All art is at once surface and symbol

Guys guys, I finally have a new chinchilla. ;;

After Dad and I walked Freddie at the botanical gardens (he fell in love with a tortoise, which I've captured on camera), we went to Petco to get more chinchilla pellets for Ryu. Sure enough, they were selling two chinchillas at a few months old. An assistant explained that they only get chinchillas during the fall and winter seasons, since they're in danger of overheating in the summer. I asked to hold one, and there was this teenie chinchilla that let me pick her up! She was timid at first, but she kept hopping back to my hand, gradually coming closer each time. The other chinchilla didn't budge from the plastic stones she was sitting on. :o Dad and I had been cautious of getting female chinchillas since we didn't want accidental babies, but a chinchilla breeder told me that since Ryu is so old, he's past the age of being interested in breeding. So Dad and I agreed it was best that we kept an eye on Ryu and the new chinchilla to see what happens, and accept the consequences if we do get babies, nom.

We slowly introduced the new chin to our home, and I let her romp a bit on my bed. Whenever she hears the slightest movement, she bolts right back into her box, it's so cute. :) Then I brought Ryu to see if they get along. Ryu's age is even more obvious now that we got a younger chinchilla to compare with! The new chinchilla is a silver poofball with smaller ears and beady black eyes, while Ryu's fur is more ruffled with age and his cataracts make his eyes look like opals. They hung out in the box Ryu likes playing in, and the new chin would run back in there for security. Ryu seemed to tolerate her, so I put them both in their cage to see what would happen (I had an extra cage prepared in case the chins needed time to get used to each other and bond). She's already welcome in his home. ;; Ryu would sit there on top of his house being his meditative self while the new chin would romp around and check out her new surroundings. I could swear I heard chirping, and I don't think Ryu's ever chirped in his cage before. ;; As I kept checking in on them, I found her on top of Ryu's house while he sat inside, like she's imitating him. :D Dad and I are helping her socialize, and Dad's warmed her over with her first almond. :3 She doesn't quite understand the concept of dust baths yet, but boy, she'll be so excited when she learns~ ♥

Welcome home, Frisk. :3

Beluga whales are the best sea creatures in the world.

Manatees and dugongs come close. But beluga whales are the first ones I think of. ♥

Ryu's made up a new game to play with me. :3

First, he lets me pet him (usually scratching his ears), then he ducks into his favorite cardboard box. I type on the computer for a few seconds before he pops up again, expecting me to pet him. Pet, duck back into box, computer. Pet, duck back into box, computer. Repeat. Ryu hops closer each time.

It's the chinchilla version of Peek-a-Boo~ ♥

I made a new (and better!) deal with my Dad. Instead of getting a hedgehog after cleaning the house, I earn money to go to Portland. :D Dad felt much more motivated, nom. We worked together today sweeping the floor after we roachbombed the house. We cleared a huge chunk of space and it makes me so happy! *knocks wood* The house may actually get cleaned and be a permanent reality instead of an empty promise! ;;

Speaking of roachbombing, we couldn't find a babysitter for Ryu (Freddie stayed in the backyard to avoid the poison), so we took him with us while we dined at the patio of a Mexican restaurant. Everybody absolutely loves him! Some never heard of chinchillas before and listened quite intently while I talked about them. People cooed over how cute and soft he is, including the manliest men and the waiter. Ryu is so well-behaved! He was so quiet everyone but Dad and I forgotten that he was there. The only bad thing they had to say about him is why his eyes looked so milky ("Are they supposed to look like that?"); I explained to them that he had cataracts and that he's an old chinchilla around 11-13 years old, and then they become fascinated that chinchillas live to be 15-20. :3 The closest he got into trouble was when he tried dipping his nose into the salsa. :P He squirmed a lot and we had to make sure he didn't escape to the floor, so while Dad paid the bill, I took him out to a large rock to romp on and have some space. Then we went on a short trip to Half-Price Books (avoiding the cafe so we wouldn't get in trouble with health regulations), and the cashier and I made up a joke: "You bite it, you buy it!" Aka if Ryu chews any books, I have to pay for it. :P Thankfully, he didn't even try~ Ryu didn't even pee on my lap until we got back home. I have the most well-behaved chinchilla in the world. ;_____; I made sure he got a long dust bath, and a couple more almonds than usual when he got put back in his cage. :3

Freddie's made a new friend with a Shih-Tzu named Abby. Her owner is this really sweet little girl and we've been hanging out a lot lately. Abby loves everybody and Freddie wags his tail when he sees me get dressed, because he knows I'm getting ready to take him to go see her. ;;

Dad and I took Freddie to the vet, and it turns out he had a pancreatic inflammation that makes him too nauseated to eat or drink. He was so dehydrated and miserable that they had to put him on IVs. During check-up, we put Mom on the phone and Freddie wagged his tail a little bit at hearing her voice. Dad was really scared he was going to die. But I wanted to believe Freddie would be okay... and he made it! The whole family came to visit him on Thanksgiving, and we took turns holding him in our laps. He's home now, and he's eating and drinking again! He's his old self too, smiling and wagging his tail and following us around. He enjoys the little things like watching me clean Ryu's cage. Amanda got a great deal more energetic when he came back too, and even lay beside him. I can't stop giving Freddie cuddles and kisses. ;; He jumped on the bed and napped with me too. As long as we keep giving him his medicine, he's going to be okay. ;;

Meanwhile, Cecil Harvey and Lisa Garland are dating in Dysfunction Koholint Island. Let's see how long this'll last.

I went to an animation Livestream yesterday, which showed a cute movie called "A Monster in Paris." There's two versions, the English dub and the original French, and we watched the latter with subtitles. It's got teeny bits and pieces of "Phantom of the Opera" and little homages to other films such as "La Belle et la Bête" and "King Kong" and a charming cast (for the most part. The chat booed whenever the annoying waiter showed up. XD), including the titular monster who is a giant flea and his only dialogue is in song during the film's musical numbers. He's so cute and timid and sweet! (And the chat squeed with me, of course) And his voice is gorgeous in French. Sean Lennon (John Lennon's son) plays him in the English version and he does fine from what I've heard of him, but I'm too spoiled by the original French actor, haha. XD

Here's the song he sings after we see his form for the first time.

Sorry for the Spanish subtitles, but this is the closest to high quality of the French version I can find. Anyway, the highlight of the movie is when Francoeur (aka the Adorable Flea Monster) and Lucille share a duet together:

La Seine (French version)

Watch it when you've got spare time, nomnomnom. I'm certainly glad I did. :D *adds Francoeur to the list of characters I've got to get icons of*

In Animal Crossing news, Cookie threw a party for Queen Mary today, and Marshal and Skye attended the party too. I love you, Cookie. ;; Never change. ♥

I finally finished my English paper! Now I can curl up and dread my lab exam tomorrow morning. :P

Sheesh, I've gotten so bad about updating my DW/LJ lately.

Anyway, this week's gotten a lot smoother, thankfully. My English professor ended up being absent one day, but finally, she was able to come back Monday and I was able to see her. She said not to worry about being absent. :) Here's an excerpt from my very first day:

( Conversation is as follows. )

There's a boy in the class named Angel ("My name is Angel... and yes, that is my fucking name.") and we're reading a lot of fun stuff in class so far. :) My Biology Lab is run by a professor named Jennifer Lawrence ("Yes, that's my name.") and they've got a fish, a tarantula named Lolita Dos, a snake named James, and an unnamed rattie in their own tanks.

On February 4th, an exotic petting zoo is coming to campus. They'll be bringing a ton of animals. :3 At the top of my head: kangaroos, wallabies, coatimundies, skinks, bearded dragons, tortoises, pac-man frogs, snakes... and best of all, chinchillas and hedgehogs! ♥ It's been several years since I've held a hedgehog, and I've been longing for their prickly cuddliness again. I wonder what color chin-chins they'll be having too.

I've been going to Eric and Nicole's house with Jimmy a lot, so I've been making friends with the pets there: a female yellow Labrador named Star, a male orange kitty named Pixel, and three female guinea pigs named Ruby (long-haired albino), Halle (short-haired, orange & black), and Ginger (short-haired, brown & white.) The piggies are as big as Ryu, and they make little cooing noises like doves when they're petted. ;; My friends want me to bring over Ryu some time, so I'll need to get a better cage for him so he'll be able to travel.

I joined HabitRPG, which is a lot of fun! I was worried I'd flunk, but it's been helping me with the little things, like holding Ryu more often. :)

I beat Pokemon X! Actually, I did earlier in the month, but college, what can you do? Here's my little blurbs of my team, thoughts on the ending and post-game.

( Spoilers, of course! )

Gotta write my letter for Pokemon Holiday Exchange! :o

Dear gods, this is so adorable. ;; Ninten, Loid and Ana's voices are perfect for them and so cute and ghdkjsghdkjsghdk

I have the urge to replay Radiation's Halloween hack of Earthbound. Think I ought to do a screencap adventure or attempt a video Let's Play? :o

Dad got free chicks from a friend yesterday. They're more like teenagers (pullets, they're called?) since their feathers have already grown in, but they're not able to make eggs yet and they make a lot of cute cheeps. They'll be allowed to roam the backyard when they get older. (Dad: "I just hope Freddie doesn't chase them.") I got to feed and give them water this morning. :D

They all got black feathers with brown specks on them. I won't be able to tell them apart, but I'm thinking of giving them names anyway. So far, I'm thinking of all the major female Mother series characters: Ana, Pippi, Maria, Paula, Tracey, Kumatora, and Hinawa.

Edit: I missed two of them! They're dubbed Minnie and Mimmie.