Tuesday: Name Your Insect

Nice, simple task today. Far easier than catching an insect anyway, although that may just be me and my spectacular incompetence at doing simple things. All I have to do is name my pet spider. Simples!

So, after I'd woken up properly and my brain was functioning enough to think of decent names. I'd been thinking previously about what to name it, thinking up obvious names such as 'Shelhob', or 'Peter', as in 'Peter Parker', as in 'Spider-Man'. But I saved the big moment for today, as per instructed. I picked up my spider's elegantly crafted home, opened it, and stared at my fwiend for a few minutes. The first step in naming something is knowing the sex. I guess I could have gone for an adrogynous name like Jamie, or Alex, but I figured it'd be a nice idea to get to know my spider's gender anyway, so I could know whether to refer to it as 'he' or 'she'. It certainly had it's masculine qualities, as I often tend to think of spiders as male anyway (not really sure why). But I stared deep into it's eyes. Yes! It was female! I knew for sure! Okay, I didn't know for sure, I don't really know anything for sure. But I think it is a she.

So, I had to think of a female name. Lucy? No. Sally? Maybe. Robert? Definitely no. But Sally was close. Yes. I was thinking Sally, or... Shelly! Yes. Sally? Shelly? Shelly! Yes! (That probably doesn't read as well as it did in my head, my apologies.) Maybe I was thinking of Shelly because of the aforementioned Shelhob (I'm not sure if that's how you spell it, I don't even like LOTR (blasphemy, I know)). But I didn't care. Shelly felt right. She is officially named Shelly.

I left for Uni and returned home and - GASP! - Shelly had escaped from her house! NOOOOO!!! Shelly, being the muscly mofo she apparently was, must have pushed open the door of her house and escaped. I looked around. But no. Shelly was gone. Sad times. I moped around the house for a bit. But moping does not bring back my beautiful Shelly.

Later that night, afetr a bit of time on the XBox, I looked up to the ceiling. Oh my God! Was it? I think it was! A spider was crawling on the ceiling. I reached up and pulled down the beast. Yes! I think it was Shelly! Or at least makeshift Shelly. Shelly 2. I'm sure it was Shelly though! She's back!

I kept a close eye on her all night so that she didn't escape again. I let her out of her house to play, but wouldn't let her stray too far away. At one point I swear she bit my thumb. I had her on the tip of my thumb and I felt a sting and her legs started frantically waving. But I don't think she did bite me (despite two sentences ago swearing she did), I think I'm just paranoid. I texted my friend Jay, who knows everything, to enquire about it. She knows every type of spider that can bite in the UK, so she was the perfect person to text. She wasn't sure on the exact type of spider I had, probably because I'm horrible at describing and because it was over text, but, with plans to see Jay and other friends the next day, I would introduce them all to my new friend... SHELLY!