A Busy Day Of Cars and Crickets
11/27/1
About two weeks ago, another cricket came into the house. She was a female and she got to live with the young male cricket that we have. Shortly after, another cricket showed up too, a larger male. He went into the terrarium too.
Last Wednesday, one of the males figured out how to sing. It was quiet and really quite cute. Now the singing is very loud. I really don�t mind, but I think Aisai is getting sick of it.
I�ve been a little slack on the crickets since I saw how Petsmart does their crickets. Basically, they feed corn meal with nutritional supplements. The supplements aren�t for the crickets, but for the lizards that eat them. So I fed corn meal.
They eat it really slow, so all I had to do was give them water. I really didn�t check on the status of the tank or of them until this morning. I was noticing that the sponges were drying out much quicker than they should have, which means that the clay chips they live on had gotten dried out, essentially turning the tank into a dessicator.
There were only two crickets. And there is no way they can escape. It was the big male and the female. They ate the smaller male. My theory is that the smaller male started singing last Wednesday and this made the larger male, who was still just content with how much food they had available, realize that it was a breeding situation. He killed the male and now he�s got her all to himself.
Another, less romantic, theory is that I let the tank get too dry and they needed moisture so they ate him.
Today, they have about a teaspoon of coconut cake, home made by my mother, and two fresh wet sponge cubes. I was thinking that the male was singing since they were hungry, but he�s just singing since that�s what he does.
When I left work yesterday at 3:15, I went to the gas station out of necessity and then got to the Kronos dealer about 15 minutes late for my 3:30 oil change appointment. I read the time magazine on musicians they did recently and enjoyed the Bjork article. I also flipped through the Sept 11 Memorial Rolling Stone issue.
After I finished those and briefly looked at a parenting magazine, I started looking around. They were washing my car. My cell phone rang with the standard ring.
See, if Aisai or Tom or anyone who has a ring assigned to them calls, their ring sounds. This wasn�t Aisai�s ring, but it was Aisai. Her car wouldn�t start. She was at the Chevron on Pratt Avenue. I told her that I�d head straight there after I got my car.
This wasn�t the first jump-start I�ve had this week. On Sunday, Aisai and I dropped off her books and my CDs at the library and there was a gal trying to start her Nissan in the parking lot. I asked if she needed a jump-start and then quickly moved my car over and got my cables out and jumped it. Aisai commented that it was 4:20 when we pulled into the parking lot and after dropping off our stuff and jumping the car, it was only 4:25. Yeah, jump-starting a car is pretty quick if you�re me and in a hurry. Also, the Nissan wasn�t completely dead, it just needed help.
Aisai�s car was dead-dead-deadski. Once we cranked it, I followed Aisai home and then we got in her car and took it to Auto Zone. The guy tested it, it was the battery, and we got the biggest and best one that would fit in Aisai�s Camry.
[I always do this. That�s why my little Kronos can jumpstart big trucks and vans. It has an oversized alternator and the biggest battery it can hold.]
The guy had some trouble putting it in since the tray that holds the battery seemed too big for some reason. Hey, I looked at it myself and I don�t understand how the restraining bar was hooked on either.
We got Chinese food on the way home. Aisai always wants Mongolian Beef. Always always always. So we got that.
We watched the second part of The Graduation, Buffy the Vampire Slayer wise, and Aisai balanced the checkbook. I was told that I could use the $60 I was asking for to do Christmas shopping for her that night. I went out, got presents and cat food, and was back within the hour.
I�ve been told to stop with the Christmas presents by Aisai. I�ve spent about $110 on her. I really do intend to spend more, but my car�s suspension needs some work...Aisai�s Camry�s distributor is about to go...so...maybe just stocking stuffers.
[Note: I am now the #4 hit when searching Google for "Kelsey Grammar". Bwah ha ha. Also, visit the Stuffoblog.]