Starting to regain a sense of normalcy. Put the couch on soup cans, which are sitting in mineral oil. Took back the cot and heater and have been sleeping on the couch for the past two nights (with no bites!)
Costs: -$64 returned from cot and heater (cha-ching)
-$1.50 More mineral oil.
-$3.00 Tupperware containers.
Sunday, October 30, 2011
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Day Nine: I Miss My Couch.
I am still working on comfort. I would like to be able to sit on my couch, but haven't, as I don't want it infested. I've only been sitting on my cot, which is protected by mineral oil, and not very comfy.
I realize I must endure this situation temporarily, at least until I find more bugs. If I don't find more bugs, then I am afraid I will have to stay here, and probably suffer from delusional parasitosis for a while.
Idea: Use soup cans to prop up my couch, and put the cans in bowls of oil. Not only can I sit on the couch, but I can sleep on it, too. If I do this, I will just live as normal until I find signs of bugs. Ideally, I won't find anything and I'll forget all about bed bugs, but I have a feeling this ain't happening, based on what I hear.
I realize I must endure this situation temporarily, at least until I find more bugs. If I don't find more bugs, then I am afraid I will have to stay here, and probably suffer from delusional parasitosis for a while.
Idea: Use soup cans to prop up my couch, and put the cans in bowls of oil. Not only can I sit on the couch, but I can sleep on it, too. If I do this, I will just live as normal until I find signs of bugs. Ideally, I won't find anything and I'll forget all about bed bugs, but I have a feeling this ain't happening, based on what I hear.
Tuesday, October 25, 2011
Day Seven: Last Tape.
Past two nights I caught nothing with the mineral oil. Today I removed the tape from the outlets. I had taped them up so as to keep the bugs from coming out of the walls. Hopefully they will be in the oil when I wake up. Also put flypaper around some of the outlets.
Monday, October 24, 2011
Day Six: Transcendentalism.
Last night was the first night I slept on the cot, but I didn't catch anything. Woke up several times in the night and looked around for bugs, but didn't see anything.
I made an appointment with the legal people for Nov. 2nd. Want to ask them what my rights are in terms of moving out, but not sure I want to wait another nine days.
Tried to roast my car and my bathroom yesterday, but I couldn't get it above 110 degrees. Will need a bigger, better heater from Wal-Mart if I want to create a thermal chamber.
My stress level is going down, but not because anything is getting solved. I have to keep reminding myself that life could be much worse, that not being able to "live" in my apartment is not a big deal at all. There is much to be learned from this ordeal. In order to function, I need to feel like life is still good, that there is still joy to be reaped from each day.
I feel as if I am being robbed--robbed of time, robbed of comfort (that I am paying for), robbed of energy, of peace of mind, of academic energies, of the ability to take a girl back home. Robbed of my life, like an addiction does. But I need to combat this resentment by remembering that this too shall pass, that future consciousness will be all that much better because of this experience, that the goodness of life is derived not from having a comfortable place to go home to at night, but from something more transcendent, more zen-like, deep below the surface of the ocean.
I made an appointment with the legal people for Nov. 2nd. Want to ask them what my rights are in terms of moving out, but not sure I want to wait another nine days.
Tried to roast my car and my bathroom yesterday, but I couldn't get it above 110 degrees. Will need a bigger, better heater from Wal-Mart if I want to create a thermal chamber.
My stress level is going down, but not because anything is getting solved. I have to keep reminding myself that life could be much worse, that not being able to "live" in my apartment is not a big deal at all. There is much to be learned from this ordeal. In order to function, I need to feel like life is still good, that there is still joy to be reaped from each day.
I feel as if I am being robbed--robbed of time, robbed of comfort (that I am paying for), robbed of energy, of peace of mind, of academic energies, of the ability to take a girl back home. Robbed of my life, like an addiction does. But I need to combat this resentment by remembering that this too shall pass, that future consciousness will be all that much better because of this experience, that the goodness of life is derived not from having a comfortable place to go home to at night, but from something more transcendent, more zen-like, deep below the surface of the ocean.
Saturday, October 22, 2011
Day Four: You're in the Army Now.
I devised a new point system. For every bug I kill, score one for me. For every bite I find on my body, score one for Ruby's team. So far the score is:
Me: 5
Ruby: 14 (at least)
In order to catch up (pun), I went to Wal-Mart again today and got three items: Army cot, mineral oil, and trash bags (read: body bags). The idea is that the mineral oil in these plastic containers at the feet of the cot will coat them in oil as they try to climb the legs of the cot, and they'll be too slippery to climb out of the containers. Then I wake up in the morning and say SCOREBOARD in their faces.
I have slept in my car for the past three nights. This is probably more comfortable than the cot, but (as morbid as it sounds) I need to use myself for bait. I won't be able to catch any or see if they're still in the apartment if there is not a CO2-emitting body in the place.
Last night I told my department at a reading that I had bed bugs. Two girls who've had them before agreed that the only way to get rid of them is a heat or steam treatment. Pesticides are useless, they both said.
Costs: -Cot: $43 (might be able to return this)
-Mineral oil: $1.50
Me: 5
Ruby: 14 (at least)
In order to catch up (pun), I went to Wal-Mart again today and got three items: Army cot, mineral oil, and trash bags (read: body bags). The idea is that the mineral oil in these plastic containers at the feet of the cot will coat them in oil as they try to climb the legs of the cot, and they'll be too slippery to climb out of the containers. Then I wake up in the morning and say SCOREBOARD in their faces.
I have slept in my car for the past three nights. This is probably more comfortable than the cot, but (as morbid as it sounds) I need to use myself for bait. I won't be able to catch any or see if they're still in the apartment if there is not a CO2-emitting body in the place.
Last night I told my department at a reading that I had bed bugs. Two girls who've had them before agreed that the only way to get rid of them is a heat or steam treatment. Pesticides are useless, they both said.
Costs: -Cot: $43 (might be able to return this)
-Mineral oil: $1.50
Friday, October 21, 2011
Day Three: Mother, Tell Your Children Not to Walk My Way.
Landlord says no, I can't move into a new unit because he's afraid the bugs will come with me.
Also bought flypaper from Wal-Mart, put a bed bug on it, AND THE DAMN THING CRAWLED RIGHT OVER IT.
What the frick. Are these super bugs?
OK, calm down. If you get mad, the bed bugs win.
If I move out of my place, I lose my $350 deposit and could face litigation from my landlord for the rest of the rent until May, which would be thousands of bucks. Can't do that.
I need some strategy, some battle plan that I can live with. I also bought a space heater and thermometer from Wal-Mart. Maybe tomorrow I will put everything I own in my car and roast it, crank the heat up to 130 degrees. Supposedly these fuckers will pop like popcorn at 113 degrees.
But how do I sleep at night? If the flypaper doesn't work, they can craw onto my air mattress. One thought is that I could buy a cot, put the legs in bowls of oil (and coat them in oil), and I doubt these fuckers will be able to climb on anything that is oil-coated. That would solve the sleeping problem--I can't keep sleeping in my car.
It occurs to me that I also need a sanctuary for my stuff. I am thinking my card table. I can do the same thing--coat the legs in oil so I know that whatever I put on the table will be clean and stay clean.
New Bugs Found: One this morning, a baby on my wall.
Total Bugs Found: Five
Costs: Thermometer - $1
Heater - $20 (but might be able to return it)
Fly paper - $1
Also bought flypaper from Wal-Mart, put a bed bug on it, AND THE DAMN THING CRAWLED RIGHT OVER IT.
What the frick. Are these super bugs?
OK, calm down. If you get mad, the bed bugs win.
If I move out of my place, I lose my $350 deposit and could face litigation from my landlord for the rest of the rent until May, which would be thousands of bucks. Can't do that.
I need some strategy, some battle plan that I can live with. I also bought a space heater and thermometer from Wal-Mart. Maybe tomorrow I will put everything I own in my car and roast it, crank the heat up to 130 degrees. Supposedly these fuckers will pop like popcorn at 113 degrees.
But how do I sleep at night? If the flypaper doesn't work, they can craw onto my air mattress. One thought is that I could buy a cot, put the legs in bowls of oil (and coat them in oil), and I doubt these fuckers will be able to climb on anything that is oil-coated. That would solve the sleeping problem--I can't keep sleeping in my car.
It occurs to me that I also need a sanctuary for my stuff. I am thinking my card table. I can do the same thing--coat the legs in oil so I know that whatever I put on the table will be clean and stay clean.
New Bugs Found: One this morning, a baby on my wall.
Total Bugs Found: Five
Costs: Thermometer - $1
Heater - $20 (but might be able to return it)
Fly paper - $1
Thursday, October 20, 2011
Day Two: This One Goes Out to the One I Love.
This post goes out to a special bed bug that has touched me deep down inside. It's weird--I feel very close to this little guy. Almost like we share the same blood. Ruby, this one's for you!
Day two. Slept in my car last night. Not comfortable, but I DIDN'T GET BIT. Went to the laundromat at 1:00 a.m. and threw my sleeping bag in the dryer with the pillow to ensure I was not cross-infesting.
The current battle strategy has changed: Tomorrow my landlord will be on the premises, and I will ask him if I can move into one of his vacant apartments. He should say yes for two reasons: One, I occupy his "show" apartment--the nicest one he has, which would be good for attracting new tenants. Two, bed bugs cannot replicate if they don't have blood (from a host) (me).
If he is agreeable, I will sterilize all my shit before moving it into the new place (in the oven). If he is not, we'll have to rethink things. But I can't do this much longer. Monomania to the extreme. I don't care about girls, money, school, nothing. These bastards have gotten into my brain.
New Welts Found in the last 24 hours: Two (see below)
Thoughts that sustain me: I need to have one thing that I enjoy per day, one thing I am thankful for, one thing I got out of the day. If there is nothing, if the bed bugs consume all of my positive energy (positive frequencies), then they have won.
Day two. Slept in my car last night. Not comfortable, but I DIDN'T GET BIT. Went to the laundromat at 1:00 a.m. and threw my sleeping bag in the dryer with the pillow to ensure I was not cross-infesting.
The current battle strategy has changed: Tomorrow my landlord will be on the premises, and I will ask him if I can move into one of his vacant apartments. He should say yes for two reasons: One, I occupy his "show" apartment--the nicest one he has, which would be good for attracting new tenants. Two, bed bugs cannot replicate if they don't have blood (from a host) (me).
If he is agreeable, I will sterilize all my shit before moving it into the new place (in the oven). If he is not, we'll have to rethink things. But I can't do this much longer. Monomania to the extreme. I don't care about girls, money, school, nothing. These bastards have gotten into my brain.
New Welts Found in the last 24 hours: Two (see below)
Thoughts that sustain me: I need to have one thing that I enjoy per day, one thing I am thankful for, one thing I got out of the day. If there is nothing, if the bed bugs consume all of my positive energy (positive frequencies), then they have won.
Ruby's at it again! Oh, that Ruby! (Ruby does the Eddie Winslow)
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