Hey everybody! I've returned! Here's a quick update on the past month of my life as it pertains to gerbils: My husband and I (and Ike and Cindy) drove to Anchorage on Christmas eve. We had a flat in Trapper Creek and for awhile it looked as though my husband was going to have to change the flat himself. He didn't want to since that meant moving all our stuff out the the cab of the truck to get at the jack. Which means poor Ike and Cindy wouldv'e had their aquarium placed in the snow at -20 F (and Tovan wouldv'e had to change the tire!). Luckily we found someone to fix the tire for us! After arriving in Anchorage, my parents' house was full of kids (ages 2, 5, 6, and 9). Of course all the kids were pretty excited about seeing the gerbils. And then 6-year-old girl had to remark that the gerbils were "playing leap-frog"! LOL! Why is it that gerbils always have to "play leap-frog" when small, impressionable kids are around! LOL! On December 29, I "SET GERBILS NOMAIL" so I wouldn't get any more messages until I got home. Tovan and I were then off the the great state of California and a week vacation in L.A., followed by checking a job offer in San Jose. I am happy to report that my husband did NOT take the IBM job offer in San Jose. There was just no way in **** that we could even begin to afford to live in the Bay Area/Silicon Valley. Even homes 2 hours away were starting at $250,000 for DUMPS! Now it looks like Tucson, AZ might be a more lucrative area to move to...if I can just learn to deal with the heat... Well, on Jan 8 we returned to Anchorage, picked-up the gerbils and drove back to Fairbanks...back to -45F and ice-fog thicker n' pea soup. All the gerbils that stayed home with the housesitter faired well and are quite healthy. At first it looked as though Norm had been attacked by Scar since he had a large bald spot on his cheek, but then I noticed him chewing intently on the metal of his wheel and the spot matched exactly where the metal bar layed across his face. I guess he just rubbed his cheek bald...I removed the wheel and he was so upset he chewed up his water bottle! (Norm had NEVER chewed a water bottle before!) Two more quick stories of Anchorage: My oldest sister has two of my gerbil babies from last summer and she was worried that they weren't big enough especially after meeting their parents (Cindy & Ike). I checked them out and they are a very healthy-looking slim and she was comparing them to fatso Cindy and Ike! After Christmas we filled the aquarium with cardboard wrapping paper tubes with the kids' help. My 2-year-old nephew thought this was so fun, that evertime after that when I opened the lid, he would start throwing everything he could get his hands on into the tank...chocolate, pencils, food, toys, trucks, magnets, a thermometer...always check the tanks carefully for contraband before closing the lid! LOL! Whew! I finally caught up on my e-mail today and finally "SET GERBILS MAIL" and I am looking forward to listening to all the wonderful gerbil chatter. Deb Adams (bytheway, Cindy still refuses to get pregnant!) ____________________________________________________________________ Get your own FREE, personal Netscape WebMail account today at http://webmail.netscape.com.
