10:57 p.m. | 2005-07-18 New Office D�cor. I�ve been enjoying some time off � a much too brief respite from work, if you will. During this time, I assembled my new shredder, underwent more medical testing, slept a whole bunch, shredded all my junk mail, ran errands, did chores and shredded some more. All without air conditioning during a heat wave. Since it's been awhile since I�ve updated, I�ll fill you in on a few things. My overhead light fixture that kept falling down was replaced with a ceiling fan light fixture � with remote � which I love and also fear. I love the fan, love the light and even love the remote� but if this fixture falls down while I�m in the room? Decapitation is certainly a possibility. The installation of this fan was timely as it occurred right before the heat wave. I have an air conditioner, of course, but I don�t use it. People are confounded by that, generally speaking, but I hate canned air so my body is conditioned to acclimate to temperature changes naturally. However, the heat wave intense and quite sudden so it did slow me down some. When it finally cooled down (right under 100 degrees), it felt downright chilly. It�s gonna heat back up soon, but I�m enjoying the coolness such as it is. And, I never turned on the air conditioner. Anyway, I went back to work today. I turned on my computer and was sifting through a gazillion new emails when I heard a knocking on my window. At first, I thought I�d imagined it since my office is high above ground level. But the noise continued. Finally, I turned around and noticed that a pigeon was knocking on my window. This is hard to explain but I have windows that open outward, an outside windowsill and screens. The screens are placed on the outside edge of the outside windowsill, hence there�s a six-inch, or so, gap between my window and the screens. And, one screen is open about six inches. Hence, my outside windowsill is a potential haven for birds. Which is fine by me. I love birds. So, two pigeons are now roosting on my windowsill. I can�t see them clearly since my bottom window is tempered glass but I can see enough. This isn�t uncommon in my office either. Albeit most folks have doves roosting on their sills or hummingbirds in the trees right outside. Me? Yeah. Pigeons. Pigeons that don�t appear to be all that bright, actually. Nor polite. All though out the day, they came to my sill, shimmied into the space and then proceeded to step on each other in order to move to the other end of the sill. They also engaged in other shenanigans that, tempered glass or not, were quite clear in their nature. Then, I discovered something else. I have lots of plants in my office. While moving one today, I noticed some bright green plant debris sitting on my inside windowsill. I immediately noted that its structure was quite unlike any plant in my office but since I had business to take care of, I reached out to remove this errant plant remnant. As I moved closer, I again notice the unusual structure of this piece and took a more careful look. A baby praying mantis. A praying mantis in my office! I love praying mantis � mantes? Wonderful. They eat bugs. Great joy! Not that there are bugs in my office or anywhere in the building but what better way to prevent them? And, he�s so cute! So, I put the plant back. All morning, Waldo, the praying mantis, hid behind the plant. But, when I came back from lunch, he was gone. At that point, we started an elaborate game of hide and seek. Or, um, rather I did. Waldo was just being himself. And, he moved about� traveled to another plant and did his whole hiding thing. Which he does well. Obviously. But, I was able to locate him, randomly, for most of the afternoon. Until I came back from training someone. I don�t know where he is now but, um, I think that�s the point. I�m not sure how a baby praying mantis came to be in my office but I�m guessing it has something to do with the flowers I got last week at the Farmers Market. And yes, I do realize that it�s a little crazy to find stress relief in pigeons and insects in or about my office. Even crazier? I'm absolutely giddy when I discover where Waldo�s hiding. I either need a vacation or I need to get really, really drunk. Maybe both. your thoughts? seed flower