Thursday, April 15, 2010

Rodents of Unusual Size?

They DO exist! I saw some at the park yesterday!

Okay so, I am LOVING this walking trail at the park near my casa. It's just really pretty. And there are always tons of families there! For two weeks now, I have walked three times a week. Can't tell you the last time that was the case. It's been a loooooong time. Sad but true.

I go Saturday mornings and then two nights a week right after work. But last night I had a TON to do (I wanted to finish my portfolio) so I came home and started dinner right away. But then after dinner, I had had such a good day, I really didn't want to skip out on the activity. And there was still some daylight outside, so I thought I would go for a quick walk. On Saturday mornings there are maybe a couple dozen people there. Some walking or jogging on the trail, some fishing in the creek and some just laying in the grass. During the week there are probably a hundred people there! Tons of families on the playground and people playing basketball on the small court. And then the walkers, joggers and fishers. Yes, I said fishers. So when I went at 8:00 last night I was thinking it might be less crowded. Not that there isn't plenty of room for 100 people. There is. But still, I just thought that people might be headed home by 8:00.

Wrong again! The park was the most crowded I had seen it. In addition to all of the people, there are always at least 100 pigeons (not sure why I'm throwing out the numbers tonight... it's not like I've counted. I'm just trying to paint a picture!) and probably half that many ducks. People feed them and they just walk around quacking. And then the turtles. The turtles are my favorite. Lots of turtles too.

Last night, there was a new addition. I walked past the first pack of ducks, which were pretty close to my car, and I noticed they had a few little fury companions with them. My first thought was beavers? Which made no sense. But they were so big! Then I noticed that they had long skinny tails. Much like... rat tails. But no. These couldn't be giant rats, could they? If they were giant rats, people wouldn't be glancing at them so casually, as if they hadn't noticed them. So then I thought possums? But I've seen possums before! Only at night running across the street, but I've seen them enough to, on second thought, decide these were not possums. So what else could they be? They were HUGE! And they were scattered around the park, in groups of three and four, just hanging out with the birds eating the bread crumbs that visitors had scattered. There was just no way that no one would be reacting to them if they were huge rats. I mean HUGE! So I decided to just declare them R.O.U.S.s and pretend that they are something else.

When I told my mom and Brett about them at dinner tonight, Brett said he knows what they are. Large rat-like rodents that start with the letter N. But he couldn't think of the name. Anyone know what these animals are and how they escaped from the fire swamp?

Anyway. It's been a weird week. Work is weird for Brett and my mind is so full. I don't think either one of us has been as there for each other as we needed this week. What can I say? That's life. This whole "one flesh" thing is tricky sometimes. But as of an hour or so ago, my portfolios are assembled and ready to go. They don't look all that impressive to me, but honestly, they're kind of just a prop. All that the people on Saturday will be interested in is my resume and my attitude. The portfolio is just to show that I put some effort into preparing and that I've taken the steps to be eligible for teaching. But I feel much more prepared having something to hand out. I have also decided what schools I'm going to talk to. There are 20 elementary schools in Irving. I thought there were more =-( But I will only be able to talk to 4 on Saturday. At least, that is how it has been in the past, or so I've been told. But there may be chances for me to leave my resume with other schools. It will just go into a stack with other resumes, but at least it will be on file somewhere.

I hope that tomorrow passes quickly and painlessly. Today was not as long as yesterday (in my mind) but it was not what I would call painless. Work is just... well... not great. There's no point in complaining. It's where I am right now. I'm trying to change careers and make something better, but I have to trust God to move me at the right time.

I'm off to read a little before I go to bed. Have I mentioned I'm reading Jurassic Park? Dinosaurs are FINALLY killing people. It's about time!

Sweet dreams bloggers!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It sounds as if you saw a "nutria," also known as a "water rat." ;)

Marie said...

yep, it's a nutria.. but they are the inspiration for the ROUSes in the story. They don't attack people (usually) and I'm pretty sure that the Dred Pirate Roberts is nowhere in Irving. You should be mighty safe! Keep walking and having fun.