Edit: (2010-11-04) Just realized that my email program stripped off the text... Here it is: Last night was another sleepless night... I say "another" because I caught some little stomach bug that's thrown off my ability to eat the diverse cuisine of rice, tin-fish, and sweat leaf. But that's not the reason last night was so sleepless. Let me explain:
Many nights, when my mind is thinking about things, I find it quite difficult to sleep. Usually this isn't a problem as I'll get up in the morning, work a full day and crash the next night. Sometimes I end up having a week straight were I just can't sleep through the night, but I'm usually able to get my body tired enough to at least sleep for a couple hours. Because of the stomach bug I've not had the energy during the day to do any work, so the nights have been especially restless the last few days. On top of that, the rats have started to find our house an enjoyable experience with a virtual buffet table laid out for them to feast all night, every night. I'm a light sleeper at the best of times, and currently even the geckos occasionally wake me, so having a half dozen rats in the small house sounds like twenty-four feet and well over a hundred claws tap dancing on the floor, the walls, the counter-top, the shelves, the boxes, and around my head. We've set out traps, but because they're showing some age, they aren't the most reliable things in the world, and the items we've used for bate so far don't seem to be the primary meal choice for these picky eaters.
Last night was especially restless, so I watched 'TV' (portable video player) until I finally started to doze off close to 4am. I was just starting to dream when, in my dream, something kept bumping my big toe. The first reaction of my brain (and I assume many other people) is to incorporate external senses into the dream, this made sense at the time, but when that something stopped bumping my toe and performed a proverbial "elbow drop" onto my ankle, I was instantly at a high state of alert.
Grabbing my glasses, flashlight, and appropriately placed flip-flop, my eyes quickly adjusted to the stark contrast and severe intensity of the photons reflecting from the mosquito net to focus on a pair of beady eyes staring back at me. I literally lept into action (much to the chagrin of my head) and started pummeling the foam mattress at the approximate location where the eyes had disappeared. However, because of the thickness of the foam, the inconsequential thickness of the flip-flop and the tightness of the mosquito net holding all of it just slightly off the floor, I was unable to inflict adequate injuries to the cohabitant that so rudely interrupted my night.
Having a more of a sense of relief than disappointment in the fact at letting the intruder vacate, I attempted to let my heart rate return to a two digit number as I continued to sit at the foot of my bed, when out of the extreme corner of my eye (the part not looking through my glasses), the bed netting at the other side of my bed "fluttered".
My initial reaction to this new sensory input was twofold. Firstly, I was supremely confident that there was another rat still inside my bed netting, and to continue my night, must be removed. Secondly, and with equal confidence, I could not believe that there would be two rats that would be able to find their way into my usually quite securely fastened netting. Still, I could not take the chance of the latter proving false and ripped the pillow away from the head of the bed, while still holding the flip-flop.
For a moment the two creatures stared back at each other in disbelief and shear terror. One final thought flashed through my mind just prior to the utter flailing that followed: I really don't want to sleep in rat pee/guts/blood. The details of what followed will soon be lost to history as my mind was still somewhat groggy from the hour (nearly five am) and the limited amount of rest afforded my mind. Essentially the rat ended up trapped beneath a palmed flip-flop just off the side of the bed, was "squished" for a seemingly adequate period of time, then, as pressure was reduced, a half-skinned rodent flashed out from under the rubber. Thankfully for all involved, the disappearance of renewed shock was faster than a half-skinned rodent, and it suffered no more.
Having disposed of the rat appropriately, I returned to a slightly violated, horizontal, and rat free position only to doze off just as the sun was cresting the hill around six or six-thirty this morning.
And to think that before all I thought the mosquito netting was supposed to keep out was the mosquitoes... Who knew?
Many nights, when my mind is thinking about things, I find it quite difficult to sleep. Usually this isn't a problem as I'll get up in the morning, work a full day and crash the next night. Sometimes I end up having a week straight were I just can't sleep through the night, but I'm usually able to get my body tired enough to at least sleep for a couple hours. Because of the stomach bug I've not had the energy during the day to do any work, so the nights have been especially restless the last few days. On top of that, the rats have started to find our house an enjoyable experience with a virtual buffet table laid out for them to feast all night, every night. I'm a light sleeper at the best of times, and currently even the geckos occasionally wake me, so having a half dozen rats in the small house sounds like twenty-four feet and well over a hundred claws tap dancing on the floor, the walls, the counter-top, the shelves, the boxes, and around my head. We've set out traps, but because they're showing some age, they aren't the most reliable things in the world, and the items we've used for bate so far don't seem to be the primary meal choice for these picky eaters.
Last night was especially restless, so I watched 'TV' (portable video player) until I finally started to doze off close to 4am. I was just starting to dream when, in my dream, something kept bumping my big toe. The first reaction of my brain (and I assume many other people) is to incorporate external senses into the dream, this made sense at the time, but when that something stopped bumping my toe and performed a proverbial "elbow drop" onto my ankle, I was instantly at a high state of alert.
Grabbing my glasses, flashlight, and appropriately placed flip-flop, my eyes quickly adjusted to the stark contrast and severe intensity of the photons reflecting from the mosquito net to focus on a pair of beady eyes staring back at me. I literally lept into action (much to the chagrin of my head) and started pummeling the foam mattress at the approximate location where the eyes had disappeared. However, because of the thickness of the foam, the inconsequential thickness of the flip-flop and the tightness of the mosquito net holding all of it just slightly off the floor, I was unable to inflict adequate injuries to the cohabitant that so rudely interrupted my night.
Having a more of a sense of relief than disappointment in the fact at letting the intruder vacate, I attempted to let my heart rate return to a two digit number as I continued to sit at the foot of my bed, when out of the extreme corner of my eye (the part not looking through my glasses), the bed netting at the other side of my bed "fluttered".
My initial reaction to this new sensory input was twofold. Firstly, I was supremely confident that there was another rat still inside my bed netting, and to continue my night, must be removed. Secondly, and with equal confidence, I could not believe that there would be two rats that would be able to find their way into my usually quite securely fastened netting. Still, I could not take the chance of the latter proving false and ripped the pillow away from the head of the bed, while still holding the flip-flop.
For a moment the two creatures stared back at each other in disbelief and shear terror. One final thought flashed through my mind just prior to the utter flailing that followed: I really don't want to sleep in rat pee/guts/blood. The details of what followed will soon be lost to history as my mind was still somewhat groggy from the hour (nearly five am) and the limited amount of rest afforded my mind. Essentially the rat ended up trapped beneath a palmed flip-flop just off the side of the bed, was "squished" for a seemingly adequate period of time, then, as pressure was reduced, a half-skinned rodent flashed out from under the rubber. Thankfully for all involved, the disappearance of renewed shock was faster than a half-skinned rodent, and it suffered no more.
Having disposed of the rat appropriately, I returned to a slightly violated, horizontal, and rat free position only to doze off just as the sun was cresting the hill around six or six-thirty this morning.
And to think that before all I thought the mosquito netting was supposed to keep out was the mosquitoes... Who knew?
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