I killed three of my fish. *sigh* I bought all these extra things to help the tank be better and ended up lifting the center piece and basically poisoning the remaining fish that we couldn't catch before setting everything in place. Between that and my fish doing kamakazie flips out of the bucket I had a really sucky end to an otherwise decent weekend. A weekend I REALLY needed too. Between being hammered by calls the three days I was in and the end call being a lazy assed patient who only called because she didn't want to pay the toll to make an appointment I was at my wits end by Friday evening. Luckily my boss was there for the conversation and even sent out an email to tell everyone how well I handled the call. Just remember me when the yearly review comes around... that's all I ask.

The new year started off with a whimper. After an enjoyable weekend of sleeping in, staying up until 3 and just fucking around on my Sims game I was happy. Then on new years eve I noticed the fish tank was cloudy. The same fish tank we had JUST cleaned. I peered in and my YoYo Loaches were dead. Rather... one was dead. The other was MIA and presumed eaten. *sigh* Jake promised to get more AmQuel for the water and we went about our business. At about 3am I was ready to hit the sack (Jake had gone to bed before me) and noticed the fish were in distress. Two were at the bottom and looking like they were at death's door. I muttered 'fuck it' and started emptying out the tank. thirty to forty minutes later I filled it back and dumped the last of the AmQuel that we had in there and hoped for the best. Later that morning I peered in to see all fish swimming about and breathed a sigh of relief. In the end it was my fault for the water getting cruddy. I have this favorite fish decor that sits in the middle and blows bubbles. It's a replica of the Roman ruins and very cool. Unfortunately it has a huge area underneath that gathers air and some other crud that becomes stale and toxic. Any movement and it spills out into the tank. Me poking around the gunked up holes was enough to make my nice clean fish tank a death tank. *sigh* Now I just have to get the water back on track and search for some more YoYo loaches. Yay for 2008. :p

We had a blast this weekend. On Saturday we met with an old coworker of mine and gossiped talked about the current state of work and her job. It was good to see how happy and positive she was. I've been worried about her since the layoffs. On Sunday we made another go at the fish store. The fish decor is going to be the bane of my existance... It's still dropping the PH level. When we removed it the level was 5. After a 25/30 gallon water change it went back up to 7. The owner of the store was super cool and hopefully figured out the issue. $70 later I'm pluggin in a more expensive airpump and crossing my fingers. If this doesn't work I'm shutting the tank off and getting rid of it. Now I have to wait AGAIN to get some more fish. *grumbles*

We came home tonight and noticed four dead fish... making it a total of 6 dead in two days. I called the fish store and talked to the owner, who is very nice, and mentioned that the statue I got was peeling. I brought in a water sample and the statue just in case. Sure enough, one whiff of the statue and he knew what the problem was. Apparently food fell into the broken arm crack and rotted there. When I was cleaning the tank I bumped the statue and all that crap seeped out into the water, killing my YoYo Loaches and Rummy Nose Tetra. *sigh*

Now I have to try and stabilize the PH levels so I can get more fish. Oh and as for the statue? I trashed that sucker. Now I have to find another one. What a way to end the year. Bah!

The clock hits 4:59PM and I grab my purse, go down the two elevators, get my car keys, drive towards home, call Jake, meet him halfway, go on our dinner date, drop by fish store and buy 4 new fish, stop by 7/11 for alcohol, pull into parking garage, set alarm, open door, throw off clothes and turn on computer. Let the long weekend begin!

My large YoYo Loach died. :(I've had him for a while so it could just be old age. I felt bad for the little YoYo Loach though... It had snuggled close to him and just laid there. I thought it was dead to at first. *sigh* I can't wait to get more fish so it can have friends. I got two Tetras but it's just not the same. I think I'm going to the fish place to get my water tested and see what they suggest to move it along.

I'm so glad it's Friday. My boss was being a royal wench to me all day yesterday. I finally called her after she left on her mobile phone and asked if she was in a better mood yet. At least she calms down when I call her on it. :p

On Saturday JakeD and I went to the fish store to pick up our new YoYo Loaches. I have been waiting since Chanukah for them. I casually mentioned our snail infestation from hell and the owner said not to get them. He was actually a really cool guy who spent over a half an hour explaining the options we had to get rid of them. He even talked us out of trashing the tank for a new one (over $300). We bought our new gravel and planned on taking the tank apart the next day.

Sunday came and I returned my bluetooth headset. I just couldn't stand using a headset that cost $100 and sounded like shit. The guy who helped when I bought it was understanding and refunded me the full amount. I'm really bummed about the headset not sounding good. I am looking around to see which ones got the highest rating. The problem is that everyone has a strong opinion about their experience on these review sites and it varies from a "Dear G-d I want to have it's first born" to "Burn in hell you vile creature".

We finally managed to catch my two fish and clean out the fish tank. You'd think I had goldfish with the amount of crap that was at the bottom. Now we're just waiting for the salt mixture to kill off those fuckers before emptying the tank AGAIN, cleaning it and putting back my wily little fish. If all goes well I should have more YoYo Loaches within the week. Yay! Now I have to vacuum up the gravel on the carpet that the love of my life dropped. :p

...and it bubbles back like it understands. It's a tragedy when I lose a fish. I'm not talking about a burial at sea while playing taps, but I do hum while I flush. My friends get mad because I care more about animals than people at times. My theory: You put a dog on the airport loading dock and point to the cage and then the plane... If you see fur in the dust you're lucky. That dog's not an idiot. Tell a person their ass is being shoved in a cage while you're sticking them in the ass with a tranquilizer, and that the chance of survival is minus compared to the 1% chance their 'owner' has. How well would that go over? We cut down trees, flatten mountains, slap some tar for the road, and then expect the animals to just move back and cohabitate in a third of their space. Explain road-kill to them. They didn't have a choice. So, yeah... I feel for the animal. If a person makes a decision to purchase a pet, it's a living thing. It's their responsibility to take care of that thing.

I can watch any slasher movie and cheer. Kill the animal, the movie's ruined. I can't expain it. The teenie boppers are usually doing something that they shouldn't be doing. It's the writer's way of saying, "See? Bad kids. They should be punished. Five fingers with razor sharp claws outta do the trick." We nod gleefully as one by one, those bad assed teenie boppers get their just deserts. Think back to any slasher flick when there was an animal involved... When did the audience cheer louder? When goodie two shoes virgin eviscerated the boogie man or when cute little Mr Pugsley the cat jumped out at the end? There you go...