infestation
So, I've been down here a month and a half now, and I feel that I must comment on all of the wildlife living here. I have yet to see any alligators, but all of the swamps I passed on the way down, I'm really surprised that I haven't. They have an insect here called love bugs....I've not had the pleasure of ever seeing what these are. Basically, they are gnats, really big ones, who are constantly having sex. You'll be standing still and these two sets of wings will land on you (you usually see them having sex...flying together, in unison, joined in at the tell). You then realize that these bugs are having sex on you, even more disgusting. Since they were pointed out to me this past friday, I've seen tons of them. If I stop at an intersection, I normally get 4 or 5 sets of them that decide to get it on atop my windshield.
Next, Lizards. EVERYWHERE! If I decide to take a walk to the Library or the Theater on a weekend, whenever there is not a lot of traffic, you see about 3 or 4 of them (in all shapes and sizes) per section of pavement. They scurry off with toward the grass with every step you take, so it looks like the sidewalk is constantly moving.
And today, I open my door, and I find, clinging to my door, a grasshopper. Now, I'm used to North Carolina grasshoppers, where they average the size of your pinkie finger. Here, the damn thing was the size of my entire hand (which isn't that large, I know, but still) around 7-8 inches long. I could see every bubble in his eyes, and every piece of scale in his body (it's not really scales, but has that appearance). It freaked me out. If he was still there when I returned, I was going to grab my camera to show everyone.
Adapting still. I was extremely down on Friday for some reason. I finally got the update on MIG welding I've been wanting for 4 years now (after only doing ARC for so long). I'm not that great yet, but I earned the confidence to get work on the next show, only after 90 min. of instruction, so all is good. The rest of the day I just felt blah. I think maybe I was burning out or something. I went home, and took a 3 hour nap, followed by an evening of doing nothing. I went to bed early without an alarm and spent all day yesterday doing my homework for the week. Now, a busy day drawing for my assistant design...yay.
Next, Lizards. EVERYWHERE! If I decide to take a walk to the Library or the Theater on a weekend, whenever there is not a lot of traffic, you see about 3 or 4 of them (in all shapes and sizes) per section of pavement. They scurry off with toward the grass with every step you take, so it looks like the sidewalk is constantly moving.
And today, I open my door, and I find, clinging to my door, a grasshopper. Now, I'm used to North Carolina grasshoppers, where they average the size of your pinkie finger. Here, the damn thing was the size of my entire hand (which isn't that large, I know, but still) around 7-8 inches long. I could see every bubble in his eyes, and every piece of scale in his body (it's not really scales, but has that appearance). It freaked me out. If he was still there when I returned, I was going to grab my camera to show everyone.
Adapting still. I was extremely down on Friday for some reason. I finally got the update on MIG welding I've been wanting for 4 years now (after only doing ARC for so long). I'm not that great yet, but I earned the confidence to get work on the next show, only after 90 min. of instruction, so all is good. The rest of the day I just felt blah. I think maybe I was burning out or something. I went home, and took a 3 hour nap, followed by an evening of doing nothing. I went to bed early without an alarm and spent all day yesterday doing my homework for the week. Now, a busy day drawing for my assistant design...yay.