I hereby pledge to stop beginning all my posts with 'I'. It's just self-centred.

Now on to more important things. Long have I pined for something I could love. Ever since I left Malaysia, I had long been searching for something which I could devote special attention to, and make feel cherished. Not that it mattered too much in fair judgement, but in hindsight I had been trying to regain some of the little sites of comfort I had taken forgranted before I left for Australia.

The apartment I lived in, the dumb cane on the window sill, even -shudder- a couple of the fairer sex, were all the subject of my heartfelt devotion, but I always failed to find a responsive subject. The room always ended up dirty again. The plant died. Young love always dealt its Card of Death. I ended the year cynical, worn and foully determined to be unreceptive to all forms of given affection. [Childish, in a way. But we are all children...]

The only remedy for such lovelessness is of course, to get something living that actively responds to affection. To most people not of the wholly horticulturally-inclined variety, that would equate to getting a pet. I didn't risk the rent agreements in my old apartment, which was college-run student accommodation. My current house, also rented, forbade pets. Or did it? A quick check with the rent agency revealed the 'No pets' rule applied only to, by most standards, cats and dogs. So I was safe with smaller pets! I had always been a master of maintaining animals at home, now what could I find that would sufficiently sate my lust for affection-giving? It had to be small, it had to be convenient, and it had to be cheap. Plus I had to like it, so no giant West Indian centipedes.

Finally, after much soul-searching [not in the 'look within my heart and conscience' variety, the 'ask-my-vast-and-imperious-general-knowledge' kind] I finally found my answer in a small, heart-wrenchingly adorable [almost], four-dollar package of furball: the common white rat. Now I have a good-looking creature of creation which I can devote time, love and affection to, and for now I am happy. Who needs a girlfriend anyway? ;D