My child Oberon
Saturday, August 29th, 2009The partner and I are super big animal lovers. We have both had various breeds of dogs, cats, birds and fish over the years spent with parents (not to mention the chooks, ferrets, rabbits, greyhounds and guinea pigs that my family kept at different stages) and we plan on starting a bit of a menagerie when we eventually settle and get a small patch of dirt.
Until then, we are in our awesome rental property and pets aren’t allowed. Honestly, even if they were we wouldn’t get anything just yet because we have far to much extended world travel to conquer and it just wouldn’t be fair to get a puppy or kitten until we are sure we will be around most of the time and not suddenly disappearing to woop woop for a year to backpack.
Don’t get me wrong – this does break my heart. EVERY_SINGLE_ANIMAL we see walking in my area is a cue for me to get a broken heart and whine about how goddam cute it is. A couple of days ago we saw a dog that looks like the luck dragon from ‘Neverending Story’ and was almost the same size. Fucking genius. It was actually a Newfoundland and I just wanted to steal it. It walked in such a floppy fashion I could have cried with joy.
For now though, we have made a commitment to an animal that involves a little less responsibility but still has a huge amount of joy to offer. We were offered a baby Budgerigar in January by a work colleague and I was really keen, however it took me a couple of weeks to convince the lovely partner that it was a great idea. He wasn’t so keen on birds – his father had kept (and still does) quite a lot of parakeets and various other breeds and he had a notion that they are noisy messy and really fecking annoying. I am glad I used my feminine wiles and convinced him because the resulting pet is awesome and hilarious and so much fun (if a lot naughty). He is white with a little grey which is quite odd for a budgie – in the wild they have developed into yellow and green shades for easy camouflage. They really are at the bottom of the food chain in all ways as they can be eaten by other birds, land animals and even humans (Budgerigar essentially means ‘good to eat’ in the Australian Aboriginal language).
Oberon, or Obi for short, is our child substitute, and man does he do a good job of it. I have had the past week off of work on annual leave and I found myself relaying all of the silly and naughty things he has done throughout the day to the partner when he arrives home from a hard day at the office. Playing family. How sweet.
Attacking and destroying flowers that were a gift from my Mum
Birds have really odd habits – the partner likes to point out that they are descendants of dinosaurs and hence they are quite difficult to pinpoint. They have many of the same mannerisms as humans but they are just unpredictable.
Bathing
We assumed that Obi is a boy and when his beak colour started to change it looked to be turning a bluey/purple shade (male). He (?) now seems to have a browny/purple beak (female). We are just going to continue calling Obi a he until he/she starts laying eggs. I guess you can’t argue with eggs.
Being stalked by a local cat
He has a real fascination (hard-on) for the weirdest objects. When he was still a baby he became quite obsessed with a small piece of cuttlefish. He would rub himself all over it and if we attempted to go near it he would protest with screams and bites. When the cuttlefish finally gave out the next object of his affection was a red clothes peg. This one received the same treatment as the cuttlefish with the added bonus of being dropped on the ground and rode (humped) vigorously. It was hilarious but also really embarrassing. I really didn’t want to witness my child’s sex life!
Annoying me whilst I was attempting to drink my coffee
I would highly recommend a Budgerigar to anyone thinking of perhaps getting a bird. They don’t take up much room, they are easy to transport if moving, even easier to get a babysitter for when going on short trips and most of all, just damned funny. Get involved I say!
I must say, penalties are a little difficult to pick – it is ok to ram other players into walls, but only in a ‘nice’ way. Go figure. It really was very exciting and I found myself getting involved via yelling, clapping, and typical sideliner sporting commentary (eg “Jesus christ ref, are you a blind idiot? Dickhead”). The players themselves are freaking skilled – simply skating is hard, but all the crazy stuff they do? Genius. I would strongly recommend a trip to see a game if you can, and I promise you will enjoy it.
