Goodbye Cayenne and Kasey, Hello Harry Potter
For the first time in 3 and 1/2 years I no longer own any sort of aquatic animal. Kasey and Cayenne now have a new home with a friend my mother works with. In my heart I'm having slight regrets for letting them go, because I do really like them and enjoyed having them around... but the fact of the matter is that I could not seem to make enough time to properly care for them. They're not that much upkeep really, but it's more than a regular fish would be... and I just felt awful that I would actually go long periods of time just "forgetting" about them and their needs. They are living things, they never did anything to deserve to be forgotten or only be paid attention to when their care giver is going through a short phase of actually giving a shit. I had thought about giving them away for a while, so maybe they could find a more attentive home, and have been especially considering it over the past couple of days since getting the new carpet. Since I had to completely unload the tank so the new carpet could be installed I just didn't want to set it back up again after words. So, I didn't... and so, my mother asked her friend if her and her children would be interested in taking them in. Yesterday I sent them an e-mail with a link to a very informative site along with any extra pointers and information I could give them, and today the deal was set and done for 2 axolotls + their old tank, filter, food, and rocks for $30 (though I was given $40 in the end). After the arrangements were made they arrived 2 and 1/2 hours later to take Kasey and Cayenne to their new home. I talked with some some before they left, with me answering any other misc questions they had. All three of them seemed interested in the animals and had already read a great deal about the axolotls from the site I had directed them to (which I thought was great.)
After they left I found out the younger boy, who was age 11 and who the axolotls were "for" (though the whole family will be taking care of them), was going to rename them to Sludge and Pudge. And hey, whatever works best for them - if they'll love Sludge and Pudge and give them an environment that they can flourish in then that's more than I could ever hope for for Kasey and Cayenne.
Of course, naturally, now that the axolotls are gone I've been looking at websites and seeing how much it costs to purchase African Clawed Frogs (the first aquatic only animals [other than fish] that I had ever owned). I've always been really interested in frogs and the African Clawed Frogs are actually very low maintenance - probably on the same level as a fish. But, I dunno. I should wait a little bit of time before I even consider purchasing something else, because I may really like not having any obligations in my life right now as I work on getting used to my more hectic schedule. Also, there is a chance that I may get the axolotls back if the situation doesn't work out for their new home. I'll just have to wait it out and see.
I've also been having urges to start reading the Harry Potter books, though I'm not sure if it would be a wise decision. Usually I like to watch the movies first and THEN read the book, only because people always say that the movies are so much worse than the books they're based on; I'd rather start out with the crappy version and work my way toward the better story. I just don't know if I'll be able to stop myself from reading the 4th book despite the 4th movie not coming out until sometime this November. In the end I probably will, though, despite any minor reservations I may have - I'm dieing to get in on all the secrets everyone bitches about other people telling them before they've had a chance to read the books. My biggest hurdle will be actually getting myself to go get the books, which is where the real conflict comes in: should I be cheap and rent the books or should I purchase them? Decisions decisions.