27 June 2011

Get him to the Gulf

It is taking a little bit longer to get Parrolito to the Greek Gulf. Just last month, the country decided to change the requirements for all pet imports, where now they require companies to ¨sponsor¨ pets. It must not have been fun for my other half to have to request this, but here we are, in mid-rollercoaster and there is no way out. More tequila please.

Here is how the waiting game went:

Day 1: Parrot passport ready. Permission to buzz the tower.
Day 2: Continental merged with United. This is not good because, as everyone knows, United sucks.
Day 3: Still here. US Fish and Wildlife SF Designated Port started the long weekend way early and I could't book the exit clearance on a Friday at 2pm. You guys are killing me.
Day 4: Mwah ha hahahaha! We are all mad here.
Day 5: Parrot had five baths by 11am, in three different water bowls (one of which is akin to me bathing in a pyrex dish). He is going to love the desert.
Day 6: Vet, USDA and US Fish and Wildlife cleared Parrolito for export in one day. I own bureaucracy.
Day 7: We are off.

16 June 2011

1/11th Bird Life

Today we shipped 400 kg. of life to our new overseas address, in preparation for the imminent move. One of the eleven boxes was filled entirely of birdness, to sum up: small "sunning" bird cage, half a manzanita tree, special organic pellets, toys, chewables, a ton of cuttlebone, and a parrot training DVD that I will never use. What this really means is that our life consists of 1/11th of bird. This is a gross under-estimation.