Three and a half weeks ago, I entered a foreign house.
A couple months ago I was asked by a friend of a friend of mine if I could house sit for them while they were away in Austrailia over the span of three and a half weeks starting December 9th. Desperate for money, I agree. You see, I'm going to China with school, and I kind of need to pay for some of it, and so with a promise of money at the end of this adventure I commence.
I'll be honest, initially it was kind of weird. I mean, you have the keys to someones house, you're watching someone's pets, taking showers in their showers, watching their movies and sleeping in their bed- not to mention you are going from an obnoxiously loud house to a barren house. The first night was a little rough, and I barely slept... however that soon changed as the days went by.
So, the main goal was taking care of the three pets. Lacy the dog, Sparkles the cat, and Skittles the hamster.
Lacy looks reminsicient to a bijon shitzu, however she is much thicker boned and she is covered in fluffy black fur. If I'm honest, she looks like a mini "Ewok", and so that's the pet name I usually called her. Not to mention her incescent need to be comforted at all times. She always wanted more. It starts with me sitting on the couch, and her on the floor. She whines, and she jumps up. I casually stroke her back, however that's not enough. then she climbs up onto my lap, and I continue to stroke. The next thing you know she's licking your entire face and if you don't continue to pet her, she whines like no other until you begin to pet her. I will state that she was probably the cutest of the three, however he constant need for attention became redundant and exhausting.
Then there is Sparkles the cat. Coming into this job, I wasn't really a cat fan. It's probably because my friend used to throw her cat at me and I was scared, and ever since her cat and I have a mutually disliking. However, she was the kind of cat that was routine. Get up at 6:30, feed her, on occasion give her a treat, and then at 11:00 at night, she would go on the bed that I slept on, would roll around begging to be petted and then would sleep at your feet. On occasions if you were sitting down, the cat and the dog would be competing for your attention, as they were both 'lap' pets. Towards the end I would chose Sparkles and I began to like cats. Apart from the name, she was my favourite.
Then there was the Hamster. If I'm honest I think hamsters are disgusting creatures and I don't understand why any one would want one, however I kept him fed and watered. Then there was the day, it was probably about the 15th day in, and I went to go change the shavings in the cage because it was starting to stink, and I went to go move Skittles, but he wasn't moving... after further examination, he wasn't really breathing either. I called to my sister who had slept over, and she came over and looked. We stared for a couple minutes hoping for a miracle, however the hamster was dying and there was nothing I could really do about it- I mean, it was really old.
So I came home to a officially dead hamster, put him in a box and put him outside where he could become frozen. I couldn't believe it! I killed their hamster! Imean, ofcourse he died, I did all I could, I fed him and what not... but I couldn't believe it! So I sent an e-mail, and it only gets worse from here. In the e-mail I sent, I addressed the Hamster as a girl and wrote that her name was Oreo (where I got this name I'll never know). I later found out that the hamster was in fact a boy and was named Skittles, and I was further embarassed and in complete shock. When Christmas came around, the news of me killing a hamster spectulated and I became the laughing stock- all in good fun though.
As a began to spend more time with these animals, I realized that I was kind of like the dog and the cat in some ways, mainly the attention. Now I'm not saying I always need to be in the spot light- I'm referring to the stroking and petting. I kept thinking about all the times at home when we are watching a movie that I beg for one of my sisters of my mother to 'play with my hair' or 'brush my hair' and massage my back. It was then that in that respect, I was like a dog.
The house was relatively easy to manage. As for food, I would go to my house for supper, and conviently, my house was only a couple blocks away. I bought some breakfast foods and bags of salad which did it's job. After the first night I began to sleep much better- and discovered that the bed was possibly the most comfortable bed I have ever slept in. The Tv was great, because they have lot's of channels that I don't usually get so that was great. In the basement they had a ton of old 80/90's romatic comedies that I eventually watched.
I couldn't help but think 'this is the life'. I could stay up as late as I wanted, I could sing in the shower and not worry that I would be annoying someone. I could dance around the kitchen to music and sing to the dog without anyone knowing. I could get up and play the ABBA CD every morning when I was making breakfast. I could lay on the couch the entire day without being told to get up and do something.
For three and a half weeks I managed on my own and it was great. I discovered that I could in fact run a house on my own (naively however, seeing as I'm disregarding the money aspect, and any electrical/plumbing issues). I also discovered that when I am older, I want a cat over a dog- they can be just as cute and loving- and easier to manage.
Three and a half weeks later I have a cheque to put in my bank account and a souvenir koala shirt from Austrailia.
Three and a half weeks later, I am back at home.
-Happy Blogger
Episode 2 - A Bucket of Beeps
11 years ago