Introducing Su

I am currently fighting for space on the beanbag I call my work area. This is an almost daily event. The beanbag is clearly positioned in front of the computer, and obviously intended for my comfort. The fact that I don't own said beanbag is irrelevant to me. The fact that I live in the same apartment as the owner of the beanbag and I am the only human at home right now gives me priority. Or so you'd think.

Let me introduce you to Su (or Tsunao, if you want to get all formal). He's a Chinese crested hairless dog, which means he has no fur except for an Andy Warhol style coiffure, which looks a bit Dumbledore from the back. Su is actually my roommate's dog (incidentally the beanbag is hers too) and he is basically the boss of all of us.

I never thought the day would come when I turned into the kind of blogger that blogged about a dog. I've never really been an animal person, but being at home with Su most of the summer has cured me of that. Apart from being a bit funny-looking, and needing to wear sweaters in winter to keep cool, Su also has quite a character. On top of the beanbag possession rights debate, Su also seems to believe my lunch is his lunch, regularly forgets where he should (for want of a better word) poop and recently vomited in my room. To be fair, I may have been slightly responsible for the vomiting. I left a pack of tissues out and Su ate them. He likes to eat tissues, to the point where, unless I saw him get fed twice a day, I'd be convinced that he was a poor starving mutt. He was also delicate enough to vomit next to my futon, rather than on it, which definitely displays a caring nature, as far as I'm concerned. Su literally dominates my day. And I really wouldn't have it any other way.

When I lived alone, I ate with no distractions, and boy, was that boring. Su's constant attempts to share our dinner by licking the plate or simply trying to grab the food clean out of our hands (or chopsticks, or off a fork, I don't want to give the impression that we eat like animals) make dinnertime kinda fun.  It's cute that Su seems to believe that my futon is there for him to sit on and scratch. I only really object when he licks his balls on my bed. That's just a bit weird.

One of my favourite Su adventures was the case of the missing rice ball.In Japan, rice balls are sold almost everywhere, and are wrapped in plastic. The wrapping is pretty tight, you have to pull on a tab to open the plastic. The first time I bought one, I was utterly baffled by it. I rushed out one evening to meet friends, and left a shop bought rice ball on the table. When I came back, I found the wrapper on the floor, and no sign of the rice. I quizzed my roommates by demanding to know if they had eaten my rice ball. I was borderline outraged. Until one look of Su's big brown eyes told exactly who the rice thief was. The dog had somehow got through the plastic, surprisingly neatly, and helped himself to a big ol' portion of rice. That seriously takes talent and skill.

So, now I'm one of those people. The kind who bores people at parties with amusing dog related anecdotes. Or, possibly even worse, writes entire blog posts about a dog. Sorry about that.