The rat was acting weird today, according to Tom. She normally sleeps during the day, especially when I do, but for some reason, she just didn’t want to stay in her cage. So, he let her sleep by him while he sat at his computer.

We changed her cage, which we had planned to do today anyway, and I repositioned her hammock so she could get into it more easily now that she’s older and chubby. Once her cage was done, I wheeled it into the bedroom where my computer is so she could have one of us close by. I have the bedroom door closed and her cage door open so she can come and go in this area as she pleases, but right now, she’s in her hammock sleeping.

I looked up what scents rats like. I already knew about protein smells like peanut butter and cheese, but they also like some fruits, mild florals, and even certain herbs. I’ve got basil oil going in my diffuser right now—it almost smells like black licorice.

Speaking of sleep, it’s a good thing I’m caught up because storms are going to trash it tomorrow. This really comes at a shitty time, considering I have two appointments in a week. Again, I ask—why is this shit happening at this time of year?

AI predicts the summer will be cooler and wetter, with more storms than usual. I don’t mind cooler or wetter, but I really hope I don’t get thundered awake more than the eight times I did last year. Sleep disturbances only get harder and harder on me the older I get. I also hope I get a chance to adapt to the CPAP before storm season—adjusting to that while storms are waking me up would really suck. This is why I’m trying to get as many appointments out of the way as I can before July.

I’ve been torn on whether or not to reschedule the urologist, but I think I’m just going to go for it and accept that it’ll be a very long, exhausting day. By now, he’s probably booked out until May or June, and I don’t want to keep putting it off—especially since I had traces of burning picking up again last night. I’m fine right now, though.

AI also informed me that the prescription lacquer the dermatologist gave me would be better at fighting nail fungus than vinegar. So, once again, another so-called “expert” got it wrong, since Rhonda told me it wasn’t penetrating like vinegar is. But it is penetrating—that’s why you put on one coat every day for a week, remove it with alcohol, and then repeat until the fungus has grown out and been cut off.

We used the new facial steamer last night, and it really makes the skin feel a lot cleaner and nicer. I only used it for a few minutes, too.

I swapped the office chairs. Since I use the computer in the bedroom more often—it’s quieter in there, and the speech-to-text works better—I brought the black leather chair in there and put my pink fabric chair by the desk off the kitchen. I’ll just use that one when I’m eating and watching shows because there’s more room there. The leather chair is definitely more comfortable, but it’s a little harder to roll over the carpet compared to the floor. I just lose the touch-screen option this way.