February 5, 2002
So I have mice living in my room, my house, my bathroom. They are a persistent, and terrifying problem. Not too long ago I was awakened by one scratching under my bed at approximately 5:11 am. So I thought, instead of being bitter, let me think of why it's good to have a house infested with mice.
1. Cleanliness. In an effort to prevent the mice from eating our food I have to be extra clean. All perishable products must be placed in plastic or metallic air tight containers.
2. Waking up early. Since I hate mice, When I hear them scratching under my bed, I get out of bed and start my day. Even if it happens to 5:11 or 5:15.
3. Attentiveness. I always look at the ground when I'm walking in the house because other family members have had the misfortune of being crawled over by mice or squashing one.
4. Cleanliness. I never eat in my room. Since I saw a mouse in a trash can eating a candy wrapper, that had no candy, I make sure to keep all foods, snacks, and plates outside of the room. Sometimes, I wake up in the middle of the night, because I can't remember if I threw away some food packaging.
5. Character building. I hate mice. I used to scream everytime I saw one, run to my room and beg my mom to come keep me company for awhile. It made my nine year old, fearless, cousins respect me less. After seeing 5 in one day, I have managed to stop screaming, however I still shudder when I see one. However, I am not at the point where I can kill one with my foot like my cousin did the other day.
6. Ownership. If we lived in an apartment, we would have broken our lease being kicked out. Since it's a house, we ain't going nowhere.