Size of Bugs and Dating

OK - so it's beena while since I commented on my interface with the critter world here. Several discoveries over the last couple of weeks, 2 of which are noteworthy:

1. Bugs here, like squirrels and roadkill, are substantially larger than I have experienced. Now that the weather is nice, I spend a fair amount of evening time on the deck off of my bedroom reading, surfing the net on my blackberry, or chatting on the phone. The deck is open to the forest on two sides but has a sizable hedge on one side. And that hedge is VERY popular with bees (daytime)and large cinnamon-hued flying beetles that prefer the evening. Would that I had landscaping authority in this rental, I'd be choppin' that hedge down so fast because A. It obscures my view of the valley, yard, etc; and B. Bees LUV to swarm in, around, and through it's branches. Thus far, the bees, which appear to be big fat bumble-bee types, have left me alone but I'm pretty intentional about not wearing yellow when I'm laying out. Now the cinnamon-hued flying beetles are another thing - at dusk, they become quite the distraction because of their sheer size and the volume of their buzzing. So I've taken to crushing them against the screen,f loor, and exterior house wall with my Ralph Lauren flipflops. I need to buy a fly swatter. So, this means if I don't sweep my deck at least once a week, I'm walking across the broken bodies of numerous hardshelled bugs to reach my chaise lounge. Yes, very reminiscent of one of the older Indiana Jones movies where you hear the crunch as they walk across scorpions in some cave. But I'd rather have them underfoot and mangled than intact and disrupting my peace. And, when I'm lying in bed reading late at night - they see the light thru the cracks in the drapes and dive bomb the windows - no kidding. Thwack, thwack, thwack - for HOURS... Not very smart beetles.

2. Critter Comment #2: Old Orchard Beach, ME has dog-free streets most of the day! So last weekend, while tromping around Maine, I couldn't figure out why it "felt" different than Vermont (besides the whole seashore, blueberry, lobster thing). And that's it! Here, people bring their dogs to AA meetings, dogs to work, dogs to the post office. Every time you turn around, someone's unleashed dog is licking my open toed shoe. Isn't it quite the midlife crisis that I, of all people, ended up living in (and loving) a state which has a population smaller than the city of GR (let alone the metropolitan area of GR), has bears, has no Target store or Macys, and is apparently dog-lover capital of the nation? Sigh...

So now for the juicy stuff... (for all of you that rapidly scrolled past the "Critter report" to get down here to the good stuff). Had a date today. We went to the Canoe Club in Hanover for lunch (Equal in status to Cygnus in GR, but more small town-y in atmosphere). And it went ok - but it was a whole lotta work. No sparks, but nothing majorly horrible. Reminded me of why I am not a more active dater. And he was the best of the prospects that I have "perused" thus far. Five to ten years ago, I may have been more tempted or interested in his type (professionally successful and driven, in sales, makes a point of telling me he has a large flat screen HD tv, lets his 10 year old son watch "Gladiator"), but post-30-something - I'm just lookin' for a whole different kind of thing. But in the words of 99% of the single girls in my life, at least I "got out there."

So, work is fine! Spent 2 days in New Haven at Team Leader meetings (a bi-annual event, apparently). Met lots of people. Connected the most with the women of color with the urban areas. Met one colleague I really liked to invited her to come to VT sometime. Oh, and I'm going to be on a community panel re: racism on June 10. My company co-sponsored development of a film/documentary about issues related to race and family in Vermont. So I have my first community speaking gig.

So that's about it! Hope all is well with you. Keep in touch.
Marilee