Monday, December 19, 2005

Critters

The mass exodus of Iqaluit began last Friday when school ended for the year. School ended at noon. I know for a fact there were teachers on a flight out at 1 p.m. I have learned this lesson, and learned it well; teachers need their Christmas break. If they do not get it, they get cranky and grumpy.

I don''t begrudge the break, by the way. It's a hard job. I can't do it. If my time in Korea taught me nothing else is that I should not be in a classroom with children. Only bad things can happen.

The exodus began on Friday, continued throughout the weekend and will likely continue until this Friday. I met a guy at Cathy's Christmas party Thursday evening (a date of one of her co-workers) who got together with some of his friends and chartered a flight direct to St. John's from Iqaluit. I'm actually curious about how much that cost. You can save hours and not deal with Air Canada. Unless the expense is insane, It's tempting. Considering the number of Newfoundlanders leaving for home this week, I don't know why Air Labrador or Provincial Airlines don't run flights out of here for the next three weeks or so. At least one of those airlines used to run regular service between here and St. John's

Anyway, the point is with the school closed and a good chunk of Cathy's students gone for the holidays, someone has to take care of her class's critters. So behold Minnie the Gecko and Sparky the Mouse.




They're pretty harmless, as critters go. The mouse is just happy to scamper around the cage and the gecko, well, it either sits on a damp sponge or the heating pad. Still, I'm glad they're at the house of the holidays. If nothing else, it prevents Cathy from sneaking out while I'm at working and getting a kitten or something. She knows she can't get a dog (lease agreement), but if she "accidentally" found a kitten, well, what could she have done? Clearly it was meant to be.

Cathy is getting a little antsy for a pet. I truly understand. I wouldn't mind having one as well. But it is an extreme inconvenience, especially during the summer, trying to find someone to care for it. I already lost one cat to air travel. I really don't want to lose a second one. So we shall abide. For now.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yay leopard geckos!! We used to have two geckos like Minnie when we lived out east. They were great pets... watching them hunt their crickets was always entertaining. But once we got a dog the geckos were no longer the center of attention, and we thought it best to give them to a friend rather than try to drive across the country with them.

Make sure Minnie has something to hide underneath, like a piece of bark or cardboard; they like to have a bit of shelter around.

towniebastard said...

There is a piece of bark for Minnie to hide under if she so wishes. There's actually a colony of breeding geckos up here so at some point later next year Minnie will be joined with Mickey.

Yes, 10 year old logic. If you're going to name geckos, clearly the best option is to name them after famous mice.

Anonymous said...

Hay TB,
Air Labrador had a schedule run from St.John’s via Goose Bay to Iqaluit once a week not long ago. Guess it did not pay, except this time of year and summer egress/ingress. Air lines just can’t start and stop routs at will, have to go through the regulatory process, hence the charter option.