Toads in a Hole

The most amazing thing happened tonight. It may not seem amazing to everyone; I'm not sure it would have seemed amazing to me before I moved to this island. But one of the pleasures of living in a tropical haven is enjoying all the natural surroundings: exotic plants, bright blue water, soft, pink coral sand, and, of course, the wildlife. 

Earlier this evening, the dogs and I saw our little toad who lives in the backyard with his mama. He was squatting right next to a baseball-sized hole in the yard (perhaps an old well or something?) and looked right at us before hopping directly into the hole. It seemed strange that an animal would instinctively do something so counterintuitive, but I guessed that he must know a way out that I couldn't see from above ground.

A few hours later, I was making a little fire out back and decided to look in the hole with my headlamp. In the bottom of the hole, maybe four feet down, was little toad. When he looked up at the light, however, I noticed another set of black eyes underneath him: his mama! She was stuck down there and he'd gone in after her!

I tried using sticks to help them out, but they seemed lethargic, resigned to their fate. I knew I could not let them die like that, but how do you get two big toads out of a little hole in the ground without hurting them?

Finally, I remembered that toads are amphibious (thank you, fourth grade science teacher), so I filled a bucket with water and returned to the hole. I was really scared as I poured the water on top of our little toad family - are they too dehydrated to swim? Is there enough room in the hole for mama to stretch her limbs? Would they drown before they had a chance to surface?

For a few seconds, I held my breath, waiting for a toad to pop out of the now-flooded hole, but nothing happened. An air bubble floated to the surface and I realized I had to do something fast; I grabbed the stick I'd been trying to fish them out with earlier and gently slid it down the murky well until I felt resistance. I jiggled it slightly, not really sure whether it was helping or hurting the situation, when suddenly two air bubbles floated to the surface, followed by little toad!

I was so happy when he jumped out of the water - I half expected him to gasp a big breath of air like a mammal would- but he just hopped away. Mama was still down below. I wasn't sure about her. She's an awfully fat toad, and I figured I'd have to somehow turn her sideways to get her swimming. Anyway, I had to try.

After jiggling the stick around for a few seconds, I actually felt her move a bit, and a couple air bubbles rose to the surface. I slid the stick down further and somehow managed to pull her up enough that she could extend her legs. Almost immediately, her big ole toad nose broke the surface of the water. Mama was free!

She hopped away into the night, toward the coconut tree stump where I'm sure little toad was waiting, and hoping.

No Green Option

I went to the court clerk's office today to obtain a copy of my driving history for my car insurance (no, I don't have the car yet, but anyway). 

The clerk quickly began typing away, inputting the information from my driver's license into the system so she could generate the report. Suddenly, she started giggling and turned to one of her colleagues, "There's no green option! What do I do?!" 

My CNMI driving record now reads as follows:

EYE COLOR: BROWN

*As a side note, I do actually have a speck of brown in one eye, so that kind of works...

Let It Go

Tears

I haven't posted anything in awhile because I still don't have wifi at my house. I've written a few short posts on my laptop, so they'll get posted on the blog eventually. Today, however, I am writing this on my phone so I can post it. Because something significant happened today: for the first time since I moved to the island, I cried.

I can't go in to all the background information, which, trust me, is more than reasonable grounds for a few tears, but the gist of it is this: I have been looking for a car since I arrived on the island in mid-November. I finally found one at dealership in Guam and negotiated a good price that included shipping the car to Saipan (about 150 miles). At the time that we settled the deal, the salesman told me that he could get the car to me on Dec. 24, which was about a week later. Obviously, that didn't happen. Then he gave me another date: December 31. Again, the car never left Guam. This happened four times. Each time, he assured me it would be here, and each time, I relied on that in arranging rides to work, holding off on grocery shopping and taking my laundry in, etc. After the fourth time, I was ready to cancel the whole deal (which sucked because it was a damn good deal). 

I sent an email basically saying that either they rent a car for me until my car arrives or cancel the sale. Fortunately, this got the attention of the owner of the dealership, who immediately called me to apologize and started working her butt off to get the car here. (Turns out, the salesman was new and never asked for help.) The owner was very professional and I immediately felt better after talking to her. She assured me that she would do everything in her (well-connected) power to make sure I get this car on the next shipment, Jan. 14.

Then today, Jan. 13, arrives, and I don't hear from her all day. I tried calling the dealership and her cell phone. I tried emailing and texting. Nothing. 

Finally, around 4:00 this afternoon, she called. I asked if the car would be here tomorrow. She wouldn't give me a straight answer. Or couldn't. I didn't know, but whatever her reason, I just couldn't take it anymore. She said she'd call back when she had the bill of lading. 

An hour or so later, and after I'd sent text messages telling her that I was basically losing faith in humanity because of this experience (btw, it SUCKS not having a car here, but that's another post altogether), she finally called back. Yes, the car would ship tomorrow. No, the car will not arrive tomorrow. (This was around the time I started crying). But it will arrive on Friday, the 15th. For sure, barring an act of God. And she had proof: the bill of lading. (This is when I stopped crying).

I realize this story is not particularly interesting, but it will make more sense when I provide more context. And I will, in a highly anticipated (by my single digit followers) post on the difficulties of moving to a tropical island. Yes, there are some. Consider this a preview.

And, in case you're wondering, I bought a 2011 sage green Suburu Forrester with AWD, zero problems, mechanical or otherwise, and 24,000 miles on it. It's not the Mercedes I sold before I moved here, but it's exactly what I need. Here is a photo:

More posts to come, whenever I get wifi (in and of itself a harrowing story).