Monday, July 5, 2010

Reason #867969 Why I LOVE Cats: I do not like mice/rats/rodents of any kind.

Fun Fact #1: When I was in…oh let’s say...7th grade my family went to Hawaii with some of my dad’s friends for a little vacay. We stayed in this old house that was once part of one of the sugar cane plantations that raped the land of Kaua’i (it was the manager’s house… and I do not condone slavery in any way shape or form, but my mom made the reservations so talk to her). One night while dinner was being made (it was stir fry night (you have no idea how vivid this memory is in my mind)) I was in the kitchen “helping” and a mouse ran out from under the fridge across the floor to under the oven. I FREAKED THE F OUT! I climbed on one of the barstools and proceed to scream as loud as I could b/c that was clearly going to help the situation. EVERY SINGLE time I walked in the kitchen after that I would stomp my feet, sing real loud, and scream at that wretched little brown mouse to stay away. (And once I almost lost a job offer at a summer camp b/c I told the director that I was scared of mice and could not work indoors b/c of it…lesson learned on what not to do in a job interview.)

Fun Fact #2: One of the cave’s big claim to fame (at least in the Anthro world) is that a fraction of a Pacific Rat (Rattus Exulans for you rat nerds) pelvis was found in the cave that proved that humans had really come to the island much earlier than was originally thought and that is why the birds started to go extinct because the rats ate the trees blah blah yada yada. Excuse me! That is no good for this girl! Add to my hate for rodents my hate for dead things in general and we might have a problem on our hands.

Fun Fact #3: I do not like birds. There are a lot of bird bones in this cave also. In fact, one of the original researchers of this cave is a bird expert in every sense of the word. Legend has it that if you hand him a bird bone behind his back he can identify it with no problems. And he worked at the one of the Smithsonian Museums! What did I sign up for!?

BUT I do like snails. There are a lot of snail fossils in the cave. On day numero uno I am going to volunteer to be the “Snail Girl” and deal exclusively with the snails. My credentials for this position: I used to have a collection of snails at my fort until my dad logged the area and ruined all of my hard work and research. (I tried to rebuild but it was never the same.)

Obvs this has the potential to be a huge disaster. But the good news is that I think that I finally have everything that I need to survive. Still, rumor has is that I might have to sleep in a tent…HA! I will make some really close new friends (if you know what I am saying) if that is the case.

(P.S. I know that you are all wondering how to say "Happy Birthday America" in Hawaiian. Well... it is "Hau’oli la hanau Amelika." And in honor of the fourth I watched fireworks on the beach. Tried to go to a roller derby scrimmage (long story short, but there were like four ladies at some red dirt outdoor basketball court). Walked a 2K at 6:30AM. Went to a carnival type thing (minus the rides and cotton candy). And today (the 5th of July!) we snorkeled and then I napped. OH and there was a Golden Girls marathon on TWO CHANNELS!! I did not even know what to do with myself.)


Tiki man at the pool!

1 comment:

  1. Well, my dear cousin. It appears that all my life I have been living a lie. My dad has always reassured me that all my "freaky genetics" came from my mother's side. However, as I read about your fear of rodents and birds I am now 100% confident that this MUST be the work of Thomas genes.
    Not only do I have intense fear of all animals with wings and beaks....ESPECIALLY owls...but I also find all small furry creatures...ESPECIALLY rodents...unpredictable, and extremely frightening!
    I too had a run in with a rodent quite similar to yours and at about the same age. However, mine occured late one night while I was putting dirty clothes in the hamper....and yes! that's exactly why I began throwing my dirty clothes in my parent's room after that!
    So...long story short, thank you for enlightening me on just how powerful those Thomas genes are. I will pass this info onto the Scalise tribe...though I'm sure they were already aware! :)
    Have a safe dig...watch your back!
    ;) Sam

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