Bombs Away!

Ari says:

INCOMING!!! Well, ok no. Not that type of bomb, exactly, but close enough. I was doing some major eradicating this weekend and it all started Friday after work. I got home, packed a quick bag, hustled the cat into the truck and got ready to head out. Just one more task to finish before going to the hotel: I had to set off the bombs. Yes, for the first time ever I had to set off flea bombs in my place of residence. I've never done this before and was a little nervous about the entire situation. I mean the box said I even needed to turn off my fridge (I accidentally forgot that part as I was scurrying out the door) to keep the pilot light from catching fire and blowing everything to smithereens! Well, true to form, I straightened my spine, marched into my apartment, grabbed two of the three bombs, reread the instructions for the billionth time and got into character. I was Dirty Harry (or any other cliché Clint Eastwood role) and I was there to wipe out all the dirty, stinky, rotten, no good, yellow bellied, flea varmints in the joint. I just needed holsters for my bombs (read: guns). If I had been able, I would have spun the "guns" in my palms, but instead I settled for a menacing glare around the living room, and an evil smirk as I shook the cans and got ready to "Make.... my..... day." Quick as lightning I set off the first bomb, placed it on the appointed newspaper stack, whacked my shin into the coffee table, cussed, shook the second can, set it off and placed on its stack, and then fled out the door. After I locked the door behind me, I sauntered down the sidewalk and did a combo wink/head nod to the imaginary "little lady" in the distance. Sherlock and I then rode off into the sunset to the hotel (actually we headed east a little bit, but you get the idea). We settled into the hotel and waited for Angela to join us. This turned in to quite the adventure. Sherlock was very intrigued with a couple items in the hotel room. First off, the full length mirrors on the doors to the closet were quite entertaining. When he first saw them he hunched his back, his tail got totally fat and he hissed for all he was worth. "Intruder!" I could almost hear him yell. I picked him up and showed him the "pretty kitten" in the mirror and made him see that it was just a reflection. He seemed to understand quickly, but forgot a couple times throughout the evening and would randomly scare the crap out of himself. He also did battle with the AC unit. Every time it came on he would jump and then either run into the other room, or get on top of it to swat at the air. He was in love with the kitchen cabinets because he could get on top of them and lay up there (he spent most of the night up there), but probably the most curious item was the bathroom door. Don't ask me why, but for some reason he thought it looked like a shelf and so proceeded to jump from the bathroom counter onto the top of the door (all while I was brushing my teeth) and got stuck laying over the door and the shower curtain rod. Nope, no shelf there. He looked at me with a face that was beseeching help, so I climbed onto the edge of the tub and rescued the poor kitty. All in all, Sherlock had quite the adventure. Ok, so going back in time a bit, Angela came over to visit and she and I ended up going to a yummy dinner at Pie in the Sky. We had a great time catching up, as it seemed we hadn't seen each other in forever. After dinner we headed back over to the apartment to air it out. I walked in and found the fumes weren't as bad as I expected, but that the fleas were still jumping. I hemmed and hawed for a few and then decided to set off the third bomb. I wasn't taking any prisoners or chances. So, Ang and I headed back to the hotel (does anyone remember that song?) and watched some tv and just chilled out before she headed home. Saturday dawned and promised to be a full day. I got up early and went over to the apartment to get started. I opened windows, turned the air back on and vacuumed everything in sight for well over an hour (side note: it is actually more difficult than you think to vacuum a couch). I started the first of my many loads of laundry, sprayed some flea-killing carpet spray and left again for the hotel. Sherlock and I chilled out while the spray dried, then checked out of the hotel and went back home. He was thrilled to be back, but was curious as to what the new smell was. I changed clothes quickly and cleaned up to head out for a movie. I was meeting up with Angela, Mama Bradley and Laura for our highly anticipated date to see Sex and the City. Can I just say: Awesome! I loved the movie and was surprised at the range of emotions throughout. If you haven't seen it, grab a girlfriend and go enjoy (along with a Cosmo or glass of champagne). Angela and I ran some errands after the movie and then crashed at my place for another movie. We watched "Death at a Funeral" and if you're in to British comedy, you'll love this movie. We laughed for almost 2 hours solid and I want to watch it again. Great movie. Angela left soon after to beat the nasty storm that was rolling in and I vacuumed again (keep in mind there is tons of laundry being done this whole time). I ended up talking to Katie for a long time that night and we made grand plans and pretty much had the world figured out. Unfortunately, I've slept since then, so I'll have to wait for another moment of clarity (or a great talk with Katie) to remember what it all was (Katie, don't think you're off the hook, we've got some work to do). Sunday, I finished off the laundry, vacuumed yet again, finished the book I was reading and settled in for a lazy day. I watched two great movies (yes, I know that's a lot of movies, but I enjoyed them all) "Charlie Bartlett" and "The Seeker" (I would recommend both of them) and started my new book. It really was a relaxing day and I loved taking it easy. The only thing missing was Bart, but we were able to talk for a while, so that helped. The great thing about the entire weekend is that I can now walk around the apartment or sit on the couch without a flea jumping on me. Sherlock is still a bit itchy, but I think the hardest part is behind us. I know I've got a lot of vacuuming to do over the next month, but that's ok, I'm feelin' lucky... punk.