It is time for another pledge drive. I fucking hate doing this.

I have a gimpy rat. It's Bianca, aka Binky, if that matters to anyone. She's listing to port. Head-tilt is easy to treat, so I packed my cockeyed rat into a box with some fabric and a cookie, shoved a water bottle and a dish into my purse in case she needed to tank up before peeing all over the vet, and went out to Allston.

One of the reasons I decided it was safe to get more critters was that I was told that Merwin offered free veterinary services, and they do, but when I got there I was told they didn't treat exotics. They referred me to MSPCA Angell. I've taken a würfliger Rat out to Angell before, and they're perfectly nice and competent, but they also charged me $100 for the visit and $20 for the antibiotics.

I do not have $120. I don't have grocery money right now. Short form:

  • Still no fourth roommate. Roommate who left not coughing up any money. Cost: $133
  • Dudebro got the internet turned off for most of a week. One of my contracts runs on a weekly cycle. Cost: $150, and all the energy I spent dreaming up new imprecations when I ran out of traditional ones.
  • Found cable bill on the coffee table. Dudebro owes them over $400. How, I do not know. Internet will inevitably be turned off next month when he doesn't pay that either, but I can deal with restarting service in my name when we get there.
  • Found gas bill on the coffee table as well. We owe them $370-something. No, I don't know why. Gas bill is in the name of vanished roommate, so we can't even negotiate with them; they won't talk to us.
  • I suddenly realize that if the gas bill is not going to the landlady, the water and power bills probably aren't either. This is worrying.
I am also doing my damndest to pay off a loan from a friend, made in good faith, from when I had to apartment-hop a few months ago. I also owe Moggie money for booking an upcoming trip, but her idea of a repayment schedule is, "I don't know, sometime? Please don't die." I'm not her accountant, but I'm pretty sure that covering my airfare and hotel was the difference between making double- and triple-payments on her new car, so at least I'm not worried disaster will occur if I take longer than I'd like to get it back to her.

I can skip meals. Someone will yell at me, but it won't kill me. Boston is not that large and I can walk everywhere if I don't have T fare, which I now officially don't. I can technically do laundry in the sink. The rat is sick and dependent and my responsibility, and she cannot wait. Especially since I'm going to be out of town the 12th-17th of March and while I can definitely get the sane roommate to feed the lot of them, I'm not sure I know anyone with experience medicating a rat who almost certainly will not like the taste of Baytril.

If you want to make a donation to rat care, please PayPal to miss.arabella.flynn@gmail.com.

If you'd rather make a longer-lasting contribution, I have a Patreon page now. The incentives are not particularly good, I feel, but I don't know what to offer. Suggestions welcome.

I have a Kindle feed through Amazon. I have no idea who's subscribed to it, but the $0.30 Amazon periodically sends me means I'm technically a paid author now, so thanks.

If you want to help but have no budget, believe me, I completely understand. Amusing links and distractions can go to the same email as PayPal.

I will be incommunicado most of the rest of the week. Thursday, I have a rehearsal block booked -- they're free, so I'm trying to use them to stay sane -- and a lot of work. My phone camera doesn't have a timer, but I did eventually find a free app that featured one and didn't crash and burn as soon as I started it. I'm a lousy photographer, but I feel like I ought to have something to show for all the screwing around I'm doing in the studio.

Friday, I will be at the theater. One of the burlesque troupe producers heard I wouldn't be able to make their next show, and got the short form of about half of the above as the reason why; she invented something for me to do on the spot. It took me a stupidly long time, but I did eventually figure out that when people start thinking up blatantly transparent excuses like that, it means they just want me there, so I'm going to be at their tech rehearsal and show all day, kittening and being a general gofer.

Saturday, I will probably be walking BPL their stuff back and doggedly not spending any of the money I don't have. Thank God the rats enjoy eating oatmeal and leftovers.

There are blog entries banked, so you guys will at least have something to read.

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