bugs?

In case you missed it... (reference: an email I sent two weeks ago). It took me awhile to admit this to anyone but my close friends and family, but once I got over it it was actually kind of fun to talk about. Finding wolf spiders and bed bugs in your apartment isn't exactly something a person should brag about, but it does make for kind of a funny story. Because my landlord refused to believe that the bug I found was in fact of the bed, I made sure I did everything perfectly to prepare for the exterminator. So annoying. After flipping my apartment upside down and washing every piece of clothing I own (thanks to a giant envelope full of quarters from my landlord... so awesome), I got a call from the guy saying I was right--it was a bed bug. I couldn't figure out whether to be happy because I was right or to cry because of why I was right.

Gooooood morning!

SO. This. Has. Been. The. Week. From. Hell. Or so they say. Maybe I'm just being dramatic (not unlike me...?), but then again I don't know too many people who actually enjoy living with bugs. As I said to Kyle last night, I think I'm getting desensitized to pests because I didn't even scream when I found a wolf spider in my "dining area" last night. And Lord knows... I hate spiders. In addition to the bug sitch, I was graceful enough to catch my toe in a crack and superman slide onto the sidewalk during a run last week, leaving my palms and knees so scraped that I have to take a little extra time to do things. (Am I being dramatic again?) Thankfully, I have a wonderful friend who has let me couch surf at her place this week. Catherine, I owe you big time.

Things I've gained from this experience:
1. Humility... and/or humiliation.
2. A cleaner apartment.
3. A new friend who lives in my building and is straight out of the cast of Jersey Shore... FIST PUMPS!... thanks to me spending several hours in the laundry room last night.
4. Neutrality toward bugs.

In an effort to spread awareness about the 19th-Century-like bed bug infestations that have been occurring throughout the Metro Denver area, I decided I'd share some pictures of what I've seen (and done) this past week. That way, if you see one of these bad boys crawling around on your blankets, you'll know what it is. Beware: it's gross, but if I can handle it... so can you. :) These things happen people.

Lots of bugless love.

P.S. The exterminator comes today. Thank. God.
P.P.S. I'm strongly considering moving into the sunshine bus in the last picture.