Fun with Blogs, I've had. Yoda I am not. Clever, I am!
So... my friend started bugging me to get a flicker account. Then I noticed that flicker just got bought out by Yahoo, who I happen to think are a bunch of Yahoos, so I'm not signing up until I absolutely have to. However, in the spirit of sharing, I have created three new blogs based on the err-what concept.
Welcome t0 an err with my personal photo album, err-whynot, and an err with my professional resume and other job-related nonsense on it. I haven't actually created the resume one yet, so I'll get back to you on that.
I'm not really advertising the photos page. As you know, I've done my humble (and profane) best to maintain a semi-anonymous state of protection and production on this awesome blog of mine here. And since I'm posting my photo and detailed commentary for all heck to see on the photo album website, I'm not giving you a link to it. Sorry.
I am, however, quite proud of the other two names, even if I haven't actually DONE anything with either blog yet. Isn't it amazing how many different ways there are for me to NOT do homework??
More after I shower and buy food and water and contact solution and cat litter. Wouldn't you know it- I'm out of all the basics! At least... *I* think these are basic necessities. If I can't see, I can't type, you know. Or drive. Or play well with others. And kitty litter... the world as we know it would end if we didn't have kitty litter! I mean- good god, the smell alone would kill you! And water... well, it's WATER.
Friday, March 16
Sunday, March 11
Crazy Ants
Ants. They are indefatigable, lift many times their weight, have exoskeletons, specialize in either sugar, grease, wood products, or meat, live all over the earth, and we still don't know how they communicate with each other. They can hold their breath for up to 14 days under water, they often herd aphids for aphid milk (udderly ridiculous!), wage war againts creatures much larger than they are, build incredibly sturdy homes, and they outnumber people on earth by millions to one. Oh, and they have a very strict socio-economic hierarchy. These ones scout, these others fetch and carry food, those there tend the larva, and that one? She's the queen.
Ants have also been making regular forays into my apartment for several months. I thought I took care of the problem last year, when I found them marching solemnly and quickly toward a box that contained some random bits of sewing remnants, and a couple of empty salt water taffy rappers, on the floor of my bedroom. These, I classified as "sugar ants," and handled with minimal swearing. I also discovered, in the process, that my cat likes to eat sugar ants. And rub on the walls where they've been walking. Repeatedly. Have you ever been waken up by your cat rubbing ecstatically against a WALL?? For a small, soft, and fuzzy being, her wall-rubbing was extremely loud at 3am. Between my squishing and spraying them with bleach (diluted), and her eating and rubbing technique, the ants quickly became a random memory.
Then, the day before my big open house/new year celebration... I found more of them. Same wall, different room. They were headed toward my dining table, and a half-eaten box of Panda Bear Licorice Bites. Hmmm... So Abbigale and I did our eat/squish and then rub/spray routine, and I found an article in a book that said ants hate peppermint. I sprinkled peppermint oil around like it was baking powder... and then had to air out the place for several hours so we could tolerate the smell. But it was worth it-- NO ANTS appeared on the day of the celebration. I figured if I stopped leaving sugar-heavy foods open and near THAT WALL, and occasionally sprinkled a little peppermint oil around, I'd be fine. And I was. Until the Friday before last. That's what- six weeks?
On Friday, I found about six ants in the living/dining room, and about six ants in the bedroom. They were all up near or on the ceiling, and they were definitely on a mission. A far-flung and widely ranging mission that seemed to be slowly making its way toward my kitchen. Not good. So I got out the bleach spray, and started squishing/spraying everything that moved (except the cat, who appears to be near sighted). On Sunday I admitted defeat, and went to the landlord. Turns out the outside of the buildings get sprayed on a regular basis, and it's no big deal to have the exterminator come inside and handle things there as well. And whadaya know, he was going to show up on Monday. I could wait another 12 hours.
On Tuesday, he showed up and though we didn't see any live ants at the time (of course), he sprayed about 10 feet of baseboard in each room-- along THAT WALL where I usually saw the ants. "They start from the bottom, and go up," says he. Okay. Fine. As long as they don't discover the kitchen, and stop disturbing my meals. Just to be safe, I did a thorough kitchen cleaning and put all my food in plastic containers or in sealed plastic bags, before the exterminator got there. It needed to be done, and I didn't want to eat poison in case he decided to bogmb the place. No bogms, just a nozzle and a carefully aimed spray. A totally useless, carefully aimed spray.
No ants Wed/Thur. I was so relieved. I hate the chemicals, but the peppermint oil wasn't cutting it somehow. And I hated worse to squish the ants, so it was good they were gone. Surely I could tolerate a little chemical spray for THAT! Yeah. Well. This last Friday, the ants were back. Six or seven in each room. On the ceiling. Some actually made it to the kitchen ceiling, even. Not cool.
Saturday night, last night, I was still doing the spray/squish routine, but the spraying wasn't even working anymore. I'd score a direct hit, and five minutes later the ant would crawl off to explore some other part of the house. Completely undeterred by a short refreshing little bath in the bleach water. There has got to be a camera recording my futile efforts to defy nature around here somewhere. Who ever heard of ants that could withstand BLEACH for cryin' out loud?! That night I dreamed about ants walking on my face. Whadaya know-- when I woke up, there WAS an ant crawling on my face. I could just picture the dream sequence being played out with the wavy lines on the TV screen and the gentle tickle of an imaginary feather being drawn across the central character's sleeping face, and then waking up screaming to the reality of the ants... There was definitely more swearing this time around.
I've reclassified the ants, by the way. They are not sugar ants. They are Invaders.
I
Feel
Invaded
!
So I let management know about the little resurgence --or insurgence, depending on your point of view. And I bought a bunch of ant bait. I feel like a murderer and a sell-out, but I feel worse squishing ants all the time... and I REALLY felt nasty waking up to one actually crawling ON me. Called my dad for advice on this one, too. Dads know about getting rid of ants and caulking windows and things. At least, mine always does. His perspective was that the ant was just exploring some new territory (my face)... but I should not use a spray. I should use bait, so the whole colony would die, and there wouldn't be any more fun little forays across my ceiling (or anywhere else) by any new little scout ants who didn't learn their lesson the last three times around. And since I haven't awoken to the cat's ecstatic wall-rubbing this month, I am assuming they've managed to find paths that avoid her. Thus eliminating my fears that she'll eat poisoned ants and get sick.
Now, I'm trying to be positive. I'm reading about how March 21-- the Spring Equinox-- celebrates the reunion of Kore and Demeter in ancient lore. (Mother and daughter Goddesses, they were separated by the god of the underworld (Hades) when he convinced the daughter to eat six pomegranate seeds while his captive, thus condemning her to spend six months of every year in the underworld. Kore --also known as Diana in some versions-- was so sad and angered by her daughter's kidnapping that she allowed all the crops to die and the clouds to cover the sun for many weeks. This was the ancient Greek and Roman explanation of Winter. So the return of Spring, and of Demeter, and of the spark of life to the land, were really a reason to celebrate!)
And did you know that March 25th was the Roman holiday of Hilaria? Yeah-- Laughing Day. A whole day set aside just to enjoy laughter, celebration, and JOY! Probably a good way to handle all that Spring Fever, too. And it got me thinking... maybe it's about time to have a really fun get together with some friends, and do something silly. Since I'm still on a dating time-out, I can't think of a better way to usher in Spring than to join together with good friends, and have a good laugh!
But first I have to go take another shower-- I feel crawly.
Ants have also been making regular forays into my apartment for several months. I thought I took care of the problem last year, when I found them marching solemnly and quickly toward a box that contained some random bits of sewing remnants, and a couple of empty salt water taffy rappers, on the floor of my bedroom. These, I classified as "sugar ants," and handled with minimal swearing. I also discovered, in the process, that my cat likes to eat sugar ants. And rub on the walls where they've been walking. Repeatedly. Have you ever been waken up by your cat rubbing ecstatically against a WALL?? For a small, soft, and fuzzy being, her wall-rubbing was extremely loud at 3am. Between my squishing and spraying them with bleach (diluted), and her eating and rubbing technique, the ants quickly became a random memory.
Then, the day before my big open house/new year celebration... I found more of them. Same wall, different room. They were headed toward my dining table, and a half-eaten box of Panda Bear Licorice Bites. Hmmm... So Abbigale and I did our eat/squish and then rub/spray routine, and I found an article in a book that said ants hate peppermint. I sprinkled peppermint oil around like it was baking powder... and then had to air out the place for several hours so we could tolerate the smell. But it was worth it-- NO ANTS appeared on the day of the celebration. I figured if I stopped leaving sugar-heavy foods open and near THAT WALL, and occasionally sprinkled a little peppermint oil around, I'd be fine. And I was. Until the Friday before last. That's what- six weeks?
On Friday, I found about six ants in the living/dining room, and about six ants in the bedroom. They were all up near or on the ceiling, and they were definitely on a mission. A far-flung and widely ranging mission that seemed to be slowly making its way toward my kitchen. Not good. So I got out the bleach spray, and started squishing/spraying everything that moved (except the cat, who appears to be near sighted). On Sunday I admitted defeat, and went to the landlord. Turns out the outside of the buildings get sprayed on a regular basis, and it's no big deal to have the exterminator come inside and handle things there as well. And whadaya know, he was going to show up on Monday. I could wait another 12 hours.
On Tuesday, he showed up and though we didn't see any live ants at the time (of course), he sprayed about 10 feet of baseboard in each room-- along THAT WALL where I usually saw the ants. "They start from the bottom, and go up," says he. Okay. Fine. As long as they don't discover the kitchen, and stop disturbing my meals. Just to be safe, I did a thorough kitchen cleaning and put all my food in plastic containers or in sealed plastic bags, before the exterminator got there. It needed to be done, and I didn't want to eat poison in case he decided to bogmb the place. No bogms, just a nozzle and a carefully aimed spray. A totally useless, carefully aimed spray.
No ants Wed/Thur. I was so relieved. I hate the chemicals, but the peppermint oil wasn't cutting it somehow. And I hated worse to squish the ants, so it was good they were gone. Surely I could tolerate a little chemical spray for THAT! Yeah. Well. This last Friday, the ants were back. Six or seven in each room. On the ceiling. Some actually made it to the kitchen ceiling, even. Not cool.
Saturday night, last night, I was still doing the spray/squish routine, but the spraying wasn't even working anymore. I'd score a direct hit, and five minutes later the ant would crawl off to explore some other part of the house. Completely undeterred by a short refreshing little bath in the bleach water. There has got to be a camera recording my futile efforts to defy nature around here somewhere. Who ever heard of ants that could withstand BLEACH for cryin' out loud?! That night I dreamed about ants walking on my face. Whadaya know-- when I woke up, there WAS an ant crawling on my face. I could just picture the dream sequence being played out with the wavy lines on the TV screen and the gentle tickle of an imaginary feather being drawn across the central character's sleeping face, and then waking up screaming to the reality of the ants... There was definitely more swearing this time around.
I've reclassified the ants, by the way. They are not sugar ants. They are Invaders.
I
Feel
Invaded
!
So I let management know about the little resurgence --or insurgence, depending on your point of view. And I bought a bunch of ant bait. I feel like a murderer and a sell-out, but I feel worse squishing ants all the time... and I REALLY felt nasty waking up to one actually crawling ON me. Called my dad for advice on this one, too. Dads know about getting rid of ants and caulking windows and things. At least, mine always does. His perspective was that the ant was just exploring some new territory (my face)... but I should not use a spray. I should use bait, so the whole colony would die, and there wouldn't be any more fun little forays across my ceiling (or anywhere else) by any new little scout ants who didn't learn their lesson the last three times around. And since I haven't awoken to the cat's ecstatic wall-rubbing this month, I am assuming they've managed to find paths that avoid her. Thus eliminating my fears that she'll eat poisoned ants and get sick.
Now, I'm trying to be positive. I'm reading about how March 21-- the Spring Equinox-- celebrates the reunion of Kore and Demeter in ancient lore. (Mother and daughter Goddesses, they were separated by the god of the underworld (Hades) when he convinced the daughter to eat six pomegranate seeds while his captive, thus condemning her to spend six months of every year in the underworld. Kore --also known as Diana in some versions-- was so sad and angered by her daughter's kidnapping that she allowed all the crops to die and the clouds to cover the sun for many weeks. This was the ancient Greek and Roman explanation of Winter. So the return of Spring, and of Demeter, and of the spark of life to the land, were really a reason to celebrate!)
And did you know that March 25th was the Roman holiday of Hilaria? Yeah-- Laughing Day. A whole day set aside just to enjoy laughter, celebration, and JOY! Probably a good way to handle all that Spring Fever, too. And it got me thinking... maybe it's about time to have a really fun get together with some friends, and do something silly. Since I'm still on a dating time-out, I can't think of a better way to usher in Spring than to join together with good friends, and have a good laugh!
But first I have to go take another shower-- I feel crawly.
Saturday, March 3
Esoteric
It's such a fun word. I don't have a post topic to go with it... but I really like that word.
About the insane asylum for the criminally manipulative... I'm still really glad I don't work there anymore. In fact, I am MORE GLAD NOW than I was four months ago. According to the Feds, I am supposed to receive my W-2's on or near the 31st of January at the latest-- by law. Well, I'm here to tell you that just finally today, I got them. Well, no. I didn't get them. I got a photocopy of my ex-boss's Copy D of my W-2's. Because after I contacted her about not getting them (the second time), she actually looked into it. (I'd like to point out that today is March 3rd.)
Apparently, it would have cost her $45 to get a new copy of MY W-2's sent to me from the company who does her office taxes... and she just wasn't willing to spend that kind of money to meet legal requirements for someone she never wants to see again anyway. And of course, how could that office (the Insane Asylum for the Criminally Manipulative) possibly pass up another last opportunity to fugk with me. I mean, really.
Did you know that "elfish" means "Elvish. Formerly also (of a thing), unmanageable." And that the page of my New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, volume 1, on which this definition is located has twelve other words I've never even heard of before?! Wow. I mean-- there are only 27 words on the page to begin with. That is a sad average. I'll just have to start reading the dictionary in my free time, that's all. The good news is that I have no free time, so I won't be doing that any time soon. I love setting realistic goals for myself.
Ahh... and here is the page in the dictionary where I learn that "essoteric" actually only has one S in it. I see. As an adjective, the word means "1. Of a philosophical doctrine, mode of speech, etc) designed for or appropriate to an inner circle of advanced or privileged disciples; communicated or intelligible only to the initiated; initiated into or belonging to an inner circle. 2. Not openly stated or admitted; confidential; secret." Then the definition goes on to state that "the magician is an esoteric figure-- part priest, part philosopher, part artist." Right. Okay. Esoteric. Hmm.
Shana, I swear I'm almost ready to start my homework. And I got a 9 of 11 on my intelligence quiz today, too. Which, according to the test results on the page you sent me, means I should have an exciting love life that will burst into full bloom any time now. I hope it waits until I graduate. I don't need any more distractions. Really.
About the insane asylum for the criminally manipulative... I'm still really glad I don't work there anymore. In fact, I am MORE GLAD NOW than I was four months ago. According to the Feds, I am supposed to receive my W-2's on or near the 31st of January at the latest-- by law. Well, I'm here to tell you that just finally today, I got them. Well, no. I didn't get them. I got a photocopy of my ex-boss's Copy D of my W-2's. Because after I contacted her about not getting them (the second time), she actually looked into it. (I'd like to point out that today is March 3rd.)
Apparently, it would have cost her $45 to get a new copy of MY W-2's sent to me from the company who does her office taxes... and she just wasn't willing to spend that kind of money to meet legal requirements for someone she never wants to see again anyway. And of course, how could that office (the Insane Asylum for the Criminally Manipulative) possibly pass up another last opportunity to fugk with me. I mean, really.
Did you know that "elfish" means "Elvish. Formerly also (of a thing), unmanageable." And that the page of my New Shorter Oxford English Dictionary, volume 1, on which this definition is located has twelve other words I've never even heard of before?! Wow. I mean-- there are only 27 words on the page to begin with. That is a sad average. I'll just have to start reading the dictionary in my free time, that's all. The good news is that I have no free time, so I won't be doing that any time soon. I love setting realistic goals for myself.
Ahh... and here is the page in the dictionary where I learn that "essoteric" actually only has one S in it. I see. As an adjective, the word means "1. Of a philosophical doctrine, mode of speech, etc) designed for or appropriate to an inner circle of advanced or privileged disciples; communicated or intelligible only to the initiated; initiated into or belonging to an inner circle. 2. Not openly stated or admitted; confidential; secret." Then the definition goes on to state that "the magician is an esoteric figure-- part priest, part philosopher, part artist." Right. Okay. Esoteric. Hmm.
Shana, I swear I'm almost ready to start my homework. And I got a 9 of 11 on my intelligence quiz today, too. Which, according to the test results on the page you sent me, means I should have an exciting love life that will burst into full bloom any time now. I hope it waits until I graduate. I don't need any more distractions. Really.
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