A Gothic New Year Begins!

Happy New Year, everyone!!  It has certainly been a happy one for me so far, because...

I GOT TO HOLD A LIVE TARANTULA!!!!

(WARNING: Large picture below!)

I woke up this morning in a blah, slightly grumpy mood.  Too much sun was coming in through the windows...  I did all the usual morning things -- breakfast, shower, feed cats, get dressed -- then thought I would start the new year off right by doing laundry.  While waiting for the first load to dry, I checked my bank account.  To my surprise, my December paycheck was actually in, although I had not expected it until tomorrow.  Happiness is!  Then I checked my e-mail, and found one from a friend reminding me that if I wanted to come and meet the tarantula at the wildlife sanctuary she works at, I should come between 9:30-9:45 as she would probably be leaving around 10ish.  I had totally forgotten about the offer she made me on Sunday when we got together!  My clock said 9:57, but Martin said he could get us there in 15 minutes, so I called her.  Fortunately, she was willing to wait, so we FLEW over.

I met a rosy Mexican tarantula named Terra.  She was a LOT bigger than I expected, but I wasn't nervous at all (well, maybe just a little).  She was also very soft and light; somehow I'd expected her to be a bit heavier, but she felt like a feather.  I was worried that she might fall off my arm, but then she reminded me that her legs have tiny hooks on the ends, so no worries.  My friend commented that Terra was very lively this morning.  Normally she knows she must sit quietly in people's hands when they are showing her to a group, but she kept marching up my arm in a very determined fashion.  Finally we just let her go, and she made straight for my shirt, then stopped dead directly in front of it.  We started laughing when we realized why... I was wearing a black t-shirt with a white web and a very large red spider on the front, and she was investigating the "new" spider in town!  After staring at it for a bit, she apparently decided it wasn't a threat or a potential mate, and wandered back down my arm.  :-)  Too bad tarantulas can't read English, or she might have gotten a chuckle out of the words on the shirt:  "It's not like I'm going to BITE you..."

I don't know if I have mentioned this before, but I have been an arachnophobe for most of my life.  It has taken me several years of work to get to the point where just looking at a tarantula on a computer or TV screen was possible for me, let alone holding a live one.  I shall post the pictures Martin took as soon as I get them developed.  Meanwhile, here is one so you get the idea.  She was about this size, too, maybe just a little smaller:

 

Anyway, meeting Terra got my year off to a wonderful start!! 

While I don't believe in "New Year's Resolutions", mostly because I have never known anyone who actually kept them for more than a month, I do try to think of things to do to make each year better.  It doesn't always work, but then, what does??  Anyway, I came across an article called "The Top 5 Regrets of the Dying", and after reading it, I thought that avoiding these regrets would be a perfect plan for my 2014 goals!  Here they are, rewritten as goals rather than as regrets:

1. Have the courage to live a life that is true to my Self, not the life others expect of me.

2. Don't spend too much of my life on the treadmill of a work existence; spend more time with family and friends.

3. Have the courage to express my feelings, not just suppress them.

4. Stay in touch with my friends.

5. Let myself be happy.

I think I have gotten a head start on at least three of them, but I am going to make them a daily priority and see how far I can get.

I hope all of us have a terrific and gothic year!!