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goodbye, my little dæmon...
 It's been two-and-a-half months that I've had Nik in my life--a wonderful gift from Trev--and I've realized now how much I've been missing, by not having a pet. Sure, there were Skie and Keo in Maui, but having a day-to-day animal friend, particularly one who was with me all the time in my office, was a revelation. Soon enough, I began seeing Nik as my own personal dæmon, like the way it is for characters in Pullman's trilogy. For the uninitiated, a dæmon in Lyra's world is the physical manifestation of what in other worlds would be one's soul. Separation from one's own dæmon is tantamount to death. A simple and elegant storytelling concept, which Pullman pulled off quite well. But you hafta read the books to see how he does it. ;-)
Anyway, I had wanted to bring Nik with me to Maui, but found out a couple of things that would make that difficult, if not impossible: (1) Skie, my dad's pet, is a noble, even imperious Siamese cat (2) all animals brought in to the Islands are impounded and quarantined, for at least two months -- dogs and cats, that is. I'm afraid rodents are merely... dispensed with. So, I had to cast around for a "ratsitter." Various kids were considered as likely suspects... Abe (fierce dachshund might consider Nik a treat), Daniel (mom felt that she would end up doing the rat-cleaning chores), Evi (mom didn't allow, too) and so on. Eventually, my friend and colleague Yoshiko-san said she'd be delighted to take care of Nik. Y-san is also a rat person like me (Chinese astrological system).
[to be continued later this afternoon... spate of visitors to my office: Kass, Spark, Cole, Quad...]
5:11 p.m. So anyway, separation from my dæmon is causing me some sadness. Grief even. The usual lifespan of a rodent is 2, maybe 3 years max. Six rat months is comparable to about 12 years, in human time. You can't see Nik all that well in the above iconized picture, but if you click on it you'll see the larger version. She has gotten quite attached to me, and I to her. If I put her down on the ground, she runs right back up my leg and stuff; doesn't run away like Bean, Trev's original rat, used to. *chuckle* I know she'll be well cared for, though, by Yoshiko and Dwight. I'll just miss her a lot.
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Like I'll miss all of you. For those less literarily inclined, who will doubtless scoff at this dæmon 'nonsense,' well here's a less fantastic explanation: in a very real way, Nik symbolizes my inner child. And that inner child is manifested outwardly in my relationships with many of you. To repeat a personal cliche: you are my fountain of youth. My relationships with young people are, quite simply, how I keep my outlook on life youthful, fresh and full of wonder. Adultly cynicism is not my cup of tea... never has been, never will be.
Sure, I'll be able to cope with not having Nik by my side... or perched on my shoulder... or scampering skittishly over my computer desktop, willy-nilly launching programs by typing inadvertently with her little forepaws (or even her splayish back feet) on random F-keys. Still, it's sad that the little package of life that brightened my office hours will no longer be there with me, wherever I am, in Maui... but since it's not really a Pullman world with golden compasses, subtle knives, amber spyglasses and companionable dæmons, I'll just look for her within myself.
In the same way that I'll be looking for you...
Reposting the list of responses so far to Bigi's excellent question:
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Oct
Dec
{ net.casting }
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