Mouse Attack!

We live in a third floor apartment. You would think that this would mean that we would be spared from mice. I mean, they aren't getting in through the windows! Unfortunately we seem to have attracted a number of the little bastards. Matt was the one who first noticed one peeking out from behind the TV stand in the living room.

From there we bought some traps (mice like peanut butter more than cheese) and tried to contact our building manager. It took a long time for him to get back to us which was incredibly frustrating. We caught 7 mice in total (in a week) and four in one night! What the heck!!!! One of them died less than a foot away from me while I was checking my email! Seriously not cool.

When we managed to talk to the manager he said that they would have pest control come to our apartment and check things out. Of course, this conversation happened at about 9 pm at night and the manager said that "maybe" the guy would come the next morning and if he hadn't arrived by noon to call and let the manager know.

Needless to say, I was skeptical that anyone would arrive. So what did I do? I tempted fate. I woke up, sat around in my pajamas, didn't brush my teeth, hadn't showered (I didn't work until 3 pm), well you get the picture. This guaranteed that the pest control guy would arrive! And he did! Immediately I began shuffling around, concerned about the appearance of my apartment. Why didn't I expect him to come!? He is going to judge me!

For the most part our place is pretty clean and he must have seen a lot worse... Right? I'm sure all the other mouse infested homes looked like the one in the picture. I awkwardly made small talk with the pimple faced exterminator (see, I can judge too!) and he got to work looking for entry holes. He said it was pretty clear that if our apartment on the third floor was having issues then there were issues in other apartments. The mice were traveling around through the radiators.

I never know what to do when service people come to my place. Am I supposed to sit and watch them? Chat? Let them do their work unattended and risk them stealing something? Call a therapist and speak to them about my paranoia that an exterminator is going to steal something? What do you do? I have the same problem when the cable guy comes. I decided to wash my dishes because I would still be a presence and able to see and hear what he was doing but at the same time I could impress him with my cleanliness. See! It's not MY PLACE that is the true problem. It's the guy next door with his toxic waste collection!

Since the guy left we haven't seen any more mice in our apartment. I think he was pretty successful with blocking the hole. However, I do occasionally hear them scritch scratching and trying to get in. Or is that my paranoia again?

Saying Goodbye...

This cartoon from a softer world made me tear up a little. When I first returned from my Asian travels back in May/June, my dog, Venus, had just had four puppies. Since I was an unemployed bum living with my Dad, I was the one taking care of the puppies all day so I grew pretty attached.

Naturally one emerged as my favorite and I secretly called her Lola, even though we weren't supposed to name them since we were selling them. She was so calm and sweet (which says a lot when you're talking about Jack Russell terriers!) and fell asleep on me on a regular basis. I desperately wanted to keep her but unfortunately I am just not at a stage in my life where I can have pets. It would be a nightmare finding a suitable rental and we're just not financially able to buy property now. Plus we are out a lot so it just isn't fair or responsible to own a pet right now.

So the puppy was sold (she was the last to go) and named Duchess (ugh! ugh! ugh!) and yesterday she died. The woman that bought her didn't tie her up or put her in the house/garage or take her along when she decided to go to town for something. This resulted in Duchess chasing the truck and getting hit and killed. And I am angry, really angry at her. I know it's not my dog, but I loved her anyway. She did a stupid, irresponsible thing and I am angry. I know she is sorry and I know I am sad and should work on being sad instead of angry but today I am angry. Hug your pet today and please, please care for them responsibly! They are permanent babies and need you! Goodbye Lola, I love you.

I Love My Dogs

I wish I could see them more often! I hope that Zeus stays healthy. I was teasing Dad about Venus gaining weight. I wish I had a house so I could have a pet. Aren't they adorable?

Keeping Busy

I took some pictures of Venus playing with her ball. Since I like to have pictures on the blog I'm going to include them even though they have nothing to do with what I'm posting about.

Yesterday we went to Edmonton and had coffee with an old university friend. I had such a good time. We haven't had a lot of contact with friends since returning to Canada because we've been staying with my parents. None of my friends live in the same town as my parents. I am excited to move to Edmonton so I can rekindle friendships. This weekend we're going to the Improvaganza finals with Sev so I am really pumped for that. Should be hilarious!

Otherwise I have been shopping a little bit (nothing too exciting, some capris and more shoes that are cute but I don't really need- they were $5 though!). We bought some blank cds so I've been spending a lot of time making mixes for our car. I've never had a car with a cd player (yes, I am pathetic). Actually our last car had a questionable radio and didn't even have a tape deck. Haha! Matt and I are silly and are making theme cds. So far we have: Driving Songs, Karaoke Faves (1 and 2) and Silly Songs. Any ideas for other themes? I'm going to make a Korean Songs one too.

Today I am going to clean out the Kiester. It's pretty nasty because of dog hair and cigarrette smoke, among other things. I toyed with the idea of getting it detailed (so many people were encouraging me to do this) but I don't have a job right now and I am cheap so I may as well take some of this free time and put it to good use. Maybe I will post before and after pics. We'll see. Maybe you won't really be able to tell though.

I also need to do some planning for the two major things causing me stress: the job interview and Cindy's wedding. I have had anxiety filled dreams concerning both of these events this week so I should try and do something to help alleviate my stress. Okay, I guess I'd better get to work!

Must stop thinking about spiders, must stop thinking about spiders...

I need happy thoughts. Look! I found another puppy video- well I rescued it off of my memory card (which may be a little broken). Here's Matt and the puppies crossing the street and coming back to my Dad's house. I miss them so much!!!

The Other Dog

There's been a lot of coverage of the adorable puppies and of Venus, their mother. It's possible that no one knows that I have another dog who is at least as lovable and adorable. His name is Zeus and he's a poodle/shih tzu cross. Zeus has been around for a long time- we estimate he's close to 15 years old. We bought him for $30 from the family that I used to babysit for when I lived in Mannville. He doesn't have the same spring anymore so I fear that he might die soon. He's lost a lot of teeth too and his black fur is turning grey. I guess what can you expect? He still knows how to cuddle and while he may not be able to jump onto the bed on his own anymore, it is worth it to give him a boost. When we move into our apartment I will definitely miss having dogs around.

Goodbye Puppies!

The last two puppies went to their new homes on Friday. I guess this means that I have lots of time to send resumes out now. I wish I could have kept one.

Puppies in Motion!

This is on request of Carter who loves puppies almost as much as I do. In the final couple days of having all four of the puppies I took some videos of them doing cute puppy things. For your viewing pleasure:







There are a few more in my Photobucket.

Puppies!

Like I mentioned, we have four beautiful puppies in the house! They are purebred Jack Russell's and really sweet and spunky. They are all sold though and two have been picked up. The other two are going to be gone this week. So I clearly must get a job/apartment/car/life so that I will have something to occupy myself. Otherwise I am sure I will just spend all day in the fetal position crying and wishing I had a puppy to cuddle.

I really wanted to keep one of the puppies but obviously I am in no position to have a pet right now. That's practically like having a child! It was disappointing when my favorite puppy was sold (she was sold last so I was sort of hoping that she might not get sold and therefore my Dad would be forced to keep her). I had a cute name picked out and everything but then a person with an actual home and money evilly swept in and gave her the most horrifying, puke inducing name. She is calling her Duchess. Poor dog! All the other animals are totally going to make fun of her!

Here are some of my favorite pictures. All of them have names: there's poor Duchess (brown and white with smooth coat), Bella (white pup), Lexi (black, brown, white) and Daisy (brown and white with rough coat). Puppies are really hard to photograph but I managed to take a million pictures of them anyway. Go here to squeal at all the cuteness!

Floating Market, Bridge Over River Kwai and Tiger Tour

After Koh Tao we headed back to Bangkok because all roads in Thailand lead there. Instead of pulling another amazing race and heading straight to Khon Kaen, we decided to stay a day and take the three part tour. Matt was a little unsure but I was pretty insistent and would have been disappointed if we hadn't gone. It was a pricey tour though (about $30/person) but definitely worth it just to see the tigers!

We woke up at the crack of dawn since we were supposed to be picked up at 7 am. It was raining so I was a little bit worried but there was no chance for us to reschedule so we just went ahead with the tour. It took longer than we planned to get to the floating market since there was a bit accident on the highway. A beer truck was on it's side- what a waste!

We made it to the floating market and had the option of paying for a boat ride or just browsing around on foot. We chose to go on foot for a couple of reasons: 1. We are cheap. 2. It was raining and I didn't feel like sitting in some boat getting soaked. 3. In the boat you cannot avoid the people trying to sell you things or control where you go. We managed to stay dry and avoided the pushy salespeople. I had a scary moment when a French lady came up to me and asked me (in French) if I could speak French. I choked out "un peu" nervously and then she started going off rapid fire! I had to appologize at my ignorance and run away. I really need to learn another language!

We stopped for lunch (included on the tour) and then continued on to Kanchanburi where the Bridge over River Kwai is. I haven't seen the movie and I don't really know my history so it was nice going to the museum (even if some parts of it were a little weird and inappropriate- like the label that explained how the bridge was bombed "higgedly piggedly").

Finally we arrived at the Tiger Temple! I was so excited! It's an actual Buddhist temple so the regular dress restrictions apply (no sleeveless tops or shorts) and there were some additional regulations because of the tigers. So no one wearing orange, pink or red was permitted inside.

It was fantastic! I loved getting that close to the tigers but Matt was really nervous. We have so many pictures with them. The way it works is you supply your camera and you are taken around with two staff members (one to take the picture, the other to guide you and tell you where to sit) and they let you pose with numerous adult tigers. They claim that none of the animals are drugged but I guess there is no way of knowing. Hopefully that's true. They are chained up and I do know that tigers generally hunt at night and sleep in the heat of the day so it is possible. Plus these tigers have all been brought up around humans since they were cubs. I think my favorite part was playing with the tiger cubs!

The temple is pretty interesting because it's home to lots of other rescued animals too; not just tigers. We saw numerous kinds of deer, wild boars, cows, turtles and even a camel! I really recommend checking out this place if you're ever in the area! We took so many pictures! Definitely a once in a lifetime experience!

Treking and Elephant Riding

So I finally have decent internet access and my pictures are all uploaded! So I will be able to tell you in detail about the rest of our adventures in Laos! Then I will just have to get the Vietnam ball rolling. Without further ado:

We woke up bright and early, had some ham sandwiches for breakfast and met up with our group. We had two guides, the main one had a warm smile and went by the name Mr. Bee. I was a bit worried about the trek when I saw the rest of our group- 4 extremely young guys from England. They were quite nice but I felt old and out of shape spending the day with them. The oldest of the four was “almost 20”. Hahah! The day started out fine but things started to get a bit ugly when we had to hike up a mountain side in the heat. Thankfully I wasn't experiencing any vertigo that day but the heat was really getting to me and I was getting tired much faster than usual. Of course walking up a steep mountainside in blistering heat didn't even faze the rest of my group so I was feeling embarrassed for not being able to keep up. Most of the trek was flat or downhill but there were 3 uphill portions that were quite difficult for me, in particular. The second climb was the biggest and I had to stop quite frequently, much to my embarrassment. I made it though somehow and was so happy to stop for lunch. There was lots of traditional foods to go around- two kinds of soup, fish, sticky rice, bananas for dessert. It was a real feast!

The trek after lunch wasn't so bad but my feet were getting pretty beat up and blistered. I was really happy when we made it to the waterfall so I could soak my feet in the cool water. Turns out I don't have great hiking shoes (although you should have seen what the British boys were wearing- cheapest tennis shoes ever!) but now that I have survived this hike I have decided to retire for awhile. I didn't really get to enjoy the waterfall because I was so fixated on my feet.

It was all worth it when we got to ride the elephants though. At this point my feet were throbbing, I was exhausted, hot and sweaty but I forgot all about that when I climbed up on that magnificent animal. We just rode through the jungle a bit but it was quite amazing. Elephants are so steady and sturdy and managed to walk gracefully through some really rough terrain. After our elephant ride we went down to the river and watched the mahouts bathe the elephants.

It was time for us to go home (the British boys were taking a 2 day course) so we took a boat ride back to the village where we started, climbed into the van and headed back to town. It was quite a day! I wish we had a picture of us on the elephant but we couldn't take one ourselves and the British boy took one with his camera but hasn't emailed it to me. To see all the pictures go here. I'm pretty proud that I survived this trek but if Matt wants to do another I think he's going to be on his own. Hahah!

Also in the Neighbourhood

It's a quaint place that Ali and Byrun live in- you have the dogs and then there are also semi-wild chickens and roosters roaming around. We also pass by this clever security fence every time we go somewhere. Broken glass? Really?