When people ask if I want to hear the bad news or the good news first, I usually say the bad news. So since I can't ask you readers what you would like to hear first, I'm going to make an executive decision for you. Brace yourself for some bad news. Jared the fish has left us to swim in the eternal waters of fishy heaven. I'll tell you the story because it makes some people laugh, but those people are cruel and heartless. Don't be like them. One day I was cleaning out Jared's tank like any good fish owner would do. I was slightly distracted talking to a certain roommate whose name rhymes with Malli Marette, and when I went to fill the bowl back up with water, I did not let it cool down quite enough. Needless to say, Jared freaked out when I put him back in (a natural reaction to being boiled alive.) Of course the first thing that came to my mind (after I realized that was why he was dive-bombing the rocks and ramming the side of the bowl) was to put ice cubes in to cool it down a bit! When that didn't work, I dumped some cold water in. Finally, I got the bright idea to take him out of the tank. Alas, it was too late. Five hours later we held a beautiful candlelight memorial service where we buried Jared under his favorite tree in the courtyard. He is dearly missed. Here is a photo of the crowd at his memorial service:
Now, the good news! We got a NEW fish. We have not officially decided on a name. I am partial to Jared 2.0, while Sarah favors going in a different direction and using his namesake's last name, Townsley. Here he is:
Other than the saga of the fish, things at apartment 5 have been pretty quiet. So far we have only had one minor dispute (about the dishwasher) but fortunately it was resolved quickly, and with little to no drama. We have shared many meals around our awesome kitchen table, usually Chinese food, but I have a feeling we are going to branch out into other genres soon because everyone is getting tired of eating the same things. We are trying to soak in the last few days of good weather by hanging out on the porch playing guitar and enjoying the sunlight, it is going to be very sad when Fayetteville turns into a frozen wind tunnel with no exposure to the sun and we are forced to stay locked inside our apartment. Sorry, I just really don't like winter.
I leave you with one of the only non-fish pictures I managed to take between the last post and now. I can't really explain the story behind it other than this: Kalli and Sarah have random periods of crazy, and when they intersect, I am in laughter heaven. Here is an example:
I hope that will hold you over until (a hopefully soon) next time!
Rachel
