Ode to a fish

I mentioned yesterday that I'm NOT on Spring Break. Instead, I'm all by my lonesome, in my little apartment.
Correction: Ruby, too.

Who's Ruby, you ask?

You're going to think I'm a crazy person. Ruby is was a fish. This morning, I woke up to a very non-living, non-swimming Ruby. It was awful. Truly awful. Let me explain....

       {theletter4.com}

When I first moved in, this place needed a little bit of life. Plants are fine and dandy, but decorating with bamboo from Ikea can only take you so far. Animals aren't allowed in my apartment; meaning that adopting the puppy I've always wanted was out of the cards. A fish seemed like a good, close second. I suppose... 

On Labor Day weekend of 2010, ST surprised me with a red beta fish. I was so excited that I spent about a half hour naming her with my girlfriends. {Ruby Elizabeth, if ya wanna get fancy. I couldn't be more lame.} It was actually the best surprise ever. Jewelry is nice, and flowers are sweet, but a fish?? That's my guy.

 

{Labor Day 2010. Ruby's new Mama!}

Ruby's been hanging out in her bowl on my desk, swimming around, soaking in the events of my life for the past year and a half. It sounds insane, but she's been through a lot on that ol' desk of mine. So much has happened between 2010 and now, and she's been there, just swimming through it all. Even though Ruby didn't cuddle with me when I got home from work, I won't deny that she definitely dealt with my daily antics from underwater... the underwater part was probably to her benefit.

If Ruby could talk, she'd probably say...

"Hey, you. I'm not ever going to be able to leave this bowl or do anything more than swim around aimlessly. Please so talking to me in a weird baby voice like I'm a puppy. Even your roommate thinks you're crazy, and she's your best friend."


or perhaps...

"Someone please tell her to stop singing along to music as she works. This chick needs a voice lesson."

  and maybe a...

"I can't believe you named me Ruby. You even bought me a pink and purple fish-castle.You know I'm actually a boy fish, right? Ugh."

Oh, and definitely a... "Wait, are you really taking pictures of me now? We get it. You got a new camera. Calm down, woman."

Apparently I personify Ruby to be a sarcastic little diva with lots of attitude...

She'd probably be right, though. Lord only knows why I cared so much for that little fish. Maybe because ST gave her to me. Maybe because she livened up my cozy room a bit more. Maybe because she lived through some of my best memories. One thing's for certain, flushing her down the crystal throne today actually made me want to cry; like a slightly less dramatic Kristen Bell and the sloth meltdown. 

Whatever the reason, I will miss your presence on my desk, Ruby. You were pretty great. So great, in fact, that I couldn't get through this evening of work without writing a post in your honor.

Crazy girl, OUT.