So I FINALLY got a sub job today. It was only half a day, but it was better than nothing. Well, actually, I had been called twice before, but was not able to take the jobs. I was called a long time ago, but I had scheduled an appointment that I could not back out of so I couldn't take it. Then I got a call to sub at the high school and I really wasn't comfortable with that idea yet...maybe with a bit more experience, but not the first time! But today I was called to sub in the afternoon for a third grade teacher who my cousins had when they were in Kindergarten!!
It was great! The kids and I had a lot of fun! I think they liked me! I had this poster that I put up about me and the kids were looking at the pictures on it and they were very excited that I know how to fence and had been to Italy! I only had to enforce the discipline program with the one kid who just would not stop talking. Most of the other non-intrusive methods we learn about in college worked just fine. For example, saying their name or just stopping all teaching when they were talking over me....I also am partial to "Clap once if you can hear me, clap twice if you can hear me..." It's something I use at camp and it is very effective. I also used the "quiet sign" and "one two three eyes on me" which I despise, but I used it anyway.
I used a smart board which was pretty exciting. And the teacher was in the room for the first hour of my experience so it was so much less nerve racking. Then I was all alone....which I was SO excited about it! In the past, I had always had my cooperating teacher or a superviser with me, but for a while I was alone. We did have an aid come in for science, but other than that it was just me and the kids! It was great.
Math class was different than what I am used to though. At the school where I student taught, they used a program called "Everyday Mathematics." It was designed very differently than anything I had ever seen, but I got pretty comfortable using it. The program outlines the lesson very carefully and very strictly. Though it seemed to move very fast, it also seemed like everything in the lesson was tied together. But in this school, the teacher had me reading a story to them about bargain hunting and then the lesson was on patterns. I did not really see how they had anything to do with each other and many of the kids had a really hard time with the pattern thing. We spent a lot more time on it than I expected.
But we had a very interesting science class and the kids ended up suckering me into playing heads up seven up during dismissal. There was one thing in math we did not get done, but other than that we did everything the teacher asked me to do!
Overall, I think it was a great first experience subbing. I hadn't been in a classroom for so long that I was starting to get really comfortable at the nursing home. But this experience made me very excited for what I hope is in store for me in January. I am working towards getting my teaching certificate for spanish and when I called the department of education to ask about how to do that, the lady there told me about a school in my area that is hoping to start a spanish program in January. I'd be running the program and teaching the whole school spanish AND writing my own curriculum. I really really hope it works out for me! I'm hoping that now that I am in good with this lady, dropping her name will land me the job, but she and I haven't talked to the school yet. I've been working 37 hours at the nursing home all week and havent had a chance to call her to talk more about it. So we'll have to see how that works.
But something that did pan out for me is the reading program that I will be starting in February. I will be hosting a program at the local library where kids who are struggling in reading can be paired up with a reading tutor to practice reading once a week. The program was approved so I just have to put up flyers at the library and talk to the superintendent at the school district by the library. I am hoping the teachers at the school will recruit struggling readers!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Wow...It's Been A While...
So I finally found a pet store that sells rabbits. I got a brown Holland Lop. She will grow to be about 4 or 5 pounds so she won't be very big. Piccolo, the mini lop I was looking to adopt, was 7 pounds. They bred Mini lops and dwarf rabbits to get Holland Lops...that's why they are smaller. I'm not sure what she weights now, but it can't be much more than 3 or 4 pounds so she's probaly as big as she is going to get.
So, after much debate, we finally named her Caramel. She is approximately 3 or 3 1/2 months old. She is still a baby so she is very destructive. She chews on EVERYTHING and she loves to dig (even though most things she digs at do not move when she digs at them). She also loves to move her litter box around the cage which causes her to accidently dump it all over her bedding....she's actually doing it right now as I'm typing this.
It was a bit rough in the beginning. She was from a breeder but I guess she had been at the pet store isolated for a while and didn't interact much with humans. So she was really skiddish when we first brought her home. But I left her in her cage for abour 36 hours without taking her out. I put my hand in to pet her and stuff and she got used to me that way. Then, little by little I'd let her run around for a while out of her cage.
Now, the first time I let her out I thought I had everything thought out. I moved everything she could chew on and I got her a ball to push around with her nose. I read that instead of reaching in to grab her, I should open the door and let her come out on her own terms. She came out and pushed the ball for a little. Then, a teeny tiny spider crawled over my mom's leg...she screamed and Caramel darted underneath my brother's bed! It took us a half hour to get her back into her cage. She kept running around the room hiding behind stuff. I am not sure if she was actually frightened or if she thought we were playing.
But I bought her a pen so she doesn't escape again and she and I sit in the pen and watch tv together. She runs around and chews up the blanket we put in there for her. I also got her a stuffed bear that she throws around and tries to tear apart. I got her this ball of grass and she LOVES it and grunts at me whenever I touch it. She lets me pet her now and even comes up to the cage door to greet me when I reach in to change her food and litter. She even jumped into my lap of her own accord the other day. So it took a lot of work but she is definitely warming up to people.
I am hoping that with some more work I can one day begin training her to be a therapy animal. I think it'd be a lot of fun to take her to nursing homes and let the residents sit with her and pet her. Many times, elderly patients cannot bend down to pet dogs or cats, but a bunny would be perfect for them. They can hold on to them and pet them and they don't have to worry about bending over which could be painful for them. But, Caramel is definitely not ready for that. She is not comfortable being grabbed and she would rather chew on things and run around and play instead of sit and be pet. But she is still young yet, so once she matures she'll be more able to do that. Even if she could do that now, she is too young to be spayed and all therapy animals need to be fixed regardless of what kind of animal they are.
Anyway, so that's really all that is new with me. Caramel and I have been spending lots of time playing. I've been working long hours at the nursing home as well so between working 8 to 12 hour days and spending time with my bunny, I haven't really had much time to blog about her yet......or even about the Steelers game I went to see last weekend. Which, Caramel was not happy about....my going away to see the steelers meant I went away and left her for my mother to care for which I don't think my mother is well liked yet. And also my mom was not comfortable letting Caramel run around and play so she was cooped up in her cage all weekend. But the game was a ton of fun even though the Steelers lost. :-(
And things with Mike are going well...I mean apart from the distance thing. Mike went with me to the game and we stayed in a hotel. We went to a fencing tournament the day before the game and we both did not do as well as we hoped. But I think we learned a lot and know what to work on now. We downloaded skype and we've been staying in contact through our webcams. I am thankful we can do that cuz I can see him and hear him.....but sometimes I hear about how bad his day was or how much work he has to do or how painful his toothache is and I wish I could hug him though the webcam too. I need a stargate.
There's Caramel. :-D
So, after much debate, we finally named her Caramel. She is approximately 3 or 3 1/2 months old. She is still a baby so she is very destructive. She chews on EVERYTHING and she loves to dig (even though most things she digs at do not move when she digs at them). She also loves to move her litter box around the cage which causes her to accidently dump it all over her bedding....she's actually doing it right now as I'm typing this.
It was a bit rough in the beginning. She was from a breeder but I guess she had been at the pet store isolated for a while and didn't interact much with humans. So she was really skiddish when we first brought her home. But I left her in her cage for abour 36 hours without taking her out. I put my hand in to pet her and stuff and she got used to me that way. Then, little by little I'd let her run around for a while out of her cage.
Now, the first time I let her out I thought I had everything thought out. I moved everything she could chew on and I got her a ball to push around with her nose. I read that instead of reaching in to grab her, I should open the door and let her come out on her own terms. She came out and pushed the ball for a little. Then, a teeny tiny spider crawled over my mom's leg...she screamed and Caramel darted underneath my brother's bed! It took us a half hour to get her back into her cage. She kept running around the room hiding behind stuff. I am not sure if she was actually frightened or if she thought we were playing.
But I bought her a pen so she doesn't escape again and she and I sit in the pen and watch tv together. She runs around and chews up the blanket we put in there for her. I also got her a stuffed bear that she throws around and tries to tear apart. I got her this ball of grass and she LOVES it and grunts at me whenever I touch it. She lets me pet her now and even comes up to the cage door to greet me when I reach in to change her food and litter. She even jumped into my lap of her own accord the other day. So it took a lot of work but she is definitely warming up to people.
I am hoping that with some more work I can one day begin training her to be a therapy animal. I think it'd be a lot of fun to take her to nursing homes and let the residents sit with her and pet her. Many times, elderly patients cannot bend down to pet dogs or cats, but a bunny would be perfect for them. They can hold on to them and pet them and they don't have to worry about bending over which could be painful for them. But, Caramel is definitely not ready for that. She is not comfortable being grabbed and she would rather chew on things and run around and play instead of sit and be pet. But she is still young yet, so once she matures she'll be more able to do that. Even if she could do that now, she is too young to be spayed and all therapy animals need to be fixed regardless of what kind of animal they are.
Anyway, so that's really all that is new with me. Caramel and I have been spending lots of time playing. I've been working long hours at the nursing home as well so between working 8 to 12 hour days and spending time with my bunny, I haven't really had much time to blog about her yet......or even about the Steelers game I went to see last weekend. Which, Caramel was not happy about....my going away to see the steelers meant I went away and left her for my mother to care for which I don't think my mother is well liked yet. And also my mom was not comfortable letting Caramel run around and play so she was cooped up in her cage all weekend. But the game was a ton of fun even though the Steelers lost. :-(
And things with Mike are going well...I mean apart from the distance thing. Mike went with me to the game and we stayed in a hotel. We went to a fencing tournament the day before the game and we both did not do as well as we hoped. But I think we learned a lot and know what to work on now. We downloaded skype and we've been staying in contact through our webcams. I am thankful we can do that cuz I can see him and hear him.....but sometimes I hear about how bad his day was or how much work he has to do or how painful his toothache is and I wish I could hug him though the webcam too. I need a stargate.
Saturday, September 25, 2010
"License and registration please"
So I haven't gotten the chance to rant about this yet. I thought I was over it and then I saw my bank statement and it got me all fired up again.
A few weeks ago, I was pulled over for speeding. Here's what happened. I was going 75, the speed limit was 65. Then, I entered a work zone. I slowed down to 65 since I thought....eh ten over, that should be okay. It's not even an active work zone so I'll be alright. Then, I saw the speed limit sign. The speed limit was 50. I slowed down again and noticed a cop behind me. I pulled over so he could go around me and lo and behold, he pulled over too and got out! And I was like: Are you serious? He's pulling ME over?? I had no idea what I even did.
So when he came up to the car I asked him and he said he clocked me at 67mph in a work zone where the speed limit was 50. I was apparantly going 17 over the speed limit. I explained that I just saw the sign and was slowing down just before he pulled me over. It didn't matter. What mattered was that for 3 seconds (he timed me) I was going 17 mph over the speed limit. If I had a guess, I'd say he clocked me WAY at the beginning of the work zone right when the speed limit changed. HOW IS THAT FAIR?
Luckily he didn't give me a ticket. I think he believed me when I said I had no idea that I was that much over, I thought the speed limit was 55. He DID give me a "citation." With it being a work zone, he couldn't just let me off with a warning. The difference being that a citation doesn't show up on your record and doesn't put points on your license. Just pay it and then forget it happened. So I paid it and much to my chagrine....the fine was over $100!! WTF?!?! First of all, the fine itself was $25, but they doubled it for it being a work zone...I can handle that. But then, I paid a fee for the car that pulled me over. I paid a small fee to the police company itself AND I paid the EMS...THEY WEREN'T EVEN THERE!!
Now, I know I was in the wrong. But seriously, the punishment should fit the crime. I wasn't going 30 or 40 over...I wasn't cutting people off....I wasn't endangering anyone's life...I wasn't tailgating anyone...I was going 15 over!!! The fine should be $15...double it for the work zone if you like, but I was going 15 over so I should pay $15. And if you want me to pay an extra fee for the car or the police department that's fine...but don't tack on all these dumb fees that have nothing to do with what I was pulled over for. I didn't need a freakin' ambulance so I shouldn't be paying the EMS!! I should be paying at most $50 for that fine. That's it! Save the big fines for the big crimes. When I'm endangering people's lives THEN you can tack on all those dumb fees.
All those times I go 80 or more on the turnpike and I was pulled over for doing freaking 67mph!!! What a joke!
A few weeks ago, I was pulled over for speeding. Here's what happened. I was going 75, the speed limit was 65. Then, I entered a work zone. I slowed down to 65 since I thought....eh ten over, that should be okay. It's not even an active work zone so I'll be alright. Then, I saw the speed limit sign. The speed limit was 50. I slowed down again and noticed a cop behind me. I pulled over so he could go around me and lo and behold, he pulled over too and got out! And I was like: Are you serious? He's pulling ME over?? I had no idea what I even did.
So when he came up to the car I asked him and he said he clocked me at 67mph in a work zone where the speed limit was 50. I was apparantly going 17 over the speed limit. I explained that I just saw the sign and was slowing down just before he pulled me over. It didn't matter. What mattered was that for 3 seconds (he timed me) I was going 17 mph over the speed limit. If I had a guess, I'd say he clocked me WAY at the beginning of the work zone right when the speed limit changed. HOW IS THAT FAIR?
Luckily he didn't give me a ticket. I think he believed me when I said I had no idea that I was that much over, I thought the speed limit was 55. He DID give me a "citation." With it being a work zone, he couldn't just let me off with a warning. The difference being that a citation doesn't show up on your record and doesn't put points on your license. Just pay it and then forget it happened. So I paid it and much to my chagrine....the fine was over $100!! WTF?!?! First of all, the fine itself was $25, but they doubled it for it being a work zone...I can handle that. But then, I paid a fee for the car that pulled me over. I paid a small fee to the police company itself AND I paid the EMS...THEY WEREN'T EVEN THERE!!
Now, I know I was in the wrong. But seriously, the punishment should fit the crime. I wasn't going 30 or 40 over...I wasn't cutting people off....I wasn't endangering anyone's life...I wasn't tailgating anyone...I was going 15 over!!! The fine should be $15...double it for the work zone if you like, but I was going 15 over so I should pay $15. And if you want me to pay an extra fee for the car or the police department that's fine...but don't tack on all these dumb fees that have nothing to do with what I was pulled over for. I didn't need a freakin' ambulance so I shouldn't be paying the EMS!! I should be paying at most $50 for that fine. That's it! Save the big fines for the big crimes. When I'm endangering people's lives THEN you can tack on all those dumb fees.
All those times I go 80 or more on the turnpike and I was pulled over for doing freaking 67mph!!! What a joke!
Wednesday, September 22, 2010
Bunny Update
So yeah this bunny thing was so much harder than I thought it would be.
Like I said: I found a rabbit I'm sort of interested in. She's very cute. But the animal shelter that has her is an hour and a half away from where I live. When I emailed them for more information about other places to find mini lops they said: You shouldn't choose a rabbit by its breed, you should choose a rabbit by it's personality and how it blends with your household. Are you serious?! Basically I need to meet the rabbit before I can adopt it. So I need to travel an hour and a half away TWICE. Once to meet the damn thing and once to pick it up to take it home. And it'll take two weeks to be approved and process the paperwork. It'll probably be a month before I actually get a rabbit. HOWEVER....I pay $75 for the rabbit, a membership to the House Rabbit Society of America and a book about caring for rabbits AND it's already spayed/neutered. Good deal. But it's so far away.
So I've been furiously searching for breeders just so I can compare pricing information. I found one that has the kind of rabbit I want BUT they won't sell to me because they don't sell rabbits as pets. In order to buy from them I have to be intending to either show or breed my rabbit. They won't even give me any info or anything so I don't know where they are located. If I knew that then maybe I'd just tell them I was gonna show it. What are they gonna do if I don't? Take it back from me? They can't repossess a rabbit, right?
The other breeder I found seems like a nice lady. I have no idea what she has because her site is not updated. She was not really specific about where she is located, but from what I do know I know she is about two hours away. So I'll pay less for the rabbit, travel about the same ammount, I'll probably only have to go there once though BUT I'll have to pay to have it nuetered/spayed. Not sure about the quality of the breeder though because her website is one of those geo-shities sites which suggests it may not be the most reputable.
That's it. Two breeders. The petco by me doesn't sell abbits. There was a pet store by me that had rabbits...not the kind I wanted though....but I wouldn't buy animals from it...I don't think it's very reputable (for those of you who know the area...Q Mart is all I'm saying). The little ma and pop pet store by me doesn't advocate buying from breeders so they won't give me any breeder information. The animal shelter, obviously, doesn't advocate buying from breeders either so they won't give me any information either. They say it's because breeders cause over population. I really wanted to ask: Where would you get your rabbits if all the breeders shut down? There'd be no pets to abandon and it'd put you out of business. Real smart.
So.....maybe I'll need to just get another guinea pig....though I think my quest for a guinea pig would be just as trying unless I buy it from a pet store but people always say don't do that.....so I have no idea where to go from here....
Like I said: I found a rabbit I'm sort of interested in. She's very cute. But the animal shelter that has her is an hour and a half away from where I live. When I emailed them for more information about other places to find mini lops they said: You shouldn't choose a rabbit by its breed, you should choose a rabbit by it's personality and how it blends with your household. Are you serious?! Basically I need to meet the rabbit before I can adopt it. So I need to travel an hour and a half away TWICE. Once to meet the damn thing and once to pick it up to take it home. And it'll take two weeks to be approved and process the paperwork. It'll probably be a month before I actually get a rabbit. HOWEVER....I pay $75 for the rabbit, a membership to the House Rabbit Society of America and a book about caring for rabbits AND it's already spayed/neutered. Good deal. But it's so far away.
So I've been furiously searching for breeders just so I can compare pricing information. I found one that has the kind of rabbit I want BUT they won't sell to me because they don't sell rabbits as pets. In order to buy from them I have to be intending to either show or breed my rabbit. They won't even give me any info or anything so I don't know where they are located. If I knew that then maybe I'd just tell them I was gonna show it. What are they gonna do if I don't? Take it back from me? They can't repossess a rabbit, right?
The other breeder I found seems like a nice lady. I have no idea what she has because her site is not updated. She was not really specific about where she is located, but from what I do know I know she is about two hours away. So I'll pay less for the rabbit, travel about the same ammount, I'll probably only have to go there once though BUT I'll have to pay to have it nuetered/spayed. Not sure about the quality of the breeder though because her website is one of those geo-shities sites which suggests it may not be the most reputable.
That's it. Two breeders. The petco by me doesn't sell abbits. There was a pet store by me that had rabbits...not the kind I wanted though....but I wouldn't buy animals from it...I don't think it's very reputable (for those of you who know the area...Q Mart is all I'm saying). The little ma and pop pet store by me doesn't advocate buying from breeders so they won't give me any breeder information. The animal shelter, obviously, doesn't advocate buying from breeders either so they won't give me any information either. They say it's because breeders cause over population. I really wanted to ask: Where would you get your rabbits if all the breeders shut down? There'd be no pets to abandon and it'd put you out of business. Real smart.
So.....maybe I'll need to just get another guinea pig....though I think my quest for a guinea pig would be just as trying unless I buy it from a pet store but people always say don't do that.....so I have no idea where to go from here....
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Long Distance Sucks
Ugh.....this long distance thing is terrible.
Some days I can handle it better than others. I mean, I know that this is the best situation right now for both of us. I would love to be with Mike every moment of every day, but right now, he needs to focus on finishing up his school work. He needs to get himself a job and make some money so that he can come back home when he's done and find somewhere for himself (or both of us) to live. And I need to be at home getting my foot in the door of the teaching world, making an impression on schools so that next year they'll hire me as a full time teacher. I tell myself that we just need to make it until the summer. Then, we'll be together again every day. But secretly I wish a school in ****** would call me and hire me...even if it was just as a teacher's assistant for a year, I'd take the job in a minute to be closer to Mike. But beggers can't be choosers. I have to take what I can get.
Of course, there are other days....like yesterday and today....when I just can't handle this. I am two hundred miles away from the most amazing man on earth. I can't be there for him to help him study like I could last year....I can't be there for him to celebrate a new job with him...I can't be there to fence with him....Take yesterday, I texted him at 3:30 in the afternoon, didn't get a response and then I texted him at 6, and then again at 8, and then again at 8:30. I started to worry when I didn't hear back by 9 so I called him and he didn't answer. I called his roommate who had no idea where he was and I called another friend of his who had no idea where he was. So I texted a friend and asked him to run over and knock on Mike's door to make sure he was okay. If I had been up there too, I could have run over and seen for myself and made sure he was okay. I know it was a little silly to think so, but I was picturing Mike in a ditch somewhere bleeding to death! He just got a new car...a stick shift...that he only sort of knows how to drive. He could have taken it somewhere and then gotten himself into an accident or something like that. I almost called the police to have them go check on him too!! But I mean, anybody would have been worried after not hearing from someone for almost SEVEN hours that they normally hear from within minutes of sending a text. I mean, I know he's taking classes and can't always text right away....but seven hours without hearing from him was a bit uncharacteristic. After all that time and all that worrying, he ended up being okay, just left his phone in the other room while he was playing on XBOX. Such a man. :-P
So yeah....this long distance thing is definitely a bit unnerving at times. I sometimes day dream that he'll find this amazing internship and they'll want him for a year after he graduates. So, when he graduates, I would move up there for the summer and get a summer job and then a job as a teacher and we'd live in his little apartment for a year. Of course, I don't really care where he ends up working....cuz I'd do anything for that little house that I want....it's a dump but it's so cute! We'd have so much fun fixing it up together! Oh my god...I'm such a girl....
Some days I can handle it better than others. I mean, I know that this is the best situation right now for both of us. I would love to be with Mike every moment of every day, but right now, he needs to focus on finishing up his school work. He needs to get himself a job and make some money so that he can come back home when he's done and find somewhere for himself (or both of us) to live. And I need to be at home getting my foot in the door of the teaching world, making an impression on schools so that next year they'll hire me as a full time teacher. I tell myself that we just need to make it until the summer. Then, we'll be together again every day. But secretly I wish a school in ****** would call me and hire me...even if it was just as a teacher's assistant for a year, I'd take the job in a minute to be closer to Mike. But beggers can't be choosers. I have to take what I can get.
Of course, there are other days....like yesterday and today....when I just can't handle this. I am two hundred miles away from the most amazing man on earth. I can't be there for him to help him study like I could last year....I can't be there for him to celebrate a new job with him...I can't be there to fence with him....Take yesterday, I texted him at 3:30 in the afternoon, didn't get a response and then I texted him at 6, and then again at 8, and then again at 8:30. I started to worry when I didn't hear back by 9 so I called him and he didn't answer. I called his roommate who had no idea where he was and I called another friend of his who had no idea where he was. So I texted a friend and asked him to run over and knock on Mike's door to make sure he was okay. If I had been up there too, I could have run over and seen for myself and made sure he was okay. I know it was a little silly to think so, but I was picturing Mike in a ditch somewhere bleeding to death! He just got a new car...a stick shift...that he only sort of knows how to drive. He could have taken it somewhere and then gotten himself into an accident or something like that. I almost called the police to have them go check on him too!! But I mean, anybody would have been worried after not hearing from someone for almost SEVEN hours that they normally hear from within minutes of sending a text. I mean, I know he's taking classes and can't always text right away....but seven hours without hearing from him was a bit uncharacteristic. After all that time and all that worrying, he ended up being okay, just left his phone in the other room while he was playing on XBOX. Such a man. :-P
So yeah....this long distance thing is definitely a bit unnerving at times. I sometimes day dream that he'll find this amazing internship and they'll want him for a year after he graduates. So, when he graduates, I would move up there for the summer and get a summer job and then a job as a teacher and we'd live in his little apartment for a year. Of course, I don't really care where he ends up working....cuz I'd do anything for that little house that I want....it's a dump but it's so cute! We'd have so much fun fixing it up together! Oh my god...I'm such a girl....
Monday, September 20, 2010
Decisions....decisions....
I am in the process of getting myself a rabbit. I have been researching furiously for days now and the more research I do, the more excited I get. At the moment, though, I have quite a dilemma about this.
First of all, I have no idea where I will put it. Rabbits, from what I read, seem to be extremely shy, anxious, and withdrawn. The best way to help them adjust better to your home is to let them have their own space (i.e. "cage") somewhere in a central location in the house that gets a lot of traffic. This will help them adjust better to you and your family and will help them to be more outgoing. So I guess the best place would be in the dinning room or living room or even the kitchen. I just am worried about putting it in the dinning room where the backyard animals (such as the hawk we have in the back) can see her. She wouldn't understand that there is glass between her and the hawk (or other predator). I don't want her to be frightened by a hawk or escaped dog running up to the sliding glass door to investigate. Rabbits can get so frightened that they could have a heart attack and die!!
I also have a dilemma about where I should get one. I am dying for a black and white mini lop. They are absolutely adorable. But I found this really cute bunny up for adoption. Her name is Piccolo and she IS a mini lop, but she's not black and white, she's tan. So, should I compromise what I've always wanted and do a good deed by adopting or buy a black and white mini lop from a breeder? The good thing about adopting, aside from doing a good deed, is that the animals are already spayed and neutered so I won't have to worry about getting that done. But Piccolo is two years old already and I've missed watching her grow up! But I have no idea where to find breeders that sell rabbits...not that I have any better idea where this animal shelter is that has Piccolo. *sigh* Guess I have some more thinking to do.....
This is Piccolo:
First of all, I have no idea where I will put it. Rabbits, from what I read, seem to be extremely shy, anxious, and withdrawn. The best way to help them adjust better to your home is to let them have their own space (i.e. "cage") somewhere in a central location in the house that gets a lot of traffic. This will help them adjust better to you and your family and will help them to be more outgoing. So I guess the best place would be in the dinning room or living room or even the kitchen. I just am worried about putting it in the dinning room where the backyard animals (such as the hawk we have in the back) can see her. She wouldn't understand that there is glass between her and the hawk (or other predator). I don't want her to be frightened by a hawk or escaped dog running up to the sliding glass door to investigate. Rabbits can get so frightened that they could have a heart attack and die!!
I also have a dilemma about where I should get one. I am dying for a black and white mini lop. They are absolutely adorable. But I found this really cute bunny up for adoption. Her name is Piccolo and she IS a mini lop, but she's not black and white, she's tan. So, should I compromise what I've always wanted and do a good deed by adopting or buy a black and white mini lop from a breeder? The good thing about adopting, aside from doing a good deed, is that the animals are already spayed and neutered so I won't have to worry about getting that done. But Piccolo is two years old already and I've missed watching her grow up! But I have no idea where to find breeders that sell rabbits...not that I have any better idea where this animal shelter is that has Piccolo. *sigh* Guess I have some more thinking to do.....
This is Piccolo:
Friday, September 17, 2010
On a Happier Note....
Anyway, so that my blog isn't so depressing, I just thought I'd publish some happier news.
Today is my betta fish, Benjamin's, birthday. I mean, of course, he's a fish so I actually have no idea when his birthday is, but today is the anniversary of the day that I brought him and his friend Walter home from Walmart. At the time, I was going through a horrible break up and to fill the void left by my idiot exboyfriend, I bought myself some fish. It actually helped.
I was surprised at how much I ended up liking my betta fish. I had never had betta fish before. But they are really neat fish. I had always had gold fish or tropical fish as a kid. But bettas are different. I feel like they might be smarter than other fish. They react to people when they walk into the room. It almost seems like Benjamin "greets" me when I come home from a long day. He swims right up to the corner of the tank and puts his nose against it like he's saying hi!! It's cute.
But bettas are also very lazy. Once in a while he'll just stop swimming and take a nap. No seriously. He just floats there at the bottom of the tank or in his favorite corner. And I'll seriously walk up to the tank and go, "NO! You can't be dead!" So I'll shake his tank and he'll swim around and flare his gills at me for waking him up! I can't tell you how many times I thought he was dead.
But a dead betta isn't hard to miss. They grow white bacteria all over them just hours after they die. Walter only lived until December. I found him one morning like that. It was sad. I put him in the toilet and waited like fifteen minutes hoping he'd move. I do not deal with death very well. Also, that same bacteria grows on bettas if their tank is too dirty and then it kills them. Twice now, that's happened to Benjamin, but I cleaned his tank and he was all better!! He is a gorgeous blue color and you can tell when he's healthy and happy because his scales are very dark blue and he blows bubbles at the top of the water. :-D
Anyway, here's to our happy year together, Benjamin and here's hoping for more! <3
Today is my betta fish, Benjamin's, birthday. I mean, of course, he's a fish so I actually have no idea when his birthday is, but today is the anniversary of the day that I brought him and his friend Walter home from Walmart. At the time, I was going through a horrible break up and to fill the void left by my idiot exboyfriend, I bought myself some fish. It actually helped.
I was surprised at how much I ended up liking my betta fish. I had never had betta fish before. But they are really neat fish. I had always had gold fish or tropical fish as a kid. But bettas are different. I feel like they might be smarter than other fish. They react to people when they walk into the room. It almost seems like Benjamin "greets" me when I come home from a long day. He swims right up to the corner of the tank and puts his nose against it like he's saying hi!! It's cute.
 |
| Benjamin is the blue one. Walter is the red one. |
But a dead betta isn't hard to miss. They grow white bacteria all over them just hours after they die. Walter only lived until December. I found him one morning like that. It was sad. I put him in the toilet and waited like fifteen minutes hoping he'd move. I do not deal with death very well. Also, that same bacteria grows on bettas if their tank is too dirty and then it kills them. Twice now, that's happened to Benjamin, but I cleaned his tank and he was all better!! He is a gorgeous blue color and you can tell when he's healthy and happy because his scales are very dark blue and he blows bubbles at the top of the water. :-D
Anyway, here's to our happy year together, Benjamin and here's hoping for more! <3
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