Sleepless in Winston-Salem

The thing is, I don't sleep well. And the hamster was like my little insomniac friend. In truth, he didn't suffer from insomnia at all, of course. But he was up all night just the same, always more than happy to show me a few stunts on his wheel or get really excited about a piece of fresh apple.

Since he died last Sunday, I've been a little lonely in the wee hours. So I, um, bought myself a hamster today. A girl. She's dark greyish brown and crazy good at scaling wire cages and cardboard boxes. I named her Jemima, as in Puddleduck not Aunt.

I just missed having something around that was

nocturnal
adjective
1. Of, relating to, or occurring in the night.
2. Botany. Having flowers that open during the night.
3. Zoology. Most active at night: nocturnal animals.
[Middle English, from Old French, from Late Latin nocturnālis, from Latin nocturnus, from nox, noct-, night.]
"nocturnal." The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition. Houghton Mifflin Company, 2004. Answers.com 28 Jan. 2006. http://www.answers.com/topic/nocturnal