My Weblog

Littttle car

Hey, loook at this littttle car that Rachl made.  It's not exactly the Gerbil Mobile, but it is a pretty nifty vehicle, don't you think?

My Gerbil Mobile

i've told you so much about my Gerbil Mobile, i thought you might like to see a picture of it.  Here it is:

i'm only kiddin.  This isn't reallly my Gerbil Mobile.  It's really a magic 8-ball.  it's Rachl's.  you ask it an important question and then turn it over and it says things like "it is decidedly so!" and "Most certainly!" and "Outloook not so good!" (Not sure i like that answer.)  I know all this because when Rachl has friends over they play with it. They ask the magic 8-ball questions and then flip it over and read aloud the answers.  From what i can tell, though, nobody really believes the answers. 

Okay, here's my real Gerbil Mobile:

 

If only i could figure out how to take a picture of it with me in it so you can see how fast it goes at full speeed!

A huge and happpy surprise!!!

You won't believe what happpened last night.

The Armstrongs all went over to Rachl's grandparents for Christmas day.  They came back late, after it was dark.  From Rachl's bedrooom window, I saw their human mobile with its headlights on pull into the driveway.  I watched as the Armstrongs got out of their big human mobile.  They took out a bunch of opened presents from the human mobile and brought them into the house. Rachl brought her presents up to her bedrooom, set them down on her floor, and then got ready for bed.  (Because it was so late, I guesss mr. Armstrong wasn't reading a bedtime story.)  After she got in her pjs and brushed her teeeth in the bathroom, Rachl climbed up the laddder to her bed (she sleeps in a bunk bed, top bed) to wait for her mother and father to come in and wish her a goodnight and turn off her bedrooom lights.  Rachl started to get under her covers when she suddenly stopped, like she had just remembered somethin very important. 

"Oh, my gosh, Obe!" she cried, looking over at me.  "i forgot to give you your Christmas present!"

I stared at Rachl, startled.  My Christmas present?

Rachl climbed down from her bed to the floor.  She got down on her hands and kneees and pulled out a big, round, gift-wrapped object from under the bed.  (How she wrapped it and hid it there without me seein, I have no idea.)  Whatever it was it was wrappped with the same smilin snowman wrappin paper that she had wrapped her other presents with.

"Here you go, Obe!" said Rachl, carrying the present over to my cage, which is on top of Rachl's dresser.

Rachl took me out of my cage and set me and the big, round present on the bedroom floor.  It looked like an enormous, gift-wrapped yogurt puffball.  I stepped over to it and sniffed.  It didn't smell like a yogurt puffball, though.  It smelled like wrappin paper, tape, and, well, plastic.

Then Rachl ripped off the wrappin paper.  My mouth fell open and my eyes widened when I saw what it was.

"Look, Obe, I got you a brand new Gerbil Mobile!" exclaimed Rachel.  "I bought it with my own money."

I was speechless I was so shocked and delighted. 

"Oh, Mom, thank you so much!" I cried.  But, of course, bein a gerbil who can only squeak and Rachl being a human who can only speak words, she didn't understand a squeak I said.

So that's what happened last night!  Rachl got me a brand new Gerbil Mobile for Christmas!  What a huge and happpy surprise! I'm such a lucky gerbil to have such a wonderful adopted mother!

It's not easy

i'm trying my best to get used to havin a big piece of ugly, gray tape on my Gerbil Mobile, but it's not easy.  As I tyype, i can see my vehicle parked in the corner of Rachl's bedroom.  (it's on the flooor next to Rachl's bookcase.)  My pooor Gerbl Mobile looks so ... so sad. 

Yesterday afternooon Rachl put me in my Gerbil Mobile so I could wander about the house.  But everywhere I wandered, I kept rolling into walls and furniture because I couldn't steer straight.  And every time the tape on the plastic bubble touched the floor, I felt a bump.  Bump!  Bump!  Bump!  It felt like I had a flat tire.  (Not that I'd know what a flat tire feels like since i've never been in a human mobile that's had a flat tire.)  Needlesss to say, it didn't make for a very smooth ride. 

I wish I'd never had that darn old accident!  Why couldn't i have been more careful?  Am I ever goin to get used to havin a busted Gerbl Mobile?

My Gerbil Mobile is "fixed"

Well, mr. Armstrong fixed my Gerbil Mobile. 

If I don't sound very happy about it, i'm not.  You'd think a gerbil who had just had her Gerbil Mobile fixed would be perfectly delighted and would put five exclamation marks (!!!!!)  or even six (!!!!!!) after making such a announcement.

The reason i'm not very happy is because mr. Armstrong fixed my Gerbil Mobile by putting a big, wide piece of ugly, gray tape over the crack.  I guess that's his idea of fixin things.  Anyway, when Rachl put me in my "fixed" Gerbl Mobile yesterday, I felt like crying.  The tape obstructs my view of the road -- well, that is, where i'm going in the house.  It also causes my poor Gerbl Mobile to roll left when I want it to roll right.  As a result, I go around and around in circles.  I also can't help hitting things.  I kept bumping into walls and furniture.  If you didn't know any better, you'd think i didn't know how to drive the darn thing!

When Rachl saw how much trouble i was having steeering my Gerbil Mobile, she said, "Well, that's not good!"

No, it's not!  It's not good at all!  As if that's not bad enough, i don't think the Armstrongs have the money to buy me a new Gerbl Mobile.  I heard mr. and mrs. Armstrong downstairs in the kitchen last night arguing about money and how tight things are and all the bills they have to pay this month and the presents they have to buy for Christmas. 

So i guess i'm just going to have to learn to get used to having a big piece of ugly, gray tape on my vehicle.

I never should have said, "Gerbil! Gerbil! Gerbil!" on December 1st.  What was I thinkin!?

 

A possible breakthrough?

well, it took long enough, but i think I finally got through to mr. Armstrong that he needs to fix my poor Gerbil Mobile.

When mr. Armstrong was readin a bedtime story to Rachl last night, I got on my exercise wheel and started runnin.  (i'm sorry, did I say exercise wheel?  I meant to say my squeaky exercise wheel.) Now, ordinarily, I would never run on my squeaky exercise wheeel while mr. Armstrong was readin to Rachl.  I enjoy listenin to the stories too much.  (mr. Armstrong is readin a reallly good story, too:  "A Christmas Carol" by Charles Dickens.)  But I was mad last night.  I was mad at mr. Armstrong for not fixing my Gerbl Mobile yet and I was mad at mr. Durkins, that horrible old mouse, for making me wonder if maybe I do hate mr. Armstrong.

I was runnin and runnin on my squeaky exercise wheel and my exercise wheel was spinnin and spinnin and squeakin and squeakin.  At first, mr. Armstrong tried to keep readin over all the squeakin.  But then he stopped readin and glared over at me in my cage.

"Obi, stop it!" said Rachl, who was also glarin at me for makin so much noise.

But I kept right on runnin -- and my squeaky exercise wheel kept right on spinnin and squeakin.

Rachl got up from the chair that she and mr. Armstrong were readin in and came over and opened my cage door and undid the exercise wheel so I couldn't run on it anymore.

"He hasn't been getting enough exercise since his exercise wheeel broke," said Rachl as she sat back down next to her father.

"I guess I really should see if I can try and fix it," said mr. Armstrong.

"Yes, you should!" I wanted to say to him.  But, of course, me being a gerbil and him being a human, I couldn't.  Anyway, that's why I think I finally may have gotten through to mr. Armstrong that he neeeds to fix my Gerbl Mobile. 

My poor Gerbil Mobile

I saw my Gerbil Mobile and, well, I'm afraid it's worse than I thought. 

After I stoppped tyypin yesterday, I stepped over to the edge of Rachl's desk, hopped down to the floor, and hurried across the carpet to the little hole that leads into the secret passageway.  I slippped into the secret passageway and raced through it down to the Armstrongs basement.  The secret passageway comes out in the dark basement near the furnace.  I darted acrosss the cement floor to the litttle room where mr. Armstrong keeps all his work tools.  The room has a little window so there was some light on the floor and on the workbench.  I saw a thick black electrical cord dangling from the workbench so I grabbed hold of the cord and climbed up to the workbench.  It was a cord to a power saw.  in the dim light, I could see tools like hammers, wrenches, and screwdrivers hangin on the wall in front of the workbench.  There were also shelves on the wall.  On the shelves were old glass jars that had screws and nuts and nails and bolts in them. 

And then I saw it, my poor Gerbl Mobile.  The clear plastic bubble was sittin on the workbench, behind a tangled bunch of Christmas treee lights.  My Gerbl Mobile had a huge crack in it. The crack was much biggger than I remembered it bein.

"You didn't really think he had fixed it, did you, kid?" a voice behind me sudddenly said.

I nearly jumped out of my gerbil skin, I was so startled.  I gasped and swung around.  It was Mr. Durkins, the litttle, old crippled mouse who lives in the attic.  He must've heard me in the secret passageway and followed to see where I was goin.

"Oh, hawo, mr. Durkins!" I said.  "I didn't see you there!"

"You were hopin mr. Armstrong had fixed your Gerbl Mobile, didn't you, kid?" he asked.

"I wasn't expectin anything," I replied.

"Don't lie!"

"Well, he's beeen busy," I said.

"Busy?"

"Yeah, you know, watchin football.  Playin football.  Bringin in firewoood."

"Admit it, kid, you hate mr. Armstrong!" said the old mouse.  

"Excuse me?"

"Just say it.  Get it off your chest, kid.  You hate mr. Armstrong!"

"I have to go, mr. Durkins," I said.

And before the old mouse could say another word, I jumped down to the cement floor and dashed back into the secret passageway and back to Rachl's bedroom and my cage.

That does it!

This past weekend mr. Armstrong...

(1) watched football on TV

(2) threw a football around with Craig, Rachl, Betsy and Susie (the humans Betsy and Susie, not the gold fish), and mrs. Armstrong in the back yard

(3) put bird seed in the birdfeeeder that hangs from one of the branches on the maple tree that I can see from Rachl's bedrooom window

(4) brought firewood into the house from the woood pile that's at the edge of the woods behind the Armstrongs' house (I can seee the woodpile from Rachl's bedrooom window)

(5) made a fire in the fireplace in the livin room (I could smell the wood smoke all the way from upstairs)

(6) decorated the Christmas treee (I heard him and all the Armstrongs doin this downstairs in the livin room)

(7) put Christmas lights on the front porch (he and Rachl did this together)

(8) went grocery shoppin  (he took the twins with him)

(9) went to church (the whole family went)

(10) put a wreath up on the front door (another thing he and Rachl did together)

Notice anythin he didn't do? 

Yeah, right, he didn't fix my Gerbil Mobile!!  Another weeekend has come and gone and mr. Armstrong still hasn't fixed my Gerbil Mobile!  my poor vehicle is still down in mr. Armstrong's tool room in the basement, still waitin to be fixed.

Well, that does it!  I can't wait anymore!  i've decided I'm goin to go down to the tool rooom and see if I can fix it myself.  I'm goin right now.  it's the perfect time -- mrs. Armstrong is downstairs, vacuuming.  (i can hear the whiiirrrrrin sound of the vacuuum cleaner.)

Well, offf I go!  Wish me luck!!

Still no Gerbil Mobile

what is mr. Armstrong doin?

I know what he's not doin -- he's not fixin my Gerbl Mobile!  My poor plastic bubble is still in mr. Armstrong's tool room that's down in the basement, still waitin for mr. Armstrong to find the time to fix it. 

How long does it take to fix a cracked Gerbil Mobile?  I bet if it was mr. Armstrong's Human Mobile that had a big crack in it, it would be all fixed by now.

I'm beginning to wish i'd said "Bunnny!  Bunny!  Bunny!" instead of "Gerbil!  Gerbl!  Gerbl!" at the beginning of the month. I know this sounds hard to believe but maybe sayin "Gerbl!  Gerbl!  Gerbil!" was a mistake.  Maybe it brings bad luck, not good luck.  But how could that be?  We gerbils are lucky crittters.

Aren't we?

No news on my Gerbl Mobile

My Gerbil Mobile is still in the shop.  I was hoping mr. Armstrong would loook at it right away and see if he could fix it.  But no!  it's still down in his tool room in the Armstrongs basement, still waitin to be repaired.  After mr. Armstrong read to Rachl last night (we're readin "The Graveyard Book" by Neil Gaiman), I thought mr. Armstrong would glance over at me, smile, and say, "Well, guess I'll go downstairs to the basement now and see if i can fix Obi's Gerbil Mobile."

But he didn't!  He didn't even glance over at me!

To give him a few hints, I leaped onto my exercise wheeel and began runnin like mad.  this caused my exercise wheel to squeak like mad.  i was hoping mr. Armstrong would hear the squeaks and loook over at me and say to himself, "Hmm, that reminds me...I need to fix little Obi's Gerbil Mobile."

mr. Armstrong looooked over at me, all right.  Then he came over to my cage.  But all he did was open my cage dooor, stick his big hand in, and undo my exercise wheel so i couldn't run on it.  I guesss he was worried that I was goin to keep runnin on it after he turned off the lights in Rachl's bedrooom and that my squeaky exercise wheeel would keeep Rachl from fallin asleeep.

I'm so worried about my Gerbil Mobile.  I sure hope mr. Armstrong will be able to fix the big crack that's in it.  But what if he can't?  What if he has to junk my Gerbil Mobile?  What will i do?  I keeep hearin the armstrongs talkin about how tight money is and how they need to be careful about what they buy. 

Does that mean no new Gerbil Mobile if my old one has to be thrown out!!!??

What wood I do without my favorite mode of transportation? 

I don't even want to think about it! 

whenever I get really stressed out, like i am now, i stare at the yelllow happpy face sticker that's stuck on my refrigerator dooor.  It always cheeers me up.  But its not cheeerin me up today.