish is placed in the cage, as if to say something like, "thank you for the food I love you and would enjoy cuddles BUT EATING TIME IS NOW."

Also, right now, the bottom floor of C&A's cage is blocked off (I have to fix something, but I'm lazy, so it's taking a while), and that's where Arcturus usually lives--right at the bottom, in a pasta box or pantyliner box or sometimes a big Diet Dr Pepper box. Depends on what I used and/or consumed that week. Decide for yourselves which things get eaten and which don't. I think he's mildly perturbed that he can't currently go "home," and he's been stashing his food not in the box he sleeps in (as usual) but on the very top platform of the cage. And the food he stashes is generally all pasta noodles, because anything else can get eaten straight off, I guess, or maybe he just likes those best.

The problem with this is that there is a pile of hard noodles as well as a clumsy rat on the topmost level of the cage. The cage which sits right next to my computer, which sits right next to me. The effect of this is that--from my point of view--Arcturus has been flinging food at me, stealthily and with amazing accuracy.

I do prefer it to flinging poo, definitely. I'm pretty sure that he's just being clumsy--no rat would willingly give up its food! But there is a slight chance that he's upset at being denied his place of choice and is trying to... kill me?

The blue trio is still in their own cage, because, I don't know, I guess I fear that snuggly bear-like Corvus would flip his shit if he met them, or Mordred would transform into a giant arachnid and consume everyone. Whatever, they're damn happy and I'm not too displeased about having an extra cage to clean. It's actually the easiest cage to clean. But it's also the easiest cage to escape from when I open it to get the food bowl. And when I do open it to get the food bowl, they're all insane because they know what's comin' and they want the food and they want it now because they haven't eaten in weeks and they might waste away to nothing and oh god food now.

Before I open the cage, they focus on the place nearest to me and all try to exist in that cubic inch of space simultaneously. I really need to take a video of this. They act like puppies on speed. Mean puppies on speed. They punch each other, kick each other, stand on each other, shove each other, and generally just act like dicks. It's adorable, trust me.

The weird thing, though, is that when I do open the cage and fill the bowl, a process that maybe takes ten seconds, Mordred has already fled the region and is scurrying under a couch in Cambodia. I have no idea how he can want food so much and then forget about it the moment the cage is open. He doesn't do this if I just open the cage to change the water, or pet them, or take one out. I can only assume that the prospect of food has made him so hyper that he forgot what made him hyper in the first place and rocketed away with suddenly unbound kinetic energy. So I usually have Derek herd them.

They remain cruel little demons after they've been fed, too. C&A tend to rummage around for the best bits and carry them off, about as sedate as a freshly-fed rat can ever be. The blue boys all do the same thing: They promptly stick their heads into the food bowl. The food bowl can hold three rat heads, I suppose, but it can't hold a lot of food at the same time, so food goes flying. I don't know why I even use the food bowl, other than the joy of seeing three rats shove their heads into food at the same time. And, I suppose, a general desire to not be the creature who just poured food onto litter that presumably has urine somewhere in it. If they want to do that on their own, who am I to argue.

I'm suffering from BPPV again. It's not as bad today, compared to yesterday, which had me crying, but it's still really... horrible. I can feel the spinning sensation just hovering behind my head, so that I know if I move the wrong way, I'll suffer it. It's like there's a chasm right next to me, and it's full of insanity, and if I look in it even out of the corner of my eye, I'll fall in.

I was feeling a bit better--I can't usually be on the computer at all with my vertigo--but then I read my bookmarked webcomics, and this did not help at all.

This is a really belated post. I took these pictures on Christmas.

Because I made these cookies on Christmas! ^_^

( It's not gingerbread if you don't kill them dead. )

I don't really take the best care of myself, normally. But for the past couple weeks, I've been working hard--exercising, taking vitamins, not staying up for 24 hours at a go. I've even had less stress with work, if not less stress with money. And some really cheerful news, especially today. So why am I so deadly tired this week? Yesterday I crashed at 7 PM! This is a serious issue for me, because I would like to fit more than 8 hours of awake-time into my days, y'know? What the hell is up with me?

Is there aaaaaaaany way at all to block a private number from calling my cell phone? I get at least one call every other day, sometimes more often. Every time I've answered, it's been "... click ... click ... click ...." And what's weirder, it's not the phone-hanging-up click; it sounds like an old fashioned camera shutter.

I'm just tired of getting up to find my phone, only to have it be the private clicky number. The fact that it's creepy is just kind of extra-special icing on the cake.

My Viva Pinata game was on Derek's computer, because it's cooler than mine, but he had to reformat recently. We tried to install it again and slip my save file in there, but apparently you can't do that. So every pinata I ever got is now gone. I'm incredibly sad. And pissed, because the save system for VP is moronic. You can reinstall after an uninstall, but you can't reinstall after a reformat, apparently, because... I don't know why. There's no support available through the developer (who ported it from XBox) or through Microsoft. But Derek is a genius, and if he can't get my pinatas back, then I have to give up on them. No way am I starting from scratch--I almost had every single thing beaten. I had special pinatas with names and personalities and I didn't even take screenshots of them.

I'm fucking sad.

Aw, LJ also ate my rat icons. Poo.

But regardless, here are some rat photos, including something I really really really shouldn't have done.

( All five boys! )

I have more photos to post later, but I just spent a stupidly large amount of time on this.

I saw a "make the world a better place" kind of commercial on USA, for charactersunite.com. If you go there, you can see it too!

Highlights for me:

Hispanic guy: "I pledge because I am not a gardener!"
Asian guy: "I don't own a laundromat!"
Indian guy: "I've never been a cab driver!"

And if you've done any of those things, you are a sick sick stereotype and should be ashamed of yourself! You are not worthy of our union!

"I pledge because there is no black--"

[cut to black person]

"--or white--"

[cut to white person]

"--or yellow!"

[cut to Asian person]

Oh, the sweet, sweet smell of failure.

"We're all American immigrants!"

im·mi·grant
Pronunciation:
\ˈi-mə-grənt\
Function:
noun
Date:
1789
: one that immigrates: as a: a person who comes to a country to take up permanent residence b: a plant or animal that becomes established in an area where it was previously unknown

Who else is a plant that's invaded new territory? Is there a secret third definition? Guyyyys, it's not cool to hide definitions from me!

"I pledge because I don't believe in racism, sexism, or any -ism."

Yeah, those things totally don't exist! I've also heard that if I cover my eyes, you can't see me, nah nah nah nah nah.


To sum up: Good message. Ridiculous script.

Are any of you on ravelry? I joined; eventually I'll post pictures. I love marking things as favorites, though. Also, I have no friends there. So lemme friend you! I'm ladytalon there.

Aw. My icon package expired and didn't leave me any knitting icons.

Okay, HELP. HELLLLLP. SoCal people, in that MORONIC and IDIOTIC and ANNOYING beepbeep.com commerical, with the song and all, whyyyyyy does he say something like "got my new car at cici's"? What is cici's? Or c.c.'s? or ceecee's? or... am I completely mishearing it? Google is yielding nothing! NOTHING! It's driving me insane!