Curiouser and Curiouser

I got to visit her on Saturday after work and before Philly. Her parents were there, and aggressively friendly. =) Her breeder? Ridiculously wealthy. Seriously. She had a tuscan fireplace in her glass solarium/sunroom. Anyway, she brought out the pups and immediately, this little girl came running (toddling, as pups are wont to do) over to me, chewing my fingers and playing in my skirt. Her brother was glued to his mum, crying and whimpering when no one paid attention to him. But this girl was always engaging, responsive, and OH GOD CUTE. Her ears are the size of Brazil and her markings are nearly show-perfect. Plus, after fifteen minutes of play, she decided to curl up and nap in my legs. Apparently, this is the first time she's slept with someone other than mama dog, so this was definitely a good sign.

She comes home around the 22nd. =)

( More pictures under the cut! )

And now for one of the harder parts: naming her. I have a few things in mind, but everything's still up in the air. Does anything stand out to you, LJ-land?

[Poll #1588351]

I'm worried about going to Vestival for a number of reasons.

One, all we have written for the game is the bluesheet, which, admittedly, is the only thing we can write without knowing how many players we'll have. At least with Intercon, you can assume a full game, but Vestival is hard to fill. elenuial will be freezing the numbers soon, so that will help somewhat, but it'll still be difficult.

Also, an issue I had with our Intercon game, Leash, was that because I was all for talking about it and advertising it, everyone just referred to it as my game, and not my and elenuial's. I made an effort to correct people who came up to congratulate me on it, but it was still kind of disheartening. I don't know what the middle ground is, though, since I'm so enthusiastic about the games I help write/run, and toning myself down seems like the only option. Now with Pop Diva on the docket, I'm making it clear in all my posts and tweets and to everyone I speak to that while I think it'll be awesome, it's elenuial's game. I'm just helping write it. I know that he tends to fall into the background roles a lot, but I also know how validating it is to be praised and congratulated. No matter how much he tells me otherwise, I know how happy it makes him when people tell him how much they enjoyed things and he gets to be in the spotlight. (His J-z game was awesome, as I heard from lots of people - why did no one tell him this to his face? It would've made him so happy.)

The main thing, though, is the social aspect of it all. I spend way too much time with creatures with four legs and not nearly enough time with two, and the parallels between the social structure in both species' worlds leads me to observe a lot of things that I don't think I should notice or take too much stock in. After all, a lot of humans don't function as dogs do.

( How I'm half-wolf. This got long, but I couldn't stop. )

elenuial is dating a dog. Honest to god - it's clear in everything I do, the poor guy. I hate asking anyone to babysit me socially, but I suppose I do need a lot of help.

Like a trainer on how to be a normal human.

Do I get biscuits?

So, one of the breeders I liked sent me an e-mail today saying that she'd accepted my application and that she'd had a litter of black-and-white (!!) pups born, with three (!!) males.

And it's just before summer, the optimal time to potty train outside and prime socializing time.

However, looking over her contract, there are a few things that stand out to me:
1. Her price is pretty high compared to pet-quality pups, but she doesn't specify whether or not she breeds show dogs.
2. She has a very strict neutering clause, something that is heavily atypical for a male.
3. When I asked if she had any later litters planned, she said that it "depends on when the girls come into heat," and this sounds to me like she breeds every cycle, something I really dislike.

So, thus far:

PROS:
- Perfect time of year for EVERYTHING
- Beautiful, healthy pups
- Gender I want
- Color variation I want
- Fantastic on communication
- Airtight health contract
- Very strict interview/application process

CONS:
- $1200 price tag (average for pet Papillons is 800-900)
- Possible overbreeding
- Would need to advance all the prep from November to May - a full six months ahead of schedule (including writing dog into lease, which I'd need to talk to Don about)

So I sent her an e-mail asking a few questions, and depending on how she answers, I may drop her as a breeder. The cons, looking over them, really aren't bad - I could sell a few jewelry pieces to make up the difference, and even then, I don't mind paying an extra $300 to ensure that the breeding is healthy. After all, you get what you pay for. The big thing, really, is the potentially unethical breeding practices. That's a dealbreaker for me.

I really want to have a summer to socialize and train this dog before winter hits and he becomes stir-crazy being cooped up in the house. And I don't want to have to leash train him in the snow.

Worst case scenario, I'll have to wait until next summer for a dog, and I'd be very heartbroken for a while. On the other hand, I don't want my impatience to make the decision for me.

I wish I had another month to decide, but if I want one of these pups, I need to make the decision in the next few days.

This sucks.

Things I am working on right now, in mission briefing form:

Operation Make Calcifer Eat: Calcifer's refused food for about a month now. Could be he's not going to eat because it's cold, or maybe he feels that the pinkies are too freezer burned. Whatever the case, I've turned the tank heat up and brought home some used mouse bedding from work. So now he's warm, and his food will hopefully smell more appealing. Fingers crossed!
Howl doesn't care. He's like a hoover.

Operation Own a Dog: Have talked to and been approved by (!!) a Papillon breeder. She raises horses and working papillons, something that I find intensely appealing. Several thousand dollars in reserve (vet bills mostly, initial dog cost is low for a pet-grade dog), name on list for her next (december-ish) litter. Still to do: approve dog plan with roommates and landlord (a discussion that will be accompanied by numbers and written plans and probably will not be for a month or two at earliest) and consider getting a job as a vet tech. I would like to have the job change happen smoothly before bringing the dog into my life.

Operation Write a Game for Intercon: Um, slow but steady progress? I've sent out questionnaires and gotten responses from half of the players, with only a few people having personality conflicts with other players so far. It'll make casting a lot easier this time around. And elenuial has started writing with me, so this should go a lot faster! My goal is to have casting done by Valentine's day and all writing done... before Intercon.

Operation Steampunk Wedding Dress: I've decided to go ahead with this one. I got 72 feet of strung faux pearls for $3 the other day, and have *perfect* clock gears with which to make molds. I have a couple designs in mind, one of which involves a cream leather underbust corset that cinches shut with big gold buckles in back. And all involve ridiculous amounts of lace and tulle undercoat. Trouble is, I don't know what size to make the dress, as it's not actually being made with anyone specific in mind, so I'll probably make it fit me and take it in/extend the corset if necessary.

Operation Cyberpunk Evening Gown: I love fetishwear as eveningwear. I want to make a big, puffy ballgown covered in latex tubing and bright candy pink biohazard symbols. If the wedding dress is a success, then this will have a better chance of happening.

Operation Get a Better Job: Started networking among the local vet practices. A lot of them will be hiring come April, when many of their grads will be moving on to either DVM school or their residencies will be done, and although I'm hoping to get in sooner than that, PetS* isn't a bad place to work, all things considered. I get to work with dogs, the pay might not be great but it's enough to let me put quite a chunk aside, and the hours are pretty flexible. Still, working as a vet tech can bring me a lot more, I think, and I think I'll be better for it.

Operation Clean the Apartment of Clutter: Not a lot of space and a lot of junk. Tomorrow, I'm going to go get huge Rubbermaid tubs for the following (for starters!): costume bits, rarely-used craft supplies, broken/obsolete electronics, and whatever else needs moving. Then they'll sit in the basement or attic until needed, but they'll be GONE from my living space!

I think that's about it for now. If I have the time and/or energy, a real life update is long overdue.

Out of curiosity, I looked on the AKC site to see if there were any registered Papillon breeders nearby. Just for fun.

There are three within 200 miles. Two in NY, which are show breeders ($1500-$2k a puppy).

One in Holden.

A pet breeder ($500-$600 a puppy).

Who has puppies available right now.

Well, mid-january. But still.

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME, UNIVERSE

Been wanting to take baby photos of the snakes before they get much bigger. So I grabbed my camera and a couple of stones from their enclosure, then snapped a few. TEENY. PINK. TONGUES.

They're so seriously tiny and well-behaved. It's amazing.

( More cuteness under the cut! )

I think I've come to the conclusion that the orange snake is more handsome, while the white snake is on the cuter end of things. Both are gorgeous, and I can't wait to see them as adults.

Damnit. It's been a week, and still no name ideas.

...Well, no serious name ideas. =)

The new additions are a wonderful resource for keeping me happy and sane.

Day 1 Observations:
They're adjusting very well, and have gone from sleepy and slow to spastic and nosy. They're interested in everything. Personalities seem to be just as I thought: the orange baby is much more outgoing and inquisitive, and the white baby is on the reserved, mellow end of things. A good image was what I was greeted with upon arriving home. The orange one was busily exploring some neat-looking rocks on the far side of the tank while his brother was curled up over the heat pad with only his head sticking out of the chips.

I did have my first panic attack this morning, though. I went in to check on them after their first night, and found Orange pretty easily. White was nowhere. I searched the entire tank, then realized that the waterfall was slightly off-kilter. White had managed to get into the reservoir and lodged himself in the filter section, and I realized that he may have been there long enough to drown. I immediately took him out, dried him off, and held him under the heat lamp. He spat out a little water and was fine, looking at me like I was nuts.

That was all it took. No more waterfall until they're adults and smart/big enough to not do stupid crap like that.

They've had the tank to themselves today, which was good. I was in RI with family for King Richard's Faire, and met up with usernamenumber when there. He'd never been, I hadn't been in years. It was a good time, though, and we got to see this year's litter of tiger cubs. So dumb, but so cute.

And I'm exhausted. Thank goodness I'm working relatively short shifts for the next two days - I need time to process, sleep, and process more.

And cuddle snakes. There's always time for that.

Anyone want to come with me to the annual reptile expo on Saturday the third?

You don't have to buy anything - just come to see the fun and interesting new species.

It's not too far, only like an hour and a half from here. Less, actually. You'll get to see and hold baby snakes, and probably adults and subadults as well.

I'm cool with going alone, as I get all the entertainment I want out of snake shopping, but I figured I'd offer to anyone else interested.

Although if you are thinking about getting a snake, they'll be at breeder prices and you'll (literally) have your pick of the litter... =)

The NE Reptile Expo is October 3rd, and in order to get a better idea of what I can expect as far as species, I took a list at the vendor list. Some had websites, and I visited to see what their available stock was.

One of the confirmed vendors is selling Kenyan Sand Boas.

To be specific, the color morph that I fell in love with when I first got into keeping but couldn't find anywhere.

Not only does he have a few, but they're babies (hatched 7/29) and will be two months old when the show rolls around.

AND they can live in pairs (only males, as females will kill each other), so I can get the two I fell in love with on the site: the anerythrisitic and the blonde normal.

AND AND he will hold them for me until I show up at the show. And give me a discount, because I asked about them beforehand. And that's on top of show prices. So the two snakes together will probably cost me less than $100 and are the species I've been dreaming of.

I really, really hope they like me. And that they're healthy and good eaters and I want this tank to not be empty ever again.

For reference, the three species I had narrowed it down to:

Name	Intelligence----	Affection Level----	Activity Level/Show
Garter Snakes	Moderate	Low	High
Spotted Pythons	Low	High	Moderate
Kenyan Sand Boas	High	High	Low

I'd rather have a smart, loving snake I have to dig around for, anyway. <3

Yesterday, jingsaw, buddhagrrl, and I headed off to RI for Roger Williams Zoo! My home zoo. The butterfly exhibit was at its peak, and there was a baby giraffe. Also, it was slightly overcast, which meant that it wouldn't be packed with throngs of screaming children, and the animals would be more likely to come socialize.

So yes, oodles of animals! And after the zoo, Thayer st for dinner and me picking up a cute blue dress with a GIANT hoodie pocket.

jingsaw got to see monkeys. That in itself would have made his day.

Warning: there are like, four separate photos of a red panda sleeping and ten of the baby giraffe. You have been cautioned.

( Lots of images under the cut. )

Pictures from the butterfly garden to come.