This guy decided to stroll through my cubicle today. Gross! I was just changing my shoes to go home when I saw a light brown blob disappear behind my filing cabinet. Thinking it was a small spider (which would've been okay) or maybe a clump of hair (okay, that's gross, but I do shed a lot and it wouldn't be shocking), I peered into the darkness. Nothing. Maybe I imagined it.
So I start to pull off my shoes, and this centipede runs straight across my cubicle, pausing in plain sight. I froze, not knowing what to do but knowing that I should not, in the presence of my coworkers, shriek. Little guy got lucky and got away in my hesitation.
I have no idea what he was even doing on the fourth floor of a very well cleaned office building. And in my cubicle?! I would've expected him to be hanging out somewhere with more food or houseplants, but remember, I'm the one who killed an air plant.
The Wikipedia article I linked to above made me feel a little better about these centipedes since they apparently eat other bugs that I don't like, but they are still the most shudder-inducing of any insect I've seen wandering through my house. I'd almost rather deal with the spiders. I also enjoyed the "Early description" section of the article--how matter-of-factly the author describes the "consternation" resulting from centipedes dashing straight under women's dress hems!
But I was saddened to learn that these darn things are invasive species. We should've just left them in the Mediterranean.
2 comments:
Claire! and you spent all that time in Botswana and Zimbabwe and Madagascar! A little centipede! I can hardly believe it got to you.Hope you are still dancing.
I know! For some reason, I can deal much better when I'm visiting wildlife in its natural habitat. I like to think of my home as being off-limits to multi-legged creatures, but apparently it's not!
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