Rhine versus the Ants

Ever read the short story "Leiningen versus the Ants" by Carl Stephenson? If you haven't, read it here. Like most short stories, it's rather disturbing. I read it back in high school and have been slightly freaked out by ants ever since. I also watched a documentary on siafu ants found in third world countries. They sometimes eat people who are sleeping or are too sick to fight them off (if I remember correctly). You can check out the Wikipedia article here if you want to read more about them (because if you're like me you have to research every single new piece of information that you come across). This documentary perpetuated my minor fear of ants.

Anyways, I'm taking on the ants in my kitchen. They attack at least once every year. It usually happens in late summer and early fall. I've already had one infestation. I conquered them with grits and ant bait. On Saturday, I came back from a short camping trip to another infestation in my kitchen. This one was worse than the last one. They actually made it off of the counters and onto the floor. I think they generally are encouraged to come when there are excessive heat and excessive dirty dishes. 

Yes, I will admit I didn't wash my dishes before my overnight camp-out. My mom will now give me a short lecture after reading this. I just ran out of time. Fun is sometimes more important than cleanliness. Anyways, my kitchen was primed for an ant invasion. So after cleaning my kitchen thoroughly, I covered the countertops with a combination of grits and cayenne pepper. I also set up my ant baits. I'm not sure if they have any bait left in them. We'll see what happens. If there are still ants crawling around by tomorrow morning, I'm moving on to stage 2 of the annihilation plan. This stage involves maple syrup and more ant baits. I refuse to end up like Leiningen!

I finally own a Kindle! Like I said I said in a previous post, I'm the last one on the bandwagon. I first heard about the Kindle back in college when I was the personal secretary to a technology professor. He showed me the promo video for it before it even was on the market. It was like $400 back then. I thought it was the most amazing thing ever but thought it would be sad to lose the new book smell and the ability to see the thickness of how much I'd already read change. I also could never see myself spending $400 on a piece of technology. My laptop at the time had only cost $99. I'm a techno cheapskate.

Then I noticed the Kindle getting cheaper and cheaper and cheaper. One of my 6th graders got one for Christmas. As I was buying textbooks for my grad classes I noticed that some of my textbooks were available for Kindle. My husband downloaded Kindle for PC and started purchasing his textbooks for Kindle. Then wonder of wonder, miracles of miracles...Kindle offered a new model for only $114. The only downside is that it has advertising on it. Who cares? You barely even notice them.

So, I put it on my Amazon wishlist hoping that my dad would pick up on the hint and buy me one for my birthday. He did! He's still pretty skeptical about it because he's a techno cheapskate like me. (Hey, I learned from the best.) He thinks I'll never use it. I'll show him. I plan to flaunt it in his face when he comes to visit me in a week. Maybe he'll buy one for himself.

I've already downloaded several free classics. I, unlike the most of the world, actually do read classic literature for fun. I need to finish my paper copy of a Tale of Two Cities and then I'll have to decide which Kindle book to start first. I'm thinking the first one will be The Scarlet Letter because it's a real crying shame that I graduated from college with an English degree and have never read it. I could probably ace a test over it though, because I know the premise of the story and even know the characters' names.

I'm really looking forward to buying able to buy books cheaper and then not having to store them. My apartment is teeny and my hubby and I are both bibliophiles. I'm also looking forward to reading outside at my favorite park. The electronic ink technology allows you to read off of the screen without a glare. It's pretty incredible. I told my husband that I might just buy a monthly train pass to the large, crime-filled city near my house and then just ride the train and read my Kindle so I can feel like I'm a cool city girl (even though I'm a super-nerdy country girl.)

Sweat and Sunshine

I "sat out" for the first time of the summer today. My pasty white skin was hungry for some good ole Vitamin D. I know all of the health warnings about sun and skin cancer. I actually did a research project on it once. I came to the conclusion that outdoor tanning is slightly better for you than indoor tanning. I've done indoor tanning as well. I was forced to by an unnamed female family member. I had to do it before my senior pictures and before my wedding. I truly hate indoor tanning. I won't go into all of the nasty reasons I hate it, but I hate it. I won't be doing it ever again if I can help it.

Sitting out at my apartment is a bit complex. Our apartment is actually a garage that was converted into an apartment. Our landlord, his wife, and their youngest daughter live in the house attached to our apartment.Our home is right at the edge of a small forest. It's great because of all the wonderful shade and hiking trails right in our backyard. It's not great, however, for sitting out. I decided to set up facing lawn chairs in our driveway as soon as my husband left for for his second job. The driveway is the only spot that receives direct sunlight. I probably looked like a total loser sitting in the driveway desperately trying to get some color, but I don't care.

I had a Mr. Freezie in my hand along with a cup of water with an entire tray of ice cubes (not exaggerating) and A Tale of Two Cities. It was super relaxing. My landlord's wife thought I was crazy for sitting out in this 90+ degree heat, but I don't care. It was totally worth it to me. I think my 3 month summer vacation is probably one of the best perks about being a teacher. Before you non-teachers start griping about that, compare your salary to mine and you'll see that life isn't so unfair after all. : )