It bugs me that the two plants in my office — where I do individual and group psychotherapy — have bugs.
It probably doesn’t bug you that you can’t see those bugs, a/k/a soil gnats. It bugs me that I’ve been trying for weeks to get rid of those bugs, which look like tiny fruit flies, to no avail.
It bugs me that I bought this “natural” bug spray at Whole Foods Market:
…and when I tried to use it, according to directions …
… that resulted in …
… buggy directions I couldn’t read, at all.
It bugs me when I can’t follow directions, no matter how hard I try.
It bugs me that what I could read in the directions — including many warnings about usage for bugs — indicated that Anti-Pest-O might bug eyes, lungs and other parts of non-bugs. So, I decided to bug neither my patients nor myself and I did not spray that bug spray in my buggy office.
It bugs me when I can’t use a product that others have bugged me to buy. It bugs me to have to return ANYTHING to any store, buggy or otherwise.
It bugs me that spraying the bugs with soapy water (not pictured) hasn’t worked, despite my being bugged by promises that it would. It bugs me a lot less to battle bugs with something as benign and straightforward as soapy water, but those bugs have seemed totally unbugged (and perhaps a tad brightened) when I’ve bugged them with soapy water.
It bugs me that once I allow myself to be bugged, lots of other things can bug me, too.
For example, litter left behind by buggy Bostonians bugged me yesterday.
Buggy marketing schemes and slogans bugged me, too.
Other directions I couldn’t understand bugged me.
Things that slowed me down bugged me (and others).
Yes, I can be cross here, there, and everywhere, when I’m feeling bugged.
Would it bug you if I listed even more things that can bug me, if I’m in a bugged mood?
- Not being able to photographically capture a big, yellow, beautiful moon.
- Not understanding how to perfectly operate new technology (including phones and cars).
- My inability to portray our cat Harley sitting unbugged on a table, because he always gets bugged and jumps off (the little bugger).
- Somebody wearing a graphic t-shirt, one buggy day after declaring he’s bugged by them.
- Buggy parking rules, around here.
- Things that make loud noises, like buggy construction projects.
- Difficult thoughts and feelings that bug people I treat.
- People I love to bug leaving (not pictured), like my wonderful and esteemed co-worker Mary, this week.
- My not being a good baker and therefore needing to end this blog post early, to pick up sweets for a going-away party for Mary today.
- Having to leave work early today to bug my dentist about some fillings that have been bugging me.
- My sleep apnea machine, with yet another mask that’s been bugging me.
- Having so many cardiac-related tests and appointments scheduled for tomorrow afternoon at a hospital (where they treat lots of different types of bugs), that several doctors, medical technicians and I will be bugging each other for about four hours.
- Getting bugged by buggily insignificant decisions, like which sign-in book to use at a 45th high school reunion (which might include bugs, because it’s near the ocean).
- The automatic and painful assumption that I bug other people, when I really don’t.
After all this bugging, maybe it’s time to de-bug this bug-filled blog post.
One of my patients did NOT bug me, yesterday, when she brought in this:
If you can’t read all those 18 rules of living by the Dalai Lama, please don’t bug me too much about that. I photographed them the best I could, at the end of a long and buggy day.
What music might I bug you with now?
The Beatles are suggesting that we not bug them, in “Don’t Bother Me.”
If anything in this post has bugged you in any way, please bug me about that in a comment, below.
Buggy and bugged thanks to all bugs and humans that helped me write this post and special thanks to you, no matter what bugs — or is bugged by — you, at any time.
The Year(s) of Living Non-Judgmentally 
Humor?
Does my humor bug you? I hope not!
Yay for the continued Beatles music. I’m in a good mood anyway. I just finished a celebratory post for two years blogging. I’ll look out for your question 🙂
Congratulations, Alex! I will drop by later.
Gnats are completely harmless, these plants which are both Cast-iron plants (Aspidistra elatior) and Dumb Canes (Dieffenbachia) cannot be humid and be in air conditioning because gnats are little flies that keep on reproducing while the soil is moist. The soil needs to dry out in order for the gnats to stop reproducing. The reason the insecticide doesn’t work is because the larvae are in the soil and gnats continue to emerge as new flies, so killing the flying adults doesn’t work, unless you leave a glue trap that sticks on a window (for this purpose only) and ALL of the adults are killed so they cannot lay eggs in the plant anymore. Now I’m a Buddhist so I don’t believe in glue traps of ANY kind, so I would just take the plants outside where the soil can dry out naturally with air and gnats simply don’t reproduce. A gnat is simply a little fly that bugs you because you happen to be indoors where it’s following its natural breeding cycle.
Oh moons are not so easy to get with an iPhone. What’s happened now, however, is that Abbey is going to be upset with that image of Harley.
There are apps in the iTunes store that are supposed to help with photographing at night.
http://www.nightcapcamera.com/nightcap-pro/
NightCap Pro even has noise reduction. I’m going to get it just to try it.
Dracaenas tolerate a little bit more of dryness, so they don’t get gnats as easily.
http://www.dracaena.com
Your wisdom and perspective never bugs me, Maria. Thanks for all this valuable information.
It bugs me that people throw non-biodegradable litter on the ground even when there are convenient trash cans. It probably bugs others that biodegradable litter–banana peels, for instance–doesn’t bug me so much as long as it’s out of the way. It also doesn’t bug me that I was completely wrong about the music you’d pick because it’s still fun to share.
I love this biodegradably ap-peeling comment, Chris, as well as the Wallace and Gromit song. I wouldn’t want to bug you with anything else.
Oh Harley, why are you fleeing? Come with me at this moment Harley! It bugs me to see you like this!!
No Harley, no!! Stay where you are Harley!
I wonder if Harley is as bugged by their attention as he is by mine?
It bugs me tremendously to see these two argue! I’d like to see Oscar at this moment!
Doesn’t this remind you of anything?
You’ll never have Oscar for making “Catnip Boulevard”. That movie was made by humans and it was called “Sunset Boulevard”. Stop thinking you’re Gloria Swanson!! And Oscar is not your grandson!!!
No problem, Ann!
Glad you’re not bugged, Mark.
Aren’t your clients worried about continuity with those bugs in the room?
for continuity read confidentiality
No. My clients seem to enjoy group work.
I am quite enjoying your blogs with different words as highlights of your writing. No, it doesn’t BUG me — it makes me wonder — what word is next? Keep it up!
Your loyalty and kind attention to this blog never bugs me, Claudia!
Hi Ann, you seem a little stressed today. I’m not surprised. Anybody would feel bugged by all the cardiac tests you are facing. I will spare you any bug puns, although many come to mind.
Have you considered re-homing your plants, by giving them to someone with a greener thumb and more patience for bugs? Perhaps it’s time for you to adopt a couple of new plants. Or a lovely nano aquarium, with aquatic plants and some lively (slightly bug-like) dwarf shrimp. (There’s a tank like that next to my shoulder at this moment, as it happens.)
I hope that your appointments go well.
The only thing that bugs me now, Maureen, is wondering about all those puns you didn’t share.
Really? Most people flea from bug puns.
Ann,
After reading your post, one would be less bugged in a traffic jam on a hot summer day with the car’s A/C on the blink.
-Alan
That does sound very buggy, Alan. I always love when you bug me with a comment!
Litterbugs are the worst!
I hope tonight you’ll sleep tight, no bed bug bites, and wake up unbugged by any of the above.
Am I bugged that I didn’t think of the connection with the word “Litterbug” before you bugged me with this great comment? Not at all. Always glad to be bugged by you, Jay.
Litter bugs me as well. People feel so entitled and figure that someone else will clean up their mess. Sometimes my girlfriend and I take plastic bags with us on our walks and pick up litter off the beach. Luckily our beach stays pretty clean. Do you feel less bugged now that you’ve got that off your chest? Hope you have a less ‘buggy’ day tomorrow.
I feel a lot less bugged since I wrote this buggy post and then read all these great bug-related comments, including yours, Carol!
Did you tell the soil gnats to “Bugger off!”
There, it’s been said. 🙂
It was bugging me that neither I nor anybody else said it before, Kim, so THANK YOU.
I am sorry you are bugged. I hate litterbugs so much. I hate little gnatty things. I have a real aversion to little gnatty bugs ever since we did a fruit fly experiment in 7th Grade. We had to mash up bananas and mix it with maple syrup and then raise fruit flies in this goop. The fruit flies proliferated and were flying around the school, hordes of little annoying fruit flies everywhere, trying to go up people’s noses. It was so awful. Absolutely awful. Still can’t stand the smell of maple syrup, a gazillion years later. You talk about being bugged, AARGH!!!!
I am sorry you were bugged, too, SD! We bugged people have to stick together.
Yes!!! We stick together unbugged by one another!!!!
I’m gnat a fan of fruit flies, either.
I can’t beelieve I wrote that.
Ant I am mite-y glad you did.
What a moth-erly toler-ants you have for wordplay.
Gnaturally.
Wow lots of loops and bugs, but the loops your doc was wearing are “loupes”- I used one for 20 years while working in the diamond business looking for imperfections in the stones!
It doesn’t bug me that you’ve looped back here, Lisa!
😀
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