ILoveCostco.com

Some of you may have heard of this story and not sure if you should believe it or not. Many people categorized this story as an urban legend. But I tell you… I vouch to you it really happened to me about 25 years ago.

I was still living with my parents. It was a lazy Sunny mid-day afternoon. I went to the bathroom, bent down, and raised the toilet cover. To my horror, there was a huge rat inside the toilet bowl. It was vigorously thrusting its body, trying to get out of the toilet. The sight of it, along with the sound of water splashing, was absolutely terrifying. In a split second, I was driven into extreme terror and stress. I can see why some people die from a shock. I slammed the toilet cover immediately and gave it a flush. With that, the evil rat was gone.

The entire nightmare lasted about 10 seconds. But I still carry a scar from that trauma.

In January 1994, I woke up in mid-air when the historic earthquake hit Southern California. That was a terrifying event. But millions of other people shared that terror with me. The entire world sympathized with us. Even President Bill Clinton visited, and my mother got to shake his hand. That earthquake was one of the top traumatic events of my entire life. But, I don’t really think about earthquakes anymore.

A rat in the toilet is an entirely different game. It was pure horror with nobody around to make the ordeal less stressful. I cannot explain why, but I never told this story to anyone, but I kept that feeling of terror to myself. If I tell this story, then I’ll have to “touch” that subject. And I would not touch it. Since then, I never use the toilet in complete darkness. Every time I open the toilet cover, I am mentally prepared for a rat or a snake. It’s not likely to see a rat again, but if I do, I will not jump, because I am absolutely ready for it – for the last 25 years.

Yesterday, I finally looked up online for “rat in the toilet” and found many web articles about how rats can swim up toilets. After that, I called my friend and told her about the experience and the fact that I am terrified every time I use the toilet. She cracked a joke about Mickey Mouse looking for friends because Disneyland is closed due to Coronavirus. We laughed. With that laughter, a small part of me was set free.

I always keep the toilet covers down.

The only thing that’s worse than finding a rat in the toilet would be finding two rats in the toilet. F me….

I brushed my teeth and put on my retainers. I am so sleepy.

I haven’t gone outside for 19 days now. Because I live alone, isolation really feels like isolation. I am not the type of person who talks to himself. So, my mind is running everywhere, but my mouth is shut all the time. I’ve been having crazy vivid dreams every night. My mind is not completely clear.

I worked all day in my living room. Later I ate turkey gumbo while watching The Conners.

It’s midnight. I was about to turn off the lights and go to bed, but I heard the birds singing outside in the dark. So I set by the window for a while.

I have a big tree in my front yard, and a family of birds lives up there. I’ve been enjoying their singing for several years now. I just love hearing them, especially in the morning and at night. This is my sound when I wake up in the morning. I will be sad if they move away. Sometimes I don’t hear them for a few days. But they always come back and sing.

I remember hearing them when I was in Georgia. It was the same voice, but they sang a different song. That fascinated me. Ah~ Georgia… I miss Georgia. Is there any place prettier than Georgia? The rain, the greens, Waffle House, Piggly Wiggly, and nice people…

I wish I have a nice watch with a moon-phase calendar. Moon-phase calendar on a watch is cool. How much is the cheapest moon phase-watch? I shall check it out tomorrow.

What do I eat for dinner tomorrow?

OMG, I completely forgot to file income tax. I think the deadline had been extended.

OK, I’m going to bed now. I will continue tomorrow.