I spent far too much time today trying to corral two cichlids to take them back to the store. I managed to get one of them…the female, the less-obnoxious one…I never caught the male.
Bastard.
So I took the female into the store, planning to throw myself on their mercy and ask for help. I’ll pay for help! But they were having none of it, there at the store. First of all, apparently today is the day when everyone in Portland goes to a fish store and buys bags and bags of fish (although earlier I could have SWORN that today was the day everyone went to my gym. There was a line for the showers. A line! For the showers!); second of all, the young dudes who work at the store were all, Yeah, catching fish is hard. It takes practice.
I was all, I KNOW. Can’t someone WHO HAS HAD ALL THIS PRACTICE come over and help? I WILL PAY!
Well, no, the only guy who makes house calls doesn’t work weekends. Here, try a bigger net.
Bigger net doesn’t work. I give up. I have one bastard male cichlid in the tank, two nets, much frustration.
(I swear, I would starve in the wild. I can’t even catch a small fish in a 20-gallon glass tank with two nets and all the time in the world.)
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Otherwise, it was a pretty good day. I fed the roses and sprinkled slug-death around; I had a nice long talk with my mom; I went for a lovely swim; I had a fun dinner with Shelly Rae and Joyce. The weather was nice-ish. I did some Valentine’s Day shopping (shh).
Just…stoopid fish! (I’ve got a message in for the house-call guy. So we’ll see.) Now the bastard is swimming at the front-top of the tank. I can almost see him thumbing his nose at me.
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I still have to write about guppies, and heirloom tomatoes. But not today. I think I’m all used up. Plus I have to go read more in Among Others. God what a good book.