The Hunt Is On

Yesterday morning I stumbled my way into the bathroom when I noticed a large spot on the far wall. I had to get rather close because I wasn't wearing my glasses, which was when I noticed it was not a mark on the wall, but a rather large bug. Now, outside of large spiders (which I prefer to take out with a sniper rifle) I'm not too freaked out by large insects; it's just that normally we get farther into spring and summer before they start to show up. Late March, especially given the cold front that blew through here the other day, seems like it would have taken these guys out. Undaunted, I returned to my room and retrieved a sneaker to dispense some lethal justice on the insect. (Its crime? Trespassing. Its punishment? Death.) I came back, took a swing at the guy but, despite the insect's large dimensions, missed (he was quicker than he looked). The bigger problem was that the bug not only ducked my attempt to kill it, he then disappeared. I have no idea where this guy went. I checked all around the window, in the cabinets, under the heater, behind the toilet - nothing. Apparently this particular bug comes equipped with a cloaking device. Great.

Remember like 150 words ago when I said that I wasn't freaked out by large bugs? Yeah, well, that doesn't apply when I have my pants around my ankles and I'm on the throne or if I'm in the shower. I don't care that this is probably some harmless type of water bug, at those two points I really don't like it when small, creepy crawlers make their way across my feet or worse, hop onto my back. If this bug had disappeared in any other room I wouldn't have given it another thought, but now I'm concerned that he's plotting to come back out when I am at my most vulnerable. It's a helpless feeling. I thought about leaving the window open last night, hoping that perhaps he would leave on his own accord, but unfortunately the screen would get in the way. My only hope is that I spot him when he makes a run for it. At the very least I will not be walking into the bathroom barefoot for the foreseeable future.

-So, Al Skinner was fired at Boston College's basketball coach the other day after he requested the opportunity to interview at St. John's. Athletic Director Gene DeFilippo said that they kept the firing quiet so that he still had some leverage going into the negotiations with St. John's (DeFilippo also said it was a mutual decision, but the fact that Skinner will be paid the remaining years of his salary make you think otherwise). Given that the Johnnies hired Steve Lavin this afternoon, I would bet that, in hindsight, Skinner would rather have the job than the leverage. This is the second time in a couple years that B.C. has fired a coach just for requesting permission to interview for another job (Jeff Jagodzinski was let go last January after interviewing for the NY Jets job). Apparently, to Boston College, looking is the same as cheating. I guess it's not too surprising that they haven't have better luck with coaches.