Till It Happens To You..: Not My First Rodeo...

It's Back.

I spent 3 weeks of my life this past May worrying and stressing every time I would walk into my apartment. At night, I wouldn't let my hands dangle out from the covers in bed because I would be afraid "it" would get them. During those 3 weeks of worrying I never saw "it" until one day I came home and found it resting on my door frame.

The GECKO is back.

Last time I wrote about it I told you how I 'kicked it to high heavens' over the rail. During those 3 weeks I tried every thing to figure out how to get rid of the gecko. However, I never told you about the phone conversation I had with my dad the next day after I kicked the gecko.

"You know, when your mother and I went on our honeymoon (in Maui) there was a gecko in our room. Your mom refused to stay in the room because there was a gecko on the wall" - Dad

"So what did you do?" - Me

"Well, I called the front desk and they sent up a handyman to get rid of it. He had a towel in one hand and a can of raid in his other hand. He walked up to the gecko sprayed it with raid and it dropped right into his towel and he walked out." - Dad

"DAD!! YOU KNEW HOW TO GET RID OF THE GECKO THIS WHOLE TIME AND YOU ARE JUST NOW TELLING ME??? DON'T YOU THINK THAT INFORMATION WOULD HAVE BEEN USEFUL THE FIRST TIME I SAW THE GECKO?!" - Me

"Well, I didn't think about it then. It just now occurred to me." - Dad

"Unbelievable! I can't believe you never thought to tell me this before...." - Anna

This brings us to tonight, aka 30 mins ago. I had just walked in the door from a wonderful dinner and desserts with friends. I was tired and ready to get into my bed for the night. I went to sit on my bed to take off my shoes when I saw something scurrying across on the wall caught my attention. I knew what it was before I even had to look. The gecko. This gecko was still cream colored (the same color as my wall and floors) but this one was smaller. I surprisingly remained calm and racked my brain of what to do. It was still on my closet door and wasn't really moving, so I figured I could get the sticky contact paper and just touch it with the paper and be able to get it out. (One would think that I learned my lesson last time with the contact paper) With a heavy sigh of agony, I went to go turn on the air conditioning and cut contact paper. It would have worked like a charm except the 'scaredy cat' inside of me got the best of me. The gecko started slowly moving. I moved the trash can away and had an amazing plan of touching the gecko with the sticky paper and then pressing it on their with the trash can. (Let's face it I want it out of my apartment, but I don't want to have to touch it) Of course, the gecko disappeared. I literally never saw it run away. Which means, this little sucker is fast. I laid the contact paper sticky side up on the floor hoping the gecko would come back out and get caught on it.

Next I remembered the story of the Raid can story my dad told me about. (Raid doesn't kill them, but the spray comes out cold and basically freezes them where they can't move.) I forgot to mention that after my dad told me that story, I went out and bought not 1 but 2 cans of raid. (I wanted to be prepared) I sprayed around my bed hoping that it would keep the gecko away from bed tonight when I sleep. I lifted up my bed skirts because I was sure that was where the gecko was hiding. I couldn't find my flashlight so I just started to spray raid. (How come when you can need something you can never find it, but when you don't need it you always know where it is?) I told the gecko that this was not my first rodeo and it wasn't going to stay long.

Now I am sitting on my bed with can of Raid on my bedside table, ready to use at any moment, with my room smelling like lemon because the can of Raid I bought has a "lemon scent."

*BREAKING NEWS*

As soon as I finished this story I thought I remembered where I had put the flashlight. I set down my computer and I was about to hop off my bed when I see the gecko come out from under the other bed. I gasped, jerked my legs up, almost panicked, but then realize the Raid is on my bedside table. I urgently grab it and leaned over and sprayed under the bed. I swiftly jumped to my feet to go get the flashlight. I ran to the corner and sure enough no flashlight. I wasn't going to let that stop me. I turned on all my other lights and then it hit me like a ton of bricks. The flashlight was in the top drawer of my night stand. I dashed to the drawer and pulled out the flashlight.

I then assumed my position.

I was laying with my stomach to the floor with the flashlight in my left hand and had my trigger finger on my right hand on the Raid can. I was calling, more like taunting, the gecko to come out from its hiding place. I was ready. (Side note: Remember the movie Home Alone. Remember when Kevin decides he is going to protect his house from the 'wet bandits'. There is a scene where he goes outside and says "I'm not afraid anymore! You hear that, I'm not afraid anymore!!" Then his next door neighbor with the shovel appears and he runs in his house screaming. That is what I felt like in that moment. I was not afraid anymore, that is until the gecko would show his face, then I am sure I would be scared all over again) I waited anxiously to see a movement of any kind. I sprayed just to taunt the gecko to see any movement. Then all of a sudden I saw it! I began to spray and spray, but it wasn't freezing! Why wasn't it freezing? It was moving slower. I continually sprayed it, but it came to a slow crawl. I realized that I had nothing to catch the gecko with at that time. I sprayed it again and then placed the comforter under my bed over it. (The apartment supplied me with a comforter, but I don't use it because I live in Hawaii and it is hot. Therefore I just folded it and placed it under my bed.) I ran to get a cup. At that moment, I decided I probably needed put on shoes too. I am not sure why, but it seemed appropriate at the time. I slowly slid the comforter out from under the bed. I gently lifted the comforter from the floor and their it was. I sprayed it again with Raid and then slammed the cup down on top of it. I looked through the clear cup and said, "Oh my gosh, I have it. Oh my gosh I have it. Oh my gosh I have it! Now what do I do?" I slid the cup out from the bed and this is what I did: