An Afternoon Thiller

A Bat! I came back to my office after lunch today and there was a bat flying around my office. REALLY! The building a work in often is visited by bats. It's a very old building and whatever they do they seem not to be able to completely seal it. This isn't the first time I've seen bats around in the six and a half years I've worked here. In fact I've probably seen at least ten. This is however the first living bat I've seen in my office, as far as I can remember. (I have a bad longterm memory.) My boss once found a dead bat in the office but today's bat was alive. Normally the living bats stay in the hallways with the vaulted ceilings. This one happen to like our office and really liked flying around scaring the crap out of me! Normally bats don't worry me a bit. This one happened to fly directly over my head a couple times. I was so concered that it might bite me that I launched a counter attack.

As soon as the bat landed again (after a couple close calls) I was able to sweep it, while it hissed its cute little wide tooth-filled mouth at me, into a walmart bag. I used only the walmart bag and a large piece of cardboard. It did fly a couple times during my counter attack but I managed to outsmart the little bugger when he cornered himself by a filing cabinet. I guess God knew that I needed a break in my stress level today...

I'm all packed and ready to leave for Northern Ireland on Wednesday morning! Now I just have to plan and prepare for a DLT Civil Rights Lecture Series lecture for April 2nd, all within two days. This includes creating a poster and program and sending them to the printer as well as ironing out the room details (the venue screwed that up already) and a million other little things that MUST be done before I fly out for this one last-mintue lecture. Once that is as done as I can do today and tomorrow, then I'm ready to go. And I'll leave stress free knowing that the committee and my office (my boss and student) have everything under control... Ah, I really need this vacation! Not that its really a vacation, but close enough.

No more bats please! I realllllly want to go on this trip, without being treated for rabies.