Palmetto Bugs

= Cockroaches.

I has 'em.  :-[

Palmetto Bug

American Cockroach

Can you tell a difference? I can't. That's cuz there IS NONE.

Just read this on a discussion board about how to get rid of palmetto bugs. It is the Funniest Thing EVER:

Coming from NY, I thought waterbugs were my worst nightmare. I have always hated and been creeped out by them. So imagine my complete horror to move to Florida and find that my worst nightmare has gained an additional inch AND WINGS!!!

The first time I saw a Palmetto Bug fly, I fell to my knees and crawled backwards out of the room hysterical. I mean, to put this into perspective for those who think we have nothing to fear, it's like a person who's afraid of clowns being faced by Shaquille O'Neal in clown suit and coming at them in a B1 bomber.

 OMG I can't stop laughing at this analogy!! This article has a pretty good summary of these vile beasts as well.

But in all seriousness, I need them OUT of my house! I have placed a call to my apartment complex office and also filled out an online work order with them. So far, no response. I am not surprised, but I can no longer casually walk into my bathroom. I stop at the doorway, flip on the light, glance around, then make some kind of noise before entering.

Yesterday I was pulling the last 2 rolls of toilet paper out of the plastic wrapper. Of course I banged on the cabinet door before opening it, then pulled the package out with only a thumb & forefinger, touching just 1-square inch of the corner of the plastic packaging, did a throughout shaking and visual inspection, and only then did I attempt to extract the fresh rolls of TP. At some point in this process, a stray end of the plastic packaging brushed against my hand and I jumped, shrieked and dropped the package. I had to laugh at myself, but at the same time, it's really frustrating to feel so jumpy in my own place all the time!

And since I saw one creeping under a suitcase I still need to unpack the other night, well, I haven't been very motivated to unpack my clothes--not to mention move that suitcase!

*shuddering, goose bumpy & jumpy!*

Next time remind me to tell you about how the plants are biters and trees throw things at me!

SC Sights

One of the only signs that it's getting on fall...

A random bumper sticker chuckle

Home Sweet... Sprawling Apartment Complex

0.6 miles from my Dads' house to my new apartment, all on the banks of the Broad River in Beaufort.

Life's a Beach!

...And then you burn.

I made my first trip out to Hilton Head Island today. The weather was beautiful, though despite the SPF 70, I think I've got a few sunburnt spots. Coligny Beach was amazing, and I've now got a list of things I wanna acquire and keep in the car in case of an emergency beach attack: beach chair, umbrella, sun lotion, beach towel and maybe an extra swim suit.

Hence, I was sort of ill-prepared to spend much time on the beach today, but I did manage to wander along in the knee-deep surf for a bit and soaked the bottom edges of my shorts. The water was so perfect I almost just went for a dip in my clothes! :-D

Check out my Labor Day Weekend pictures!

First day of new job tomorrow. No more flip-flops & tank tops. Gotta iron my "Librarian duds."

I wanna Feng Shui...

My new apartment, 660 square feet

So I want to Feng Shui my new place. I don't know which way is North yet. And I don't really know a whole lot about Feng Shui, just a few very basic principles, mostly related to the arrangement of bedroom furniture.

I've been poking around About.com's section on Feng Shui, and while it's quite interesting so far, it's also so multi-faceted it's got me wishing I could just find someone to look at the place with me and help me get it done. I'm sure there are people out there (and probably around here) who do that sort of thing professionally, but I'm not sure I would be able to afford such a service.

But still, Feng Shui as always fascinated me, and I'd like to have some idea of ideal layouts for this place from the outset, and then continue to grow into the other, more subtle elements.

Any suggestions or input?

Playing Blog Catch-Up

I've gotten behind with my ambitious plan to Blog My Way South. Surprise, surprise, right?

Anyway, I decided to upload several of the pictures I took along my drive to my Flickr account, so here they are: Moving South.

[There's a misplaced modifier in that sentence somehow (After all, I didn't drive to my Flickr account.), but I can't figure out how to fix it without the sentence sounding really clunky... Which reminds me of an GREAT interview I heard on NPR today: Gene Owens, Greasepit Grammar - this guy is a HOOT!]

All-in-all, Tennessee is was probably my favorite part of the drive, though the never-ending Smokies on the 2nd day were kind of exhausting. Kentucky and what little I saw of North Carolina are a close second. Most of South Carolina was, frankly, boring as snot. Green and verdant, yes, but flat and comparatively boring. But then when I started approaching The Lowcountry, it got beautiful & tropical. Ahhh!

Library-geek that I am, I got my library card yesterday, and checked out two books already! Now this is one historic library:

In other news, I got an apartment lined up today! Just a couple of blocks from where I'm staying with my dad right now in Beaufort. It'll be more of a commute to my job, but the place just felt right, especially compared to the other place I saw in Bluffton. And, most importantly, they gave me the price I told myself that if they gave me I was going to go with it. And so I did! I might be able to get in as soon as next week/end. And, if everything flows according to the revised plan in my head, the movers will be able to take my stuff straight to my new digs instead of a storage unit after all. So, even though it'll mean a bit longer of a commute to work (thought it *will* be pretty much straight shot down a highway), I'd just rather live in Beaufort for now.

I'm gonna be living in this building!

I don't really have much on my agenda for the weekend, other to just take it easy and continue to explore the area before work starts on Tuesday. I would like to go check out Hilton Head Island, but perhaps that is a trip better made AFTER Labor Day weekend is over... I'm tempted to go prowl around Savannah. But more than likely, I will continue to explore more of Historic Beaufort, especially admiring the very old and very beautiful houses behind the USCB Beaufort campus. Also likely spend a little time at the waterfront. My personal goals are to have some fresh local seafood--preferably crab or shrimp--very soon, and to find some good BBQ this weekend.

While I am quickly falling in love with downtown Beaufort, my trip to Bluffton today was less than satisfying. The beautiful, yet highly frustrating thing to a newcomer trying to find her way around is that everything is buried behind trees, bushes, flowers and just overall dense greenery. Signs are low to the ground, and often of a fairly uniform color. So you can't really see the place you're looking for until you're right on top of it, or worse, just past it. Narg.

But still, am enjoying the discovery phase, and it all just feels so full of Good Karma.

Namaste, y'all!