Checking In

A reader asks:

How's the job?  How's South Carolina?  How's life treating you?

The job is good. Starting to get settled in. I have health insurance and paychecks, so that's fantastic!

South Carolina is beautiful, and filled with strange wildlife. Loved going to the beach in October!

All-in-all life is good!

Not much else to say just now, but thought I'd let you know I'm still here, plugging away and doing better than just gettin' by. :o)

Ah, Hilton Head in October!

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."

Interesting facts about my soon-to-be new home state

South Carolina:

• Is one of the original 13 colonies
• Was the first state to vote to secede from the Union and was the founding state of the Confederate States of America.  :-|
• The state tree (which is also the state tree of Florida), the Sabal Palmetto (a.k.a. Cabbage Palmetto), featured on the state flag, is in fact NOT a tree, but is actually a grass. 
• In addition to its commonly-known nickname of "The Palmetto State," South Carolina also bears the nicknames "The Iodine State" & "The Rice State."
• They have a State Dog, the Boykin Spaniel.

Well, that's a good enough list for now. I'm sure I'll be coming across loads of other ones, and I plan to "blog my way South," because there are oh-so-many new and amusing sights and experiences I'm sure I'll just have to share!

Say hello to the newest Sand Shark!

Come Labor Day, this Midwestern girl will be living in the South. I just got a full time job offer as a Reference & Instruction Librarian at the University of South Carolina Beaufort! Yay!!