General Update

Sorry for the lack of posts lately.

I just started a new job at a lab (finally!) but life has been completely hectic. First off, it is a night position, which took some adjusting. On top of that, I have still been helping out at the auto shop in the mornings, Tuesday through Friday. And, of course, I am still tutoring. Which means that I hardly have time to sleep, much less do anything fun or hang out with friends. Plus, I find it difficult to find time to read, unless its the weekend. So I am listening to lots of audiobooks, which is great, but not the same.

Adjusting to a night schedule is strange and has been pretty tough. It will be much easier when I am all done at the auto shop so I actually have more of my day free to sleep and get things done. I am hoping I will be finished with that by the end of this week at the latest. Three jobs is at least one too many! And I get headache-y and nauseous when I don't get enough sleep and have to stay up all night.

It has made it a little difficult to see and spend time with Isaac. We just kind of see each other in passing and on weekends, when one of us isn't sleeping, that is. I seem to do better if I stick to the night schedule all of the time, even on days off. I hope once I am really adjusted, that I will be able to be more flexible on my off days.

However, I generally enjoy my new position. It will definitely provide me with opportunities to learn and grow. And I like the night shift. My coworkers are pretty awesome. To my utter horror, I broke a tube in my centrifuge for the first time ever, but one of the gals who is training me came to help me out and my manager walked me through the reporting of the incident. It sucked, and I felt like crying, but I am glad that no one freaked out. They know that such things happen and were willing to lend a hand. (I was still miserable for a couple days, and I'm sure I will be nervous when I go back Monday night).

In other news, I am trying to spend time with my rats. Being so short on time is hard. I make sure to spend some time with them every day and I clean their cage every week. But we get the most time together on my off nights while Isaac is asleep. They get to run around and get into trouble and climb all over me. I am just part of the scenery, really.

But the girls are all doing well. They are all very playful and super full of energy. I don't think they ever get tired of running around and climbing. And, of course, I spoil them rotten with treats and snacks. My main failing has been my complete inability to litter box train them. I never managed to really train the boys, either. It might be something that requires me to have a lot more time with them than I have. I read articles about litter training rats, and I do follow the advice, but I can't be here all the time to monitor. Oh well. I suppose that won't be the end of the world.

As of right now, that is my life. And man, do I miss hanging out with my friends! Top priority once my schedule calms down!

The Naming of Rats

See what I did there? As in "The Naming of Cats." I thought it was funny. I am also sleep deprived because I am trying to switch to a night shift schedule. Let's move on.

We picked names for the ratties!

Here is Nova. She is shy and timid, but friendly. Fun fact, both my sister and my mom dreamed that I got a white rat with a black head! My sister had her dream months ago, before I was even ready for more. My mom had hers after I got the rats, but before she knew what they looked like. Must be destiny!

Her nick name is Masked Bandit.

This is Carina. We originally figured on naming her Gamora, but we just didn't think it fit and didn't think it was pretty enough. On the plus side, she gets into so much that I can scold her like The Collector scolds her namesake in Guardians of the Galaxy.

She is very adventurous and tries to get into everything.

And this little one is Nebula who is our resident acrobat and monkey. She can and will climb anything!

Nebula is the dwarf rat so I often call her Little One.

All of them have settled in pretty well. They are all interested, active, and adventurous (though Nova is less so than the other two). They are quite a handful! Quick and little! But it's been a fun couple of days and I am looking forward to spending tons of time with them!

New Ratties!

I would like to introduce our new rats!!

These two are actual sisters. The one on the left is a dwarf rat. They are nearly two months old.

She doesn't like to hold still, even for pictures! She is nearly 3 months old.

We haven't decided on names yet. I wanted to go in a similar vein as Romulus and Remus and voted for Medusa, Sthenno, and Euryale. Isaac voted for Guardians of the Galaxy theme: Gamora, Nebula, and Nova (as in Nova Prime). I'm still looking for names that pop out at me that will fit them.

Anyway, you know me, TONS of pictures and updates will follow! Especially if you follow me on Instagram. I think most of my pictures are of rats already.

I got them home and into their new big cage. They are already getting settled and starting to feel comfortable. Romulus and Remus took longer to start acting normally, but the girls are doing great. Just the little dwarf is still acting timid and unsure, but she is starting to explore! All of them have found food and water and like the wheel.

Once I decided to take steps to get more rats, I have been so excited and I dreamed about rats a lot. Then I picked the three girls and I could not wait to meet them! And here they are!

Once again, I adopted from Camarattery. She is a local rat breeder (among other things). I got Romulus and Remus from her and they were so wonderful, I had to adopt through her again!