Gearing Up for NaNoWriMo and Other Stuff

That's right. Next month is National Novel Writing Month and once again I am a participant. I'm nervous (obviously), definitely hoping last year's crash and burn doesn't happen again, and also very excited. I'm working on accumulating the things I need for my story, but I have an idea (that came to me during a nap the other day ... ) for at least the start of the story and 3 characters. We'll see where it goes from there.

There are a few things that worry me about NaNo this year.

• I haven't had creative juices flowing freely in months. Even going off of my meds hasn't helped much.
• I still haven't figured out the "balance school, work, and homework" thing yet, much to my chagrin.
• I has no laptop. Which, truth be told, isn't that bad of a situation. Just means it'll be harder for me to work when I'm at Tene's.

So, I do perceive issues. There is also that I'll be worrying about Avi, who has developed a steadily-growing tumor, and other things going on in my life right now. But, I'm going to attempt NaNoWriMo, and win or lose, I'm going to do my best.

Sigur Ros - Glosoli

This is my current favorite song and music video. Thought I'd share :)

Some Changes

So, I'm going to be making some changes to RiP soon. One problem I'm having with this blog is that it doesn't really have a dedicated purpose. I thought I had a purpose for it, but I don't like the idea of using Rats in Pants for rants and such. Unfortunately, the name "Rants in Pants" (and the url rantypants) was taken, so I'm going to be trying to think of a new name for my ranty blog.

What Rats in Pants is going to be for is documenting my life - specifically my life involving my rats (although I will mention other things, like school, meds, and the like). I know that's what I use it for now - so there won't be any changes as far as the rest of you are concerned.

A content change that I am going to include is information on rats in general - health care and the like - as I learn it and incorporate it. I may also add some information on other small pets, but don't bet on it.

Some of the other changes I'm going to be doing is changing the color scheme and such, as well as the image at the top of the page (hopefully to a photo of my new girls once I get them :) ). I'll be removing the BlogLog, but will be keeping the friends and family blogs, as well as the sister sites (my new blog will probably not be listed in the sister sites section).

In other news, the new cage is almost complete! For those who don't know, a few weeks ago I bought a cage from Martin's Cages. The cage is HUGE! :) It's 30"x18"x36", and has a decent drop pan (3" high sides - which means my floor will stay clean :) ), a full middle section, and two balconies, with ramps attaching all of them. I had a cage of almost this size (24"x14"x26") before, also from Martin's, but learned the hard way that plain Galvanized steel is very very bad for leveled cages. That cage rusted within a few months. As a result, I spent a few extra dollars to get this cage powder coated, which is supposed to completely eliminate the smell problem.

The cage comes separated, which I don't mind. Less shipping costs for me, and the cage is pretty easy to assemble - especially since Martin's sends you everything you could ever need to put it together. Like, four times over. Now, there was just one thing I wanted to do that I had not done on the original cage.

The flooring of the cage is wire, which is okay, but could be potentially dangerous to the rats small, fragile feet. There are plenty stories online of ratty feet getting trapped in the wire - and of sprained and broken bones. This is especially dangerous for smaller, younger rats (like what I'm getting ... ).

So, I decided, in my infinite wisdom, that I should make a tray for the full middle level. First, to give my rats something to rest on without having to go all the way down to the floor level. Second, to make the cage safer for the rats. And third - to make it less messy. Well, the tray is being made out of plexiglass and solvent glue. I was planning on having a full bottom layer, and four sides. This ended up not working. So, what I have now, in pieces, are 3 pieces that make up the bottom of the tray, and the 4 sides. It isn't pretty, but it will do what it's supposed to.

In the course of this project I did learn a few things.
- You can buy large sheets of plexiglass from Lowes. They will not custom cut things for you, however.
- Solvent glue is easy to find ... the hard part is finding a local seller, and then finding their building (I was lost for half an hour trying to locate the dang place)
- You cannot cut smaller squares out of plexiglass. There is no way to make a cut that only goes 5" in, and have it not break the entire piece of material.
- "Scoring" means using a knife to cut the plexiglass, not two or three times, or even four or five, but, like, ten. Anything less and it doesn't snap. Also, they need to be on both sides of the plexiglass. It helps it break straighter.
- Don't expect a straight edge. (I can only hope I can fix the problem this caused)

I hope to finish the cage by this weekend, and have contacted "Skye" (a local rat breeder).

Medicine Changes, and So Do I

It's been a week since I went off of my crazy meds completely, and I've noticed a few changes, bad and good.

Bad or lingering effects
- Disinterest in everything
- Anxiety attacks
- Insomnia and trouble waking
- Apathy
- Temporary numbness in fingers and hands

Good effects
+ I am coherent
+ I actually remember and recall things
+ I have written more, although none of it has been very useful or interesting
+ I want to want to do things things (drawing, writing, etc), although I'm apathetic when it actually comes to doing them.
+ I feel ... normal. Mostly.

In all, I am feeling better, but I am still having problems adjusting. I'm suspecting that I'll get better soon, but will take some time.

Nothing Creative Comes to Mind

Good Happenings
- I am enjoying my job
- I am lowering my Lamictal, and should be completely off of it within a month - which means I'll be completely CRAZY MED FREEEE!
((HAPPY DANCE!!!))
- My new Nalgene water bottle is BPA free, which I didn't know until 2 seconds ago :D (But have been worried about all day ... )
- I'm starting to get to a place where I can do the things I want to with my life
- The new cage is almost complete, and I should have 3 new girls in the next week or so

Not-So-Good Happenings
- I am nervous about school starting in a month
- My anxiety attacks haven't gone away yet :|
- I may need to get a second job, but really don't want to
((the raise I was expecting to have a few months ago [after I was done "training"] still hasn't come my way ... ))
- Gas prices suck
- Still can't draw or write decently at all
- I broke my laptop

All in all, I'm doing good - I can't really complain much. Most of my problems are manageable, or will go away with time :) Which I'm grateful for.