...but I'm never gonna get lumbered again

Blogging is not the only thing I haven't been doing this week. I notified my building management of my suspected bedbug problem last Thursday, and they told me I'd just missed the exterminator, but they'd add me to his list for next week (today). So I've spent the whole week preparing for his arrival. As I've been cleaning and laundering, I've kept an eye out for bugs or evidence thereof, and anything I've found I've preserved carefully in packing tape for his inspection. I now have a small and ugly collection of specimens, but not a single textbook bedbug among them, so I'm quite interested in getting a professional verdict.

Oh, how I long for the days when I didn't automatically inspect my surroundings for vermin and pests. Those young and innocent days when I didn't freak out over every fuzzy speck on my comforter and tiny imperfection in my hardwood flooring. To aid me in making the "bug or dirt?" determination, I purchased a "Lighting Magnifying Glass" at the hardware store on the corner. They had only one magnifying glass in the place, and it was behind the counter, so I didn't take much time to look at it before they rang it up. I was just happy not to have to make another stop, since I had a bathroom to clean. But if I had looked at the packaging, for even a moment, I would have known better than to spend money on it, because it is, as Ali G might say, a bit crap. It was manufactured in China by a company called "Hakka," and for some reason the image on the box shows kaleidoscopic distortion rather than magnification. Along the side is this list of "Features":

• 2 or 5 magnification .
• Hi-bright spotlight.
• Very easily to change battery.
• Very fashionable design.

Fashionable it may be, but effective it is not. Ah well, with the way I've been spending money this week (on Ziploc bags, laundry, dry cleaning, plastic tubs, cleaning supplies), what's another $7.99?

So that's what I've been doing this week. Here's what I have not been doing: blogging, reading, writing, reading other people's blogs, wasting time on the internet generally, eating lunch, seeing friends, going to the theatre, planning for my wedding, sitting on my bed, watching TV, getting my hair cut, breathing normally. Oh, or listening to CDs, because my crappy Memorex stereo chose this week to stop playing CDs. And it never really played cassettes well. So now all it can do is play the radio -- and WNYC was doing a pledge drive! Arrgh! However, I actually have been sleeping pretty well, because I haven't had any new bites all week. So that seems like a good sign, and here's hoping my nightmare will soon be over.