Apartment Update

CRICKETS 2008: I haven't spotted any more. I realize that I just jinxed myself and that I will inevitably have 30 crickets hopping madly all over my stuff when I get home tonight now that I have typed this all out in black and white, but this weekend and yesterday went really well. No more cricket sightings to relate at the present!

CRICKETS 2007: I just realized that I never informed my avid readers and concerned fellow citizens about the outcome of last year's summer of terror with the 2007 invaders. The final tally of crickets was 45 to 4. As in, I killed 45 in my apartment but 4 wily crickets escaped my cunning attempts to send them into the next life. Please don't report me to the SCF [Save the Crickets Foundation]. I personally don't wish crickets ill, but when they come into my apartment uninvited and attempt to kill me by giving me a heart attack or extreme anxiety, I have to put my foot down. For the record, I have never invited a cricket or other insect, beetle, spider or bug into my apartment, and so unless there is a bed & breakfast website with my home listed as a haven for these species, these critters are quite clearly trespassing and have to go!

BIRDS 2008: The nest and parents-to-be are still residents in my carport. I believe the eggs must be getting close to hatching any day now. Mrs. Bird doesn't leave her nest much anymore, although she still gives me the evil eye every time I approach. Yes, birds can give you the evil eye. Trust me. Haven't you seen the Hitchcock classic, The Birds? And as for Mr. Bird, he still swoops down from his perch and dives down at me a bit, but it has been happening less and less, which I think is a good sign. I do hope they are not expecting some type of gift for the newborns. I mean, my Christmases are already too expensive what with the 9 nieces and nephews and all. YIKES!

HOUSE HUNT: OK, so I know that everyone keeps telling me that I need to buy a house and stop throwing my money away on rent. I get the point, I do. It is just not on the top of my priority list yet. It's not that I am afraid of committment. I've been in this committed relationship with the same apartment for 7 years. I'm a very loyal person. [Seeing that in writing seems rather depressing...7 years in the same apartment? Really??] Anyway, I'm just not ready to jump into home ownership yet. I don't know if that makes me wired differently from everyone else or what, but I like the idea that I can just pack up and move any day. You know, if I suddenly need to move to Asheville to run the Biltmore Estate or something like that, I only have a lease to cancel, and I am so on my way. So, we all know that THAT is not going to happen, but I like to keep the option available just in case the call comes in. Maybe I'll change my mind before I'm 40, but right now, I'm content with my 1-bedroom flat. Life is good!