There is a hill to the side of our house that is called "Habu Hill." Habu refers to certain types of venemous snakes in Japanese, but it also refers specifically to an uber-venomous pit-viper (like a rattle snake without the rattle...and aggressive). They do like to hide (luckily) so as long as you don't go in the brushy, jungly areas, you should be fine...but there always are those stories of them turning up in housing...so I'm not letting my guard down.
It didn't help that on my FIRST morning here...(Christmas Eve, thank you very much!) a kindly (NOT!), little (NOT!) gecko JUMPED at me from behind my bathroom mirror. I did NOT want any car insurance and I was NOT appreciative of his welcome. He got the hint as I screamed in horror, and he jumped to the ground and scurried behind the vanity. Cliff did NOT appreciate my shrieking as he was in the shower contemplating how he was going to deal with the axe murderer while in the nude. Since then, we've heard other geckos in our house...they make these "cute" chirping noises at night...still creeps me out. As I'm cringing, I try to remind myself that they are eating all the bugs in my house.
Then I found this guy the other day, trying to climb through my front door:
I had to get a picture of his pretty red pinchers, but then he had to go. My original plan was to relocate him to the sidewalk and smash him under my shoe...but I didn't want the bad karma, so I took him to the tree in front of our house and let him go there. He's just a baby, after all (they get to be quite large, and the bigger they get, the more poisonous and painful their sting). As long as he stays outside, we'll get along just fine.
I wonder if geckos eat centipedes?
22 comments:
Ew ew ew. You brave little soldier. :) You know what, though? I have never seen nastier spiders than the ones in El Centro - the massive, sprinting, hairy brown ones and the humungo black widows. I guess your bug story is just continuing from the desert to the jungle.
I love seeing the pictures! Stay safe and watch out for Habus!!
Never a dull moment. It's just the cost of living the life of Riley on an island paradise.
Chat soon,
Lisa
I grew up with geckos in the house and centipedes everywhere! Have fun with that... Totally cracked up at your write up
Quote from my mom when I was 12 years old and crawling out of something not unlike Habu Hill with my sister and a group of neighborhood friends:
"DONTYOUKNOWTHEREAREDEADLYPOISONOUSSNAKESINTHERETHATWILLWRAPTHEMSELVESAROUNDYOURNECKANDCHOKEYOUTOYOURDEATHIFIEVERCATCHYOUGOINGINTHEREAGAINIWILLKILLYOUMYSELFLONGBEFORETHESNAKSGETACHANCE."
And that's why I'm afraid of worms....nevermind, the habu.
ROTFLOL, Janette!! Now I remember you telling me that story...only I didn't connect the two until now...talk about a full circle moment...here I am living where your fear began! So glad to reconnect with you...you need to tell me if there is anything I should see, do, acquire (my fave), etc. while we are here! Love and hugs...
I'm terrified of geckos, too. Well...not quite terrified, but I really was never happy with them.
How are the boys enjoying my almost-but-not-quite-alma-mater??
The one thing I will tell you is that four years from now you will be ripping off a very painful bandaid. Try not to think about it. I know for a fact that bandaid was why my dad retired shortly after we left -- couldn't ever risk ripping off a bandaid like that one was. Leaving there was brutal.....
But, for now...Enjoy!!
How is your ward?
I know what you mean...I see it in those friends that I know who have left recently, or are preparing to leave. I am going to try to enjoy every moment...even while Cliff is gone. We are trying to be very purposeful in what we do and see here and how often.
The boys love it. I think Coree does, too...but she is still saying she wants to go "home" (El Centro).
The kids ALL decided to go back to school! We gave them the choice as we had heard great things about the DOD schools...but Coree was the only one who wanted to go at first...then Jake, but the older two were totally opposed...until they started doing things with some of the youth in the ward and they got the "inside scoop" (nothing I would have told them could possibly be valid) and then they were suddenly all for it. They start in less than 2 weeks...I really do hope that they all like it, even though it will be a HUGE change for me!
It could either be a huge stress reducer while Cliff is gone, or a huge stress inducer, as we both know too well that school can be full of parent-stressors. I've listened to the stories of friends who have home schooled and then transitioned back, and the judgments of teachers or administrators for any possible weakness "well, he was home schooled...we're going to have our work cut out for us"...Maybe I'm jumping the gun, but I'm steeling myself all the same.
The ward (Branch, actually) is GREAT! We have been made to feel so welcome...the youth program is stronger here than in our old ward...we had almost no YM, but here there are tons, and they are good guys. I still hardly know anyone...it takes time, but I'm sure I'll continue to love it.
I'm not going to lie...I have a VERY hard time when Cliff leaves, and that will be a little over a month from now, and I know that will be here in a blink...but I am trying to set myself up for success...I even started taking advantage of the free ladies golf lessons, and there is a gym right around the block from my house...so I have no excuses. Exercise helps my state of mind a lot.
Well, I wrote a book here! It's so great to hear from you. I hope you guys are all doing well. How are Chris and Mark? I loved your Christmas Card...Mark is so handsome! Isn't it funny how you know your own kids are growing, but when you don't see other people's kids they are still stuck in a time-warp in your mind?
Take Care! Love, Carrie
Just so you know.....they, the icky long leggy things, can survive the wash cycle, even on hot! Nooo fun trying to get them out of the washer eaither!! Life in the tropics! Shake your shoes before you put them on, Ty saved his foot once by shaking out one before he stomped into it! They are more abundant in the rainy season and during typhoons, i find them on my stairs, in the house!!! UUHHG! Hate those things! Kill them when you see them!!! LOL!
AAARRGGHH!!! I was so hoping he was a rare specimen that I might never see again...I'm crushed to know that they are so common. What other delights await my discovery around here?
You didn't need insurance. haha.. you're hysterical. I have the heebie jeebies already. I SO wish I could fly over there and be with you while Cliff is gone! How long will he be away??
Hey, how do I post a picture? I signed in. Does it matter that I don't have a blog? I thought it'd be pretty easy but I'm not techno savvy.
Thanks,
Lisa
I just realized it posted my picture. I was looking @ an old comment. Maybe I'm techno savvy afterall. Now, you can see my mug on a regular basis.
Thanks,
Lisa
Lisa...YAY! I'm glad you figured it out...I like visual aids!
Auntie M...Cliff will be gone from 6 to 7 months, so you never know...you might find a deal! I'm learning all the cool places to go so I'll be prepared for visitors!
Ugh.. 6-7 months?? Ok, I'll start looking. Which airlines do I watch?? I can't seem to find much of anything that flies into Okinawa.
United, primarily. We flew United from San Fran to Osaka and then ANA (All Nippon Airways) to Okinawa. Some people go through Tokyo, it just depends. That would be totally sweet if you found something affordable! :-D
The strange thing is that when I do a fare search on Expedia for Tokyo-Naha I get a fare of $1400+, thinking I could use my Skymiles from Delta SLC-Tokyo (which I can). The fare from SLC to Naha is $1300! Tell me how that makes sense?? haha
OK...That makes absolutely no sense! Now I'm going to check with our travel office here and see what they say...because that's crazy!
Ok let me know what you find out!
You gotta take a little "field trip" to the Gym up stairs on Lester. There's a one room animal museum upstairs next to the enviromental health people (Greg's old crew). They have all sorts of DEAD and alive creatures that you can look out for and learn about. It's totally awesome! I'd take all the children I could up there and bring cookies to the guys that let us in.=-)Have fun!
Great tip, Taryn! I'm totally going to do that...my baking stuff will be here on Friday, so I'm going to give it a try next week. Our kids will love it. Thanks!
@#^%$@#-it, I keep losing my way back here! Do you have a Facebook page???
I do...I just neglect it, that's all. I haven't even added a picture, for which the Lovely Lisa keeps pestering me! What do you need to know to find it?
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