Catymology

Since Tuesday is Aloysius' day to simply be a cat, he's turned the forum over to me so that I can vent. Here are three of the X things that annoy amanuensis:

1. Automated call from a credit card company offers me a lower interest rate on "all my cards."

To speak to a representative, press 9. To stop receiving these calls in the future, press 8.

I press 8.

Incorrect response. To speak to a representative, press 9. To stop receiving these calls in the future, press 8.

I press 8.

Incorrect response. To speak to a representative, press 9. To stop receiving these calls in the future, press 8.

I press 8

incorrect

8

incorrect

8888888888888888

Silence.

Ahh!

2. I open up the dishwasher and the bottom is crawling with ANTS! Yes, I said ants. Legions of tiny, crawly, little reddish-brown ants.

I wonder if I am the only person who has ever found ants in the dishwasher. I google "ants in dishwasher."
Amazingly, I get a pile of hits. Non-toxic remedies are recommended:

a. white vinegar
I throw half a gallon of white vinegar into the dishwasher and run a cycle.
Wednesday: The ants are gone.
Thursday: The ants come back: legions of tiny, crawly, little reddish-brown ants. I wash ants down the drain, clean the filter, and run the dishwasher.

b. Borax powder
Friday: I obtain Twenty Mule Team Borax at the local supermarket. throw a couple of cups of borax into the bottom of the dishwasher and wet it.
Saturday: Ants crawling over the borax. I wash ants down the drain, clean the filter, and run the dishwasher.

This calls for escalation. At the hardware store, I buy some Terro, an insecticide that is designed to be eaten by worker ants and carried back to the nest. Following directions, I squeeze some of the gooey liquid onto a little squares of cardboard and place them on the counter.

Sunday: ants in the dishwasher, no ants on the Terro.
I place more gooey-liquid smeared squares on the floor in front of the dishwasher.
Sunday night: lots of ants swarming over the Terro.

For the next three days, I pick up, bag, and dispose of the used cardboard squares and replace them with new ones.

Day 4: no ants in dishwasher. Some dead ants on the cardboard squares. No ants moving around. Ahhh!

3. A former member of my freelance writers' union complains that the union has a left-wing political agenda. Then he tells me how much he makes per day as a business consultant. Ahhh!

Labels: 3 annoying things