i am two years old!

i am now two...more or less. this is my third home and no one ever kept track before. this must be a big deal to cindy cuz she's been all soppy and cuddly and was singing some goofy song. yech! if she tries to make me wear a stupid hat i am going to bite her. and i just know i am going to have a bath later...cindy gasped when she saw my feet. a bath...on my birthday...how unfair is that?

i don't feel older. i feel 'quieter' - if that makes any sense. i feel like i can just wander around and just be me. i don't have to worry about food or water and i can even choose where i sleep during the day (the big bed in the other room is my favorite, even tho' i have a b*tch of a time getting up there). my home never gets that 'lived in' feel cuz cindy always takes the poop out. why...why...why? i like it there. tho' i do like that she keeps my wheel so clean - who wants to run through poopy pee all night?

my life before cindy was not quite as peaceful: i had the same home but it was right beside a TV that was always on. and there were so many people around - all. of. the. time. a big hot, bright light was shining down on me 24 hours a day. i like dark, thank you very much; my eyes get all squinty if it's too bright. and there was nowhere good to hide: the log i was in had a big hole in the top, so even that was too bright. my food was okay but the seeds kept getting stuck in my mouth. there was this little white wheel that tasted awful and made me sooooo thirsty. don't get me started about drinking out of one of those hangy-bottle things. best of all, and i don't know why: my skin doesn't itch any more. i hardly scratch ever.

i think i feel quieter cuz i don't have to spend any time worrying about little stuff, like food, water and shelter, so i can spend time on more important things like finding a good place to burrow or searching for crickets. yes, i have to put up with cindy's constant presence: petting...cuddling...cooing...trying to touch my feet and my ears and my tummy...and baths...always the baths...but the trade-off is fair: not having to worry about a full tummy is payment enough. happy birthday to me.

Freedom!!!

i wish i would've thought of this sooner. i ran away from home a few days ago. cindy put me in my favorite sleeping bag on the floor and normally i will fall asleep and refuse to move for the whole day, if i can. but on friday, i decided i wanted to sleep in the human bed, so i waited until cindy wasn't looking, then ran as fast as i could into the bedroom and scaled up the side of the bed using the sheets. it was hard work and i almost fell but it was worth it. i had the whole glorious bed to myself...it was wonderful. i got to squish myself between crisp, clean sheets under a heavy blanket...hedgie heaven.

well, it WAS heaven until cindy kept calling my name over and over and over...and the banging and clunking around while she rearranged the entire household (i guess she had been looking for me for a while)...she made it very hard to sleep. finally, i couldn't stand it any longer and huffed at her when she moved the blanket. i thought for sure she'd march me back home but no: she just covered me again and left me to snooze. i was shocked. and happy.

since then, every morning when i am done wheeling, cindy puts me in bed with her. i'm not happy about sharing the bed but she usually leaves after an hour or so. besides, it's pretty big, so i just crawl into a corner where the sheets are the tightest and sleep away the day.

i think my bid for freedom has taught cindy a much needed lesson cuz she has finally stopped grabbing at me whenever i walk near the edge of the bed or couch. she was always freaking out when i would stroll over to check out the view. what does she think? that i'm going to walk right off the edge? jeez. you'd have to be a special kind of human stupid to do THAT.

i am very much enjoying my new freedom: i spend my days in cindy's bed and, if i squirm around too much, cindy helps me get comfy in my sleeping bag in the livingroom...either way, i am happy: i am free!!