Friday, July 25, 2008

{splat}

this past tuesday morning while i was hopping on my bike to go to the gym, i noticed something in the corner of the garage by the door. it looked like a big black dot suspended b/w the floor and a box. strolling over i saw the image to the right: a huge spider had taken up residence in the garage. looking a little closer, it had an ominous red splotch on its belly. summoning all my discovery channel wisdom i quickly surmised this was the dreaded black widow i had always heard was pretty common here in socal.

i hate spiders. yes, i realize they play an essential role in the circle of life and all that crap, but they're hideous, they make a mess, and they bite. so when i saw my new little renter here to the right, the "live and let live" approach was simply not going to cut it. i went off to the gym and began formulating my plan to evict my new tenant, senorita arana mas fea.

i didn't have time tuesday morning to do anything, but i cast a nervous glance over to her web and saw that she was absent. i then noticed i'd left my car windows open. i looked around the car (paranoia, i know) and then nervously hopped in, vowing that something had to be done quickly.

tuesday evening was shot so wednesday morning i snapped the foto. after 2 snaps she was on to me and snuck into the box. game on, sister. i hatched my first plan at this point, which was to drop the phone book on her. a vestige of the pre-internet days, i figured it was as good a use as any for the tome and heavy enough to squish her nicely. i left for jury duty and work.

now that evening i was to catch up with my longtime pal chuck who lived in bursely hall with me my freshman year. he is a man of obscure knowledge and considerable skill-- everything from piloting a helicopter and building small aircraft to scuba and sky diving. while chuck and i were figuring out where to go for drinks and dinner, i asked him if he wanted to see a freakin' huge black widow. he immediately replied that he has a bunch of them at his place too, but complied and check it out with me.

chuck: "yeah, she's pretty big"
me: "sorta freaky huh?"
chuck: "want to get rid of her?"
me: "yes! what are you thinking?"
(at this point, i realized how silly my phone book plan sounded)
chuck: "do you have some WD-40 and a lighter?"
(cue the a-team music)
me: "i think so, let's check"
(grabbing lighter, looking for wd-40 can...)
me: "will this work? it says 'highly flammable'"?
(chuck tested it and it produced an impressive burst of flames)
chuck: "here we go..."

chuck dispensed a stream of industrial lubricant sponsored hell-fire at the super spider and she instinctively did the arachnid equivalent of a stop, drop and roll. he promptly stomped her with his boot and left a long squishy mark of spider guts on the garage floor. done deal.

maybe some day when global warming has claimed the polar bears and penguins which are somehow tied to black widow spiders in an intricate butterfly effect that would make national geographic proud i will mourn the loss of these poisonous little beasts. until then, i'm going to keep my car windows closed in the garage and a can of spray lubricant in the garage.

Monday, July 14, 2008

current playlist

the camel - fat freddy's drop - the camel
strawberry swing - coldplay - viva la vida
lovers in tokyo - coldplay - viva la vida
libertad - pacifika - asuncion
starfish and coffee - prince - sign o' the times
charlotte - booka shade - the sun and the neon light
restless (fake blood remix) - UNKLE - restless E.P.
ocean - pearl jam - ten
mother nature - the orb - the dream
bryn - vampire weekend - vampire weekend
a punk - vampire weekend - vampire weekend
love revolution - bitter:sweet - drama
pro nails (bag raider's mix) - kid sister - pro nails remixes