I ran out of patience again and sent Nane’s final message that I wasn’t going to send for a few more days, spilling the beans on her this morning. She has been in since I sent it too, and corrected one submission. I’m a little surprised there wasn’t any reaction from her. I didn’t expect her to reply, but I thought she might at least be curious enough to check out my blog since I thanked her for the nice “comment” she left. I thought she might even unfriend me, but nope. Nothing.

Holy shit! Crazy Molly’s been in my blog 60 times since I blocked her yesterday. I can still see how many times the tracker has blocked her when I check the exclusion area. That is one strangely obsessed woman! Not even Marie was that obsessed with me. I never read her own blog, though, as like I said, I don’t know her and I don’t care to know her. And she’s welcome to say whatever she wants to about me in the forums someone told me she’s badmouthing people in.

Ok, now for the wonderful day I’ve been having so far. Well, there’s no need to go out running today as my new baby gave me quite a workout! Yeah, baby rats are quick and full of energy, LOL.

Going in order of events, we took off just before 10:00. We could tell that Jesse was doing something (as usual) since both the ATV and bulldozer were at the side of the main drive which is also where we ran into Whiskey and Brandy.

We got burgers and fries at Carl’s Jr. (we love their burgers), then we browsed through Goodwill where I got some incense which I promised myself I’d never get again due to the mess it makes (peach, vanilla, strawberry and opium), and Tom got a keyboard he liked as a backup. I also got this thing – I have no idea what you call it – that you put outdoors that sort of spins in the wind like a windmill. It’s got a colorful butterfly design and it looks pretty cool. It sits out on the deck railing.

Next, it was off to Best Buy where I got a new keyboard. It has multi-media and everything I like to have on a keyboard, but it will take me a little time to get used to the new layout as some of the keys are arranged a little differently than the other piece of shit I’d been using. It’s totally worth it, though, to have a keyboard with keys that don’t stick! Yeah, I just might work on my story this weekend after all – woot!

Lastly, it was off to Petco. “Now we’re not going to get anything,” I told Tom. “We’re just going to stop and look.”

“Okay, whatever you say,” he said. “It’s up to you.”

Barely 10 minutes later we walked out with the cutest baby ratty I’ve been calling Tinkerboy. Tinkerbell, who we had from 2005 - 2007 was all brown like this little guy is, but this guy’s darker, almost black. His fur is soft and shiny and he’s got white bands around his legs that almost look like he’s got socks on, and white on his tummy. The name came to me before we left the store.

There were 3 rats in all. One with markings like the last 4 we had, one white one, then this one. I almost didn’t bother because they were older than I preferred. The guy said the brown and white ones had been there for about 3 months. Brown rats are my favorite. I just like that natural look when it comes to rats. So I asked the guy if I could handle the brown one, and he was saying how rats aren’t usually big sellers because of the disease stereotypes that go with them, the snake-like tails, etc., but that they’re much smarter than other rodents and it was what he himself preferred when it came to small pets. Stuff we already know about, but that didn’t apply to what we had for rats the last couple of times. The last two pairs weren’t very smart or friendly at all. They weren’t mean and they didn’t bite, but they just didn’t want to interact with us if they could help it except to get food. Most rats can run around loose for hours, but not the last pairs. They were destructive and they wouldn’t come when I would call them to go home. One simply shouldn’t have to work for an hour to get a pet rat in its cage. I eventually took away their “loose” privileges because of it.

So the guy goes to get a box for the rat and as he’s walking back to the cage, I commented on how cute it was to see them playing together. Rats play much like puppies and kittens do – chasing, pinning, jumping and wrestling. I often call them “ratdogs” because of their dog-like behavior. So that’s when he noticed that we knew a thing or two about rats (haven’t been without rats since 1998) and that so many people go running to him saying, “Hey, your rats are fighting!” As he said, though, you’ll know it when they’re fighting with the way they squeal so loud. The first pair we had in this place used to fight at times, and once they woke me up and I had to go out and tell them to shut the fuck up. They listened, too!

Now the Tex-Ass is up to 71 views. Is that all she does all day; just sits there clicking on my blog? As well as my friends’ blogs? Though I don’t think she’s hitting theirs as much. Yeah, I’m so damn entertaining, aren’t I? LOL

Tinkerboy shit on me in the store, which is common the first few times you handle them, but then they’ll keep their shit confined to their homes. We almost got the white one too, since they really seemed attached to each other, but after me and the guy tried for 5 minutes to pick him up unsuccessfully I said, “Forget him. I don’t want him. After nearly 3 years of timid rats, I just don’t want to deal with any more antisocials, if I can help it.”

Rats are pretty much always going to be who they are personality-wise. You just can’t tame a timid rat and turn it into a people rat like this guy and most rats are.

Although females are typically smarter, this little fella already knows his name and the word “no” when he starts going places I don’t want him to go until I childproof the place. Yes, rats can have a lot of freedom and will basically use their cage as a litter box and a place to eat and drink, but you still have to watch them somewhat. They’re still rodents, they still like to chew, and some are worse than others. They also like to mark their territories with pee-pee, which is just about everything, LOL, including you, but they make such good pets that they’re worth it. Even Tom prefers them as pets and he thinks they look mean and ugly, unlike myself who thinks they’re the cutest animal in the world.

76 views now for the Texwad. I tease Kim and Alison, saying they must be jealous of me getting so much more attention from her and – oh wow! Two more votes, and now my journal is in the lead!

What’s amazing is that Tink started eating, exploring and playing with me within hours of getting him home. Most rats won’t eat much the first day, and he’s already addicted to running around loose. He plays with me too, and I can already tell he’ll soon be chasing me up and down the place. Rats “play” by chasing your hand as you reach out to quickly place your palm on their backs and shake them. They start running and jumping like crazy when they get all playful and excited, but you have to be careful because they do sometimes play nips when they really get going. And watch your earlobes when they’re on your shoulders, LOL! I’m making a point of handling him 2 or 3 times an hour to get him used to me, but like I said, he’s super friendly and he loves people. I already totally love him, too!

I treated him to his first taste of cheese and chocolate, something Petco definitely doesn’t serve up, LOL, and have him in the smallest of our 3 cages right now. Fancy rats, which are the name of this breed, are bred to get bigger than wild rats, so he’ll eventually be moved into a much bigger cage. Rats can collapse their rib cages and squeeze through tiny openings, so he has to get pretty big before he can be moved into the bigger cage which is actually a ferret cage. He runs to the door every time I walk by, LOL!

Whoa, 88 views now!

I’m surprised I haven’t gotten any rashes after handling him as rats can do that to you at first and give you these itchy red blotches, but it only lasts for a few minutes. I usually just throw on some hydrocortisone if it gets to be too much, but this one hasn’t bothered me.

So now I won’t be 100% alone when Tom’s at work. And I hope the cold he’s developing won’t get so bad that it keeps him from working! He definitely can’t afford to miss any days being this new on the job, but yeah, he’s got a sore throat and other cold symptoms. I’m trying my best to do my spells, but as of yet they only help keep his colds from getting overwhelming, but they don’t stop or prevent them like I can do with myself. He even took a nap for a while earlier.

I posted pics of him climbing his mama’s fat legs in my blog.