Not today rabies (or: the latest manifestation of my Curse of Beasts)

Two weeks ago I was trying to sleep on a hot, muggy summer night. I have a window AC unit in my bedroom now. It's the first time I've had AC since my college apartment -- it turns out these things are pretty cheap if you have a small room; why didn't I get one sooner? -- so summertime sleep has generally been better this year, but on that night, I woke up around 4:45 AM and couldn't get back to sleep. Over the sound of the AC, I kept hearing this little scratching and tapping noise. A mouse in the wall, I thought. You may recall I have experience with mice. I slapped the wall above the bed to try and scare it off, but it just kept tapping intermittently.

( Why do I always have a story like this? )

(In case anyone ever has a rabies exposure and is scared, the shots don't hurt. I mean, they do hurt, but like, the same as a flu shot. Maybe less. Get the shots, it's a huge hassle but that's all. But take your Nintendo Switch to the emergency room with you. If you get ten minutes away from home and realize you didn't bring it, go back for it. Trust me.)