Birthday weekend!
Dec. 16th, 2008 02:24 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
First off, thank you to everyone for the birthday wishes. It was a good birthday weekend for Haz. =)
Friday:
Kilroy show! Kooky and weird, but funny. Got to see a bunch of people I hadn't in a long time, which was excellent.
Saturday:
In the morning, worked. Lots and lots of work. But my puppy and intermediate classes always make me happy, so it went quickly. I also got to be the first to handle the brand-new California Kingsnake hatchlings at work: An albino spotted and a black/yellow striped morph. Fueling my reputation as the Snake Whisperer, they bit everyone except for me. They were squirmy, but adorable.
In the evening, I got to see They Might Be Giants, which was epic. The opener was a little bizarre (a mix of Queen and Jack Black), but TMBG played a host of new songs (accompanied by confetti cannon!) and two encores. After that, I barely managed to pack before passing out at home.
Sunday:
My annual Day with the Aunties (tm). First, shopping at Kohl's was very lucrative. I found three pairs of pants! Three! As well as this adorable 50s brown and white housewife dress and some flats with zippers. The a quick lunch and shopping in Providence (more score! Shoes this time! Shoes that fit my size 5 feet!) and A Christmas Carol at Trinity. The Ghost of Christmas Present this year was the Mad Hatter, which was awesome. Then chinese food. And emailing about a certain rescue snake.
Monday:
My birthday! Woke up semi-early, helped around the house, then was told all at once that everything for the ball python (including the snake) could be ready by 2pm that afternoon. So I argued a 30 or 40 gallon (still not sure) tank down to $20 off of craigslist, including screen top (usually goes for 60-70 bucks) and arranged that the rehoming fee for the $90 snake be reduced to $40, including accessories. Score!
So, as soon as I brought my Pueblan Milksnake baby, Bowie, over to my parents' place for the first time, my mother immediately reached for him. I don't get that reaction a lot from people, but my mother's always had a soft spot for critters. We've rescued dozens of animals of all species and sizes over the years. Whenever she was in the garden and was "visited" by a snake, she always gently relocated them rather than chase them out with tools. Every time I visit, she keeps asking if I brought "snakey." (he has a name! learn it, woman!)
She works as a therapist, and keeps pictures of Bowie like these and these as her screensaver. She talks about him all the time, and has a big, warm, plant-filled office where she practically lives. When I heard of a yearling ball python in need of rescuing, I immediately thought of her. When I picked him up, I wanted to cry. She'd been keeping him in a 10-gallon with both heat lamp and pad (so no cool spots), NO hides, and a small log covered in dust from the crumbling jungle bedding. He was fed once every two weeks, which made him feel a little thin, and didn't have a feeding tank. He was also really rough, I'm guessing from being about to shed, with a cut on one side, and what had what looked to be half of an old eyecap still over one eye. Also, "he" was a she! In rough shape, but very friendly. So I tucked her into my jacket, stopped by Petsmart to get shedding aid and some accessories, then headed home.
As soon as I set her in the tank, she perked up immediately, drank a little, and fell asleep in the hide over the heat pad. When my mother came home, she was so excited. She grabbed a hoodie, sat down on the bed, and snuggled the scaly little girl. When I came back, the look on my mother's face was as if she were holding a baby. And the snake adored my mother! It was definitely the kind of moment where you could tell that they were an excellent match. So I showed my mother how to feed her (the poor girl was starving! But appetite is good) and mum thought that it was the coolest thing she'd ever seen. Thinking it was neat rather than vomiting? Definitely a plus. But she had trouble eating a medium mouse, even thought I'd been told she took large. Hmm.
And I'll be helping Mum take care of her for the next few weeks to keep an eye on how she does and to cover all of the bases, but all in all, the arrangement is one that seems to make them both very, very happy. My mother finally gets to keep a snake, one she can introduce to her snake-phobic clients and educate children with (and spoil rotten, if I know my mother), and the snake gets a proper home with excellent care and lots of attention.
So I left her feeling much, much better. Fed, warm, and sleepy. Happy snake.
I think that that's a good way to spend a birthday. The best, actually. I had this weird feeling afterward, as I was telling
elenuial, like it was the most rewarding birthday I'd ever had. It seems appropriate (and I think I'd like to make a tradition out of this) that on the anniversary of your birth, you do something that makes you glad you were born.
Rescuing the abused snake made me feel that way.
Anyway, between the time I set the snake up in her tank and the time mum got home, I took dad to see Wall-E at the dollar cinema. He loved it, as I knew he would. We'll do our shopping day later, but for now, I was glad to spend time with him. (He actually held the snake! And liked her!)
Later this week, I'll go check on the snake and see how she and mum are faring. In the meanwhile, I have an obedience class graduating tonight, and I need to think up prizes for the perfect attendance students. =)
-Haz
Friday:
Kilroy show! Kooky and weird, but funny. Got to see a bunch of people I hadn't in a long time, which was excellent.
Saturday:
In the morning, worked. Lots and lots of work. But my puppy and intermediate classes always make me happy, so it went quickly. I also got to be the first to handle the brand-new California Kingsnake hatchlings at work: An albino spotted and a black/yellow striped morph. Fueling my reputation as the Snake Whisperer, they bit everyone except for me. They were squirmy, but adorable.
In the evening, I got to see They Might Be Giants, which was epic. The opener was a little bizarre (a mix of Queen and Jack Black), but TMBG played a host of new songs (accompanied by confetti cannon!) and two encores. After that, I barely managed to pack before passing out at home.
Sunday:
My annual Day with the Aunties (tm). First, shopping at Kohl's was very lucrative. I found three pairs of pants! Three! As well as this adorable 50s brown and white housewife dress and some flats with zippers. The a quick lunch and shopping in Providence (more score! Shoes this time! Shoes that fit my size 5 feet!) and A Christmas Carol at Trinity. The Ghost of Christmas Present this year was the Mad Hatter, which was awesome. Then chinese food. And emailing about a certain rescue snake.
Monday:
My birthday! Woke up semi-early, helped around the house, then was told all at once that everything for the ball python (including the snake) could be ready by 2pm that afternoon. So I argued a 30 or 40 gallon (still not sure) tank down to $20 off of craigslist, including screen top (usually goes for 60-70 bucks) and arranged that the rehoming fee for the $90 snake be reduced to $40, including accessories. Score!
So, as soon as I brought my Pueblan Milksnake baby, Bowie, over to my parents' place for the first time, my mother immediately reached for him. I don't get that reaction a lot from people, but my mother's always had a soft spot for critters. We've rescued dozens of animals of all species and sizes over the years. Whenever she was in the garden and was "visited" by a snake, she always gently relocated them rather than chase them out with tools. Every time I visit, she keeps asking if I brought "snakey." (he has a name! learn it, woman!)
She works as a therapist, and keeps pictures of Bowie like these and these as her screensaver. She talks about him all the time, and has a big, warm, plant-filled office where she practically lives. When I heard of a yearling ball python in need of rescuing, I immediately thought of her. When I picked him up, I wanted to cry. She'd been keeping him in a 10-gallon with both heat lamp and pad (so no cool spots), NO hides, and a small log covered in dust from the crumbling jungle bedding. He was fed once every two weeks, which made him feel a little thin, and didn't have a feeding tank. He was also really rough, I'm guessing from being about to shed, with a cut on one side, and what had what looked to be half of an old eyecap still over one eye. Also, "he" was a she! In rough shape, but very friendly. So I tucked her into my jacket, stopped by Petsmart to get shedding aid and some accessories, then headed home.
As soon as I set her in the tank, she perked up immediately, drank a little, and fell asleep in the hide over the heat pad. When my mother came home, she was so excited. She grabbed a hoodie, sat down on the bed, and snuggled the scaly little girl. When I came back, the look on my mother's face was as if she were holding a baby. And the snake adored my mother! It was definitely the kind of moment where you could tell that they were an excellent match. So I showed my mother how to feed her (the poor girl was starving! But appetite is good) and mum thought that it was the coolest thing she'd ever seen. Thinking it was neat rather than vomiting? Definitely a plus. But she had trouble eating a medium mouse, even thought I'd been told she took large. Hmm.
And I'll be helping Mum take care of her for the next few weeks to keep an eye on how she does and to cover all of the bases, but all in all, the arrangement is one that seems to make them both very, very happy. My mother finally gets to keep a snake, one she can introduce to her snake-phobic clients and educate children with (and spoil rotten, if I know my mother), and the snake gets a proper home with excellent care and lots of attention.
So I left her feeling much, much better. Fed, warm, and sleepy. Happy snake.
I think that that's a good way to spend a birthday. The best, actually. I had this weird feeling afterward, as I was telling
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
Rescuing the abused snake made me feel that way.
Anyway, between the time I set the snake up in her tank and the time mum got home, I took dad to see Wall-E at the dollar cinema. He loved it, as I knew he would. We'll do our shopping day later, but for now, I was glad to spend time with him. (He actually held the snake! And liked her!)
Later this week, I'll go check on the snake and see how she and mum are faring. In the meanwhile, I have an obedience class graduating tonight, and I need to think up prizes for the perfect attendance students. =)
-Haz
no subject
Date: 2008-12-16 08:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-16 10:11 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-12-17 11:32 pm (UTC)And kudos on the snake! That's awesome that your mum is caring for her.
no subject
Date: 2008-12-16 10:58 pm (UTC)