Sugar-Hungry and Super-Strong

I’ve been journaling fairly regularly in Myanmar, so I’d like to share with you an excerpt from my journaling. This particular entry comes from the end of September, when I was weeks into battling an ant infestation in my kitchen (which, for the record, is on-going).

 

Alright. My ant problem is driving me insane.

It has been at least a month since I’ve started dealing with those little a$$holes and NOTHING. HAS. WORKED. I’ve tried cinnamon, vinegar, insanely obsessive cleanliness, chemical sprays, and chemical chalks.

Well-meaning people hear of my plight and kindly offer suggestions, both natural and chemical, swearing that it will do the trick. I had initially bent my ear to these people, eager to try something new, believing that I may just find the silver bullet to my infestation.

 

I no longer believe the solution is in the grasp of mortal hands, however, as this plague must be visited upon me by the some malevolent spirit.

 

UNIVERSE! WHAT HAVE I DONE TO DESERVE THIS PLAGUE OF SUGAR-HUNGRY SUPER-STRONG INSECTS?!?!

 

They will eat anything that is accidentally left in the sink or on the counter. If there is the tiniest splash of watery milk in the corner of the sink basin from rinsing out my bowl from breakfast, these ants will find it, blaze a trail, and invite all their friends, neighbors, and even that weird coworker that no one really likes. Then, I get back from work and find the whole neighborhood gathered around a minuscule milk pond, with folks from the neighboring township coming to join the festivities.

This has gone on for a long time. So, as I stand in my kitchen, wadded-up paper towel in hand, squashing each individual ant that comes out of a crack in the tile backsplash, I think to myself, “Am I too uptight? Should I, in the words of Anna (or is it Elsa) from Frozen, just ‘let it go‘? Should I learn to cohabit with these creatures instead of bringing genocide on their heads every morning? Perhaps I should shake it off and focus on more important things, like lesson plans or assessment techniques.”

 

Then I spy a mob heading toward a crumb in the sink and the bloodlust is rekindled.