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Monday, June 25, 2012

double whammy

so there I was, ignoring my itchy-scratchy cough for the most part and enjoying my day off, getting lots of writing done, and even sitting in the sun for an hour or so. It was all going swimmingly until about 9PM when my house was suddenly attacked, swarmed by hundreds and hundreds of ants. Now I don't necessarily mind ants, as long as they're OUTSIDE where they belong. But these guys were EVERYWHERE. Inside MY house!

It was 9PM and fortunately my local grocery story was still open so I raced over there and bought some RAID ant killer after which my son and I spent the next 3 hours spraying, killing, and cleaning. Then just as I sat back down at my computer, whammy #2 slammed into me like a freight train going 120mph. I was suddenly aching all over and struck by a horrible headache along with a fever of 101. I was hot, I was cold, and every inch of my body hurt. I couldn't even sleep because I was in so much pain and by this time my local grocery store was closed.

What a horrible night! And it was made worse by the sound of my son killing ants downstairs, the tell-tale slap of his sandals against the floor or wall or wherever the little bastards were crawling. I hardly slept at all and as soon as I got up Saturday morning it was back to the store for some Tylenol per nurse mom's instructions, after which I was finally able to get some rest. As I write this, it is late Saturday afternoon and I am just coming to life. I am supposed to be over at my brother's house playing Skyrim, drinking wine and eating burgers hot off the grill. Instead, I am a sick little camper and quite displeased at having lost an entire day of writing not to mention the fact that I didn't kill a single bandit, magic user, or troll, nor did I advance my position at the college of magic in Winterhold.

And did I mention I hate ants?

27 comments:

  1. Oh no! It's awful when you're ready to write and life just gets in the way. I remember one summer when we were kids and our town was hit by a freak plague of flying ants. The pavements were black with their bodies. Urgh. I hate them too.

    Hope you feel better soon.

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  2. "It's always something" - Gilda Radner

    Invading ants turn me into a wild woman. From about March until August, I walk the perimeter armed with bait, Home Defense, and my thumb.

    *cue military music*

    Hope you are feeling better now. I didn't have the ants *cross fingers* but I did have your '...aching...headache...fever of 101..." Horrible is the right word for it.

    Btw, try ant bait around the outside of your outside. That seems to work best. Keep the little shits outside where they belong.

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  3. When ants interfere with your questing, things have gone too far!

    I hope you're on the mend though :)

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  4. I agree with Huntress. Apparently they're coming in cause it's been so wet here. Looking for dry land in the flood. Sorry you're feeling like crap. I had that, whatever it was. I felt like my joints were on fire. Blech. Languish abed, fluids and rest. :)

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    Replies
    1. Yep, I felt pretty awful. Spent all day Saturday in bed. damn, what a waste of a perfectly good day to write.

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  5. Hope you are feeling better today!! Take care
    x

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  6. Hope the Raid didn't make you sicker. Blech. I had that happen once, where the ants got in the house right as I was going to bed. So not fun. Get those bait traps with the borax in them and put them outside. They take the bait back to the queen and kill her so she can't keep reproducing the little buggers.

    Hope you're feeling better!

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  7. sorry about your crappy weekend! hope the ants all DIE!

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  8. I'm so sorry! Whatever you have, pass it to the ants. Maybe it will kill them off.

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    Replies
    1. Alex, always has great ideas. Hope you feel better soon, mshatch.

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  9. Boo! I hope you're feeling better.

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  10. You poor baby. I hope you're feeling better now. No time's a good time to be sick, but the miserable heat of summer makes it seem all that much worse. Not to mention the sheer unmitigated inconvenience, the utter rudeness, of the creeping crud to dare strike when you had so many BETTER things to do than lie around feeling like crap.

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  11. awww sorry you have been feeling bad and ants too:(

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  12. Ugh, ants. I feel your pain. It's time to call the exterminator.

    I hope you feel better.

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    Replies
    1. Better today and haven't seen any ants thank God.

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  13. Hope you are feeling better by now. That ant story is a nightmare in my book!

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    1. It WAS a nightmare, more so for my son since he sleeps downstairs and that's where all the ants were. I don't think he slept at all, poor thing.

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  14. I'm sorry you went through that. We keep a stock of ant bombs in the house for just that occasion!

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    1. can't bomb because of pets :( though I don't imagine the Raid was good for any of us.

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  15. That stinks! We had an infestation of flying ants one year and it was the worst thing EVER! I hope it's all cleared up now and that you're feeling better soon! *hugs*

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    Replies
    1. thank you Jeni :) Haven't seen any ants inside *crossing fingers*

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  16. Oh, oh, you've got a major invasion. Those things are nasty. It's an old country cure but one that I've found works. Do you have any oatmeal in the house? the old-fashioned, slow cooking stuff? If not, it might be worth a trip to the grocery. Sprinkle oatmeal wherever you think ants are coming into the house. They will take the stuff back to nests, eat it, then explode. RIP! If nests are outside, sprinkle some there. Ditto effect. Their demise doesn't take long. Hope you're feeling better soonest. Those bites are as nasty as the critters.

    I can't decide if I'm going to post an excerpt. Everything I've read says not to as the excerpt can be a problem down the road if one's picked up. Truth be told, I'm hoping LSU Press will knock on my door. LSU and Alabama have the two largest presses in the South and work to showcase regional writers.

    Hope you finish those three chapters and type The End soon!

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