Birthdays, Rodents and the Year of the Rat

I am back. Did I tell you that the Lad turned 11 last week? Well, he did. We have ditched the idea of the birthday party. We did that last year. The year before, when he turned 9, he had a sleepover party. The Wife did most, all, of the work. I recall hiding out in the bedroom watching the Raptors play the Sonics in Seattle. It was fun.

The biggest bummer was that the next evening was my first rat sighting in the house. I saw that bastard run under the door to our washing machine and into the hole that was there. Since we replaced the washing machine, I have since plugged that hole with steel wool. I am thinking that I would like a suit made from steel wool. It would be great winter or summer. It would breath in the summer and keep me warm in the winter. What the fuck am I going on about?

Given the fact that I have poisoned many a rat, I know from the smell and lack of sounds, and removed a dead one from under our fridge, that that problem seems to have been corrected. In fact, I have not heard any sounds from the basement bathroom in a long while. I always have my ears open but I may have done the job with the number of mice I caught and killed in 2007. I am thinking that 2007, and not 2008, was the Year of the Rat/Mouse. Then again, I would not compare mice to rats.

Mice are smaller and much less scary. Rats are big and ugly. Also they tend to be smarter than mice. In any event, I do not want either in my home. I do not want squirrels either. In fact, my home should be a rodent free zone.

How did I get on this rodent topic? I just wanted to mention that in lieu of birthday parties, the Lad has been getting good gifts. Last year it was the iPod. This year it was the Wii. That thing is so much fun. I suck at the golf, but rather enjoyed the boxing. I caught the Lad playing NBA Basketball 2008. That was cool, watching him go through the shooting motion to shoot. That is a great level of interactivity that was missing from the XBox. I just do not know what he will do with those 50 or so X Box games that he has.

Well, I am done. Ciao!