Four Hammys

THOMAS was my first hamster. I got him after school one day in second grade. He was brown and white and very sleepy. He was a good sport, and I don't even remember when he died.

JEFFERSON was my second hamster. He was white with red eyes--an albino. He was fiesty. He ran a lot on his wheel, and he would sometimes bite. He liked to stand on his hind legs a lot. But, I still loved him. He started acting very sick and jittery around Christmas when I was in 5th grade. The vet told us he had a tumor and would die without surgery. We could not pay for a hamster surgery, so he got sicker and sicker until I found him frozen in his cage December 26th. I was crushed. My dad told me I could get a new one whenever I was ready.

FRODO was my third hamster. I demanded him out of the blue spring of my eighth grade year. I brought up the promise my dad gave me after Jeffie passed. He was gold and rather friendly, but I was going into high school and didn't have much time for him. My dad ended up being his caretaker. When he moved out, I forgot to feed him a lot. I remembered it had been a couple days during Hell Week of 42nd Street (the first time I was in it sophomore year of HS). I went to get his dish and found Frodo dead. I'm pretty sure I killed the guy. I still feel guilty.

BLANCHE was brought home yesterday afternoon. She is dark grey and very tiny. I love her already, my new little baby.

Evening Jaunt

At about 8 PM Pookie and I went out into the night to go to the track (she lives on a high school campus). We both had our shuffles on, so I had this funny idea that we both sing whatever was playing. Pretty soon it turned into a screeching match of her ("DARK BLUE DARK BLUE, HAVE YOU EVER BEEN ALONE IN A CROWDED ROOM") and me ("MY HUMPS MY HUMPS MU HUMPS MY HUMPS MY HUMPS!") then ("ILL KEEP YOU MY DIRTY LITTLE SECRET!") and ("WE'VE ALL GO OUR JUNK AND MY JUNK IS YOU"). So, first of all, it's funny to see what music people listen to when they go running. Second of all, to be screaming it simultaneously is really hilarious.

Kiddieland

Kiddieland is an amusement park from my childhood that is closing this fall as part of a family quabble about land. My dad sent me the news story while I was at camp. I hadn't been there since 1993. I sent him back a postcard in all caps "WE MUST GO TO KIDDIELAND!" So, this weekend, before I left his house for The Stanley Cruise (which is actually just the code name my sister and I gave our week together before I go back to school), we knew we had to go to Kiddieland.

The whole way there I think both of us got increasingly concerned about what we just signed on to do. Yeah, Kiddieland is a place for kids and parents, but I'm, um, 21. It was over an hour away, so it's not like we could just decided to go back home. We entered kind of agreeing even if we didn't do anything it would be worth the trip because we wanted to be in the atmosphere one last time. The middle attraction is the roller coaster called The Little Dipper. It looked like I could do that. As we crept up in line, I saw that probably both of us could squeeze into a car. When it was our turn we both got in t he dink-o-ride, and it took off. It was so much fun! We were both laughing as we zig-zagged all over up and down!

It was great! We went on several other rides, ate a bag of roasted almonds, laughed at all the funny kids being kids, and left about three hours later very satisfied. Blah blah blah being a kid doesn't stop at a certain age blah. But, it's true.

Goodbye Kiddieland! Thanks for 80 great years! You will be missed!

All On One Run

Running along the canal behind Char's house I saw several things worth note:

1. a sign on a bridge that said "NO STOPPING OR STANDING ON BRIDGE" with spray paint over it reading "fuck you Ottawa I'll stand where I want!!!"
2. two guys smoking pot underneath the bridge where I had happened to stop to tie my shoe
3. a swastica on a telephone pole

More importantly I started feeling nostalgic for Japan. The weather is getting to be how it was there around Halloween. And I've been listening to "Halloweenhead" a lot lately...and I remember eating some jack-o-lantern themed Koala Yummies at a Circle K with Bradley and...

Well it's just unfair, really. I was nostalgic for fall in the US when I was there, but now all I can remember is what it felt like in Nihon.

Head full of tricks and treats, it leads me through the nighttime streets

True Phone Conversation

Me: I have a question for you.
Kay: Okay.
Me: How do you wake up Lady GaGa?
Kay: Glitter. I'd--
Me: No.
Kay: I think she'd like that--
Me: No.
Kay: Oh. Oh. Is this a riddle? I thought it was just a cool question. I was into it.
Me: No.
Kay: Okay well usually when you have a riddle, you say it's a riddle. You don't just ask a question--Oh. Poke her face.
Me: Yeah!
Kay: That's a stupid joke, Alice. If you use that joke to audition for Second City, you will not get in.

H-O-R-S-E

Today Char and I played one-on-one and Horse in the driveway. I lost miserably of course. The highlight of everything was probably after missing the second shot him exclaiming quite proudly "My daughter is a HO! A HO!"

Hamster Races

Last weekend, I attended the second annual hamster races at Frank's pet shop. 20 rodents in plastic running-balls lining up against each other to be the fastest critter down the track.

There was a nine year-old boy screaming his head off, turning red, and smacking the floor in front of his 'ster. COME ON CRACKERS! He screeched.

Of course, now I want a hamster. I've wanted one since I found a bat in the daytime curled up on a tree branch at camp. I found it again the next day and it was dead. I took a slew of photos before realizing its living state. Its name was Stellaluna or Stella for short.

In a year I WILL have an adorable dwarf hamster. It will be Stella's pretend sissy, thus named Blanche.