PJ's Journal

1:55am: Well, life is good in the Sykora cagehold. While we were out taking some exercise last week, Kazmir, our little troublemaker, got his paws on a new toy.

He took the medal that his grandpa, Petr Sykora, won off the table and began carrying it around in his mouth, scamper scamper scamper.

The thing is, the medal was a little bigger around than little Kazmir's head is off the floor. So as he bounded across the room it would hit on the floor, scamper klunk scamper klunk scamper clunk.

And then he got the ribbon the medal was attached to caught up on my daddy Petr Sykora's keys, scamper jingle klunk scamper jingle klunk scamper jingle klunk.

And THEN, big stupid dumb dumb stupid dog Meysvek comes in and sees Kazmir with medal and keys going across floor, and he being big dumb dog must get in on the act, scamper jingle klunk woof scamper jingle klunk woof scamper jingle klunk woof.

And they went on scamper jingle klunk woof scamper jingle klunk woof CRASH clatter bang thud smash splash and they had gotten into the kitchen and knocked over the dog water bowl and hit the table and overturned dishes and soup pot and radio and got tangled in electrical cord and sometimes I am not sure what my daddy Petr Sykora thinks of our household. Jacquelina was very concerned and worried and spent most of the rest of the week chittering over Kazmir, and Nadezda was so troubled by all the noise that she stayed under the couch for two days, and Kazmir kept hold of the medal all the time. Even now that I look over at him he is sleeping holding it between his front paws and resting his head on it. My crazy, crazy little boy.

9:28pm: Hello again every one!
I am afraid that it has been a very, very long time since I have written in this journal. I do not have a good excuse except that fatherhood is keeping me very busy. Me, PJ! Yes! I am a daddy! And my daddy Petr Sykora is a grandpa!

Jacquelina and me, PJ are now the parents of two beautiful little chinchillas.

Our daughter is Nadezda. She is eight months old, and she is a beautiful girl. Nadezda is a little bit shy, but she loves to run in her wheel and she loves yogurt-covered raisins. She does not like to eat them in front of people, though. When my daddy Petr Sykora gives her a raisin, she takes it into the corner of her cubby and hides her head in there and eats it. She is very charming.

And then Kazmir is our youngest, a great big boy! His name is meaning the destroyer and this is a good name for him. He is only five weeks old but already we can see that he is going to be a handful. His favorite game is to tease big dumb dog Meysvek. When he first tried this, Meysvek ran up to the cage and was barking and growling and pawing to try to get at baby Kazmir. And Kazmir's grandpa Petr Sykora came running up to protect little Kazmir, and he tripped on a table and fell down and hurt his foot very much. And then big dumb dog Meysvek jumped on him. Stupid mutt.

Kasmir is also something of a daredevil. When he was first able to jump the first thing that he did was to climb to the ledge at the top of the cage and then jump down to the bottom. He now likes this game very much. And with all of his tricks and stunts, poor Jacquelina will turn from sapphire to white. It is hard for her, my poor beautiful wife.

It was also hard for both of us at the beginning because Kasmir had a twin sister. We named her Zelenka but she was very small and weak and could not eat on her own. She only lived for two days. It was a very hard time for all of us, but little Kazmir was very good at distracting us from being sad all of the time. Because baby chinchillas need to be cared for, too.

So this is my family! Me, PJ! We are in Russia now where we get to see Patchelly sometimes, but I think that I miss California and the United States. There was better television there to watch, too.

2:44pm: Home!
I am home! Me, PJ! Back in my cage! Me, PJ! In my daddy Petr Sykora's house! Me, PJ! With big stupid dogs in next room! Stupid big dumb drooling dogs.

But I am not alone, no. Not me, PJ!

I am in love! I am a loved chinchilla! I am such a very happy PJ!














and thank you, Patchelly!

10:18pm: This is very important.
I have been working at my job very hard and very well. I am a good cash register chinchilla. I have saved quite a bit of money.

Today I was ringing up a customer with coffee and a hard roll with butter and I looked at him and he was someone familiar. So we stopped to talk for a while. Now the last pieces are put together. I can do what I have to do before I can go home.

Daddy, I will see you soon. Maybe even in a week. Miluju te, Daddy. I love you very much. And I miss you very much.

1:40pm: Do not worry about me! I am safe! I am okay!
Ohhhh! It has been so long since I have updated and it has been so very very long and I am afraid that my daddy Petr Sykora who I love will be very worried about me but it is not my fault! I have not been able to get to a computer for a long time. But I am safe and I have been safe and I have been having such adventures! But now I have a job and I am just tired all the time.

So where was I? I was with the enthusiastic guy. He was very enthusastic. But I have not seen him in a while. I left with some people who were at the rally and were going on the way that I wanted to go, and they were in a band. They had a lot of hair and they let me chew on a drumstick. And then they let me play a drum of my very own, or jump on it anyway. And so I got to be in the band. And we went to a big city Chicago and we went into a club. It was noisy and crowded and I felt like I was dressed completely wrong. And so the guy with the guitar with four strings went to a girl who was by the stage. She had these black leather things on her wrists that had shiny things on them. And he asked her if he could have one, and she looked at him and she said it was okay, and so he took it and he put it on me. And then I got to see my reflection in his guitar and I looked very very tough. I was a rock star! And I got to sing a little bit, but I am not a very good singer. And I played on my drum. And I ran up the walls at the side of the stage and danced. I was a big hit! Everyone was cheering and yelling for me. Me, PJ! And then the man who was singing put me on his shoulder so that I could share a microphone with him, and he said that we were going to do a special song. I was nervous, because this was not something that we had talked about when we were on the bus going to Chicago, but he started singing the song, and it was a song about a chinchilla! Afterward I asked him to write down the words for me and he did and now I will write them here for you.

Satan sucks.
But you're the best!
Holy smokes, you pass the test.
When I'm with you I feel blest.
My chinchilla.

Satan sucks.
But you're okay!
Since you came, things go my way.
Here tomorrow, here today.
My chinchilla.

One day I woke up and everything was beautiful.
My troubles had all fallen out the window.

Satan sucks.
But you're divine!
Sitting pretty by my side.
My oh my, my chinchilla.

I wish that I had a recording. We rocked very hard. He sang and I chittered and everybody played and it was very, very good. Afterwards I thought about dying my fur green and purple, but then they said that they were going north, and that was not where I wanted to go. And so I left with the girl from the audience who gave me her wrist thing.

And she took me with her to her college, and she took me to a meeting about how it is very important not to be mean to small furry cute animals. And since I am small, and I am furry, and I am cute, I agreed with her. And the people at the meeting were all very enthusiastic. I stayed with some of them for a while, and they gave me pellets and raisins and let me run around and chew on anything I wanted to. One day one of the girls had a boyfriend who came over and saw my duck shirt and he said "Oh! Do you like the Ducks?" and I said that yes, I like the duck team, and then he took me to see people play hockey with duck shirts on, and none of them were my daddy, and they were not as good as my daddy is, but it made me think of home. I came back to the university and I missed my daddy so much! I sat in a shoe in the dark and I cried because I was lonely for my daddy, Petr Sykora, who I love and who loves me and who named me after him.

And then one day on the weekend they all got into cars and they were driving toward where I wanted to go to and so when they wanted to take me along I let them. They put a black shirt on me that had the letters C.L.F written on it. And I asked what that was for and they told me that it was for the Chinchilla Liberation Front. And then they told me that we were going to a laboratory in Ohio where they take chinchillas apart to find out how that they work! And that was upsetting, because they could just ask us, you know! I would tell them anything! Me, PJ! And so I wore my black shirt and my black tool belt and I had goggles and a rope and they taught me how to open locks. And they told me that they were going to distract the people in the laboratory and that my job was to get in and set all of the chinchillas free!

And so they started making a big commotion, and I slipped in, because I am very sneaky and very fast and very clever. Me, PJ! So I went in to the room where they kept the chinchillas. They were in cages, and I had to climb up the sides to open the doors. And I opened them up and I let all the chinchillas go. And then we had to all be very sneaky and clever and hide and slip out of the building. It was very tricky. Other chinchillas just wanted to run around. But I had to make sure that they went out to the cars. I told them that there would be lots and lots of raisins and other treats for them.

But then the girls who were distracting the other people came back to the cars, and they did not give the other chinchillas treats, they just let them run free. And I was very confused. I am a chinchilla who runs free, but I have supplies to protect me and I carry food and anyway it is not easy to be a chinchilla alone. And there it was a big research university and there were people and cars everywhere and it was just not a safe place for a lot of chinchillas who had never been free and outside before! I was very upset and I was very angry at them. And so I left and I went on on my own. I got on a bus and it took me to another city that I have heard of before, and then I got on a train and it took me to another city that I have heard of before, and then I rode a smaller train, and then I got off the trains and I went to a little store with a green and white sign and I got a job.

And this is what I am doing now. I mostly make coffee. Sometimes I work at a cash register. Me, PJ! It is like the job that I had before when I ran away, really. And it is good because I need to save up money. It is not a bad job. Mostly people do not pay very much attention to me. But then late at night a few days ago a guy came in. He was tallish and thinnish and he had a hat and he was wearing sunglasses even though it was dark out and he looked sad under the sunglasses and he was talking to me. I thought he was a little strange at first but he was fun to talk to and he made me laugh and I think that he liked to talk to me, maybe. And so I have a friend here, now. He let me come to his house and use his computer. And that is how I am writing this update after a very long time without updating.

I am sorry if you are worried about me, Daddy. Miluju te.

12:39am: Guess where I am NOW?
I was in Boulder they told me, and I stayed there for a while. I got to watch my daddy's duck shirt people play Paulkareer's new shirt people when I explained to the nice people that I was staying with that it was my daddy. It did not come in very well, and I did not get to see very much of my daddy Petr Sykora, but that was okay. I stayed there for a while and ate raisins and special hay and then I decided that it was time to go on. I have a new bag, because I could not fit food things and extra hay and duck face shirt and new tie-die shirt and my daddy's Mastercard. So now I have new pretty woven bag.

And I left to go on because there were people who were leaving to go in the same direction that I was going. Apparently there is a big important politics thing happening and they want to be there to help support a guy. They say he is a doctor and that he is very smart and very good and he will save everything. I do not know if I understand all of this and I did not know what to say, but they decided that they would take me with them, and so we drove away from the place with the nice boys and their van. It was very hilly, and then it was very flat, and there was nothing at all to see out the windows. But they fed me more hay and they did not get upset when I would eat the hay and then look for more to eat and chew on their clothes and their necklaces and their car. There was not the stopping to take long walks this time. They did a lot of talking about things and it was interesting because they cared very very much. I did not understand a lot of what they were talking about, though.

Then we got to a place where there were flags and banners and lots of people and they told me that I should ride on the shoulder of one of the girls and that we were going to be a rally. And I said Okay and I got on but I made sure that I could hide under her hair if it got too crowded and scary. And I was there and it was very exciting! There were a lot of people and they were very enthusiastic about the guy and then a man came up and started talking and I guess that this was the guy who they were very enthusiastic about because everyone cheered and cheered and then they listened to him and then they cheered again. I listened too and I do not know if I understand everything he was saying, but he was saying some things about how there are people who are doing bad things and how he can make the bad things be better, and I think that that is a good idea. And we walked around and we handed out papers to people and sometimes people would see me and want to touch me, but that makes me nervous. I tried to help, then, by going into the girl's backpack and getting more papers out for her when she ran out.

And we did things like this for a few days, and it has been getting more and more exciting. Then at night I go and I run around in a bathtub with the lights out so that I can calm down, and then I floop down and I sleep. I do not think that all of this excitement is good for a little chinchilla, no, but it is so exciting anyway! I do not understand it but I do not think that I would like to miss it.

They are saying that tomorrow is a very important day and the people I am with are expecting that the guy who we are following around will show very well. I hope that this is not a bad thing, because I would not like to be involved with anything naughty. I am a good chinchilla!

So I am going to sleep now and wait to see what happens tomorrow. And then maybe I will find some other people to go on with. I miss my daddy, and I love my daddy, but I am also having an exciting chinchilla trip.

8:09pm: Guess where I am now??
After I left the bunny place I went back to the city and I went into a place with laundry machines to see if I could find someone who would wash my duck shirt. And I met two nice boys who were doing laundry and they let me put my duck shirt in. And they smelled interesting and they had raisins and they had a map and while I watched them talk they were planning on going in the direction that I want to go in. And so they let me ride with them.

They had a fun car! It was a van and it had things painted on it and stickers and there were bead strings that I could chew on and they made me a little poncho and a little rainbow shirt that they said was something called tie-dye and when I was looking for hay to eat they said that I could have some special hay that they had which they said was something called hemp. I thought that it tasted pretty good, but not like the timothy hay that I have at home. And then I ate more raisins and also someone's shoe. And then I think that they were burning something because the van got very smoky, but then they opened some windows after a while and I felt better and went to sleep.

And I looked out the van window when I woke up and there were mountains and they were huge and rocky. It was very big and very imposing and very pretty, and I looked and stared and stared and stared and I felt like I was a very, very, very small chinchilla. And they would stop driving the van and get out and take long walks, and sometimes I would ride in a backpack and look at everything, and sometimes I would be scared because everything was so big and cold and strange, and I would stay in the van and eat hay and sleep. And then once when they came back from walking for a long time one of the boys said to me "It's all cool, little dude, you're part of it all. The mountains and the air and the snow and the trees and you, little dude." And he went on for a while and it did not make very much sense but it made me feel better. And then after that I was not scared anymore.

They called me "little dude." I do not know why.

And we drove through other places. Once one of the boys said to me "Hey, little dude, do you want to drive?" and I thought about it but then I decided that that would not be a good idea, so I went back to chewing on bead strings. We went to a place called "Flaming Gorge", but it was not on fire. And we went to a place called "Dinosaur", but there were no dinosaurs. (I think that dinosaurs would have made me scared again.) And then we went to a place called "Rocky Mountain" and I thought that I had heard of that before. And now we are in a town in the mountains. And when we got there, we went to a house last night, and they turned on TV and there was news and they had a sports reporter. And I saw a person, and it was Paulkareer! I was excited to see a familiar face. But I think that Paulkareer looks better in duck shirt than in the shirt that he wears now.

So now I am here, and I think that I will stay here for a few days, and then find someone to take me to another place. Good bye, everyone! Miluju te, daddy.

1:02am: Oh, and I must make sure that my daddy Petr Sykora knows that the ladies at the bunny ranch place think that the duck shirt for the chinchilla is adorable.

Miluju te, daddy. Really.

12:58am: guess where I am!
I am posting mostly so that my daddy, who I do love and miss, will know that I am okay and that I am safe. Me, PJ! I am in an office. It is okay. They like me.

You remember that I ran away from the house. And I ran and I ran and it was wet and it was not fun to be a wet chinchilla. But I went into a building that was open to everybody. And they had buses there, like the kind that sometimes I would see my daddy get on with his hockey friends, but these had a big dog on the side. And I was thinking that maybe I did not want to be in a dog bus, but it was wet everywhere else and the dog bus was dry on the inside, and so I jumped on a big bag and I rode in the bottom of the bus with the stuff. Oh, for a long time! But it was very nice and dry in there. And not too bumpy. I could run on top of things and I could sleep and I could chew on the big bags and I could be a dry chinchilla.

And I was in the bus for a long time. A very long time. And then it stopped and they took all the bags out and so I got out too. And I was in a city!

It is a very interesting city. There are lots and lots of lights everywhere in lots and lots of colors, and some very interesting people. I was walking around listening to people and looking for things that were food. Most of the pretty shiny sparkly things were not food, though. And I was getting to be a hungry chinchilla, Me, PJ!

And then I heard some men and they were talking. They were talking about going out to the city to a ranch, a ranch for rabbits! Now, I am not a rabbit, I am a chinchilla. Me, PJ! But rabbits are kind of like chinchillas, and I can eat rabbit food in an emergency. So I followed the men into a van that drove for a while and went to the ranch with the rabbits. And I went inside and I was relieved because I thought that there would be food and water for me, PJ!

But I could not tell where they were keeping the rabbits at this ranch. I only saw a lot of women. They did not look like the kinds of women that I am used to, either. My daddy Petr Sykora does not have women like that around! Actually he does not generally have any kind of women around, but this is besides the point. But the women who were there saw me and they were nice to me. They gave me some crackers and they gave me some water and they gave me a bath. But they did not have any chinchilla dust bath dust at the ranch. But one of the nice ladies gave me a big bowl with a lot of her makeup loose powder stuff in it and I rolled in that until I felt very nice and clean again. And then I went back and I rolled in it some more. Me, PJ! It smells very nice. And now I am a chinchilla who smells like flowers!

So I have been very happy at this bunny ranch place, but I think that it is time to move on to another place. I have met a few different guys here and there are some who I think will give me a ride to someplace else. And maybe when I am there I will post more again and tell you about what happens next!

But I do not understand still why they call it a bunny ranch when they have no rabbits there. Hmmmm.

4:40pm: Not a happy PJ!
It is not good and it is not right and it is not fair. No one asks what the chinchilla thinks! No one cares about the chinchilla's feelings!

I have been very grumpy lately. And I have been sulking. And I have been plotting.

Mr Petr Sykora, who I am named after, has let new giant ugly smelly clumsy dumb dog into house. Mr. Petr Sykora is happy. Mr. I'm-A-Big-Dumb-Home-Wrecking-Drooling-Dog Meysvek is happy. New dumb dog is happy.

But is the chinchilla happy?

Of course the chinchilla is not happy!

But does anyone care about me, PJ?

Of course not!

No one asks what the chinchilla thinks about another big dumb dog to come in and drool in his hay and stare at him and bark at him while he takes a dust bath and chase him around the house. No one asks what the chinchilla thinks about another big dumb dog who will chew on parts of his secret project and growl at nothing when he is thinking about beautiful chinchilla in Brno. No one asks whether the chinchilla minds having two big dumb dogs who sit in front of television during hockey games and never let me see when Mr. Petr Sykora scores. NO ONE CARES WHAT I THINK! ME, PJ! NO ONE CARES ABOUT PJ'S FEELINGS!

I have had it. I am fed up. I am unappreciated.

So I, PJ, am going to run away. I have little chinchilla-sized backpack that is full of pellets and raisins. And I have daddy's Mastercard. Just for emergencies. And I have duck shirt to keep me warm and I am good at running and I am good at hiding. They will not find me. I am clever. Me, PJ! And I have been away from home before and I know what to do.

So now I will say goodbye to all of you for a while. I will post more again later, maybe from internet cafe or if I find a friend who is kind to chinchillas.

I just want to see my beautiful Jacquelina. That is all I want. And to not be surrounded by big dumb drooling stupid dogs.

6:53pm: AAAAAAAAAAAAIE!
My daddy Petr Sykora is far away he is in New York and a terrible terrible thing has happened! And I do not know what to do! And I am a scared scared scared chinchilla!

It is our big stupid dog. It is always our big stupid dog. I am working, I am trying to be finishing part of my big secret project or maybe thinking about beautiful chinchilla, and I hear crash and thud and boom and bark and clank and woof and I am very, very frightened and I jump and I run away and I hide under the couch and everything gets quiet and I come out to see what has happened and I see horrible horrible thing.

It is Meysvek and it is he has been trying to get into my cage and to get at my chew toys and he is stuck and my cage is broken and my house is broken and my wheel is bent and has dog drool on it and I can not get at my water bottle and I can not get at my hay dish and I can not get at my food pellets and I can not get to my corner and big stupid dog can not get himself out and he is chewing on my toys! And I am hungry and I am tired and I am a cranky chinchilla and I want to go back to my house and sleep, but I can not, because my home is destroyed.

I do not know what to do! I am very very very very upset now. I want my daddy! I want my daddy to be home with me!

I am hoping that the neighbor will come and fix things. But I do not think that this is something that the neighbor can fix. But my daddy could fix it. My daddy could make it be okay. My daddy can do everything.

But he is not HERE!

Oh, what will PJ do? Poor me, PJ!

2:45pm: she is so beautiful

11:37pm: This is not an easy entry to write.
Because it is about things that I am not used to talking about. Not me, PJ!

But I am going to, because it is this that has made me be a very quiet chinchilla lately.

It was months and months ago, and I was talking about how I love my daddy, Petr Sykora. He is very wonderful, and he was very sad then. But one of the things that I said then was that I do not know about the love of one person for another person, or of one chinchilla for another chinchilla, I just know what it is like to be a chinchilla and to love a hockey player. Me, PJ! Because I do!

Now... now I do not know. I do not know if I know what is is like, the love of a chinchilla for another chinchilla. But I think that I would like to find out.

See, we were in the Czech Republic over the summer. And my daddy and Mavlat were being very together and very happy and I was lonely. Yes, me, PJ. I missed my home and I missed the attention that my daddy gave me before and I missed my cage and my wheel and my house and I was even starting to miss big dumb drooly dog. And so I was feeling lonely and neglected and I thought about chewing through Mavlat's mattress to make myself feel better. But I did not. I am a good chinchilla!
But my daddy and Mavlat did not ignore me always, sometimes they took me out around Brno and to see things and to shop. And it was one day and I saw someone very special. And then every time we went out again I saw the special someone again. And we would look at each other and I think that the special someone was interested in me like I was interested in the special someone, because we were doing the same things when we saw each other. Special someone is a beautiful sapphire chinchilla, and is a little bigger than I am. And I do not even know if special someone is boy chinchilla or girl chinchilla, because I have not been close enough to even smell other chinchilla. But other chinchilla is sweet and beautiful and has very bright eyes that sparkle.

And I am very happy to be back in California now, with my daddy and our house and my cage and my chew blocks and my wheel and my house, and even big dumb dog.

But also I kind of miss my mystery chinchilla in Brno. And I think about the mystery chinchilla very much.

Oh, this is embarrassing to say out loud after all this time!

11:50pm: Hello again!
It has been a long time since I have posted!

But my daddy is in training camp again soon, and maybe Mavlat will go home someday and I will not have to spend so much time with big dumb dog and I am back at home, with my own cage and wheel and chewing blocks and water bottle and finally I have recovered from all of the travelling now, I think. And recovered from the homecoming. Big dumb dog was so big and so dumb and so excited to see me again in big dumb dog way that big dumb dog got big dumb dog drool all over sweet little chinchilla (that is me, PJ!) and so the chinchilla had a coat that was full of smelly stinky dog drool and it did not come out for a week! with dust baths twice a day! and also I had chinchilla fur fall out of me, PJ!

I have actually been a very busy chinchilla, but you would not know it because I have not been writing about it here. I have had something to think very hard about, and I have had a very very special secret project that I have been working on.

It is very special.

And very secret.

Special! And Secret! By Special Secret PJ! Me, PJ!

But I will share it with all of you. But if I am going to, you have to all convince my daddy to buy me a scanner. A really good one. The kind that a chinchilla can use easily.

Okay. I will post more later. Me, PJ!

2:00pm: PJ chez Mavlat!
My daddy Petr has been busy lately. He has been spending a lot of time with Mavlat. Sometimes he cooks which is interesting and sometimes they are off by themselves and sometimes they go out to clubs and leave me alone here. Me, PJ! We are in Brno now which is bigger than Trebic and is very interesting. I had a pencil and a notepad and I was trying to make a list of ways that Moravia is different from Bohemia but then I got distracted and chewed apart the pencil instead. The pencil lead part is dark grey and shiny and I think it matches my fur well. I think that I should stay with the computer, though. I am glad that I did not find a pen.

I do not have very much else to say. I watched the Wimbledon with my daddy. It was very interesting, too. But I do not think that my daddy was interested. I liked the shiny things that they gave the people at the end. And I like to watch the tennis. They are much better players than Mavlat. And do not break racquets. They are even better than my daddy! And my daddy is the best at everything in the world.

I wonder if there are other chinchillas in the Czech Republic. Other than me, PJ! Maybe I would like to see another chinchilla.

6:00pm: It has been very exciting here! We have been visiting Patchelly and his girlfriend person in Trebic. I do not have a lot of time on the computer, so I have not been updating and commenting very much. But from the last time I wrote, we have been hiking with a picnic. I rode in the backpack, me, PJ! Because it would be hard for me to keep up on the walk. We hiked a long way. And also Yvonne who is Patchelly's girlfriend and very nice made us a very good dinner. She is very nice and very pretty and she can cook things that smell wonderful. And my daddy Petr is happy and I am also happy. And then yesterday we did more going out and exploring and looking at things. And Patrik said that since it was my daddy's name day, and also my name day since I have the same name as my daddy only with a "junior" attached, we should do something special. And so we did. It was very exciting. Exciting for me, PJ!

It is a very good summer. It is much cooler and nicer here than summers in New Jersey. And it is a vacation from mister big dumb barking dog. And exciting new things and nice people. Patchelly is not looking at me quite so weirdly now, and my daddy says that he will give me clippings when he gets his hair cut to chew on if I do not give him a haircut myself. I like this idea although I think that it would be best to chew on his hair. It looks very soft and chewable. But again daddy says no. No chewing on Patchelly hair for me. Me, PJ! He reminds me of this whenever Patchelly goes into the kitchen where he does not follow, especially if he has caught me looking at it. But I want my dust bath and so I will be good. Yvonne also has very pretty hair which is long but it is all straight and all one color and not quite so exciting looking. But they both smell good. I think that they use the same shampoo.

4:06pm: We have been visiting with Patchelly. And Mavlat came. And all three of them played tennis. My daddy won, of course. And was the best player there. And Mavlat got made. And Patchelly made jokes, because Patchelly always does that. And I was the ball chinchilla! Well, I sat in the shade and chewed on a tennis ball. It was fuzzy and rubbery and weird.

I think that I will get to take my dust bath in the Stanley Cup! This is very exciting. Me, PJ!

Patchelly was making fun of me before. And so I stared at him. I think that this made him nervous because he did not say anything about me for a little while. And I also learned that he gets very agitated when I try to chew on his hair. It is hard to resist, though. It is quite long. He and my daddy talk a lot, and my daddy seems to be relaxeder and happier right now. So this is good. And Mavlat did not bring me treats, but he let me climb on him and be cute little PJ and he is very good chinchilla petter.

So I am having a good time being with friends in Trebic. It is not a very big city, but river and mountains are pretty, and I got to see the very big clock and have lunch by Karlovo Square. I want to go to Zamosti and to the basilica and museum and see the very old things. But not chew on them. Even if I am tempted. Also take a picnic to a lookout or nature reserve. But that is many things to do and I do not know if my daddy and Patchelly will have other plans. It is not a big deal, I am happy just to be here.

5:52pm: PJ, World Traveller!
I am in Czech Republic! It is very very very exciting. Just as exciting as I thought it would be!

It is weird because I do not know when to sleep and when to wake up. It is dark at all the wrong times. But I am getting used to it.

We went and walked around and went to museum and looked at paintings. Paintings were very pretty but some were in frames that looked so very very chewable! But my daddy would not let me go loose to try to find out if they were as chewable as they looked. The city is very pretty and very exciting and very different from where we live in Anaheim or where we lived in West Orange. My daddy's mother is a very nice woman but I do not know what exactly she thinks of me. I think she is not sure what a chinchilla is and why there is one in her house. My daddy also has new friend, and I do not know what exactly I think of him. I am not sure what he is and why he is with my daddy. But I am learning more Czech to speak and I am having a good time and it is very nice here. I will not admit if I miss big stupid dog Meysvek. I would stay forever and ever and ever. Or at least for the rest of the summer.

2:13am: Excited chinchilla!
I rode in a plane! In a plane in a plane in a plane!

It was big. And loud. I did not like the airports. And my ears hurt. But we went up so high! And I looked down and there were clouds, lots of clouds, and then there was stuff that my daddy told me was water and land from a very long way. So high up! It was kind of scary. But very very exciting!

And now we are in Nova Scotia for Jayess's wedding and there are lots of people and we are in a room and it has soap and a remote control that I can use.

I get to ride in a plane again! To go back to California where we live! And then again! To go to the Czech Republic for the summer with my daddy! I am so excited. I will be less scared the next time. I am with my daddy! We are in Canada! I was worried that they would need me to give them a passport. But they did not mind that I do not have one. I do not know where I am a citizen of, actually.

4:21pm: I am going to Czech Republic! *chitters*
My daddy Petr has decided to take me to Plzen with him this summer. I am very, very excited. For three reasons:

1) Despite that I speak very good Czech for an American chinchilla I have never been to the Czech Republic. There will be new things to see and hear and do and people to see and exciting things.
2) I do not think that Meysvek will be going. So it will be just me and my daddy. Like in the old days before we got our dog. I like the idea of special time with my daddy.
3) I get to be with my daddy ALL SUMMER LONG! He travels so much and I miss him so much. He is the most important anything in the world to me, and now we get to have months and months together.

So last night and today I have been looking at maps and websites about the Czech Republic. I want to see everything and that they will let a chinchilla do. It is so very exciting! And Daddy says we will see Patchelly and Mavlat and all his old friends, and that there will be new kinds of treats for me, and that it will be a very good summer. And I think that it will be, too.

Over the weekend when my daddy got better I played at Chutes and Ladders and Sorry! with him and with Jayess. My daddy won at Chutes and Ladders, but I was very close, and I was a very good loser, too. I did not chew on the board or anything. Then we played Sorry! and I cleaned the floor with the hockey players. I am a very good Sorry! player if I do say so myself. And Daddy and Jayess did not chew on game board when they lost, either. Which is good. So it was a very nice time. I thought maybe Jayess would stay and play more games, but he left. And then my daddy and Meysvek and I hung out together as a family for a while before bedtime. It was good.

10:07pm: Oh, my.
Yesterday my daddy had a party. Meysvek and I got to be there, and we got to help out with preparing things. Meysvek helped to clear space by knocking things off tables, and I, PJ, helped in the kitchen by chewng on things. We were good helpers.

And then the people came, and there was lots of food and lots of beer and alcohol and people having a good time. Meysvek was loving it. I was also loving it. I got lots of attention and treats from people. It was very exciting. But then after a few hours I remembered that I do not actually like parties or large groups of people and so I went off to sit in my house and hide and pretend to sleep.

I looked out again much much later at night and I thought that the party had stopped, and then I heard voices and I was not sure whether it did or not. It was just Jayess and Paulkareer and my daddy, and they are all friends I guess, and they were all... what is it the humans say? Trashed? And then later I looked out again and my daddy was sleeping and so were the other two.

I have not really seen my daddy today. Mostly he has been moaning in bed, and kneeling in front of the toilet. Jayess and Paulkareer did not move until it was very, very, very bright out.

Humans are weird. Chinchillas do not do things like that. At least not me, PJ! I was thinking about going to crawl on my daddy and chitter at him, but then I thought he would probably be very unhappy about that. So me and Meysvek are staying in back room being very, very quiet. I do not know how much longer I can keep big loud dog quiet, though. I think I will let him go and jump on Jayess if he is still here. Meysvek likes Jayess.

4:08pm: Daddy is away again.
He flew away in a plane. Well, he drove to the plane. He was excited and nervous and I think very unsure. I would ask him to call while he is away, but I can not talk and I can not answer the phone. So I hope he will come online so that I can see him because I miss him and I want to know that he is doing OK and is having a good trip and tell him that I love him.

So now it is just me and Meysvek. We have a party! No, not really. But I learned that if you have a credit card number and an internet connection you can get things delivered. To your house. So there is the neighbor who comes to make sure that we have food and water and that no one is hurt or bleeding or trapped somewhere. And that is during the day. And then in the evening I can go online and order foooooood, and so it is like an unending stream of treats for Meysvek. Also for me, PJ! But not as many for me, because I do not want to be any more attractive to Chister and Pavelda.

Nobody tell my daddy that he left his mastercard here, OK? Though I am sure that he will find out. Neither of us is good at putting things in the trash can, because it has a special closing thing so that Meysvek can not scatter the trash bag all over the house again. So Meysvek has been hiding the wrappings and bags and things under his bed. It was my idea to hide them, though. So that when the neighbor person comes over there will be no way of knowing what we have been doing. I do not think that my daddy will be too angry. We are not spending a *lot* of money. And if he gets mad I will tell him that it was Meysvek who decided to do it and not me. Because I am a nice good chinchilla! Me, PJ!

Does anyone know when my daddy is coming back home?

5:42pm: It is all over now. Until next year.
So I am not nearly as happy a PJ today.

I saw my daddy's team play last night. I thought at first that they were going to do well. And that they would win. And that I, PJ, would be able to take a dust bath in the Stanley Cup. But then someone who I did not know when we were in New Jersey scored a goal. I felt so bad for Jayess. And I watched my daddy, and Robermayer, and Chister, and Paulkareer, and all of our new friends not be scoring. And the game ended and I watched as Scotty-the-deer-man and Scottermayer and Patchelly and Martybrodie and Danyo and all the people I remember from before we moved skated around with the Cup and I was happy because all of the people who I used to know were happy but also I was very sad. And I saw Jayess's face on the television and I saw all the sad Duck people and it made me want to cry. Meysvek did not really understand the weird emotions, because he did not live with us in New Jersey, but he felt bad for my daddy, too, and I tried to make him feel better, but I was not very good at it. Daddy home would be better. And then I got Meysvek to sleep and I was very awake and I was looking around on the computer and I found pictures from the end of the game, and I saw this one. And I could not tell what the expression on Patchelly's face was saying but I could see that my daddy was very upset and I just wanted to be close to my daddy very much. And I looked at that picture and I thought about before. And I wondered whether my daddy was wishing that he was wearing the white shirt again and not the purple shirt last night. It is something that I have wondered about sometimes, because sometimes he looked like he misses wearing the white shirt with the big "N" with horns very much, but more often now he seems to be very happy with the funny duck face. I do not know.

Do they make duck face shirts in chinchilla sizes?

I do not know what else to say. I did not think that it would happen like this.

7:25pm: My daddy is the best!
( I got to chat with Daddy! )

6:10pm: Happy chinchilla!
My daddy! Home! My daddy! PJ's daddy! Home!

I missed him. He will be home for the weekend! Well, he has a game tomorrow. But he will come home after! Now there is much rejoicing! And the furniture is put back where it belongs! And the TV works!

We will order pizza (I will not eat any. But Meysvek probably will. Or maybe the delivery person.) and play games and be together, all together.

So right now I am a very happy PJ! Maybe I will not update for a few days. All this domestic tranquility! Sort of.