The first thing I tell people when they ask me about myself is that I am a crazy bunny lady. And that I am. A bulk of what I earn is spent towards giving my two rabbits a better life. For real. Because life as a rabbit person in the Philippines is a challenge, and I wouldn’t encourage anyone but the most committed to actually make that 12 year commitment.

First of all, here are the bunnies in question:

Cute right? They are adorable. They are also the most destructive forces I have ever met. Chester has chewed through two macbook cords, a Calvin Klein belt, a Coach bag, a Nine West wallet, a Dell laptop cord, numerous pairs of Havaianas flip flops. Chibi has not met a bed sheet she’s liked and has proceeded to chew holes into each and every single one she’s ever seen.

They eat a diet of 90% Timothy hay, which I have a few special stores to hit every week, and can go through a P300 bag a day. They also eat fresh greens, basil, and fruit. They are proof that a vegan diet does not make you skinny.

They have two vets, and both host a national TV show. They are hard to pin down because of their schedule, and yes, they cost a premium because rabbit savvy vets are hard to find.

My first rabbit that stayed with us for seven years was kept mostly in a cage eating pellets from a pet store and kangkong (water spinach). When we got Chester 2 years after my first bun passed, we did a lot of research, and under the sentiment that this time we had jobs and worked from home, could give them a much better life than my first bun had.

And they are, but they’re a handful. There are no rabbit kennels. Planning vacations can be quite challenging since we have to make sure the person who’s looking after them know how and when to feed them. We have been quite lucky that I have a sister that has been willing to do so every time we have to go out for long periods.

They are not affectionate. Only dogs snuggle on a regular basis. Chester nips when I’m asleep and their food or water bowl is empty or he just wants pats on the head. Chibi has never tolerated being held, and require three people to hold her steady for a checkup with the vet.

The only reason I don’t have dozens of bunnies at home is because we had them spayed at the first sign of sexual maturity, and the operation plus aftercare required a lot of attention and thousands of pesos.

So don’t get a bunny. Rescue a dog from PAWS or CARA. Feed the strays you meet on the street. Sponsor a neighbor who always lets their dog get pregnant for a spay. Save yourself the trouble and don’t do it.

But if you really really want to love a rabbit and commit to more than a decade, do your research.

Here are a couple of sites I regularly consult:

House Rabbit Society: https://rabbit.org/frequently-asked-questions/

Binky Bunny: https://www.binkybunny.com/FORUM/tabid/54/Default.aspx

Bunny Bunch: http://www.bunnybunch.org/pages/rabbit-care-health-behavior/

And let me know if you want help. I am a fervent advocate of making sure rabbits live good lives.

When my blog domain expired in September of last year, I thought I had kissed blog writing goodbye. I had this thing about disconnecting online and connecting in person and I wanted to do more of that.

But you know the cliche “Life happens when you’re making other plans”? Well that happened to me. Life threw a gut punch of a game changer my way. What I realized in hindsight was, I cannot change too much of myself and forget that most of my life, how I processed things was through writing. Whether privately or through vague hints here and there on a public space, writing has always gotten me through the trying parts of my life.

This isn’t my old home, as jodythinks.com was purchased by another person. Ten years of writing, albeit sporadic, and it’s time to move forward. Time to become an adult and move to a domain that feels way more grown up.

Honestly, I was not a successful professional writer, let me tell you that. I guess it was because my writing isn’t very structured or grammatically correct, it was, and still is, all gut feel. What feels right, sounds right, all emotional.  I shifted from a writing job to something else quite quickly when that didn’t pan out, and am currently doing something different, but so far, moving along.

But I never forgot about words and putting them on paper. This January I started a DAILY journal as a project for 2018. Yes, daily. Full pages of my day that mostly come to, “went to eat at the same place, had a good day with my bunnies”. Seeing the words connect to paper though is quite satisfying, especially now that I’m actually using gel ink pens, not ballpoint. I never used to do this since I’m left handed and when at any point I get sweaty everything smudges and it’s all a big mess. I’m not sure if I’m writing slower or the pages just absorb better but I am feeling better about the ink. I may have to buy my first pen in a decade, from years of hoarding pens from hotels or doctor friends and relatives.

But as always, I digress.

I may not always be writing, and I may be saying goodbye to jodythinks, but I will be putting words to paper, typing, and so forth. This new domain feels like a new beginning. Not just to a more grown up me since I will always have the sense of humor of a thirteen year old boy, but maybe one that will be more of a stretch than just my waistline. Life may have punched me in the gut, but the bruises are healing.

So hello to my 5 readers again, and don’t worry, I won’t say goodbye anytime soon.