I have been working a lot, and spending way to much time with my animals, so I am told, but I have a great funny story and some exciting news.

I was helping Laura, the significant other move that last of her things into the new place, and I had brought the animals all over to her place while they sprayed mine, well our new place, as a precaution for "palmetto bugs" which is of coarse a big word for roaches. Well when all was said and done, I came back, checked everything out and decided it was okay to go ahead and move in the animals with her last few loads of stuff. Well, as usual Ira the iguana came right up let me put his leash on, and rode home in his usual custom car carrier, the ducks sat in the back seat in a large rubber made crate that I cut out head holes so they could look outside, and I was loaded up figuring the snake would come that night with the last load.

I came back, unloaded and was about to get into my truck, and I get a call from Laura in a panic. She went to check on Ela (who was due for feeding, but I opted to wait until she was moved to prevent any more stress than necessary) and she was not there. I know finding a corn snake is difficult, but when your room is full of boxes and random clutter from moving it is near impossible to find them. This was Thursday afternoon, so rather than moving anything else I started looking EVERYWHERE, I called a friend that works for snake chasers, and he and I tore that place apart, we went through EVERYTHING. Keeping in mind I had to find it before her roommates got home because they had no idea it was there, and are afraid of snakes. Jamie and I went through it all, and eventually found the worst thing to find when there is a hingry snake around, 2 mouse holes behind the oven and dishwasher. He left at about 8, and her roommates got home around nine, still no snake, we assumed she had gotten onto a scent and left the apartment, so we told her roommates just in case so they didn't have a fit if she turned up. Well, needless to say we should have just let them have the fit if she turned up, they were up all night with flashlights and could not sleep.

I stayed there that night hoping she would turn up at night since they are nocturnal, and the next day called a few of my friends to help move the last of her furniture, and we had come down to the last load figuring there is no way that Ela was there, she was not in anything, then Cliff was taking apart a bedside chest and say what looked like a toy snake, I may have forgotten to mention that there was a live snake loose in the apartment because we had basically given up hope, and he reached for it, of coarse she was scared and cornered and hungry and basically in a disgusted mood so shes struck at him and more scared than hurt him, I heard a girlish scream and ran up the stairs and dove after her before she could get behind the oven, Cliff about wet himself, but Ela is back safe and sound after a day of roaming Laura's old place, and she has been fed as well as gotten a new tight fitting top that has much better clamps to her cage.

I thought you guys would appreciate a good escape and finding story.

Now for the good news, that even surprised me, I came home from work sunday night to see Laura sitting at the table talking to Jamie who breeds corns. That morning he told me about an albino that he wanted to sell, and Laura kinda got excited because she thought that an albino would look "kind of satanic." I noticed over the past week that she was more and more excited about holding Ela, and seemed to be less and less creeped out by the idea of feeding, she even watch this last one, but I thought it was more fascination than interest. Well I just emptied an aquarium because I had nothing to put in it, and just didn't feel the need to aquire more work in maintanance... well that tank is now set up almost exactly like Ela's and has a new reptile safe cage lid with clamps, and we have a new Albino corn snake on the way. I was informed that if I could have one than she wanted one too, so now our zoo has grown again, later this week, I am going to get Lucy the albino corn snake.

I am very excited, this is my first albino, and her first snake, and she even wants to be the one to take care of her. I am excited although I have a sneeky suspicion that I will still be the pooper scooper in that tank.

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“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny…'"
- Isaac Asimov



TKE:TT:118

Great story!
Boy do I know THAT feeling!

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Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

I like escape stories that have happy endings.

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Mike
"Never worry about numbers. Help one person at a time, and always start with the person nearest you." - Mother Teresa