Sitting outside with Rudy!

Rudy On Head

Sure, I could spend a few minutes regaling you with stories of moving into my new apartment, and then finding out that said apartment is HAUNTED; I could talk about my ire at learning of the elitist snobby bullshit pulled by the owner of Murky's Coffee in Arlington; I could talk about how much fun I had at Kal's wedding (and the ensuing 3 hour nap on the bathroom floor).

But that would all require too much work.

So instead, I bring you this photograph, taken circa 2008 with my iPhone, and spruced up a bit in a photo editor. I call it, "Rudy On Head." Discuss.

Rudy the Fighter Pilot

I want to take a moment to describe an episode tonight that proves Rudy the parrot is actually a fighter pilot.

Rudy was in the bathroom with me but I wanted my privacy. So I stood up and grabbed Rudy off the window sill (BRAK!) and tossed him out the door. Rudy starts flapping, hovers in mid-air, turns around, and heads back toward my head. I hold both my hands out in front of me to block his path. He instantaneously stops flapping his wings and drops about five feet straight down, then starts flapping again when he is about six inches above the floor, flies past me into the bathroom about a foot off the ground, then once he's clear flies upward about four feet and lands back on the window sill.

Rudy is a FIGHTER PILOT.

Rudy Frolicks in a Bag of Granola

Rudy Buries Himself in Granola from Matt S. on Vimeo.

Rudy Meets the Popcorn Bag

...it's my bird in a box!

Imagine a 2-year-old child. Now imagine a 2-year-old child who can FLY. That's what Rudy is like. The intrepid Rudy often finds interesting nooks and crannies in my apartment, and here we join him as he plays inside his newest find, a big box in the hallway.

Rudy takes a bath

Warning: Escaped prisoner on the loose!

So, funny story: I wake up, take Rudy out of his cage, play with him for awhile, and put him back in his cage so that I can leave and go to Starbucks. So far so good. Here's the funny part: three hours later, when I return and open the door, I hear Rudy screaming at me like usual. Only he is not screaming from the right, where his cage is located. No, he is screaming from the left, where my bedroom is located.

That's right - he had escaped! It seems the little goof ball had pushed out his food door, flown around looking for me, and when he couldn't find me, decided to spend the day in my bedroom on my chair looking out the window. He was so pleasantly happy to see me, I simply couldn't be angry. But I have learned my lesson: secure the food door!

Rudy is indeed a handful. I recently took several videos of his refusing to go to bed at night. That will be up soon.

Video Explosion!

And so I return from another eventful week in Michigan, where I spent the days hanging out with family and friends, and teaching everyone how to use a Segway (except my dad, who was positive he would break his neck on the thing). Needless to say, Much Video Was Taken. But it's not edited together yet.

SO, while I am editing it, I would like to amuse you all by showing you BEFOREISLEEP.NET: THE LOST VIDEOS! Yes, my dear viewer, over the years, some highly entertaining videos have been left off the site, due mostly to my own laziness, or more likely my lack of a high-speed Internet connection at the time. Luckily, my laziness quotient is currently somewhat low, and my Internet connection is smoking. That adds up to: lots of videos! And remember: If you haven't seen it, it's New to You.

Please enjoy.

In for a landing!

IMG_8299, originally uploaded by CaseWriter21.

Rudy flies in for a landing!

Vote Rudy in 2008!

rudy-for-president, originally uploaded by CaseWriter21.

Running with Birds

trail-run, originally uploaded by CaseWriter21.

I jogged a mile today. Through an enchanted hillside!

Cuddly Rudy

Cuddly Rudy, originally uploaded by CaseWriter21.

Rudy is fluffy and cuddly, basking in the light from the rising sun. Note the sparkles around his eyes! (For best effect, click through to Flickr, and then click "All Sizes" to see it larger.)

Rudy versus the Garbage Bag

This is just adorable. Watch Rudy flee as I try to put him back in his cage.

First Thing I See in the Morning

So, the incredibly bright sun woke me up this morning, just as it does most every morning here at The Brandywine Apartments, and guess who or what was staring me in the face from about two inches away on my pillow?

Rudy.

That's right, my parrot! This was at once unnerving and adorable, but soon my brain kicked in and asked a very important question: Just how did Rudy get out of his cage and up on my bed? As my brain awoke, it then realized that Rudy had, in fact, broken out of his cage by pushing the food dish away and crawling through the resultant hole. Freedom!

I got up and fixed the food-dish-hole, and by this point Rudy was so excited to see me up and about (God knows how long he'd been staring at me -- sometimes he does it for hours from inside his cage), he took off and started flying circles around my room without stopping. Flap-flap-flap-flap-flap-swoooooosh! went Rudy, circling the perimeter of my room twice before landing on the top of his cage. As I went to go pick him up, he did it again! Flip-flap-flip-flap-whoooooooooosh! went the orange bird flying two fast circles around my room yet again.

When I plopped back in bed, he started squawking. Very Loudly. At 8:45 in the morning. What a way to start a Saturday.

technorati tags:Rudy, sun conure, parrot, bird, pets, animals

Monkey Bird

Did I buy a bird or a monkey?

Fun with Mirrors

Rudy Flies!

Parrot Fight

Old parrot Winston loves me. New parrot Rudy loves me.
Does that mean they will love each other?
Click and find out...

Rudy Cuddles

Some people look surprised when I tell them Rudy loves to cuddle.
They don't realize how loving these little birds can be...
but now I have proof!

The first few days...

I have never met a bird more loving and sweet than this one. I don't say that lightly. I have gone to many bird stores, met countless birds, and I hand selected a very sweet little Quaker Parrot, Winston, who now lives with my family in Michigan. But Rudy is different. Maybe it's because I have been coming into the store for months, and he has gotten to know me. Whatever the case, Rudy's favorite position when traveling about the apartment is cupped up against my chest, as in this picture. He makes cooing sounds, and sometimes he looks up and gives me kisses. At night, after 9 pm or so, he gets especially loving, and likes to fall asleep pressed up against me, my hand covering his head and blocking the light.

One of the best bonuses is that, during his time being raised and handled at PetCo, he learned that people do not like being pooped on. Thus, unlike most other birds, he doesn't use my shirt as a toilet. He will wait until I bring him back to his cage, until I put him on his perch. He goes, I lavish praise, and take him back with me. I can have him with me for 45 minutes or even an hour, and he won't have an accident. It's amazing.

Right now he's sleeping in his cage, which is covered by a blanket. I'll uncover him tomorrow morning around 10, and we will spend the day together again. It is so wonderful having a little ball of feathers so enthusiastically showering me with love throughout the day. In many ways, it's almost miraculous that a bird can be so tender with a human being. It's something that non-bird people simply can't understand.