April 8, 2007

Jigsaw (the evil genius from the Saw movies) + Resurrection Sunday = Story of the Easter Beetle

It was late Thursday night. I was sitting at my desk when I noticed a small speck crawling on the ceiling. It was a small beetle. When bugs or spiders are on the ceiling, I usually take extra care not to miss when I crush them. I hate it when I just get a swipe at it and it falls down and runs loose on the floor. Because it was late and the only thing I had to stand on to was my swiveling chair, which is never really a safe thing to do, so I decided to play a game.

This game was going to be called Taped to the Wall. I was going to tape the beetle to the wall and see if it could escape. Using 2 short pieces of tape, I trapped the bug on the wall near the ceiling. I made sure there was a air pocket, but also made sure the tape was attached securely to the wall so the beetle couldn't escape easily. Now we play. Live or die, make your choice!
(I sometimes tape insects to the wall when I can't find a tisue or something nearby. This is hold the bug in place until I am ready to smash it. It also serves as a warning to other bugs who may be thinking about intruding into my private space.)

Friday, I was running late in the morning so I just took a quick look at the corner and notcied the tape was still holding the beetle in place. I got back late that night, but it was trapped. I couldn't tell if it was making an effort to escape or not. On Saturday morning, I was thinking about just taking the bug down and getting rid of it, decided to just watch tv instead of climbing up swiveling chairs to remove a bug carcass.

When I got back home very late Saturday night/very early Sunday morning, I turned on the light and immediately something didn't look right. The freaking beetle had escaped! But it didn't get very far. It had somehow gotten free of its tape bubble prison and moved to another spot on the adjoining wall about 3 feet away. I was amazed. The little critter somehow pushed its way through at least 2 inches of well-stuck tape. Maybe it was so tired it couldn't get more than 3 feet away.

I thought it was dead, but somehow it had survived and won the game. And because this beetle now had a new found respect for life, I decided to scoop it in a cup and set it free outside. However, if the beetle somehow gets caught trespassing inside the condo again, it can expect to receive a sentence of death by squishing.

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