Meet Olórin

 I've had this big boy for about a week now, so it's time for introductions!  Meet Olórin!  This is the mystery ham I picked up last Saturday from a lady in Indy who works with The Pipsqueakery which is located in Bloomington.  She went the Thursday before and picked this guy up.  On Friday she sent me a video of him.  I debated whether or not I wanted to open it because I had become quite enthralled with the idea of picking up a mystery hamster, but I realized that I would want time to thing of a name.  I was at my sister's house when I opened the video and we watched it together.  I was completely in love with this guy right away.  I've always wanted a hamster that looks like this and I can't believe some stranger picked out the perfect ham for me!  

As soon as I saw what my mystery hamster looked like, I emailed her back and asked if she knew gender and age so I could figure out a name.  She said a male that was about a year old.  I immediately thought of the name Olórin because it was almost the name I chose for Glorfindel, but I decided that it didn't fit with the way Glorfindel looks so I chose to save it in case I ever got a hamster that it was a better fit for.  And I knew this was the perfect hamster for this name.  You see, Olórin is Gandalf's original name as a Maiar.  So an older hamster that is white with grey and brown just works so well.  

In JRR Tolkien's writings, Olórin is sent to Middle Earth as a grey wizard who sought to teach, counsel, and learn from the peoples of Middle Earth.  Glorfindel was one of the first to welcome Olórin.  Over time, Olórin became most commonly known as Gandalf.  And if you've read The Lord of the Rings, you know that Gandalf's body passed away after fighting a Balrog.  But since he was the only one of the 5 Maiar that were sent to Middle Earth who stayed true to his errand, he was sent back to Middle Earth as Gandalf the White.  

The pictures from when I first brought Olórin home are at the bottom.  I was very surprised at how heavy he was when I first picked him up.  He doesn't seem that fat though, and I can tell that he was neutered at The Pipsqueakery.  He's a curious, shy guy who doesn't seem to like being held but isn't really scared of me either.  I can't wait to get to know him better!  Welcome to your new home, Olórin!  I know he's already middle aged for a hamster, but I hope I get a long time with him.