Of Ants and Grasshoppers

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You will be happy to know I am re-employed.

I took a week off, slept in late, cleaned house (not really), surfed the internet, and did nothing. At one point, I shopped in a thrift store. But yesterday I had fork over an obscene amount of money to pay rent (it ruined my day), and that's when I realized that despite all my dreams and wishes, my savings aren't going to hold out forever. So today I marched myself straight over to my NEW chosen place of potential employment and started throwing around names. At the end of my two-hour period of polite hoop-jumping, I was re-employed.

It's not great--there are multiple branches, and I volunteered to take classes on the opposite side of town. During rush hour. But seeing that this was the only work they could offer till Christmas, and knowing that I have debts to pay, it felt right to accept. The person quitting the post seems to be working another job and finds the evening classes to be cumbersome, so I volunteered to relieve her. It's only an hour and a half per evening, heck.

Luckily, the place I'm at is more what I'm looking for. I teach adults and possibly high-school kids. Classes are kind of large, but at least I was given instructions for what I am supposed to be doing. I have been put in contact with the branch manager and the person I am relieving of duties, and I meet with them tomorrow so that we can successfully transition. I also have several friends who work with the same company. Like I said, it's not great, but it will certainly do. Maybe I can change my classes next term--if I survive the daily journey through traffic, that is. (I can guarantee I am going to get hurt.)

So, Yanzi survives for another month. I chose to celebrate by eating at Titanic with an online friend.

Tomorrow, I have to deal with the minutiae of daily existence, however--I need to buy supplies now that I have income. For some reason unknown to me, tiny ants have been taking over my apartment. They march through my bathroom and my front door. They swarm all over my floor so that I step on them when I try to walk. There is no food on the ground, and no excuse.

And yesterday, the grasshoppers came. Lots of them, jumping in through my front door and bouncing off my walls. Why, I ask you? They've never bothered me before. When I walk, I step on them too, because they refuse to move. I swept out a carcass today, and since the ants carried it off, they haven't been back despite the copious breadcrumbs I dropped on my floor.

Can anyone explain this behavior? Accessing my inner ant and inner grasshopper has yielded no results.

Nature is completely insane, when you live on the fourth floor.

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Comments

[seamallowance]

"I chose to celebrate by eating at Titanic with an online friend." This "online friend", while clearly located in another country (but still feeling somewhat peckish), remained uninvited. :(

[Global Drifter]

Maybe because you were in China and not doing the inviting...

[Danna]

What a relief!
Sooo glad you found another job and so quickly! Way to go! I'm also glad you finally get to teach adults and at least get clear directions on what to do. Too bad it isn't close to your apt, but nothing's perfect, right? I'll be praying you don't get harmed on your treks to work. When do you start? Do they have stores that sell bugspray? There are natural ways to deter bugs. Just look it up online. Try "ant repellent" or "grasshopper deterrent". I'm sure you'll find something. Until then, be looking for your package in the mail! It's yellow with polka dots!