August 19, 2006

Welcome to Mirkwood; Here's Your Badge

Although my job has been great so far, there are a few minor issues. I once thought that the greatest danger was fellow employees who can't park. But now a new threat has reared its ugly head -- spiders!

Admittedly, the common California garden spider isn't quite up to the standards of the horror show that we refer to as "Australian wildlife". But they sure look wicked, and there are lots of them. Most of them have freaky markings on the legs, and all of them have bloated, distorted abdomens. I'm not sure why the spiders around my neighborhood look nothing like the spiders down at work, but I'm guessing that the latter are benefiting from their proximity to the marsh, and an abundant food source. Moths, flies, butterflies, small joggers... you name it.

Last year the spiders were bad, but this year, they're getting organized. Walking around the trails behind campus, I've found shrubs and reeds completely cobwebbed, with a dozen or more spiders all sharing the same web. I didn't think spiders could do that. A few weeks ago I brought my concerns to my coworkers at lunch:

Me: So in conclusion, there are tons of giant spiders out there in the marsh, living communally. Aren't you a little freaked out by that?

Coworker #1: Oh wow, so you mean that we're surrounded by Communist giant spiders?

Coworker #2: Jeez, what could possibly be worse than Communist giant spiders?

(pause)

Coworker #3: Married gay giant spiders?

Incidentally, I've heard that over the last couple of years, gay marriage has been polling very well in the spider community, among males at least...

Comments

  1. Well, when het marriage involves having your innards literally liquified and sucked out of your body, the gay agenda starts to sound rather appealing.

    Posted by Auros on Aug. 19, 2006 at 4:35 PM [#]

  2. PS: You should hear what male mantids have to say about homosexuality!

    Posted by Auros on Aug. 19, 2006 at 4:35 PM [#]

  3. I bet your brother has some insect and arachnid horror stories he could share…

    Posted by Evan on Aug. 20, 2006 at 9:23 AM [#]

  4. The New York Times is on the case!

    Posted by Auros on Sep. 05, 2006 at 12:16 PM [#]

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