My ability to lack on updating this appears to be uncanny. I will break that streak today. First off, I have changed my major. Gasps of shock and horror plague the air. Fear not my terrified readers, this is a good thing and there are very good reasons for it. I am now a Visual Arts major with an emphasis in Graphic Design. A dramatic change from Chemistry yet, I can't say I was this excited to start classes last fall. Chemistry is a great and fascinating field and I do encourage people to pursue it, but part of college if finding the career that is the best fit for you. Chemistry simply wasn't my best fit. It's a lot like picking the right horse and I don't mean that in betting terms. Star, my obnoxious mustang, may have mood swings, not be near as well trained as she should be, and a variety of other things, but even when I'm mad at her and I don't feel like there is anything that could make me forgive her, I still have to admit that she is my match. People talk about their significant other like that, but when you know, you know and I never quite knew with Chemistry. I grew up with art and computers, so it's a natural fit, but I've also grown up surrounded by businesses, which is why I am also pursuing a business minor. It should be an excellent match for me. I will still be in the science building and I'll definitely see my science people every so often, I simply won't be a science major any more. See? I told you there was no reason to fret.

As for the rest of my life...not much. Ha! We all know that's a lie and I'm sure that felt like a slight insult to you intelligence. There is always more. Next up, we have a change in my class schedule. I picked up a mini term political science class and dropped analytical chemistry. Best decision ever. Why you ask? It goes back to my previous point about finding your match and I needed time in my life and the combination of 330 and organic was simply too much. It's better this way.  I have a test tomorrow and I feel confident....okay at least more so than I have previously. 

What else, oh yes, I recently read a book! Shocking I know, I haven't even had time to update this and I read a book? It was a short read, took me a few hours and highly entertaining. It's called "A Princess of Fae." Quite an interesting and hysterical read. I am not a critic, so I will simply give you a few of my thoughts on this book. The interaction between the characters and the people not in the story is genius. Do check it out! https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/241151

Is there more? Ah yes, I'm moving! Yep, again. Kelly and I found a new apartment complex that we quite like, so we are moving in next month. It will be awesome! I'll take pictures next time I'm over there. In the mean time, I'm driving back to Columbia right after my test tomorrow and driving back to Greenwood that night as we have another Open House on Saturday and I'll be working the Snoopy musical that night. It will be a good, yet busy weekend for me, but that is normal.

In the world of animals, the cats are learning the rules of the Christmas decorations quite quickly and we are all getting ready for Christmas. I have lost my little cleaner goby Haru and my clown goby to ick. I will be taking apart my 10 gallon tank fairly soon as I'm quite saddened by this and that will eliminate any further problems I could have with it. My puffer fish is doing smashingly with Cinnabon the cinnamon clownfish, even when Tigger jumped into the fish tank one afternoon. Needless to say, she hasn't done it again.

That's all I have to report today, or at least all that comes to mind.

Obviously, I need to update this again, but today's update is brought on by the terrible situation that happened at the Pittsburgh Zoo. For those who don't know, the mother had placed her 2 or 3 year old child on the railing, but he slipped and fell into the African Wild Dog exhibit after bouncing out of the net that is meant to keep things from falling into the exhibit. 

As hard as it must be for the mother and I do feel bad for anyone having to bury a child, signs are there for a reason. The lawyers are the ones who are going to chase this and with the currently emotionally unstable mother, they'll easily be able to convince her to sue the zoo. More than likely, they'll be forced to put the dogs down. That not only puts a dent in the few thousand species of these wild dogs in existence, but is bound to harm the breeding efforts the zoo has been working on. Someone had mentioned using darts instead of a gun on the dogs in the comments section of the article I read; however, it takes a bit for those effects to set in. I wish our world didn't work in the way it does where people kill animals for listening to their natural instinct. This is a familiar situation for me.

While in West Virginia, one of my neighbors found an injured pit bull. The dog and I got along just fine. He came out pretty easily to let us assess the wounds and they were extremely infected. There was little we could do at that point though. I told my parents, who called the pound. Turns out the dog had been in dog fights and had attacked both a young boy and a police officer. In the few days, I was able to interact with the dog it was quite apparent that he wasn't a mean dog, he was quite honestly more scared. Every time someone made loud noises, or entered any state of emotional distress, the dog followed. He would start growling, his eyes would get dark, and he wanted to be left alone. In the few days, he had grown quite accustomed to myself and my neighbor (who's trailer he was hiding under) and all the cheese we fed him. I feel that if given time and kept in the correct environment, even after everything he had been trained to do, he could have pulled through to be a good dog. I do acknowledge the risk that any dog trained in dog fighting poses, but too this day it is still very difficult to see this dog as the violent animal the police claimed him to be. As you can imagine, they put him down without asking any questions. 

These wild dogs at the zoo don't deserve the future they are bound to have now. This incident wasn't even caused by them being trained to fight, it was simply a natural instinct for them to hunt. As they are wild animals, it's difficult to train them to eat meat the way we're used to serving it. That's why it's not unusual for owners of exotics to have to tempt their critters into eating by making the food seem more alive. My puffer fish is even an example of this, he simply won't eat unless it's moving. That's easier to re-create with the currents I have on my tank, but it can still prove a bit difficult at times. Look at snakes, some won't touch food unless you make it move to lure them to attack it. A child that fell from such heights, likely injured at the time, and I would expect a bit of blood, simply looks like and smells like dinner. Put a hunting carnivore on the scent of injured meat and very little will stop them. These are facts of life. 

Well, that is my take on this situation. I'm not trying to sway anyone's opinion, simply stating my own.