Sonic the Hamster

Several weeks ago Flamingo Joe added a widget/gadget/smidget (whatever) to my igoogle home page. It's that Hamster over there on the right of this post. One day I logged onto the internet, my igoogle page popped up and BAM! I've got another mouth to feed. Take your curser over there and click anywhere in the hamster cage so long as it's above the hamster. Thank you for feeding him 'cause I have no idea when he last ate.

Casey found him on my home page one day over the Christmas break and spent half a morning changing all the colors so now my hamster, who he named Sonic, is a weird color of blue with bright blue eyes and a yellow streak on his chin -- he's like an Avatar character. Casey turned his water bright green and his food a bizarre shade of yellow.

You can probably find the hamster widget/gadget/smidget (whatever) on the internet and add him to your home page, too. I must warn you, though, it's a lot of pressure. Every time you log on he's sitting there waiting for you to feed him and you instinctively suck in your breath and think, "Oh crap! How long has he been waiting?" Just a few minutes ago I flipped over to my home page and he was laying in the corner of the cage with his eyes closed. I thought I'd killed him.

While Sonic does satisfy my new rule for household pets (they are only allowed if they don't poop), I don't think Sonic is good for my stress level -- he's become a symbol in my life for all the things I forget when they are out of sight. I have a hard enough time dealing with the two real humans I have to remember to feed every day and we all know if it weren't for Grandma, DCF would have been out here a long time ago responding to a tip that the kids only ate Lucky Charms and never brushed their teeth.