Best homework EVER

I'm taking a preservation class this semester and on Thursday my professor assigned the best homework I've ever been assigned.  We were given little paper sticky traps and a plastic bug cup and told to go forth and find an insect.  Each person in the class was to trap, alive or dead, a different kind of bug.  Then we study it, draw it or take a picture (guess which one I will do) and write up a little brochure on it.  In class next week we will have five minutes to present our insect.  As soon as I heard about this project, I really wanted the American Cockroach, or Periplaneta americana.  They can seriously damage books and I have had a personal vendetta/fascination with them ever since I moved here.  It was a first find, first served deal with the bugs, so I was afraid I wouldn't find one before someone else did.  I mean, they're everywhere!  Luckily nobody else in my class wanted to catch one.  I wonder why...

I found this little guy, as yet unnamed, in a box at work.  He's been dead for quite some time.  He's really dried out.  I carried him around in my purse all day.  Thank the lord the bug cup didn't come open because then I would have little dried pieces of cockroach in my purse.  Gross.  

Busy yet accomplishing nothing

I'm so sorry it has been over three weeks since I've posted on here.  I have been busy and very distracted.  This spring break has been a whirlwind of excesses - food, parties, friends and yet no homework.  I had a friend from Iowa visit (on the left in the photo) and it was super fun, but I am in serious slacker shame right now.  I am going to devote the entire rest of the day to homework.  Except dinner with some friends tonight...  Man.  I am a terrible student.  

I'm wondering how many of you dear readers know what game we are playing in the picture.  I call it Rummy Tiles, but I think it's really called Rummykub.  It's totally an old lady game, but I have always loved it.  My visiting friend and I saw it at Walmart and just HAD to get it.  It makes me feel a bit like an old lady playing it - but I'm sure old ladies would not take a digital picture of the board before a huge reorganization attempt in order to have a record of what it looked like for when you need to put it back together.  Yeah.  Take that old ladies.  

Look at that picture.  They totally think I'm cheating.  

Brace yourselves

Get ready to be grossed out.  Seriously.  The faint of heart should look no further.  

Last Monday I went to the dentist and I'm not sure how it happened, but my tongue was somehow burned.  At least, that's the explanation I've come up with.  It may have been some hot fried pickles the night before, but I would have noticed this bad an injury, right?  I have not mentioned it before now because I wasn't sure if I should tell my parents.  We have this new agreement that I am not to tell them anything about my life other than A. I'm doing well in school B. that I'm eating healthy and C. that I'm generally happy.  This tongue incident does not fall under any of those, but how weird is it??  I felt like I needed to share this with you guys.  Here it is:

This is what it looked like the first day.  

This is what it looked like a few days later.  I thought it may have been infected (note the yellowness on the inside,) so I started on some salt water rinses and Orabase.  

Here's what it looks like now.  I think it's healing nicely.  It's still painful to eat pretty much anything, but much less so than at first.  Of course, initially I was stupid and had citrus fruit and sharp edged, salty corn chips and the likes.  Now I'm on soup, pasta, pudding and other soft, neutral food.  As soon as I'm healed, I'm having nachos and spicy curry!  Has this ever happened to anyone you know?  I thought it was bizarre.  Sorry for grossing you out - but imagine if it was in YOUR mouth?  I will take a picture if there is a cool scar after I've healed.  

This incident has reminded me of some other injuries I've had.  Looking through my old photos I discovered I have a bit of a penchant for documenting my bodily ailments.  I have pictures of spider bites, bruises in various stages of color, cat claw marks and more.  I've even started documenting my friends issues.  I have a nice picture of my friends twisted ankle, which turned out to also be two broken toes!  Why is this such a fascinating subject?