The Good Morning Rats

December 6, 2015 by David T. Allen

Historically, I had the tendency to fall asleep after Leslie, and wake up before her. Sometimes, I wanted to start our day early—and for college Leslie, early was any time before noon. So, instead of nagging her awake, I would pick up our pet rats, put them in bed with her, and sing a song while our rodent friends worked their way under the covers, clinging to Leslie’s body for warmth:

Here comes the welcome rats,

the welcome rats,

the good morning rats.

Here comes the welcome rats

to-day~

(like a big bass drum:)

bum, bum, buh-bum bum bum bum

×∞ until Leslie is awake

This usually brought a smile to her face, though looking back, it was a bit gross since some of our darlings had a tendency to pee while they walked. All the more reason to rise, I suppose.

Japan Day 7: “Don’t Stare at the Monkeys in the Eye”
It was hard to believe we had another week in Kyoto, but there was still a lot to do. In this article, I cover a monthly handcraft market held on temple grounds, shrines nestled in the bamboo grove of Arashiyama, boats and rickshaws along the Hozu-gawa River, and a mountain park crawling with monkeys.

Academy Pittsburgh Review
A little over four months ago I started developer boot camp at Academy Pittsburgh. Dave took my first day of school photo and I hopped in the car and drove to Allentown an hour earlier than necessary, a list of worries as long as my arm swirling in my head. What if the cost—free—belied that there was something wrong with the program? What if I didn’t like my classmates, or worse, what if they didn’t like me? What if my tangential history with programming wasn’t enough, and the course sped along, leaving me in the dust? What if the course ended up being a three-month waste of time, and I left without the ability to get a job?