I just got stung by a yellow jacket!

So my apartment is a mess. I keep meaning to clean it, but I keep getting distracted by other tasks (like installing new shelves in the bathroom for instance).

So today I came home and was watching the end of an extra inning Red Sox game against the Tampa Bay Rays (the FIRST PLACE Tampa Bay Rays) and I saw something scurry by me. I jumped! And there goes a cockroach. Luckily the last time Cat and I saw a cockroach we ran out and bought sprays, so for the first time ever I had a long distance weapon.

So I grabbed the bottle and sprayed under my couch. Then I looked under the couch. No roach. Damn it. And there was so many things in my apartment everything looked like a good hiding space.

Then the Red Sox got some men on base with only 1 out (first and second). So I watched the game for a bit. The Red Sox didn’t score and the Rays were up. So I started thinking about cleaning up (despite it being after midnight). Then I saw the roach again. So I sprayed him. He jumped on the stove and I sprayed him again. And again. Then I lost him. I looked behind the stove (and sprayed more back there for good measure). Nothing. Then I saw him on the floor. I hit him with a shoe and disposed of his body.

Now I was ready to clean. Of course now Tampa had 2 guys on with no outs so I had to watch the Sox game again. The Sox got Perez to hit into a double play and got out of the jam.

So I started cleaning. Broke down boxes from shipments Cat and I have gotten over the last few weeks. Bagged up papers and magazines. Stacked books. Moved comics and clothes into the other room. I moved swiftly. Put DVDs away. I created lots of unsorted piles but the floor cleared up quickly. If the roach was alive his hiding places were dwindling.

Then Tampa Bay got more men on base. So I watched the Red Sox give up 3 runs (Damn it!). Then I was too tense to clean so I watched the Red Sox load the bases with no outs. But they failed to score more then 1 run. Sox lose 4-2 in the 14th.

Now I need to clean the stove which I coated in poison. So first thing I do is unload the dishwasher. Then I load it with dirty dishes, and put the one pot that was on the stove in the sink. I start scrubbing it (I didn’t spray it, but I was nervous). During this time I feel something land on my back. I get nervous after having seen a roach and I swing my hands wildly. I didn’t feel anything else so I went back to scrubbing then I feel a pinch. And I smack down hard on my neck.

My neck hurt bad! That was no mosquito. I look on the floor and there is a crushed yellow jack (remind me to tell you about the time I was attacked by a nest of yellow jackets!). How the hell did a yellow jack get in my kitchen? I read online about how to remove the stinger, but it involves being able to see the stung location. So I am waiting for Cat to get home from work (she works until 2am at Gramercy Tavern) so she can see if there is a stinger in my neck.

While I waited I finished scrubbing the stove and the pots. I also did a few other odd jobs to take my mind off being stung. It doesn’t hurt much anymore. It was more of a shock then a pain. Now it feels like someone is sticking me lightly with a pin once in a while. But I am just pissed.

Roaches, yellow jackets and the Red Sox didn’t even win!