Year of Rat!!!

A few months ago, Bryan told me, he thought he saw a mouse ran across the kitchen floor and went under the stove. I immediately dismissed him by saying that he must be hallucinating. Then, there is still another time where he said he swear he saw something, if it is not a mouse, then it has to be a super huge black creature which somehow swept across the kitchen floor. I did not believe him, for the first 2 to 3 times....Until one day I came face to face to greet him with a loud scream..... I finally see it with my own eyes, I am not dreaming.

I used to think that women are too crazy screaming over a passing mouse (过街老鼠, 人人喊打!) Yet I had lost control just like that and all ability to do something sane except for screaming insanely... Bryan and I started to use newspaper and rug to block the gap under the stove and try to prevent the mouse from coming out. Although the mouse never did attempt to venture into the living room area, where we sleep, (We do not have a bedframe and we sleep on the mattress on the floor) we still just set our mind at peace living with it.

I really cannot believe this can happen in my apartment. We have stayed in this apartment for the 4th year and we has gone through 4 winters and this is the first time we had a mouse problem. (Well, either that or maybe they are just so smart to hide from us for years....) I cannot believe it even more, when we report the problem to the management, their reply was so nonchalant. It was a lady who took my call, didn't at all even try to act surprise or sympathetic to my plight. She said, "Oh, it is okie, my dear! It "happens"!!!! You know why? Becos the weather has turn cold and these "animals" needs to find a place to get warmer!!!

Becos of this mouse problem we decided to contact the management to also try to fix our water pipes, it has been clogged somewhere and somehow got blocked and waste water just can't seem to flow down the sink fast enough. Everytime I wash clothes or wash dishes I have to make sure the water flows down very slowly. Eversince last year November, when we first reported this problem, one maintenance guy came and he tried to fix the problem but eventually he said the water still can't flow quickly. He said it is late and he promise to come back again to fix. Of course he didn't come back. Maybe he has forgotten, but we also didn't pressed the management again. We are very funny tenants who really hate to call the maintenance unless really necessary.

So, this is also partly our fault that we left this problem hanging for so long. That lady who took my call just can't wait to end the conversation and she promised that she will send maintenance to check the waterpipes but they can't do anything with the mouse problem. I was so pissed. Had this crazy thought to move out of this apartment asap.

Soon, maintenance came. Thanks God it is not the same guy who came previously and left work half-done. This time I watch the maintenance guy at work. I never really watch previously but this time I was determined to take a good look myself where those mouse came from. The guy has to pull out my heavy gas stove from the very narrow gap between the kitchen sink and wall window. Behind the stove is the wall (where all the pipes are connected to), there I noticed a BIG hole through the wall from the kitchen floor! (abt the size of my wide-screen monitor) To my horror, the previous guy must have removed the panelling that close up this big hole. This maintenance guy was much more helpful and more capable. Though he also can't solve my waterpipe blockage, he told me he will send in the professional plumbers and at the same time he was going to help us report the mouse problem to the management. I was tempted to tell him that there is no use telling them since they don't really care...but decided to let him do it anyway.

Abt one week later, the plumber came and our waterpipe is duly fixed. But still, mouse problem hanging nowhere....

Whenever the temperature drop to a certain low, we can almost be certain that we are going to hear some movement from Mr mouse. Bryan is sitting very near to the kitchen. I grew hysterical after some time, and always step into the kitchen in fear. How I do it? First, take one elephant step into the kitchen, this is in the hope to scare the mouse away first before stepping any further. I'm glad the stove is at the far end of the kitchen. I was so afraid to meet the mouse face to face again. As a result, I tried to do quick meals, either that or no meals at all...trying to avoid stepping into the kitchen unnecessarily. At that time I think we eat maggie noodles or we eat out quite often.

After a while immunity grows. I am so used to the fact that we have to live with this mouse. I've even witnessed it came out a few times.... and I can no longer scream....initially no sound can come out from my mouth, later on I was just too tired or just dun bother to waste my effort to scream. And it is always only just one mouse at a time. Thanks God again. One, I can handle. There are 2 human begin living in this apartment. So it is two versus one. If there are more, I think I probably would have fainted.

I tried to reason why the mouse always comes out from under the stove and run across the kitchen floor (measure 1.5 metre wall to wall). I try to examine what I store in that area.... There are dried korean noodles and beehoons, black glutinous rice and package flours, but they are all sealed in plastic containers or tightly wrapped by plastic bags. I guess maybe this mouse is trying to bite thru the plastic bags to try to eat my cake flour. (Can't be the others unless it is capable of bitting solid plastic containers. I'm not too sure but I was only guessing, since there are some tiny holes underneath the plastic bag that wrapped the flour package. Yet those holes looks like they are already there for long becos Giant Eagles plastic bags are so thin and they just tear easily by the time u carry the groceries home.... well, anyway, since the inside flour package is still intact, no tears no holes so no leakage whatsoever, so I assumed the mouse did not get its intended food. But for safety reason, I decided to throw away the leftover flour anyway, and store all related product somewhere else.

Soon we noticed that the management slipped a notice under our door to inform us that they will be coming to lay mouse traps. MOUSE TRAPS!!!! Is this how they solve problem??? Seriously??? Yes, it's true we do not wish to see any mouse in my kitchen, but that is still better than seeing dead mouse being trapped to death! True enough, the exterminator who came to set the traps told me that this would not solve the problem. The lady who came with the exterminator advised me to call the management to send their people to come to close up the big hole behind the stove. I asked her (with question marks), can they do that for me???? She said "OF COS", don't you know that there is a big hole behind my stove??? I was like, thinking in my mind "YES! HOW DO YOU KNOW??"Then I told her abt my waterpipe blockage problem and how the first maintenance guy left it halfway done for 2 months and never came back as promised. She assured me that the big hole should be sealed off, the maintenance ppl left it open becos it is easier for them to access and repair pipes and then they are too lazy to close it back. Having said that, she left with the exterminator. When I thanked her and said goodbye, I hear them knocking on my next-door neighbour's.

The mouse kept coming anyway, the mouse traps didn't help at all. I think I'm glad I did not see any mouse getting caught in the trap. The last time the mouse appeared was just not long ago... I remembered I was grilling chicken that day, then when Bryan came home we ate in the living room, then when we finished our meal, I walked into the kitchen with 2 hands holding plates and pots, and then SAW that mouse rushed back to its hole under the stove oven again. This time, I did not even bother to scream, Bryan was behind me then and after I stopped halfway, I turned to him and said calmly "又来了, 死老鼠...!@#$%&^

Yet, whenever I calm myself down to pray, other than seeking God for the solution, I also asked for courage, not to be afraid. I thanked God it was a mouse, just one tiny mouse that measure a few inches wide with a long skinny tail. I thanked God that He sent a mouse and not a snake or some other animals that I do not wish to imagine what cld have climbed out from that big neglected hole.

I told one of my friend abt this before, it scared her a bit, maybe more than a bit.... She was concern and I told her the whole story, LONG story. After that, I was too lazy to mention to anyone else... I told myself better not scare another housewife that has to spend long hours in a kitchen. Yet, I cannot wait to share this experience, but, first I have to solve it first, before I share my pathetic story.

Finally, last friday the maintenance finally came to close up the panelling behind my stove. End of problem.

So, to conclude, I realise a few things:

1. 原来老鼠怕冷..
2. 原来老鼠也怕人... (Bryan said I screamed so loudly, 老鼠被吓跑了.)

Some ppl may want to hit me if I say this. I actually miss that mouse today..... (no joke!) Now that I can step into my kitchen peacefully, in perfect confidence. I can finally relax, I cld even be sipping coffee beside the stove and then watching the beautiful snowfall outside. It is beautiful, huge snowflakes falling from sky..... Bryan mentioned just now that today's windchill is -24 degree C, even the windows pane, from inside the house, there is a layer of ice covering it on the entire frame. It is really cold outside today. And I began to wonder... our little "house guest", does he has a place to go? Did he successfully take up residence somewhere else...Is he able to find food and seek shelter in this cold weather????

Oh NOOOOOO...I have lost my mind....gone mad. Totally.
This is why I must stay in Singapore, this is why I missed home!

I guess I wrote too much and very detailed. My husband can publish papers and I think I can write long-essays now. I can imagine all my friends, including my families, will soon be reading this long, disgustingly detailed mouse story. Then it came to me, it is now the Year of Rat!!!! What is a greater time to wish them....

HAPPY NEW YEAR;

鼠年行大运;

钞票"鼠"不完;

学业名列前茅, 成绩"鼠"一"鼠"二;

有情人终成眷"鼠"!!!!

er....What animal is next year huh???