Dead Cat Or Sleeping Cat?

I was saying yesterday that it would have been the perfect day if I didn't have a dentist appointment. Well, it ended up being pretty perfect after all. The dentist said it was a superficial filling and I could chance it without having my mouth froze. This meant the rest of the evening wasn't ruined by numb gums,

When I got back Jakers and I decided to go for a walk to make the most of the nice evening. We dandered up through the park to Sentry Hill where I spent a good few of my teenage years drinking cider and hooch. We realised that when we were kids we lived round the corner from each other. It's so strange to grow up in a town like this and never have ran into each other before we were 25. Just before we were leaving I asked if we could go to the clearing where we used to hang out. It's obviously not a popular hangout spot anymore as it's totally overgrown. Then I saw something and I asked Jakers "Is that a sleeping cat or a dead cat?". As it turns out it was neither, it was a teenage fox cub enjoying a siesta in the sun. It stirred slightly and we stood and enjoyed the moment for a while before letting it dream of cunning ploys to catch chickens. It maybe wasn't quite as magical as when I stumbled upon Freddy's encounter with a fox but it definitely made it a perfect day.

A Nearly Perfect Day

Every morning I wake up and look into the rats tank and check they're ok. This past few mornings I've noticed that they're food bowl is upturned. The food's always lying scattered about so they don't do it as a protest for more food. I think it's much more likely that they're trying to suss out a way that they can use they're bowl to escape.

They've been very lazy ratscals today but right now Rocky is giving Pepe's ears a thorough grooming. Pepe is still a bit nervous when we take them out. Rocky gets more and more confident by the day. Balls? Ha, who needs them? We are discovering that sliced ham is definitely one of their favourite treats. They prefer red grapes to green ones and they don't seem to like the special chocolate drops we got them.

Today has been, without a doubt, the nicest, warmest, sunniest day of the year. Let's hope it's not the last either. I met Zoe and Martha in the park and gave Zoe back some books that I'd borrowed about 4 years ago! At the minute I'm reading The Witch of Portobello by Paulo Coelho.

Now I have to go to the dentist and get a nasher filled. Could have been a perfect day if it wasn't for that.

Parklife

There's only one thing better than seeing my niece once a week and that's seeing her twice a week. On Tuesday my friend and I took Miss Martha to the park. You can't go wrong at the park really, unless there are no ducks and no bouncy horsey thing. Martha enjoyed feeding the pigeons but she didn't think much of them pecking at her lovely shoes.

After a spell on the slide, swings and the bouncy horsey thing I took her up to meet the rats. At first she was a bit annoyed at Jakers taking her pram up the stairs. I think she thought he was stealing it. It occurred to me that Martha is already aware that the pram belongs to her and her mummy and without it she wouldn't be able to go to all the nice places, like the park, so you could see why she wouldn't want anybody stealing it.

When she saw the rats she smiled but the closer she looked at them the more confused she seem to be. She said 'bird' and she said 'dog' and then, when she realised she didn't know what they were, she got a little fretful and didn't like them quite so much. On Thursday we done a bit more hanging out at the park and hanging out with Gra' and Great Gra' She loves her Gra's very much.

Rocky's definitely healing up pretty good and doesn't seem to hold anything against us for taking away his manliness. Pepe did a good job at looking after him and though there still a bit nervous around us they seem like they're pretty happy rats. Rocky has a little adventure under one of the chairs when my mate Emma let him free range round the floor. Of course, I was completely nerotic and thought he'd be there forever or we'd squish him trying to force him out. We got him out eventually and he seemed rather pleased with his first proper adventure. It will be the first of many no doubt.

A Trip to the Vits

Rocky survived his operation. I left him in yesterday morning and picked him up in the afternoon. I have to say, I wasn't overly struck by the Vet's staff. When I phoned up to check if Rocky was ok the receptionist left me on hold for for ages, long enough for me to to convince myself that Rocky hadn't made the operation, he was dead and nobody could face telling me. I was left on hold for so long I hung up. I tried to phone back about a dozen times and each time the number was busy. I texted Jakers telling him I thought Rocky might be dead. I phoned the Vet's again. They answered. It was a different receptionist and she went to check on him leaving me on hold again. I thought I was going to be left for ages but then she came back telling me that Rocky was ready for home. The relief. Honest to God, if this is what I'm like with a rat what kind of mother am I going to be?

So we went to pick him up and were greeted by a different receptionist who felt that it was too much effort to say 'Hello, how can I help you?'. I told her we were there to pick up Rocky the rat and, without smiling, she clicked a few buttons on the computer and said "That's thirty-six pounds fifty". She was so dour Jakers said he was expecting her to say "Computer says no". And when the vet came out with Rocky in his shoe box she wrinkled her nose and asked why anyone would want to keep rats. To be fair, she knew her stuff and answered all our questions but why would you be a vet if you didn't like rats?

Anyway, we got Rocky home and he felt very sorry for himself but still managed to eat. Pepe was pleased to see him and went in for a cuddle but when Rocky lay in his clear plastic tube, writhing in pain and discomfort, she knew to let him be. Rocky spent the night in a separate cage and Jakers reunited them this afternoon. Rocky is still not rightly at himself. He's a bit more comfortable than he was last night but he's doing a lot of sleeping and lying on top of Pepe. He's also doing a lot of munching so he must be on the mend.

Yet Another Post About....

.....RATS! They're adorable and maybe, one day, I'll stop writing about them so much but for now I'm just going to indulge myself. Though they are brother and sister they are very much a couple. It's been consummated. Rocky is the more dominant one. He stands over Pepe to protect her when he's nervous about something. He also steals food from her. Right now they're nesting in a clear plastic tube. They've dragged over some of their cotton wool bedding to lay over the side. I guess they're preparing for babies but it will be the first and last litter they have.

Rocky makes his wee trip to the vet on Wednesday. I can honestly say that phoning up and registering him with the vet is the first thing that's ever really made me feel like an adult. I did, however, give them my mum's address because I still don't know what my new post code is. It's a shame we have to get him neutered though because we were just building up our trust with him. And I guess getting his balls chopped off is gonna make him hate us. I hope he can be appeased with apple and kiwi fruit.

Right now the rats are having a tussle with each other, letting out little squeaks every once in a while. They stop fighting periodically to groom each other. Full of mischief so they are. I'm away to play with them.

That's How They Knew I Was a Boy

I love days like today. I spent most of it hanging out with my niece, who was hanging out with her granny and great granny. The great granny, which is my granny, said she was in right good form today so that pleased me. After a spot of lunch we took Martha to the park where she swung and slid and spun to her little heart's content. I wished that I could swing and slide and spin but I'm pretty sure an adult having more fun than a baby at the park is frowned upon.


It is becoming more and more clear that Rocky is definitely a boy. I told my (male) friend that we were pretty sure he was a boy due to the fact he was growing a set of balls. My friend laughed and said "Well I know that's how they came to the conclusion that I was a boy"

So, to avoid us having loads of inbred baby rats I have to take Rocky to the vet to get neutered. I feel awful about it but I would feel more awful about taking Pepe back to the pet shop to replace her with a male. Rocky and her have already bonded and to give her a taste of a life that she could have and then take her back to the pet shop is just unthinkable. So Rocky's balls have to go. Poor thing.

Introducing......

ROCKY AND PEPE!!!!

Here are our two gorgeous rats. Right now they are snoozling away but all in all I think there settling in really well. Poor old Rocky's been a bit gender-confused but after he was a girl, then a boy, then a girl again, we're pretty sure now that he is a boy. And we're pretty sure that Pepe is definitely a girl. Could be problematic months down the line but we'll cross that bridge when it comes to it.

I went out yesterday and bought them some toys. I want to give them as much stimulation as possible because they're clever little critters that would get bored easily without things to climb and stuff to munch on. They get on really well together, snuggling together for sleeping, grooming each other and play fighting. It would have broke my heart to let Rocky miss out on the company of another rat.

Well, as much as I would love to blog about my babies all day long, unfortunately, I have a lot of rather mundane chores to be getting on with.

Rocky Rat Joins the Clan

Now that I'm back online there's no excuse for not blogging. Though I'm badly out of the habit so bear with me 'til I remember how to write or until I train Rocky to use the laptop. Yes! Rocky is finally here though she's more of a female Rocky than a male Rocky. We got her home last night and she was only in her cage for ten minutes before Jakers and I decided that she definitely needed some rat company. So went back to the pet shop and rescued one of Rocky's sisters. Haven't figured out a name for her yet but I'm just glad that Rocky's not going to be lonely when we're not around.

Today in work was tough. It just seemed to be one of those days. I thought the sunshine made everyone more happy and relaxed but apparently it has the opposite effect on certain people, making them uppity and, generally, very annoying. The worst customer today was Mr. F., a well-known local wino. He wanted passport photos taken but only had 30p in his hand. He was wobbling all over the place making me feared that he'd fall into a rack of frames. He then staggered over to the stools by the kiosk, sat down, and proceeded to fall asleep.

But ah....that was work and I'm at home now watching Rocky and her sister munching on kibbles and dinner is cooking and I have a night out planned and I'm off the next two days and sure, is that not great?

At Last

I'm such a happy bunny. Sitting in my cosy, just cleaned flat. Jakers is in the kitchen rustling up some chili mince and garlic bread. I've spent a good hour pottering about the world wide web, whittling my time away. Surely when man was created this is what he was created for.

Now that we're all broad-banded up all we need to make our cosy flat complete is a pet rat (or two). I'm hoping that Rocky the Rat will have a flair for blogging. He could take over for me on nights that I'm too tired.

Despite not having internet I've been keeping myself busy enough with work, jigsaws and endless episodes of Family Guy and American Dad. I've also taken to recording Countdown and watching it in the evenings, which, I've been told, is very sad and marks the end of my life as a young, adventurous twenty-something putting me firmly in the bracket of an old, boring seventy year old pensioner with nothing better to do with my time. Of course, now that I have internet I can cling on to my youth.

Hooray for internet, and days off and tidy flats!!!

Back Soon

This is a quick, sneaky blog from work so I've no time to go into details about the useless Sky buggers and why I've been off line for about an eternity. We are promised tomorrow but we have been promised many's a time before. We'll see. I suppose I should get back to work now though and keep my blog rant until such times as I'm not getting paid for it.

Oh Boy

Well, what a bad blogger I've been. I blame Christmas. It's hard to even know what day of the week it is never mind writing about it. I'm glad it's all over and done with though. Phew!

Last New Year I had organised a party to combine Dirt Bird's birthday, the New Year and my going away gig. But I was dying of a cold last year and sneaked off to bed, not once, but twice before the clock struck twelve. Other than that I really don;t remember much about it. This New Year, however, was very enjoyable. A nice mix of loved ones and music with just a dash (ok....a whole bottle) of Jamesons' whiskey.

The next day I took me and my bad head to sweat out the badness in a hot tub. Dirt Bird's uncle has one in his garden and he invited us up for her Dirtieth Bird Day. I could do with one of those every weekend.

Right, anyway, I would write more but my neck hurts so I'm gonna go see if I can wangle a massage off Jakers. Hopefully it won't be so long before I update next time.

Peanut Butter On Toast

I'm a sucker for life's little pleasures at the minute. On Sunday me and Jakes cooked a Sunday dinner and invited a couple of people around to help us scran it. Unfortunately Dill couldn't make it so we set him aside a plate and sent it up to Belfast with Dr. D.

Sunday's are my new favourite day. I used to find Sunday's very lonely. I once went through a phase of convincing myself that the Sunday papers were a good way of killing an hour or two but my heart was never really in it. Now Sunday's are never lonely and there's always something to do, which is nothing, but relax and read magazines and watch Twin Peaks.

I went to visit Nellybert on my day off which, luckily, coincided with Granny Nelly's babysitting Martha day. I really love going home every couple of weeks and seeing mum and Bert and the dogs. Judy was super pleased to see me and even Bonnie seems to appreciate me more now that I'm gone. I took Martha in to see Pearlie and she entertained her by saying 'duck' a lot and pointing at her neck pillow and saying 'hat'. I had a couple of good cuddles with Freddy cat. He always makes sure that he gets some Hannah loving when I'm there and I'm pretty sure that, if Pearlie would let him, he'd make her his Hannah surrogate. She won't have it though. she hates him.

Snow Girl

Yesterday I was hanging out with this little snowgirl. Mum and I took her out to Granny's where it was a winter wonderland. This is the best snow I've seen in years. I'm not generally a big fan of it but it's hard not to smile when you see your gorgeous niece trying to walk in her snow suit and welly boots. An absolute delight!

I've had a few days off work and it was spent sorting the flat out, music-making and hanging out with my two favourite Martha's. I also spent a night out in Belfast where I ran into a girl I haven't seen for 10 years. This would have been a pleasure if it wasn't for the fact that the only thing I can remember about her is that she once said to me "You know, you would be pretty if you wore makeup". It annoyed me at the time but I'm not the sort of person to hold grudges. This time she mentioned again that I never wore make-up. Though at least this time she said I didn't need to.

I can't believe it's nearly Christmas. This time last year I had no time to even think about, juggling my 2 jobs and getting things sorted for S.America. In fact, all that nearly feels like a dream. This year I'm happy to relax and enjoy the thought of spending a lovely Christmas with all my family. And on that note I shall go, as I have things to do and dinner to make.

Ballymena Ladyboy

Ballymena isn't a big place. It's the kind of place where everyone knows everyone to some extent, even if it's just recognising their faces. Sometimes it's a good thing because I like walking down the street and having people to stop and chat to. It can also be a bad thing too because everyone knows everyone's buisness. Luckily I haven't too much to hide or be ashamed of so I don't really mind people knowing my buisness.

I was at the pub last week and as I was leaving the girl's toilets and said hello to a girl I kind of know. Someone was standing outside waiting for her and this person said hello and asked me if I remembered them. I looked at their face and thought they looked vaguely familiar. They then proceeded to tell me that I had met them outside another bar and we'd been chatting and I asked them what their name was. When they said it was John, or Mark, or some other boy's name I asked them why they were pretending to be a boy. All of a sudden I had a flashback of this particular encounter and I did actually ask them why they were pretending to be a boy.

Having been reminded of this I looked at this guy and apologised profusely and then asked him if he was sure he was definitely a boy. To which, he/she replied that yes he definitely was a boy. I felt really bad but still not entirely convinced. And to be fair, there was absolutely nothing about him that suggested he was a girl, other than a fairly unbroken voice and soft, delicate features. Poor lad. I hope he's not too offended.

Dill Tries Horlicks

We had a visit from a guy the other night. He's a shy fellow so I won't disclose his real name, I'll call him Dill. Dill's a great guy but he's got his quirks. He doesn't fall asleep to serene music or whale sounds like any normal person would, no, he likes to listen to repetitive white noise, like the sound of an electric drill, or the fuzziness of a T.V.

He was round playing a bit of geetar with Jakers. He's very good and we've told him he'd make an excellent teacher but he's negative about everything. And I mean everything. The only thing that makes Diil truly happy is food. He's a big lad at 6 foot eight and so he needs a lot of grub. He once ate so much at a Chinese all you can eat buffet that he was actually sick.

He was offered a cup of tea and a Curly Wurly at first and then later I wanted Horlicks and we gave him some of that too. He'd never had it before and thought it was maybe some kind of class A drug. We told him it was what old granny's drink before they go to bed. At first he liked it. He felt enveloped in the warm milky, malty goodness. But then he got half way through it and decided it was like drinking baby boke. Yeah, if baby's stomachs were lined with malt, which they're not. Anyway, I didn't let it put me off mine though.

Back To School and Bomb Scares

A couple of nights ago I had a dream that I woke up to a text from my friend saying "I'll meet you at school". I was running around wondering how it could be the first day of term again and feeling totally disorganised because all my school sgirts were either dirty or wrinkled (which is ironic because it never bothered me before going to school in a dirty, wrinkly shirt). Anyway, it took me a while to catch on that it wasn't just the summer holidays since I'd been to school, it was years. I recalled having gone to uni and couldn't figure out why I was going back to school. So I texted my friend back asking her why we were going to school. She replied back that we had to go for ESPN training. There's no such thing as ESPN training, it's a sports channel I'd been watching the Stoke Vs Liverpool match on ESPN some few nights before.

Last night, when I went to sleep, I must have traveled back in time about 40 years because I'd been in work, this morning, no longer than an hour when the manager from the shopping centre came into the shop telling us we had to close up and evacuate as there was a suspected bomb threat across the road in Poundstretcher. After 3 hours of drinking endless cups of coffee in a nearby pub (there wasn't much else we could do) we were allowed to open up again but they'd cordoned off the whole street and sent the Bomb Disposal Unit out. As I was walking towards the pub I bumped into Jakers who said he'd just got into work and was told to go down to Poundstretcher to get a cheap jar of coffee. They lost a sale there.

After the whole hoo-ha we went back to work and thought the rest of the day would fly in. It did but in a very annoying way. Why anyone ever has need of a 30 x 40 inch frame I do not know (apart from having a poster print and wanting it framed, which should be banned). Anyway, Danny asked me to help him frame it and it ended up being a complete disaster. Firstly, it was mounted. This isn't normally a problem but the aperture of the mount was the exact measurement of the print. Normally you'd have a bit of an overlap meaning there's no chance for gaps. We had to line the print up precisely and tape it down a bit. I had hoped the back of the frame would help flatten the print down but this frame's back was ever so slightly too big. Only by millimeteres but it was enough not to flatten the print, which really needed it because of the neat fit of the mount. We ended up with a print that gaped. No good. In the midst of trying out other things to help it the glass broke. Only a tiny bit from one of the corners but enough to completely ruin it. Luckily when I called the customer to explain she took it in good humour and laughed about all the mishaps. I'd have laughed too if it hadn't been such a ball ache. Roll on the weekend.

Busy Bee

I'm so busy these days that when I do sit down and relax I feel truly justified. I've stayed true to my word about embracing the land of T.V. The best thing about Sky is that you can record shows to watch at a later date. I am currently watching endless episodes of QI, Mock the Week, The Middle and Family Guy. Jakers hasn't got to watch as much Sci-Fi or wildlife documentaries as he had hoped but perhaps I'll get bored of T.V.

The reason I'm so busy is a combination of work and play. On Thursday night I met my workmate for drinks. I wasn't home that late but it was late enough for my mate to want me to get a taxi. I live ten minutes away from the pub but she said she didn't want me to get raped. I told her I'd be fine but her parting words to me were "you know that most people who get raped get raped up the bum!" I guess I must have been quite shocked by this revelation so I called Jakers and told him I was on my way home and if I wasn't back in 5 minutes to come looking for me.

I had a busy day on Friday as well . I spent the afternoon hanging out with Zoe and Martha. Martha is getting pretty used to me now and she makes it known that I am part of her clan. Very sweet. I then went round to a friend's house where we talked non-stop for 3 hours. This guy's hasn't been well for a long time but he's still an absolute ray of sunshine. When I was living at home I only saw this guy the very odd weekend. It's so nice to be within walking distance of calling in on him. We also had a few dudes round in the evening for music night. Though it was more like sitting around talking night than music night.

Then it was Saturday and work was super busy (but in a nice way, not a head-frying stressful way) and I went out with friends even though I felt I could sleep a marathon. I ended up having a lovely wee night and staying up late so when Sunday came round it was pure bliss waking up late and doing absolutely nothing. This is the life I've been longing for for quite some time now. I just wish that all the people I love and care about could feel as content as I do now. At the same time, I know how life is, swings and roundabouts. I'm just going to enjoy this feeling while it lasts.

Domestic Bliss

I'm back online and all broadbanded up. I've been living in the town with Jakers for just over a week and we have a little haven of media and entertainment and scented candles. We take it in turns to make dinner and I make us both a packed lunch every day for work. Right now it's domestic bliss though Jakers reckons I'll be bored by next week and he'll be cooking all the dinners and there'll be no sandwiches for lunch.

We also have the loan of a Wii for a wee while. I'd never played one before but am totally relishing in the delight of beating Jakers at bowling and boxing. Beginner's luck no doubt but i may as well enjoy the feeling while it lasts.

I like the handiness of everything. Getting home from work without buses, popping down to the shops on a Sunday. I have also purchased myself a hot water bottle complete with fluffy cover. The cover is so soft I can almost pretend that it's a warm fluffy kitten. A picture of Nellybert's pup Judy hangs proudly on the living room wall but I'm not sure Jakers will allow me to plaster the whole place in animal pictures. He probaby thinks it's girly enough with all the scented candles though he has been known to walk past the Yankee Candle shop informing his men friends that when it comes to scented candles it has to be Yankee.

Well, anyway, I'd love to blog all night but I'd get tired and folk would get bored. I think I'll just light a scented candle, light a little smoke and chillax for the rest of the evening.

Introuducing....

This handsome guy shares the same name as my boyfriend. My Jakers is way cuter though. I figured that I'd be mentioning him a lot more when I move in with him and referring to him as 'my boyfriend' would get pretty boring.

This day next week but will be my last night at Nellybert's. And then I will be a Townie. It looks like Tuesday night is going to be Music Night. Jakers has already got me a form for volunteering where he works and Tai Chi classes are held in Ahoghill on a Thursday night. There's nothing to ail me calling in on Zoe for half an hour after work the odd day. I used to live round the corner from Zoe and saw her maybe once a month. Shocking! But that was before she had baby Martha and I'm an auntie who's greedy for the baby cuddles.

The only real worry now is work and money and sure I'm too happy to be bothered worrying about that until I have to.

Embrace The T.V.

When I move in with my boyfriend we'll have broadband installed. It's like a legal requirement. And because there are so many good internet and tv packages we've decided to get Sky as well. It's been years since I've been interested in watching tv. I grew used to not having it through traveling and when you don't have it you don't miss it or need. it.

But, I have to say, I'm quite looking forward to becoming a bit of telly addict for now. I've spent so many years in my own head with no real outlet for escapism (except escape games and I'm starting to get bored with the formula) and so I don't even feel guilty about the fact that I'm gonna watch a lot of tv. In fact, I think it will be positively good for me. As long as that's not all I'm doing.

Anyway, I'm not moving in for another week or so but I'm already thinking about the tv shows I want to watch. I'm well into Meercat Manor. It's pretty heavy viewing sometimes as Meercats, despite being adorable, can be pretty brutal to each other. It's just their survival instinct but they're a lot more complex than you'd give them credit for. I also plan to get back into Neighbours. It's been s few years since I used to watch back to back episodes on the internet. And when I'd run out of the current series I started watching really old episodes of it. It will take me a while to get used to the characters but I believe Toadie's still in it and I'm hoping Dr. Karl and Susan are still kicking about. I also plan to watch a lot of comedy, new and old. I truly believe that a daily dose of laughter will have me in a state of euphoria. Of course, I'm pinning all my hopes and dreams on an evil, mind-numbing box, which isn't such a good thing, but it's gotta be better than a smack habit.