Strangers' Memories

I don't think I've posted any pictures of Damascus yet, so here he is. From afar, he looks a lot like Topkapi, but if you see him up close you can see the differences. His scale patterns are quite distinct, he even has a small heart-shaped brown spot on his torso. He also has a longer face than Miss Topkapi, which gives him ind of a snooty look.


He is a bit of a snob. If I breathe on him to hard, and I'm not exaggerating, he flinches and pulls his head as far away from me as possible. But he is truly very sweet and as curious as anything. He tries to climb curtains, cups, books, pretty much anything he comes across.

Coral today spent most of her time in her water bowl, so she must be a day away from shedding. Some people find the shed skin a bit disgusting but it's really not that bad. My mom can't stomach it. She is not by any means queasy, especially when it comes to animals, so it is even more curious as to why it bothers her so much. The shed skin is not slimy, or wet, it doesn't smell or feel weird. It's just crinkly and dry. Hopefully she'll shed in one piece. That would mean that she had the correct humidity throughout the process. If they shed in many small pieces the humidity levels were not enough.

Today in acting class we began our monologue preparations using the method. Our teacher made us all sit quietly, far from each other, and made us think about our lives, one year at a time. He gave us a minute to think about each year, and then would move us on to the next. When we were finished he told us to write about one memory that created strong emotions in us. We had to write a short summary of the event, without necessarily including our feeling too much, just the bare facts. Then, we turned the papers in to him and he passed them back out randomly. Now we had someone else's memory and the basis for our monologues. For Thursday we have to modify these pages, giving them our own voice, making them ours. For the next few weeks we will be working on these strange memories, using our own for emotional inspiration. It's not going to be easy, but we all seem to be up for the challenge.