Yesterday, after my fifth visit to Immigration, I finally got my coveted visa, and I decided for a treat to celebrate.
I bought a big bag of dog food ( I was almost out anyway )
I bought a big bottle of dish washing liquid
and I bought a new mop....
I've got to get a life.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Another One
The worthless Ones, particularly Piggy, have a special bark for things out of the ordinary. It can be anything from a garbage can left in the street to creepy crawlies on the floor whilst watching the tely, so when I heard this bark I set out to check and see what might be the cause.
It came from the spare room, and I checked and found nothing and went back to doing whatever I was doing .
But the bark persisted, so I returned and checked more thoroughly and there, under the bed, on some rolled up carpets , was the cause.
A snake.
I went to get my trusty cleaver and a broom, but by the time I got my snake killing equipment together, the snake had hidden in one of the rolled up carpets.
Now, doing nothing was not an option. I would never be able to sleep again, knowing that a snake was hiding under the bed, even if it was in another room.
So I dragged the rolled-up carpets out on the deck and unfurled them over the fence that faces the jungle and watched as with a thump and a mighty squiggle the snake fell out of one the carpets and landed in the undergrowth.
Out of the house.
And it was a sizable one, this snake. Compared to the one I killed the other night, this was easily twice the length and twice the girth. Big one.
All this snakery makes you check twice before you sit down on the couch and be sure the lights are on before the in-the-middle-of-the- night trip to the loo for a pee.
I hope it is temporary.
It came from the spare room, and I checked and found nothing and went back to doing whatever I was doing .
But the bark persisted, so I returned and checked more thoroughly and there, under the bed, on some rolled up carpets , was the cause.
A snake.
I went to get my trusty cleaver and a broom, but by the time I got my snake killing equipment together, the snake had hidden in one of the rolled up carpets.
Now, doing nothing was not an option. I would never be able to sleep again, knowing that a snake was hiding under the bed, even if it was in another room.
So I dragged the rolled-up carpets out on the deck and unfurled them over the fence that faces the jungle and watched as with a thump and a mighty squiggle the snake fell out of one the carpets and landed in the undergrowth.
Out of the house.
And it was a sizable one, this snake. Compared to the one I killed the other night, this was easily twice the length and twice the girth. Big one.
All this snakery makes you check twice before you sit down on the couch and be sure the lights are on before the in-the-middle-of-the- night trip to the loo for a pee.
I hope it is temporary.
Monday, December 1, 2008
My House
I was expecting James and Kathy to show up, so Sunday night when I heard the car door slam, I jumped up to go and turn on the outside lights for them and stopped in my tracks for there, in the middle of the hallway, was a snake, right in my path.
I yelled at the mutts to back off, which they didn't
I yelled at James and Kathy to remain outside, which they did
And rushed to the kitchen to grab my snakekilling cleaver and hack the serpent to many and squiggly pieces.
Then, and only then did I open the door, knowing Kathy's intense dislike for snakes, particularly
live ones.
I scooped the still moving parts in to a plastic bag to be disposed of later and sat down to have a pleasant visit with James and Kathy.
With the mutts, the rodents, the bats and now snakes, it is getting to be a bit crowded in my house.
I yelled at the mutts to back off, which they didn't
I yelled at James and Kathy to remain outside, which they did
And rushed to the kitchen to grab my snakekilling cleaver and hack the serpent to many and squiggly pieces.
Then, and only then did I open the door, knowing Kathy's intense dislike for snakes, particularly
live ones.
I scooped the still moving parts in to a plastic bag to be disposed of later and sat down to have a pleasant visit with James and Kathy.
With the mutts, the rodents, the bats and now snakes, it is getting to be a bit crowded in my house.
Friday, November 28, 2008
La Migra , again.
Today was the third trip to immigration in my yearly quest for the renewal of my visa.
And I dutifully arrived early to stand in line outside and wait for the office to open so we- others were there before me - could be given a number and herded inside like cattle to slaughter where we got to wait some more.
And then my number was called and a nice lady took my number and papers and I got to wait some more.
She got back and smiled sweetly and said there was a problem; I had been late in starting the process so I had to pay a fine. To pay this fine, the nice lady said, I had to go to a bank with a form she would give me, pay the amount and return with receipt and two copies of same.
So I did.
I jumped a bus and fought a recalcitrant ATM machine ( it won ) found another and got the money to pay the fine, rushed to the bank to wait in line and then to pay and catch another bus back to immigration to wait in line to present my very own " Mission Accomplished ".
And the nice lady smiled sweetly and took my papers, disappeared and I got to wait some more.
She came back and pointed at my papers and said
This is the wrong amount. You have to go back to the bank and pay the correct amount and get a receipt for the that. Only the correct amount. Nothing else will be acceptable.
So, due to a clerical error, I had to return to the bank and battle bank bureaucracy to pay the missing amount and get a spanking new receipt.
And I persevered and I returned, triumphantly, to immigration with the new receipt and the the requisite copies and got to wait again till the nice lady took my papers and smiled sweetly at me and told me to wait a while.
And she came back and sweetly told me that now everything was fine and I should come back in about ten days.
To Be Continued..........
And I dutifully arrived early to stand in line outside and wait for the office to open so we- others were there before me - could be given a number and herded inside like cattle to slaughter where we got to wait some more.
And then my number was called and a nice lady took my number and papers and I got to wait some more.
She got back and smiled sweetly and said there was a problem; I had been late in starting the process so I had to pay a fine. To pay this fine, the nice lady said, I had to go to a bank with a form she would give me, pay the amount and return with receipt and two copies of same.
So I did.
I jumped a bus and fought a recalcitrant ATM machine ( it won ) found another and got the money to pay the fine, rushed to the bank to wait in line and then to pay and catch another bus back to immigration to wait in line to present my very own " Mission Accomplished ".
And the nice lady smiled sweetly and took my papers, disappeared and I got to wait some more.
She came back and pointed at my papers and said
This is the wrong amount. You have to go back to the bank and pay the correct amount and get a receipt for the that. Only the correct amount. Nothing else will be acceptable.
So, due to a clerical error, I had to return to the bank and battle bank bureaucracy to pay the missing amount and get a spanking new receipt.
And I persevered and I returned, triumphantly, to immigration with the new receipt and the the requisite copies and got to wait again till the nice lady took my papers and smiled sweetly at me and told me to wait a while.
And she came back and sweetly told me that now everything was fine and I should come back in about ten days.
To Be Continued..........
Friday, November 21, 2008
Batty
I fear that, amongst the many wel- and - unwelcome critters that I share my house with, I need to add ......bats.
For days I have found droppings on the floor under one of the chandeliers, and wings and legs and other indigestible parts of grasshoppers.
Now the geckos are too small to tackle these locust looking insects and when one of the mutts catches one of the big, green grasshoppers, it is only to kill it; then they loose interest and leave the whole carcass around.
This is something different. This is not only a kill of the insect, but also a devouring of same, except of course for the wings and such.
And all I can think of is bats since they are nocturnal and carnivorous and they can most likely hang from some part of the chandelier and do their thing.
Welcome to Alan's House of Horrors.
For days I have found droppings on the floor under one of the chandeliers, and wings and legs and other indigestible parts of grasshoppers.
Now the geckos are too small to tackle these locust looking insects and when one of the mutts catches one of the big, green grasshoppers, it is only to kill it; then they loose interest and leave the whole carcass around.
This is something different. This is not only a kill of the insect, but also a devouring of same, except of course for the wings and such.
And all I can think of is bats since they are nocturnal and carnivorous and they can most likely hang from some part of the chandelier and do their thing.
Welcome to Alan's House of Horrors.
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
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