Roommate Appreciation

I have a big "the Americans are gone, now what?" post planned, but tonight I would like to take a moment and publicly appreciate my new roomie. In college I learned to appreciate the value of good roommates. In Brazil I have learned that a good roommate is good for two reasons:

1. Good company
A. Company during scary movies on TV
B. Company during the Olympics, to ooooh and ahhhh over the precision and talent in gymnastics and to have someone to whom I can say "did you see that???"
C. Company to keep from getting lonely
2. To scare away nasty, tail-less lizards that sneak their way in to our apartment and terrify the living daylights out of me

In the last 24 hours, Lacy has proven herself useful for both. Thanks, rooms. It's nice to be able to follow my gut reaction and sit on my bed curled up with my legs at my chest squealing in a pitch too high for the favela dogs to even hear behind a closed door while you get rid of that sick creation. I can only hope that I will be as useful to you in the coming months.

(And in case you're wondering, my umbrella is laying on the floor along the crack underneath my bedroom door. I won't sleep if I know he might come back.)