Late last night, while in the midst of studying for finals and playing Grand Theft Auto IV, Mittens was whining in his cage with his little belly pressed against the bars. This means only one thing. “Let me out!”

So, after a while, I caved, and opened up his cage, giving him free reign of my bedroom. He ran around, jumping on my desk, scampering across my bed, hiding under my couch… his usual, adorable deal. I kept working on my final papers, until I heard furious, frantic squeaking coming from my bathroom.

I bolted over to my bathroom, only to spot Mittens in the toilet, sitting in the cold water, attempting in vain to climb out. I’d have been squeaking a lot too, if I had fallen inside of a giant toilet. Poor guy. I scooped him right up and called up my vet, who told me I’d have to blow dry him til he was completely dry. The problem with chinchillas, is that they can’t get wet. Not because they are gremlins or anything, but because of their super sensitive skin.

So Mittens was treated like quite the diva for the next hour or so, bundled in a towel, having his fur blow dried. No, the blow drier wasn’t actually that close to him while turned on (see picture above). That was just for the picture. I had to keep it several feet away from him.

Lesson learned, keep the bathroom door closed.

So my pals Standard of Living were in town this past week, on tour with Maverick Records artist Ben Jelen, who you might remember from his hit single in 2005, Come On. With the water coming out of the piano. Good song, weird video.

We hung out a lot in the backroom of the World Cafe Live, playing cards, and watching the guys hit on the various waitresses working at the club. It was great seeing old friends, who I hadn’t seen for the greater part of a year, which is about how long it’s been since I’ve last been in Buffalo, NY.

They played a fantastic live set. The acoustic at the World Cafe Live are really great. I took a handful of photos, but spend most of the time shooting some video on my camcorder. Thought it would be fun to put together a nice acoustic video for the guys. I’ll be working on that over the next week or so, since I really need something relaxing to do in the midst of finals and work. Seriously, I have way too much going on right now, and nothing relaxes me more than sweet piano rock.

Mittens was loved by everyone who stayed at the house, both fans of the band who came to party, and the rockstars themselves. He just loves attention and a good snuggling.

Give Standard of Living a listen on their Myspace. I’ll be heading up to Buffalo, NY for their album release show in June, no doubt about that one.

Standard of Living
www.myspace.com/standardofliving

With the semester winding down and some new projects in the works, I find myself sitting down at my laptop in my room, far busier than I’ve been since January. This of course, infuriates Mittens, who is in dire need of attention when I come home from work and/or school. He’ll put his little paws up and grab the cage, whining until I take him out. He sounds strangely like a puppy when he does that.

Lately, his new favorite habit is running up onto my desk while I’m working, leaping onto the monitor, and sitting there, sometimes for almost an hour, watching me type, work on photos, or edit video. It’s adorable as hell, but also extremely hard to photograph, what with the monitor and all.

And yes Sara, those are some of your Etsy stickers next to my laptop.

He’s always so curious. Whenever I let him out, regardless of the amount of open space he has to run around, he loves hopping up next to me. I could be playing Halo, reading in bed, or working on my laptop. Just sort of amazes me, seeing this kind of bond form with a little critter like a chinchilla. Maybe it’s because I got him when he was so little. Still, pretty crazy. Who knew!