Strange things you're not used to

[Trompe le Monde 1,107]

I'm always slightly amused when I read British people complaining about recycling - lack of curbside recycling was one of my biggest complaints in the UK where it seems to depend on the local council. Every place I've lived in the US has had it since about 1983.

[*julez* 124]

*faints*

I would have crashed the car, no doubt. I hate spiders. And, instead of brushing him out of the car with a magazine, I would have beat him to death with it, so great is my loathing!

*heebie jeebies*

Your story made me laugh, cos it didn't happen to me!

Thanks for sharing!

[StillThePrettiest 4]

oh, I don't like spiders much either, and less so after that, as you can imagine

but I liked my car and didn't want to crash it, and I didn't want smashed spider pulp all over the seat either...

a similar thing happened some years later, but much less traumatic - I was just turning on to the biggest roundabout in southern Sydney when this massive huntsman sauntered out onto the passenger side door panel... inside the car, obviously... he was nowhere near me that time, but I still had a mad scramble to stop the car and chuck him out

from memory, he walked up onto something that was on the seat - I think a gym bag? - so it was relatively easy just to grab the bag and shake him off, then drive away like a bat out of hell

I think I've done my dues with spiders; perhaps I did something wrong in a past life

[Jeraly 4]

...

I don't know how I didn't crash, but I didn't; I changed lanes twice in quick succession and dived down a side street, leapt from the car, grabbed a magazine or something from the back seat and brushed the ####### out onto the road, and then sat in the driver's seat with my heart pounding like I'd just witnessed a murder

and then I had to get back in the car and go to work and stand in my classroom and talk to parents for four hours

it wasn't funny at the time... good story though; I don't know how many times I've told it

and, believe it or not, it was BIGGER than the one in the picture

I think I would have puked!! I mean, I am not too bad with spiders in the UK but even I would have freaked out at something like that jumping on my head!!! I mean - it makes you wonder where the heck it was hiding

We *did* get another roach last night - in our bedroom this time... the cat had come in and was miaowing over and over and I went and gave her food but she didn't eat it. She came back into the bedroom and starting causing havoc - she has a habit of clambering under the chest of drawers and chasing her tail So I sit up to find out what she is doing and just as I do that, I see the roach run out from under the chest - Daisy duly pounces after it and it escapes under my nightstand. So I wake Jeremy up (who is less than pleased) and I tell ask him nicely to get the roach out. At this point it runs out from under the nightstand and tries to bury itself under my slipper. I ask Jeremy if he wants me to get something to catch it and instead he moves the slipper. So the thing runs back under the chest of drawers again - smart move (!). Eventually it runs out to Jeremy's laptop and climbs on that, Jeremy manages to catch it in a cup and throw it outside.

I was really proud of myself because I didn't scream once I think in time I might not even need rescuing but right now I still do

I'm always slightly amused when I read British people complaining about recycling - lack of curbside recycling was one of my biggest complaints in the UK where it seems to depend on the local council. Every place I've lived in the US has had it since about 1983.

We had roadside recycling where I lived in the UK I don't mind getting paid to do it here though I just wish we had more space to store things

Your story made me laugh, cos it didn't happen to me!

[ginger1981 0]

Ugh...I think I would have died had that spider landed on my head. Heart attack and CRASH.

I was once at a state park driving around with a friend enjoying the autumn leaves with the windows down and a giant wasp flies into the car...we start screaming and my friend doesn't even wait for the car to stop...she just leapt out of the car (thankfully only going a few miles an hour at that point). I pull over to a full stop and we are working with newspapers and magazines trying to get the dang thing out of the car...and a ranger pulls over and asks us what is wrong. We tell him about the wasp...and he laughs and drives off.

To make a long story short we got it out and drove home.

I can barely take a wasp...a spider...I would die.

[Reba 2]

One time, several years ago when James and I were still waiting the eternal wait of immigration, I was staying down here for a few months visit thru the winter. James was at work, and always worked late til about 11pm or midnight. Well, I was sitting watching TV and this ruddy great hairy spider crawled across the screen and I totally freaked out! Up until that point in my life I was not afraid of spiders, but that was because where I'm from we don't have poisonous spiders, and down here we do. I had no clue what a brown recluse spider was supposed to look like, but this thing was big and hairy and brown and I just KNEW it was about to take a chunk out of my flesh!

So I got the vacuum cleaner and sucked it up, then I put the vacuum outside on the porch, just in case it crawled back out!

James got home and asked me if I'd been cleaning the back-yard, and so I told him about my ordeal with the big hairy killer spider, and then told him I'd been cowering on the couch ever since, and I needed to pee, would he please carry me to the bathroom and check for bugs before he set me down?!

5 years or so later, I'm just almost to the point where I don't have a panic attack when I see a spider, but OMG there are always spiders around here! Usually wolf spiders, and they jump just to scare the piss out of you. They're harmless, but really, do they have to jump everywhere?

So far I still have not seen any brown recluse or black widows, but I just know that as soon as I let my guard down, they'll be there plotting to rot my flesh off.

[melusine 5]

lol... true that that was scary....

Oh and i didn't talked about the hordes of coyote at night.... at first it's funny but can become scary after a little bit... (specially when you hear it even closer than 3 second before).

We are living in the hills and coyote are all around....(with their friends spiders and rabbits)

[Reba 2]

we don't have any coyote here in NC that I've ever seen or heard. But there's lots in and around the GTA in Ontario where I'm from. There's even a few packs that live in Toronto parks. You just have to be careful to not leave small animals outside at nighttime.

[Gemmie 142]

This thread has really cheered me up today! (I found out that my visit to the US has changed and I have to wait another 4 weeks. I know that I'm very lucky to get to see my love in 4 weeks... it's just the natural disappointment when the wait increases at last minute)

I also feel a little less pathetic.

James got home and asked me if I'd been cleaning the back-yard, and so I told him about my ordeal with the big hairy killer spider, and then told him I'd been cowering on the couch ever since, and I needed to pee, would he please carry me to the bathroom and check for bugs before he set me down?!

Hilarious!

They don't have huge spiders in MA (from what I've seen) but once we pulled into a gas station and I saw a long-legged spider run across the leg-area of the car. I screamed and the man filling our car looked in to wonder what was happening! Bill wasn't very impressed, especially when he got rid of it, only for me to find ANOTHER one as he was pulling out. I told him that id he didn't stop the car immediately, I was getting out... he had no choice but to pull into a parking lot and grab the other spider that was now on his leg!!

In case anyone is interested, I'm currently taking a degree in Psychology and for one of my studies last year, I tested spider fear in both men and women to see if there was a huge gender difference; and also tested the fear vs the size of the spider. It was as expected but I scored a B+ for it... the bigger the spider and the more female the victim = the more heart-stopping!!

Edited August 8, 2008 by Gemmie

[truffles 2]

I never had a fear of spiders etc .....I dont think we have any dangerous spiders in the UK - however whilst going about my business in the kitchen last winter I happened to see a spider, OH saw it too rushed to it and killed it... he explained it was a black widow and showed me the hour glass marking on it...now I treat every spider with extreme caution.

[MrsCat 6]

I'm not used to being around hand guns. Not that they're everywhere, but in AK no one batted an eye lash if one was lying on the coffee table or something.

I'm not used to rats or cockroaches either. yuck.

Edited August 11, 2008 by cattattude

[Ontarkie 15,022]

Yup cockroaches are creepy dont like them either

[MissStacey 1]

Cockroaches bother me too. There are so many creepy crawlies in Louisiana and I don't handle these things well. I am also horrified of frogs- we have a pond in the backyard and we get tons of them. They are so loud too. I'm ok with lizards though.

I have been treated a few times here for reactions to bug bites- they get really big and swollen and develop a red streak. All these reactions have been on my arms. The last time it happened the clinic I usually go to was closed for the day so I went elsewhere. The Doctor was a nasty man and he kept snapping at me and saying they were not bug bites. So I don't know what the heck to think.

[StoryAngel 4]

I don't like getting bitten and wondering who's bitten me! Had a few mosquito bites but also ants and spiders... there's a lot of hungry wildlife here in TX!

[mrsartis 10]

its not really strange but im used to eat rice all the meals.. its weird.. big streets..its funny up to now i think im still in a dream..