Bane of My Existence, LEAF HOPPER Be Thy Name!

Take a good look. This guy, in the picture above. Yeah, he's the one. He and his kind are the ones who have been plaguing our newsroom since summer began. It's worse when the weather is warm/hot and humid. Apparently these little guys thrive in sauna-like conditions.

They're called leaf hoppers (or leafhoppers). I killed one and preserved it in scotch tape last week to show to Richard Houseman, one of the bug experts at church (I could have brought a bucket-full with as many as I've slaughtered). He told me about them, and informed me that these are the little things that go scattering in all directions when you mow your lawn.

But they don't seem to "bug" me as much then ("then," as if I mow lawns now). Why are they so irksome? Because they're EVERYWHERE! They flock to the newsroom like me to doughnuts. They fly back and forth, frequently landing in hair and on glasses and on faces and close to mouths and such. They don't bite or sting, but they're all over the place. I get red spots on my skin because I've slapped it so much trying to catch the little buggers.

Point is, the little putz in the picture and I? We're not friends.


Now, on a brighter note, here's another survey thing I found. And I tag everyone who wants to do it.

A - Age: 27

B - Bed size: Queen

C - Chore you hate: cleaning toilets

D - Dogs or cats: Dogs

E - Essential start your day item: Cereal

F - Favorite color: Green

G - Gold or Silver: Silver

H - Height: Between 6'1" and 6'2"

I - Instrument played: Trombone

K - Kid: Play

L - Loud or quiet: Very very loud.

M - Mom's name: Jeanne

N - Nicknames: Steve, Maggot, Butz, Lammy

O - Overnight hospital stay: Nope. Except when I was a baby. But that doesn't count. Everyone does that. Unless you live in the little house on the prairie.

P - Pet Peeve: Loud breathing while eating. It's gross.

Q - Quote from a movie: "Forth, and fear no darkness!" -Theoden, The Return of the King

R - Right or left handed: Yes. Left-handed: writing, eating, basketball, bowling; Right-handed: baseball; Both: tennis

S - Siblings: Juli, Emily, Elise, Beckie, Sarah, Kirsti

T - Time you wake up: 4-5 p.m. after sleeping all day, 11:30 p.m. when it's time to go to work (after a 1-2 hour nap)

U- Underwear: clean

V - Vegetable you dislike: Can I name a few? Tomatoes (yes, I know they're technically a fruit, but who cares? They're gross), brussel sprouts, cooked carrots

W - Ways you run late: Sleeping too much

X - X-rays you've had: Elbow, wrist, foot

Y - Yummy food you make: Cookies

Z - Zoo favorite: Cheetahs