Yeah, I Wouldn't Believe Me Either...

so the night before last i staggered into my apartment at about 9:30 pm (catching up after a vacation is no fun, i tell you). i walk down my long hallway (the one that gives the illusion to new visitors that my apartment is massive) and into my living room. i notice what looks like little strips of yellow paper on the floor near the table. hmm? my semi-comatose brain thinks. what was i doing with yellow paper? well, i have been unpacking maybe that has something to do with it.

i walk into my bedroom to drop my bags and notice my tin of cashew nuts on the window sill (i could have sworn i left them on the table) and the window is open about 10cm (is that 4 inches?). on its side (did the wind blow it over), almost empty (did i eat them all) and open (how did that happen?) the window is not quite open enough for the tin to have rolled out. i pick it up and, yes, i smell the tin. too much damn crime television. what answers do i hope to get from smelling a tin of cashew nuts? but it is then i get the epiphany and the cold shiver down my spine. i step back from the window in fear, tin still in hand. i look down and see the shredded former lid of the cashew nut tin. i had a visitor. oh my goodness - a squirrel*! is it still in here? i run and jump onto the couch - feet off the floor. i stare at the tin that has tiny bite marks around its mouth. i have absolutely no idea what i will do if there is a squirrel trapped in my apartment, unsure how to get out, but i am pretty convinced it involves heart attacks and much screaming (from the both of us).

i wait for my heartbeat to slow a little and then i gingerly get off the couch and go into the spare bedroom. more plastic (now i know it's plastic, not paper) shards on the floor. that squirrel really did the tour of my apartment. i close the windows and barely sleep a wink - visions of a squirrel jumping on me in the dead of night keep waking me up.

*okay... how did i know it was a squirrel? well, in the past i had a squirrel that would come and scratch at the window while i was sitting at the computer. i told my roommate and she looked at me like i was crazy. apparently squirrels are not interested in getting into people's homes. unless it is a new york squirrel, full of attitude and a craving for cashew nuts.