The last hamster standing.

There is no other way to say it, so I am just going to say it, the way I see it: Man, life is exhausting. Has it always been that busy? It seems as if it’s not one thing, it’s another, but mainly it’s me juggling school and work and volunteering and exercising, and the latest edition to my schedule: learning how to play the piano (remember, Play it again, Sam?)

And yes, after only two years of me starring at the piano, as if it were my enemy, I finally decided to learn how to play piano. Happy Birthday and Row Row Row your Boat, as well as a few other children’s songs are now in my repertoire, if you ever need entertainment, let me now. Why now, you may ask? Well, a few weeks ago I got terribly sick and had to lay on my sofa not doing anything for pretty much an entire week, I guess it was my body’s way of telling me to slow down. During this week I also decided that learning how to play the piano would be a perfectly normal activity to add to me trying to slow down things.

Playing the piano helps tremendously, when I’m physically too exhausted to run and emerging myself into work only makes me feel like I am at the bottom of the Mount Everest trying to reach the top before sunset. I never thought I’d say this, but playing the piano has a calming effect (more so for me, than for my neighbors, I’d imagine), mainly because I usually sit in my morning robe (actually my any-time-I-am-at-home-robe, to be perfectly honest),with me having crazy-hair Bach and playing vigorously Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. Yes, I got it all figured out, obviously!

But last week, as I played on my mistuned piano (I imagine my neighbors rolling their eyes every time I sit down to play), I noticed a whimpering sound from my hamster’s cage. My hamster’s name is Orca, but to make it easier and because apparently my husband is not good with hamster names, we just call him Hamie. He loves treats and running around in his ball and stuffing his pouches. Turns out though, Hamie does not enjoy my piano playing as much as you’d think he should (have you seen Hamster on a piano?). But lately Hamie doesn’t like anything I do. Unless, I take him out of the cage and sit with him and hold him and hand feed him and let the day pass by, while he snuggles up in my all-day robe. And quite honestly, how could I refuse him?

So, in case you were wondering what I was up to, after returning from my great Hong Kong and China adventures? I let the world be, and enjoy being home with my awesome husband and my lovely hamster, after all, what more do you need to be happy?