#blainemouse

BAD THINGS

Blainemouse passed away yesterday. :(   I don't normally get super-attached to my mice, but I was pretty sad that she died. She was almost 2 years old, which is about as long as mice live, & she had a very happy life with lots of friends. She died really quickly & it didn't look like she was suffering at all. It was so weird looking in the cage today & not seeing her, because I got my first four mice all within the same week & she was one of them, the last one left.

I told one of my regular customers today that I was quitting without a job lined up & he said that his funeral home paid for their workers' schooling if I wanted to be an embalmer. That was my childhood dream (well, coroner, gravedigger, or any sort of funeral home worker) & I am REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY interested in going to mortuary school, but it's about an hour away & I'd probably have to go every day & I wouldn't be able to work while I was in school, & I kind of need a job so that I can pay bills. I'm pretty bummed out because I was excited about the idea of a not-dead-end job, & I could have eventually opened up my own funeral home. I'M SAD THAT MY DREAMS ARE CRUSHED.

GOOD THINGS

I got a call back for an interview for an assistant manager position!!! It's at a very clean, high-end grocery store. I don't want to say the name because I'm paranoid about companies that Google their employees, but it is way too expensive for me to afford & it's (sadly) not Trader Joe's. I spoke to the manager today & he sounded really nice. I imagine I'll have to wear my red wig when I am working there, but unlike my current job, it's air conditioned, so at least I won't be suffering from the horrible heat.

Kaley bought me two new mice & they're supercute. One is a little baby named Pie & the other is a big black one with a spot on her head named Jagermouseter. I will try to take some pictures of them tomorrow, I didn't have the batteries charged in my flash, so I couldn't get any today.

I am feeling a little more optimistic now. I'm going to turn in an application to a video rental place I'd love to work at on Monday (they had an employee who was going to turn in his two weeks' notice over the weekend),  I also have a former manager who says they're about to have an opening where he works now (a very close competitor to my current employer) & that he can probably get me a job there. I'm trying to stay positive!

ISN'T IT?!?!? He is the prettiest rat I have! I am maybe a little biased because I love my Lovebug. But he is a very pretty color, even if his head is kind of funny-looking.

Hi! In my experience, most rats don't really like wheels too much at all, so I don't bother spending a lot of money on them, though I do have them in each of my cages. I have a Silent Spinner in one (plus in both my mouse cages), but they're not all that silent. I also have a Super Pet wheel that tends to get used no matter what cage it's in--it's horribly squeaky & I have to spray it down with cooking spray a lot to keep it from getting too noisy. I don't know what the brand is of the one that's in Rorschach's cage, but he loves it. It's wire, which is not an ideal material for rodent wheels to be made of, but it is the tinier square grid kind (as opposed to bars) that their feet aren't as likely to get stuck in. He and Rio both run on it constantly & refuse to use other wheels I've tried with them. The other wheels usually just get walked on very slowly for a few seconds at a time & then the rats jump off, & they're only used by one or two rats in each cage. Make sure you get a 12" wheel, as anything smaller will bend their back too painfully, & try to avoid any sort of wire if possible.

Blainers is doing well! I have a few pictures of her in the queue. She is almost two years old, which is pretty old for a mouse, so I don't know how much longer she'll be around, but she is healthy and happy at present. She loves having so many cagemates & is always cuddling with them. Her face has been looking a bit haggard for a few months now, but she hasn't slowed down at all.

Thanks! I feel a lot better now, I was mostly only sick that first day. I had a stomachache for a few days after, but now I feel fine again.